Chapter 14

Willow had decided to head straight for the Summers' home. After everything she had been through and after everything she had seen Buffy do, she was finally willing to face the consequences of her actions and the faces of the Scoobies once she told them the truth.

“Call Xander and tell him to come here, alone. I'll put up a cloaking spell around the house so the demons won't be able to tell we're here,” Willow said to Dawn as soon as they walked across the house's threshold.

Not knowing where to start to fill in Xander on everything, Dawn asked, “What should I tell him?”

“Just tell him it's Buffy.”

Dawn looked at Willow for a moment before nodding. She headed into the living room to make the phone call while Willow ran upstairs to gather the materials she needed for the spell.

Dawn was relieved when Xander answered the phone. The panic and fear in her voice were apparent and she knew that if Angel had answered the phone, he would have asked what was wrong before letting her talk to Xander, and she doubted he would believe her if she told him everything was fine.

When Xander asked what the problem was, all she had to say was, “It's Buffy.” He didn't need anything more than that. He said he’d be there in a few hours and hung up. It was all he needed to come back to Sunnydale.

After Dawn had made the phone call and Willow had cast the cloaking spell, the two of them sat side-by-side on floor in front of the couch. Willow wrapped an arm around Dawn protectively as she moved to rest her head on Willow’s shoulder. They listened intently for noises outside the house, both unable to sleep.



“This can't be happening,” Spike said to himself as he stood in front of the tree where he was certain he'd left Buffy's body. He raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his waist, utterly bewildered about what could have happened to her.

It was a possibility that he hadn't killed her at all and everything had been another one of her ploys, but it seemed very unlikely. He’d felt her weaken in his arms as he pulled as much blood as he could, he’d heard and felt her heartbeat slow down until it came to a complete stop. Was she that good that she could have faked her own death? Surely, it wasn't possible.

When he picked up rustling noises and demons talking, he ran back to the tree and glanced behind it to observe the demons. They were looking for the three of them, and he hoped Willow and Dawn had a large enough head start so the demons would not be able to catch up to them. Listening intently for their movements, he stayed hidden until he was sure they were gone.

With a heavy sigh, he tilted his head back, resting it on the tree, and closed his eyes. He needed a clear head if he was going to figure this out.

Eyes open again, he lifted his head and looked around. A trail on the ground starting from the foot of the tree caught his attention. He cocked his head to the side and stood up, eyes still trained on the trail he could see clearly even in the dark.

Something heavy had been dragged along the ground and the path it left wasn't too clear, but it was still visible. With his brows furrowed, Spike followed the trail through the cemetery. There were areas where the ground was too hard for anything to make an impression, and it would take him a few moments to pick up the trail.

Minutes into his pursuit, the trail ended in front of the locked door of another crypt on the other side of the cemetery. He jiggled the knob a few times and when the door wouldn't open, he scanned the cemetery for any sign of the demons before giving the door a hard kick.

As he walked in, Spike glanced around the crypt. The room was lit only by the soft glow of candles that lined the shadowed stone walls. There were two sarcophagi in the center and he walked towards the one on the right, running a hand over the marble lid. The inscription read, “The key to eternal life.”

Spike continued to circle the sarcophagus until he noticed that the top was slightly askew, as if it had been recently opened. Brows quirked in curiosity, he pushed the lid open wide enough for him to see what was inside. He went and grabbed one of the longer candles from the corner and held it over the open coffin. What he saw was definitely something he had not expected. “What the hell?” Grimacing in bafflement and surprise, he pushed the lid open further. He lowered the candle deeper into the sarcophagus. There was a wooden staircase inside it.

Without hesitation, Spike jumped over the edge, and stood at the top of the staircase, looking down them. Badly beaten as he was, he didn't care. All he cared about was finding Buffy or finding out what was really going on.

After letting out a shaky breath, Spike began to stealthily descend the stairs. What little illumination there came from torches, set into sconces about a yard apart, hanging on the left side of the stone wall. Dripping water that filled the space with a stench, rats squeaking and cockroaches crunching beneath his shoes somewhat muffled the distant sound of a sobbing girl. But he heard it clearly.

He was starting to think going alone was a bad idea. Nevertheless, he continued to descend the stairs with careful, apprehensive steps. When he came to the foot of the stairs, he figured he was getting close because he could hear a woman speaking. He stopped momentarily to listen to what the woman was saying.

“Spike really doesn't know when to back off, huh? He's so annoying!” The woman paused, and exhaled deeply in frustration. “But you have to admit, he's sexy when he's evil. Don't tell me you didn't like that part.” No one answered the woman but she continued to speak. “And Willow.” She chuckled lowly. “I could feel the power in that one.”

Spike hid within the shadows as he slipped farther into the secret passageway, hoping that whatever or whoever was down there wouldn't know of his presence.

“She thinks she can do anything just because she brought you back to life. I would have liked to have seen her beg for her life, but we needed her then, didn't we? Now, since our plan is ruined thanks to your boyfriend, I guess I can have my fun.”

The woman's soliloquy was followed by an angry grunt and heavy breathing. She laughed menacingly, making the hairs on Spike's skin stand up. “Save your breath, sweetie. You need it.” The voice seemed closer. Spike was at the end of the tunnel.

He couldn't believe his eyes. It was Buffy, strapped to what looked like a hospital bed. She was alive, but barely. She looked different than she had when he left her. Her hair was disheveled, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were pale and chapped. Spike had to put a hand over his mouth when he saw the cuts and bruises on the exposed parts of her body. On a stand beside her, there were medical instruments, syringes and knives. He could only imagine what horrible things had been done to Buffy.

He furtively made his way deeper into the cave, still keeping to the shadows, and crouched in the corner. The woman was human. He could hear her heartbeat, sense the warm blood circulating in her body. He clenched his fists tightly, until his knuckles turned white and his nails dug into his palms when his blood lust threatened his control again. He couldn't fight her. The chip would go off.

The woman spun around and exited the cave, never noticing Spike hidden in the shadows when she walked past him. When he was sure she was gone, he emerged from the shadows.

Buffy raised her head and looked at Spike groggily. Her mouth was half-open, her eyes drooped and she slowly blinked them several times.

Spike took a hesitant step toward her. “Buffy.”