Chapter 21
 
 
Xander took in Buffy’s panicked expression and had a momentous revelation. “You really do truly, madly, deeply love the guy, huh?”
 
“Well, duh! I told you…”
 
“Yeah, I know. I guess it took a while to sink into this thick skull.” He rapped his hard hat with his knuckles. “It’s just… vampire.”
 
“I know, okay? It took me forever to accept it, but Spike’s… different.”
 
Xander clapped his hands and rubbed them together saying decisively, “Okay then. I guess we’re going vamp hunting.” He took a few cautious steps towards where he thought he’d caught a glimpse of a flashlight. “Look over here, Buff.” When she turned and the glow from her helmet lamp shone by his feet, he quickly bent and picked up the flashlight it revealed. He gave it a firm shake and grunted in satisfaction when its powerful beam penetrated the gloom.
 
Now they could see properly, it was the work of a moment for them to gather up the rest of their scattered equipment and determine that Spike wasn’t lying unconscious anywhere close by.
 
“Which way?” Xander asked, shining his flashlight from side to side. “Can’t you do that… super-slayer vamp sensey thing and find him?”
 
Buffy sighed. “That’s an emphatic no can do. You know I never got the whole spidey sense thing down, however often Giles tried to get me to focus and hone. And on top of that, I’m Stupid Buffy. I was going to ask Spike to claim me last night. According to Anya, that would’ve let me find him right away, but I was so beat, I decided it could wait.”
 
“Claim?”
 
Buffy regarded Xander nervously. “Yeah. It’s a vampire ritual.”
 
Xander made a face. “Like that icky blood oath?”
 
“Not exactly. More like a… a kinda commitment ceremony.”
 
“You’re gonna marry the guy? Seriously?”
 
Buffy smiled. “I never thought of it like that, but yeah. I guess I am. I really am. Are... are you cool with that, Xan?”
 
“I have one question. Does he make you happy?”
 
“He truly does. He gets me, you know? The slayer me and the Buffy me and all the bits in between.”
 
Xander nodded. “Then I’m cool. But if he hurts you…”
 
Buffy wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick hug. “I know.”
 
She took a deep breath and set off. As she led the way down the aisle between the side wall and the first row of glass-fronted cells, she checked each tiled alcove in turn. “Guess we’ll just have to be methodical about this. Don’t forget we’re looking for a way up to the next floor as well.”
 
After a few minutes, she muttered irritably, “If the idiot’s gone and got himself dusted just when I’ve found him again, I’m gonna have him resurrected just so I can stake his vampire ass.”
 
Xander failed to suppress a chuckle which earned him a fierce glare, the effect of which was slightly spoiled by the smile which twitched at Buffy’s lips.
 
 
~*~*~*~
 
 
Spike came to with a start and was immediately made aware of a sharp pain at the base of his skull. When he automatically moved his hand to feel the injury, he set himself swinging. He was startled by the discovery that he was hanging upside down.
 
Unable for a moment to work out where he was, he had a flashback to the so-called games that Angelus had enjoyed playing with him. He froze, concentrating all his senses on his surroundings.
 
It was dark. Not the natural not-quite-darkness of a moonless night but the dense, almost tangible darkness of a totally enclosed space. It was also very quiet. The only noise he could hear was a low mumbling coming from somewhere in front and to the right of him. The sound echoed slightly, so he could tell that he was in a virtually bare room.
 
At least he didn't appear to be in any immediate danger, despite his vulnerable position. He heaved a sigh of relief. When he inhaled again, the vile smell hit him full force, reminding him that he was in the disused Initiative complex.
 
Suddenly anxious about Buffy, he set to freeing himself. He bent at the waist, flinging his arms back and forward to build up momentum. His duster was draped down behind his head and caught on something with each pass so he slid it off and allowed it to fall. After several swings, he chose the optimum point of the arc to tense his stomach muscles and throw his arms and head up, jack-knifing to grab his legs.
 
Spike bent his knees and reached up to discover he was tied in the traditional method. A rope bound his ankles and one strand was looped around an overhead service pipe. He caught hold of the pipe with one hand and reached back to his waist to see if his captors had had enough sense to relieve him of his combat knife. Thanking his lucky stars that they hadn’t learned their restraining technique from Angelus, he slid the weapon from its sheath then easily sliced through the loop of rope.
 
His feet swung down and he hung there for a second before releasing his hold. From the noise he made, he realised that he was clearly not on the floor. He crouched to investigate and learned that he was on a long, narrow metal table.
 
He cut the rope binding his ankles and climbed off the table. After fumbling around on the floor, he found his duster almost immediately and slipped it on. The familiar weight of the vintage leather on his shoulders and the sensation of its hem sliding against the back of his calves were very reassuring.
 
Cocking his head to one side, Spike concentrated his hearing. He could make a rough estimate of the size of the room from the faint echoes set up by the rumbling sounds that had been his constant companion since he’d awoken, but it was clear that the source of the noise was not in the room with him. Besides, if any demons had been close enough to hear the clatter he’d made when he’d landed on the metal table, they would have come to investigate.
 
Taking a chance, he dug his lighter out of his pocket and holding it up high, flicked it alight. He’d been prepared to douse it immediately if he had to, but that proved unnecessary.
 
He slowly turned a full circle and shuddered at what he found. It was a clinically bare, tiled room with the grubby steel table in the centre. The walls were lined with cabinets. Benches held computers and scientific-looking equipment.
 
Its most notable features, however, were the demons strung up by their feet to the overhead pipes. Besides several unfamiliar species, he recognised the characteristic triple horns of a Bohg'dar demon. Every one of them was missing one or more body part.
 
This was evidently the scavenger demons’ larder. He understood then that he hadn’t been personally targeted. He had simply been collected since he inhabited a dead body and therefore qualified as food. He shuddered again, thankful that at the time they’d captured him, the demons hadn’t been hungry.
 
It only took him a minute to negotiate around the dangling demons and reach the door, which had been propped ajar by the simple expedient of placing a demon’s head on the floor between door and frame.
 
He flicked the lighter closed before cautiously sidling through the gap into the corridor. He noted the tell-tale light on a security lock on the wall beside the door. Deciding to remove his captors’ access to their larder, he nudged the demon’s head away from its position as doorstop and the door closed with a distinct clunk.
 
He paused, wavering in indecision. Should he go and deal with those demons first or seek out Buffy and the boy?
 
As his eyes readjusted to the darkness, a dim strip of light became apparent at one end of the corridor, and he made his decision. Engaging what Buffy jokingly termed his vampire stealth mode, he moved soundlessly towards the light which denoted another partly open door, the constant mumbling gradually getting louder as he went.
 
 
~*~*~*~
 
 
Buffy shone her flashlight into the final cell on the last row. They’d come across a few messily decomposing demon corpses in their search, but like most of the cells and side rooms had been, this one was empty. She heaved a dejected sigh and her arm dropped to shine her light at the floor. “Well, that’s that. He’s not on this level.”
 
“So it’s back to those stairs we passed,” Xander said. He put an arm around her shoulders and steered her back the way they’d just come.
 
When they reached the top of the stairs, Buffy paused with her hand on the door. “Did you hear that?”
 
“Hear what?”
 
“I’m not sure. There was something…” She turned off her flashlight then jammed it into her jacket pocket. Shifting her make-shift weapon to her right hand, she said, “Wait here. I’m gonna sneak a quick look.”
 
Xander extinguished his own flashlight then gestured to Buffy’s helmet lamp which still dimly lit the narrow landing. “If you wanna be sneaky…”
 
Once the darkness was complete, Buffy pushed the door open just enough to enable her to sidle through. She stood blinking as her eyes adjusted. She felt Xander’s hand slide along her arm to the door. He pushed it a little wider.
 
“I need to know if I have to come help,” he whispered.
 
In utter silence, all that met Buffy’s eyes was blackness. After a few moments, she said, “I guess it was nothing.”
 
Xander stepped out of the stairwell and switched his flashlight back on, allowing the door to close behind him.
 
Buffy followed suit and looked around. “Okay, now I know where we are.” She gestured. “The armoury’s right over there, and down that way is what they called the pit. You know, where we had the big battle on the way to fight Adam? And off that are the labs where they did all the squicky testing and experiments. We just need to go up one more level for the offices and the control centre.”
 
“So what’s first? Go get the power on or find Bleach Boy?” When Buffy hesitated, he pointed out, “Of course, it’d be much easier to find him if we could get some lights on.”
 
Buffy nodded. “Good plan, Xan. Come on.” She turned towards the armoury, remembering that there was a stairway close by.
 
A few seconds later, a shriek from behind her split the silence. She froze. This was closely followed by a vicious snarl and a loud crash. A very familiar snarl.
 
She turned on her heel and set off at a flat run towards the pit.
 
Xander puffed along after her, quickly falling behind.
 
 
~*~*~*~
 
 
As Xander jogged after Buffy, he thought guiltily, How come I’m already out of breath? When did I get so out of shape? Gonna have to start doing something about that.
 
When he turned into the open area of the pit, he paused to catch his breath and take in the sight before him.
 
In addition to his own flashlight, two other sources of light illuminated the area. A hard hat lay on the floor, its LED lamp pointing up at an angle towards the mezzanine. Also an abandoned flashlight’s powerful beam shone across the room at floor level. Together, they produced weird, multiple shadows flitting across the floor and walls as several forms moved around the space.
 
Xander took a couple of steps forward, directing his flashlight beam at one of the figures.
 
“Oy! Mind where you’re pointing that bloody thing!” Spike yelled. He twisted and ducked to avoid the light shining in his eyes. Unfortunately, his momentary distraction gave the demon he was fighting a brief advantage and its claws slashed down, coming uncomfortably close to disembowelling him. Instead, it gouged three six inch gashes in his duster.
 
“Sorry!” Xander hastily swung his arm around and highlighted Buffy, who was tag-teaming Spike with the demon.
 
Xander spotted another demon which was creeping up behind Buffy from the shadows. When it found itself suddenly bathed in light, it stopped for a second then made straight for Xander.
 
“Uh-oh…” Xander said, retreating until his back was against a wall. He placed the flashlight on the floor and hefted his tyre iron sword. He gave it an experimental swing. The movement caused the hose of the fire extinguisher strapped to his back to flap against his cheek, and he smirked.
 
He put his sword down and took the hose in his hand. He stretched his other hand up to pull out the safety pin then grasped the scissor-style handle and discharge lever of the extinguisher. “Just come a little closer… said the spider to the fly.”
 
When the demon was about fifteen feet from him, Xander squeezed the lever and a jet of foam spewed out, catching the demon in the chest. Xander quickly deflected the flow upwards into the creature's face and then down again, blanketing it in foam.
 
Expecting the demon to simply pause for a few seconds to wipe the foam from its face, Xander readied his sword. He hoped to fend the monster off until Buffy and Spike could come to his rescue.
 
However, that’s not what happened.
 
The demon stopped moving and started making hoarse gurgling noises. Then it slumped and did a very realistic impression of a melting snowman. After about thirty seconds, all that was left in a spreading patch of foam was a puddle of slightly luminous chartreuse goo.
 
For a moment, Xander could only stand there, gaping in astonishment. Then he grinned and said, “Now, that’s what I’m talking about!”
 
He looked up. “Hey, guys! Send your demon this way! The Xan-man has the answer!”
 
For a few minutes, he watched as Buffy and Spike fought the demon, waiting for them to steer it over to him.
 
He had always been in awe of Buffy’s fighting skills but his breath caught in his throat as he beheld her working with Spike. It looked for all the world as if they were performing a well-choreographed and rehearsed ballet around the demon. Their fists and feet lashed out in a syncopated rhythm, keeping the creature constantly off-balance.
 
Buffy had lost her windshield cut-out knife and her stake was embedded in the demon’s chest. This had left her unarmed so she was nimbly dodging the long, razor-sharp claws, kicking and punching for all she was worth.
 
Spike was also totally focused on their opponent. He was taking advantage of its distraction every time Buffy scored a hit to lash out at it with his big combat knife. The demon was bleeding from several gashes, but they didn’t appear to be slowing it down.
 
After a while, Xander realised that they were both so intent on the battle, they couldn’t have heard him.
 
He dumped his sword and strode forward.
 
 
~*~*~*~
 
 
When the demon had knocked the knife thingy out of Buffy’s hand and then her stake had become jammed in the demon’s ribs, she’d remembered the blowtorch in her pocket. However, even with Spike keeping the creature occupied on the other side, it hadn’t allowed her a free second to use it as a weapon.
 
“Why. Won’t. You. Die?” she panted, directing a crescent kick at the demon’s head. Again, she barely avoided the three-inch claws which reached for her leg.
 
“Buffy, down!”
 
She acted instinctively upon Xander’s cry, dropping to the floor and rolling to the side. She immediately leapt to her feet and assumed a defensive posture, preparing for an attack from behind.
 
She was taken aback when she was confronted with not another demon but with Xander, gleefully squirting his fire extinguisher past her. She turned and watched wide-eyed as the demon dissolved in the foam.
 
When there was nothing left but a pool of slime, she stepped daintily through the foam and nudged it with her toe. “How cool is that?” It gave slightly under the pressure and a ripple spread across the surface. When she realised that the stuff was beginning to stick to her boot, she hastily pulled her foot back.
 
“What’s in that thing?” She asked, indicating the Fire extinguisher. “Acid?”
 
“Mostly water, with a few chemicals… which I’m not even gonnatry to pronounce.”
 
“Well, that was fun, wa’n’it, slayer?” Spike said with a grin. “Nothing like a good rough and tumble to liven things up!”
 
“Spike!” Buffy threw herself at her vampire and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Where did you go? Are you okay?”
 
“Took a little mystery tour of the place, courtesy of these bloody wankers, that’s all.” He cupped her face and planted a gentle kiss on her upturned lips. “Came to in their larder but I got out right quick and ’m fine, Buffy love. No harm done.”
 
“I thought I’d lost you again. I was so scared!” Buffy took a step back out of his embrace and thwapped him lightly on the arm. “But that settles it. As soon as we get back tonight, we’re doing that claim thingy. Then I’ll be able to find you if you get yourself vampnapped again.”
 
Spike gaped at her. After a few seconds, he gave himself a little shake and said, “Are you sure, love? Before… you’d never even heard of a claim and I still can’t tell you how it would affect us, what with you not being a vampire.”
 
“Yep. Positive.” Buffy smiled at his delighted reaction. “I heard what Anya said to you in the Magic Box, so I asked her about it. She loaned me a book about vampire social traditions that explained everything and then she answered my questions.”
 
She ticked points off on her fingers. “I’d belong to you and you’d belong to me and nobody would ever be able to keep us apart again, not even with magic. I’d live as long as you live and stay looking the same age as I am now. We should be able to feel each other’s emotions, and possibly even communicate mentally once we grow into the claim. She said we might have even more benefits, what with me being the slayer. See? As long as you can keep avoiding the dustiness, it’s all upsides and no downside. So can we? Pretty please?”
 
“You’re amazing, you know that?”
 
“You’re pretty special yourself.”
 
“But what about the watcher?”
 
“What? Ew! I don’t want to claim him, I want to claim you!”
 
Spike snorted. “Daft bint. You know what I mean. What does the watcher say about it?”
 
“I haven’t told him. It’s none of his business.” Suddenly hesitant, Buffy asked, “You do still want to? I mean, I know I’m…”
 
“Now you’re just being barmy. You know there’s nothing I want more. I was just checking that you…” His voice cut off abruptly when Buffy grabbed his head in both hands and pulled it down to claim his lips with her own.
 
Lost in the sensation of Spike’s soft lips on hers and his reassuring arms crushing her against his muscular body, it took Buffy a little while to register Xander’s fake coughing. Beginning to get a little light-headed from oxygen deprivation, she gasped for breath then loosened her hold on Spike.
 
“I don’t mean to interrupt the smoochies,” Xander began, but then broke off and started again, “Okay, that’s a downright lie. I totally mean to interrupt the smoochies. I had to stop you before any clothes started coming off.”
 
Feeling her face heat up, Buffy pulled away from Spike and smoothed down her rumpled clothing. “Sorry Xander. Kinda got caught up in the moment.” She turned and sent Spike a teasing smile. “Later, honey. Let’s get some power on and go find the treasure first, okay?”
 
Spike heaved a resigned sigh, leisurely adjusted his jeans and bent to sweep up his hard hat. He plonked it on his head and rammed it home. “As you wish, kitten.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and tucked his tongue behind his teeth. “Sooner we’ve found it, sooner we can get back to uh… discussing… that claim.”