hello all. I'd like to thank you for all the great reviews with special thanks to Diabola and Slaymesoftly for helping me get started.
this was originally a response to a challenge on the Slayer's fanfic archive and one of the requirements was that at least three main characters had to die. I didn't want to get rid of Oz but it does make the story better. *shrug* the things we sacrifice for a good story. oh, well. enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think.

~Ghost Writer







Day 22 - Part Two


The door to Giles’ flat opened revealing Buffy half-carrying, half-dragging a near catatonic Willow. The witch’s glazed green eyes stared straight ahead, seeing nothing; totally unaware of her surroundings.

“Good Lord!” Giles exclaimed rushing over to the two bloody women. “What’s happened? Where’s Oz?”

Buffy’s warning look came too late. Willow’s eyes flew wide and fixed on the Watcher.

“Gone,” she whispered. “Took his heart and flew away…”

Buffy glared at her Watcher and guided her friend to the couch before pulling the shocked man into the kitchen.

“Oz is dead?” he asked in a whisper, scarcely able to believe it.

Buffy clenched her jaw and nodded stiffly.

“That thing took his heart. Shoved Spike ten feet and punched through Oz’s chest like it was paper *after* Spike had snapped its neck. Giles, how the hell do I kill this thing?”

“You can’t.”

They turned to see Anya in the doorway.

“You can only wait out the twenty-three days and hope it doesn’t like you.”

Buffy looked at the other woman.

“You know what this thing is?”

“Of course,” the ex-demon replied. “It’s a Creeper. I already told Mr. Giles all about it.”

The Slayer turned back to her Watcher.

“You know what it is?”

“Um…yes, Anya has been quite forthcoming with information concerning this creature. It’s quite fascinating really…”

“Giles!” Buffy snapped. “Oz is dead! I need to stop this thing now. Fascinate me later!”

Giles removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

“The Creeper was once human,” he said. “He was cursed. He cannot die but must harvest the organs of others. If this Creeper can collect enough pieces of persons of a certain caliber he can pass the curse onto someone else. If he has not completed the ritual by the end of the twenty-three days he returns to a kind of hibernation state until twenty-three years has passed and the cycle begins again.”

Buffy let out a near growl of frustration, how the hell was she supposed to fight something that couldn’t die?




Spike ran swiftly through the woods, dodging trees and rocks, keeping the thing in the sky in sight. After ripping out the wolf-boy’s heart it had spread its wings and flown away. Not even thinking about it Spike had told the Slayer to get the Witch back to the Watchers’ place and followed the thing. He knew that he wasn’t still drunk but refused to reflect on his actions until a much later date. The creature swooped down and disappeared into a cave. Slowing his pace Spike followed, automatically switching to game face to see better in the inky blackness. It was walking now, moving with an intimate knowledge of the network of caverns it had called home for centuries and Spike trailed it, slinking with catlike grace from outcropping to boulder, staying out of sight although he got the distinct impression that it knew that he was there.

The passageway suddenly opened up into a huge cavern lined with bodies. The corpses were sewn together like some sort of macabre quilt, affixed to the walls, and ceiling in some places, by means that Spike couldn’t fathom at the moment. Ducking behind a large boulder he watched the creature place Oz’s heart on a wooden table which held several other objects.

“Innocent Heart of the Beast,” the creature rasped, startling Spike so that he actually jumped. The Creeper gently stroked Oz’s heart then moved to another object.

“Flesh of the Betrayer.”

Even without his bones inside it Spike recognized that Parker git that had tossed aside the Slayer.

“Hand of the False God,” it continued moving on to touch a woman’s severed hand then stopped and seemed to think aloud to itself. “Bone of the Helpful Foe and Body of the Slayer.”

Spike’s blood ran cold. This thing was collecting these parts for a ritual of some sort, he didn’t know what kind but he did know that it didn’t seem good for the Slayer…not that he cared, but now that he thought about it he was being an awfully helpful foe of the Slayers’ at the moment. Maybe it was a good time for him to head back to the Watcher’s.

Spike quickly checked the cavern for the creature but found it empty. He backed up slowly, scanning the room when a voice rasped behind him.

“The Helpful Foe.”

“Oh, bollocks.”




There was a knock on Giles’ front door and he rose to answer it, seeing as how Buffy and Xander were busy comforting Willow.

“Cordelia?”

The ex-cheerleader smiled brilliantly before pushing her way into the apartment, followed by a dark haired man the Watcher didn’t know, and…

“Angel?” Buffy asked. The vampire nodded solemnly.

“What the hell are you doing here?” the Slayer demanded.

“Doyle,” he indicated the dark haired man. “He had a vision, said you were in danger.”

“I called you and said we were in danger!” Buffy said then pointed a finger at the vampire. “And you hung up on me!”

Angel ducked his head.

“I know. I was wrong and I’m sor…”

He was cut off as Spike stumbled through the door and collapsed against it, his left hand cradled against his chest.

“Spike?” Buffy asked, slightly concerned.

“Spike,” Angel growled and reached for his Grandchilde, intent on ridding the world of him but Buffy pushed past her ex and stood beside the bleached vampire.

“Spike, what happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, luv,” Spike said. “Creepy just decided that he wanted a piece of the Big Bad.”

He held out his hand revealing a missing pinky finger.

“Literally.”

“Oh my God,” Buffy gasped and carefully pulled him toward the couch, intent on bandaging his hand.

“’S okay, luv. I’ll be good as new in a couple of days.”

“What the hell is he doing here?!” Angel demanded.

“Helping me,” Buffy shot back. “Unlike some people.”

“Yeah, about that pet,” Spike began. “I think that thing’s fixin’ to do a spell. ‘An now it’s got most of what it needs.”

“Yeah, Anya said something about a spell," she said.

Spike nodded and continued.

“When I got to its lair it was recitin’ a list. Flesh of the betrayer is that Parker sod you were tellin’ me about, innocent heart of the beast is wolf-boy.”

“Oz,” she corrected.

“Oz,” he said. “It’s got some woman’s hand ‘an it’s the hand of the false god if any of you know what the bloody hell that means, bone of the helpful foe…”

He held up his injured hand. “Is yours truly. All it needs now is…”

“Body of the Slayer,” Anya interrupted, stunned. “Damn!”

“What about the Slayer?” Angel demanded.

“It was meant to be an impossible task,” the ex-demon defended. “There was no way the elders of Arashmahar could have known that a Slayer would know all of those people.”

Said Slayer looked confused.

“Why would it matter that I know, er knew, all of those people?” Buffy asked.

“ ‘Cause it’s gonna transfer the curse to you,” a softly lilting Irish voice said behind her. “Accordin’ to the vision at least.”



...to be continued