![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: In Sunlight or Shadow (13/?)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chocgood84
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Rating: NC-17 overall
Notes: Vamp!Xander series; the usual applies: blood play, smut, schmoop and man-luvin. Previous parts: here.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Spike, Xander, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If I did, this wouldn’t be fanfic, it’d be cannon. These belong to Mutant Enemy and its creator, Joss Whedon. No harm, no foul.
When they found the magic shop, they all halted, gasping. Only a few pieces of the front of the building still remained. The door lay across the street, and through the blown-out window, smoke swirled like a cobras pit and small flames lit up the inside of the building.
What was left of the building...
“Jesus Christ!” Xander murmured, his voice softer than he meant. He felt a strong arm snaking around his shoulders, and he was glad to have Spike there.
“Oh my god…” Willow whispered, and Xander saw Tara hug her tight, comforting and loving.
“It’s okay, Wills. Just a store. Just hope no one got hurt,” Xander said.
“Buffy! And, and Giles! Buffy and Giles were supposed to meet us here, Xander!” Willow’s face contorted in panic – a feeling that was contagious.
No one said another word as they scrambled into the building through the blown-out window, slipping and crunching on broken glass. The place was a wreck; beams fallen and the roof was caved in in a few spots, the loft was now a basement, and nothing seemed like it could be salvaged. What wasn’t broken was charred and what wasn’t charred was still on fire.
The four of them split up, each searching a different part of the shop for their lost friends. Under fallen drywall and broken fragments of tile and wood, neither of them had any luck.
Xander and the girls met back at the front of the store, each of them looking very worried and very scared.
“Well that means they weren’t here then, right?” Willow asked, sounding as if she didn’t believe it herself.
“Maybe, honey. Maybe they weren’t here yet,” Tara cooed into Willow’s ear and raked nimble fingers through copper silk hair. Willow practically hummed with comfort and trust as she leaned against her lover.
“Hey, stranger things have-” Xander started.
“Xander, witchlings, back here!” Spike shouted from the training room.
After leaping plaster and bits of brick and dodging smallish flames, the three of them made it back to the training room. This room wasn’t as bad – the windows were broken and blown out and some of the rafter beams had fallen in, but it was still a room.
In the corner of the room, Spike was pulling pieces of the fallen ceiling off a…body. The body of a blond girl.
“Shit!” Xander yelled as he crossed the room as fast as he could. He started pulling pieces of wood and plaster off Buffy. He paused momentarily to see if he could hear a heartbeat. There was one, but it was very slow and very faint.
In only a few short seconds, Spike and Xander had the debris clear, and they gingerly lifted Buffy and moved her to a clear patch of the floor. Spike leaned his head to her chest, listening to her breath and her heartbeat. With a solemn expression, he turned to look at Willow and Tara, shaking his head.
“She’s…she’s still here, but…Don’t know for how long…” Spike muttered as he stood up and took Xander’s hand. He pulled Xander into his arms and ran comforting fingers through the brunette’s hair. Xander gave in entirely, letting himself be held and comforted, not really feeling anything. He briefly remembered that shock and numbness were apart of grief, but he refused to entertain that thought – Buffy was still alive.
Wrapped in his own thoughts, Xander was only mildly aware of Tara whispering into Willow’s ear and running her hands up and down Willow’s arms. When he turned to face them, he saw Willow nod to Tara and wipe tears from her eyes. Willow turned to Xander and Spike.
“Could you guys uh…leave us alone for a minute? We’re going to, uh, try something,” she asked meekly.
“Try something? You’re going to use mojo on the slayer? Are you out of your bleeding skulls?” Spike asked angrily.
“No, no – it’s not really a spell. It’s just, well, it’s like transferring energy. Anyone can do it, it’s not really magic,” Tara explained.
“Please, Xander. I have to do something, we have to try…” Willow begged, tears springing up once more.
After a few beats, Xander nodded and hugged the redhead. He kissed her forehead, and took Spike’s hand, leading him towards the front of the building.
“We’ll uh, see if we can salvage anything,” Xander said.
As they made their way back into what was formerly the shop, he closed the half-broken door behind them. Resting his head against the blackened wood, he felt Spike once again pulling him into an embrace.
“So lucky I have you, Spike,” he whispered.
“Luck’s got nothing to do with it, love. Me and you – we’re meant for each other,” Spike whispered back, cool lips against Xander’s neck and strong arms tightening possessively.
Xander sighed, and realized that he hadn’t “breathed” since they’d first ventured into the damnable fog. And just now, he’d run across the room, paying no attention to the fact that human Xander could never have run that fast. Maybe Willow hadn’t noticed…
“Come on then, let’s see if we can gather something of use, shall we?” Spike’s voice felt so nice, so comforting, against Xander’s ear, and he was surprised to feel tears trickling down his cheeks. “’Sides, the witches will be a while, and I don’t want you going bloody barkin waiting for them.”
Despite himself, Xander smiled, even managed a little laugh. He snuggled deeper into Spike’s arms, and finally let him go.
An hour passed, and in that time Spike and Xander had managed to move all of the salvageable books to just outside the front door. They’d managed to find a cover, and they set rocks on top of it, in case rain came. But for now, the fog was still swirling around outside, turning the night into a Wes Craven nightmare.
Xander had just swept up the glass from the front windows when he heard the door to the training room open. Again, not caring much for human façades, he raced across the store to greet a very worn-out looking Willow and a rather depleted Tara.
“Well?” Xander asked, hearing Spike come up behind him.
“How is she?” He asked quietly.
“Oh, she’s better!” Willow managed to smile. “She just needs to rest while the energy does its work, but she’ll be good as new by morning.”
“Then it’s safe to move her?” Spike asked.
“Oh, sure. She was lucky to not have broken any bones. Just a bunch of scratches, and a bump on the head,” Tara said weakly.
“No sign of Giles?” Willow asked tiredly.
“No…he’s not here,” Xander muttered.
“We should get out of here, then,” Spike said. “In case whatever those things were come back.”
“Yeah, I don’t think Scooby Bite-Size pieces are especially good,” Xander joked morbidly.
“How’re we going to get Buffy out? Me and Tara can’t carry anything…We can barely stand as it is,” Willow admitted. Tara nodded her agreement.
“Well, we managed to save most of the books, and there’s no way I’m carrying them to our place,” Xander snuffed.
“What about your truck, love? We can go get it, bring it back, load up the Slayer and Rupert’s books, and get out of here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Xander said, digging in his pocket for his keys. “But one of us should stay here, in case they come back.”
“You stay, I’ll go. Don’t want you out wandering around with whatever that is out there,” Spike chided, snatching the keys from Xander’s hands.
“What, and I want you out there wandering around? No dice, blondie,” Xander tried to steal the keys back, but Spike was too fast. He swooped in and kissed Xander’s cheek quickly, and before they knew it, he was gone.
“Damn superior speed,” Xander mumbled.
“You’ve been pretty fast yourself lately, haven’t you, Xander?” Tara asked, her eyes practically blazing as the two met gazes. Xander felt a shiver trickle through him and once again his entire body and mind screamed ‘she knows!’.
“Uh, well…been eating a lot of fruit, lately. Makes me quick as a bunny,” he lied. Yeah, Bunnicula, he thought.
“Good!” Willow hummed. “Spike’s a good influence on you, then? Making you eat your fruits and veggies?”
“Uh, sure, Willow,” Xander said in a voice that couldn’t of passed for masculine at even Rainbow Peter’s Pecker Club.
“Good for you, Xander,” Tara said softly, ending the sentence with a yawn.
Xander looked at the two of them again, and noticed how tired and exhausted they looked. Looking around the room quickly, he found two chairs that were mostly in-tact, and brought them to the overturned table. Turning it back up, he swiped at it with a tattered rag that used to be a far-east silk scarf. He practically picked up the two girls and dumped them into the chairs. Wasn’t long before he heard the wheezing sleeping noise of his oldest friend in the world.
Seeing to it that they were okay, he made his way back to the training room. Willow and Tara had moved Buffy to the center of the room, and there she still lay, looking for all the world like Princess Aurora.
He cautiously approached, afraid of waking her. He figured she’d be pretty out of it, judging by the swelling bruise on her forehead. He knelt next to her, reaching out to touch her face, but pulled back before he made contact. He knew his fingers would be cold, and somehow he felt that Buffy would recognize that. The last thing he needed added to this night would be one of his best friends turning him to dust.
So he watched. Watched as her chest rose and fall with her now-normal breathing. Listened to the staccato of her heart. He could smell the blood and knew that a few things inside were broken. But just as he knew that, he knew they were healing as well. Whatever Tara and Willow had done seemed to be working, but Xander felt the slight static charge coming off the sleeping princess. Could practically hear it working inside.
Now that he had seen for himself that she’d be okay, he turned to go. He got to the door, and turned around. Went back and picked her up, carrying her like a bride through the threshold and remembering that not that long ago, that had been his fantasy. Strange how things turn out, he thought.
He laid her on the table, finding more displaced fabrics and blankets and alter dressings to create a pillow and cover her up. He’d just draped a sarong over the silent slayer when he felt darkness creeping into the store. Suddenly the already gray room seemed to dip a few shades blacker. He felt his hackles raise, and without realizing it, his game face slipped into place.
Turning towards the window and now-missing door, he saw that the fog had intensified once more, even more dense than when they had first ventured into it. He couldn’t even see the sidewalk outside of the doorway. Something in him was begging for light, and he decided that light would be a good idea.
He quickly ran through the room, gathering whatever candles that were still usable and brought them back to where the girls were sleeping. A couple dozen or so, he lit most of them in that area, but spread them out towards the front of the building. Finally, once the darkness seemed to creep back away from the glowing shop, he felt himself relax. He shook the demon face away, and went back to the table. Righting an overturned side-table, he propped it next to his girls and sat on it, keeping his eyes on the front of the store, watching as the haze outside continued to swirl and churn suspiciously. Every now and a again, he’d glance back towards the training room, because back there, he could feel the darkness seeping in. He could taste the vapor and the wrongness of the mysterious mist.
So he watched and he waited. He stood guard, knowing for the first time that he really could protect his family.
It wasn’t long before Spike returned with Xander’s truck. He backed it up to the shop entrance, stopping when the bumper hit brick. Xander gave an inner wince, but decided now was not the time to pick a snarkfest.
First they transported Buffy from the table to the truck bed, grabbing as much soft clothing and scraps of fabric and pillows to make her comfortable. Then they loaded the books around her, leaving just enough room for someone to sit in the truck bed to keep an eye on Buffy. Surprisingly, Spike hopped in the back, slithering into the tight space next to her. Xander closed up the hatch, and held open the door for Willow and Tara to slide into the cab.
After checking again on the back passengers, Xander got in and started the truck, shifting gears and pulling away from the rubble. They weren’t ten feet away when they heard another small explosion, but this time they knew what it was. What was left of the Magic Box had just caved in on itself. Xander glanced back and could see through heavy curtains of swirling mist to see that what had once been a business was now only a pile of bricks and wood.
The three of them in the cab exchanged a glance, and Xander looked back to find Spike sharing the same look. None of them spoke, but all felt and thought the same thing: something was in the darkness, something stirred secretly in the fog. Something was watching them and waiting, stalking.
Without another thought, Xander hit the gas and soon they were tearing through the streets of Sunnydale much faster than they should have been, considering the potent grayness surrounding them. Even as they got further and further from the broken shop, Xander still had the nagging feeling that something was watching them. He felt like he was being hunted…and didn’t like it.
Everywhere else in southern California, daylight was breaking. But here in Sunnydale, the sun didn’t shine. The day seemed as dark as night, and the evening’s visitor of fog and mystery still hadn’t lifted.
Xander looked out the window of their apartment, searching the shadowy clouds that roamed the streets for something, anything, that could give him a clue of what it was that was waiting for them. He felt Spike’s arms around him, his chin on his shoulder, peering out the window with him.
“Whatever it is, it won’t come in, Xander. It likes the darkness, the secrecy. Can’t come in here so long as we’ve got the lights burning, love.” Softer words and tender kisses at his ear, and Xander felt himself relax into the strong arms holding him.
“What is it, Spike?” Xander asked quietly. He turned around and shared the hug, wrapping his arms around Spike needing and possessive.
“Don’t know, love. But we’ll get through it, yeah? S’what we do, isn’t it?” Spikes words were soft and passionate. Truth tinged with fear.
“God, what about Giles? How are we going to find him?” Xander wondered. They’d all come to the conclusion that whoever was out there, whoever had downed the Magic Box had taken the watcher. They just didn’t know who, and they didn’t know where.
“We’ll find the librarian, Xan. Just need a little time, that’s all. And we’ve got nothing but time,” Spike whispered.
Xander leaned his head on Spike’s shoulder, enjoying the comfort and the protection he felt there. Behind them, he saw Willow and Tara passed out on the couch, a blanket draped over them and their arms tightly knitted around each other. Buffy was in the bedroom, wrapped tightly in blankets and still fast asleep.
No sound stirred in the blackened morning, and it felt like for once, the residents of Sunnydale knew better than to venture out of their homes. No traffic in the streets, no buses or bicyclers. Not even a paperboy wandered the sidewalks to deliver the days news. It felt like the town had been paused. Xander wondered briefly if they were the only ones still alive, still here. Maybe everyone else had disappeared and now the five of them were all alone.
Xander sighed into Spike’s shoulders, feeling exhausted himself and ready to crash. He was just about to suggest they curl up on the floor next to the couch when they heard Buffy scream from the bedroom.
Xander and Spike raced to the bedroom to find Buffy thrashing wildly in the bed, tearing the sheets and blankets covering her. They ran to her to grab her arms before she hurt herself, trying to hold her down until the nightmare passed. Xander glanced to the door to find the two witches staring in horror at the scene that reminded them all too much like the Exorcist.
Finally, the slayer stopped thrashing and kicking, and soon her breathing and heartbeats were back to normal. Her eyes slowly inched open, taking in the room. She was shivering, and her lips were trembling. Her hazel eyes were dark with worry, and Xander could smell fear dripping from her like a broken faucet.
“The shadows, the shadows!” She half-whispered, half choked. “Don’t let the darkness in!”
“Buffy, what do you mean?” Xander asked, worried and almost as scared as she.
“They’ll come through the shadows, don’t let them in!” She howled, her eyes staring, but not at them.
“What do you mean, they’ll come through the shadows? Buffy, what do you mean?” Willow asked, crouching beside Xander and laying a hand on Buffy’s thigh.
“They’re coming, they’re coming!” She screamed again, louder and screeching. “Don’t let them in, don’t let the dark in!”
Spike and Xander looked at each other, both feeling it coming. Neither was surprised by the next turn of events: the bedside lamps that were glowing brightly slowly dimmed and blinked out, allowing the shadows to seep into the room.
Author:
chocgood84Pairing: Spike/Xander
Rating: NC-17 overall
Notes: Vamp!Xander series; the usual applies: blood play, smut, schmoop and man-luvin. Previous parts: here.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Spike, Xander, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If I did, this wouldn’t be fanfic, it’d be cannon. These belong to Mutant Enemy and its creator, Joss Whedon. No harm, no foul.
When they found the magic shop, they all halted, gasping. Only a few pieces of the front of the building still remained. The door lay across the street, and through the blown-out window, smoke swirled like a cobras pit and small flames lit up the inside of the building.
What was left of the building...
“Jesus Christ!” Xander murmured, his voice softer than he meant. He felt a strong arm snaking around his shoulders, and he was glad to have Spike there.
“Oh my god…” Willow whispered, and Xander saw Tara hug her tight, comforting and loving.
“It’s okay, Wills. Just a store. Just hope no one got hurt,” Xander said.
“Buffy! And, and Giles! Buffy and Giles were supposed to meet us here, Xander!” Willow’s face contorted in panic – a feeling that was contagious.
No one said another word as they scrambled into the building through the blown-out window, slipping and crunching on broken glass. The place was a wreck; beams fallen and the roof was caved in in a few spots, the loft was now a basement, and nothing seemed like it could be salvaged. What wasn’t broken was charred and what wasn’t charred was still on fire.
The four of them split up, each searching a different part of the shop for their lost friends. Under fallen drywall and broken fragments of tile and wood, neither of them had any luck.
Xander and the girls met back at the front of the store, each of them looking very worried and very scared.
“Well that means they weren’t here then, right?” Willow asked, sounding as if she didn’t believe it herself.
“Maybe, honey. Maybe they weren’t here yet,” Tara cooed into Willow’s ear and raked nimble fingers through copper silk hair. Willow practically hummed with comfort and trust as she leaned against her lover.
“Hey, stranger things have-” Xander started.
“Xander, witchlings, back here!” Spike shouted from the training room.
After leaping plaster and bits of brick and dodging smallish flames, the three of them made it back to the training room. This room wasn’t as bad – the windows were broken and blown out and some of the rafter beams had fallen in, but it was still a room.
In the corner of the room, Spike was pulling pieces of the fallen ceiling off a…body. The body of a blond girl.
“Shit!” Xander yelled as he crossed the room as fast as he could. He started pulling pieces of wood and plaster off Buffy. He paused momentarily to see if he could hear a heartbeat. There was one, but it was very slow and very faint.
In only a few short seconds, Spike and Xander had the debris clear, and they gingerly lifted Buffy and moved her to a clear patch of the floor. Spike leaned his head to her chest, listening to her breath and her heartbeat. With a solemn expression, he turned to look at Willow and Tara, shaking his head.
“She’s…she’s still here, but…Don’t know for how long…” Spike muttered as he stood up and took Xander’s hand. He pulled Xander into his arms and ran comforting fingers through the brunette’s hair. Xander gave in entirely, letting himself be held and comforted, not really feeling anything. He briefly remembered that shock and numbness were apart of grief, but he refused to entertain that thought – Buffy was still alive.
Wrapped in his own thoughts, Xander was only mildly aware of Tara whispering into Willow’s ear and running her hands up and down Willow’s arms. When he turned to face them, he saw Willow nod to Tara and wipe tears from her eyes. Willow turned to Xander and Spike.
“Could you guys uh…leave us alone for a minute? We’re going to, uh, try something,” she asked meekly.
“Try something? You’re going to use mojo on the slayer? Are you out of your bleeding skulls?” Spike asked angrily.
“No, no – it’s not really a spell. It’s just, well, it’s like transferring energy. Anyone can do it, it’s not really magic,” Tara explained.
“Please, Xander. I have to do something, we have to try…” Willow begged, tears springing up once more.
After a few beats, Xander nodded and hugged the redhead. He kissed her forehead, and took Spike’s hand, leading him towards the front of the building.
“We’ll uh, see if we can salvage anything,” Xander said.
As they made their way back into what was formerly the shop, he closed the half-broken door behind them. Resting his head against the blackened wood, he felt Spike once again pulling him into an embrace.
“So lucky I have you, Spike,” he whispered.
“Luck’s got nothing to do with it, love. Me and you – we’re meant for each other,” Spike whispered back, cool lips against Xander’s neck and strong arms tightening possessively.
Xander sighed, and realized that he hadn’t “breathed” since they’d first ventured into the damnable fog. And just now, he’d run across the room, paying no attention to the fact that human Xander could never have run that fast. Maybe Willow hadn’t noticed…
“Come on then, let’s see if we can gather something of use, shall we?” Spike’s voice felt so nice, so comforting, against Xander’s ear, and he was surprised to feel tears trickling down his cheeks. “’Sides, the witches will be a while, and I don’t want you going bloody barkin waiting for them.”
Despite himself, Xander smiled, even managed a little laugh. He snuggled deeper into Spike’s arms, and finally let him go.
An hour passed, and in that time Spike and Xander had managed to move all of the salvageable books to just outside the front door. They’d managed to find a cover, and they set rocks on top of it, in case rain came. But for now, the fog was still swirling around outside, turning the night into a Wes Craven nightmare.
Xander had just swept up the glass from the front windows when he heard the door to the training room open. Again, not caring much for human façades, he raced across the store to greet a very worn-out looking Willow and a rather depleted Tara.
“Well?” Xander asked, hearing Spike come up behind him.
“How is she?” He asked quietly.
“Oh, she’s better!” Willow managed to smile. “She just needs to rest while the energy does its work, but she’ll be good as new by morning.”
“Then it’s safe to move her?” Spike asked.
“Oh, sure. She was lucky to not have broken any bones. Just a bunch of scratches, and a bump on the head,” Tara said weakly.
“No sign of Giles?” Willow asked tiredly.
“No…he’s not here,” Xander muttered.
“We should get out of here, then,” Spike said. “In case whatever those things were come back.”
“Yeah, I don’t think Scooby Bite-Size pieces are especially good,” Xander joked morbidly.
“How’re we going to get Buffy out? Me and Tara can’t carry anything…We can barely stand as it is,” Willow admitted. Tara nodded her agreement.
“Well, we managed to save most of the books, and there’s no way I’m carrying them to our place,” Xander snuffed.
“What about your truck, love? We can go get it, bring it back, load up the Slayer and Rupert’s books, and get out of here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Xander said, digging in his pocket for his keys. “But one of us should stay here, in case they come back.”
“You stay, I’ll go. Don’t want you out wandering around with whatever that is out there,” Spike chided, snatching the keys from Xander’s hands.
“What, and I want you out there wandering around? No dice, blondie,” Xander tried to steal the keys back, but Spike was too fast. He swooped in and kissed Xander’s cheek quickly, and before they knew it, he was gone.
“Damn superior speed,” Xander mumbled.
“You’ve been pretty fast yourself lately, haven’t you, Xander?” Tara asked, her eyes practically blazing as the two met gazes. Xander felt a shiver trickle through him and once again his entire body and mind screamed ‘she knows!’.
“Uh, well…been eating a lot of fruit, lately. Makes me quick as a bunny,” he lied. Yeah, Bunnicula, he thought.
“Good!” Willow hummed. “Spike’s a good influence on you, then? Making you eat your fruits and veggies?”
“Uh, sure, Willow,” Xander said in a voice that couldn’t of passed for masculine at even Rainbow Peter’s Pecker Club.
“Good for you, Xander,” Tara said softly, ending the sentence with a yawn.
Xander looked at the two of them again, and noticed how tired and exhausted they looked. Looking around the room quickly, he found two chairs that were mostly in-tact, and brought them to the overturned table. Turning it back up, he swiped at it with a tattered rag that used to be a far-east silk scarf. He practically picked up the two girls and dumped them into the chairs. Wasn’t long before he heard the wheezing sleeping noise of his oldest friend in the world.
Seeing to it that they were okay, he made his way back to the training room. Willow and Tara had moved Buffy to the center of the room, and there she still lay, looking for all the world like Princess Aurora.
He cautiously approached, afraid of waking her. He figured she’d be pretty out of it, judging by the swelling bruise on her forehead. He knelt next to her, reaching out to touch her face, but pulled back before he made contact. He knew his fingers would be cold, and somehow he felt that Buffy would recognize that. The last thing he needed added to this night would be one of his best friends turning him to dust.
So he watched. Watched as her chest rose and fall with her now-normal breathing. Listened to the staccato of her heart. He could smell the blood and knew that a few things inside were broken. But just as he knew that, he knew they were healing as well. Whatever Tara and Willow had done seemed to be working, but Xander felt the slight static charge coming off the sleeping princess. Could practically hear it working inside.
Now that he had seen for himself that she’d be okay, he turned to go. He got to the door, and turned around. Went back and picked her up, carrying her like a bride through the threshold and remembering that not that long ago, that had been his fantasy. Strange how things turn out, he thought.
He laid her on the table, finding more displaced fabrics and blankets and alter dressings to create a pillow and cover her up. He’d just draped a sarong over the silent slayer when he felt darkness creeping into the store. Suddenly the already gray room seemed to dip a few shades blacker. He felt his hackles raise, and without realizing it, his game face slipped into place.
Turning towards the window and now-missing door, he saw that the fog had intensified once more, even more dense than when they had first ventured into it. He couldn’t even see the sidewalk outside of the doorway. Something in him was begging for light, and he decided that light would be a good idea.
He quickly ran through the room, gathering whatever candles that were still usable and brought them back to where the girls were sleeping. A couple dozen or so, he lit most of them in that area, but spread them out towards the front of the building. Finally, once the darkness seemed to creep back away from the glowing shop, he felt himself relax. He shook the demon face away, and went back to the table. Righting an overturned side-table, he propped it next to his girls and sat on it, keeping his eyes on the front of the store, watching as the haze outside continued to swirl and churn suspiciously. Every now and a again, he’d glance back towards the training room, because back there, he could feel the darkness seeping in. He could taste the vapor and the wrongness of the mysterious mist.
So he watched and he waited. He stood guard, knowing for the first time that he really could protect his family.
It wasn’t long before Spike returned with Xander’s truck. He backed it up to the shop entrance, stopping when the bumper hit brick. Xander gave an inner wince, but decided now was not the time to pick a snarkfest.
First they transported Buffy from the table to the truck bed, grabbing as much soft clothing and scraps of fabric and pillows to make her comfortable. Then they loaded the books around her, leaving just enough room for someone to sit in the truck bed to keep an eye on Buffy. Surprisingly, Spike hopped in the back, slithering into the tight space next to her. Xander closed up the hatch, and held open the door for Willow and Tara to slide into the cab.
After checking again on the back passengers, Xander got in and started the truck, shifting gears and pulling away from the rubble. They weren’t ten feet away when they heard another small explosion, but this time they knew what it was. What was left of the Magic Box had just caved in on itself. Xander glanced back and could see through heavy curtains of swirling mist to see that what had once been a business was now only a pile of bricks and wood.
The three of them in the cab exchanged a glance, and Xander looked back to find Spike sharing the same look. None of them spoke, but all felt and thought the same thing: something was in the darkness, something stirred secretly in the fog. Something was watching them and waiting, stalking.
Without another thought, Xander hit the gas and soon they were tearing through the streets of Sunnydale much faster than they should have been, considering the potent grayness surrounding them. Even as they got further and further from the broken shop, Xander still had the nagging feeling that something was watching them. He felt like he was being hunted…and didn’t like it.
Everywhere else in southern California, daylight was breaking. But here in Sunnydale, the sun didn’t shine. The day seemed as dark as night, and the evening’s visitor of fog and mystery still hadn’t lifted.
Xander looked out the window of their apartment, searching the shadowy clouds that roamed the streets for something, anything, that could give him a clue of what it was that was waiting for them. He felt Spike’s arms around him, his chin on his shoulder, peering out the window with him.
“Whatever it is, it won’t come in, Xander. It likes the darkness, the secrecy. Can’t come in here so long as we’ve got the lights burning, love.” Softer words and tender kisses at his ear, and Xander felt himself relax into the strong arms holding him.
“What is it, Spike?” Xander asked quietly. He turned around and shared the hug, wrapping his arms around Spike needing and possessive.
“Don’t know, love. But we’ll get through it, yeah? S’what we do, isn’t it?” Spikes words were soft and passionate. Truth tinged with fear.
“God, what about Giles? How are we going to find him?” Xander wondered. They’d all come to the conclusion that whoever was out there, whoever had downed the Magic Box had taken the watcher. They just didn’t know who, and they didn’t know where.
“We’ll find the librarian, Xan. Just need a little time, that’s all. And we’ve got nothing but time,” Spike whispered.
Xander leaned his head on Spike’s shoulder, enjoying the comfort and the protection he felt there. Behind them, he saw Willow and Tara passed out on the couch, a blanket draped over them and their arms tightly knitted around each other. Buffy was in the bedroom, wrapped tightly in blankets and still fast asleep.
No sound stirred in the blackened morning, and it felt like for once, the residents of Sunnydale knew better than to venture out of their homes. No traffic in the streets, no buses or bicyclers. Not even a paperboy wandered the sidewalks to deliver the days news. It felt like the town had been paused. Xander wondered briefly if they were the only ones still alive, still here. Maybe everyone else had disappeared and now the five of them were all alone.
Xander sighed into Spike’s shoulders, feeling exhausted himself and ready to crash. He was just about to suggest they curl up on the floor next to the couch when they heard Buffy scream from the bedroom.
Xander and Spike raced to the bedroom to find Buffy thrashing wildly in the bed, tearing the sheets and blankets covering her. They ran to her to grab her arms before she hurt herself, trying to hold her down until the nightmare passed. Xander glanced to the door to find the two witches staring in horror at the scene that reminded them all too much like the Exorcist.
Finally, the slayer stopped thrashing and kicking, and soon her breathing and heartbeats were back to normal. Her eyes slowly inched open, taking in the room. She was shivering, and her lips were trembling. Her hazel eyes were dark with worry, and Xander could smell fear dripping from her like a broken faucet.
“The shadows, the shadows!” She half-whispered, half choked. “Don’t let the darkness in!”
“Buffy, what do you mean?” Xander asked, worried and almost as scared as she.
“They’ll come through the shadows, don’t let them in!” She howled, her eyes staring, but not at them.
“What do you mean, they’ll come through the shadows? Buffy, what do you mean?” Willow asked, crouching beside Xander and laying a hand on Buffy’s thigh.
“They’re coming, they’re coming!” She screamed again, louder and screeching. “Don’t let them in, don’t let the dark in!”
Spike and Xander looked at each other, both feeling it coming. Neither was surprised by the next turn of events: the bedside lamps that were glowing brightly slowly dimmed and blinked out, allowing the shadows to seep into the room.
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Turning towards the window and now-missing door, he saw that the fog had intensified once more, even more dense than when they had first ventured into it. He couldn’t even see the sidewalk outside of the doorway. Something in him was begging for light, and he decided that light would be a good idea.
Ooh, creeeeepy.
*bounce*
Nice chapter, bay-bee!
Giles!!
*gulp*
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Damn good chapter!! Sheesh and here I though you're brain was fried. Great job. Xander's vampirism is going to be out soon I feel. If anything Tara's gonna tease it out of him. Love that. And the general creepiness of the fic? Just...damn. That's good.
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Thank you, sugar!
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Thank you, darling!
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Love this whole thing. And my GOD, my brain is not working. It takes me almost ten minutes to write this?
It was YOU. Your fic fried it. O.o
Nice work. ^_~
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Thank you!
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And bonus points for mentioning Bunnicula. Hee, LOVE Bunnicula and Chester and Harold and Howie...~_^
Looking forward to more sweetie!
~Nebula
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I totally thought that I was the only one who would get the Bunnicula thing. :)
Thank you, hon!
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And the end of this thing is too freaking suspenseful and scary. Don't you know I'm askeered of the dark, Brad? *reaches out for your hand*
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*takes your hand*
Shhh...that boy from the grudge will hear you and kill you in your sleep! *is askeered*
*evol laugh*
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*whaps that Grudge whelp over the head with a tire iron and gives his mum a cough drop for chrissakes*
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Check out my post from earlier - a commercial for the movie was on and it scared the bajeezus out of me.
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*runs to go check out your post*
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Creepy is good.
*chews on a hangnail waiting for more*
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Glad you like:)
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All in due time, my pretty, all in due time *cackles*
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Awwww Xander/Spike comfort cuddles. So cute.
And gee suddenly the title comes into play just a teensy bit. Who would have figured. :-D.
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Actually when I wrote the first part, it was supposed to be a standalone, but the title actually comes from the song Spike sings in Chapter 2 :)
Hee! Glad you like!
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Thank you hunny:)