*****

From childhood's hour I have not been,
As others were - I have not seen
As others saw - I could not bring
My passions from a common spring -

From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow - I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone -
And all I lov'd - I lov'd alone.
Then - in my childhood - in the dawn
Of a most stormy life - was drawn

From ev'ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still -

From the torrent, or the fountain -

From the red cliff of the mountain -

From the sun that round me roll'd
In it's autumn tint of gold -

From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by -

From the thunder, and the storm -
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

-------------
"Alone"
Edgar Allen Poe

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"The power couplings are shot, and thrusters will fail in twenty minutes." Obi-Wan's report of their disastrous predicament was delivered in calm tones, but Qui-Gon could sense the unease that lay just underneath.

"Might as well burn all we have, there's no use saving it."

Obi-Wan looked sharply at his older lover. He had never seen defeat in his Master's eyes before. The elder Jedi had been the poster child for 'There's always a possibility.' Obi-Wan blinked questioningly at Qui-Gon, who shook his head sadly. Obi-Wan felt his insides tighten, then took a breath and centered on the Force. Qui-Gon brought up the image in their rear view screen. A huge star cruiser was bearing down on them, no longer even bothering to fire shots at them. The small Jedi craft was toast, and everyone knew it. In hindsight, Obi-Wan decided they had been tricked into coming to this desolate portion of space by the Sith. Considering the entire Jedi Council had been invited, the loss of two Knights was far more acceptable odds. Unless you happened to be one of the unfortunate Knights.

A smaller craft peeled away unnoticed from the cruiser and headed for the Jedi ship. In it flew a nearly gleeful Darth Maul. He altered his course to intercept the smaller ship and thanked the Dark Side his Master had given him this gift. After loosing to the two Jedi on Naboo, he had endured severe punishment at his Master's hands and he was eager to return to his graces, such as they were. Sidious had commanded he board the Jedi craft and subdue the pilots so that they could be interrogated and, if Maul was very good, tortured. Maul knew he must not return to his Master's cruiser without them. The Dark Lord would fry him like a chicken wing.

"Master...." Obi-Wan scowled as he peered at his control panel. "There's a really weird anomaly off our port bow..."

Qui-Gon rose to look over his lover's shoulder. "Hmmmm. A wormhole of sorts. The readings are off the scale though, I've never seen one with this sort of power fluctuation." Both men stole a glance at each other. Was it better to be blown to bits at the hands of their enemy, or brave the unknown? "Obi-Wan, set a course for that wormhole. We have just enough time to make it, and they won't risk using tracking devices so close to one of this size."

It was too late by the time the cruiser's Captain finally figured out the Jedi's suicide plan. Sidious ordered the ship to halt, no sense in accidentally dieing himself. He watched, bemused, as the wormhole sucked in the hapless Jedi ship. To his astonishment, Maul's tiny craft followed shortly behind. It irked him slightly that he would have to train yet *another* apprentice, but he did tell Maul not to return to the ship without the pilots. Damn! Sometimes Maul could be so literal.

Obi-Wan was quite sure he never, *ever* wanted to do this again. Ever. The wormhole did nasty things to a person when you got right down to it. His insides felt as if they were stretched across the known galaxy, and at the same time he felt as if he were being squished into a small cavity in his left molar. He vaguely heard Qui-Gon making some awful noise, and then it all went blissfully black.

* * *

Qui-Gon snuffled and twitched an arm. It collided with a soft, warm body which moaned. Gathering his wits, he rose from the deck of his ship and peered at his instruments. A shiny, blue planet whirled slowly in the view port, but the navigation computers had no name for it. In fact, it appeared as if the instruments were as disoriented as the passengers. The readings they were giving were quite unbelievable, especially the chronometer, which was trying to assure him he was several thousand years into the future. Qui-Gon snorted. Assured that no hull breaches had occurred and they still possessed air, Qui-Gon helped his Padawan back into his chair, gently caressing a cheek in reassurance, until blue eyes peered fuzzily at him. He smiled and gently nudged the young mans lips with his own, happy that they were both alive.

"Mmmm...Master?"

"It appears we survived the trip my love, although to where, I have no real idea." He nodded at the orb just outside their ship. "We are in orbit around a planet with acceptable atmosphere and water levels." His fingers flew over various panels. "However, our ship is operating at less than peak efficiency and our fuel levels have dropped." At that moment, a standard issue NASA hammer collided like God's own fist with their navigational array and blew it to shit.

Obi-Wan winced. "We're going to crash, right?"

"Like a stone. Fasten your seat belt."

If the Jedi had been less concerned about controlling their dive into the planet's atmosphere, they might have noticed the small ship several hundred miles to their left. It was sleek, black, and drifting in space, it's pilot too busy trying to knit all his neurons back together to worry about anything that was happening outside his own skull. Eventually, he felt evolved enough to crawl back into his seat and try and figure out his next move. His sensors showed the Jedi craft plummeting to the surface, but no signs of his Master's heavy cruiser, which brought a frown to his wildly tattooed face. You just couldn't hide a ship that size. Reaching out to the Dark Side of the Force, he clearly felt the evil signature of his Master on the planets surface. Something had obviously gone amiss. His Master's ship may have crashed, and the Dark Lord would no doubt appreciate Maul coming to pick him up.

As he tapped in the coordinates, he became intrigued at the lack of focus he sensed in the dark Force coming from the planet. He deftly swung his craft towards the edge of a large land mass and made plans to slay his Master should the elder Sith be too weak to defend himself.

* * *

Obi-Wan poked at the keys of their ships control panel. There was no way this bucket was getting off the ground, not without some serious parts and fuel. Slipping the flight recorder into his pocket, he stepped outside to discuss the need to find some civilization. He spotted his Master a few yards off, already knee deep in some gently swaying grass, his hair blowing in small wisps about his face.

"The Force is strong here Obi-Wan, and this area seems wholly unspoiled."

Obi-Wan sighed. In Master-speak, that meant 'Padawan training schedule will continue.'

"Master!"

Qui-Gon whirled as Obi-Wan raced closer to him. Both Jedi watched in silence as a huge creature loomed out of the trees and began caressing the ship with a flexible tentacle. It had tiny eyes for a creature of its size, but they finally spotted the two Jedi and trumpeted noisily at them, its ears flapping outward to make its head appear even larger. The two men ignited their sabers to try and scare off the beast, but she was having none of that. Several more of the huge beasts joined the first and they began nudging the ship with their tusks, rocking the tiny space craft. The Jedi hastily covered their ears as the sounds of screeching metal echoed across the plain as several animals trampled their ship. Both men tried summoning the Force to calm the beasts, but within a small amount of time, the behemoths had reduced their only way off the planet into a lump of crumpled slag. Satisfied that this weird thing was no longer a danger to them, the beasts moved off in a stately line, their face tentacles swinging in triumph. Obi-Wan sighed as Qui-Gon wrapped his arms around his shoulders. At least they were alive and uninjured.

* * *

Half a world away, Darth Maul had swung his own ship into the planets atmosphere. He had immediately come under scrutiny from some primitive aircraft until a weather balloon had glided close to his ship, and then the aircraft lost interest and moved off. He had monitored the communications aboard the simple plane and wondered what a "UFO" was, but shrugged it off. His Master's dark Force was calling him like a beacon the closer he flew to the planet, and he silently glided to the surface under the cover of darkness. Settling the ship down in what appeared to be a sprawling machine graveyard, he hopped out and assured himself it was well camouflaged amongst the other heaps of metal. Working the controls of his wrist bracelets, three mechanical orbs, bristling with antenna, floated out from the bowels of the ship and hovered before their master like obedient pups. Maul programmed them to scan for the Jedi and downloaded the coordinates he had calculated when he had seen the Jedi ship go down. He realized the Jedi were most likely quite a distance away, but he felt the need to find out what had happened to his Master as well. The probes would report back the exact location of the Jedi, and then he would waste no time in dragging them to kneel before Sidious. With a smug snarl, Maul locked up his ship and strode off.

A mile later he found himself in another sprawl, this time block upon block of box like dwellings. Struck by the uniformity of the architecture and landscaping, he had silently peered into the windows of several of the houses to get a better idea of the beings that lived here. Curiously, every single last one of the inhabitants were shaped exactly the same. He surmised the planet was one not currently on the maps of the known galaxy, and would be ripe for Sith control. No wonder his Master had been drawn here! Opening himself to the Dark Side of the Force, Maul was suddenly overloaded by the amount of pain and despair these beings were wallowing in, and he collapsed in the foliage with a lusty groan. Inside the dwelling, a small mammal began to create an unholy racket, and was soon let out the door. The furry ball of anger raced around the house to stand and yap at him until Maul snarled at the beast. Yipping its fear, the pathetic creature ran back to the door, clawing to get back in. Maul moved silently off.

Further examination revealed every home had a large communications box situated somewhere in the living quarters, and Maul spent an hour listening and watching. He realized one of the languages he knew was somewhat close to what was being displayed on the boxes, and set himself the task of learning the rest of it to better assist his Master in the conquering of this unspoiled planet. The more he learned, the more excited he grew about the potential of these people to be lured to the Dark Side. They were a hedonistic race and caught up in pettiness, jealousy and deceit. And sex. Save for the very young, the entire race seemed focused on mating. Apparently, this species had conquered their planet and was bent on populating it to the fullest. There appeared to be only two sexes, although the shape and size of either varied greatly. One dwellings communications box was displaying nothing but mating situations, and Maul spent another half hour watching it. Purely for research purposes.

Satisfied that he learned enough to be somewhat fluent, and that he had finally found out what "hooters" were, Maul began trying to locate his Master. The planet seemed to have a weird affect on his abilities however; he could not pinpoint the source of the Dark Force that seemed to fairly throb here. He had wandered the streets until he heard the sound of a battle being fought in the dark. Wrapping his hood around his head, he flowed like smoke towards the scuffle.

"Uh..."

"Eeerf...."

Slipping between a line of small trees, Maul saw one of the dominant species smacking the hell out of another biped, who was obviously of a different race as he sported two large horns on his head and a brilliant red crest behind them. Both combatants seemed interested in killing each other, but what was so intriguing was that the horned creature was so much larger than the other, yet it was losing badly. Maul sensed the Force was strong with the smaller, female creature, yet she barely controlled any of it. Her speed and agility impressed Maul, despite the obvious lack of finesse. Compared to her, Maul was poetry in motion. He sensed another, more stronger Force presence, and locked eyes with a red-headed member of the dominant species across the small clearing. This one had more control, but at the moment her fear overrode everything else. That is, until she found her tongue.

"Buffy! There's another one!"

She pointed straight at Maul, and the other female, who had just broken the back of the large creature she had been fighting, somersaulted towards him without missing a beat. He was ready for her though and easily sidestepped her blow, knocking her legs out from under her. He didn't exactly want to kill her just yet, he was more interested in gaining control of these unfocused Force users. The female rolled with her fall and rose easily to her feet, only to take a backhand from Maul to her ribcage which sent her stumbling, the wind momentarily leaving her. To his astonishment though, a blow which would have left a grown man gasping only seemed to slow her long enough to narrow her eyes at him.

"Hey, you're not a Cluster Demon. What the hell are you?"

Maul stood at the ready, wondering what prompted this species to obliterate any other sentient life form. Part of his mind salivated at the thought of legions of these beings, trained by the Sith to focus their strengths, overrunning planets and conquering worlds for them. He stared silently at the small human.

"Is that your final answer? That's okay, you'll be too dead in a minute to worry about it."

However, as she prepared to renew her attack, three of the horned creatures burst into the clearing and set about causing mayhem and bodily harm. Two of the creatures concentrated their efforts on the slim female, and Maul grabbed the horn of the third as it went running by, whipping it around to face him. Despite his lofty goals to gain control of the beings on this planet, the small skirmish with the female had his blood racing and Maul needed to let off some steam. The creature only lasted a few seconds in his hands however, and Maul stepped back towards the trees, leaving the female to live or die by her fighting abilities. Maul decided he'd better find his Master or there would be hell to pay. As he slipped quietly away, he turned back to see the red headed Force user watching him, instead of the battle, as he strode away.

* * *

Qui-Gon smiled down at his Padawan; he so enjoyed watching Obi-Wan getting all paternal. His Apprentice cradled the baby on his lap and tried to keep the squirming bundle from dropping to the floor. The baby squalled its annoyance and rooted for the lost nipple, managing to cover its face in warm, sticky milk. Obi-Wan made universal baby-shushing noises and sent out tendrils of calming Force as he brought the rubber nipple back into range. Satisfied and eager sucking noises followed, and Obi-Wan looked up at his Master, a beatific smile plastered on his face.

"She's beautiful Master, isn't she?"

Qui-Gon cuddled his young lover closer. "Now who's coddling pathetic life forms? Just mind those....."

"Aah! Ouch!"

"....claws." Obi-Wan bit his lip as a bright red line formed on his arm. He would have to be more careful. Even as an infant, the lioness still wielded formidable weaponry. Qui-Gon absently played with Obi-Wan's braid as he watched the young animal suckling.

After their ship had been destroyed, the two Jedi had wandered in the bush, supposedly looking for civilization, but in reality just trying to keep from being eaten by the local fauna. Happily, they had stumbled across a truck load of tourists on a tour of the nature reserve, and had bummed a ride. In their Jedi robes, they looked like holy men on some sort of pilgrimage, and were given a room and water at the small inn in the tiny village. Obi-Wan had formed an alliance with a young woman who was running a wildlife refuge, and had been teaching the Jedi the English language in exchange for help with some chores.

The two Jedi were experts at picking up foreign communication, and their ability astounded their benefactor. But while Obi-Wan was learning the basic care of orphaned lions, Qui-Gon had been allowed the use of the young woman's research computer, and what he found had disturbed him. No one on this entire planet had ever left their own solar system, and many believed they were the sole beings in the entire universe. There was also no sign that this planet was even on the path of any regular trade routes from other systems. Qui-Gon had no idea what he had expected when they had plunged into the wormhole, but the overwhelming sense of isolation wasn't something he was used to. Even the Force seemed different here, although the Jedi Master could definitely sense the Dark Side somewhere on this planet. His apprentice flaunted his youth, adapting quickly to the idea that they were going to spend the rest of their lives on this primitive ball of dirt, and as long as Qui-Gon was by his side, he was a happy little Jedi. Qui-Gon sighed and nuzzled the young man as he nursed the baby lion, wondering why he had the sense that, despite the evidence, they were not alone on this isolated planet.

*****
Part 2:

Maul walked the dim streets, looking for a good place to make his base camp. Since it was proving more difficult than he had anticipated to locate his Master, he was going to need somewhere quiet to meditate and zero in on the elder Sith's location. He came across some sort of rock garden, and easily vaulted over the thin iron fencing. It was blessedly quiet here with no artificial light sources, being some distance from the row upon row of dwellings. Aside from small animals scurrying in the underbrush, the area seemed deserted. The rocks were relatively uniform and arranged in straight rows; it seemed the dominant species craved linear order. He stooped to inspect several rock faces, and discovered they were marred with the written language of the species. Apparently the horned beings he had seen being fought in the clearing were not the only subspecies on the planet, as there were several carvings and sculptures of a bi-pedal winged creature.

A soaking rain began to fall on the serene garden, and Maul snarled. He had been trained in all forms of grueling combat under every conceivable condition, and he hated being wet the most. It soaked into his cloak and robes, adding weight and constricting maneuverability. He spied a stone shelter a few yards off and sprinted for it. Crumbling steps lead down to heavy wooden doors and Maul used the Force to pop them open. Closing the doors against the downpour, he was surprised to see a small lamp on a table along the far wall, throwing its cheery light into the gloom and highlighting a thick mist of dust. Beside the lamp stood one of the communication boxes he had seen in every dwelling he had looked into. He sniffed the air. While there was a musty and sour odor to the place, it didn't appear as if anyone had been in there for quite some time. He worked the controls of the box and watched for a few minutes, but then a bolt of lightning struck very close and the unit lost the signal. Maul snorted at the primitive technology.

He looked for other signs of habitation, but found only a moldering couch. What he did find when he searched for the source of the odor of decay caused him some surprise. Applying the Force, he moved a flat stone slab that lay on top of a square stone box. Originally he thought food may have once been stored there and become rotten, but among the rags that lay at the bottom, he could make out a skull and other bone structures. This was obviously what remained of a dead body, but its placement was so deliberate. Maul scratched absently at a horn. He had seen bodies decaying before, being the cause of quite a number of them, yet in all the civilizations he knew throughout the galaxy, bodies of people who had next of kin who cared for them were either eaten or burned. No civilized race packed their people up and let them be reduced to slime; everyone knew that led to things like disenchanted non-corporeal beings coming back to make your life hell. He looked again at the lamp, communications box and seat. No doubt these were placed here to encourage the spirit of this dead person to stay in the stone shelter, to mimic the dwellings of the living and leave off annoying whoever had callously left them to rot. He replaced the slab of stone just as he heard footsteps coming down the stone stairway. Pulling up his cowl, he melted into the shadows to wait.

One heavy door flew open and a wet and grumbly being strode in, shaking water off of it's leather coat. It was one of the dominant species, a male in his prime. He had shockingly pale hair, a lithe body and piercing eyes which scanned the darkness and spotted Maul easily. He had a short, lighted stick in his mouth which he flung across the room in aggravation, and took a few steps into the room, stopping with an exasperated sigh. Maul strode into the light so the being could see his face. More than one encounter had taught Maul how intimidating his visage could be, and he used it to his advantage. Unfortunately, the being seemed wholly unimpressed.

"Look, I don't care *how* bad the weather is, these are my digs. Take your red and black demon ass outside."

Maul blinked, uncomprehending. "Your...digs?"

"My digs, my flat, my house. Go find your own." Carelessly he turned towards the table and began to empty his pockets onto it.

"You...live among your own dead?" The very idea was an aberration, and aberrations had a way of turning Maul on, and consequently making him jealous as he often wished he had thought of it.

Spike sneered. "Crypts, as a rule, don't come empty."

"That is so....are you Sith?"

Spike, not willing to show he had no idea what a Sith was, turned his full attention on Maul. "No, I'm British, hence the adorable accent. Now, you're still here. What part of 'get the fuck out' is getting past you?"

Maul studied the man, who was obviously ready to defend his territory. The Dark Lord could understand that, even though it would make no difference in the end. Maul would eliminate the stranger and stay wherever he wished. He locked eyes with him as he slowly pulled his hood off and removed his cloak, marginally flexing his knees in anticipation.

"Errooooo...aren't we the horny lil' devil." Spike watched Maul removing his outer cloak, revealing a trim body underneath, robed all in jet black. This demon wasn't butt ugly as demons tended to be, and he had to admit to himself he rather liked the tribal markings this demon wore, radiating a primal sexuality.

He was jolted from his musing as the Sith Lord launched himself into a flip that would bring him down squarely onto Spike's head. Spike's instincts lead the vampire to dive to the right, rolling on the floor until he was back on his feet. He came up blocking, which was a good thing as Maul's fist was already coming at his face. Unfortunately, the other hand gripped Spike by the collar and, with a push from the Force, sent the vampire flying across the crypt. Maul heard a muffled, crunching sound and watched dispassionately as the blonde landed in a heap in the dust. There was no movement for several seconds, and Maul cocked his head, listening for his opponents breath. The body was silent and Maul walked towards it, wishing the being hadn't died so quickly. He had been looking forward to studying this one more. He had displayed much spirit.

In what was becoming a bad habit, Maul stood over his defeated enemy, much as he had looked down upon the defeated Jedi at Naboo. His Master had punished him severely for it, as it was what had allowed the Jedi to turn the tables on him and escape. And apparently the punishment was justified, as Maul's legs were struck out from under him by the very much alive blonde man. Maul landed on his backside with a "whuff," and caught his pale aggressor by the shoulders as the man dove on top of him. Holding the blonde inches from his own face, Maul stared into startling blue eyes, eyes which danced with killing joy, as the vampire twisted his fists into Maul's robes.

"You weren't expecting that, were you Sunshine?" Spike drove his knees into Maul's sides, compressing his ribcage as he straddled him. "Well, I'm bloody full of surprises." With that he morphed into his game face. It was the face of the true vampire, complete with pointed fangs and eyes the color of Maul's own, which were widened in surprise, and it was damn hard to surprise a Sith. There were many diverse creatures in the galaxies Maul had seen, but none of them could change their appearance so drastically, and none had been advanced bipeds. Maul scowled, trying to puzzle out how it had been done. He had definitely felt a twinge of the Dark Force when the blonde had changed.

"How did you do that?"

Spike momentarily halted his assault on the demon, snickering slightly. "What? You act like you've never seen a vampire before."

"You said you were a British."

Spike's heavy brow furrowed and he choked back laughter. "What rock did you crawl out from under?"

"What is a vampire?"

This caused Spike to grin uncontrollably. "You really *are* a sheltered thing, aren't you?" He leaned his full weight onto Maul, pushing more of the Sith's breath from his body. Maul half considered shoving him off, but for now he was enjoying the feel of a well toned body pressing into his own. Besides, the close quarters allowed him to scrutinize the vampire's face, looking for trickery.

"I'm Nosferatu. You know, the undead?" Spike waited for comprehension to dawn in the demon's eyes, but he never was a patient man, and launched into a Monty Python Lumberjack song. "Oh....I'm a vampire, and I'm all right. I sleep all day, drink blood all night. I wear lea-ther, I kill peo-ple...OOOF!" Maul neatly flipped the blonde onto his back, looming over him, trapping the man's arms above his head. Spike stared up into those piercing yellow eyes as Maul's velvety voice washed over him.

"You are a parasite."

Spike sighed. "Don't put it that way. I'm more of a trader, really. People give me their blood, I occasionally let them live. See? Even trade." The vampire could feel Maul's steely muscles across his pelvis and the power in the arms that held him splayed against the cold floor. The eyes of this demon seemed intent on mapping his face and he felt them scan over his upper torso like a tangible thing. He watched the demon lower his face towards him slightly, and realized he was being scented. Deciding tit for tat, he sucked in a deep breath. The being had a fabulous odor, quite unlike any demon Spike had ever come across. He smelled of warmth and blood; human like blood, but with a slightly spicy smell. It was an oddity, but the bloodhunger inside Spike wasn't going to be picky. He wriggled his hips and felt the demon press his pelvis down fractionally. It was all Spike needed to know, and while the demon didn't release the pressure on his arms one bit, he did flick his attention back to Spike's face, which had orphed back to normal.

"Speaking of trade, let's think about this. We can spend our time throwing each other across the room until I lose my temper and kill your sorry ass, or we can....trade." Maul stared unblinking into his eyes, which made the vampire squirm, but he turned it into a sensuous roll of his hips to hide it.

"A trade?"

"Yeah..." Spike calculated. If the chip allowed him to fight and kill demonic beings, perhaps it would allow him to feed off them as well? It was worth a shot, his bloodhunger informed him. "You let me have a tiny taste of you, I'll spit polish your knob." Spike cranked up the charm and curved his pouty lip into a grin.

Maul considered. "Polish my...knob?"

Spike sighed, growing exasperated with the density of this demon. "Yeah, you know. Polish the knob, swallow the snake, toss back a warm margarita?" Maul continued to stare. "Oh for the love of.....were you raised in a nunnery or something?"

Acting swiftly, Maul leapt to his feet, dragging his captive up with him until they stood face to face. Spike was an inch or so taller than he was, but height meant nothing when dealing with a Sith. Spike's free hand immediately flew to his crotch, and Maul finally pieced together what the man had been offering him. He also realized belatedly his sexual organs had dropped out of his body cavity and were beginning to swell. The blonde smiled warmly at him and fondled him expertly, forcing Maul to think back on how long it had been since he had relieved himself sexually. His Master demanded much from his Apprentice, which was his right, but it occupied nearly all of Maul's time and it was not his Master's concern if his Apprentice's sex life was active or not. The fingers outlining his stiffening prick reminded Maul how inactive that life had been recently, and he felt a tiny shudder run through the inside of his body, though outwardly he had not moved.

"So, how 'bout it Tarzan? I promise not to...well, okay, that's a lie. It *will* hurt, but it'll be a *good* hurt. You'll like it, trust me." Spike backed Maul up against the wall and grinned to himself. "I don't normally *do* demons mind you. But you look very nummy."

Maul had no intentions of letting this being drink his blood, but having his "knob" polished was something he felt he could fit into his schedule. It was still pouring outside and he still had not been able to even sense what direction his Master was in. The blonde reached the fastenings of his robe and was slowly undoing them, moving cautiously as one would when hand feeding a dangerous animal, which wasn't far from reality. Their eyes locked as Maul felt the cool air kiss his torso, the blonde pushing the material aside. The vampire ran both hands over his nipples with a tickling touch and grinned as they bubbled to points. He finally tore his gaze from Maul's and glanced down at the body before him. As he had hoped, the demon was well muscled, but not huge. Smooth black and red skin goosebumped under his touch and Spike warmed his hands on the heat radiating from it.

"Mmmmmm. I wondered which you were," Spike mused as his fingers traced the red whorls down over the collarbone and onto Maul's chest where they swirled in jagged zig zags around his nipples. "I couldn't decide if you were red on black, or black on red." Maul offered no explanations, so Spike lowered himself to his knees, tugging open the catches at Maul's pants and finding the markings arrowed straight to his impressive cock. The blonde was rather shocked to find Maul possessed no pubic hair, and glanced quickly upward to his bald head, thinking he was probably lucky the guy didn't have a patch of tiny horns down there as well. He hissed in appreciation as Maul's cock leapt free of the cloth. The markings continued on around the shaft, though the head was all black and leaking profusely. Spike was just relieved it was a fairly human looking cock, now that he had made the offer.

Despite his assertion that he was doing this for a drink of the demon's blood, Spike's mouth watered at the sight. Grasping the firm, painted organ, he nearly yelped at how hot it felt, then swirled his talented tongue around it, teasing and tasting. Maul rested easily back against the wall and removed his gauntlets, running his ebony fingers through the pale strands of hair on the vampire's head and impaling that wet mouth with his pole. The sensation drug a moan from deep within Maul, it *had* been a very long time. The visual of his red and black cock disappearing and reappearing from those pale lips kept time with the alternating hot and cold sensations as his cock drove in and out. The vampire looked up as Maul slipped in and out of his mouth and Maul groaned, feeling his ass being held in a tight grip by the man on his knees. The challenge in those eyes brought Maul to the next level of excitement, and his cock head twitched violently back and forth, causing the vampire to choke and gag.

Pushing the demon away, Spike looked accusingly at Maul. "What the bloody fuck was that?" Before he even had time to wipe spit from his lips though, Maul had knocked him to the floor, flipped the blonde onto his stomach and was hauling his pants down off his hips, while Maul used his weight to hold the vampire in place. Spike knew exactly what the demon intended, and while the sure hands tearing at his jeans were exciting, he wasn't exactly looking forward to being raped. "Hey! Slow down, Tarzan. I've got some lube that'll make us both feel better."

Maul understood the mechanics of sex with this species from watching the boxes and it was very similar to his own. Still, he wasn't entirely sure what awaited him inside, and he hesitated slightly. "Where is it?"

The blonde nodded at the table. "In the drawer." He squirmed to get up, but Maul kept him pinned to the floor. Spike was about to yell his frustration when he saw the drawer being opened by invisible hands. Fascinated, he watched as the contents came flying out of it and skittered across the stone towards them. He glanced back at Maul, seeing the focused concentration on his face, and he knew the demon had done it. "How the hell did you do that?" Maul didn't bother to answer, pawing through scattered contents until he found what he thought was most likely the lubrication. Tearing the top off with his teeth, he reached down and jammed the open end into Spike's rectum and squeezed.

"HEY!" Spike squirmed indignantly, although the hard, hot arm now wrapped around his waist didn't let him get far. "That's bloody cold you know!"

"Your body will warm it."

Spike snorted. "You're such a considerate lay." The vampire had the sneaky suspicion the demon intended to welch on his end of the deal, and when Maul drew back to aim his cock, Spike threw a leg over the horned head and spun onto his back. Maul growled his annoyance, but quieted when the man drew his knees up and offered himself. Maul blinked, rather surprised that Spike wasn't scrambling to get away from him, like most of the sensible beings Maul had forced himself on. Then he noticed the hard cock bobbing against the vampire's sleek stomach and realized this was turning the other man on, which only cranked his own libido up another notch.

"Are you gonna fuck me or shall I go get the Scrabble board?" Spike was wildly horny now and did not want to slow down. He shoved the demon with his foot, which earned him another warning growl, which sent shivers through the vampire. He *really* liked that sound. Maul immediately grasped him and, to Spike's great delight, shoved his organ home in one thrust, causing the ampire to hiss. The pain was intense, but Spike relished it until it faded. Maul pulled back, them rammed home again, starting to breath heavy. It was exquisitely tight and deliciously warm and Maul tunneled his way in as far as he could go. Setting a fast pace, Maul began pistoning into the pale body beneath him, and Spike began to moan. Unlike most of Maul's sexual encounters however, it was a moan of delight, not pain. Maul thrust harder, slamming against the man's hip bones hard enough to rattle teeth, but Spike merely threw back his head with a smile on his face.

"Awww.....come on Tarzan, show me what you've got...." Spike was drowning in sensation. He hadn't been boned this hard since his sire had gotten his soul back, and he had missed it. The demon's fingers bit into his hips cruelly, but they made Spike feel anchored. Each thrust brought that hot body hard against his and he loved the feeling of being filled and refilled, the thick organ moving in and out of him, completely out of his control. Maul growled and panted, shoved his cock deep into Spike and hit the vampire's happy gland. As it did when it had been down the blonde man's throat, his cock head twitched back and forth violently, the tip vibrating against the sensitive prostate.

"AHhhhhhhhhh!" Spike's eyes flew open and he jerked upward, causing Maul to lean back until the vampire was seated in his lap. "What the hell is......oh....oh fuck, oh......." Spike was beside himself with pleasure, each movement of the demon's cock head sending sparks flying throughout his body. He stared at Maul, who was moving him up and down on his vibrating member, seeing his own lust mirrored in half shuttered yellow eyes. Grabbing two horns on the side of his demon's head, Spike attacked those red and black lips, shoving his tongue into that luscious mouth. The cock in his ass shuddered faster, moving like the tail of a rattlesnake. Spike threw his head back and groaned for all he was worth while Maul latched onto a nipple and sucked hard. Spike's cock was nearly impaling Maul in the chest as the two men writhed against each other, and Maul spared a hand to glide fingers over the lubed tip. Spike hissed like a ruptured conduit, his eyes rolling back into his head. "Oh...harder...yes...come on baby...do't stop..." Maul went wild hearing the noises the vampire was making and pumped him roughly as the man bounced on his rigid member. Spike threw his head back and loudly announced he was cumming as a cool, creamy substance shot from the tip of the blonde's cock. The sight sent Maul over the edge and he roared his own delight, filling the other man with his essence.

Before Maul had even finished cumming, Spike worked his mouth under the demon's jaw line and his game face came up. Taking a steadying breath, he plunged his fangs into the dark skin and sealed his lips around the flow of blood. Maul moaned in either ecstasy or agony, the vampire didn't know which, nor did he care. Warm blood filled his mouth, tasting of sex and satisfaction, and something else Spike couldn't identify. He sucked greedily, one hand grasping the back of Maul's head, the other busy twiddling one of his nipples. Instead of trying to shove the vampire off, Maul wrapped his arms around him tighter, loving the feel of the man in his arms. Spike was a trim man, but his ass was very squeezable, and Maul let his fingers explore,stroking the area where his cock was still imbedded. The sensation of suckling at his neck only seemed to add to the sexual pleasure Maul had experienced and he was almost disappointed when Spike drew back, sealing most of the wound with laps of his tongue, his face returned to normal again.

"Mmmmm...yummy, but you taste kinda funny."

Maul watched the man swipe drops of blood from his lips and scowled in hazy thought. "Must be the midi-chlorians."

"Midi-what? You haven't got bloody bugs, have you?" Spike looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"No. Don't worry about it." Maul captured the vampire's tongue again in his mouth, sucking on it and clacking their teeth together. There was something quite heady about kissing this man, feeling the aggressive probing of the slick organ pushing against his own.

*****