Spike was awake and alert several minutes before he felt the tell-tale fidgeting at his groin, but decided to keep up the ruse of sleep. He snuffled and shifted as the Sith's hands roamed over his awakening erection, wondering if Maul would go to the trouble of undoing his jeans or if he would just rip them open. The mental image of that scene sent yet more of the vampire's precious blood supply to his cock, but it also sent a trickle of wariness down Spike's spine. He had never seen a demon like Maul before, although he wasn't exactly familiar with all the different kinds, but Maul struck him as being more powerful and cunning than most. The power drew Spike like a magnet; it was perhaps one of his more obvious turn-ons. Angelus had pulsed with power and Spike had spent many years worshipping that power, as well as his Sire's undead cock. Maul oozed a different kind of power, more like a leashed hurricane, the sort of thing that swooped down and killed you when you least expected it. Part of Spike would have loved to turn Maul and keep him as his vampiric companion, but his chip and that nagging wariness kept him from seriously longing for that. One thing was for sure, Spike could never let Maul know about his no-killing chip. The demon obviously respected nothing that showed weakness, and despite the tender strokes and sensual kisses, Spike held no illusions that he would be spared if Maul decided Spike was not a strong individual.

Spike shattered the illusion of sleep with a gasp and sensual arching of his back. Maul had managed to unzip him without ruining his jeans, freeing his swelling member and, after giving it a visual examination, was busy with a tongue exam. While Maul lacked some experience, he didn't let that shadow his enjoyment of the feeling of Spike in his mouth. Maul's tongue slid into crevices and lapped around the spongy head while his hand massaged the hardening shaft and his other hand fondled the twin sacks below. The Sith lord had been given blowjobs from various species throughout the galaxy, but they usually ended with Maul slamming his cock into the gagging mouth of whomever was on their knees, and he was dammed if that was going to happen to him. Which meant Spike never got deep throated, but he trembled and screamed and came just the same. Maul took great interest in Spike's seed, noting the difference in taste and texture from his Master. The vampire's essence was cool and salty but very smooth, unlike the slghtly gritty texture Maul was used to. He kissed his droopy-eyed lover, who was purring in satisfaction and whose hands were snaking down Maul's body and rubbing the front of his tunic.

Maul lazily rolled onto his back and presented Spike with his vulnerable belly, a rare move for the Dark Lord, but he felt no betrayal in the Force around the vampire. If Spike had hidden powers or weapons and wanted to kill Maul, he most likely would have done it by now. Spike might dawdle with the death blow but he didn't strike Maul as being stupid. What Spike was good at, however, was escorting Maul straight out of his mind with his hot mouth. It was all the Dark Lord could do to keep from writhing off the stone slab as the vampire slathered his cock with his tongue and pumped him with a familiarity that made Maul grin. Spike was a quick learner, and much too fast for Maul, he had ferreted out all the Sith's hot spots and had him cumming into his pale fist, watching fascinated as the head vibrated back and forth like a live thing. As Maul relaxed his back muscles and accepted a gentle, full mouthed kiss from the blonde, Maul thought he heard Spike's name echoing in the stone building, but decided he must have been mistaken. Sith generally didn't yell so loudly when they orgasmed, and certainly not with such emotion in their tone.

Spike finished his kiss and pulled back to look at Maul who was resting on his stone sarcophagus with half lidded eyes, lazily running his hands up and down the vampire's flank. Despite his need to maintain his image around Maul, Spike couldn't help but grin stupidly. His index finger traced a path around and through Maul's horns, causing the demon to shut his eyes completely in pleasure. Spike had to admit, he was seriously infatuated with this person, with his vibrating cock, his striking red markings and his compact, muscular body. Never had the vampire seen a demon that throbbed with such pure sensuality, and it made him wonder about Maul's origins and exactly which breed of demon he happened to be. Giles would know, or he would at least be able to find out for Spike in those dusty books he layered his living quarters with. The vampire gave Maul a quick nip on the lips and rolled off the sarcophagus, stretching and bending to slip on boots. He decided a trip to Giles''s place was definitely in order as the former librarian could immediately start his task of idenitfying Maul, and Spike could grab a bag of blood that was always kept in Giles' fridge. Maul rose and donned his leather accessories, then followed his lover out into the twilight, secretly hoping they would return to the house where that female made that fabulous food.

Under a blazing white moon, Spike and Maul encountered no opposition as they made their way to Giles' place. Spike noticed a van parked out front and opted to slip in the back way; entering stealthily would allow him to scope out what was going on and also piss off Giles to the maximum effect. Maul hesitated slightly as they entered, sensing waves of evil power pouring out of the living quarters. The strength was certainly not what he was used to sensing from the formidable Lord of the Sith, but even at half strength Sidious could probably do Maul serious damage. Winding through the darkened rooms, he kept close to the vampire, readying himself to deal the deathblow to his lover as soon as he spotted his Master. He shook with emotion at the thought of having to do this, but he pushed his emotions aside. He would deal with them after he left his Master's presence and could be alone.

Spike and Maul slipped around a corner and stopped, rather dumbstruck by the scene before them. In the middle fo the living room was what was once a short man in a dark blue jumpsuit. Radiating out from his torso and limbs were slick, black tentacles, some of which were wound tightly around a few people who were struggling and squirming to no avail. The entire room was bathed in a sickly green light which was brighter near the small man sporting the slimy tentacles, and there was an audible hum coming from him as well. The malice in the room was nearly tangible, and both men froze to eye up the situation. Maul cocked his head in curiosity, rather surprised that this being had such a similar signature of power as his Master, and relieved that he was not yet forced to kill his companion. Spike, on the other hand, was torn between being annoyed at this interruption to his plans for the evening and wondering how hard Buffy would bitch-slap him if he just sat on the couch and watched the festivities.

The Slayer was busy ripping a greasy black tentacle from Xander's throat, and apparently just in time as the young man's face had taken on a purplish hue. Xander's girlfriend Anya, the one time demon herself, was struggling like a wild cat, clawing at the tentacle that wound around her waist and was heading for her mouth. Giles was in the kitchen, watching in horror and trying to assist Willow and Tara. He had a large, antique looking ax blade in his hand, covered in black slime, an apparently useless weapon against the being in his living room. At that moment he spied Spike and was about to plead for help, but his eyes clearly said he didn't think Spike would lift a finger to help them, and his attention returned to the two distressed young women who were frantically chanting in Latin. Spike, irrationally insulted by Giles' assumption, flipped them all the bird and turned on his heel. "Let's blow, Mate." Just then the small blonde female Maul had seen using the Force on his first night surged with the power of the Force and squirmed enough to face them.

"Dammit Spike! You...."

Spike whirled, slipping into Game Face to sneer at the diminutive slayer. She never got to finish her tirade, however, as a tentacle squeezed around her face. Giles became rather frantic when he realized Buffy was not going to be able to overpower this demon. Having seen the remains of several grisly deaths in the area, Giles had assumed the victims had been assaulted by some sort of fire demon. Much to his dismay, the blackened and powdered corpses were actually victims of a life-force sucking menace who was able to drain your very being, even as you struggled to your death. His plan had been to rely on Buffy to distract the demon and hold it off while he, Willow and Tara used magic to weaken it enough to allow Buffy to kill it. For some reason, the spell they were attempting seemed to have a weak effect and the life-force of a slayer was only making the demon stronger. Giles gave Willow and Tara a weak smile and plunged into the fray, swinging what should have been killing blows to the tentacles surrounding Buffy until he himself was overpowered. Tearfully, Willow and Tara bent over their spell again and continued their chanting.

Spike rolled his eyes and turned his back on the whole display. "Well, that's one way to get rid of the...." At that moment Spike was jerked to the ground, his legs ripped out from under him by a tentacle twisting around them. Apparently there was enough life force animating a vampire to arouse the interest of this particular demon. Spike barely had enough time to gasp in shock before he was jerked across the room to lie close to the demon itself. Maul barely hesitated a second before his saber was out, a bright flash of red against the green glow being put out by the ever growing mass of tentacles in the room. A different kind of rage pulsed through the Sith. While he would have accepted the need to kill Spike himself, or even to understand his Master's need to do so, the thought of someone or something else touching *his* Spike was more than he would tolerate. Possessiveness ran rampant through his heart and he slashed at the tentacles holding Spike's legs. To Maul's dismay, while his saber made short work of the slimy, black ropes, even more tentacles shot out to replace them. Spike's hand frantically grabbed at Maul's robes as a tentacle wrapped across his nose and mouth.

"Turn that thing off! It's feeding it power!"

Maul spun towards the kitchen. The two female Force users were still standing, continuing to chant although they wore looks of despair on their faces. Maul understood what they were trying to tell him, but could not bring himself to abandon his weapon. As a tentacle began to wind around his ankle, he slashed his saber with one hand and groped with the other hand at the tentacle that was choking his lover. Spike's eyes opened to look straight at him, and Maul was thunderstruck at the emotion he saw. Spike was relaxing now, accepting his demise and revealing just how much Maul meant to him before he lost consciousness. Maul's heart nearly exploded. "No!" Throwing his training to the wind, he dropped his saber and tore at the slimy ropes with his hands. Two seconds later, the tentacle seemed to dry out and turn to powder, crumbling in his fist, as did the one that had wound around his leg in a vise grip. Not entirely sure what was happening, he thrashed around until he was free of the tentacles, grasping Spike by an arm and trying to pull him free. Unexpectedly a shriek of delight came from the kitchen area as Maul fell backwards, his grip on the vampire having slipped.

"That's it! It's him!"

"But....why?"

"I dunno...wait!"

Maul watched as Spike, who had shut his eyes and seemed to be quite dead, fell victim to the mass of tentacles again. The Sith knew he should leave this place, find his Master and get off this forsaken planet, but the thought of abandoning his lover weighed on him. Guilt was not something he was very familiar with, and he had very little defense against it. Just then a small hand gripped his shoulder and he was face to face with the female whose cooking had become legendary to him.

"It's him! It must still be in his system!"

As if to demonstrate, a tentacle whipped out and snagged Maul around the ankle, only to turn to dust as the red-headed Force user chanted her magical words. Her smile would have been beautiful if she hadn't returned her attention to the swarming mass of green glowing, black snakes that still held her friends. They didn't have much time, if it wasn't too late already. She grabbed Maul by the arm.

"Maul! You have to touch this thing while I say the words! You still have the spell in you!"

Maul, in true Sithly fashion, summed up the situation and decided on a bolder course than Willow would have ever imagined. As he had been trained to do, the Dark Apprentice went straight for the kill, which meant going for the heart of your enemy. Using the Force, he called his lightsaber to him and activated it, then wound an arm around the small woman and dragged her towards the demon. Before Tara could protest, he had sliced his way to the center of the mass and opened a huge hole through which he leapt, carrying Willow with him. The tentacles immediately formed around them and Tara screamed silently as her lover disappeared from view.

Inside the demon, Willow struggled in complete blackness to keep the walls from her face. She was gulping air in shock when she felt more than heard Maul hiss in her ear.

"Why are you waiting? Say the words!"

Calling on inner strength, she shoved the slippery mass away from her lips and chanted for all she was worth. Almost immediately she felt the weight crushing against her lighten and the substance under her palms become dry to the touch. The dull hum that the demon had been emitting ran up the audible scale until it was a screech which ended abruptly when Maul punched his fist through a section of the mass. Like a balloon being deflated, the whole demon collapsed as it turned to dust, cloaking the area in inches of fine, dark powder and leaving several large, dust-covered lumps lying on the floor. Willow shook the dust from her eyes and beamed at Tara. Tara quickly wiped her own damp cheeks and grinned back. A weak cough brought their attention back to the lumps on the ground and Willow hurried to Buffy's side.

"Wi..." Buffy coughed violently, stirring up more clouds of dust as she struggled to her knees. Willow wiped the grime from her friend's face, assured herself that Buffy would no doubt survive this and started shaking the next nearest lump. It turned out to be Xander, who came to and began retching and coughing uncontrollably. Tara was helping Anya, who was on hands and knees in a coughing fit. Willow spotted a Giles-sized lump and practically pounced on it. She flipped the former watcher onto his back, alarmed that he did not seem to be breathing, and opened his mouth to try and scoop out as much of the dry powder as she could find. Buffy, still hoarse and coughing, crawled over to help. She spooned around Giles and squeezed, bringing up most of the dust, until she felt his stomach muscles move under her arms. Giles spent the next few minutes hacking and shaking as his body dealt with the foreign substance in his lungs. Not one of them could speak yet, and they watched silently as Tara sensibly opened all the windows in the place.

Willow's memory poked her and she gasped. "Spike!"

Everyone turned towards the two men on the other side of the room. Maul had Spike in a complete embrace, craddeling the vampire close to his body and stroking his dust-streaked hair. The vampire was almost purring, blinking slowly in pleasure. They paid no attention to the rest of the people in the room and the looks they were exchanging left little doubt as to what was passing between them. Willow started and turned back to her friends to verify that she was seeing what she thought she was, and was not surprised to see the same look on everyone else's face. Buffy shrugged, dislodging dust from her slim shoulder and Giles merely arched a brow. Anya, who had made her way over to Xander's lap, paid Spike and Maul no attention while Xander remained silent, prevented from making any wisecracks by a threatening coughing fit. Eventually the gang struggled to its collective feet and the subject was set aside for the time being.

* * *

A short while later, Willow and Tara were busily vacuuming up the remainder of the dust and dumping it into containers. Now that Giles knew what kind of demon they had been fighting, he had looked it up and found the best way to keep it from returning was to scatter the dust over Holy ground and as soon as they were up to it, they all planned on making a visit to the cemetery. Unlike the humans, Spike was not as troubled by coughing spells, but he lounged in the kitchen with the rest of them. While vampires tended to mimic breathing because they had done so all their human lives and it helped them to blend in with humanity, they did not need to. Willow stood, brushing dust from her hands and scowled at him.

"Spike, you should cough more you know. That dust is still sitting in your lungs, even if you don't need to breathe."

Xander snorted. "Or we could just hook him up to the vacuum hose and flip the switch." Anya started to say something about "sucking being the other demon's job" but Xander shut her up by kissing her firmly.

Spike glared at Xander, but the look was lost on the young man as his girlfriend's lips were claiming all his attention. "You're just jealous." He turned his attention to his own lover, who was being coaxed by Willow into helping them clean the living room.

"Come on Maul, the others need to stay away and recover. You got about as much of this as I did and you're hardly affected."

Maul, who had begrudgingly left Spike's side to bring a container over to Tara, snorted. "Sith do not sweep."

Tara dumped another bag of dust into the container and sealed it shut, a cunning look on her face. "Ancient warriors took pride in knowing their job was complete when they could grind the remains of their enemies under their heels." She looked expectantly at Maul, but he knew she was trying to manipulate him and merely sneered at her before stalking back to the kitchen. Giles was perched on a stool, rapidly leafing through a huge book with yellowed pages.

"You're a...a Sith, you say? I'm not actually finding anything in this volume..."

Just then Willow and Tara announced the dust was packed and ready for transport. Spike and Maul followed the gang out and climbed in Giles' car along with the rest. They were headed towards the cemetery, and Spike decided he wanted to spend the rest of the night seeing if Maul could indeed suck any dust out of him from various orifices.

*****
Part 6:

"I don't understand it Master....they just keep coming!" There was a note of panic in Obi-Wan's voice which normally Qui-Gon would have taken him to task about, but right now the Jedi Master could appreciate it being there. They had finally reached the area that the Sith probe had originated from, and using the Force to ferret out where the Sith was hiding, had inadvertently woken the bizarre creatures who called this place home and had immediately come under attack. The stranger ones who sported horns and other weird appendages where not quite so bad. One flick of the saber and they stayed dead. The others, the pale imitations of most of the people who inhabited the planet, came just shy of freaking the two Jedi out. They were lightening quick and strong, and they tended to ignore the fact that the Knights had hacked off limbs and run them through with their lightsabers. They would collapse for a minute, then rise again and come after them with fangs dripping and revenge in their eyes. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had never seen anything quite like it and had judiciously taken shelter in a large stone building. The creatures kept at them, but at least there was cold stone at their backs.

Qui-Gon lopped off the head of the last being who had come into the stone building and stepped back to Obi-Wan's side. The smaller Jedi was panting from exertion and a small amount of fear. It was harder to center himself and feel the calming of the Force as he knew it here; this place practically oozed evil. Qui-Gon tried to slow his own breathing, listening to the noises coming from outside the building. There appeared to be another battle going on. Once they had caught their breath, he decided they would go outside to assist in the conflict if need be. They were Jedi Knights after all, and sworn to their duties, no matter what part of the universe they were in. He glanced at Obi-Wan who had recovered and was leaning close to whisper in his Master's ear.

"Perhaps that was the last of them?"

Qui-Gon shook his head. The Dark Force signature of most of the creatures led him to believe the creepy beings were being manipulated by the Sith that had landed on the planet. A feeling of disturbance in that Force was coming decidedly closer and may have accounted for them backing off. He didn't have much time to think about it though, as the heavy wooden door burst open and several things happened almost at once.

Like liquid thought, a Sith leapt from the entranceway and somersaulted through the air to land in front of Qui-Gon, his saber already lit and swinging at the Jedi Master. Obi-Wan dove to the side to allow himself to get away from the wall and assist his Master, only to find several people pouring into the building. A few of them were strong in the Force, some pulsed with the Darkness which marked the Sith, and some flowed with the Light. His attention was drawn away from his Master as he tried to figure out why the members of this group seemed completely as ease with each other, but he could come up with no satisfying explaination. He glanced back at the Dark Knight who was battling his Master and gasped. Qui-Gon and Maul were both still for a moment, and it allowed Obi-Wan to recognize who they were dealing with.

"Master! It's the Sith from Naboo!"

Maul of course had recognized the two Jedi who were responsible for a lot of the pain he had endured at his own Master's hands after failing to complete his last mission. He sneered menacingly at them; this time they had no hope of winning. Not only was his Master somewhere nearby, but the weak-minded Jedi would be hampered in their fighting with worrying about harming the people that were at his back. He decided to stir the pot a bit, and spoke in the language of the planet.

"These are my enemies! These are the Jedi."

All seven pairs of eyes swept over the two Knights, some curious, some angered. A young man smirked lopsidedly.

"Jedi? What...are you both named Jed?"

The young blonde female murmured something to the man in the black leather coat and both swept rapidly towards Obi-Wan in a pincher movement. Obi-Wan backed further from his Master to deal with the new menace. Maul had renewed his attack, he and Qui-Gon's sabers whirling and slashing, trying to find a tiny weakness to exploit. Unfortunately for Qui-Gon, he and Obi-Wan had just spent an hour battling beings who wouldn't die, while Maul was feeling very energetic. Buffy was busy sizing up Obi-Wan while Spike kept taunting and mock-charging him. The young man kept Spike at bay, yet he made no move to kill him.

"Oooh...so you're the big bad, eh? In charge are we? I've always had a problem with authority figures." Spike decided this "Jedi" was as good as dead. Maul had announced that these were his enemies, and any enemy of his lover was going to be an enemy of Spike.

Buffy, on the other hand, had more than a few questions about all this and she wasn't about to kill an innocent person. Besides, those weapons they had were more than interesting. The next time Spike had managed to flick the young man's attention towards himself, Buffy feinted an elbow to the man's ribs, only to drop in low and snag his legs out from under him. He didn't go down, but he lost balance enough for Spike to grab at the weapon in his hand. Obi-Wan was completely unprepared for this as no sane person in his universe would touch the business end of a lightsaber! It burned Spike something fierce and he kicked the weapon out of the Jedi's grip. Hand smoking, Spike swore colorfully, his hand hurting like a mother.

"Bugger! You're gonna pay for that..." Spike balled his good hand into a fist and sent it flying into the young man's face. To his great dismay, the chip in his head immediately sent a red hot poker of pain ripping through his skull and he went ot his knees with a howl.

Qui-Gon heard the scream of agony and his mind cheerfully registered it as not Obi-Wan's. Maul had heard it as well, and Qui-Gon watched the extraordinary effect it seemed to have on him. Maul never lowered his weapon as he faced the Jedi Master, yet he froze fractionally and flicked his eyes over to the man who was on the ground holding his head. To Qui-Gon, a diplomat trained to see minute details of body language and interpret them, this spoke volumes. When Maul risked another swift glance at the downed man, Qui-Gon knew something odd had happened. There were only two Sith at any time, ever. If the young man with the pale hair was the Sith's Apprentice, why was the Dark Force signature of the Master still so strong? And Sith tended not to view their Apprentices with much value if they possessed weaknesses, so why was Maul so concerned? Yet again, he didn't have too long to think about it as Maul slashed his saber out of the way and Force-launched himself against the wall, only to flip over to land by Spike. The young man was struggling to his feet and Maul quickly shot an arm out to scoop him behind his back. Obi-Wan had recovered his weapon, but Maul kept him and Buffy both at bay by activating the other side. Maul growled at them in the Federation Standard language only he and the Jedi knew.

"You will not take this one. I don't care what you do with the rest."

Maul was delighted with how his words effected the two Jedi; they were completely gobsmacked. Qui-Gon recovered first, backing away fractionally and glancing at the others in the building.

"This is a trap." This Sith was acting strangely and he had no idea how much these people had been lied to. He turned to the rest of them and spoke their native tongue. "Where is the Master?"

The young blonde who had disabled Obi-Wan stood up straighter. "Oh, I killed him."

"No you didn't," argued Obi-Wan. As much as the Dark Force presence was fuzzy and indistinct, it was still obviously there.

Buffy scowled at him. "Did too. And how would you know, you weren't even here!"

Qui-Gon shook his head. "Perhaps you thought you had defeated him, but the Sith are masters of stealth. I feel his disturbance of the Force even now."

Giles stepped forward slightly. Now that fists and lasers had stopped flying, he could introduce some intellect into this confrontation. "Um...perhaps I can shed some light onto this...er, you say you can sense the Master here?"

Qui-Gon nodded. "His presence is not very focused, but the Dark Force is unmistakable. Those beings outside, and these two also posses it." He indicated Maul and Spike with a tilt of his head.

Giles took off his glasses and nervously polished them. "I see. What I think you may be sensing is not the Master, but the Hellmouth itself." The two Jedi made no indication they recognized what he was talking about. "It's...it's kind of a different dimension. There are some who believe there exists a single being of pure evil there, while others acknowledge there is definitely a force of evil, even if there is no "master." This entire town is situated on a portal to this dimension and as a result, a rather sizeable amount of beings from that dimension find their way here."

Qui-Gon made a bold move and flicked off his saber. "The Dark Master does not exist in this world?"

Giles considered. "Not in a purely physical sense. He was defeated by the Slayer some time ago." Qui-Gon glanced at Buffy, who smiled and bounced on her heels. She certainly didn't look able to defeat the Lord of the Sith, but Yoda had taught him never to assume with appearances. He arched an eyebrow and nodded at her, which seemed to please her to a degree. Giles went on. "There are beings of evil, and there is certainly evil in this world, but the Master cannot take form in this world again." He left out the fact that this may not be wholly true, but he was eager for the two men to power down their weapons. Sure enough, they seemed to relax somewhat, Obi-Wan powering down his weapon but never turning his attention from Maul.

Maul, on the other hand, felt like the rug had been whipped out from under him, a feeling Sith normally did not indulge in. For as long as he could remember, his Master had been there. His treatment was cruel and his lessons difficult, but they had made Maul the supreme Sith he was. Now it appeared that something had happened to Sidious to trap him in a dimension from which he could not escape. Maul calculated furiously. It would certainly explain why the Dark Force seemed to pulse here, but never pinpoint. The minions his Master sent to try and rule this world never quite came up to his level of power. Maul questioned Giles.

"The being we defeated, this came from...Hellmouth?" Giles nodded, and Maul let his raging heart soar. None of the pathetic minions at his trapped Master's disposal could match a well-trained Apprentice. He would learn all their strengths and weaknesses and become ruler of this planet. Even more delicious, he could keep Spike as his lover. Sidious would have no say in what his Apprentice did, and that would piss off the Dark Sith to great extent. Maul still had a hand wrapped around the slim vampire behind him and he squeezed his hip bone. Spike snuggled closer, not completely understanding how this affected his new bedmate, but determined to enjoy Maul's attentions again soon. If he could just get the Scooby Gang here out of his lair, he and Maul could get onto more important issues. His hand was throbbing alarmingly and he was going to need some blood to heal himself. Besides, dawn was fast approaching and Spike had plans on being screwed every moment until the heat of the sun made him stop.

Qui-Gon looked pointedly at Maul, who had powered down his double blade. With his Master in another dimension, Maul was the Sith Lord of this planet by default. It was the Jedi's sworn duty to destroy him, but Tara had been observing the two men and felt violence was imminent. She stepped closer to Maul and faced the Knights.

"You...have to leave Maul alone. He may be a demon, but not all demons are evil. You know. Maul helped us when we needed it m-most." She was obviously terribly nervous, but determined to try and stop them from killing Maul. She owed him that much; he had single handedly saved her lover and the rest of them from a painful fate. Willow and Buffy also closed ranks towards Maul and Xander bounced in from the other side. Qui-Gon sighed.

"You have no idea what you are dealing with. The Sith will turn on you and destroy you. They are unable to change."

Buffy tilted her chin up. The same thing had been said of Angel. "Not true. I've seen it with my own eyes."

"You will never be able to trust him."

"That's okay, we're pretty capable of taking care of ourselves." Qui-Gon decided not to argue with them anymore, pride was becoming a factor now and it was only going to make this group more stubborn. Perhaps she was right anyway; they had managed to send the Sith Lord himself into another dimension and were holding their own against the beings under his command. He turned to Obi-Wan and indicated they should leave, a plan was forming in his mind. Obi-Wan was eager to get away as he had been watching how Giles was looking at his Master, and a streak of jealousy was knotting through him. Giles watched the two men make their way to the door.

"Are..are you sure you won't stay for..uh, tea? I'm sure there's a lot we could learn from each other..."

Qui-Gon looked back. "You have learned all you can for now. May the Force be with you." With that, both Jedi disappeared through the door in a swish of brown cloaks.

Anya breathed a loud sigh of relief and looked around Spike's crypt with a critical eye. "Evil defeated and not even a high body count. That has to be some sort of record for us." Buffy glanced at her and smiled; she was right. Given the green light, Anya quickly wound her arms around Xander and started insisting they go have sex. Willow hugged Tara tightly.

"That was very brave what you did."

Tara beamed and glanced back at Maul and Spike. "I had to. Maul saved you. And everyone."

Willow looked at Spike, still in the backwards embrace of his demon lover. "And you stood up for love." Tara gave Willow one of those beatific smiles that made the redhead go all woozly inside and her hand stole shyly into Willow's.

Spike's hand had begun to grab more and more of his attention, now that the Jedi threat was gone. He knew from the excruciating pain that it was bad, and tried to keep from gritting his teeth as he spoke. "Right, you lot are gonna make me puke. Push off, then." He had stuffed his hand into his long coat when Maul had come to defend him, and had refused to peek at it since. "Come on, move along. Out of the vampire's lair, give the man some privacy." The gang was shuffling out, but not nearly fast enough for Spike. Giles loitered, gauging Spike's wounds.

"Are you sure you don't need some help..."

Spike fixed him with a menacing glare. "Look, Maul here and I are gonna shag till the tanning index hits 10, now. Get. Out."

Flustered, Giles quickly shooed the rest of them out into the dark early morning. The last thing Spike heard before they shut the door was Anya's delighted squeal and Xander's long suffering moan. "Oh, I liked that movie. Xander, I want to play 'Austin Powers' when we get home!"

Spike felt Maul relax at last when the door was shut and they could no longer hear retreating footsteps. Maul turned to face his lover and had to keep Spike from pitching forward. The vampire's wound had to be serious, but Spike still held it under his coat.

"Take it out," he softly commanded.

Spike grit his teeth against the rising pain. "Nope. Not gonna do it. Hurts more when you look at it, don't you know anything?"

Maul ignored him and opened the coat, assessing the damage. The hand was a raw mass of bubbled flesh, the blood having cauterized from the intense heat of the saber. The blackened flesh had begun to ooze and the odor was sickly. Maul experienced a wave of despair; no more would he feel Spike's heated caress on his body from this ruined limb, but at least Spike would still live. He quickly flicked on his saber and pulled the hand into the open.

Spike's eyes flew wide, although he studiously avoided looking at his hand. "WHOA! Hold on there...."

Maul gave him a serious look. "It has to come off. It will poison you and you will die. I have seen this. I know."

Spike shakily mustered his most wicked look. "Yeah, but you know nothing about vampires. All I need is enough blood and time and I'll be good as new."

Maul looked at Spike curiously but powered down his saber, moving the fabric of his tunic aside and exposing his vulnerable throat. His eyes never left Spike, but it was not mistrust that the vampire read there this time. Maul was offering himself because he wanted to end Spike's suffering, there was no need for trade or trickery. This demon cared greatly for him, he had risked his life more than once. Despite his pain, Spike broke into a sappy grin which he quickly hid by going into game face. Moving in, Spike breathed deep. Maul had been fighting hard and the moist heat from his skin was giving off the demon's deliciously heady scent. The vampire kissed and nibbled the black and red flesh before he could resist no longer and, with a sensuous moan, he plunged his fangs deep into the Sith.

Maul shifted minutely as he felt the canines pierce his skin and overrode his instinct to kill whatever was damaging him. He cradled Spike's head with his free hand and meditated while Spike fed. The whole act of bloodletting and sucking was sensual and intense, and Maul decided he wanted to try it during sex as soon as Spike was up to it. He realized he had no idea just how much time and how much blood Spike was going to need to recover from his wounds, but Maul also realized he was going to do anything required to keep Spike happy and in good health. For the first time, he allowed his feelings free rein without worrying about his Master, and was shocked at how much he felt for the blond man. He kissed and nibbled Spike's hair, trying to ignore the weakening feelings his blood loss was starting to have.

Finally, Spike removed his fangs and laid his head on Maul's shoulder, gently lapping at the wounds to close them. He hadn't wanted to take that uch, but it had been so wonderful. He greatly missed warm, fresh blood and Maul's had such a distinct taste to it, it had been very hard to pull himself away. As it was, Spike had taken enough to render a human unconscious, but Maul was still solid as a rock, holding him in a comforting embrace. Spike looked into Maul's fierce eyes and wiggled seductively. Maul, pleased that his blood seemed to have such a dramatic effect, swept him into his arms and quickly carried him down to the stone slab that served as Spike's bed. He laid him gently on the rough stone and covered him with the worn blanket Spike kept.

"You must rest." Spike nodded, but gingerly pulled out his hand from his coat. To Maul's amazement, the oozing wounds were gone, the skin and tissue forming quickly over the whole area. It was still quite red and probably smarted, but the limb was obviously well on its way to being completely healed. Spike took in Maul's surprised look and dared a glance at his ruined hand. As Spike had expected, Maul's blood was actually more powerful than human blood. A wound of the degree he had would normally have taken much longer to heal. Spike had no doubt he would be back in business by morning. He rose up and captured Maul's mouth in a heated, appreciative kiss. Maul nuzzled him, then rose to lock the crypt door.

Spike's eyes drooped lazily as he watched his lover stand by the small desk and begin removing articles of weaponry and clothing. Maul glanced at the stars out of the tiny opening in the stone wall that served as a window and took stock. It hadn't turned out all bad, in the long run. He was the reigning Sith on a planet whose population were already well on the path to the Dark Side, he had a spirited lover to meet his needs, food the likes of which he never knew existed, and two Jedi whom he could hunt down at his leisure. He would hone Spike's fighting skills on the minions of his weak and absent Master, and when Spike was ready, he planned on taking the blond man offworld to conquer the rest of this galaxy. As if reading his mind, a tiny red light beeped on the metal bracelet he wore on his arm, and Maul roared in rage. Ripping the bracelet off, he picked up one of the remaining probes from his ship and hurled it across the crypt, shattering the delicate machinery into fragments. Breathing hard, he glared menacingly at the stars as if they were responsible.

A few quiet moments later, Spike appeared at his side, daring a light touch on Maul's arm. "What's the matter, Luv?"

Maul snarled, angered at himself for not anticipating the Jedi's next move and underestimating their abilities to override his ship's cloak and defense systems. He had won the battle in the crypt too easily, but his concern for Spike had clouded his judgment. His Master had been right, close attachments were a costly distraction. His anger seethed, the probes continuing to inform him of their lost contact with his ship. "The Jedi...they stole my Infiltrator." His mind searched for the most vile word he knew in Spike's native language to convey his hatred. "Fucking...perverts!"

Spike swallowed slow and hard to keep from bursting into giggles, not wishing to test their relationship against Maul's anger. The demon needed to cool down, and Spike figured he still knew the best way to distract him. He snaked a hand to the front of Maul's tunic and began a slow rub through the material, tracing the lines of Maul's cock. "Oh, I dunno. Looks to me like you still got all you need." He grinned at the demon. Maul decided there was truth in his words; he was still a Sith and no doubt the Jedi would be back someday to try and destroy him. He would be more than ready to slay them both and reclaim his ship. Spike turned towards the stone slab and winked saucily over his shoulder. "Come on Mate, you can infiltrate me."

For the first time in Maul's memory, he actually let go of some of his anger, pouncing on the vampire and peeling him out of his clothes. And he hoped that his Master, wherever he was, had felt him release his anger, and was howling in dismay.

Fin