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*****

Dawn looked through the door of the Magic Box. She could hear Anya, Xander and Giles� voices.

�I just can�t seem to get the hang of it.�

�It�s easy�.you obviously aren�t trying hard enough.�

�Look, G-Man, I wouldn�t worry about it too much�as long as you employ Anya, you�ll be fine.�

Dawn pushed open the door, and saw them all crowded around the cash register.

�Hi. Um, Xander, could we talk?�

�Hold on a minute Dawn.�

�It�s about Buffy.�

She had everyone�s attention now. Inwardly Dawn felt a prick of jealousy that it only took the slightest mention of her sister�s name to make them all listen. But concern for Buffy won over, and she told them about what she�d said last night.

*****

As it was still light outside, and would be for some time, Spike had cautiously suggested that they take the sewage route to his tomb and wait there until nightfall. Buffy rejected the idea, and wanted them to split up. She would hide out in the basement at home, sorting out a weapons bag. Spike disagreed, wanting to be involved in every stage of the plan. So they walked in uneasy silence through the sewage tunnels that would eventually end outside the Slayer�s house.

�I hate the sewers.�

�I suppose the smell doesn�t do anything for their popularity.�

�And the bad memories.�

�You have bad memories which involve sewers? Do they also involve getting completely pissed, because I don�t see how��

�Angel broke up with me in a sewer.�

Spike gave a bitter little laugh.

�He really knew how to make the moment special, didn�t he?�

Buffy felt a small flame of indignation on behalf of her ex.

�And where would you break up with me, if you were him?�

The peroxide blond turned to face her, eyes looking straight into hers. The expression on his face was one of complete honesty.

�I wouldn�t break up with you at all.�

He carried on walking, and she stood still for a moment. For a few seconds she�d seen something deeper, something that was lying just beneath the surface of Spike�s skin.

< It couldn�t be love. Not from him, not for me. >

She quickened her own pace to catch up with him.

< And even if it was, if it wasn�t just obsession or fixation or something less�real, then what? How would it change anything? I don�t love Spike�I can barely stand him. He�s beneath me. He�s evil and he doesn�t care about anyone but himself�everything he does is selfish. This whole prophesy thing involves him too. He needs me to help him, and that�s all there is too it. Nothing further. Nothing deeper. >

The memory of him pushing her to the floor, probably saving her life, resurfaced and played on what felt like a never ending reel in her mind.

�Spike? Where are you��

She ran a little way ahead, sure that she�d see the familiar blond head, smell the once hated scent of cigarettes and leather.

�This really isn�t the time for hide and seek, you idiot. Come on, my feet are getting cold. Spike?�

There was something crumpled on the floor in front of her.

It was an old leather duster.

*****
Giles pulled off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. Anya�s eyes widened, and Xander made a small choking noise.

�She said�.what?�

Dawn sighed. �She said, don�t tell Giles or any of the others about this. It�s something Spike and I have to do�I don�t know why him, or why me�.it just happened. That really sounds like she and him are�like..�

�Involved in a sexually fulfilling relationship?�

�Anya�please..�

Xander just stared straight ahead.

�Buffy�.and Spike? I just can�t see�how?�

Dawn shrugged. �Well, he has kinda been hanging around a lot lately. Outside the house, inside the house, all hours of the night��

�Inside the house? When?�

�Well, last night, after this demon totally trashed her room, they said they�d go and fight it together.�

Giles looked up. �Demon? What did it do?�

�Burn everything.�

�Oh dear�she was concerned about this fire demon�this �relationship� with Spike can�t help�she must be very confused..�

�What about Riley?� Anya stated. �He only left a few days ago. They must have got in on pretty quick, unless��

�She was going behind Riley�s back? That�s hardly likely. They simply must have �got it on�, as you so eloquently put it, fairly recently.�

They all turned to look at Xander. He continued to mouth three words.

�Buffy and�.Spike.�

Anya tilted her head to one side thoughtfully, and spoke.

�It sounds like a Saturday morning cartoon.�

*****

Buffy wrinkled her nose as she picked up the duster. It was heavy, slightly moist from the sewer, and had a distinct smell.

< Cigarettes and alcohol. Distinctly Spike. And I bet if I was a vampire, I�d smell blood. Ick. >

She sighed, and slipped it on over her thin jacket. It was too heavy to carry. Buffy pulled the leather around her, surprised at how soft it was, considering that the bleached blonde wore it constantly. The smoky scent made her nostrils flare at first, but after a while she didn�t notice it.

�Right. Clues, clues where are the clues?�

She scanned the floor of the sewer, and frowned.

�No clues. There�s always clues!�

Cautiously she worked her hands along the brick walls either side, wincing whenever she touched something that was decidedly�.sticky.

�Okay. This is now officially gross,� she remarked, plunging her hands into the sewage slime beneath her feet. �I hope you appreciate all of this when I find you.�

< Spike�s not exactly the appreciative type. >

Grimacing, Buffy was about to withdraw her hands when she felt something. A heavy metal ring, attached to a small iron square.

�A trapdoor. Great. This is so Phantom of the Opera.� Buffy grabbed the ring, and pulled. It opened with a splash, spraying the dirty water over her face and hair. There was no ladder, just a black hole beneath her feet. She took a deep breath, and tried to wipe some of the slime away from her face. �I just hope there�s a bathroom down there. Because I�m starting to look like I belong in a B-movie. As the monster.�

Buffy jumped.

*****

Spike�s eyes opened. They didn�t flutter open. He didn�t groan, and he didn�t put his hand to the growing bruise on his forehead. He didn�t swear, even though he really wanted to. Spike opened his eyes and listened.

*****

She fell. It had started as a controlled jump, and had stopped being controlled when her feet didn�t touch the floor. The duster fanned out behind her, and for a dizzy moment it occurred to her that she must look like a dark angel, flying through the blackness to find him�

*****

He listened, and all he heard was the sound of silence. Then he looked up. Something black was falling towards him, with a halo of golden hair. It was like an angel falling from some kind of broken heaven, and it was going to hit the concrete floor�

*****

Spike yelled.

Buffy hit.

*****

They walked to Giles� house in silence. Willow was still trying to understand what had happened to her best friend, and the others were simply deep in thought. Dawn had gone home, had promised to call if Buffy returned. She wasn�t at home, hadn�t been to the university, the bronze, the town, the magic box. They�d even tried Spike�s tomb. It was also empty. Which had suggested that they were together. Somewhere.

�Maybe we should stop looking.� That was from Tara.

Four heads turned to face her.

�If�if she and Spike are�together, together, then she should be safe�right?�

Giles sighed. �You�re quite right�he can�t hurt her anyway. I�m just worried��

�That he�ll take advantage of her when she�s at her most vulnerable and leave her a wreck who�s unable to slay so if this fire thing comes back it�ll kill us all and kill her and Spike will once again have managed to ruin our lives?� Xander took a deep breath. �Well?�

Four heads nodded.

****

She hit with a sickening crunch of bones and flesh. He inhaled the scent of freshly spilled blood, her blood. It was intoxicating and distracting, but he fought against his instincts.

Spike crawled over to her body. The first thing he noticed was that she was wearing his duster. < No time to think. Just do. > Her eyes were shut, and she lay in a twisted position on the floor. The vampire slid his hands up her top, ran them along her spine, almost caressing the bones underneath her soft skin. < No damage. > He moved on to her legs and her arms.

�Shit.�

Her left leg was broken, and she was losing blood from it. The bone was poking through the skin, ivory against crimson. He laid his hands nervously on the break, and hoped that she could heal quickly. He also hoped for the first time that she was unconscious. No-one should have to feel this.
There was a moment of�unpleasantness. < Don�t think. Just do. > Then he tore a strip of material from his shirt and bound the wound. She seemed to be otherwise okay, apart from multiple bruises and scratches.

< Stupid Slayer. Shouldn�t have come after me. Should�ve left me here. >

Spike rested her head on his lap, and absentmindedly stroked her forehead. They were in a large cavern, which stretched out around them for what seemed like miles. Spike knew he should be trying to find a way out, but he couldn�t leave Buffy. Wouldn�t leave her.

Buffy came back into the conscious world, and was greeted by unmentionable pain from her left leg.

< Probably broken. >

She didn�t open her eyes immediately, because she was momentarily soothed by the cool hand on her forehead.

< Did they find me? Am I at home, with Mom? >

That was just wishful thinking. The hard, wet floor told her otherwise. Still, it was nice to pretend, for a little while. So she just lay there for a few seconds, letting Spike comfort her.

< But I have to wake up. And I don�t like him, I don�t�so I have to push him away. >

It took every ounce of her strength to do so.

�Slayer! Don�t move�your leg..�

�It�s my leg Spike, I think I know it�.�

She bit her lip to keep from screaming, and fell back against the floor. He moved towards her, but she rejected him again. They were both quiet for a moment.

�Why did you jump down the hole? Bloody stupid thing��

�I was looking for you!�

�You should�ve gone to get a ladder..�

�You might have been�dead, I don�t know�.I just know that we�need each other, now.�

�So let me�help you.�

Another uneasy alliance formed. His touch was more gentle than she had ever imagined it could be, and she was forced to lean heavily on him. They moved slowly across the cavern. It was so dark that any regular person would have been instantly lost. As it was, her Slayer enhanced eyesight could only make out dim shapes in the darkness, vague suggestions of rocks and walls and�some of them seemed to move�Spike stopped. Another few seconds and she could tell why.

The fetid stench of death filled their nostrils. Buffy thought she saw Spike momentarily vamp out, before regaining control. He looked at her.

�Do you want me to go on? Leave you here, hop-a-long?�

She scowled.

�Not likely. Let you have all the fun?�

They walked hesitantly towards the source of the smell. It increased in its intensity, and Buffy felt nauseous. It all seemed to stem from a small opening in the cavern wall. Small, that is, compared to the rest of the place. It was a hole about six foot high.

�Well, looks like neither of us are gonna have to hunch.� Buffy said brightly.

Spike glared. �Good job I�m not some great hulking lunk like Captain Cardboard or the Poof then, isn�t it?�

Buffy smiled, knowing she�d struck a raw nerve. �I never really understood the male preoccupation with size.�

�Stop quoting Titanic at me and shut up.�

�I don�t believe it�you saw Titanic?�

*****

Giles shook his head in despair. The door to his house was still horizontally on the floor. It should be vertically in the doorframe. Willow shrugged. �Nothing seems to have been stolen.�

�Guys! Look!�

Xander seemed to have come out of his mood when he saw the damage at Giles� place. He was currently waving a book at them. �Look! It�s a book�all about�.duhduhduh�William the bloody.�

Giles snatched it. �Why would they be reading up on him?�

Anya rolled her eyes. �Maybe it was Buffy? Seeing as how they�re��

�Yes, alright, enough with the continued imagery, thankyou..�

�Xander, she didn�t say anything��

�She made a hand gesture.�

�Oh.�

Tara cleared her throat. �Um�there�s another book...Watcher�s Diary�Elizabeth Scott.� Giles looked up. �Oh, we won�t need that. It probably just fell out of the bookcase. She died when she was approaching twenty, some kind of fire�.fire.�

�As in fire demon?�

�As in fire demon.�

There was a long moment of silence as everybody considered what Giles had just said. A Slayer. Dead. And a fire demon had been involved.

�I still don�t see what the William the Bloody book has to do with anything��

*****
Dead bodies lined the walls. Some were bone, others covered in fleshy remains. Spike felt uneasy, and he supposed the slayer found it distasteful, to say the least. He had decided that the sweet distraction of her body pressed against his had to be ignored if they were to stand any chance of making it through alive.

< She still hates me. Pushed me away, didn�t want my help. I�m stupid, and I was right the first time. I don�t stand a chance. Not now, not ever, and I�ve been a right idiot. Thinking she could ever let me be with her. Could ever love me�I should go back to what I was. Her enemy. Hating her. Then it�ll be easy, after all this is over, to just leave. >

Spike abruptly moved Buffy further away from his body. She looked at him.

�What?�

�Getting a bit too close for comfort, Slayer. We hate each other, remember? Not exactly snuggle-buddies.�

�I know! And I wasn�t snuggling��

�Yes you were. Only to be expected I suppose.�

Spike readied himself mentally. < I hope this works. >

�I mean, I was right, telling corn-boy you liked your men a little bumpy in the head area.�

Silence. A few drops of water splashed to the floor. Each drop sounded loud as a drum in the all consuming silence.

�You stupid idiot!�

She pushed him hard and he fell back against the wall. Buffy moved towards him stiffly, her eyes shining with anger.

�You�.you made him do it�made him let them all drink from him�he wanted it for me�I hate you!�

< Believe whatever you like, luv. >

Then she hit him, hard in the face. Turned away, arms folded. Spike had to really try and restrain himself from hitting her back, from making her bleed�a trickle of blood ran from his split lip. Spike licked it away, and spoke again.

�Bitch. You hate me? Old news Sla�.�

�Don�t talk to me. Ever. Again. I really do hate you. I despise you. You�re the lowest of the low. Too pathetic to be staked.�

And her words were so filled with venom they stung. Leaving him speechless, frozen. If the chip wasn�t there, he couldn�t have snapped her neck then. Those words had cut. Right to the bone.

Buffy started to walk again. Her leg was still stiff, but it had already begun to heal. Hurt like hell without him to prop her up. She felt like spitting at him.

< Riley felt he had to be something darker to be part of my life�.god, why did Spike say that�he just likes causing trouble for everyone. But�it isn�t all his fault. I suppose�I�ve been trying to find out more about who I am�am I something dark? Something rooted in darkness? Because it just seems like everyone I ever loved I�destroyed. >

Filled with self-loathing, the slayer barely noticed the tunnel forked into two directions. She mindlessly took the left fork, caught up in her own thoughts.

Spike lay against the wall.

< She�s right. I am pathetic. >

Well, the first step in not being pathetic was to stop feeling sorry for himself and do something. Spike decided to get up, go after the Slayer, and tell her that he loved her.

< Then it�ll be off my chest. And she�ll still hate me, but I won�t have any reason to stay�oh yeah. The bloody prophecy, dragon thing. Damn. >

Oblivious to the outside world, Spike speculated over the different meanings of the prophesy. And took the right fork.

*****

Xander splashed along the sewers.

�Tell me again why we had to enter the Tunnel of Twisted Spike and Buffy Sewer Love? Because it smells...really bad.�

Giles wrinkled his nose at the smell, and pressed on.

�Because it�s daytime, and Spike obviously can�t walk around without drawing attention to himself. How many people theses days look like Billy Idol?�

�And the spontaneous combustion things just a minor side effect, right?�

Giles and Willow glared at Xander. Anya waved at them al from further down the sewer.

�Giles, did you bring some rope in that bag?�

�Yes�.why? Have you found something?�

�I think they went down there.�

The other four crowded around the open trapdoor. Floating in the sewage gunk next to it was a cigarette butt, and a faint vanilla smell that was masked by the sewer.

Willow shrugged. �That�s all the leads we�ve got. So I guess it�s abseiling time. How far down is it?�

Tara picked up a sizeable rock, and threw it into the trapdoor.

They waited for it to hit.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Xander moved from foot to foot, uncomfortably. �Do you think anyone�ll mind me taking a leak in the sewers? It�s just like�cutting out the middle man, I suppose��

�Quiet!�

There was a dull thud. They all exchanged looks, and with a resigned sigh Giles began to unload the climbing gear.

*****

Buffy stiffly walked for what seemed like hours. There were no more hideously decaying corpses, no scent of burnt flesh, nothing. Just endless black tunnel that stretched on forever. She wondered where Spike was, and had started to regret leaving him back there.

< Something might have happened to him. And if it has, that means I�m alone down here. With a broken leg. >

The pain had gone from intense to dull, and although she was sure it was still badly hurt, it seemed to have healed a little bit. Buffy caught her foot on a rock, and the leg became aflame with searing hurt.

�Ahhh!�

She dropped to the floor, and the pain subsided. Still, it was nice to have a rest. Buffy noticed that her voice sounded echoey. Looking around, she realised that she was in some kind of cavern. Smaller than the one she and Spike < idiot > had crossed earlier, she decided to explore. In another minute or so. Sighing, Buffy decided to inspect her injured leg. Someone had wrapped a piece of material around the break, and it had soaked up most of the blood.

�The someone being Spike, of course. Stupid vampire.�

With a sob of pain that came from provoking the wound she unwound the material, and saw that he�d ripped it from his shirt, the dumb red one he wore all the time. She held it in her hands for a moment, then put it on the floor of the cavern, ripping a fresh strip from her top. It left her stomach exposed, and she wrapped the duster tightly around her.

< Spike�s stupid duster. That he wears all the time, except now , because I got it�why didn�t he take it back? When we argued, he only needed to ask�probably being all gentlemanly�okay, that wasn�t much of an insult. >

As she sat there, Buffy thought about all the other times Spike had helped her.

< Okay, he hasn�t helped me that much�only when his own butt needed saving�stupid selfish pig. Just because he can�t hit anyone any more doesn�t mean he has to hurt them in other ways� >

She stood up, and scanned the cavern. It was still pretty big. Inhalation of the air proved in to be stale. Then there was a noise.

�Ple�� It broke into a hacking cough.

Buffy wasn�t alone. Too caught up in her own mind, she�d failed to sense the presence of any demon.

< Wait a minute. I�m not sensing a demon. Could it be�another human? >

She whirled around, and confronted the person. A sharp intake of breath betrayed Buffy�s surprise. The woman standing in front of her was ancient. Long and dirty grey hair swept the floor. Her back was hunched, and she shuffled painfully. Thin wrists were bound in shackles, and her clothes were thin. The face was lined deeply by the years, and fine wrinkles covered every bare patch of skin. The Slayer stared into the hag�s eyes. They were beautiful�shocking contrast to the age and decay�a vibrant, laughing shade of green�

Buffy�s vision pushed its way forward, through all the Spike thoughts, to the front of her mind. And she knew at once who this woman was.

�You�you�re her. The Dragon Slayer.�

Part 3 of "Written in Charcoal"
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