Chapters <<<< 41 42 43 44 45 46

Night Terrors

by
BmblBee

Part Forty-One

Tension hung in the air as tangibly as the round bubble of uncontained water. The five temporary residents of the Council owned house gathered as close to the visionary, suspended liquid as they could, craning their heads and straining their eyes, hoping to get a better look.

They knew Spike and Xander were in the dream world and as a component of the spell, trapped in there until the demon was dead or Willow herself released them. It was a safeguard measure to prevent one of them from accidentally waking up and leaving the other alone.

Each viewer was dealing with the stress of the situation in their own way. Giles struggled not to continuously polish the lenses of his glasses for fear he might miss something. Willow bit her nails down to the painful quick. Andrew alternately stared and then hid his face against Giles sleeve. Wesley murmured, cursing, cheering, and mentally willing encouragement to the men who were locked in the frighteningly strange world. Angel copped a feel.

Willow began rocking back and forth, her emotions in turmoil. Fear for her dearest friend was ramped as high on the horror
scale as it could go, but it was in competition with fury that the demon had used her as a tool for its game, along with revulsion at the bloody scene Xander had had to face.

Still, with Spike's help, he had not succumbed. She knew that each time he was able to conquer his fear, the demon was that much weaker. They all leaned closer. Also, that much more desperate. The men were, again, on the move.

~*~*~*~*~

"What's next? Where do we go next?"

Xander took a deep breath and considered Spike's question. Amazingly he was feeling a renewed strength and power. The
dreams had always kicked his ass, unrelenting terror that gripped him from the first moment and never let go. This time, however, felt different and he knew why. A certain blond vampire. This time he was not alone. He had Spike.

Xander felt charged, excited, almost optimistic. "The science lab. We go to the science lab next, come on."

Spike's heart swelled at the look on his lover's face. This was it! This was the Xander he remembered. 'This demon'  he thought 'is as good as toast.'

Together they took off. The hallways, to Spike still seemed long, twisted and confusing. At first Xander appeared to have gotten his bearings and knew exactly which way to go but Spike soon suspected that it didn't matter which direction they went. What mattered was that they ran until the nightmare programming dictated it was time to reach the next way station on the road to the final showdown.

"It took you long enough."

Both men slammed on their brakes and skidded to a stop in front of a room well lit with florescent ceiling lights. It had tables, beakers, test tubes and wall charts.

It also had a small blond wearing nothing but a very short lab coat. She was filing her fingernails and appeared, for all the world, like she was extremely bored with the whole school scene. It was an expression Xander remembered seeing a million times.

What he didn't remember was the way she was sitting. She was perched on the top of a student desk, in the front of the class, with her legs spread wide apart revealing her shaved pussy.

"Slayer? This how you recall the slayer, Pet?" Spike's tone was cautious but amused.

"Buff?" Xander took a step closer, hesitant because the dialog seemed to have changed. This was his nightmare, but not. Everything was wrong and Xander was leery of what to expect next.

Spike leaned closer. "Careful, Pet. Remember, don't look her in the eye."

"HA!" Buffy threw her head back and barked out a rachus laugh. "Pet? So now YOU'RE Spike's pet? Did you know that's what he called me when he fucked me?"

Slowly, Buffy began sliding her fingers in and out of her wet pussy. She threw her head back and moaned as her fingers brushed lightly over her pink, swollen clit. Bringing her hand to her mouth, she carefully licked and sucked her fingers
as her hooded eyes turned in Spike's direction. "Remember, Spike? Remember when you first fucked me in that old
abandoned building? We sure brought the house down didn't we? Did you know that everyone knew? Giles, Willow, Xander, they all knew you were up in my snatch. I bet you didn't know how much Xander hated that. He wanted to be the one ramming his cock into me, but more than that, he wanted you to want him more than you wanted me. Didn't you Xaaaaan?"

Spike heard Xander gasp. Silently, so as not to give the demon any more ammunition, Spike squeezed Xander's hand in a show of solidarity and truth. It told Xander everything Spike wanted it to. It told him that even though Spike and Buffy had been sexually involved years ago, it didn't matter now. That was ancient history. Now Spike was here, with Xander.
Despite that, Spike detected a rise in Xander's stress level and he leaned in close, his lips and inch from the human's ear.
"What is it? What's wrong?"

Knowing Spike's vampire hearing could catch a mouse turd hitting the floor at fifty feet, Xander's lips whispered out what his brain had just understood. "This is all wrong. The people in my dreams always followed a set script. They seemed to just say words, but now, with Willow and Buffy, it's different. More interactive. I didn't know about the abandoned building. I think somehow he is reading you too. The demon knows what's going on. He knows why we're here."

With a show of courage he didn't feel, Xander stepped up, his eyes locked on her chin to avoid her stare. "You aren't Buffy. You're just a fake, a specter, a phantom. So let's just skip over all this bullshit and tell me. What can you possibly show me that will scare me?"

With a sly smile on her face, Buffy slithered down off the desk, her red stiletto heels clicking loudly when they landed on the tile floor.

Flipping her hair in an exaggerated move, she turned her back to the men and sauntered across the room to where a large free standing bulletin board stood. It was the type his school had set up in nearly every classroom. He used to hate them, blank on one side, the teacher would flip it around to reveal a test that he had never studied for. He hoped that this time it would be a test he could pass.

Standing to the side of it she gave her best Vanna White, waving her arm across it's blank expanse. With her hand on the side handle, Buffy batted her eyes and licked her blood red painted lips. "Xander Harris, you are today's winner. Let's let the audience see just what you have won."

With that, she gave the bottom of the board a shove, causing it to spin around showing what was displayed on the backside. Roaring from the background they could hear the applause and cheers of an audience that they knew was not there.

"NOOOOOOO!!!" Xander stomach fell to his feet and his heart jumped to his throat.

The board was huge. It suddenly was bigger than the size of the room could have held but the alteration in its dimension wasn't what caused Xander's horrified response.

What made even Spike's borrowed blood run cold was the sight of the missing men who were pinned to it like butterflies on the page of a scrapbook. Xander's eyes instantly locked on the first body on the top row. "Kim!!!"

Before Spike could stop him, Xander released Spike's hand and charged forward into the room. Immediately the door slammed behind him and Spike found himself alone. No Xander. No science class. No doorway.

"XANDER!!"

Part Forty-Two

Immediately, the room of spectators exploded in chaos. Jumping to her feet, Willow threw out her hand, reaching for the image contained in the floating, liquid window to the other dimension.

"XANDER! No!"

Tackling her at the last second, Giles stopped her, knowing that any touch to the suspended watery screen would cause it to burst. Wesley rushed to them, not certain if it was to prevent injury to the witch or assist the watcher in holding her.

Andrew leapt to his feet and ran from the room. Giles couldn't blame him. Andrew had always been delicate and if the stress had gotten too severe, then he needed to do whatever he needed to do.

Screaming in fury, Willow finally stopped struggling and angrily jerked her arms from the men who held them. "Giles, he did it. That fucking demon separated them. It had to have known that losing Spike would be Xander's weak spot. What are we going to do?"

Giles finally gave in to his urge and began polishing his glasses as he watched Spike beat his fists against the blank cement wall. "We do nothing. This is Xander's fight and he will have to correct his own mistake."

Willow whimpered at Giles cold statement.

"No! That's not true. We CAN help."

All eyes turned to Andrew who had returned with a book in one hand and an empty beer bottle in the other. "Look, I read up on the spell you used when you did it before and I noticed in this other book, a reference to it. It describes the spell as you did it but it also mentions some side issues and additions not included in the basic, more elementary witchcraft guide you have."

Immediately Willow bristled at the perceived insult to her talents and abilities. Quickly, she checked herself. This was about helping Xander. She could always slap the face off Giles's little bitch later.

Giles positively beamed with pride. Andrew was indeed a man of hidden talents. "What does it say? What can we do?"

Andrew dropped to the floor and sat cross legged, the open book on his lap and the beer bottle at his side. "O.k. As Willow often mentions, most spell come with safeguards. Addendums to the casting that usually can only be done once, but that give the recipient of the spell a type of protection."

Willow frowned. The boy was smart. Smart and right. Apparently there was a lot more to Andy Pandy than she had given him credit for. "What can we do?"

"Well, I don't know if it will help at all, but we can send a message. We can only send it to one of them and we can only do it once so we have to choose our message and our moment right. To do it, we need the DNA of the person we are sending to. Dead or alive, DNA is a part of that person, a direct connection, a link. Thus, the beer bottle."

Andrew held the bottle up in triumph. They all knew it was Spike's. None of the other's drank that brand of cheap piss water. "When we are ready, we drop a message into the bottle and drop the bottle into the water. If I'm right, it should go directly to him."

Willow had grabbed the book from Andrew's lap and studied the spell carefully. Her pride took a massive hit but she had to admit, "He's right. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work."

Immediately, Giles grabbed paper and pen and they rushed back to watch, hoping when the exact right moment occurred, they wouldn't miss it.

~*~*~*~*~

"XANDER! XANDER! GODDAMN IT! XANDER!"

Spike's fists were raw and bloody from beating on the solid block wall that had, just moments ago been an open doorway. Finally realizing he was getting nowhere fast, he stepped back. He spun in a 360 circle and tried to assess the situation.

He was trapped in a dream, there was a demon after them and most importantly, he had lost Xander. The last point caused an uncontrollable fear to churn around in his gut. Reason and rationality were being relegated to the back corner of his brain and pure instinctual survival took over. With no idea where to go or what to do, Spike threw his head back and bellowed. "AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!! XANDER!!!!" And he took off running.

Xander rushed toward the board that now stretched nearly ten foot high and twenty foot long. The outside border, in a bizarre pattern of decoration, was covered with bugs, birds and small rodents stuck to the cork backing with huge hat pins shoved through their dead bodies.

In the center of the board, hung the men. Four on the bottom row and two on the top with a space clearly saved for a seventh. Without asking, Xander knew that was a place set aside for Spike. Spike, who, because of Xander's own stupidity, was now no longer at his side.

Unlike the bugs and birds whose glassy, unseeing eyes left no doubt of their death, the men seemed different. Their pink skin and closed eyelids gave Xander hope that they could still be saved.

He looked up to where his dearest, closest friend hung and he stared, focusing on the man's chest. 'THERE! IT MOVED' Warmth and joy flooded his body. Kim was breathing! Turning to where Buffy stood, he saw her frown, her image flickered and wavered very slightly.

"I don't know what you think, Xander, but you can't save them. Not like that. You can't just pull them down and take them home. Their lives belong to me! Unless.........."

Suddenly the vision of the slayer became strong again, almost real nearly corporeal. "I have it. A game. A trade off. You for them. This is my world, Xander, and I like it here."

In a blink, the person standing before him was now the Watcher, tweed clad and exactly as Xander remembered him ten years earlier. He was younger, darker haired, his face smoother and less wrinkled. "I need you here, son. Running through my hallways, feeding my soul with the energy of your fears. It would be perfect."

Xander looked deep into Anya's blue eyes. "Just you and me, Xander. Just like it should have been if you hadn't dumped me at the alter and ruined my life. You are the only one I really want. You promise to stay and I'll free all these others. They are inconsequential."

Xander blinked, using all the internal strength he had to break eye contact, he looked down and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. He wished with all his heart that Spike was here. Spike would know what to do.

The demon chuckled. It had him. If he consented, it could keep him trapped in this dream dimension forever, tormenting him, feeding off his terror, growing stronger every second of every night. Right now, however he could feel his power flicker. He needed to return to his home, his refuge. He needed Xander to come to him.

"Jesus, Xan. You still can't make a simple decision?"

Xander's head shot up. That voice. It couldn't be. "Jessie?"

"Yep, it's me. Your best friend. Your buddy. Your pal. At least until you killed me I was. But, hey, no hard feelings. Tell you what. You need some time to think over the offer on the table? No sweat. Come find me and we'll talk."

With that, Jessie reached over to grab the side of the bulletin board and he gave it a huge grunt and a spin. Like the giant numbered wheel on The Price Is Right, the board flipped rapidly around. Blank side, pinned bodies, blank side, pinned bodies. Faster and faster till it was all just a blur. Then, in a flash, it all disappeared and he was back in the empty hallway.

Looking up and down, he felt alone, abandoned, afraid. His cries of "SPIKE!!" were answered with silence. Not knowing what else to do, he did what he always did in the nightmares, he began to walk, then trot, and soon was rushing through the hallways at a dead run.

When the sound hit him, he slid to a stop. His heart pounded and his entire body trembled. Now he knew. He knew where in his dream the demon lived and gained strength.

With no hesitation, Xander took off in the direction of the cheering, the basketball game apparently had already started.

Part Forty-Three

Xander ran now with determination and confidence. This was familiar, this was a constant that all his previous dreams had in common. He knew what to expect and the sight of the dead, dismembered bodies of his friends and families would not rattle him.

This brief amount of time also gave him a chance to think. The demon wanted him. It wanted to keep him like a pet locked cruelly in a cage for its owner's pleasure. It wanted to torment and torture him for an eternity and in exchange, his friends would be freed.

Truth was, Xander Harris had always been a bit of a prick and to say that he was willing to lay his life down for that of five men that he had known only long enough to fuck and kick from his bed would have been a lie. To be honest, he could hardly even remember their names.

Kim and Spike were another story altogether. They were the most important things in his life. A new friend who stood by his side in both business and life, faithful, honest, the closest thing he had ever had to a brother, and an old one, Spike, who without his even being aware of it had been safely tucked away in the back of his mind, stored on that memory shelf marked "Precious. Handle with care."

The fact that they had been back together for only a few days meant nothing. Spike was the love of his life as surely as if they had never been apart, and Xander knew without a doubt that he would do whatever he had to, to get the men out. Even if it meant handing himself to the demon on a silver platter.

Turning the last familiar corner, Xander slowed to a cautious pace. The solid double doors were directly in front of him and the noise that blasted out sent shivers of fear down his spine with its normalcy.

Voices shouted and cheered, laughing and applauding. The repetitious thud, thud, thud, of a basketball being dribbled down the floor echoed out into the hall till finally, a buzzer sounded signaling the end of the quarter, and Xander knew it was time. He took a deep breath and slapped his hands against the swinging doors, pushing them open.

~*~*~*~*~

Spike was frantic. He knew it was pointless to keep running with no destination in mind and one hallway looking identical to another, but what else could he do? He realized the truth was he was probably traveling in circles, being kept busy while the demon did what it wanted to his Xander.

His throat was raw from nonstop screaming. Each corner, each hall, constantly without needing to breath, he shouted Xander's name, hoping against hope that the man would hear and find him.

In the end, all his efforts were met with disappointment and failure. Finally, out of pure frustration, he stopped. He spun in a circle, his hands in the air and he screamed, sliding to the floor in defeat.

"That's it." Giles immediately began scribbling onto the paper. He rolled it into a tight tube and slid it into the tall neck of the beer bottle. The others held their breath as he aimed the brown bottle over the orb of suspended water. At the last second he looked, not to Willow, but to Andrew. "Are there words? Am I supposed to say something?"

Andrew jumped up and snatched the bottle from his watcher's hand. He poised it carefully and dropped it, shouting. "Geronimo!"

The bottle fell. It left no ripple in the water and disappeared as soon as it sank. Instantly, they all gathered around to see the result.

Spike sat with his back against the cold, solid cement wall and sobbed. He was lost, he was frustrated, and he was threatening to kick Xander's arse for letting go. He knew there was no point in continuing to run through hallways that had no destination.

His only hope was to keep shouting and pray that Xander, wherever he was would hear him. Spike sighed, he didn't think he even had the strength to do that. He knew part of it was the dream. The Nambulist demon feeding the negativity and drowning out any positive emotion they had, but he couldn't help it. He had failed. Xander was gone.

Spike pulled his knees up to his chest. He had just put his face down into his hands when, out of nowhere.

"SMACK"

The bottle landed squarely on the top of his head with a sharp pain and a shock that snapped him out of his depressed self pity. Scrambling to his feet, he rubbed the goose egg that was already starting to raise and he stared at the offending object.

"What the fuck?!"

Cautiously he nudged it with the toe of his boot. When it didn't grow teeth and bite him, he took a chance and picked it up. Seeing the note that had slipped down inside, curiosity got the better of him and he smashed the bottle to the floor, retrieving the note..

Spike, Shut up and stop yelling. Xander is in the gymnasium. Listen for the sound and follow it there. Hurry. Giles.

Spike clutched the paper in his hand and whooped in glee. He twirled all around, waving it in the air, shouting, "Thanks. I owe you one." and he took off like a rocket. This time, however, when he reached the end of the hall, he stopped. He cocked his head to the side and he listened.

Nothing. Dead silence. He switched to game face and slowly, stalkingly he crept forward, stopping every few feet to again strain his ears.

Just as he was beginning to think the note was a hoax, a trick of the Nambulist to give him false hope, he heard it. Far off, distant, weak and indistinct, still it was there. Spike was charged! His fist punched the air silently and he locked on to the sound.

~*~*~*~*~

Xander's palms paused, holding open the gym doors wide open and he took a moment to look all around. He then stepped inside and, as expected, all sound ceased. The silence was deafening, deep and all consuming.

Looking around, he was almost disappointed at the Nambulist's lack of originality. It was exactly what he expected. Forcing his breathing to slow and willing his heartbeat to do the same, he put on his most casual face and strolled in.

Past the body parts, stepping over the squished brains and eyeballs, he bypassed the pools of foul smelling blood and calmly strolled to the center of the gym floor. To the figure that stood there waiting on him with a big smile and open arms.

He probably should have been shocked, stunned and dumbfounded, but the fact was it made perfect sense. Xander slipped slightly as his foot caught on a stray finger, but he quickly regained his composure and he continued forward, stopping only when he was just far enough away that the demon could not reach out and touch him.

He stood face to face with......himself.

Xander had to chuckle. He hadn't seen that garish, orange flowered shirt since it, and everything else in his dirty clothes hamper had sunk to the bottom of the huge pit that was now Sunnydale.

He was exactly as he remembered himself ten years past. Slightly chubby, wild thatch of uncombed hair, an annoying zit on his forehead and the slump shouldered stance of the insecure.

With a false confidence, Xander scratched his chin, leaned to the side and laughed. "Well, now, that really is scary."

Instinctively, his hand reached up and his fingers circled around the bear tooth that hung at his neck. His thumb rubbed the smooth side and felt the sharp tip.  If felt solid, real, and it gave him courage.

Part Forty-Four

All the spectators cheered as though watching the winning touchdown of the highly anticipated Super Bowl. Their contribution as well as Spike's acknowledgement of it had them high fiving each other like the game was in the bag.

Without thinking about it, Wes threw his arms around Angel's neck and hugged him in celebration. Angel immediately pulled the smaller body close, nuzzling his neck and nibbling his earlobe.

Wes's body began to respond and he nearly forgot why they were there. Luckily, two things brought him back to himself. The firm length poking him in the leg, and the strange round hard thing in Angel's pocket combined with the loud "YES!" of the others in the room got him back on track.

With a slap to Angel's chest, Wes again joined his friends who were happily discussing their victory. They knew in their hearts that it wasn't over and that the two men still had a long way to go and dangerous hurdles to leap, but they were buoyed and after all, hope springs eternal. Just ask Angel.

They took a moment to breathe, chat happily, pat Andrew on the back and give their tense, over stressed muscles a bit of a stretch. They then sat back down and watched as Spike picked up the sound, locked on it and ran at a speed only a vampire could accomplish.

Spike was determined and focused. He had a goal, a destination he could identify and he knew by the fact that it was getting louder, that he was headed in the right direction. This was something he could deal with. Something real in an unreal dimension.

Rushing forward, he suddenly slammed the brakes on his worn Doc Martins when the one thing he feared, happened. The sound stopped. Spike strained, he turned in all directions and he listened but there was nothing. No crowd cheering, no balls bouncing, no buzzer sounding. Nothing. He refused to wonder why.

Spike was crushed. He felt his confidence and good mood slip away. He'd failed. His thoughts focused on everything he had done wrong. If he hadn't let Xander step away. If he had run faster. If...if...

Suddenly, panic began to grow. Claustrophobia gripped him as the white block walls and low, tile ceiling closed in on him. He wanted out! He wanted to wake up! He wanted Xander! Throwing his head back, he screamed, hoping Giles would somehow hear. "Wake us the fuck up!"

Spike then sucked in a lung full of air in preparation of another fruitless round of shouting, when something new caught his attention and his head snapped up. He aimed his nose in the wind like a beagle in search of a bitch in heat and sniffed.

BLOOD.

He smelled blood, death and dismemberment. An odor he knew well from his years as one fourth of the scourge of Europe. It was a stench that brought him pleasure in the past and gave him new hope now.

Refusing to allow himself to think about what it might mean, Spike was again on the move. Like the deadly predator he was, Spike rushed through the unfamiliar terrain in search of his mate and the danger that threatened him. Rounding the last bend, Spike stopped. The constant, seemingly unending hallways finally reached a dead end in the form a set of large, solid,
wooden double doors.

Cautiously, he again sniffed the air and was certain that the odors of death were coming from inside. Forcing himself to disregard the alluring, intoxicating smell, he filtered through it looking for......XANDER! The unmistakable, sweet, smell of home and love.

Spike charged forward, slamming his hands against the doors and bolting in as they swung open. The sight that stunned him wasn't the gore and overdone, unimaginative slaughter that surrounded him, it was, instead, the sight of two Xander's squared off on center court.

"Xander?"

It took less than a minute to know which one was his. His Xander was older, leaner, more handsome. His Xander was the one that now filled his arms and his senses with relief and love.

"Spike! Oh my God, Spike! Where were you? How did you find me? I'm sorry I let go. You're here. You're safe."

Spike moaned and held on tight as each short sentence was ended with a kiss. One to his neck, two to his cheek, one last long one to his mouth that sought Xander's eagerly. As they kissed, Spike glanced over Xander's shoulder at the furious demon and thought, for a second, that the image of the slayer's donut boy flickered and faltered.

As wonderful as it was, Spike knew now was not the time for the two men to get lost in the moment and forget the dangers around them. Gently, he extracted himself from his lover's arms and shifted his attention to the demon who stood angrily in the center of the polished gym floor, pointing a dirty fingernail in Spike's direction.

"Get away from him, vampire! He lives here with me now! This is our world, his and mine, and you don't belong here!"

Spike turned questioningly to the man at his side. All the love and warmth he could feel rolling from the human was now gone and only sadness and regret were left. Spike saw the demon's image become clearer, sharper, and he knew it was gaining power from Xander's pain. "Xander? Look at me. Love. What's the beasty here talking about? Why does he think you're staying?"

Xander hung his head but before he could answer, the Nambulist, now in the form of Angel, did it for him.

Under different circumstances, Spike would have found this tremendously funny. He knew the demon drew his images of people from Xander's mind and Angel's form was as Xander saw and remembered him. His butt was huge, round and saggy and his hair spiked at least three inches high, crowning an impossibly full forehead.

The real world Angel reached around to feel his ass. Was it really that big? Damn. He needed to find one of those spelled mirrors he always heard about. Wesley snickered.

"The Dreamer and I were just making a business deal when you so rudely interrupted us." Angel smiled. He was relaxed, strong and confident. This was going very well. As soon as he had a verbal contract with the boy, he would be strong enough to kill the vampire as well as the bug collection of humans. He could then settle into an eternity of feeding off the nightmares the dreamer could concoct. Or at least fifty years. The demon was unsure of the life span of a pet human.

Spike stepped in front of Xander protectively. "I won't let you kill him."

Angel chuckled. "Don't be silly. I need him alive. In your world, he will fall into an irreversible coma and remain that way for the rest of his mortal life. His mind and his soul will be here, with me."

Spike spun around and faced his love. "Xander? Why the fuck would you even think of agreeing to such a thing?"

Finally, Xander lifted his head and looked into the beautiful, blue, confused eyes of his vampire. "Because I love you. It's an exchange. I stay here and he lets you and all the others go free. He promised. It's the only way Spike."

Spike looked over at the smirking face of his sire. One demon recognizes another and Spike knew the truth. No matter what Xander agreed to, the Nambulist had no intention of freeing anyone. In fact, keeping and torturing Spike would bring it years of pleasure through Xander's pain. The demon was a liar. The Nambulist had to die.

~*~*~*~*~

Willow jumped to her feet. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. "No, please, Giles, isn't there something we can do? We have to stop him. I know! I'll go wake him up. That's it! I'll wake him up!"

Giles caught her as she tried to rush by, holding her tightly in his arms as he whispered in her ear. "No, Willow, no. You know that isn't the answer. We can't intervene now. The demon is too strong. If this isn't stopped it will be out in the world.
It's up to Xander."

"To what? Offer himself up as a sacrifice? He has lived a perfectly happy life all these years without us and now we come back and do this to him? Sometimes I hate you Giles!"

Giles continued to hold her close as she trembled in his arms. "Sometimes I hate me too."

Part Forty-Five

Spike had always prided himself on his amazing ability to create and execute elaborate and seldom thought through plans. The fact that they were usually a dismal failure was of little consequence.

They were a tribute to his superior cunning, his high intellect and his patient perseverance. Qualities that, although few others could see, Spike knew he possessed in bucketfuls. Besides, if all else failed, he would resort to crude force and sheer power, taking whatever he wanted. It didn't matter. The end result was the same. Spike got what Spike wanted and what Spike wanted was to kill the demon and take his lover home, to bed, to keep.

His brain quickly shuffled through the information and began to formulate an idea. Unfortunately, he knew he couldn't share it. The Nambulist had, through the dreams, developed a direct link to Xander's subconscious and would pick it up quickly.

The more he turned it over, the more he was sure it would work, but he had to act fast. Xander's growing depression was serving as a direct power line giving the Nambulist fuel and strength.

Crossing his arms in disgust, Spike huffed at the Angel shaped demon. "Fine. You win. If you really promise to let us go, you can have him."

Xander gasped. Could he have been wrong? Was this all a ruse to get him here? "Spike?"

With an almost bored air, Spike ignored the pleas of the human and picked at the chipped black polish on his fingernails. "Tell you what, before I go, you mind if I say good bye to him? We did have some fun times, him and me."

The Nambulist clapped his hands in glee. It was almost there. All the human had to do was say the words, "I'm yours" and the fourth quarter buzzer would sound. Game over. The home team won. "Fine, fine, but be quick about it."

Spike scooped the resistant body up in his arms. He wasted no time with kisses or cuddles, instead, he immediately began whispering frantic words in his ear. Xander held his breath and listened. Spike gave him no time to ask questions or seek clarification.

"Do it Xander. Do it now! Do it NOW! DO IT NOW!"

Xander pushed away from the vampire and threw both hands out in the direction of the startled demon shouting, "CAGED!!"

Instantly, a small, restrictive cage of iron bars dropped from above, slamming to the floor around the demon who immediately began shrieking and rattling the solid, unyielding metal in a fit of rage.

"Holy shit, Spike, it worked! So why can't we just wish him away?"

"Sorry, Pet. Won't work. The Nambulist is a separate entity. It comes from a very real dimension. It forgot, though, that this is your dream and you can still manipulate the elements of your own dream. Nope, you can only hold it like that till you wake up, then it would be free again. We still have to kill it."

Xander tried to ignore the terrifying screams, curses and threats coming from the demon. "So how do we do that?"

Spike smiled and kissed Xander soundly on the mouth. "Got a plan for that too, I do. Think about it, Love, your emotions
are what drives him. Negative ones make him strong, so......"

Xander's face lit up. "So being my being happy hurts him. Great. Well, I'm happy so why is he still here?"

Spike smirked and pressed his body flat against Xander's, grinding his hard on roughly on the human's hip. Xander choked.
"You want to have sex? Here? In front of him?"

"Think about it, Xan. I can make you cum so hard you'll think you're in heaven. If that doesn't kill him, nothing will."

Xander gulped. "Yeah, but, to fuck right here on......."

"Uh, uh, Xan. Not fucking. Making love."

Spike continued to nuzzle and nibble at his partner's neck, running his hands down Xander's chest to his stomach, under his shirt, around and up his strong, muscular back. Unfortunately he could tell Xander was still soft.

"I....I don't think I can, you know, get it up."

Spike kissed him deeply, his cool tongue invading the human's mouth, warm, wet, fevered from the tension and exertion of the night. "Are you sure? Even if I let you call me Spike and bite me when you cum?"

Xander jerked, his eyes big with shock. He should have been embarrassed. He should have been outraged. Fact was, he was more turned on than he had ever been. It was a question that fell from Spike's lips, landed on Xander's ears and, bypassing his brain, shot straight to his cock.

"Just keep your eyes on me, Xan, and listen to my voice. All this around us is nothing more than an old late night movie playing on the telly. Tune it out, Love."

Spike put both hands on the side's of Xander's face and gazed deep into his trusting dark eyes. Staring at the sweet, bowed lips, Spike leaned in and softly placed his mouth on his lover's. When Spike felt Xander's cock twitch he pressed into the kiss harder, sliding his cool, wet tongue across the seam. Immediately, Xander opened his mouth and Spike dove in.

A searing shot of heated passion raced through Xander, filling his cock and clearing his brain of unnecessary clutter. He moaned, content to let Spike drive while he rode shotgun. Spike took Xander's hand and placed it on the zipper of the tight black jeans.

"Feel how hard I am? All that cock is for you, Lover. You want to suck it? Or maybe bend me over while you ram your thick beef into my arse?"

Xander whined. It was so hard to think with no blood in his brain, but he did know the answer to this one. It was what he had wanted all along. It was what no other man was allowed.

"No, I want you to do me. I want to feel this inside me." Xander squeezed the dick that was trying to escape the too tight jeans and it was now Spike's turn to groan. Neither man noticed that the Nambulist's yelling was now less fury
than pain.

With a big confident smile, Spike tore his shirt off over his head and tossed it to the floor where earlier it would have landed in blood and guts, now the body parts had all but faded away.

Xander did the same, also kicking off his shoes and dropping his pants. By God, all that time at the gym had paid off. He could see it in Spike's eyes and feel it in his fingertips as they ghosted over his chest and across his nipples. His body was magnificent.

Xander held his breath. Each place Spike touched left goose bumps in itS wake and a warm tingle that ran up his thighs and wiggled in his balls. Xander watched his hand as he lifted and held Spike's wrinkled pink sac weighing and rolling it thoughtfully.

"I always did think you had the nicest balls. I saw them once when you stayed with me years ago. You were in the shower and I walked in. God, how I wanted to touch them. Smell them and taste your cock. When you came in my mouth yesterday, it was everything I thought it would be. You taste so good."

"Fuck! Xander! Shit, you better lay down before I blow just from listening to you talk." Both men dropped to their knees, landing on the gray padded wrestling mat on the gym floor. The demon had stopped cursing and was now begging, offering deals and wanting a compromise as he rattled the bars of the cage seeking escape.

Spike couldn't have cared less. With or without a demon in the room, he was about to make love to the best man in the world. Two worlds.

Laying down on his back, feet up and apart, Xander waited for what he now knew he had been waiting on for the last ten years.

Spike settled on his knees between Xander's legs. He stripped his cock with one hand and stroked the inside of Xander's thigh with the other. "Are you ready for me, Xan?"

Quickly, Xander frowned and slapped his hand between his legs covering his wrinkled, hungry hole. "Lube! It'll hurt without lube."

Spike laughed and tugged his hand away by the wrist. He again positioned the thick dripping head against the hole and felt it flex and wink. "It's a dream, Xan. You just pretend it's all slicked up and it will slide right in."

Xander's eyes opened wide in realization. The next thing Spike knew, a dollop of warm, tingly KY Passion oil dribbled all over his cock and hand. "Like that?"

Spike barked out a laugh and coated his fingers with it, sliding two inside the eager opening. Slowly, Spike finger fucked him, scissoring and stretching till Xander thought his screams of frustration would match that of the Nambulist.

"Dream, Spike! Damn, enough!" Xander wrapped his fist around Spike's cock and tried to pull him close enough to shove it in.

"Wait, wait, I'll do it." Spike chuckled, he didn't want dream dick pulled off any more than the real one. Just in case.

Lifting Xander's ankles up onto his shoulders, the vampire covered the inside of the human's legs with kisses and nipping bites. Xander arched and pumped his cock into his hand.

With no more hesitation, Spike pressed forward, popping through and sending a bolt of pure pleasure burning throughout both their bodies. The piercing scream of pain that echoed through the cavernous room from the beast only drove the intensity of the moment higher. Holding Xander's ass high off the floor allowed Spike's cock to hit it's mark and pound his human's prostate, sending thumps of teeth rattling pleasure to his bladder.

Spike wanted to draw this out and make it last, but this wasn't the time. They needed to be rid of this problem and do this in the real world. If Xander wanted. Which he kind of suspected he did.

Wrapping his hand around Xander's, together they jerked till Spike felt the human's dick grow rock hard. Xander grunted and his cock let loose, spurting and pulsing thick, white strings of semen into the air. As he felt the first stirrings of his own release, Spike turned his head and bit deeply into Xander's inner leg, taking only one swallow of rich, love soaked blood.

When the sharp pain struck, the rippled inner muscles of Xander's ass milked Spike's own orgasm from him and together they rode the waves of hot flushing passion.

As the last of the after shocks ebbed, they were vaguely aware of the shouts coming from the cage. Still connected, they turned their heads in time to see the wicked witch of the west screaming and spinning.

"I'm melting. I'm meltingggggg. Oh, the humanity." Within seconds, nothing was left but a cloak, a broom and a pointy hat.

Spike turned back to the man beneath him, his brow wrinkled in a frown. "Wizard of Oz?"

Xander just shrugged. "Hey, it was MY dream wasn't it?"

Epilogue

The unsupported volume of water that had hung so long in the air suddenly dropped straight down, splashing into the bowl beneath it and sloshing out over the sides onto the expensive bamboo floor.

The four tall windows in the study, although covered with heavy drapes, were steamed up and fogged over, matching Giles glasses. Andrew was stunned speechless.

"Wow!"

Willow slumped back into her chair. She had told herself that she shouldn't watch, that it was just too personal, but this was, after all, a mission and she needed to see it's outcome. She was secretly VERY glad she did.

It took a few moments for everyone to realize that it was over. The collapse of the water spell signaled the end of the demon and that the men had awakened. Andrew jumped to his feet. "Come on. Let's go!"

Giles, clutching Andrew's hand, and Willow close behind, raced down the hall to the living room to make sure the two had awakened safely. Angel and Wesley opted not to join them. Instead, they rolled, clutched and fondled each other till suddenly, Wes stopped.

Pulling back, he looked Angel in the eye, his palm flat on Angel's chest. The two inch separation felt like miles and Angel whimpered but Wes would have his say. "Before coming home, there will be an understanding."

Angel fumbled wildly with the button on his pants. "Yeah, yeah, understanding. You need help with that zipper?"

Wes choked at the sight of Angel's thick, pink cock, his fingers itched to touch it but he resolved to be strong. First things first. "No more hiding, Angel. From now on, we are out and about. A couple. Exclusive. In fact, from now on, I'm Quick Draw and YOU, my freind, are Babalooie."

Angel's eyes bugged and his mouth fell open. He should have been insulted. He should have demanded respect. He should have refused. Luckily, his cock spoke first. It said 'agree, you idiot!'

"Yeah, o.k., we can do that. I can be Babalooie. Can we call my cock El Kabong?"

Wesley laughed out loud. The first time he did so in months. "I believe that could be arranged."

"Will you come home now?" Angel's voice suddenly seemed small and insecure.

Wesley smiled. He knew the big lug would take work, but Wes had time and it was a project well worth the effort. "Yes, Angel. After I shag you, we shall pack my things for the trip home. Now, be a good little sidekick and roll over."

Happily, Angel complied, flopping like a pancake on a hot griddle.

Rushing into the living room, the others found the two men very much awake and locked in a searing, passionate kiss. Spike's hands were everywhere while Xander's tongue did its best to locate and lick the tonsils Spike had so thoughtlessly tucked in the back of his throat.

Willow backed quietly out of the room. Seeing it in the bubble was one thing but up close and live was a little too intense. She busied herself by cleaning up the spell residue and turning on the television to drown out their erotic sounds. The Watcher, however, was not as timid.

"AHEM!"

"Oh, hey, Giles. We did it! We actually did it! Damn, I thought I was goner there for a while. If it hadn't been for Spike, shit, he saved my ass. I got a vampire genius. He not only thought up the plan but he was able to find me through that maze of corridors without any help. Am I lucky or what?"

Spike glanced over at a smirking watcher and winked. "That's me, Pet. Smartest vamp in the world of dreams. Now about
that arse I just saved..."

Xander snickered and returned to kissing and snuggling with the vampire who eventually had to let his human up for air.
"Well, that's it. Xander and I are done. Gotta go. Headed back to his place. Don't call. We'll keep in touch."

Before they got halfway to the door, Willow rushed into the room. "WAIT! LOOK!" Quickly she turned up the television and the local news.

".........eyewitness's reported the flash of light at approximately 1:00 am. When authorities investigated, they found all the previously missing men wandering, disoriented around the park. They have been taken to Union Hospital for examination. Preliminary reports indicate they are healthy but suffering tramatic amnesia. Reports of a UFO in the area are unsubstantiated. We will continue to bring you the developments of this story as they unfold."

Willow shut off the sound and beamed with pride at her friend. "You guys really did it. You saved all of them."

Xander's eyes lit up. "KIM!"

Spike immediately wagged his finger under his human's nose. "No! He's being tended to tonight, you can see him tomorrow. Right now I have a prize to collect."

Xander laughed. "Again? Didn't we just do that?"

"Nope, that was nothing more than a wet dream. Real thing will be MUCH better."

Xander's eyes glazed over when he reached in and felt the sticky mess in his boxers. "Better than that? Well, Spike's right. We gotta go. See ya all tomorrow." Xander nearly jerked the arm off the vampire tugging him out the door.

Giles glanced over at Andrew and wagged his eyebrows. Andrew squeaked and the chase was on.

~*~*~*~*~

ONE YEAR LATER

Willow marched happily into Giles office at the Watcher's Council in London. She didn't think it odd that Andrew was perched on his lap feeding him a watercress sandwich. It was, after all, lunch time.

"Giles, I got an e-mail from Xander. Hi Andy."

Andrew hopped off and threw away the wax paper before fixing Giles a fresh cup of tea. "Did you? Hey, what did he say? Oh, sorry Rupe, I should have let you ask, but really, what did he say?"

Giles chuckled at his partner's enthusiasm. Since returning to headquarters a year ago, after Giles had made the big public announcement of his and Andrew's partnership, Giles was somewhat disappointed to find nothing had changed. Apparently everyone knew. It was, however a great joy and relief to live happily and openly.

Willow leaned against the side of his desk. "He says they both say hi. They're still bickering over everything but you
know they like it like that. Spike has been dancing at Fabulous. Xander says it's good for business, that they always rake it in on the nights he dances, but I kinda suspect it's a form of foreplay for those two."

Giles sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Most things are."

Willow laughed. "Yeah. He also said Spike has gone to LA a couple times to help Angel. Xander still refused to help. He says that just isn't him anymore. That doesn't seem like Xander. Hey! I know a spell that would........"

"WILLOW! NO!"

Willow pouted but reluctantly agreed. Maybe it was not her place.

"Anyway, Spike said it seems like Wes and Angel are getting along better than ever. He says Angel is human whipped, whatever that means. Says he calls Wes, 'Ducky'. Don't know where he got that nickname."

Giles polished his glasses with authority. "'Ducks' is a common British term of endearment. 'Ducky' is no doubt a
deritive of that."

For some reason, Willow suspected there was more to it than that, but decided a closer examination really didn't interest her. "Anyway, everyone is still coming here for Christmas. I can't wait. Oh, and guess what? Xander says he hasn't had one nightmare since the night Spike moved in. Isn't that wonderful?'

Giles ran his fingers through Andrew's hair lovingly. "It is indeed."

The End

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