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dragonyphoenix) wrote2015-07-07 11:27 pm
Fic: Shanshu 38 - The End of the World as We Know It
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: 468 - Expunge
Rating: PG
Summary: Another chapter for Shanshu
Word Count: 1253
The insectoid guards had led them through so many tunnels that Willow had stopped worrying about what they'd find at the end. Spike's arm around her waist was warm, warmer than she'd expected. Granted, he was human now, but where he touched her was a lot more tingly than she'd thought it would be. It felt sort of nice actually. If they were going to die, at least she'd have a good memory to carry with her, but of course they weren't going to die because being defeated here would mean a big old apocalypse and she just didn't let that kind of thing happen even if she didn't know how she and Spike were going to stop it. She didn't know yet, which is why she and Spike were touching, pretending she was more hurt than she actually was so the demons would underestimate her and leave an opening for her to work with. Not that they had gotten careless. Yet.
When she risked a glance, Willow found Spike staring at her. He looked worried. That was an act, that had to be an act, right? It was odd, seeing someone so concerned for her. No one had been, not in a very long time. Maybe odd wasn't the right word. Maybe disconcerting? As she looked down to stare at the floor, Willow wondered if she should even call him Spike. He'd been William for six years. Maybe he'd prefer to still be William. He certainly wasn't the recently resouled Spike she remembered from the fight with the First. That Spike had been fragile, almost broken. This, um, Spike? William? He seemed more ready and able to jump into the fray.
“Should have killed me while we had the chance.” The bug guards either didn't hear his whispered words or didn't care, and, okay, maybe he wasn't completely non-fragile.
“They wouldn't have killed you,” Willow reminded him. “They need you for the ritual.”
“Which is why I should be dead.”
“Then I'd be dead too and I'm not ready to give up hope.” Since he'd given into the guards just to save her, he couldn't argue with that. And maybe she would call him Spike. He didn't seem to mind the name and, as plans went, giving up when the guards threatened her was a really bad one, which is sort of like Spike's plans in general. So, Spike it was.
As they were led into a cavern, he jerked his head to indicate the hundreds of demons rushing about. “Odds are against us.”
He had a point. The cavern towered above them and extended out a good quarter mile. It was full of demons, all busy and purposeful, which just couldn't be good. The demons made way, creating a path, as the insect-like guards led Willow and Spike through. As they passed, Willow saw that some of them didn't even seem to be demons at all. Some of them looked human, although that didn't necessarily mean that they were human. That made three different kinds of creatures: the bug-like guards, the thin as sticks demons with the white mask-like faces, and the maybe humans. They might still all be the same kind of demons. Some species were like that, having vastly different appearance based on gender or function. Not that it mattered. They were all obviously working toward the same purpose, which was apocalypsey. That was the thing she had to keep in mind.
They were stopped at the foot of a large dais. The three thrones each held a demon of the thin as sticks and wearing white masks variety. At least Willow thought they were masks. She really wasn't sure. They looked more mask-like than face-like and they sort of floated there under the hoods of the robes but they seemed to be anchored at the eyes. At the foot of the dais stood a half-dozen of what were probably demon courtiers. Spike was staring at one, glaring at might be a more appropriate term. “Give me one good reason not to break your neck.”
The woman, one of the human-looking might-be-demons, blanched at Spike's words but didn't speak. She looked vaguely familiar but she hadn't been wearing a robe when Willow had met her. Oh, of course, Ash from The Sunflower. The woman? demon? who'd drugged Willow and brought her here.
“The Shanshu”
“is in”
“our grasp.” The three demons on the thrones spoke, splitting the sentence up between them.
“Now is the time”
“of our great”
“return.”
“Now the killing fields”
“open”
“before us.”
“Now”
“the worlds”
“converge.”
Okay, and that didn't sound at all apocalypstic.
“Kill the girl.” The command, spoken by one of the throned demons, sounded like more of an afterthought than anything else, and, hey, they didn't get to kill her as an afterthought.
Spike pulled Willow in front of himself, wrapping his arms around Willow as if that would protect her and, actually, it wasn't a bad strategy. The demons wanted him alive. They weren't going to risk killing him just to get at her.
“No.” The eyes of the three demons on the dais turned on Ash. She trembled before them but spoke anyway. “The witch holds the Shanshu's memories. If she is destroyed, his memories may be expunged, lost forever with her.”
The three on the dais didn't move but Willow had the feeling they were debating amongst themselves. After a few minutes, one spoke, directing Ash. “Bind her to your will.”
“Ash, don't.” Spike called out.
Two of the guards grabbed Spike and pulled him off of Willow. Ash stepped forward and her hands glowed with raw power. As she touched Willow, the yellow golden light twisted and turned into cords, ropes, chains that wrapped themselves around Willow, binding her power. It would have been fascinating, Willow had never seen magic like this, but it was blocking her own power. Willow could feel her magic beating against the bonds like the wings of a bird beating against hands holding it still. Willow struggled against the bonds as ineffectively as Spike struggled against the two guards holding him. But she did notice one thing: a cord of power ran from Ash to the chains binding Willow. This wasn't a spell that could be set and left alone. Ash was maintaining it. If she were distracted, the spell binding Willow's magic would weaken.
“If she escapes her binding,” one of the Three told Ash, “you will be fed to the dr'grasith.” Okay, and Willow didn't know what a dr'grasith was, but based on Ash's face, not a good thing, not a good thing at all, and maybe Willow should feel bad about that but, apocalypse! It wasn't her job to save this might be a human who'd sided with demons.
“Told you,” Spike said. “Should have killed me.”
At a nod from the three demons, the guards let Spike go. Willow slipped back into his arm and, okay, she'd sort of lost the I'm injured pretense when Spike had been pulled off of her, but she felt safer with one arm wrapped around Spike's waist and maybe he felt a little better too because he at least stood a bit taller. And anyway, she had to tell him. As the guards led them to a cage at the far end of the room, Willow whispered, “Ash is using her own power to bind my magic. If she's distracted enough, I think I'll get my power back.”
“Oh, I'll distract her alright.”
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Gabrielle
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I can't wait to see how our intrepid witch gets them out of this! Me too. Or, wait, am I supposed to not admit I'm making this up as I go along? *grin*
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You write absolutely perfect Willow!
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