On the other side of the fire, Aiden stirred, Emma making a little mew of protest as he slipped away from her. Spike thought back to the day before and Emma's insistence that it was just sex with Aiden, nothing that could cloud her judgment, and frowned. She was clearly in a little more over her head than she'd said she was, and Spike wondered if she even realized it.
Buffy came back then, sitting beside Spike on the pallet and resting her head against his shoulder. "How are you feeling, kitten?" he asked softly as he brought his arm around her and held her tightly against him.
"Crappy," she answered honestly. "My head hurts."
"Our journey across the desert took less time than I had anticipated," Aiden said, looking over at Buffy and Spike. "I had counted on more attacks than the one from the krenack. We can move more leisurely today, and it won't put us too far behind."
Buffy turned her head towards Aiden. "But don't we need to get to Chachi's lair like, as soon as possible?"
"Soon, yes, but not at the expense of your health. Besides, you've assured me that Chalchicomehuel does not have access to the Key, which lessens the haste," Aiden replied. "Do not hesitate to rest when you need to, Slayer. It will not cause any harm."
Spike looked at Aiden for a moment, giving the other man a nod as he realized what he was doing. If Buffy didn't feel like resting would put the world in any more jeopardy, she'd be more likely to do it—something Aiden must've been observant enough to figure out. "See, luv," he said to Buffy, pushing her hair behind her ears. "You can take it a bit easier today."
"Are you sure?" Buffy asked, glancing between the two men. "This is important and…"
"Geez, Buffy, the man can't lie, remember?" Dawn said with more than a little exasperation, poking her head up from her own pallet. "If he says you can rest a little, then you can."
Buffy gave her sister a dirty look. "Fine. I got it. No pushing myself too hard today."
"I'm holding you to that," Spike said, his eyes level with hers as he placed his palm flat against her belly.
Buffy reached down and took his hand, lacing her fingers with his. "I told you last night I'll be more careful. I meant it. And starting with that, can we wait a little bit before we set out? My stomach's still all flippy."
"Of course," Aiden replied. "Just let me know when you're ready."
Buffy nodded her assent, and leaned against Spike, resting her head on his shoulder as she waited for her stomach to settle.
Emma felt like they'd passed the same spot a million times by now, but she had the feeling that was more because every spot looked about the same when you were walking through a dark cave and not because Aiden was leading them around in circles.
She'd never been a fan of small, dark spaces, and the longer they were in these caves, the more she had to fight from feeling too panicky. Instead, she kept a tight grip on Aiden's arm as she walked at his side, the strength she felt there keeping her going. He'd told them that soon they'd reach a cavern where they could stop for a bit, and Emma kept reminding herself of that. In the cavern, they may still be underground and in the dark, but at least they wouldn't be as closed in as they were in these passageways. If she only had some space to breathe…
Suddenly, Aiden came to a halt, causing Emma to jerk and almost stumble, her mind not focused enough on what was right in front of her. She started to ask what was going on when she realized Spike had also grown completely still, his body rigid as he struggled to move himself in front of Buffy and Dawn.
Spike and Aiden shared a look before Aiden spoke, his voice low, "There's something in here."
Emma tightened one hand around the hilt of her sword and the other around Aiden's arm. She felt a mix of fear and adrenaline surge through her as she waited for whatever was going to happen next.
She didn't have to wait long. Above them, two yellow eyes opened, revealing a creature that had been blending in with the roof of the cave. With a hiss, it dropped to the ground, landing in front of the group and snarling viciously at them.
The demon was large with dark scales, and reminded Emma of some sort of bizarre cross between an armadillo and a snake. Its body was hard, slightly domed over, and its small, rounded head poked out from the top, fangs and a forked tongue appearing with every snarl the creature made. For a moment, it made no move, though its body seemed poised for attack. When it finally did move, it lunged for Dawn, only to have Spike immediately block it. He swung at the demon with his sword, cursing as it didn't put as much as a dent into the creature's hard outer covering.
"Looks like it's going to have to be decapitation with this one," Buffy said as Spike tried striking it from one side while Aiden thrust at its back. "Or a chainsaw, but we appear to be fresh out of those."
"Damn. And I had one in my other jeans, too," Spike replied. "Head it is then."
The demon was soon attacking again, and this time Spike swung at its head. The demon, it turned out, was better defended than they realized, and it pulled its head down below its hard outer covering.
"Son of a bitch!" Spike said as the demon's body armor blocked him again and its arms struck out to knock him to the ground. "Aiden, any idea on how to kill it?"
"No. I've never seen one before," Aiden said, even as he was maneuvering himself around to fight it face to face. He had as much luck as Spike, however, and the demon grabbed him by his shirt and threw him, causing him to slam into Emma. The two of them tangled together, both struggling to get back on their feet in order to combat the creature.
Buffy remembered her promise to worry more about her baby, but as the demon turned to advance on Dawn again, the immediate need to protect the rest of her family took precedence. She moved between the demon and her sister, her sword raised. The demon hissed and raised its clawed hand, striking at Buffy even as her sword came down to block.
In a moment of horror, Buffy felt the demon's massive claws rake across her belly. Panic filled her as she waited for the pain, for the feel of her flesh tearing and the knowledge that her child had been taken from her.
Only it didn't come. Instead, the demon screamed in rage and pain, holding its hand with the other. With a start of shock, Buffy realized that its thick claws had not ripped through her, but had instead broken off as soon as they'd touched the skin of her abdomen. The bottom of her shirt was torn from the attack, but she didn't have a single mark on her skin. She frowned in surprised confusion. "Huh."
The demon recovered quickly from the pain of its injury and turned to attack once more, again focusing on Dawn. Dawn screamed as it lunged at her, pinning her one-handed against the wall. Its forked tongue darted out, licking the air before its mouth curved in something that could've been a smile.
"Key…"
Dawn's heart pounded in her chest, her whole body seeming to freeze as the demon's eyes stared down into hers. She felt a pull, an urge to go with it, to let it take her away, even as the very same thought filled her with terror.
It was then that Emma managed to get to her feet again, shaking off the aches she'd gotten from being stuck between a rock-solid ground and a very large, very heavy man. Before the others had a chance to get to their feet, Emma had scrambled for her weapon. She sized up the situation, an idea forming in her head before she ran and leapt onto the back of the demon, wrapping her arm tightly around it to hold on as it tried to buck her off.
As it had done when Spike had gone for its neck, the demon pulled its head in—only Emma had been planning on that. She gripped onto it with one hand and raised her sword with the other, then plunged the blade past the demon's protective body armor and into the top of its head. Emma turned her face quickly, wincing with disgust as the demon's blood spurted up, splashing her.
The demon gurgled, spasming one more time, throwing Emma off its back as it did, before it fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.
Dawn took a deep breath, shaking her head as the last of the demon's pull left her mind. "Holy shit," she said, kicking the body of the demon one time for good measure, making sure it didn't respond.
"Ow," Emma groaned, wincing as she tried to get to her feet. "If I wasn't a Slayer, I'd have so many broken bones right now. And why am I the one that keeps getting splattered with demon guts?"
Spike shook himself off, then helped Emma up. "Nice going there, though."
"Yeah," Buffy added. "I hadn't thought of getting to its head like that."
Emma shrugged. "It's how a couple of my brothers used to kill turtles." At the looks that got her, she shrugged and added, "They're sick bastards. I usually don't claim them in public."
Aiden had gotten to his feet, though he'd remained silent, observing the scene in front of him. Spike frowned when he saw the concerned look on Aiden's face. "What is it, mate?"
"This battle revealed to me how little I know about the current situation," Aiden replied. "The Key is here with us, and the child Buffy carries is one of prophecy."
"Huh?" Buffy said, her brow wrinkling. "Okay, the Key thing I knew, though I'm not gonna be chatty about it, but the prophecy thing gets the 'huh?'"
"Wait, the Key's here?" Emma asked, holding up a hand. "What's going on?" She turned to Aiden. "And how did you suddenly know that?"
Aiden nodded down to the demon's corpse. "I heard it. It called Dawn the Key."
Emma's head whipped around, and she gaped at her friend. "You're the…"
"It's a long story," Dawn said. "But yeah. Key is me." She gave a small wave.
"This isn't the best place to be hashing all this out," Spike said, taking a step forward. "Obviously we're vulnerable here."
"You're right," Aiden replied. "We should be able to keep a better eye on our surroundings in the cavern up ahead."
"Right then. We'll talk there," Spike agreed.
"Wait, first I want to know what the hell he's going on about with prophecies," Buffy said. "I don't like those."
Aiden gestured to Buffy's stomach with his hand. "Your child is protected from the strike of a weapon. That is only bestowed on mothers who carry children of the utmost importance, ones whose births and deeds in life have been prophesized. Were you not aware of this?"
Buffy shook her head. "No. Was I supposed to like, get a visit from an angel or something?"
"I do not believe so," Aiden answered, frowning.
"Well, if I was, totally missed it," Buffy said. "I guess this will be something to keep the Watchers busy when we get back home. But in the meantime, I've got a bulletproof belly, huh? I bet I could make a killing in a sideshow." At the look Spike shot her, Buffy held up her hands. "Only kidding, honey. But it is kinda cool."
"Don't take any chances," Spike said. "Whatever forces are protecting the baby could be fickle, Buffy."
"Duh, sweetie." Spike started to speak again, but Buffy went over to him and kissed his cheek, getting him to calm down before he started in on her. "Let's just get to that cavern, all right? I want to rest."
Spike nodded, though Buffy could see from the look in his eyes that he was still very unsure of this turn of events. She decided she'd discuss it with him later, when it was just the two of them. For now, they needed to get moving.
"Are we ready to go then?" Aiden asked.
"Yeah," Buffy replied, slipping her hand into her fiancé's and giving it a squeeze. "Let's go."
I'm sorry it took me two months to update this story. I'd tried to work on it, but I was very unhappy with it and didn't like anything I had. However, being the kind and generous soul that she is, Niamh recently agreed to beta the chapters I'd written and help me get them to a point where I could be happy enough with them to post. So hopefully with her help (thanks, Nia!) I can get out of the funk I've been in with this story and start updating more regularly.
Please review. In all honesty, I could really use some encouragement with this one.