On the other hand, the desert with its dark, ominous, alien sky was not a drastic improvement.
She stayed close to Aiden, telling herself it wasn't because she wanted him to protect her, but because he knew this world and she didn't.
Dawn followed close behind them with Spike—Buffy again cradled in his arms—bringing up the rear. Every now and then Emma would hear Buffy insist she was fine to walk now, and every time, Spike would ignore her. Finally, Buffy had sighed heavily, and since Emma had not heard the other Slayer protest being carried again, she assumed Buffy had given up.
Periodically, the wind would kick up the sand around them, and Emma would turn her face towards Aiden, shielding her eyes against his chest. Every time she did, he'd wrap his arm around her, holding her close until the wind had passed.
The desert seeming to stretch out endlessly in front of them, the small group kept moving forward.
Buffy struggled to stay alert. She knew even with Spike carrying her she needed to be ready at a moment's notice were they to be attacked again, but she was finding that increasingly difficult. His arms were warm encircled around her, and his heartbeat was steady against her ear. Even with what surrounded them, being in his embrace gave her a feeling of safety, and she knew it would be easy to simply drift off to sleep.
However, while she couldn't give in to her need for rest now, she swore to herself that once she got home, she wasn't leaving the bed for several days, even if there was yet another apocalypse looming.
With all the Slayers running around now, someone else could certainly field the next one.
Unbidden, her eyes kept trying to close, and Buffy would start to slip out of consciousness before she remembered where she was and snapped to attention again.
She'd just started to drift off again when Spike stopped short. "Hold up a moment," he said to the others. "I hear something."
Dawn stopped in her tracks, then turned to look at him. "It's not hissing, is it? Please don't tell me it's hissing."
The look on Spike's face was all she needed to know he wasn't going to be able to grant that particular request. Dawn kicked at the sand. "Crap."
Buffy began to squirm in Spike's arms, and he set her down on her feet without protest. "How far away does it sound?" Buffy asked him.
"Not far. And it sounds like…" Spike paused, frowning as he cocked his head to the side and tried to verify what he was hearing. "It sounds like it's under us."
Suddenly, a large snake with a crest like a cobra popped up from the sand, snapping its fangs at Dawn. She screamed, jumping backwards to get out of the way as she swung her sword forward, making the snake recoil.
Four other snakes rose then, surrounding the group. "Geez, Tremors much?" Dawn said, her voice shaky as she moved closer to Buffy and Spike.
"I didn't like that movie when I wasn't living it," Buffy responded, her sword up at the ready.
Wordlessly, Spike, Buffy, Emma, and Aiden all formed a protective circle around Dawn, knowing she was the focus of the attack. They waited for the giant snakes to strike, the sounds of the beasts' hissing now almost deafening.
"They're not moving," Buffy noted. "I don't like this. It's like they're…"
"Waiting for something," Spike finished for her, earning a nod from the blonde Slayer.
Although the snakes weren't attacking, they had successfully trapped the five people in their midst, surrounding them like bars of a reptilian cage. Any time one of them moved, the snake closest by would snap its massive jaws, making it clear that anyone who tried to run would have to contend with its dripping fangs.
It started with a low rumble, far in the distance. Then, the ground beneath them began to shake, toppling all five of them to the sand. Spike was the first to regain his balance, and he moved towards Buffy and Dawn, trying to shield the two women from whatever was about to happen.
Yet as soon as he reached them, one of the snake's colossal tail shot forth out of the sand, striking him hard across the back. He slumped, blood oozing from the wound.
Emma turned at the sound of Buffy's scream and watched her crawl to Spike, shaking him, her movements growing in strength as he didn't respond. The wind picked up around them, howling and kicking up blinding amounts of sand. Emma held her hand out, trying to get to Dawn when the ground underneath the younger Summers opened.
Buffy turned again, one hand on her fiancé as she reached for her sister, yelling the teenager's name. Dawn tried to grasp Buffy's hand, their fingers touching, but the pull was too strong, and Dawn disappeared into the ground.
With Dawn, went the snakes, and the desert stilled again, an eerie silence settling around them.
Buffy trembled, her eyes darting between the spot Dawn had last been and Spike's still body. Emma rose to her feet and stomped with her boot, trying to see if she could follow Dawn under as she had when that creature had grabbed her friend at the start of their journey, yet the fissure seemed to have closed completely.
Aiden moved quickly to Buffy's side so he could inspect Spike's body. He met the Slayer's gaze. "He's alive. Poisoned heavily, but I will try to remove the toxin from his body."
Buffy's eyes were rimmed red as she asked, "Try? Do you know you can do this?"
"I can't make you a promise I do not know I can keep," Aiden told her as he shook his head. My healing powers are limited, and his injury is great. But I will do the best that I can and hope it will be enough."
Buffy's only response was a nod, knowing she had no other alternatives now than to hope Aiden's best was enough. Her mind was in turmoil, her heart screaming for both Spike and Dawn.
Aiden rolled Spike on to his stomach, positioning him with his head cradled in Buffy's lap so as to keep it out of the sand. He ran his hands over the open wound, his eyes closed as he chanted softly.
After several moments, he looked up, shaking his head with a frown. "I don't have enough power in me."
"Could you take some of mine?" Buffy asked, fighting her tears. She needed to be strong now, for her lover and her sister. "I have a lot of it."
"I'm not sure it would be safe," Aiden replied. "You are with child; it could cause both you and the baby harm, were I to attempt to siphon off your energy."
"But the baby's protected by the magical whatsit. Wouldn't that…"
"Take some from me," Emma said, cutting Buffy off as she stuck her hand out towards Aiden. "'Cause unless this whole 'I can't lie thing' is a big act and you were lying to me the other night, I'm certainly not pregnant."
"I wasn't lying," Aiden said, and Emma could've sworn she saw his cheeks redden slightly. However, it soon faded, and with determination, he took her hand.
Emma felt as Aiden began to draw the energy from her, yet it didn't hurt as she'd suspected it might. Instead, she felt his presence connecting with hers, soothing her as energy from her began to flow into Spike, with Aiden serving as the conduit.
Buffy ran her hand through Spike's hair, saying a silent plea that this would work. "Please, baby, you have to be okay. We'll need you to save Dawnie, and…" Buffy swallowed hard as a fresh rush of tears filled her eyes. "Spike, please," she whispered. "I'm still not ready for you not be here. I'll…I'll never be ready for that."
Aiden pulled up, his arm shooting out to catch Emma as he let go of her hand and she slumped to the ground. She swallowed, blinking slowly, feeling tired but knowing she could still go on.
"I've done all I can," Aiden said. "We won't know if it's enough until he awakens."
Buffy fought the urge to panic. "How long will that be?"
"I don't know," Aiden replied. "But we need to seek shelter for now." He stood and scoured the terrain, then pointed ahead. "There is a rock formation over those dunes. They should protect us, should a storm arise." He stood, taking Spike and throwing him over his shoulder before helping the two women stand as well.
Buffy glanced at Spike, knowing he'd be quite put out if he knew Aiden was going to carry him like that.
A small, almost smile formed on her lips at the thought.
He had to be all right. They couldn't have come this far only for her to lose him now.
Silently, they made their way across the dunes.
Dawn groaned as she sat up, her eyes opening slowly. She looked around, frowning as she realized she was moving through a dark tunnel, though she wasn't actually the one doing the walking.
No, not walking—slithering. She realized she was sitting in some sort of shallow box tied to one of the giant snakes that had attacked them in the desert. She reached out, yelping when her hand received a shock.
Crap. Force field.
"Pretty little Key is awake. Pretty little Key stays put."
Dawn turned, noticing to her left a small, hideously ugly demon riding a snake. Her nose wrinkled as the creature looked at her with something that could've been a smile.
"Krez told his lord he would find the Key. Krez did good."
Dawn sighed. This was just what she needed—to get kidnapped by Gollum's even more deformed cousin and his pet mutant snakes. "I'm not the Key," Dawn said, figuring it was at least worth a shot. "You've got it all wrong."
Krez hissed, and Dawn reeled back at the sight of his forked tongue. "Pretty little Key lies. If lies keep going, Krez take away pretty little Key's mouth."
Dawn's eyes bulged at that, and she decided not to try to play that particular card anymore.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked.
Again, Krez hissed. "Pretty little Key must not want pretty little mouth."
She swallowed, resolving now just to stay quiet. She needed to focus on escape anyway.
Dawn thought back to the cave and how the Key had seemed to come alive inside of her long enough to banish the snakes. Perhaps if she could do it unintentionally, then if she concentrated hard enough, she could will it to happen as well.
She closed her eyes, trying to will the Key to the surface; however, nothing happened. Krez began to laugh, and Dawn's eyes opened again.
"Krez thought pretty little Key might try to banish Krez. Krez saw in the cave. Krez has been watching, has been waiting." He grinned with evil glee. "Krez knew to get Key, Krez must distract golden-haired Slayer. So Krez had pet kill man with blood-drinker scent and golden-haired Slayer look away! Krez get Key then." Krez cackled in delight.
Dawn gasped, her face growing pale. Spike? She shook her head, praying it wasn't true. Krez had to be wrong, because Spike couldn't be dead—not again.
A memory flashed in her mind from right before she was pulled beneath the sand. The snake's tail… Spike… blood... A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Pretty little Key don't need crying. Krez's lord will soon have pretty little Key, and then she will not care for friend. Girl will be gone; only Key remain." Krez clapped his hands.
Dawn turned from him, hugging her knees tightly against her chest.
I really am trying to finish this fic. It's still a struggle for me to write, as the inspiration just isn't there. I have, however, recently finished the rough drafts for two of my other WIP's, so I'm going to try to devote more time to this one and hopefully bring it to a conclusion. Thank you to everyone who has been so patient through all the breaks between posts.