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Buffy had slipped into full Slayer mode by the time they were all assembled, knowing the only way to get herself, her family, and Emma out of this was to keep her focus on their task. She'd dealt with enough apocalypses in her twenty-three years to know what she was facing and what slipping up could lead to.

She stood in front Aiden, her arms crossed over her chest in a no-nonsense stance. "I want to know the game plan. Where exactly are we going, how long is it going to take to get there, and how are we traveling?"

Aiden turned his deep blue gaze on Buffy. "It should take approximately three days to reach Chalchicomehuel's fortress. Since any sort of mystical travel would cause unnecessary risks, we will have to travel on foot. The first day of this journey will be on the surface; however, we will then come to a series of tunnels in which we can travel more safely. I should warn you now that the land beyond this temple is savage. Beasts of all sorts roam free, waiting to tear out your throats. It will be dangerous."

Buffy shrugged. "Sounds like another Tuesday night back in ol' Sunnydale. Got any weapons?"

"Of course. I would not propose that any of us make such a journey unarmed. Come, I will take you into the armory and you can select what will be needed."

The group followed Aiden into a room off the side of the main chamber, and Buffy's eyes lit up as she saw the far wall was covered in swords. "Shiny," she said, eliciting a small grin from Spike.

Emma held back, glancing around but not moving. Aiden came to stand beside her. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Emma blushed before she admitted, "I don't know what to do with any of these things. I have no weapons training."

Aiden leaned in, whispering hotly in her ear, "You seemed to have no problem handling a certain 'weapon' last night."

"Aiden!" Emma gasped in shock, though her exclamation was quickly followed by a girlish giggle that almost made her wince as soon as she realized it had come from her.

"Don't worry, little Slayer, I will show you how to wield a sword. You will be ready when the time comes."

Across the room, Buffy elbowed Spike, then nodded her head towards Emma and Aiden, her eyebrow raising. Spike answered her unvoiced question with a nod, and Buffy mouthed, "Already?"

Spike nodded again, and Buffy shrugged, taking a sword off the wall and then swinging it a couple of times to test the weight. She smiled, deciding that Aiden did have good taste in weapons at least.

When everyone was armed, Aiden cleared his throat. "Are we prepared to depart then?"

"No time like the present," Buffy replied. She turned to her sister, concern for the younger woman clear on her face. "Dawnie? Are you holding up okay?"

"I'm fine," Dawn said, leaning on the hilt of the sword she'd chosen. "It's not like I haven't done this whole end of the world thing like a bazillion times before."

"I know, I just…" Buffy stopped, realizing she was coming close to revealing the truth about the Key—something she was nowhere near prepared to do yet. "Yeah, okay. Let's head out."

"This way," Aiden said, motioning towards a passageway. "It leads back to the surface." He walked into the darkened corridor, the other four close behind.

*** *** ***

Even without the storms Aiden had spoken of raging, this world they'd found themselves in was not a pleasant place. The red sky crackled above them, occasionally breaking the silence with a near-deafening burst of thunder. Spike kept his senses sharp, ready to fight at a moment's notice if need be. He'd made a vow to himself to see all three of these women through this safely, and he wasn't going to let anything make him break that. He knew he'd failed both Buffy and Dawn enough in the past…

He felt Buffy slip her warm hand in to his and looked down, seeing her green eyes filled with concern as she gazed up at him. "You're looking all pensive," she said. "Something wrong?"

Spike shook his head. "No more than the obvious, kitten."

"We'll be all right, Spike," Buffy said, squeezing his hand. "We'll all get through this just fine."

No sooner had she spoken than did Dawn let out an ear-piercing scream. Buffy and Spike whipped around to see her being pulled into the sand by something unseen just beneath their feet. "Dawn!" Buffy yelled, moving immediately towards her sister.

Before Buffy could get to Dawn, Emma reacted, slicing the creature she saw wrapping its hand around Dawn's ankle. The beast screamed from beneath the sand, its severed limb falling at Dawn's feet as the teen stumbled backwards, now free. Buffy ran to her sister's side, helping her to regain her balance.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked her. "Anything broken?"

"No, nothing's broken. I'm good," Dawn replied, breathing heavily. "What the hell was that?"

"A krenack," Aiden said. "It is strange to encounter one here, though. They usually travel further inland."

"Well apparently one decided to find itself a change of scenery," Buffy said. "Emma, is it…"

Before Buffy could finish her question, the krenack shot a second hand through the ground, grabbing Emma and pulling her down beneath the sand through a sinkhole the beast had created. Buffy and Spike shared a look before starting towards the spot when an inhuman cry of pain sounded and Emma appeared again, coughing up sand.

Aiden knelt beside her, offering her his hand to help her pull herself up. Emma sat beside the sinkhole she'd just been in, gasping. After a moment, she looked down, seeing that she was covered in sand and demon slime. "Oh, ew," she said, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "That was just…ick." She spit sand out of her mouth as she wiped at her eyes.

Suddenly, Aiden was hauling her up, his hands moving over her as he checked frantically for injuries. "It didn't bite you, did it? Krenack venom is quite poisonous."

"No, it didn't have a chance. I stabbed it the moment it pulled me down," Emma pushed Aiden back from her a little, steadying herself on her feet. She glanced at her sword. "Guess I'm better with this thing than I thought I'd be."

"That's Slayer instincts," Buffy said. "Practice will make you better, but the basics come with the whole Slayer package."

"Handy," Emma said. She turned to look at Dawn. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Dawn said. "Thanks."

Emma shrugged. "I heard you scream, and I was standing there, so…it seemed like the right thing to do." She shook her hair, sand raining down from it as she did.

Aiden reached into his pack and pulled out a cloth. "Here. This should help some. At least allow you to get the slime away from your eyes."

"Thanks," Emma replied, taking the cloth from him and wiping off as much of the goo and sand as she could. "I probably look horrible."

"Even krenack entrails cannot hide your beauty, little Slayer."

Emma smiled slightly. "Strangely enough, I think that may be one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me."

Buffy cleared her throat. "So, can we move along now? If there's anymore of those krenack things in the area, it's probably best we don't stick around to find out."

"I agree," Aiden said. He took his cloth from Emma, surprising her when it became clean again with just a shake. "Enchanted fabric," he replied to the unasked question he saw on her face as he folded it back up and returned it to his pack.

"Handy," Emma replied.

"Quite." Aiden gestured to a rocky formation that lay ahead of them. "Those are the caves that are the entrance to the tunnels. If we can make it there, then we may rest before setting out again without the danger of the storms."

Buffy nodded. "Then let's get to those tunnels."

The group began to walk again.

*** *** ***

It took them several hours to reach the tunnels Aiden had spoken of, the incident with the krenack leading them to move warily, watching their every step. However, while a few small creatures had crossed their path, it had been nothing as dangerous as the krenack had been.

"Are you tired, pet?" Spike asked softly, noting the worn look on his fiancée's face.

"A little, but it's not bad. I can make it to the tunnels," Buffy said.

"You sure? I could carry you the rest of the way," Spike told her.

Buffy shook her head. "I'm good, really."

"You'd let me know if you weren't, wouldn't you, Buffy?" Spike asked, frowning. "I don't want you putting yourself or the baby at risk by being stubborn."

"I'm not being stubborn," Buffy insisted. "I'm tired, yeah, but not overly so, and I haven't felt any nausea since that little pit stop I had to make a couple of hours ago."

Spike stroked her back, her words doing little to remove his concerns. He'd been worried enough about Buffy on this trip before she'd suddenly turned very pale and run behind a rock, emptying her stomach. He could understand her sense of obligation as the Slayer, but this was the last thing a pregnant woman needed to be putting herself through. "Let me know the moment you get too tired," Spike said.

"I will," Buffy replied. "I know my limits, Spike."

Spike's eyebrow rose at that, but he said nothing. Even if Buffy did know her limits, she'd never exactly been one to stop when she reached them. He just hoped that having the baby's well-being to think of would be enough for her to take care of herself for once. He took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as they continued to travel.

*** *** ***

Once they reached the shelter of the caves, Aiden found a spot for them to settle in for a little while, the amount of travel they'd done that day sufficient for the time being. He was aware that the older Slayer was with child, and it worried him to think of her making this dangerous journey in her state, though he knew nothing could be done about it now. Besides, from the numerous conversations he'd overhead between her and her mate throughout the day it was quite clear that she wasn't going to stop anyway. The woman had quite a stubborn streak, that much was plain.

Aiden knelt on the ground, opening his pack and removing several small items. The first one, he tossed a few feet in front of him before speaking words in a language none of his companions recognized. Instantly, it burst into flames, illuminating the cavern they were in as well as filling it with a comforting warmth. "The fire will burn there, contained, until I put it out," Aiden told them, looking up at the four gaping humans. "It is safe, and it will allow us to stay warm."

"Handy, that," Spike said, still eyeing the fire warily.

Aiden then set three other small items on the ground, stepping back before he waved his hand over them and spoke again in the strange language. This time, they did not catch fire, but instead grew in size to produce three sleeping pallets, two of them slightly larger than the third.

"Well, that beats an air mattress," Buffy said. "You could make a fortune selling these things in our world."

Aiden smirked. "Tempting, but I believe I'll pass on that. I've already got all I could ever need." He reached into his pack again, this time producing five strips of what appeared to be dried meat. "It doesn't look like much, I know, but the nutrients in it make it the equivalent of an entire meal. It should fill you."

Aiden watched as Spike took a strip and began to inspect it carefully. "Spike, if I wished to kill you, I would've done it some time ago, and not waited until now to poison your food."

Spike looked up at Aiden. "I can't help but be cautious, mate. I've got my family here to watch out for."

"I know," Aiden said. "And I can respect your need to protect them. I would expect nothing less." Aiden bit into one of the strips, chewed, and swallowed. "But as you can see, I am not falling to the ground in death now."

"Somewhat comforting," Spike admitted. He sniffed the strip, using his superior senses to catch the scent of any possible poisons. He didn't smell any, and he figured it probably was safe as Aiden had said, but he still wanted to be as careful as he could for the sake of the women there with him. He tasted it, waiting a moment before nodding.

The group ate in silence, finding that the strips, while small, did fill them up as Aiden had claimed. Apparently wherever it was he came from was big on making things travel-sized…

Aiden cleared his throat. "There is an underground spring not far form here where you could wash off the remaining krenack grime if you would like, Emma," he said. "It has been known to cause skin irritation after prolonged exposure, and it could make sleeping quite difficult."

Emma nodded. She had been starting to feel a little itchy… "Okay. Where is the spring?"

"Come with me. I'll show you."

Spike held up his hand. "Whoa. I don't think I like the idea of the two of you just wandering off alone down here."

"It isn't far," Aiden said. "And it would be wise for you to stay here, keep the campsite safe. Besides, your mate is clearly tired. She needs to rest."

"I'll be fine, Spike," Emma said. "I just really want this slime off of me."

Spike glanced between Emma and Aiden. His gut had been telling him all along to trust the man, but there was too much at stake for him to be anything but on his guard. "Hurt her, and I kill you."

"Of course," Aiden said with a nod. He took Emma's hand. "Rest. We'll be back soon."

As Emma and Aiden walked away, Buffy sat down on one of the larger pallets and patted it with her hand. "Sit down, Spike. Aiden's not going to hurt her, and you know it. Not with that look in his eyes…"

Spike sighed, sitting beside Buffy. "We've got a world to save, you know. It's not the time to be sneaking off for a shag."

Dawn snorted, making the blond couple glance up at her. "Please. If I wasn't here, you two would be all over each other right now."

Spike wagged his finger at her. "That's not the point, bit."

"Whatever," Dawn said with a smirk. She laid down on the smaller of the three pallets, staring up. "Hey, how about the next time we take a family vacation it's to somewhere that doesn't involve sleeping in a cave that's quite possibly full of demons?"

Buffy chuckled, leaning back against Spike. "Sure. And while you're working on that, you're gonna have to find a new family, 'cause I think this is the best we're gonna get."

*** *** ***

I know it took me a really long time to get this chapter out, and I'm sorry to everyone who's been waiting for it. I have been trying to work on it, but I was struggling with some very bad writer's block and couldn't seem to get them out of the temple. But I think I'm past it now, so hopefully it won't be months until I can post again.

Also, there's been some questions about Emma's age. She's nineteen.

Please review and let me know if people are still interested in this story after the break!





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