Prompt 87 - Being the cavalry - BtVS

[thismaz]

 Title: Being the cavalry
 Fandom: BtVS
 Prompt: 87 - Dreams
 At: tamingthemuse
 Rating: Older Teen
 Summary: Part 26. Set during the summer before season 1, Xander's life is changed radically when vampires invade it. In the meantime Angel and Spike have their own, separate agendas.
 Word Count: 2,955
 Comments: Are greatly appreciated, loved and cherished.
 Previous parts:
 In reverse order, in tags here
 In my memories.
 Or, starting here with links to the next, at the end of each chapter.
 Disclaimer: here.
Now beta'd by the wonderful laazikaat

Warning (highlight the white area to see the warning text):

This is a Demon Spike/Vamp Xander, Vamp Jesse story

26. Being the cavalry

Spike wasn't happy about leaving Dru alone in the centre of a town she didn't know, and where he knew no one he could call on to protect her, but her plan required he do just that. She had faith in her own ability to evade any number of untutored minions. And in truth, he acknowledged, Xander or Jesse would be more of a hindrance than a help to her in that task. He also knew that, like him, she didn't make the mistake of underestimating Luke. His followers may be weak minion made minions, but Luke himself had centuries of experience and had stood at the Master's shoulder through them all. Spike's comfort was that Dru knew Luke even better than he did, since she'd spent time at the Master's court before Spike was made. She knew that Luke was big, but slow, experienced, but stupid. She would be okay, he assured himself as he led Xander and Jesse in the wake of the fleeing survivor of their little ambush, towards St David's cemetery.

Finding the crypt was easy, once you knew about it. They approached warily, making sure they were not spotted, making sure there were no guards or lookouts.

Crouched behind a large family gravestone, downwind of the crypt, they watched the entrance. "Are we going to kill them, sire?" Xander whispered, his words tickling at Spike's ear.

Spike swivelled round on the balls of his feet, one arm raised to the lip of the tombstone for balance. "What? No! Are you mad?" He saw Xander open his mouth and moved to forestall him. "Don't answer that," he said, frowning first at Xander, then at Jesse for good measure. "No, we're not going in there all guns blazing to commit bloody suicide! There could be twenty of them. First rule of survival, pet - pick your fights!" With a final glare at Jesse, he turned his attention back to their target.

Half an hour later and Xander and Jesse were fidgeting and nudging at each other like the pair of school boys they so resembled, while Spike was worrying that Dru had been wrong in believing that a sighting of her would have the desired result. He was beginning to consider returning to her, his concern for her health warring with his instinctive need to follow her instructions, when the heavy wooden door behind the fancy wrought iron gates was pulled open. Moments later the gates themselves swung wide and Luke strode out into the graveyard, into the meagre light of the crescent moon. He paused on the threshold, taking a deep breath, scenting the air and Spike allowed himself to relax into gameface, keeping his eyes slitted until they had adapted to the darkness. Reaching out, he placed a restraining hand on Xander's and Jesse's shoulders as he waited to see if their presence was suspected. Apparently not, because Luke turned ponderously and jerked his head in a clear order to those behind him in the dark that they were to follow him. Spike counted them out, logging their faces as they exited the crypt.

One by one, he watched the dark shapes slip through the doors and hurry to catch up with Luke's retreating back, the last pushing the gates closed behind him. They gathered behind Luke in a phalanx as he disappeared between the trees towards the town centre. Twelve in all. Assuming there was more than one hunting party already out, and there would need to be with a gang that big to feed, it was likely that the den had been left with a minimal guard. Given the amazing freedom vampires had in this town, there was even a chance that the place had been left empty. Everything Spike had seen since his arrival in Sunnydale suggested that these vampires had grown overconfident and sloppy, secure in their invulnerability. It was quite possible they wouldn't consider a home guard necessary, but that was not a guess he could afford to rely on. He waited a further full minute after the last one disappeared from sight, before he stood up.

Settling his coat comfortably back onto his shoulders, he turned to look Xander and Jesse in the eyes. Addressing Jesse first he frowned to reinforce the message. "You, stay behind me and keep your mouth shut!" he instructed. Then to Xander, "You too, pet. Stay back. You don't have the experience, or the age, to face off against an enemy alone. Even if they do still have dirt under their fingernails."

"I can fight!" Xander asserted indignantly.

Spike snorted. "Yeah, in your dreams, pet."

Beside him, Jesse nudged Xander. "Yeah, like you could always fight Rodney Munson?" he jeered.

Xander turned on him. "Rodney Munson is a.. a..."

Jesse laughed. "Oh, come on, man, you're a vampire and you still can't manage to insult the guy who beat you up every day for five years."

His laughter was interrupted by a growl from Spike. 'Bleedin' upstart good for nothing,' Spike thought, taking in Xander's crushed expression. He stepped between them, turning his back on Jesse. "Listen, love," he said softly, "once this is over, I'll teach you to fight. By the time I've shown you a few tricks, you'll be able to knock the clogs off anyone. But right now, you haven't had time to get used to your body." Xander looked up at him hopefully. "My Dru, she says you'll be a bloody dragon one day. But that day isn't now." He raised an eyebrow interrogatively and Xander nodded in doubtful agreement. "And then you can come back and show this Rodney Munson character exactly what fighting is." He smiled when he saw an expression of gleeful anticipation light up Xander's face. Turning around, he glared at Jesse until he lowered his eyes with due respect, then he strode off across the grass to the crypt.

Sure enough, the gates were unlocked and the door still ajar. Spike took a quick look back, reassured when he saw Xander give Jesse a playful shove. Frowning when Jesse returned it. 'Deal with that later,' he thought. In the meantime they had a job to do. Opening one of the pair of gates and pushing the door slightly wider, he edged into the musty space with care. A couple of dark alcoves, a couple of large sarcophagi, a stone urn and another set of ornate, wrought iron gates opposite the entrance, but thankfully no guards on duty. 'Minions!' He snorted to himself. 'They never bloody learn.' He shook his head in wonder, as he walked over and inspected the other set of gates. As pretentious front doors went, this was certainly one. It was just the Master's style. It was also unlocked.

Giving an iron curlicue an amused stroke he turned, intending to call Xander and Jesse in, and found them already standing to attention behind him, Xander's grin making clear his pride that they'd been able to creep up on Spike without him noticing. Spike contented himself with a sceptical eyebrow, although he knew his lips had twisted in acknowledgement.

Pulling the gate open a crack, he slipped through into the darkness beyond. Inside was a set of concrete stairs and at the bottom of those, what was obviously a service tunnel of some sort - a couple of ancient acetylene bottles indicated that, at least at one time, maintenance workers penetrated this far to check the conduits and pipe work lining its walls. Utilities, he surmised, laying a hand against one of the pipes and feeling the cold chill that suggested a mains water supply inside. Taking a breath, he scented the air, nodded at Xander and set off, heading east.

The maintenance tunnel went on for about half a mile and although Spike strode forward as if he owned the place, his concentration was focussed on the shifting patterns of air and the messages they carried. The scent of Luke's departure was dimming now and there were no indications of more recent traffic. At each side tunnel he paused to check, but so far their current route was leading them steadily onward, towards the school and the hellmouth.

After ten minutes of steady marching, the tunnel took an abrupt left turn, while many of the conduits continued straight ahead through the solid concrete wall. Mentally calculating distances and geography, Spike decided it was probably a detour around the basement of the Town Hall. He turned to follow the tunnel, ignoring the nervous sniping and whispering Xander and Jesse were indulging in behind him. After a further hundred yards or so, a rough hole on his right exposed what looked like a disused sewer, it's curved floor now dry, but stained from old use. 'That would be right,' he thought with an internal grin as the scent of family led him to step over the broken bricks and breeze blocks at the entrance. He heard Xander pause before scrambling after him, his steps uncertain on the loose rubble and he turned to offer him a hand. Xander took it gratefully, although he was already over the small obstacle and Spike pulled him forward so he stumbled into Spike's chest, his startled laugh clearing the concerned frown from his forehead. Looping his free arm around Xander's waist, Spike hugged him. "Close now, pet," he whispered. "Try to keep the noise down, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. We'll be quiet as mice. Quieter. Won't we Jesse?" Xander whispered, with a quick glance at his companion for corroboration. "You won't hear a squeak or a sniffle." His brow creased in thought. "Do mice sniffle, or do they just scratch? 'Cause the ones in my parent's basement..."Looking up he registered Spike's expression. "Umm... Yeah. Uh. Quiet as mice. Shutting up now," he added. Releasing Spike's hand to thread both his arms around Spike, inside his coat, he nuzzled his face into the crook of Spike's neck.

Spike gave Xander's back a long stroke as he watched Jesse, shoulders hunched and eyes down, shuffling uncertainly from foot to foot. "When we're done here, love. Okay?" he said, pushing his childe back to stand clear of him. Turning his attention to Jesse he added sternly. "Just be quiet. Prove yourself tonight, and I might look more favourably on you in future."

Jesse's body tensed to attention and he nodded. "Yes, sir," he replied, cowed by Spike's tone.

They continued along the sewer for a further twenty yards, Spike gradually becoming aware of light up ahead, around another bend. Walking carefully to the corner, he peered around it. A few yards in front of them the sewer came to an abrupt end and the space beyond was alight with the warm glow of hundreds of candles and torches. There was still no one in sight. Stepping out into the middle of the tunnel Spike strode forward, noting all the new details that came to his view as the cavern widened out below him. There were candles everywhere, tall ones in brass candlesticks, squat ones perched in niches in the broken rocks that littered the space and formed a rude staircase down to a patch of cleared floor, even a number of tall candelabra holding five or six candles each. There were also torches, their naked flames flaring malevolently in the sluggish breeze that caused the candles to flicker and almost gut on a regular basis. He shifted back to his human face, to reduce the visual distraction.

Pausing on the threshold, Spike surveyed the totality - the air was stiflingly hot with the smell of scorched wax and burnt pitch, many of the rocks were carved and he spotted a gutter gargoyle sticking up out of one of the piles of rubble. A broken pulpit lay on its side against the far wall and a plush chair sat like a throne, next to a pool which appeared to be full of dark water, or blood. Being careful where he placed his feet, Spike picked his way down the rock slope. Behind him he heard Xander and Jesse doing the same.

He was half way down when a heavily built male vampire entered the cavern from a rough hewn tunnel in the far left corner. 'Ah,' he thought. 'The guard, at last.' Pausing on a ledge about three feet above the floor, he called out, "Hey, you there, your Master at home?"

The greeting seemed to confuse the vampire, who stepped forward, apparently unsure whether to greet him or challenge him. Eventually he compromised. "Who wants to know?" he asked.

Spike drew himself up straight. "I do," he replied at his most arrogant. "Who the hell are you?"

Being challenged in return appeared to confuse the poor sod even more, because he began to look around, as if hoping for assistance from one of his absent colleagues, but he stupidly didn't stop his advance. Eventually he reached the bottom of the rocky slope and looked up at Spike. "I'm Sam and this is the Master's hall. You shouldn't be here without an invitation," he said.

"Don't need an invite, now do I, Sam?" Spike responded. "I'm family." He glanced around as if seeking out more efficient assistance. "Where is he then?" he asked. "Anybody else here, who might actually know the full court and it's members"?

"Er, no, sir," Sam replied, obviously getting more flustered by the moment. "Um, family?" he asked dubiously, but tingeing his voice with a note of cautious respect. "May I ask, which member of the family you might be, sir?"

Spike closed one eye and squinted down at him thoughtfully. "William," he announced, shifting back into gameface. "Descended in direct line from the Master who begat Darla, who begat Angelus who begat Dru," he paused a moment for effect. "Who begat me," he finished with a flourish. He watched Sam's face shift from dubious to impressed during the first part of his list, which at least confirmed that Darla was still officially in favour, to concerned and finally to downright worried, by the time he reached the end. "Oh, bloody hell," he exploded. "Don't tell me you've been listening to gossip?" It wasn't really a question he intended Sam to answer, because even as he spoke he launched himself off his perch, feet first, smashing into Sam's chest and knocking him flat. Converting his stagger into a full roll, head over heels, Spike bounced up onto his feet again, swung around, raced back and stamped down hard on Sam's face. Sam let out a howl as his nose broke and another when Spike jumped up into the air and brought both his heavy boots down to do the same job on his right knee-cap. Then Spike stood back and surveyed his handiwork.

In spite of his injuries, Sam still attempted to roll over and drag himself up. Spike watched his efforts. "Having some problems there, mate?" he asked as he reached into his coat pocket for his stake.

Sam was braced on his hands and one good leg, his other leg splayed out behind him and was attempting to get his uninjured foot into a position to allow him to stand, when Spike put him out of his misery. Which was the exact moment that Xander apparently lost his footing. Alerted by the scraping sound and the clatter of dislodged pebbles, Spike looked up, just in time to see Xander make a grab for Jesse's arm, miss and get a fistful of his shirt instead, pulling Jesse off balance and sending them both tumbling down the slope to crash into Spike. They all landed in a mass of arms, legs and damned uncomfortable elbows in Sam's dust.

Spike shook his head to clear it, shoved the tangle of limbs off himself and clambered to his feet. 'Thank fuck I didn't try and persuade Dru to take one of them with her,' he thought, leaving the boys to sort themselves out while he did a quick scout around the cavern. There wasn't much to inspect that he hadn't already seen from above. The pool was confirmed to be brackish water, heavily laced with old blood, but the only item of interest was the tunnel Sam had emerged from. The air from there was heavy with rot and death, but inside that almost overwhelming smell was something else, something familiar, something imprinted on Spike's memory from his earliest days. 'Angelus,' he sighed. 'That's where he is, among the dead. Who knew Luke could appreciate irony?'

Striding towards the opening he brought a halt to Xander's and Jesse's hissed recriminations by calling back over his shoulder, "Stop messing about there, you two. We're here to do a job and the sooner we get it done the sooner we can leave." Without looking back, he grabbed a torch from a bracket by the tunnel mouth and set off, following the trace of Angelus and doing his best not to breathe in the other stench.

He'd made about five paces when he heard two pairs of footsteps running after him.

Three steps more and he'd reached another cave. This was smaller than the main cavern, one side lined with cells cut out of the rock wall. A quick glance around confirmed that Sam had not lied when he said no other members of the court were at home. The occupants of this space were of a different class entirely. And there, in the central cage was Angelus, standing bare-chested, with bruises and half healed burns painting his visible skin, leaning back against the wall, his chained arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

Spike grinned through his fangs. "We're here to rescue you," he announced.


Note: Breeze Block is the British name for what in the US is called Cinder Block - what the tunnels Buffy and Xander walk down on their expedition to rescue Jesse in episode 1.02: The Harvest, are made from.

Continued here.

Comments

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

I hope I'm not being redundant
You are not, but even if you were, I would be in love with redundancy, when it is delivered so generously.
Of course that had to happen!
Of course it did. Jesse and Xander are so hopeless at the moment, especially Xander. *g* Another case of 'I couldn't resist'.
Thank you so much.