Broken (AKA Beautiful Broken)

*

Xander followed Spike down into the slave auction again, and he tried to focus hard on his Master rather than the shows. Leshar had trained him well to perform at the shows, and at the auction where Spike had found him, he had performed in three events. Two of those events he would happily perform again to stay near the girls, and the third he *knew* Spike would never let him near...well, not without a whole lot of holy water and many dead demons. And none of the demons here were foolish enough to mess with Spike's property after the whole Lirowaus incident, he hoped.

Spike headed straight for one of the largest competition circles—the Gait Circle, and Xander silently took his place in line behind several other kneeling slaves. Of course, the other slaves had their leashes attached to the wait pole while Xander had his Master still hovering over him, but Xander really didn't mind the difference. He also didn't mind the wait. From his position, he could sneak a few small glances, and when the crowd surged in a certain direction, he could see the girls still on display. Well aware that Spike could hear and see better than he could, and aware that too much interest in the girls would just bring trouble, Xander passed the minutes trying to slow his breathing and get into the right frame of mind for the competition.

A short, petite woman in her thirties or so stood, and Xander could see the grace in every motion of her body. He wondered how long she had been a slave as the handler for the competition attached ribbons to her naked body. Her arms and legs, her neck and waist, her wrists and ankles, her hips: over a dozen yellow ribbons in a fabric so delicate that it would break with very little effort and so light that the tails nearly floated. The assistant handler finished his task, and the woman stepped up as the last slave left the ring in a lather of sweat and trailing blue ribbons. The main handler in the middle of the ring stood by a large center pole out from which came a thinner pole that rotated around that center pole. He stood taller than a human and kept one tentacle on the rotating pole which he now swung around to the woman. The assistant took a yellow ribbon and attached the ribbon to the very end of the swinging arm before tying the dangling bit of ribbon to the woman's collar. If she pulled against the collar or didn't keep up with the swinging arm, the ribbon would break and she would be eliminated from the contest.

Mr. Tentacle in the center started walking around the center pole slowly, but the length of the rotating arm had the woman walking at a brisk clip. Xander watched out of the corner of his eye, and he had to admire her form. The ribbons on her arms and waist trailed out directly behind her while the ribbons tied to her hips and legs danced as she sashayed in a display of excellent slave training. She kept her head tilted up so that she didn't accidentally break the ribbon with her chin and she didn't even register the occasional smacks that the main handler inflicted with a long training rod carried in two of his free tentacles. She had circled several times when the assistant provided the first obstacle: a set of blocks set just a little too close together for easy navigation. Xander watched the woman spot the structure and begin to shorten her gait without slowing or disturbing her ribbons. By the time she actually reached the blocks, she nimbly stepped between the blocks and kept her rhythm without difficulty.

The handler took her through the blocks once more before the assistant pulled them off and replaced them with a tray of some substance. Xander always hated this one. The stuff was slick, and the bottom of the tray had no traction, so it forced you to keep all of your weight perfectly balanced or else fall on your ass. Leshar had been so unimpressed with Xander's performance on this obstacle that he had made a special track using this slick crap just for Xander, and then he had worked him using the breeding leash. Xander's groin hurt from just the memory. Time after time he'd slipped, and most of his weight fell on the steel loops around the very top of his legs in the indentation where leg met hip, but the third loop around the base of his genitals had taken enough of a hit to hurt like a son of a bitch. Worst of all was that the thin steel cord around his legs that inflicted a crippling bruising that left his legs almost unusable by the time he learned to keep his balance. But hey, Leshar had managed to find a way to teach Droopy Harris some grace when walking, so Xander had to be a little impressed.

The woman handled it with far greater ease. She tiptoed her way through without incident three times before that obstacle was removed. The next obstacle was speed, and Xander could see she had a problem here. As Mr. Tentacle picked up speed, pushing the rotating arm fast enough to make the woman pant, her short legs left her taking the occasional running step to avoid breaking the ribbon at her collar, but each jarring step sent her upper ribbons dancing and then the training rod would come down on her back. She had gone around the circuit twice and was obviously gasping for air when the training rod came down on her back and she stumbled.

The collar ribbon broke, and she immediately went into the Floor kneel with her forehead down on the sand of the competition circle. Xander could see her back heave as she gasped for air, and the ribbons on her legs had popped when she knelt, but the ribbon tying her hands together and the arm ribbons still draped down against her skin as a Pylean demon came into the ring to collect her. At the same time, the second handler motioned to them, and Xander felt Spike tug his collar. He rose and stood with his legs spread and his head down. While the handler attached a series of green ribbons to his body, he watched the woman who had just broken the ribbon, and he wondered what her master would do to her in private.

When Xander had practiced, the end always came with a whipping for failing whatever task he had failed, but the Pylean simply snapped a leash to her collar and gave a tug. The woman rose and followed without showing any trace of emotion. Maybe her master didn't whip her for mistakes. Or maybe she was so used to being treated like a show horse that it didn't bother her anymore if he did. Xander just reminded himself that Spike didn't think of him as an animal, and the fact that one of the ribbons was tied to each of his knife handles just about proved that. If they wanted a show then he’d give them one, Xander thought as the assistant handler tied a green ribbon to his collar, but that didn't make him an animal.

Xander gripped his left wrist tightly to make sure that he didn't accidentally break the wrist ribbon and then he stepped confidently forward at the slightest tug to his collar. The ribbon attached to his collar--the one being used to lead him--was the one in greatest danger of breaking, so Xander focused on that and let his body get into the rhythm. He'd never thought that Spike's obsession with decorating him would come in so handy, but Xander realized that he had grown so used to swinging his hip chains while keeping his back chains steady that this rolling gait was now as natural as walking...more natural, actually, since he used to have trouble with walking without falling down, and now he followed the handler's lead without any difficulty. He strode confidently around the ring and with each rotation found himself facing the girls. He could see Willow pull back against her bridle as a demon petted her hair, and Xander stifled an urge to gut that demon by focusing on his own obstacles.

He handled the blocks by stepping *on* every other block, which caused a bit of laughter in the crowd, but the handler's training rod didn't come down on his back. Xander wondered whether that meant that the handler approved of his approach or whether he just didn't want to hit Spike's property. Either way, Xander appreciated the lack of random discipline as he walked through the slick tray without more than one or two heart-stopping moments. The speed test didn't tax Xander at all. With his long stride, he kept up the pace with no more than a little heavy breathing. In fact, he liked this one since he could go back to watching his girls.

Xander watched the assistant handler push a number of upright boards out into the circle and when he came around again, he prepared to avoid the chest level obstacle by simply moving a little bit to the inside. It would mean that he would have no slack on the lead ribbon, but he thought he could make it. Just as he shifted in, the handler yelled.

"Right."

Xander had no time to correct and go to the outside, so he decided to disobey rather than try to correct himself and break the ribbon. Just as he cleared the first board on the left, he felt the training rod come down hard enough to leave a stinging line across his shoulders. The trainer yelled again.

"Right."

This time Xander detoured to the outside and cleared the second board. Now that he knew the game, he cleared the third board easily as he followed the handler's direction to go left. As Xander travelled the circle, he wondered if Spike was controlling his temper, but then he was at the board again and didn't have time to think as he followed the handler's directions. This time the handler switched to "Outside" and "Inside" and Xander earned himself another swat with the training rod when he didn’t adjust fast enough.

The assistant trainer pulled the boards back, and Xander felt the tug at his collar warn him to pick up the pace. This time the center handler pushed Xander for all he was worth, and Xander strode the circle at a pace that made his arm ribbons fly behind him as he started breathing heavily, but he kept his walking motion even as he did it far faster and with a far longer stride than normal. After three more turns at a pace that left Xander's chest heaving, the handler slowed, and Xander could see another obstacle pushed out in front of him.

He almost groaned. He hated the stairs both because of the near impossibility of keeping his ribbons from being disturbed and because the lack of up and down movement of the circling bar meant that he had to bend as he climbed in order to avoid breaking the ribbon. Xander had only practiced this move a few times because Leshar had essentially given up on it. Xander looked at the small stairs and tried to prepare his pace. Three steps, so he couldn't take two at a time without having to break his stride and earning an extra swat, so he decided to just take small steps and then step off the far end and just take the swat since he couldn't possibly keep his ribbons correctly moving while jumping down a couple of feet.

Xander took the three steps without incident, but as he stepped off the far side of the stairs, he felt the heat of the training rod against his upper thigh. He struggled to get his pace back, and his ribbons jerked wildly as the training rod came down again. Xander got back into his gait and then approached the stairs again. He repeated his tactic, but this time the training rod hit even harder and Xander lost his balance. As he fell forward, he instinctively put out his hands breaking both his wrist ribbon and the lead ribbon at the same time.

Xander immediately pulled his hands to the small of his back and went into a Floor kneel, forehead pressed into the sand. He felt the ribbons on his legs tighten and pop as his muscles flexed in the kneel, and the edges tickled his skin as he knelt perfectly still and waited for Spike to come claim him. For a moment he resisted an urge to do a Scooby dance. Oh yeah, he could do this crap better than any of their beaten-down slaves. Of course the fact that he was actually thinking this while kneeling with his head to the ground, waiting for Spike to put him back on a leash? Xander couldn’t help but be just a little amused. A tap on his head and he sat up into the Down kneel as Spike fastened the leash to his collar and started pulling the ribbons off him before leading him out of the circle.

Xander had noticed on his various circles that the number of demons watching had grown, and now the two of them were approached by a wide range of these demons wanting to talk. Given Spike’s usual impatience with all slavers, Xander expected his Master to push through the crowd, but Spike found a bench to sit on while he did a Spike version of small talk: noncommittal grunts, a variety of eyebrow movements, and occasional British curses. Xander knelt by his side still trying to catch his breath, and when a human-looking demon handed Spike a towel, Spike briskly rubbed Xander down.

“Going to breed?” a horned demon asked.

“Thought I might. He cost quite a bit.” Spike gave a non-answer answer, and Xander just barely avoided a full body shiver.

“I’d pay $200 per cover for my best three girls,” another offered.

“I’ll keep that in mind, mate.” Xander felt a tap on his butt and he rose into a Position kneel while Spike toweled off the sweat that had gathered on the back of his thighs and the back of his calves.

“Lirowaus did say he was the sweetest-tempered animal he’d ever owned,” a third offered, and Spike growled and tossed the now damp towel on the ground. The tiny demon who couldn’t have stood more than four feet squeaked and retreated, but Xander was surprised at how quickly the vampire calmed down and thanked a thin tentacled demon who had complimented Spike for Xander’s performance. Xander resisted the urge to point out that he had done the hard work.

“But to arm him…” a voice near the back said, barely loud enough for Xander to hear, but he had no doubt that Spike had caught the complaint.

“And ordering the boy to attack demons, too,” clucked a yellowish horned demoness standing not four feet away. Xander held his breath as Spike flashed into game face and stood up. The demoness might have been brave while Spike was seated and showing his human face, but the sight of Spike’s demonic face and demonic temper had the female backing up rapidly, causing a small ripple of nervous laughter in the crowd.

Xander expected that Spike had just run out of patience, but the hyper vampire just settled back on the bench discussing who had how many female slaves and who wanted slaves bred. Xander thought back to Blayne who had bragged about all his sexual conquests right before getting picked up by bug-teacher for being a virgin. If Xander did half the breeding that Spike was being offered, Xander would have tales to make Blayne’s exaggerations look subtle, and Xander found himself incredibly grateful that he had a Master who wouldn’t do that to him. Xander leaned into Spike’s leg, and his Master’s hand ruffled his long hair even as Spike continued to chat with various demons about breeding humans and human diseases.

Eventually the various demons figured out that Spike wasn’t going to start a fight with the occasional hecklers who made loud comments about Spike from the back of the crowd. They also figured out that Spike wasn’t going to sell Xander’s services at the show or set up definite appointments for later. When the crowd dissipated into the general flow of traffic, Spike sighed and stood up, and Xander followed close behind. As they walked closer to Willow and Tara, Xander stole more glances, and just once he locked gazes with Willow who had a wild-eyed look that suggested that she was having bad, bad thoughts. Xander didn’t blame her consider the bridle locked around her head. However, Spike took a sudden left turn, and Xander found himself walking away from her, hoping that she understood why they couldn’t just take her and go home. Spike stopped at a ring where two slaves were engaged in a pushing fight.

Xander recognized the one as the gladiator from upstairs in the main room. His owner, the tailed demoness, stood behind him holding a breeding leash loosely. The other slave, who stood even taller but was less muscular, wore a breeding leash held by a demon with big curving horns. He looked a little like a F’yarl, but with smaller horns and more human-like features, a description that Xander was sure the demon wouldn’t appreciate.

Leshar hadn’t entered him in this type of wrestling contest or trained him to wrestle. And when Xander had been at the auction with Leshar, he hadn’t really noticed anything other than where he put his feet. The two times Spike had brought him to auctions, Spike had avoided the show areas, and so Xander had never gotten to see most of the contests. The sexual shows held no interest for him although they drew large crowds just to their right, but this pseudo wrestling match was actually kind of interesting. The beefy guy owned by the demoness braced himself by putting one foot behind him as he crouched down. Taller guy owned by the horned demon couldn’t hunker down as well because of his long legs, but he tried to compensate by spreading his legs a little more. Xander would have worried about his exposed genitals if he were Taller Guy, but either grabbing a guy’s parts was an illegal move or Beefy Guy had ethics, because Beefy grabbed for a knee instead. Taller Guy must have been ready for that because he lifted the knee in question. Beefy Guy was thrown off balance since he had obviously been prepared for a struggle to get the knee up. Taller Guy pushed his advantage by shoving his opponent in the chest, and Beefy Guy’s knee hit the mat. Immediately both owners pulled on the leashes, and the two wrestlers were pulled apart rather painfully. Taller guy had been leaning in for another attack, and Xander could see his face contort as the breeding leash pulled him backwards. His master gave him a quick hit on the butt and the slave went into his kneel. Beefy Guy had gone straight into a kneel from his fallen position, and a third demon spoke some words before both slaves stood up and left the circle, to be replaced by two more slaves.

Xander actually would have stayed and surreptitiously watched through the hair that hung over his eyes when he bowed his head, but Spike moved on and Xander moved with him. The crowds were so thick here that Xander couldn’t even get a glimpse of the girls through the bodies and he had to stop swinging his hips to avoid hitting another pedestrian and causing a problem. Spike stepped over a boundary to another competition ring, and Xander followed, looking up to see the pedestals and the kneeling slaves. Xander might have groaned if there hadn’t been dozens of demons with superhuman hearing nearby. As it was, Xander knelt and waited. At least Spike was entering him in the shows he’d done before, and how did Spike know what shows he’d done?

Xander thought back. He hadn’t ever told his Master about it. Xander thought about the crowds that had gone by him last time he’d done this, and he wondered whether Spike had been in them. Had Spike seen his pathetic performance in the gait circle when Leshar had taken the training rod from the main handler and given Xander a neat line of red welts going down his back before attaching the leash, and taking him back to his cage to await his sale the next day? Xander remembered that the whipping had been a relief because Leshar had taken so long to claim him that Xander was afraid his trainer had abandoned him to the crowd. Had Spike seen that bit of humiliation? Xander felt himself blushing, not from memory but at the thought that Spike might have seen it. At least he’d redeemed himself in the gait circle, and he had always done well on the kneeling pedestals.

When their time came, Xander climbed the short stairs to a pedestal before the circle handler pulled the stairs away. Xander raised himself into a perfect Position kneel, the slightly corrugated surface of the pedestal bugging him but he knew from last time that he could quickly tune out that mild pain. The pedestal left him just a bit taller than usual, so Xander could see most of the demons around him even with his head lowered, and the handler now appeared with the cubes. Each cube was a one-inch perfectly smooth torture device. Okay, the torture was secondary, but Xander had to remind every muscle to stay in form at the handler placed a cube on either calf, a cube on either shoulder, a cube on the top of his head and boy wasn’t Xander happy for thick curly hair, and a cube on the top of his right hand where he gripped his left wrist at the small of his back.

The cubes were so smooth that the slightest movement would send them sliding off his body, so Xander concentrated on staying still, allowing himself to retreat into his mind. Only ‘allow’ didn’t seem to be the verb of the day; ‘force’ was more like it. Xander knew that if he could just switch his brain off, he could kneel without twitching for hours, but every time he tried to retreat into that place of no thoughts, he would have thoughts. And without that ability to switch off, Xander noticed the wavy metal beneath him that made his kneecaps ache. He noticed the various demons who walked past discussing his physical attributes at great length, and who knew demons were so fond of thick hair? Most of them didn’t have hair, but then again, maybe that’s why they liked thick hair on their slaves. He noticed the ones who stopped to check out the property as the rules allowed as long as they didn’t do something to make Xander move.

The handler hovered near the five slaves on pedestals currently showing, and Spike stood four or five feet away, no doubt prepared to kill any demon who went too far. However, the rules allowed these passing demons to cup his balls and weigh them by hand. The rules allowed them to hold his cock and discuss his genitals with their friends as though he were a dog. The rules allowed rough and clawed and slimy and cold and tentacled appendages to run across his chest and feel his musculature. Xander could feel the cube on his hand shift and he reminded himself that they had to stay there for the girls even as he felt the cube shift again. At this rate, Xander was going to have a shamefully short round. And yep, there went the cube clinking off onto the pedestal before making a humiliating ringing sound. Xander didn’t even look up at Spike as the stairs were pushed against the pedestal. The four other slaves who had been in position when Xander climbed the stairs were all still in position as Xander climbed down. Xander went into a Floor kneel as Spike walked up.

“Someone’s not happy with his first round,” the handler laughed as Xander felt Spike’s hands at his collar.

“Just hasn’t done it for a while. Should’ve practiced some, but he’ll get back in the swing.” Xander really wished he could see Spike’s face, but he hadn’t gotten a signal or a tug on the leash so he stayed on the floor.

“So, you’re going for the second round?” Xander could understand the handler’s surprise. No owner wanted to be embarrassed by having a slave perform so badly, and Xander knew that those who wanted Spike out of the auction had a little more ammunition now. Xander was just grateful that he had done so well in the gait ring. No one could say that Spike hadn’t kept up his training there.

“Yeah, mark him and I’ll take him on a short walk to work out his legs.” Xander felt the pen at his back, writing a humiliating number on his back, right where his chains would hang when he stood again. He only hoped that the chains obscured the number. With his luck, probably not. Xander felt the tug and he rose to follow his Master. As they walked, Xander could hear the snorts and chuckles behind him, but Spike ignored the looks that even Xander could see with his bowed head. Spike led him to another short hallway and they stood close to a service door. Xander tried going to his knees, but Spike’s hand on his arm stopped him. He stood and waited for the lecture that he knew he deserved. He was putting the girls in danger by giving ammunition to Spike’s enemies. He was embarrassing himself and his Master. He was screwing up, which kind of proved that despite Giles’ fears, he did still have Droopy Harris in him somewhere.

“Pet, what’s wrong?” The worry in his Master’s voice almost released the tears that threatened.

“I just… I can’t let go,” Xander couldn’t find better words, but he knew those words didn’t explain the problem.

“When I saw ya do this before I bought ya, you stayed up there hours without even twitchin’. I got bloody bored watchin’ you, so what’s different now?”

“I can’t stop thinking, noticing….things.” Xander didn’t want Spike to know how the hands bothered him or Spike would take them right back up to the room, but Xander wanted to stay until Ulsha put the girls away for the night and there was less chance for a private sale.

“What things are ya noticing, pet?” Yep, count on his Master to zoom right in on the one thing Xander didn’t want to say. Stupid, observant vampire.

“The demons talking about me,” Xander dropped his voice to a whisper, “touching me.” Xander saw the fierce look in Spike’s eye and he rushed to say his piece before Spike made a command and Xander was stuck following it. “But I want to stay down here, and I know I’m safe with you there, but I can’t just turn off and ignore everything like I used to.” Spike was silent, but at least the fierce look had been replaced with something more thoughtful.

“So ya used to think of nothing at all?”

“Yep. Buddhists would have been jealous of how I could do the whole ‘nothingness’ thing…or is that Zen who try to reach nothingness?”

“Bloody surprised you listened well enough in school to even remember the religions’ names, pet.”

“They had this cartoon…” Xander started, and when Spike’s eyebrow shot up in an amused expression, Xander broke off. “And I’m just stopping there,” he finished.

“Pet, this time when you go up, I want ya to focus on me. I’ll stay right in your line of sight; it’s a good place for me to listen for the witches anyway. So I’ll focus on the witches, and you focus on me.” Xander thought about it, and it was a better solution than focusing on the various demons touching him.

“Yes, Master,” Xander answered with relief, and Spike turned and started back for the pedestals without another word. When they reached the show circle again, Xander could see a large number of demons had gathered, among them the yellow demoness who had earlier criticized Spike. Xander realized they were there to see him fail, but Spike walked by without comment. Xander climbed the pedestal again and went into his second show positions—a Down kneel with his hands palm down on his thighs. Cubes went on the back of his hands and his head and his shoulders and then the timing began.

Xander could see each of the demons approaching him, and when the first scaly hand went immediately for his cock, he forced his eyes away from the hated fondling and looked for Spike. Spike leaned against a pole and wore an expression of indifference, but Xander could see the truth in the hands that now lit a cigarette. The sharp motions as Spike flicked open that old lighter and the flick of his wrist as he tossed it in the air before catching it and shoving it into a pocket. Xander never realized how much Spike said with his hands. Now, Spike’s hands screamed “hands off” even as Spike’s face remained a mask of calm. Xander smiled a little at the thought that Spike was even more bothered by those roaming hands than he was.

Xander thought back on their time together since Spike first picked up that heavy chain Leshar kept locked to his neck, and Xander couldn’t help but be amazed at the changes in both of them. Spike no longer gave orders without paying attention to how Xander reacted to the orders, a lesson Giles and Angel certainly needed to learn. But Xander realized he had changed too. He had failed miserably, and yet Spike hadn’t punished him. Even more importantly, Xander hadn’t expected punishment: a lecture, yes; punishment, no.

On the far edge of his awareness, Xander noticed as another slave broke position and sent a cube tinkling down. Xander remained focused on Spike’s impatient movements. Someone had told him not to smoke, and after a vicious but unsuccessful staring contest, Spike had put out his cigarette and turned to other forms of distraction. Right now he had Xander’s leash in hand, and he twirled the doubled-over chain with such speed that other demons avoided a six foot radius around Spike. At auction number one, Spike had shocked them by paying way too much for a slave. At auction number two, Spike had beaten the crap out of some clumsy demon who managed to fall over that slave. At auction number three, any demon who walked near Spike risked decapitation. Xander listened to another set of cubes go tinkling as he considered that Spike wasn’t going to get many more invites at this rate.

Xander let himself drift into a haze where he only saw Spike, who was clearly dying of boredom. Demons had begun to approach him, and Xander could tell that Spike struggled with an urge to rip off heads in frustration. He could see it in the way that Spike flexed his fingers and didn’t make eye contact with the various slavers speaking to him. A number of them laughed, and the corners of Spike’s mouth turned upward in an expression that might be mistaken for a smile, but was actually much closer to the constipated expression Spike got when someone mentioned Lirowaus. Heck, maybe someone did mention Lirowaus. Another tinkling sound.

The tailed demoness who owned Beefy Guy came along, and with a wave, she sent her slave pushing into the crowd as she flowed in the wake he created. Xander couldn’t believe that a slave would physically shove demons like that, but the man went through the crowd like a linebacker. Xander watched as Spike’s lips pulled together and his cheekbones sharpened: Spike’s trademark look of amusement. Beefy Guy went to his knees near Spike, and Xander felt a momentary flash of jealously. A set of cubes went tinkling and for a moment Xander worried it was his set, but the handler pushed the stairs up to the pedestal next to him, and a petite black-haired woman climbed down and knelt on the floor as she waited for her missing master to show up and claim her. Her skin was so dark that the handler wrote her time in white pen: four hours, nineteen minutes.

The time surprised Xander because the woman had been led to the pedestal after he had taken his place. As Xander checked in with his body, he was suddenly aware of his aching knees and empty stomach and full bladder and cramping muscles, and oh god was that ever a huge mistake. Xander knew he couldn’t hold position for long now that his body had managed to make its unhappiness known, so he focused on ignoring the pain until Spike finished with the tailed demoness; he seemed to like her. He’d chased the other demons off to talk just to her, and Xander didn’t want to interrupt that.

Xander watched as the demoness took a seat on her slave’s back, petting his shoulder as he held a hands and knees position, and Spike nodded in agreement to something she said. Xander grimaced in pain as his kneecap sent up a flare just as Spike looked over to him, and the vampire went instantly stiff. Xander wondered if someone or something threatening was near, but he didn’t have long to wait as Spike practically charged across the wide corridor with his coat flapping. When Xander had a flash of Superman and his cape superimposed over the image, he knew he was near the end of his endurance and just getting punch drunk. The next tinkle came with the feel of the cube from his head sliding down his back. Spike didn’t go and threaten anyone or chase anyone away as Xander expected; he came right to Xander.

The stairs appeared next to Xander’s pedestal, and Xander struggled to unfold his legs. His first foot touched the stair and then strong hands at his waist took most of his weight as he unfolded himself and noticed the thick indentations on his knees from kneeling on the rough surface. He climbed down with Spike’s help, and when he tried to go into a proper kneel, he found himself held up in Spike’s embrace.

“Well that was a significantly better showing,” the handler remarked as he wrote a number on Xander’s back while Spike held him upright. Pins and needles coursed through Xander’s lower legs and he buried his face in the crook of Spike’s neck as he felt one strong arm around his waist holding him close, and the other petting his hair.

“You’re right, he’s a good slave,” a female voice remarked, and Xander didn’t even bother to look. He couldn’t have cared if someone paid him to. He just wanted his lower legs to rejoin the rest of his body.

“Mite overenthusiastic at times,” Spike replied, and Xander made a small snorting sound against Spike’s neck. He knew enough of Spike’s history to know that his Master could outdo him in both over-enthusiasm and obsessiveness. Spike’s only response was a small tug at his hair.

From the sound of footsteps, Xander guessed that the demoness had left and then he found himself half-walked and half carried back to that service hall where Spike lowered him to the floor and pulled his legs out straight so the blood could return to the abused limbs.

“The girls?” Xander immediately asked in a hushed tone.

“Put away for the night, could hear locks closing on a cage so I think they’re done for the day. Ulsha turned down three different private sales, so he’s expecting the witches to bring big money, and they probably will. Red’s got big mojo, and Glinda has more control over her magic than any ten witches. She can do some delicate spells that a less controlled witch like Red couldn’t even attempt.” Xander looked at Spike curiously. How could he know that? Luckily for him, Spike was still doing his mind-reading act.

“Been listening to the slavers discuss the girls, and quite a few of them can feel the magic coming off a witch. These slavers are experts, so I tend to believe ‘em, especially when they don’t know I’m listening.” Xander chuckled a little at that even as Spike’s massaging hands brought blood into his lower legs, and with the blood came more pain. Xander groaned.

“Worth it,” Xander said through clenched teeth as the pain started to lessen.

“Let’s get you up to the room. No more shows for you until tomorrow,” Spike said, and Xander used his Master’s arm to pull himself up, glad that he wasn’t going to have to fight in order to enter tomorrow’s competitions. There were still a number of non-sexual events he could enter so they could stay in the area, and Spike was obviously able to keep tabs on the girls, so Xander would be down here tomorrow just in case Ulsha got an offer he couldn’t refuse. In that case, he and Spike could follow the purchasing demon and make an irresistible offer of their own.

Xander touched the hilt of the curved dagger and almost hoped that did happen. Seeing the girls tied like that and knowing that they were sleeping in a cage made Xander itch to find out just how sharp his fancy new magical knives truly were.

“Got one last stop before we go upstairs. Seems there’s been a capture in the last day or so, someone snooping around various hotel basements.” Xander’s head snapped up at that, but then Spike was attaching the leash and Xander went back into position with his head bowed even as he wondered whether Spike meant what he thought Spike meant.

Spike took off into the crowd and Xander followed, his hips swinging a little less than usual both because of his sore legs and because of his fear about just who had been captured. He could think of a couple of answers that would horrify him, but Spike remained silent on the issue, and Xander knew to wait until they were in private to talk. When Spike came to a halt near the sound of shuffling and clanking, Xander knelt next to his Master, ignoring the complaint from his knees as he watched in horror. Yep, Giles. Giles stripped naked and chained with the whole lower half of his face covered by some sort of gag. His legs were chained with enough slack to allow for correct position, and his hands weren’t chained together, but rather a chain leash was attached to each arm with a demon behind him holding the leads. Giles was wildly pulling back away from the trainer who held the leash attached to his neck even as the black-skinned demon pulled him forward and repeated the command “Down.”

Xander flashed back to his first lesson with a score of minions on hand to force his body into the required positions and hold him there; one demon hand always held his cock as a convenient way to get a stubborn slave to go to his knees. Another’s favorite hand hold had been Xander’s cheek with a thumb inside Xander’s mouth while the rest of the demon’s large hand curled around the back of his head so that his mouth was pulled painfully back. This trainer had another approach; a second slave in the ring went into the correct position and a handler standing behind him stroked the slave’s hair and put a treat in his mouth. The handler behind Giles who held the arm leashes cracked the training rod across Giles’ back so hard that Xander flinched at the sound.

Then Giles looked over and Xander saw the moment when the Watcher spotted him. The man’s shoulders slumped, and Xander ached to go in there and tell Giles that he was fine. But he couldn’t, and the main trainer gave another command, one that Leshar didn’t teach. “Curl.”

The second slave went on his back and opened his legs, pulling them up to his chest and curling an arm around the back of each knee. This time the trained slave’s handler stroked the sensitive skin between the balls and the anus, making comforting sounds even while Giles redoubled his efforts despite the fact that it was impossible to escape. Xander felt tears rise as he realized how much the Initiative had destroyed. If they hadn’t mishandled the demon community or if they hadn’t killed Buffy, this would have all been so much easier to fix. But now Spike walked away, and Xander rose to follow without a comforting word for the man who had been more of a father to him than his own father. But then, what comfort could he offer? With all those demons around he couldn’t say anything and as cowardly as it was, he was grateful that Spike led them back towards their room.

They walked in silence and when they finally reached the room and shut the door behind them, the words almost burst out of Xander.

“Master, what the hell are we going to do now?”

“Hirset plans ta demonstrate his training methods on the Watcher so he won’t be sellin’ the soddin’ idiot. We’re goin’ to have to do something I really wanted to avoid.” Spike said unhappily as he dropped the leash and tossed his coat at the chair. Xander followed behind and picked up the coat and smoothed it out before draping it over the chair. He followed as Spike shed clothing, picking it up as he waited for Spike to finish his thought. He could tell from the soft growling sound that Spike had more to say.

“Goin’ to have to call my sire, aren’t I now?” he complained as he ripped the laces loose on his boots before dropping them and storming into the bathroom, slamming the door after him. Xander understood that sometimes Spike needed some space, but he silently cursed his Master for not letting him use the damn bathroom before locking himself in it. Xander walked out and considered the sink above the little microwave. It wasn't that bad yet, so he put away Spike’s discarded clothing before going out to the main room to watch television.

Tossing a couch cushion on the floor, he sat cross-legged and picked up the remote as he considered just how screwed they were. Hundreds if not thousands of demons, many of them hostile to Spike. The girls weren’t scheduled for sale for two more days, and Xander didn’t even want to consider what two days of training would do to Giles. Angel, who had a bad habit of being fatalistic and making plans that involved acceptable losses. The image of Larry and Harmony floated into his memory and he pushed them aside. Oh yeah…this wasn’t going to end well. Xander reached up and scratched his tattoo.

One more chapter and this saga is over (for a while at least). Thanks for all the wonderful feedback. I really wouldn't have written this if I didn't have readers who made it worth it.