Tales From the Nursery

Warning! NC-17, some non-consensual stuff. If that type of thing bothers you, you can skip ahead to the next part.
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Spike and Happy walked for what seemed like an eternity through the woods, unsure of what exactly they were looking for, but the blonde vampire had a hunch that somewhere out there was another creepy paper wall leading to the others. Spike mopped at his brow and was startled to discover he was sweating. His head was aching, and his body had the chills. If he didn’t know it was impossible, he would guess that he had a fever. Then again, ever since he had landed in this crazy world, everything that had happened he would have said was impossible. If he had to guess, he would say that he was human again, but when he searched inside of himself, there was no soul, only a twisted, evil demon. Whatever was happening must be some side effect of the spell that had brought him there, and with any luck he would be back to his happy corpse like status the minute he got back home.

For hours they had moved in silence, having run out of things to discuss. Truth was, Spike got the impression that his little companion was miffed at him. They had stopped back by the cottage after their battle to get Spike’s horn and a bit of food for the trip. Happy didn’t see what the big deal was about a slightly bent trumpet, but who was he to question the actions of the blonde god before him? He was just content to bask in his glow; that is until they stopped for dinner and Spike turned his nose up at his grub casserole. The blonde man claimed that being a vampire he only drank blood, but when Happy willingly offered him a nip of his own blood, finding the opportunity to neck with his Adonis irresistible, Spike again gave him a lame excuse about some wee bit of plas-tick being stuck in his head by a bunch of soldiers, making it so he could only drink bagged blood. This ended all discussion on the subject.

After Spike’s refusal, relations had become a bit curt between the two, but still the dwarf insisted on coming along. After all, he and Spike had killed all his co-workers, so there was no one to help him in the mine, and it was too much for just one man. So, the best he could hope for was to either find new men to work with, preferably tall ones with large muscles, who could appreciate fine cooking, or he needed to find work somewhere else. Either way, it was safer to travel through the woods with a companion, and even if he was perturbed with Spikethe the moment, at least he was pretty to look at.

Spike had tried a couple of times to smooth things over with Happy, he was in fact a rather decent fellow, cooking aside, but at the moment all he could really focus on was the pain in his arm and leg returning full force. Then, just when he was about to give up and call it a night, he ran smack into a wall. In the dim light his eyes hadn’t been able to make it out, but now that he was here touching it, he was sure it was the same type of barrier he had encountered before. Happy reached a hand out, touching the slightly pliable barrier and swore under his breath, his expression turning to pure horror.

“Cor, I’d heard rumors growing up about the edge of the world. Me mum said that if’n I travel too far from home I would cross over that edge an’ never be heard from again. I always thought she was jus’ tryin’ to scare me, now it looks as though she may’ve been right.”

“Look, mate,” Spike said seriously, “I don’t know what we’re gonna find on the other side of this here wall. The last two places have been none too safe, so I’ll understand if you want to turn back. Hell, for all I know you may not even be able to cross the threshold.”

“Me mum didn’t raise no coward. If you’re goin’ through, then so am I.”

“Alright then, here we go…”

Spike slammed his fist into the barrier, and like before it gave way with the blow, leaving a neat hole behind which the two men began tearing. Soon they had made an opening large enough to climb through, but Spike hesitated, remembering that the last time he went through one of these someone was waiting on the other side to knock him out. He took a step back and allowed Happy to go first. He liked the little fella, but friendship aside, he still had a headache from the last time, and if someone was going to get knocked on the head, better it was someone else besides him.

The little man looked up at him suspiciously, knowing full well that Spike was no gentleman and therefore wasn’t trying to be polite by allowing him to go first, but he had his pick in hand and Dopey’s axe on his back. If anything tried to get him, he was as prepared as he was going to get. He stepped over the edge into the blackness on the other side and fell, with an unflattering shriek, several feet to the ground below, landing on his back with a hard THUD.

“Oi, Cyril, you alright?”

“Aye, I’m fine!” Happy growled back.

“Yeah, sorry. I forgot to warn you,” Spike said, gazing down on the little man with a sheepish grin, “that first step can be a doozey.”

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Dawn flipped through the pages, at times trying hard not to laugh and at other points wanting to scream. She couldn’t believe Spike’s luck at befriending a gay dwarf named Happy, but it was a good thing he had, otherwise he may never have gotten out of that last situation alive. Not to mention barely escaping having to kiss that shriveled up old corpse, ewww! It seemed the two of them were moving on to the next story now, judging by the tear in yet another page and the conspicuous absence of either character. She didn’t know how it was possible, but living on the hellmouth had taught her to take some things at face value, and it was clear to her now that Spike was somehow trapped in the book she was holding, and perhaps so were the others. So far he had managed to escape death twice; she only hoped the others would be as lucky.

She turned the next page and gazed down at another picture of dark woods, with Happy and Spike standing in the center of the page. Across the top in bright blue were the words, “Little Red Riding Hood.” She gulped audibly and hoped that the big bad wolf wouldn’t eat any of her friends.

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Willow woke to the smell of dampness, moss, and trees. She tried opening her eyes, but was having some difficulty due to the pounding in her temples. She was also having trouble breathing, but soon her eyes adjusted to the darkness around her, and she was able to identify that she was in a forest somewhere. She was also able to see why she couldn’t breathe; someone had dressed her in the most ridiculously short dress she had ever seen. The top half consisted of a corset that was painfully tight, seemingly holding up the skirts and petticoats which barely covered her fanny, so that the slightest breeze would lift her skirts, showing off her panties which had ruffles on the bottom. To top it all off was a red velvet cape that came down to just above the hem of her dress. She was glad it was a warm evening; otherwise she would be freezing her patootie off.

The redhead stood a little too quickly for someone unaccustomed to wearing a corset and nearly fainted, holding herself up by a nearby tree until she could catch her breath. Then she took a few tentative steps down the tiny path she was on, but hadn’t even made it five feet before she tripped over some unseen object and fell flat on her face, skinning her knee. She let out a small whimper of pain and kicked at the object of her downfall, but instead of knocking it away from her it rolled toward her on its side, revealing itself to be a picnic basket. ‘Of course it’s a picnic basket,’ she thought sarcastically, ‘after all, I’m dressed like the stripper version of little red riding hood. Now if only it had a cold bottle of water and some aspirin inside.’

She popped open the lid of the basket and hesitantly peeked inside. To her surprise it contained just the items she had been hoping for. She was suspicious of her good fortune, but too thirsty to give it too much thought, so she opened the bottle and took a tentative sip of the clear liquid and found it to be wonderful and refreshing. Feeling more confident, she popped open the aspirin bottle and found generic tablets within. Throwing caution to the wind, she tossed a couple in her mouth and washed them down with the water. Then, loosening her corset a bit so she could breathe better, she stood again, clutching her basket and started down the path again.

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Spike was disappointed to find that they had goneoughough the hole only to land themselves in the middle of more woods, but Happy on the other hand was elated to discover that the world had not ended beyond the barrier. Both men stood and began making their way toward a small path they could see winding through some nearby trees. It was slow progress, because Spike had begun limping severely. Happy watched him in concern for a bit and finally offered to carry the much larger man on his back. Ego aside, there was still no way the blonde could see this as a plausible option. The sheer physics of it were beyond impractical. He took a moment to lean against a tree, panting heavily, and gave his little friend a weak smile. Standing again, he shook his head ‘no’ and kept moving, having to grit his teeth through the pain. So far there was no sign of the others and Spike was beginning to lose hope, but what else could he do at this point but continue on this new path?

Happy looked on in awe as the proud man before him continued to bear his pain in silence, not wanting to burden the little dwarf who adored him so. ‘They just don’t make enough men like that,’ he thought with a sigh, ‘Oh, if only I had enough rum to get him good and drunk, and maybe a nice big pot o’ melted chocolate.’

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After a brief walk through the woods, Willow came upon a small cottage nestled among the trees. She was tired and scared and wanted to know where her friends were, but there was something about her clothes and the woods and the little house before her that screamed out danger. She stood for a few moments, just looking at it and shuffling her feet. ‘Well,’ she thought, ‘Oz was a werewolf and I was able to handle him okay…with a big tranquilizer gun.’

“I wish this basket had a tranquilizer gun or some other useful weapon in it…”

She opened the basket and peered inside, but it appeared to empty for the moment. ‘Oh well,’ she thought, ‘it was worth a try. At least I have my magic.’ She called to mind a few simple spells that would be good in a tight spot, then summoned up her courage and knocked on the door.

“Um, hello? Is anyone home?” she asked as she let herself in.

“Come in, dearie, I’ve been waiting for you all day…” came a gravelly old voice from the bedroom that gave the redhead the wiggins.

Willow prepared herself to magically strike as she moved back to the bedroom, but let out a sigh of relief as soon as she entered it. There, lying on the bed was a little old lady that in no way resembled a wolf.

“Ccloscloser, child, granny can hardly see you from there,” she motioned with her hand and Willow moved to sit on the bed beside her. “Have you brought an old lady some goodies to eat?”

“Well,” said Willow, trying to pop open the basket, “there was some bottled water and aspirin in there, but they seem to have disappeared when I wished for the tranq gun, or maybe it was the other weapons, I’m not sure.” She had finally gotten the lid open and bent over the basket, peering inside for some sort of hidden goodies.

With her back turned to the woman, she was unaware of the way her face had begun to shift, revealing a long snout. Hands became claws, ripping away the flowered nightgown to reveal a creature that was more human than the other werewolves she had seen, but still an animal, and seemingly very male as well. Willow shrieked and darted across the room, but the creature lunged in her direction, blocking the door. The redhead screamed again, diving away once more but only managing to scramble up onto the bed with no other retreat. She summoned all her strength to cast a defensive spell that would easily knock the creature out, but the moment the words left her mouth, all the power they created within her fizzled into nothing. Panicked, she tried again, but it was no use, her magic was not gone, but it wasn’t working either.

“Well, my sweet, since you haven’t brought me any goodies, I guess I’ll just have to eat you,” the creature said through his long teeth.

Willow did the only thing left that she could, she screamed herself hoarse, and flailed her arms and legs as the creature pinned her to the bed. She might not be able to escape, but she was certainly going to do everything in her power to make this an unpleasant dining experience for him. Just then she heard a heavy THUD from the other room, and looked up in relief when what appeared to be a lumberjack came through the door. She smiled widely, fully expecting him to take his axe and lop the monster’s head off. However, her relief turned to further horror when instead the man began undressing.

“Geez, Kevin, couldn’t you wait for me? I told you I would be over right after work,” the large sweaty man asked in irritation as he unfastened his pants to reveal a frighteningly large and very erect penis. Willow shook her head as if trying to rid herself of the horrible visions surrounding her. The man leered at her, stroking his cock a few times before turning his attention back to the wolf-man pinning her to the bed.

“Hey, I thought the brat was coming at seven sharp, not my fault if she was a bit early. Besides, I didn’t hurt her or nuthin’, just scared her a bit. Tell you what, Larry, why don’t I let you have first go at her, I don’t mind sloppy seconds, and by then the barbeque will be good and ready and we’ll grill her up,” Kevin offered civilly.

“Thanks, Kev, you’re a true friend,” Larry replied, making his way over to the bed.

“Wait!” Willow yelled out, making the man pause for a moment, “You’re going to fuck me AND eat me?! Isn’t raping me bad enough?! And you, you ‘woodsman’, aren’t you supposed to KILL the wolf?!”

“Where’s the fun in that? No, I think having my way with you, then watching Kevin have his turn while he kills you is much more fun. Besides, who can say no to a good barbeque?”

At this he lunged forwardaspiasping the front of her bodice and giving it a sharp tug. The laces gave way, snapping apart and revealing her bare bosom. Willow screamed again, and wished she was already dead rather than have to endure this, when suddenly she heard another loud noise coming from the other room. She was beyond hoping anyone would help her, it was probably just another one of their buddies coming to join in, but then she heard it…

“WILLOW!!!”

She lifted her head up in time to see Spike, a blur of baby blue as he swung hard with an axe, separating the wolf-man’s head from his shoulders. Larry the lumberjack only had a moment to register his surprise as a giant potato with a beard planted a pick into his chest. The big man collapsed to his knees, reaching out for Happy, intent on breaking his neck, but the much smaller man dodged him with ease. Happy gave him a once over and thought to himself what a waste it was that such a nice piece of man flesh had to die. In his reverie he didn’t notice the big ham fist coming from the other side that sent him flying. The little man pushed himself back onto his feet, picking up the woodsman’s own axe, ‘Hunk or not, this guy’s going down!’ he thought, and buried the blade in the man’s torso. He then watched with a smug grin as he keeled over dead.

All of this seemed to happen in a flash, leaving Willow still on the bed, staring at the scene before her in shock. Her mouth hung open, as did her top, her pert breasts still fully exposed. Spike limped the last few feet to the bed, practically collapsing on it, as he crawled up her body. Willow was so relieved to see him that she didn’t question his actions or her state of undress, she just wanted him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay.

Spike pulled himself fully on top of her, turning her face to meet his, and kissed her. Not a gentle, sweet kiss, but passionate and demanding, his tongue forcing her mouth open. Willow was briefly caught up in the gesture, returning the kiss with equal fervor, and then she felt his hass pss pressing against her stomach, and she began to pull away. She wondered if it was the outfit that was making all the men react to her this way, and if so perhaps she should get one for special occasions. But in the meantime, she and Spike needed to get to the bottom of whatever was happening to them, and making out was not going to help matters any, regardless of how good it felt.

Reluctantly, she pushed the blonde off of her, as Spike moaned in protest. It was then that she noticed he didn’t look quite right. Aside from the clothes that resembled the little Dutch boy, his face was flushed and sweaty. She touched his forehead and found that he was burning up.

“Oh, god, Spike!” she exclaimed in panic.

“Willow, I...love…” and with that he passed out cold.

To be continued…