Brave New World

Chapter 7

A small part of Buffy was watching from the stage as the Master and Willow mingled and talked with various representatives of other clans in the crowd of vampires. To all observers, she was engaged in a conversation with her doll, Mary. Buffy had become quite proficient at holding her strange conversations while in reality she was paying attention to what was going on around her. Right now, she was especially paying attention to the bleached-blonde vampire still on the stage with her.

Spike had remained in his chair, sipping at his goblet of blood while various vampires had tentatively approached him in an effort to gain his favor. While many of the various clan leaders were hoping to entice him into coming to work for them, the females were hoping to entice him into their beds, looking at him as a potential mate. However, although he never said or did anything to drive them off, each and every one of them eventually had fled due to the intensity of his presence. It was as if something was radiating off of him in waves. Most vampires were drawn to another vampire that emanated such a powerful presence; bn Spn Spike's case, the power also seemed to warn of danger, death and destruction to anyone who stayed near him for too long.

Buffy eventually found herself to be the only one left on the stage who could stay near the quiet, intense vampire. She could feel his power as well, but rather than fear it she felt oddly drawn to him. When she had looked into his eyes after the Master's announcement, she had seen such a deep and abiding sadness in them that she had to hold herself back from the urge to go over to him and hold him. **Yeah right,** she thought, **now I'm wanting to give comfort to a vampire. Maybe I really have finally gone insane.** It was truly bizarre, and she could not explain it, but there was something about him that felt so 'different' to her.

Another reason Buffy had focused in on Spike was that it helped distract her from the 'entertainment' that was occurring in the back area. A family of had been captured while driving through Sunnydale that evening. The father was already dead; having been hung upside down, his throat sliced and the blood drained into a punch bowl, from which the assembled vampires were being served. The mother, already traumatized from watching her husband murdered, was now being tormented by being given the decision of which of her two children would be next. The twist was that which ever one she decided on would be killed quickly and as painlessly a possible; while the child who had not been chosen would be tortured. It was a game that Willow had devised. Her favorite part came toward the end. Each time a new torture was to be applied to her child, the mother would be given a choice: She could take the torture in exchange for sparing her child. The tortures were always the same and applied in an established progression, slowly increasing in severity and pain. Various vampires were wagering upon how long the mother would continue to agree to be tortured before she would breakdown and allow her last child to be hurt just to avoid anymore pain herself.

It was horrible and sickening. And to Buffy's everlasting shame, she could feel the desire of the dark demon inside her slithering around like an evil, oily worm inside her mind.
Wanting to come out and play.


Willow felt ecstatic. She had thought it would be years before she was in a position of such power. Queen to the Master. Ruling the Hellmouth today, and, with her help, the World tomorrow. Power over all life and un-life on this planet. And power was what she truly desired these days.

When she had been human, all she had desired was knowledge and the love of one boy. She had been weak. Pathetic. A spineless, meek little girl who had allowed everyone to walk over her. But when she had been turned, she had discovered a whole new world of power, full of blood and murder and fear and terror. She had reveled in it. And when Xander was turned, she had been thrilled to introduce him to the world of vampiric sex. When she had been human, she had been in love with him but too shy to ever say anything to him. As a vampire, though, her shyness had disappeared along with her inhibitions and the pure sweet love she had once felt for her former 'Best Friend'. All that was left were her lusts and desires for more power. It had been Willow's desire for more power that had led to her becoming one of the Master's favorites. Xander had just been along for the thrill ride. As in the short life she and Xander had lived before, it was Willow who was the brains behind the operation. Xander would provide the muscle and entertainment. Together the two of them had risen rapidly in the Master's ranks to become his two favorites. And then Xander was gone.

At first, Willow had been upset. But then the Master had 'consoled' her, and she realized that Xander had really just been holding her back. Yes she could control the humans, but she wanted more. She set her sights on the Master, realizing that what she really wanted was the power of the 'Ruling Class' of Vampires. And tonight, after only six months of effort, he had declared that he would take her as his new Queen.

The ceremony would be in two months. Upon the 3rd anniversary of the Master's release from the Hellmouth and her own glorious re-birth as a vampire. Certainly a date worth celebrating.
Un-life was so sweet.


The Master was quite pleased with himself as well. He had, rather neatly he thought, avoided what could have been an embarrassing quarrel between Spike and himself. But he simply could not give up the fiery little vampiress who had done so much for him. Without her, the factory would barely have been operational, if at all, and the entertainment's that her sadistic mind could devise were truly inspired. The idea that Spike had wanted to lay a claim on her had filled the Master with quite a bit of trepidation. The Master had realized that teaming Willow with Spike could produce an extremely dangerous duo, particularly in light of what Spike had achieved by himself in LA. Considering all that she had done for him of late, the decision to name her as his Queen had been an easy one to make. Spike would be envious, but then so were most of those assembled here tonight. He knew that as they were shaking his hand, they were wishing that they had the strength to overthrow him and seize all that was his. The various clan leaders were nervous. Vampire's were chaotic creatures who, on the one hand, did not like to be ruled over but, on the other hand, they loved to rule over others. To become a part of the Master's 'Grand Plan' and to place themselves under the command of the Master would be a humiliating step down from having absolute authority over their respective clans. But, better to endure a little humiliation and still remain amongst those in command, than to fight the inevitable and become a pile of dust. The Master knew that he had made a large number of conquests tonight. All that required now was for them to have sufficient time to realize it. When they did, they would come back and beg and scrape and bow as they pledged undying loyalty to him.

Spike, however, remained as a problem. The Master had been uncertain what to do with him because he was uncertain of what Spike's motives were these days, and where his loyalties were. This new quiet, respectful Spike had him baffled and a little nervous. The old Spike had been an anarchist, a rabble rouser. The type of vamp who would incite a rebellion just because of all the carnage and destruction that would result. Not the sort of vamp who would remain under anyone's authority for very long. But while that Spike might have taken control of a small gang of vamps, he was never the type who was interested in grabbing power on the level that the Master wielded. But this calm, steady vampire who was here tonight, was nothing like that old one. This was a vampire to be reckoned with and dealt with very carefully. Spike looked like a vampire who, if he put his mind to it, there was no telling what he would be capable of. Just look at how fast he had finished in LA.

Drusilla had been a distraction for the old Spike, but she was gone now. Willow had found the cure shortly after Spike had come to him for help, he had simply been holding on to it until Spike had completed their agreed upon deal. **How was I to have known that cursed little Slayer would free Angelus, and then get him killed. It's all her fault,** he thought to himself. **The dumb bitch couldn't even become a proper vampire.** The Master had taken it as a personal insult that her mind had been broken as she had become a vampire, leaving him with a weak and broken minion instead of the powerful Slayer-Vamp he had been hoping for. **Perhaps the next one,** he had mused, **but for now maybe she can be of some use in fixing the trouble she has caused.**

The Master was considering giving him Buffy. He had become bored with Buffy. She had taken up too much of his time and provided little of value in return. The truth was, if it hadn't have been for Willow's enjoyment of torturing her, he might have destroyed her months ago. He still might, if Spike did not respond to her as the Master hoped he would. He figured that if Spike had another insane mate to care for and occupy his time he would not get any ideas about overthrowing the proper leadership. If he still did, well the Master would have a talk with Buffy before he handed her to Spike, and impress upon her the need to contact him should Spike start talking about anything of a subversive nature.

There was something about Buffy that still bothered him. If Spike wanted her, fine, she would become his problem to deal with. If he did not, well then perhaps Willow would enjoy being allowed to kill her. He really did not care.


Oddly enough, Spike was feeling rather calm. He had not been upset whhe Mhe Master had torpedoed his original plan. In fact, after a while of thinking about it, he had actually felt slightly relieved, that he would not have to pretend to desire the little viper. And his curiosity regarding the blonde was growing by the minute.

He knew the Master was trying to manipulate him. The dress on the girl had been rather blatantly obvious, in Spike's opinion. But it did not matter in the least to him. He was interested in knowing what she would do when he confronted her about her behavior, but more than that; there was something about her that was drawing him to her. If Dru had been here she possibly might have made some comment about the girl glowing with power. When he had finally caught her eyes, it had been so obvious. The power that lurked inside of this tiny young vampire was like a tiger waiting to burst from its cage and consume everyone who had thought they had tamed the beast. No, she was not the meek little 'Master's' toy that everybody had said she was.

He was the only one who could see it.

She had been a Slayer once. Maybe not one of any great importance then, but she *still* had been a Slayer. Who was *now* a vampire. Slayer-Vamps were reputed to be incredibly dangerous and deadly to their enemies, both human as well as vampire. And they were fiercely loyal and dedicated to their friends and loved ones. Willing to do anything for them, in fact Spike looked around. Aside from the few male vampires who had come sniffing around looking to maybe get a shag from the Master's Toy, nobody had been interested in her. Spike had scared them off with a low rumbling growl, and had been pleased to get a rather surprised but grateful look from the girl. It had been very fast, and she had rapidly glanced away again, but he knew he had seen it.

When he knew the girl was looking over at him, he lifted his right hand and with his fingers, indicated to her to come over and sit by him.

**Time to make a friend.**


The girl stood and walked slowly over to him, the doll clutched protectively to her chest, head cocked at a slight angle as she looked at him. Spike remained seated in his chair.

"Hello Cutie. What's your name?" Not an especially grand opening line but it seemed appropriate for some reason. The girl said nothing, however. She simply remained there, studying him, swayed slightly to the music that was playing and humming a completely different tune. **Yes, she is good with the act,** Spike thought as he looked at her eyes. The tiger was hiding. "Can you talk to anyone besides your friend there, luv?"

Allowing a little of 'Slut-Vamp' out, Buffy started to stroll around Spike, reaching out with one hand to caress him in his black leather duster; up one of his arm, across his back and down the other.
"I can but..." she spoke in a slow, soft but clear voice, "the Master doesn't like me to speak unless I'm spoken to." She leaned in to whisper sensually into his ear, "And besides, most of the time, they aren't interested in what comes out of my mouth. Only what they can put in it." She pulled away and gave a little giggle, as she finished walking around him. Suddenly she become serious, "The Master calls me 'Childe'. He never calls me by my name. Everybody calls me 'Childe'."

"I don't think I fancy that pet, you hardly look like a child to me. What's the name your mum gave you?" he asked.

Buffy stiffened and for a second Spike caught a glimpse of the tiger, **Touched a nerve there, didn't we, luv?** Buffy stood there, rocking her body back and forth, looking like she was trying to decide if she was going to divulge some big secret. **What is going on in that devious little mind of yours,** Spike pondered as he watched her. Leaning forward, hands clasped in front of him pressed on, "Come on now. It can't be that bad. Tell ya' what. You tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine. 'Spike's' just me nickname you know."

She quietly said, "My name used to be Buffy. Buffy Summers."

Spike smiled at her and leaned back in his chair, "Buffy, hmm. It suits you, you know. All perky and bright, even if you don't always feel that way. I swear girl for a vampire, you practically glow with life." Spike paused before murmuring almost to himself, "It's very beautiful."

If Buffy could have blushed she would have. He was starting to confuse her. She wanted to switch the conversation to him, then remembered his promise. "So, what's yours," she asked.

"William. William Darrow. But me mum used to call me Liam," he said with a small grin.

"Why'd you change it?" Buffy asked curiously.

"Well, Buffy, it's like this. As time goes by for us vampires, we tend to collect names. From the humans. From each other. I was known for a while as William the Bloody, up until about 130 years ago, then I became Spike." He stopped suddenly. He did not want to finish the story. He knew she would not approve of it, and for some bizarre reason he did not want her to be disappointed in him. However, at Buffy's quizzically arched eyebrow, he sighed and continued. "I spent a couple of months terrorizing a couple of villages near the railways, Luv. I used a couple of railroad spikes to torture some people with and the name sort of stuck. Dru came up with it. We had a bloody wonderful time." Spike voice tapered off as memories floated through his mind. He closed his eyes and softly added, "Drusilla never called me anything else after that."

Buffy looked away from Spike, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment between Spike and his lost love. When Spike opened his eyes he saw her gazing out at the milling crowd, an expression on her face that he could not quite figure out.

"Care to join them?" Buffy glanced back at Spike as he rested his head on one hand and looked at her.
"N-no. I told you, they don't like talking to me." She suddenly smiled at him, "But Mary likes to talk to me, and she knows lots of secrets."

"I bet she does. And she'll only share them with you."

"No. She might share with you. If she likes you." **OK so that's how we're going to play it,** Spike thought.

"Why wouldn't she like me? I'm a likable chap." "They didn't like you," she said indicating the crowd of vampires with a flip of her chin.

"What do you mean? They love me you saw them all trot up here to chat with me."

"They fear you."

**Simple, direct and the unvarnished truth,** Spike thought with a smile as he leaned forward to look directly into her eyes and in a low voice say to Buffy, "That's because they're all a bunch of nancy boys. They have good reason to be afraid of me, luv." "Because of LA," she stated simply, "Because of who you are. Because of what you are."

Spike chuckled, "Who I am, luv?"

She shrugged, "The Master's Chief Enforcer."

Spike smiled at that, then asked, "If that is who am I, then what am I?"

"A demon whose heart is aching for his lost love," she whispered. **Oh My God! Did I just say that allowed? Oh shit!**

Spike stiffened and Buffy closed her eyes expecting the blow to fall any second. When none did, she opened them to see him staring at her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I meant no disrespect. I'm just...I'm sorry she died. I wish-"

Spike held up a hand and Buffy's babbling stopped. He looked at her eyes and saw the sincerity within.
"It's OK. You're right though, I do miss her. We traveled the world for over a hundred years. She was my Black Princess. Everything I did, I did for her. But in the end, it wasn't enough. She died before I could get the cure she needed."

Buffy was shocked at how clear his love for the ex-vampiress came though. And his sorrow over her death. She had never thought that demons could feel such 'human' emotions. A single blood tea tear fell from Buffy's eye. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

**Cor, she really does care,** thought Spike in wonder.

"Of course you didn't know," he said gently, "How could you. We demons aren't exactly known for our Shakespearean love stories, despite all the tragedy we inspire."

In a sudden move that completely took Spike by surprise, Buffy hopped onto his lap and said, "Tell me a story about her."

A small smile crept across his face as he looked at Buffy sitting on his lap. **Daring little thing, too.**
"OK, luv. Let's see. Where to begin?" he took a sip of the blood in his goblet and then handed it to a surprised and wide-eyed Buffy who, after his nod, gratefully drank the rest. He astonished her further when he refilled the goblet before proceeding. "Right! Once upon a time..."


The party was winding down. Dawn was in a few hours and many of the various clan leaders had left already. Going home to contemplate their futures.

Spike had spent the better part of the night telling stories to an enthralled Buffy. He had told her about Dru & Angelus in the old days and many of the places they had gone. He told of caring for Dru when Angelus had disappeared because of what Spike later discovered was due to Angelus being cursed with a soul by a clan of Gypsies. He told of saving Dru from one Slayer, and then facing another during the Boxer rebellion. Despite a pang of sympathy for her predecessors, Buffy was drawn into the tale by Spike's masterful story telling technique. She loved his voice and she loved the feeling of being held in his lap. For the first time in months, she was experiencing a feeling of being safe and secure. For a brief while, the rest of the world just disappeared as he spoke to her and her alone.

The feeling of peace and safety disappeared as she sensed the Master and Willow returned to the stage. She started to rise from Spike's lap, but he stopped her by placing an arm around her stomach. She nervously starts to play with 'Mary'.

"Well, well Spike. It appears that you've made a friend tonight," said the Master.

Willow smirked, "It does look like she's grown attached to him. Of coarse, she's so good at that." Spike ignored Willow and instead looked at the Master, "Yes, she is very easy to talk to."

The Master smiled and said, "Indeed she is. She is good at a number of things. Spike, why don't you keep her for the day? I am going to be out until tomorrow night. I have some things to do, and I want to spend some time alone with my Queen-to-be here. I think the childe would only be in the way, and I don't trust the others with her. Sometimes they tend to get a little...over-enthusiastic."

Spike nods his head, "Thank you, Master. I will try to...keep my enthusiasm in check."

The Master chuckles briefly, before addressing Buffy, "Child."

Buffy looks up at him with a gleam in her eye, "Yes, Master?"

"I would like you to go with Spike here for the day," he instructed. "Show him the main guestroom and make certain that he is well provided for. I will be back tomorrow evening and I expect you to have behaved."

"Yes, Master," Buffy replies, nodding her head before returning to 'Mary'.

The Master and Willow then proceed to leave the Bronze.

Spike looked down at Buffy in his lap as she fidgeted with her doll. **Time to get some answers,** he thought.

"Come on then, Buffy," he whispered in her ear. "Let's go somewhere more private."

Without a word, Buffy rose from Spike's lap and led him to the guestroom. Spike looks around, clearly unimpressed.

"This is it? Not much to look at now is it, eh?" He begins checking behind the few pictures on the walls and inspecting the lights, while at the same time he is placing marks on the walls with something in his hand. "What?! No cameras? No bugs?" he asks looking briefly at a bewildered Buffy, who shakes her head.

"Well, I, for one, am insulted. I would have thought I had inspired a level of desire to make a few people want to spy on me. That's the trouble with lechery these days. Nobody keeps the standards."
As he said this he pulled out a small box from his duster's inside pocket and placed it on a low table. From inside the box he removed a small knife with intricate etchings an odn odd looking little white candle, that reminded her of a birthday candle. Spike waved at Buffy to move over to his side, silencing her questions with a look. He held out a hand towards her, and she hesitantly extended hers. She tensed up, when he lifted the knife and placed the edge against her palm, but he did not cut until she had relaxed enough to lift her eyes to his and nod at him to go ahead. He next sliced his own palm, then set the knife down, grabbed the strange candle and quickly placed it between their bleeding palms while interweaving his fingers through hers. Buffy was jolted by the sensation of the Candle moving between their hands. She was even more shocked as she realized that the Candle was growing because of the blood from their palms. Soon the candle was extending beyond the span of their hands, and to her horror the Candle was now a deep dark red in color. Finally, Spike released her fingers and peeled the Candle from between their two hands. Buffy stared at her palm. The cut was sealed with wax. She looked at Spike, wanting to dig the wax from her hand but he shook his head as he busied about setting the candle up in a hole in the box on the table. The Candle was now just over a foot long and about an inch wide. Spike then pulled out a Zippo lighter and clicked it on. Moving to light the candle, he whispered a chant:

ears that listen,
Full of distrust,
Let naught be heard,
Save sounds of lust.

As the Candle, began to burn Buffy felt a tingling sensation as she felt the magic begin to take effect. Looking at the walls she could see the marks that Spike had made earlier, start to glow and spread. Soon the entire room was covered with a faint glowing web of light.

Wh-what's going on?" Buffy asked tentatively.

"Well you see," began Spike, "I wanted to have a 'private' talk with you. And I don't really trust the Master not to have a few 'ears' in the walls. Now, however, all that anybody listening in is going to hear is the sound of the two of us having a great shag."

Gently Spike moved Buffy over to sit on edge of the bed. He then grabbed a chair, spun it around and sat down on it the wrong way facing Buffy. She was nervously clutching the doll. Spike looked at her for a long time before he spoke. When he did, Buffy felt her heart jump into her throat.

"Alright Buffy, you can drop the crazy act. I know you're as sane as I. It was a good act, luv. You've got all them buggers fooled all right. But when you've known someone who is truly insane for as long as I have, well... I'm not a fool. I know when someone is hiding something from me. But the big question is 'Why?'"

Spike leaned forward in the chair towards Buffy. "I think it's confession time."