"The World Eaters," Xander repeated. "Why do have a feeling they're not the newest heavy metal band?"
"They're a demon cult, or sect, that apparently have a fascination with the Slayer's offspring." Wesley paused and glanced at Giles. "According to the texts I found they believe the sacrifice of a child of a Slayer is vital in one of their rituals. I'm not entirely sure which ritual it is, but everything points-"
"You haven't got a bloody clue!" Spike exclaimed suddenly.
Wesley looked offended. "I assure you, these texts-"
"Oh, you have the outline right, mate, but the whole picture is a bit beyond you." Spike smirked. "The Commedores do Mondo are much sneakier than you seem to think."
"Very well then, enlighten me," Wesley challenged.
"The deal is still on, right? My information for your protection."
"That depends on how useful your information is," Giles told him.
Spike looked around to make sure he had an attentive audience before he began. "The Commedores Do Mondo are the most evil, obnoxious, downright creepy buggers to walk this earth. Hell - they make old Angelus look like a kitten."
"So they're evil. We get that. Why are you demanding our protection from them?" Cordelia asked.
"The Slayer's kid. This whole deal wouldn't be happening if your Watcher over there hadn't got it on with the Slayer."
"Would you get to the point already?" Xander demanded.
Spike sighed and slouched further in his chair. "They want to use the brat in a ritual. According to their sacred texts its blood is the key to opening the Hellmouth."
There was stunned silence for a moment before Cordelia said, "Haven't we done that already? And weren't you one of the doers? I though the Hellmouth opening would be something for you to celebrate."
"You might say that these Commedores creatures are purists. They want to exterminate all humanity, starting with human-tainted demons. This whole 'open the Hellmouth' deal gives them the power to do it. And take a guess as to what ranks highest on their 'most hated' list."
Xander glared at Spike. "So this whole thing is because you're afraid?"
"Too right, mate. You think I'm stupid or something? If those bloody things get hold of the Slayer's child, I'll be the first to go."
***
Gradually the blackness faded to . . . well, a different shade of black and Buffy groaned as she came around. Her head was pounding and her stomach roiled unpleasantly as she moved her head but she was alive. For a long time she lay where she was, clamping down on the nausea that threatened to make life uncomfortable. As she lay there it slowly died down and after a few minutes she found she could sit up.
Sitting up with her eyes open actually made little difference to her surroundings. She was somewhere dark and damp, but as her eyes became accustomed to the dark she began to distinguish between dark and very dark. She appeared to be in a small cell and from the feel of the bricks beneath her and the smell she guessed she was somewhere in the catacombs and sewers that ran beneath the town. The cell was bare apart from a door with a small, barred window through which she could just make out the flickering light of torches or a fire.
Buffy struggled to her feet on unsteady legs and waited for a moment for the dizziness to pass before slowly examining her prison. A physical survey revealed no more that her visual survey, apart from convincing her that she would not be able to break the door down. She sank gratefully to the floor again and rested there with her back against the wall. A low growling in her stomach reminded her that it had now been several hours since she ate and with the added calories she needed for the baby, Buffy realised that she could become uncomfortable very soon.
She sighed and rested her hands on the small bump in her belly that was all she could feel of the growing child inside her. The rough treatment she had endured over the past few hours did not seem to have hurt it but she would feel much better if she could get to a hospital to make sure. Rupert, please hurry, she silently pleaded.
***
"So, this is why the Watchers were so desperate to get their hands on Buffy," Xander concluded.
"Well, it would explain a lot," Wesley said.
"Including the Council's eagerness to terminate the pregnancy," Giles said with a sigh.
Willow spoke up for the first time, shooting nervous glances towards Spike. "How do we know he's not lying? For all we know he could just be leading us on a wild goose chase and laughing at us as we run around . . . goose-like. After all, you are a bloodthirsty killer. No offence meant."
"None taken. I like being a bloodthirsty killer, Red," Spike said cheerfully. "But do you think I'd make something like this up?"
"Yes," Willow said emphatically.
"Well, ok, you got me there," Spike admitted, "but would you take my word that I'm telling the truth? Those buggers are evil and I'm scared. Yes, me, the big bad is scared. Believe me, I would not be telling you that unless I were desperate."
"Your story does tie in with what little I know about the Commedores so I'm inclined to believe you," Wesley mused.
"See? Take a tip from the wimp over there - believe me."
"Where does this leave us though?" Xander asked.
"With a cult of demons who took out the entire special ops team," Giles said wearily. "They have Buffy and therefore our child. It is even more vital that we retrieve both of them."
"I don't suppose you'd happen to know where she is, would you?" Xander asked Spike.
"I haven't a bloody clue."
"Well, you're a bundle of help," the teenager said unhappily. "Willy said a new group of demons were in town, scaring away his customers, but he doesn't know where they are either. He thinks they might be in the sewers though - apparently most of the demons that have gone into hiding used to live down there."
"And Sunnydale has how many miles of sewers?" Cordelia asked. "I, for one, am not getting these shoes covered in sewer water unless someone is willing to reimburse me."
"Amy should be ready to repeat the tracing spell in a few hours," Willow said, trying to sound hopeful.
"And until then?" Xander asked.
"We don't have much choice," Giles said, somehow managing to keep his voice steady. "We wait."
***
Buffy no longer knew how long she had been held in the cell. She had slipped into a half trance and now sat there, her hand still resting protectively over her womb, but her mind drifted aimlessly. No one had come to see her, or threaten her, or even give her food and her hunger was now almost painful.
Something suddenly pulled her from her trance. She held completely still, not even daring to breathe, and it came again; the barest fluttering against her hand. It was so faint it was more like a tickle than a physical sensation, but it was there. For a moment she panicked, afraid that the rough treatment she had endured over the past few hours had hurt the baby, but then she felt it again and she remembered the pregnancy books Giles had been reading aloud to her. The faint fluttering that she felt again was the baby moving. She could feel their child moving inside her and her sigh of relief turned into a chuckle. A smile worked its way across her face and quiet, maternal joy suffused her.
"Don't worry kiddo," she whispered to the baby. "Your daddy is gonna find us and get us out."
***
The grey light of the pre-dawn was casting steely shadows across the garden as Giles stood on the kitchen step with a mug of coffee, silently drinking in the chill air. Thoughts chased each other across his mind - plans for Buffy's rescue, fears for her and the baby, nebulous plans for their future - each thought was replaced by the numbing dread that he firmly pushed away each time it threatened to overwhelm him. She was going to be fine. He refused to believe that he would not find her.
Everything in his life, all the mistakes and the good times, had led to the day they met but none of that had prepared him for how completely she would take his heart. I'll never let anything hurt you again, he silently vowed.
A touch on his arm pulled him from his dark thoughts and he turned to find Willow looking up at him, her concern etched on her face.
"Amy's ready," she told him and walked back to the basement, knowing her words of comfort would be useless.
"I'm coming for you, love," he whispered. "Hold on, I'm coming."
***
It took a while for the dot of light to appear on the map and when it did the assembled humans and vampire stared at it in puzzlement.
"Here?" Xander asked eventually. "She's here?"
"How can she be?" Anya asked. "I haven't seen lots of scary demons and a pregnant Slayer wandering around the house for the past few hours."
"Are you sure your spell is accurate?" Xander asked.
"It was the last time," Willow said.
"It should have worked," Amy added.
"Maybe it did," Cordelia said. "Are there any sewers under the house? And maybe an entrance in here? Angel's place has one."
"The nearest entrance is the crypt in a cemetery about a mile away," Giles mused.
"There are sewers out here," Spike volunteered. "I never bothered exploring them though. It was a bit difficult after your little wife put me in a wheelchair."
"Willow, can you check the plans?" Giles asked.
"Sure. I'll just rummage around in the planning office. It'll be like old times," the redheaded hacker said, booting up the computer.
Cordelia, meanwhile, was moving around the basement and stomping on random parts of the flooring.
"What's she doing?" Anya whispered to Xander.
"I have no idea," the teenager replied.
Wesley, though, evidently did because he joined her, pausing every few steps to listen or prod the carpet.
"Ah-hah!" Cordelia and Willow exclaimed a few minutes later.
"Cordelia was right," the witch said, watching as the former cheerleader began pushing vainly at a large cupboard in the corner. "There's a main access tunnel going right under this house and it looks as though there were several chambers built in as well. The plans are a little hard to make out so I can't tell if there's access nearby but there's definitely somewhere down there where they could be holding Buffy."
"Of course I was right," Cordy huffed. "And if you 'gentlemen' would help me move this thing I'll show you."
Wesley and Giles immediately set to and they managed to get the heavy weapons cupboard moved in record time. As soon as that was out of the way Cordelia began pulling back the carpeting.
"Cordelia, why are you ruining my carpet?" Giles asked after a minute.
She did not answer him for a few minutes. When she seemed satisfied with what she had done she stood back and said, "Because of this."
Everyone crowded around to see, set tightly into the stone floor, a wooden trap door.
***
After the excitement of feeling the baby move for the first time Buffy had slipped back into her half-trance. It was easier than thinking about how proud Giles would be, or how much she wished she could share it with him.
Again something pulled her out of her daze, but this time it was not the faint movements of her developing child. She listened carefully and realised that she had not imagined it. Somewhere outside the cell there were faint shouts and clashes of metal on metal. Could someone be rescuing me? she wondered.
The noises grew closer and she could pick out individual voices. Mostly it was guttural grunting and ululating battle cries but occasionally she could pick out a familiar voice and her heart leapt when she heard Giles' voice. Hope rose for the first time and she pushed herself to stand.
Bright lights flashed through the tiny, barred window in the door of her cell and the sounds of battle drew closer. Then, finally, a face appeared through the bars and Buffy smiled as she recognised her husband's familiar features.
"Buffy? Are you here?" he called.
"What took you so long?" she answered happily.
He flashed her a quick grin and then said, "Stand back, love."
She retreated to the back wall of the cell and moments later there was a small 'bang' followed by a flash of fire. The cell door fell inward to reveal Giles, holding an unsheathed sword and looking ferocious. His fierce appearance softened as soon as his eyes fell on Buffy and he covered the floor between them in a few, long strides, taking her into his arms and holding her so tightly that she would have been hurt if she had not been the Slayer.
"Hi," she whispered when he released her.
"Hello."
"Can we get out of here?"
He did not answer, but instead picked her up and carried her to the door of her cell.
*finis*