Buffy pushed Lilly up through the portal. Everyone else had safely escaped back through to the bogus mission, and just as she was about to do the same, something tackled her from behind. She hit the cold, hard ground, and immediately rolled to her feet. Her hands came up to defend herself against her attacker. It was none other than Ken, the demon leader.
"You think you can come in here, ruin everything and just leave? I don't think so little girl; you are going to pay for what you've destroyed."
Buffy fought the urge to roll her eyes. She chanced taking her eyes off him to glance up at the portal. It was starting to close. As much as she would enjoy giving Ken a proper slaying, she knew that she had to hurry. Buffy went for straight and to the point. She launched herself at him, knocking him down and slamming his head against the floor. He laughed while she straddled his chest.
"What are you laughing at, ugly?"
"You, little girl, told you that you would pay," Ken said, pointing to the portal above their head.
She looked up just as the portal snapped shut. "NO!"
Ken easily pushed her off him. He stood up and started to circle her, taunting her as he went.
"What are you going to do now, little girl? There's no way out back there." He thumbed toward the cells, where Buffy and the others had slept at night. "And, the longer you remain here the older you'll become. You'll forget your own mother, even your name in mere days. I'll help you if you've already started to forget. It's the same as everyone else. Say it with me now." Ken laughed at the still immobile Slayer as he bent closer to snarl at her. "You're NOBODY!"
She was Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer. Some loose faced demon wasn't about to call her nobody, no way, no how. Buffy reached up and grabbed the arrogant demon/jerk in front of her. All the pain, sorrow and anger from the past few months crashed over her - Angel, Angelus, Jenny, Kendra, Giles, Willow and her mother. It finally broke through the grief that had fueled her nights as she dreamed of Angel; a cold, hard rage replaced it.
Taking Ken's head in her strong hands, Buffy ripped it from his body. "The name is BUFFY!" she screamed.
She dropped the head from her suddenly lifeless fingers. Her head tilted back as she stared at the solid ceiling above her, and then she ignored Ken's mangled body as her eyes skimmed along the hallway she had escaped from earlier. Left with no other choice, Buffy headed back into Ken's demon factory.
"I'll get out of here just you wait, and see. If I have to fight my way to Satan, himself, I'm going back, back home to Sunnydale," she softly promised herself.
She walked back through the factory, where none of the remaining demons even tried to stop her. Buffy noticed the large hammer she had used earlier lying just where she had left it. She picked it up, hitched it against her shoulder, and casually explored the factory.
A lone door stood in the farthest corner of the building. Buffy had started to wonder if she would die of old age, endlessly wandering around this stupid factory on a fruitless search for the elusive exit. With nothing to lose, she exited through it. She found herself on the bank a large river, where people were lining up to ride in a small boat. She stood on tiptoe to try to see where the river went, but to no avail. It wound around the bend.
Buffy got in line and asked the man ahead of her. "Where does this boat take you?"
"Don't you know anything? Stupid girl, this is the River Styx. Charon takes you to Limbo for judgment, where Minos decides what the proper hell is for your sins."
"Cool, then I go talk to this Minnows dude, and he can send me home. I'm not supposed to be here," Buffy said to herself.
"You're in Hell, girl. No one leaves here once they've entered."
"Hey moron, I just asked a question, and I didn't die, so there. Move ahead." She waved her hands at the rude man. "I want to hurry up and get on the boat."
The line moved faster than Buffy thought it would, since only one or two people ever stepped onto the boat at a time. She stepped up happy that she had finally reached the front of the line.
"Stop," Charon demanded. A skeletal hand came out to stop Buffy from stepping onboard. "You are not of this realm."
Buffy stared at him with his dark robes and skeletal body. She hated not being able to see someone's face when they talked to her. Eye contact was always of the good in her opinion.
"Listen, Skelator, you can take me, or I drive the little boat on my lonesome," she growled. Buffy repressed the urge to snap the bony finger the continued to point in her direction.
Charon's hood tilted to the side, as if he were listening to something that Buffy couldn't hear. "My Master said to bid you enter, but you will find no pity here."
"Don't want any pity, Cher. I just want to get home."
She stepped into the flat-bottom boat and looked around as they pushed off from the dock. The scenery changed in an instant from one dock to another. Buffy blinked her eyes to clear them.
What was that warp speed?
Stepping onto the deck, she saw yet another line. "Yep, this is Hell."
She shrugged her shoulders, and walked over to take the next place in line. Buffy hoped it would move as quickly as the last one - it didn't. She knew she had stood in the same place, relatively for days, as the line inched forward. It was finally her turn as she stepped up to the door-demon, demon doorman, uh the weird guy, that said who went next. It was times like these that she missed Giles, and his encyclopedia brain. The door-demon was an amalgamation of a gorilla's upper body that growled each person's name and an octopus' lower half with huge tentacles, which grabbed and pulled them into the building.
A tentacle moved toward Buffy, but she grabbed it and squeezed. It quickly stopped any attempts to handle her. "No touching, just show me where to go."
The door-demon simply pointed through the doorway toward a long corridor. She started walking, when the floor tilted downward. Her feet slipped out from underneath her, and she slid on her back while trying to catch hold of anything to stop her descent. The slicked floor gave her no purchase as the bottom rushed up to greet her.
Buffy hit the ground hard in a tumble of arms and legs. She quickly jumped to her feet, and spun about ready to defend from attack, when she noticed yet another long corridor. She could just make out someone sitting on a large throne. Buffy carefully walked forward, glancing around to determine if there were any more surprises lying in wait. The walls flickered white like the beginning of a film before they faded back to black, with each step she took down the seemingly endless hall. She finally stepped out into a large inner chamber, and made her way to stand before the throne, and its occupant. It was Minos, the judge of the dead. Buffy thought he looked rather out of place, with his curly hair and beard, and the haughty air about him. The small crown he wore with the flowing Grecian robes and bronze skin had her thinking, he could have stepped off one of her Mom's displays. The tail that slithered out from under his throne to slither in her direction totally ruined the picture. Buffy worked hard not to take a step back, make that several steps.
"Why are you here? It's not your place or time?" Minos demanded.
The tail slithered closer, and Buffy swallowed, curling her toes in her boots, but she refused to step back from it. "Are you that Minnows guy?"
"I am Minos, and you have not answered me. You will do so now." His voice caused the walls to tremble, as he stared at Buffy with red eyes.
"You don't need to shout, I can hear you just fine. Sheesh," Buffy muttered the last part. She drew in a large breath as she started her story. "I helped some kids get home, but before I could do the same the portal closed. Since you're who decides where everyone belongs, and since I don't, belong here, you can send me to where I do, belong that is. Right?" She sent him a blindingly bright smile.
"No, that way is blocked to you."
Buffy frowned not liking what she was hearing. She was not a happy Slayer. If this meant more lines, she was going to slay something, and it might be Mr. Minnows here.
"They told me to talk to you, and now you're saying you can't help me. Who, the hell, excuse..., forget that, don't excuse anything, how, the hell, do I get out of Hell?" She leaned forward, extending up onto her tiptoes as she screamed at Minos, the judge over the dead souls in Hell.
"The only way out is if the Master grants you passage."
One blonde eyebrow arched at the Master comment. She crossed her arms, and glared up at Minos for several endless moments. He stared back at her, unfazed by the small Vampire Slayer, who thought to intimidate him.
"Fine," she sighed.
Buffy really hated talking and no doing. Why couldn't she just slay something to get home, or better yet had to shop until she dropped to exit hell, but noo, she had to talk to someone, and then talk to someone else. Now, she understood why they called it hell.
"Fine," she snapped at him, her patience having reached its end. "Send me to him, and he can send me home."
"That I cannot do." Minos raised a hand to stop her from starting her endless ranting, once more. "The closest I can send you is the Eighth Circle of Hell, and you successfully traverse, its ten ditches, and then the Ninth's four outer circles. You will find my Master awaiting your arrival at the epicenter. You will find my Master there at its innermost circle."
"And, he can send me back, send me home? He's not going to send me off somewhere else, maybe to Bertha in Accounting?"
"No. My Master is the only one that has the power to do what you seek, if he so chooses." Buffy was already nodding her head in agreement. "Take care, Slayer; you will see the worst Hell has to offer. Should you falter anywhere along the way, there you will remain - forever."
Buffy's nose wrinkled at the thought. She knew she was far from angelic, but still didn't think she would end here, and had no plans to find out.
"I'm not staying, Minnows. Do I get anything to fight with? I lost my hammer somewhere in that last line."
Minos considered her words. Buffy thought he might not give her a weapon. It would suck, but she had faced worse odds and succeeded. She didn't see why this situation was any different.
"Take this." He surprisingly handed her a sword that fit her hand beautifully. She couldn't stop from taking several practice swipes. "But, use it wisely. Things are not always, what they appear. Harden your heart, Slayer. Those here belong, and no longer your concern; they have earned their punishments. Should you try to change their fate, you will lose everything - including your soul."
Buffy had no sooner wrapped her hand more firmly around the hilt than she found herself standing before a deep stone ditch. She noticed demons brandishing whips, which they used to force the 'people' to march across the hard, hot ground. It looked painful to Buffy. Many left bloody prints in their wake. The demon overseer took great pleasure in forcing those foolish enough to stop marching back to their feet.
It seemed odd to her that several of the men and women that noticed her took the time to smile at her. One handsome man even approached, smiling seductively. "I've come to help you across; so, you may continue your journey. Someone as young and beautiful as you should not be near this offal." His voice was smooth and comforting to hear. Eyeing him cautiously, she moved to go past, but he caught her arm. "Wait, little one. I only ask a moment of your time, surely you can give me that."
Pulling her arm away from him as her voice became low and deadly. "Let me go." The man ignored her warning, and smoothed his hand up her arm, edging closer to her breast. Buffy punched him in the face, and knocked him down. "Don't touch me."
She hurried away, never knowing that these were the panderers and seducers. The demons drove them onward in the eternal march in the same manner, they had used others passions against them.
Buffy had cleared one ditch, only to find she was standing before the next one. People stood in well, shit, up to their necks, with their heads barely visible above the offal. Theirs was the sin of flattery, which they used to exploit others. They stood in the representation of their sin. It gave the phrase, shit for words, an entire new meaning.
"Gross, how do I get across?"
Buffy stared at the lake of poo. Her nose wrinkled at the horrendous smell. There was no way she was about to walk through that. She stared at it for hours, having no way of knowing that time marched on in the world above her. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and a huge smile spread across her face.
"It worked for James Bond."
She shrugged her shoulders, backed up several steps and took a leap worthy of a prima ballerina. Closing her ears to their voices, she delicately hopped from one to another, balancing on their heads with the inherent grace and strength her calling granted her. She finally jumped clear to land on the stone path leading to the next ditch.
"This isn't so bad."
Buffy slowly plodded through the next two ditches. Each took longer to travel across than its predecessor. She didn't think she would ever get the images of the corrupt churchmen with their feet on fire, or the twisted around, backward walking false prophets. Their screams still echoed in her ears. Buffy had no doubt that they deserved the punishments for their crimes. It didn't stop her from wanting to stop the never-ending misery that surrounded her. She had noticed that the sins had become more serious with their punishments. Her steps slowed as she approached the next ditch unsure of what she would find.
"This is number five, I'm halfway there. Look straight ahead and don't stop. This isn't your business, Buffy."
She mentally straightened her shoulders as she marched forward. Buffy hadn't bothered to wonder why she couldn't walk across the large bridges that arched above each bridge.
"Here goes nothing."
Walking down the slope, her spidey sense went into overdrive. Demons tortured people, before throwing them into a black tar river. Without thought, she caught the hand of a demon about to punish a silver-haired man. He could have been someone's grandfather.
"What's his crime?"
"He used his position to steal money from the people he represented, and allowed criminals to prosper from those who elected him into office."
Releasing his hand, Buffy turned away to continue walking. I can't interfere if I ever want to leave here. I'm just trying to go home.
Closing her ears and heart to the tortured cries around her, she finally reached the seventh ditch. Buffy watched its inhabitants, the thieves, who lay trapped in the deep ditch surrounded by serpents and large lizards. The serpents and lizards attacked the thieves transforming them into changing them into vipers. They had to bite another thief to return to their former body. It was a never-ending cycle. Buffy realized she would have to fight to keep them from biting her. Drawing the sword, she stepped carefully around the gnashing teeth, keeping enough distance that she could fight, if needed. Several snakes slithered toward her, and Buffy sliced them in two. Breathing a sigh of relief, she pulled herself free from the ditch.
Moving quickly to the next ditch, with only three more to go, Buffy dug even deeper inside herself to block out anything and anyone. She looked straight ahead, keeping her focus on the other side. She now stood at the Ninth Circle of Hell - Betrayal.
"What did Minnows say? There are four outer circles, before I can get to the center of Hell, where his Master's waiting for me. Okay, Buffy just keep going, don't talk to anyone no matter what they say. They wouldn't be here if they didn't belong."
Looking out, she saw it was a frozen lake, with people held captive in the icy depths. Their upper bodies remained free from and the tortured souls cried out to Buffy.
"Please, set me free."
"I did nothing, nothing I tell you."
"Help me, here over here."
"You there, girl, look at my face. Would I hurt anyone?"
Buffy carefully moved across the frozen world. It seemed to stretch on forever. Stepping forward into the next circle, the people were immobile, frozen within the ice up to their shoulders.
"They must be worse than the last group. Okay, no pity, no way, move your feet, Buffy, just move your feet."
"What are you doing here, bitch?" a familiar voice growled.
There at her feet was Darla, which had Buffy breaking out in laughter at the sight. "Well, fancy meeting you here. I thought the soul wasn't responsible for what the demon did."
"Shut up, Slayer, you know nothing. Think you're so smart, wait and see. You won't be laughing long."
Buffy moved to walk by then kicked Darla in the head. "Oops, my bad, sorry, Darla, it was just so tempting."
After she walked past, Darla grinned evilly. "Yes, I'm sure that's what the Master hoped you'd think."
Her head disappeared from the ice, while Buffy entered the third round of the Ninth Circle. Buffy saw...Xander frozen in ice, with only his face free from the ice. She ran over to crouch down beside him.
"Xander, what are you doing here? Were you caught by a spell?" She took her sword and started to chip away at the ice that held him in place. "Come on, Xander, I'm getting us out of here."
"I can't see Buffy; the ice is in my eyes. Please, take it out, and get me out of here."
Buffy looked around her finally noticing the others close by him. Everyone had pieces of ice piercing the part of their head not frozen solid.
"How did you get here, Xander?" she asked hesitantly.
"I tried to protect you, to protect everyone. Willow's spell didn't work the first time. If you knew she was trying again, you might not have fought as hard. You would've died, Buffy, don't you see, I saved you." He pleaded his case then ruined it with his next breath. "Now, get me free from here!"
"You lied; you knew the spell might work, and still lied to me. It worked Xander; I had to kill Angel, not Angelus." Tears fell down her face as she looked at the boy she thought was her friend.
"No, if he was good then he wouldn't have been in the inner round."
"What do you mean been? Isn't he still here? Oh, my gosh, I can set Angel free, and take him home with me." Buffy rushed away, forgetting about Xander, and everything else. Her complete focus was seeing Angel again.
"Buffy, come back. I'll tell you what I know. Please, come back and free me," Xander pleaded, as she disappeared over the horizon.
"You didn't tell her everything did you, boy?"
A large demon stepped out; he was grotesque with his misshapen body. There were bulging muscles under his bile colored skin. His eyes were the color of molten lava and large horns jutted from his forehead. The demon snatched Xander from his frozen prison, with a malicious leer, while his hands roamed the teen's body.
"No, please don't," Xander pleaded, tears fell down his pale face. His body shook, knowing what would happen next.
Ignoring the boy's pleas, the demon roughly dragged him away. "You're such a tasty morsel, boy. We like the way you squeal. Didn't tell her how you and her replacement betrayed your friends. Didn't tell her you did it all too finally fuck a Slayer, too bad you didn't think about the slayer betraying you for a vampire. What a delicious morsel you are, you smell of hate, betrayal and lust. We like that here."
Xander tried to struggle, but he couldn't pull away as he landed in a group of demons. They seemed to devour him all at once, as they beat and raped him repeatedly.
It was the same everyday, he saw their faces - Buffy, Willow, Giles, Cordelia and Oz. All the people that he had betrayed in his pursuit of a Slayer, and to abolish his Zeppo persona. He was powerful, with a woman that others envied him for; granted she wasn't the Slayer he wanted, but Faith would do, and she did indeed. Faith's sexual exploits were addictive; Xander would have done anything to keep his place between those powerful thighs. He didn't care that he betrayed his friends, and helped Faith work with the enemy. He was finally somebody.
Then, Angel returned and she left him, for that damned vampire. What was it about Dead Boy that had every Slayer panting after him? Faith had helped the others out in the end, and Xander died helping the Mayor with his attempted ascension, which had landed him in this hell, literally. He wasn't the only one to die. No, his betrayal took several others with him, before that fatal day. He had told the mayor how smart his former best friend and her boyfriend were. Willow and Oz died mysteriously in an automobile accident, two days before the ascension. Xander saw them everyday, because in hell you never slept, you only remembered. Each night, demons came to beat and rape him then they returned him to his frozen prison to start the cycle again.
Buffy moved swiftly to the last round in the Ninth Circle. She didn't care if she walked across people's faces in her pursuit of the innermost sanctum and her end-goal. As she approached the last round, there at its center sat a beautiful man with black wings sprouting from his back. Slowly moving forward, she approached him. He smiled, and it was almost painful to look upon his beauty.
"Come closer, little one, you're very strong to have come this far. Sit here beside me, and we will talk about your future." A chair appeared and Buffy carefully sat down not saying a word. "You don't need your weapon, Elisabeth. No harm will come to you here. You're my honored guest."
"Why don't I believe that?" Buffy scoffed, her eyebrow rose, as she stared into crystal blue eyes.
"I speak no lies here; there's no need for them. Whatever you request, I will grant." He sent her a blinding smile as the black wings slowly opened and closed in a hypnotic rhythm.
"I thought you're supposed have red skin, with horns and a tail, and carry a pitchfork." Buffy tried to figure out what was happening here. It was much too easy.
"My form changes to fit the situation. I chose this one for your comfort. Does it not please you, Elisabeth?" His sky blue eyes held hers, while his voice lowered to a huskier, more intimate pitch.
"It's fine and the name's Buffy."
She tried to drag her eyes away and ignore her body's response to his voice. It sent chills down her spine that settled at her groin. She bit inside her cheek to keep from squirming in the chair, or worst still leaning closer to the temptation.
"That's a child's name; you're no longer that child. Elisabeth is a queen's name. It suites one such as you."
"What's that supposed to mean? Never mind, Minnows said you could send me back, if I made it this far. So, send me back," she ordered, straightening her spine in the chair. She used every ounce of Slayer resolve not to move.
"Oh, but child I cannot. You are not the same as when you arrived. Time is different here and it has taken you several years to reach me. It has been five of your Earth years, but here so many more have passed."
"H-how many? What about my friends and my Mom?" Buffy's face paled, knowing she wouldn't like his answer.
"Over a million of your earth years have passed, since you stepped onto Charon's boat. Years move differently for each circle you traveled." Satan watched Buffy's face as she processed his words. She was a delicious creature, one he wanted to know better.
"So, it's all gone?" Her shoulders sagged with defeat at the thought that everyone she knew and loved was long dead. A sudden thought hit her and her face glowed with renewed hope. "But, you could send me back to the beginning right, and then they wouldn't be dead."
"That is true, but to go back that far, you would have to change," Satan answered silkily.
"What do you mean change? Change how and into what?" Buffy tilted her head as she eyed the fallen angel warily.
"Nothing that isn't already inside you. It's simply that some of your powers would become - more."
"I'll just be more of what I already am? I won't lose my soul?" Buffy asked him carefully, trying to see any loopholes to his proposition.
"No, child, I promise your soul goes with you." He waited for her decision with baited breath; this was just too tempting.
"Wait. There's someone else here by mistake, Angel, the vampire with a soul. Could you release him too?" Buffy's eyes gleamed at the thought of rescuing Angel.
"That isn't possible," Lucifer said, adding the proper amount of remorse.
"Why not? You have no right to keep him here. He didn't do anything wrong, it was his demon not him." Buffy stood glaring at Satan, with her hands on her hips.
"Elisabeth, child, I can't release him, because he's already gone. The one you speak of was only here a short time. Your little friend, the witch, rescued him with her magic."
"Willow got Angel out of hell! That's wonderful. Okay, I'm ready to do. What do I have to do?" Buffy babbled happily. She couldn't wait to see Angel and the others again.
"Just close your eyes, child. I will send you back to the beginning," he laughed as she disappeared. "The very beginning... This should provide entertainment for the next few millennia."
"Master, you were wonderful. I wonder how long she will last. Perhaps, Angelus and I can kill her together. If she lasts that long, of course." Darla stroked a hand down his body, feeling him grow hard.
"Darla, you don't understand. There will be no, you and Angelus, or perhaps there will. It all depends on her. You see, she will decide the creation of the vampires. Elizabeth is now the Mother of you all. The Mother of Darkness itself." He laughed merrily, causing his wings to expand to their full-length.
"No, how can that be? She's just a slayer. Why would she become our Queen?" Darla screamed in frustration.
"You dare question me? Raise you voice to me? She is the key, holding both light and dark inside her. Her time here caused the darkness to grow, to blossom. Now, I will watch those seeds grow. For your insolence, your punishment will be, mmm, let me see. What to do? What to do? Ah, yes, here we go."
"No, Master, please. I'll do whatever you want."
"But, of course, you will Darla, this is, Hell, after all, and I want this." He snapped his fingers causing her to disappear. "Let's see how she likes that."
He watched her appear beside Xander. A large demon grabbed her, ripping the clothes from her body.
"Fresh meat, thank you Master. Come on boys, second course, same as the first."
The demon plunged into her as she screamed.
Buffy appeared in the desert at nighttime. She looked around, with no idea of which direction to take. She started walking and grumbling underneath her breath.
"Where did he put me, somewhere in Vegas? This must be hell humor - ha, ha. Why am I suddenly thirsty? Funny, I don't remember the last time I ate or drank anything."
She saw some light in the distance, and took off in a quick jog. Before she even realized it, she was approaching the area.
"Wow, when he said more, he meant it. That was like racecar fast. Wonder what else is different?"
She realized the light was coming from an open fire, and approached with caution. People sat around it eating, but they weren't ordinary people. They looked strange, like cavemen. One approached her, grunted and waved his club in her face.
"Back off Barney, I'm just passing through."
All at once, the men attacked her. They pulled her legs apart, ripping her clothes as they mauled her body. "That...is...enough." Buffy flung them away from her as if they weighed nothing. A 'man' snuck up behind her. He jumped on her back, throwing an arm around her neck. She grabbed the arm without thought and sunk her teeth into the flesh. As the blood hit her tongue, a moan escaped her lips. It tasted wonderful. She drank without thought. The man struggled to free himself as he started to grow weak from blood loss. Realizing what she had done, Buffy pulled away in horror. The cave people shrank back from her in fear.
She touched her forehead, no bumpies. Fingers gently probed her teeth, finding two large fangs. Buffy threw her head back and roared. It echoed throughout the still night, and the ground beneath her feet trembled. Animals ran in fright and the people by the fire huddled together even more terrified than they were before.
He changed me into me a vampire, damn him to hell.
Buffy turned away from the people and ran. Her legs pumped faster and faster, when she looked down, she saw that the ground lay several feet below her. I'm freakin flying. She landed several miles away after spotting a cave. Sitting in the dark, Buffy tried to decide what had happened to her.
"This sucks no matches means no fire. This is just great, I'm in the land of the Flintstones and I'm a vamp. So not liking this. He said I'd only change from what was already inside me. Does that mean Slayers came from vampires? I'm not going to kill people for food, no way. See how you like that, Mr. Can't Tell A Lie."
She marched outside minutes after the sun rose, but nothing happened. Buffy stomped her foot and threw her head back screaming at the top of her lungs. "Damn you." When her foot hit the ground cracks shot out, causing the Earth to tremble. "What the hell?" The cracks continued to grow shooting out to split the Earth's shell.
"That's a little over-the-top, don't you think? Now, what do I do? Sun won't kill me, maybe a stake."
She rushed back into the cave and scoured it looking or a piece of wood. Finding a large branch, she shoved it directly into her heart then looked down in confusion. It stuck halfway out of her body not causing her one iota of harm.
"Nope, that won't work. Maybe I can find an animal or something to feed on."
She left the cave once more. Buffy walked into the open desert and looked in every direction. There was nothing in the horizon as far as the eye could see. She decided to try to fly, although she wasn't too sure about the mechanics. Buffy felt rather stupid walking around talking to herself, but the isolation gave her no other choice. She wasn't used to the constant silence, and admitted that it gave her the creeps.
"I wonder if I have to run or if jumping will work?" She crouched down then leapt into the air, taking off like a bullet. She burst out laughing at the thrill that raced through her body. "Wonder if this is how Superman feels?"
Buffy flew for several minutes, before spotting any signs of life. She landed before a strange creature, with the body of a snake and the face of a man. Its face was handsome with high cheekbones and ruby-red lips. It hissed loudly, and then tried to attack her. She simply stared into its eyes. They were an unusual shade of the deepest blue, almost appearing black, with elongated pupils.
Hypnotized by her stare, the snakeman lay down and bared its neck to her. Buffy sank her fangs into his tender flesh, and drank his rich powerful blood. The creature sensually wrapped itself around her body, touching and rubbing her overly sensitive skin. Her body responded to the stimulation, while she continued to drink. Its hands ran through her hair over her chest to between her thighs. Opening her eyes, she watched it become human-like. His body was now that of a man, although his eyes remained the same.
He raised her up as his hands continued to caress her body. His blood thrummed inside her, leaving her heavy with need. He stood before her naked and hard, and Buffy couldn't remember why she shouldn't touch him, taste him - have him. She removed her tattered pants and in one smooth stroke, he was inside her. They clawed at each other in hunger. Her fangs sunk into the other side of his neck as they mated like animals. Buffy slammed her body down onto his until she tore away from his neck to roar her release.
"What are you?" She looked at him, not expecting an answer. After all, Barney Rubble couldn't even talk yet.
"Lamia." His voice made a hissing sound, when he talked. He licked her face with his forked-tongue. "Yours." The 's' came out in a long streaming sound.
"What do you mean mine?"
"Yours, now. You own, you call, you claim. Yours."
"Are there others like you? I mean others who can talk, not just grunt at me?"
"Yes, we were here first. Always, before the naked ones came," he answered, as his hands continued to stroke her body. It wasn't a gesture meant to ignite passion, but one of reverence, of worship.
"Can you show me, Lamia?"
Buffy didn't understand why none of this bothered her. She was a virgin, until only a few months ago. Now, she was a vampire and had just slept with a snakeman she didn't even know. All she knew was that her body felt satisfied, like the blood and sex went together somehow. To be honest, it was mind-blowing sex and the blood, let's just say it was even better than the sex, and leave it at that.
"Lamia what is, Cenon who am."
"Sorry, Cenon would you show me the others?"
He returned to his previous body, startling them both, and quickly slithered across the sand. He led her to a beautiful oasis. Moving through the trees, Buffy saw numerous creatures, many, she didn't recognize. She stopped short and rubbed her eyes, not believing what she was seeing.
Buffy watched a dragon land not far from where she stood. It was red and gold with huge wings, and had what she could only describe as a patient look on its face. Then, it started to speak.
"Hello, I'm Danith. We felt your arrival."
"Uh, hi, I'm Buffy. You're a dragon, right? I mean I've never heard of a Lamia before, so I wanted to just be sure I know what everyone is," she rambled.
"Yes, I'm a dragon. What are you?" His voice was a deep rumble that caused Buffy's belly to vibrate.
"I'm a...I'm not sure what I am anymore. I used to be a Slayer, but the Devil changed that when he let me leave Hell."
"Mmm," Danith pondered her response. "You carry great power, which changed Cenon. How did you do that?" His hand rested under his chin, reminding Buffy of Giles.
"I bit him. When I drank his blood, he changed."
"So, now, he has more shapes?"
"Uhm, yeah." Buffy blushed, remembering what she had done with Cenon's other shape.
"Would you bite me?" The Dragon asked, as a strange light of longing lit his golden eyes.
"Me too?" A female voice asked as a beautiful black wolf came through the green foliage. This was no ordinary wolf though. It was comparable in size to a small horse.
Its snout came level with Buffy's face, where she stared into eyes that were the deepest amber she had ever seen. "What are you? I've never seen or even heard of a wolf like you before." Her hand reached out tentatively to scratch the wolf's ears.
"I'm a shewolf," she proudly replied.
Other creatures stepped from the lush foliage, slithered from the depths of the deep waters, or flew down from the skies above as Dalith had. Each one wanted to gain the same abilities as Cenon.
"You mean everyone wants me to bite them to see if they will change?" The mystical creatures nodded or answered aloud. "I'm not hungry right now, but if you agree to feed me then I will try."
At least, I won't be killing people, plus I'll have someone to talk to for the next hundred years or so.