Gods And Monsters

Chapter Eighty-two:

Giles, Hel, Buffy, Dawn, Willow, and Principal Wood were gathered in the basement, watching Xander fasten Spike's wrists into the shackles dangling from the cinder block wall.

"No, we couldn't have put these chains back up a week ago." Xander mumbled to himself under his breath. "Nah, we gotta work on Spike now, of all times."

Spike frowned. "What?"

Sighing, Xander stood. "Nothing." He approached Buffy, joining the rest of the onlookers.

"What are you doing here?" Spike asked Principal Wood. "You came to see the show?"

"I thought you might need support." Wood replied, obviously not serious.

"Uh huh. Right, let's get this over with. What're you gonna do?" He inquired, addressing Giles. "Some hypno-beam? A disarming spell?"

Giles took a few steps nearer, but kept his distance. "Not exactly. The First has brainwashed you. There's something in your subconscious that it's using to provoke a violent reaction. So..." Reaching a hand into the pocket of his jacket, he withdrew a small box and opened it. He retrieved the tiny stone residing within. "We have to put this in your brain."

"Bugger that!" Spike protested, regarding the stone warily. His eyes flickered over to Hel, whose lukewarm stare was fixated on him.

"The Prokaryote stone will move within your mind to reveal the root of the trigger's power. Can unleash ideas, images, memories... Hopefully, once you understand what it is that's setting you off, you can break its hold on you."

"Hopefully?' Dawn blurted. "So, it might not work?"

"The stone's just a catalyst for the process." Giles explained to her. "The rest is up to Spike."

"And how do you expect to get that hunk of rubble into my cranium?" Spike interjected.

"Willow?" Placing the stone back inside its box, Giles held it out towards Willow as she stepped forward.

"Okay. I just hope my pronunciation is in the ballpark." Willow began, cradling a large, leather bound book in both hands. "Kun'ati belek sup'sion. Bok'vata im kele'beshus. Ek'vota mor'osh boota'ke." She uttered the incantation in a language foreign to everyone in the room, with the exception of Hel, who was well acquainted with many ancient languages. 

The stone began to soften and writhe, like liquid mercury, and Giles extended the box towards Spike.

Spike recoiled. "Oh, you have got to me joking? What now?"

"It has to access the cerebral cortex via the optic nerve." Giles replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh, bollocks. With all the rubbish people keep sticking in my head, it's a wonder that there's room for my brain."

Giles rolled his eyes. "I don't think it takes up that much space, do you?" He held it up closer to Spike's face.

The liquified stone crawled out of the box, onto Spike's chin, and wriggled up into the corner of his eye. It slid under his eyelid, and he immediately began to squirm in discomfort. "Ow. Oh, ow!"

In three long strides, Hel was at his side. "Spike, listen to me."

"Yeah."

"I'll stay right here. I know you can do this. Just focus."

"How am I supposed to know if this bug-ugly's doing its job—" He stopped speaking abruptly, his eyes wandering far off as if distracted by something no one else could see.

A long stretch of silence ensued as he seemed to zone out, his mind a million miles away. She stayed put, as promised, her hand on his thigh. She watched over him anxiously, uncertain what to expect.

Spike's eyes snapped open, blazing yellow, and his angular features contorted as his inner demon took over. Enraged, he shoved Hel off the cot and leapt to his feet, lunging towards the others. He was jerked backward by his chains, his movement restricted. Not to be so easily hindered, he turned and grasped onto the cot behind him. With a guttural growl, he lifted it and hurled it across the room.

It collided with Dawn, knocking her to the solid cement floor.

Willow rushed to her side. "Dawn!" She crouched down next to her, giving her a cursory examination, and helped her sit up.

Propping herself up onto her elbows, Hel scrambled backward to get out his way. She told herself that this wasn't him, that Spike would never intentionally hurt her. But this knowledge did not prevent the betrayal that physically manifested in her body, the tightening in her chest and the twisting of her stomach.

Principal Wood, Giles, and Xander all took a step backward as Spike surged forward a second time. The iron shackles around his wrists thankfully withstood the force of his violent outburst.

Hauling herself upright, Hel stood beside Xander and folded her arms across her chest. The heels of her hands were scraped, and her left shoulder ached from the impact of her fall, but she was otherwise unharmed. Pain was something she could easily ignore.

All of a sudden, Spike threw his head back, looking as if he's experiencing a mild seizure. The stone trickled out of his eye, slithered down his cheek, and fell, solidifying as it clinked against the floor. His vampire façade vanished, his face reverting to the features that were most familiar to them.

Principal Wood glared at him, while Giles regarded him with apprehension, wanting to be certain that Spike was no longer a threat.

Panting as he recovered from the episode, Spike's gaze fell upon Hel. A flicker of hurt crossed his face at the guarded look in her eyes. Her stony expression was indecipherable, composed into the perfect mask of indifference with great care.