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Title: The Initative THE INITIATIVE How did this happen to her? One minute, her life was great. A perfect life. Well, as perfect as a life could get on the Hellmouth, anyway. Then...and then this. Her whole concept of reality was shattered, and shattering still. The scene was unfolding before, and she was completely helpless. It all started because of... Veruca. She-Wolf, lead singer of her own band, and a tramp. She had taken Oz from her. He had slept with her. Okay, in wolf form, but he still cheated. He said he didn't remember what had gone on, that he had no control, but she couldn't trust him. She thought, that given time they might be able to repair things, but Oz was currently packing up his suitcase. He was going away. From her. From them. Willow's heart was broken. And she had happily moved in with him so Buffy could share the dorm room with Faith, too. Not only was her heart broken, but she was now homeless. She was torn. How? How? What had she done wrong? "Don't I get any say in this?" She asked him in a last ditch effort. He was Oz. They were Oz and Willow. This wasn't right. "No. Veruca was right about something. The wolf is inside me all the time, and I don't know where that line is anymore between me and it. And until I figure out what that means, I shouldn't be around you...or anybody." He explained softly. She started crying. Something she had been doing too much lately. She didn't like it. "Well, that could be a problem 'cause people...kind of a planetary epidemic." "I'll find someplace." "Well, how long?" "I don't know." "Oz...don't you love me?" God, why did she ask that? Because she knew, even though she was afraid of the answer, she needed to know. He held her and pressed their foreheads together. Her crying had increased to sobbing. "My whole life...I've never loved anything else." "Oz...Oh, God. Oz..." He couldn't just say that and walk out, could he? Yes, apparently he could, because that's what he was doing. Willow stood there, the seemingly endless supply of tears coming from her eyes showing no signs of stopping. *** Buffy was holding a vampire over the edge of the docks, and she was not a happy slayer. The fear in the vampire's eyes didn't affect her. She had no sympathy for him, only anger. So much anger. It had been like this ever since the doctor showed her the results of the test. No tumors, no cancerous anythings. Her brain was healthy, but...there was always a but, wasn't there? But they did find something. Something they couldn't explain, however they repeatedly assured her that nothing was wrong. How could nothing be wrong when there was something unexplainable? That's when he showed her the pictures. Right on her frontal lobe, directly behindher forehead she was told, she saw it clear as day. A white spot. A small, circular, white spot. What the hell did that mean? What did they do to her? She wanted answers so badly now. Which was what she was trying to get out of her captive. And the hurting she had put him through, and the others beforehim, was for Willow. Poor Willow. She was so pissed at the moment, that she wished he would rot in Hell. Of all the people in the world...she tightened her grip on the vampire's throat. Her mind kept going back. Back to that white spot. She had taken the x-ray home with her, had stared at it and stared at it. A white spot. It sounded like nothing, but it meant everything. It was haunting her, and so were the headaches. She'd give this demon a headache and a whole lot more. "Tell me who did this. Did they do it to you too?" She asked demandingly. "I don't...know what...you're..." He gagged. "Don't. I'm not in the mood." She looked down at the water below. "If I drop you, how many bones do you think you'll break when you hit? I'm pretty sure you'll hit the rocks dead on. Though I have been out of commission for awhile, so maybe you'll get lucky." "I have no...idea what you...want from me." She shook her head. "Being stupid is not a very smart thing to do. Then again, that kinda goes without saying, doesn't it?" She brought him back onto the docks, but kept her grip firm. "Listen good, cause there's gonna be no repeating. Somebody put a white spot in my head, and I don't know what it does. That makes me upset. They did lots of other nasty stuff too. I wanna know who, so I can do nasty stuff back to them. Now, I've heard rumors that demons have been taken by whoever took me, and I wanna know what you know." "Nothing. I don't know...nothing." "Gee, I hope you can swim then." Before she could swing him back around,he burst into ashes; and she was left grasping air. Faith was standing in his place, her stake raised. "What do you think you're doing?" "My job. He really didn't have any info. You know it, and I know it." "I don't know anything anymore, Faith." Buffy slumped her shoulders, andher anger faded away. "What the hell is going on with me?" "I wish I knew." Faith said, honestly. "But ditchin' me isn't gonna help. And you only test out a demon's fear of water and heights when you're positive he's jerking you around." "I'm sorry. I really, really am." She hugged the brunette tightly. Faith found herself enjoying this more anything else lately. Her girlfriend was slipping away. She had been known to be violent with her foes, sure, but Buffy had been going farther and farther across the line. "No matter what I do, or say, or act like sometimes, don't ever let up, okay? I'll always need you. I'm just...a little messed up." "If you think that little," Faith clenched her teeth, "frickin' white spot isn't affecting me, you're wrong, B. You feel pain, I feel pain. You're angry, I'm angry. That's the way it works. And the only reason I'm not blowing up at the world, is cause you asked me to the stable one." "You don't know how much I appreciate that." She looked Faith in the eyes. "I...want something to go on. Or I need something to keep me busy, at least." "Until something comes up, I know Willow needs you. She's in pretty bad shape." Buffy nodded sadly. "Damn Oz." "I'm thinkin' that maybe we should move back into the house. Mom, uh, your mom, has been keeping Willow company, but us goin' there just a couple hours each day -" "I get it. Twenty-four hour support is necessary. But how am I supposed to be there for her when I can barely keep it together?" "Sharing pain can be a good thing. 'Sides, I'll be there, five by five and ready to assist with the healing." Yeah, if Faith ever gave up on her, or left her, she would lose it. She was so damn lucky, and she had to stop screwing it up. The younger slayer was her bright spot, and the white spot was nothing compared to her. Buffy had to remember that. "Take me home?" *** "Yeah, Cordy...no, I'm kinda numb I guess, without the frostbite..." Willow sighed into the phone. She was sitting on the floor in Buffy's room. "Of course you're helping...yes, really...how are things with Angel?...That's good...Xander said you two had fun last weekend..." She giggled, and she heard the front door open, then close. "He didn't mention that...I think Buffy and Faith are back...I'll talk to you tomorrow sometime...thanks. Bye." She hung up the phone. Did she just laugh? Strange how foreign that seemed to her. She had been emotionless for...she had lost track of time. Of hours, days, it didn't matter. Oz, Oz, Oz, Oz. How come she couldn't think of anything else but him? He was gone; she had to accept that, had to occupy herself with something other than him, other than the memories. But she couldn't if she stayed inside all day. It wasn't fair. She felt the tears again. Why wouldn't they just stop? "Hey, Will, we brought Chine -" Buffy said as she entered her room. The redhead looked up at her friend, and was quickly gathered into the blonde's arms. "It'll be okay...it'll be okay...we'll both be okay..." "I'm empty, Buffy. There's nothing there." "Yes there is. It'll just take awhile to find it again. I know exactly how you feel." Willow sniffled. "You do, don't you?" The slayer nodded. "And I'll help you, I promise. I'm gonna be here for you. Faith, Giles, and Xander will be too. Whatever you need, you just tell us. No matter how silly or stupid you think it is." "I guess you can't bring him back, huh?" "If I could, I would, Will. You know that. I'm not gonna lie to you and tell you I know he'll be back, but if Oz is...well, if he doesn't, then he neverhad any idea what he had." Willow swallowed hard after a few moments of Buffy rocking her gently. "I'm...I'm a little hungry." "How's egg rolls sound?" *** Spike watched a blood pack drop down from the ceiling of his white-walled cell. He couldn't remember how he had gotten here, but he was extremely pissed off. He had blown it in LA, his grandsire getting the better of him yet again, and then returned to Sunnydale hoping to take his anger out on the brunette slayer. As much as the thought brought a smile to his face, he highly doubted that Buffy was dead. So what the hell had gone in during his absence? Anyway, he had just gotten in, and within the next second, he felt electricity traveling through his body. Then he was out cold. Coming to, hehad found himself here. How come nothing ever went his way? Shaking his head, he realized he was starving. "Don't drink it. It's drugged." Someone said in the cell across from him. Spike threw the pack on the ground. "Uh-huh. And who are you, mate?" "I'm a rat. I'm a lab rat, just like the others. They're gonna kill us, you know." "And how are they gonna do that?" "They starve you. When you're ready to bite your own arm, they shoot outone of those packets. You drink, and the next thing, you're gone. And that's when they do the experiments." The other prisoner spoke nervously. "And, uh, they are? The government? Nazis? A major cosmetics company?" "Who cares? All I know is, one minute I'm running from this slayer, and the next thing, I'm here." The British vampire could really use a good kill. "Which one? The blondeor the brunette?" "Brunette. Word around here is they had the blonde one for awhile." "That right?" That bit of news brought a smile to his face. "Yeah, I never saw her, but they let her go. She's on the outside now. I don't know much about the other one, but she took apart my crew, and led me straight to these guys." "She set me up, too. Bitch's got spunk." He slammed his hands on the glass wall. "So there's two slayers now, is there? Fine. I've played that game before. I'll take them both apart. Maybe even the Scooby back up team, if I find the time. I don't care how many resources they have." *** The gang sat in Giles' house the morning, Xander watching the beat up old television, the slayers doing their daily sparring routine, Willow in the kitchen, and the ex-watcher sitting at his table and drawing on a sketch pad. The place had seen happier times, that was for sure. It could be argued that it had seen worse times, too. They all knew what was causing the gloominess, and each of them added a little to it. But until they had a solution, it wasn't worth talking. Giles finished, and held up the pad for Buffy and Faith to see. The brunette was in the middle of doing a spin kick toward her partner's head, Buffy blocked it, and they finished off the spar giving each other a light, fist to fist, knuckle punch. Faith looked at the picture with a scowl. "Those are the guys, G." Buffy just stared at the picture with a mixture of fear and disgust. She didn't know who they were, but she did know they had something to do with what happened to her. Willow came in from the kitchen then, and put a cup of teain front of Giles, and tossed a towel to the sweaty slayers. "Thank you, Willow." Giles smiled at her. "Yeah, thanks, Red." Faith wiped her forehead. "No problem." Willow said, trying her best to smile back. Xander turned around on the couch, so he was looking at the rest of the group. "Not to question or anything," He said, "but what makes you so sure these guys weren't just playing dress up? It was Halloween, remember?" Buffy nodded. "But when I looked at them, that's when the headache came.The headaches, my memories, the whatever...in my head, it all goes back to them. It has to." "And I saw 'em snooping around long before Halloween." Faith added. "There were a lotta things goin' on, though, so I didn't really think about it till..." "Well, I believe we now have a course of action." Giles informed the group. "Whoever these men are, our best bet would be..." "To get a hold of one and beat the crap out of him until we get some answers?" Faith questioned. "I wouldn't have phrased it in exactly that way, but...yes." "So we have something to go on?" Buffy asked with her first genuine smile since seeing that x-ray. "I think we do, B. And I say we stick close to campus on patrol tonight. That's where they like to hang out." Buffy rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. "Thank God." "Um...I'm just guessing here, but if we're going with the 'those guys are the real deal' approach, they looked like soldiers to me." Xander contributed. "Formations, protocol, you know. In fact, I recognized the two-by-two formation they were using, moving down that street." "What are you saying?" Willow wondered. "That they're probably military. And with the black, 'look at how stealthy I am' outfits, I'd say national." "You know, Xander, when Ethan performed that casting two years ago, I don't think any of us could have fathomed how useful your stint as a soldier would turn out to be." Giles said with astonishment. "Was that your longwinded, British version of a compliment, Giles?" Xander smirked. He glared. "I may consider taking it back. A simple 'thank you' would have sufficed." "Back up a sec." Willow said. "What would the government want with Sunnydale?" Maybe it because she was still on an adrenaline rush and blood was flowing to her brain more than usual, but Faith just had an idea. It was a crazy, scary idea, but eerily enough, it made a lot of sense to her. "I'm not big on history, and I may be mixing up reality with the X-Files-" Faith began. "I thought you didn't watch that?" Buffy interrupted. The brunette ignored her. "But didn't Hitler do all those gene experiments to create a super race or somethin'? And didn't we get some of the Nazi docs so we could learn from 'em?" "Don't know about the second part, but yeah, Hitler had tons of little side projects." The anger was radiating off of Willow's face. "Eugenics was one of them." "What if this is the same deal? Demons have what? A hundred times the strength of a gun carrying, human beefstick? Hell, even more than that." "Probably a good assumption." Giles agreed, though still not following. "And considerin' the military's rep is all about having the most muscle,add the right demon fluids to testosterone and imagine the wicked edge they'll have over the rest of the world. Nobody'd screw with us." "College done her good." Xander said. "Freaky thought, but since I'm drawing a blank on any other reasons, I think she's right." "Now who's the brains in this relationship?" Buffy smiled, giving Faith a kiss. "But what would they want with me? I'm not a demon." There was a moment of silence as her face silently asked, 'I'm not, am I?' "Don't even think it. Impossible " Faith whispered to her. "And even if you were, I would be too. Still wouldn't be rid of me." Buffy smiled again. "Like I'd ever want that." "Though they could very well think you are." Giles told her, clearing his throat. "You are all strong and stuff." Willow pointed out. "But that still doesn't explain..." The blonde's eyes went wide. "What time is it?" "9:30." Xander said, looking at his digital watch. "Why, Buff? Got somewhere to be?" "Class!" "Do we hafta?" Faith complained. "'Fraid so." Willow said, about ready to spaz because she was missing learning. "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" *** Two men in lab coats grabbed Spike off the floor of his cell; seeing that the drugged blood packet was empty, and that he appeared to be unconscious. They stuck him onto a gourney, and began strapping him in. Before they could finish however, Spike opened his eyes with a grin, and punched the scientist closest to him in the face, knocking the guy out cold. "Sorry mates. Got places to be." He jumped off the table, and an orderly immediately ran to attack him. Spike took hold of the man's arm, and flipped him over the gourney. He followed him to the other side, and the orderly shot up, shoving Spike into the glass door of the cell that was occupied by the vampire he was talking to earlier. "Let me out!" The young vampire pleaded. "Bit busy right now." Spike said, struggling with the orderly. "Look, I know where the exit is. You spring me, you're free. You don't, you're dead." Spike threw the orderly off of him, and the human collided with another one, who was holding a syringe. The man was accidentally stabbed in the neck, and fell. The second orderly looked up, frightened. Spike flipped him onto the floor with a smile. "Hurry! Hurry!" The vampire insisted. Spike bent down over the orderly, and searched him until he found the key card to unlock the cell. He freed the vampire. "This way!" They ran down the hall and dove under the closing security door meant tostop their escape. Getting into the next room, they both watched as an elevator's doors opened, and a group of soldiers were about to come out. "New plan! We split up. You go that way." Spike shoved his helper into the commandos, and split, as they staked the helpless vampire. *** The slayers and the witch gathered up their things and headed down the steps of their Psych 101 classroom. Instead of turning to leave as usual though, Willow walked up to the desk that Riley Finn was sitting at. "I notice you left off a name today in roll call. Osbourne, Daniel Osbourne, Oz?" She said to him. "He's not in this class anymore. I hear he dropped out." Riley answered. Willow was worried now. Very worried. "Oh, well you heard way wrong then. I mean, he's not gone. He-he left temporarily to work out a few things. I know that sounds lame in its vagueness, but I assure you, Oz will be back." Professor Walsh walked up to them. "Not to my class, he won't. An educated guess. You know the rules, you know I hate exceptions, and yet somehow you feel your exception is exceptional." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, but..." "It is. To you. But since I'm neither a freshman nor a narcissist, I have to consider the whole class. If your friend can't respect my schedule, I thinkit's best he not come back. And I seem to recall you entering my class ten minutes late today. I hope this is the only time you're going to follow Miss Adams' rebellious example. I'll see you tomorrow." The redhead walked away, extremely hurt. Faith got right into Walsh's face. "You like livin' up to your nickname, don'tcha? Well I don't care who you are, cause if you ever talk to her like that again..." Faith backed off, and turned to the blonde who was behind her. "We should catch up to her." "Go." Buffy nodded. "I'll be there in a minute." The brunette took off, and the petite slayer was left facing her professor. She winced a little, but shook it off. "Just gonna repeat what Faith said so we're clear. Don't ever talk to her like that again. And you know, for someone who teaches human behavior, you might try showing some." "It's not my job to coddle my students." Walsh said. "You're right. A human being in pain has nothing to do with your job." Buffy went after her friends. Walsh turned to Riley. "If she wasn't an experiment, I'd find her display very admirable." "She seems human enough to me." Riley said to her, not backing off from his already stated opinion on the whole matter. "Yet something exists in her biology that sets her apart. I intend to find out what that is. And there is no longer any doubt in my mind that Faith Adams is one as well. Their personalities are obviously different, and as much asI would like to study her as well, that would arouse suspicion we don't want. Though I would like to see how they function in combat together." "What if you can't? Find out what makes them different, I mean?" "Nonsense, everything has an explanation. I realize that some of the hostiles are considered mystical in origin and that they consider her to be mystical, but that's because their minds function at a lower level. Does anyone today still believe that Zeus is the creator of lightning? No, of course not. Science has provided the factual answers. And that's what I'm doing here." "She's asking questions now." "Yes, I know. The x-rays. But beyond a white spot, and making some guesses as to its purpose, she has nothing else to go on. That is, unless one of your men is foolish enough to be captured. Which would severely hinder our efforts." "Won't happen." Riley promised. "But if we're fighting a war, why do we contain up the hostiles? Study them? I know you're a scientist, but wouldn't killing -?" "Apparently she's not the only one asking questions." "I apologize, ma'am. I just want to understand. My training as a soldier..." "I know all about your training, and you should know that you always look for the most efficient way to eliminate an enemy. We must learn about these creatures, find their weaknesses, if we are to have any chance of a lasting victory. From this point on, I will give you information on a need to know basis. If you have any questions, you will keep them to yourself, and follow orders as always. Is that clear?" "Perfectly." "You're my best man, Riley. And I know you have no desire to jeopardize your career. You've worked too hard." Riley looked down at his feet, uncomfortable. Then his beeper went off. He checked it. "Hostile 17 has escaped." "Handle it as quickly as possible." *** Riley got to his and his men's house on campus to find his friend waiting for him. "What kept you, man?" Forrest asked. "Response time is slippin'. Lack of action got ya down?" "It's nothing." "Well whatever funk you're in, you better get out of it, cause we got a job to do." "I'm fine. You ready for the hunt?" "Hell yeah. Let's go put down the animal." *** Buffy and Faith were patrolling the campus grounds at night, their heightened vision scanning the darkness for any men in black camouflage suits. They had to be on full alert, because even as good as their eyes were; the guys they were looking for knew how to hide. "I don't know if we should've left her at home." Buffy said. "After what Professor Walsh said..." "We're doin' what she asked, B." Faith said. "She wants us, she'll let us know." "Yeah. You're right. You're always right." "Oh, stop." "Why, you gonna blush?" Buffy grinned. "No, I was planning on puking." "You're just too romantic, you know that?" The blonde chuckled. "Okay, getting in serious 'commando watch' mode now." "See anything?" "Nothing." Just then, a noise, a footstep, made them both tense. Another one, and another. It was coming towards them from behind. Glancing at each other, Buffy mouthed 'one', 'two', and on 'three' they whirled around. Faith grabbed the sneak by his...yellow shirt collar. "Jesus Christ, Xander!" She exclaimed, releasing her grip. "Are you tryin' to get impaled?" "Uh...lemme think." Xander squeaked. "No." "Breathe, Xand." Buffy advised. "In with the air, out with the carbon dioxide..." He said, regaining his composure. "Something wrong?" "Except my high blood pressure level? No. I just ran by your house, Willtold me where you were patrolling, and I figured you might need my help. Dealingwith soldiers is kinda my area. My only area really." "You're welcome to join us." Faith said. "Great!" He clapped his hands together, and smiled. "Slaying with the slayers." "Xander?" Buffy asked as they started moving again. "Yeah?" "Shh." *** Riley, Forrest, and the rest of Team Alpha entered the area the three friends had just left, crouching behind bushes. "We're not gonna find him here." Riley said. "Guys are spread out all over town, where's he gonna escape to?" Forrest asked. "So word is you're real interested in the Summers' chick." "You really think we should be talking about this on duty, Agent?" "You don't like the lab rat, do ya? I mean she's got looks...but she ain't one of us." "Am I the only one who thinks...?" He sighed. "Never mind." "I think he does, Forrest." Graham agreed. "Just cause she walks and talks like one, don't mean she is, man." "Can you prove to me she isn't?" "She's stronger than this whole team combined. That proof enough?" Forrest said. "Look, you heard the talk. She and her dark-haired beauty are hot and heavy. Guess their kind stick together." "It's just...what they did to her..." "I forgot how moral you were. Iowa and that little farm, God and all that." "She wears a cross, Forrest." "Cut the chatter." Graham said to them. "You hearing this?" Riley put his finger on his earpiece, and nodded. "Delta team spotted Hostile 17 lurking around Rovello Drive. He just slipped in the back door of -" "That's her place." Forrest realized as he heard the house number. "Tellme, sir, how can that animal just stroll in?" "He was invited." Riley sighed. "And why do you think that is?" "They want orders, sir." Graham reminded his commander. "It's a civilian residence, that's a tricky call. Do they move or hold?" "Anyone inside?" "Lights are on." "Then we have to assume he's targeting someone. Hold. We'll join up and engage. Fast, clean and quiet. Let's move." *** "Damn." Buffy cursed after they had finished their third sweep of the campus. "I really hoped..." Faith came up behind her, and put her hands on blonde's shoulders. "Hey,we don't have to pack it in yet." "No, but we should. We're not gonna find them here. Not tonight, anyway." Xander wished there was something he could do to help, but he didn't know how. His friend was violated, and she was hurting, and all the only option they had was to play hide and seek. He could only think of one thing, and that was what he was always good at it. Kind of his unofficial role in the group. "You hungry?" The younger slayer's stomach began making noise. "That's one 'yay' vote for nourishment." Buffy smirked. "Well, if she's in the mood, I guess I am too." "In the mood for what, B? Food or...something else?" Faith moved her arms around her partner's neck. Xander was backing away. "I'll just...go get a pizza. If you're gonna start playing 'Innuendo Tennis' it's not good for my hormones to be around you. I might get hit by an 'out of bounds' innuendo or something. I'll just meet...back at...your house. See ya." He took off, and sped up a little when he hit the sidewalk. He had a stake in his back pocket, but it was still dangerous. Prime vampire snacking hour. After about two blocks, he collided with someone, and got knocked down. "Sorry, I..." He shook his head, and then saw who it was. "Harmony?" "Xander?" She questioned. "Such a klutz." They both got up quickly. "I'm not a klutz, and...that's close enough. I'm warning you, I've been highly trained to put this through your heart." He pulled out his stake and waved it around. "No mercy, no warning." "I can kill you where you stand." Harmony smirked. "Bring it on, then." She slapped him on the arm, and he held it, in pain. "Ow!" He then kicked her in the shin. "Ow! You sissy kicker!" She slapped him again, and then an all out slapping brawl ensued, most of them never connecting. The circled one another and eventually, they somehow ended up in a position where they were pulling at each other's hair. "Get away! Aah! Cut it out!" He said. "Ow, I'm so gonna bite you!" She promised. "Ow... okay, stop, stop! We should stop, okay?" "Okay, I will if you will." "On the count of three..." He told her. "One...two...three!" They separated, and Harmony composed herself. "Right, okay." "Harmony, it's been great catching up. Really, I'm just gonna pick up the tattered shreds of my dignity and...what are you doing out here, anyway?" "Going for a walk. Is that against the law now?" "How stupid do you think I am? Vampires don't go for walks, they go for take out." "Well this vampire walks, okay? I happen to be thinking real hard about changing my life." "Don't you mean un-life?" "Whatever. But if Spike thinks I'm gonna put up with his little obsession..." Xander did a double take. "Spike?" "Can you believe him? He comes back with all these big promises, not that I believed him, you know. But he could have spent one night, but no. Everything was 'slayer this' and 'slayer that.' I mean, he probably already killed her. I'm not taking him back, I just...I just want to know why it is that men always..." During her speech, she hadn't noticed that Xander had made a quick exit. "Leave." *** Willow was laying on Buffy's bed, lost in her thoughts, and that's why it took her a moment to realize that Spike had entered the room. "Well, well, I come looking for the supersluts, but this...this is much better." He smiled, and slammed the door shut. She backed herself up against the headboard, fear in her eyes. "Spike! Wh-what do you want? Uh, a spell? I can do that." "I'll give you a choice. Now I'm gonna kill you. No choice in that. But...I can let you stay dead...or...bring you back, to be like me." "I...I'll scream." "Why waste the few breaths you have left, luv? But if you have to, go for it." He jumped on top of her, vampiric face on. "No!" She screamed, but his hand going to cover her mouth muffled it. They struggled, but he got the upper hand, and bent down to bite her. *** Riley and his men met up with Team Delta, hiding in the yard across the street from Buffy's house. "Report." He said. "Got a picture. Two bodies, second floor. One 98.6, other's cold as ice." The other team member reported. "Hostile 17." Forrest spat. "Proximity to the civilian?" Riley asked. "Centimeters." Another guy from Delta said. "He's trying to get himself a meal." Graham said. "Not on my watch." Riley swore. "Change of plans. Delta, keep watch out here, my team, face masks on. Eliminate." *** Spike was sitting on the bed, looking very distraught. Willow remained unbitten. "I don't understand. This sort of thing's never happened to me before." "Maybe you were nervous." She said, as an explanation. "I felt all right when I started. Let's try again." He jumped on her a second time, and immediately backed off, in pain. "Ow! Oh! Ow! Damn it!" He started pacing. "Maybe you're trying too hard. Doesn't this happen to every vampire?" "Not to me, it doesn't!" "It's me, isn't it?" He turned to her. "What are you talking about?" "Well, you came looking for Buffy and Faith, then settled. I-I...you didn't want to bite me. I just happened to be around. " "Piffle!" He dismissed that with a shake of his head. "I know I'm not the kind of girl vamps like to sink their teeth into. It's always like, 'ooh, you're like a sister to me,' or, 'oh, you're such a good friend.'" "Don't be ridiculous. I'd bite you in a heartbeat." "Really?" She sounded relieved. Spike sat on the bed once more. "Thought about it." "When?" "First time I saw you out front of that club...I used to tell Dru beforeme and her...parted ways, that of all the Slayer's friends, you were the one I wanted to drain the most and then leave in alleyway for her to find." "I never would have guessed. You always played the blood-lust kinda cool." She smiled. "You and Druscilla broke up? I wondered why Harmony -" "I didn't say that! It's only temporary. And anyway, I hate being obvious. All fang-y and 'rrrr!' Takes the mystery out." "But if you could?" "If I could, yeah." "You know, this doesn't make you any less terrifying." She assured him. He glared at her. "Don't patronize me." He punched the mattress. "I'm only a hundred and twenty six!" "You're being too hard on yourself. Why don't we wait a half an hour andtry again? Or..." She grabbed Buffy's lamp, slammed it over Spike's head, and ran out the door. She raced down the stairs, but before she could open the front door, it was being kicked open, and four commandos hurried through it. They saw her, andone of them screamed, 'I'll watch her' while the other three ran upstairs. The one who stayed grabbed her arm, and she wondered what the heck was going on. *** The slayers had gotten to the house just in time to see the last soldier enter. "Do they have balls or what?" Faith said angrily, as they ran inside. Buffy saw one immediately, holding Willow by the arm, and she kicked thegun out of his hands and threw him out the door before he had a chance to defend himself. "Are you okay?" Willow nodded. "Spike...they went..." Faith took off up the stairs, as four more men appeared at the front door. Buffy picked up the weapon, and aimed it at them. "I don't know what this does, but I bet you don't wanna get hit with it, right?" They didn't move. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, butyou better get the hell away from my house. First you abduct me, then you breakin to where I live and try to hurt my friends? Haven't you done enough already?" She could barely contain herself. She wanted to pull the trigger so badly. "The neighbors probably heard you, so if you're trying to be secretive, I'd beatit before the cops show up." The five guys made themselves scarce, leaving their other three comrades there. Buffy shut her door, which now had a busted handle, and grabbed her head. *** When Faith got to Buffy's bedroom, she saw three guys lunging for the window that Spike was currently jumping out of. The vampire was such a weasel. They turned towards her, weapons aimed. "Ready when you are, boys." She challenged. "Jackson and Delta are heading to base." Riley said quietly into his headset. His voice was hard to make out because of the mask. "Abort." His men didn't speak or budge. "She isn't the mission. I said abort. Hostile 17 is no longer here." Graham and Forrest backed out the door, so they could keep Faith in sight. Riley started to follow, but she tackled him to the ground, stole his weapon and aimed it at him. Forrest and Graham tensed, and were ready to fire. "Careful, you don't want your boy hurt, do ya?" Buffy and Willow were inthe hallway, and had a gun pointed at their backs. "If you leave quietly, we might just send him back alive." "Go. That's an order." Riley instructed. "The situation's comprised enough already, and we can't harm them." The soldiers went downstairs slowly, and left the house. "They gone?" Faith asked. "Yeah." Buffy said, checking. Xander sprinted into the house seconds after she said that, and joined them in the room, out of breath. "Something tells me I missed the fun." He said. "No, actually, it's just beginning." Faith looked at the helpless commando. "Let's see who you are." She pulled off the mask roughly; the headset breaking and coming off with it, to reveal Riley's frightened face. "I'll be damned." "Riley?" Buffy and Willow echoed. "You know him?" Xander asked. "TA by day soldier by night, huh?" Faith asked. "You got a Clark Kent complex?" "Could say the same about you. Unnatural vampire hunters posing as normal college students. I'm not the only one with a secret." "Shut up. After what you did to her -" "I didn't do anything." He said, straight-faced. "What do you want from me?" "Answers." Buffy said, crouching down next to him. "You might not have done it, but you work for the people who did." "I can't give you any answers." "You can't, or you won't?" He was silent for a moment. "If you kill me, they'll make sure you -" "We're not gonna kill you, or experiment on you." Faith said, pleased when she saw him cringe. "Cause that's where our groups are different, Beefstick. As much as I wanna get answers outta ya, and believe me when I say I really want to, I'm not, cause I don't wanna risk her being hurt again. Or our friends.But you go back to your headquarters, and tell your people, that we're on the look out now, and sooner or later, we're gonna get answers." She let him up, and he cautiously walked past Willow and Xander, and stood in the doorway. Buffy tossed him his mask, and he was gone. *** Back at headquarters, Walsh was reprimanding Riley. "Years of preparation and planning gets comprised in one night. Explain to me how that happened, Agent Finn." "Nothing was compromised. Hostile 17 escaped, but that was our only failure. I take full responsibility, but your modified implant worked. He can't harmany living creature, in any way, without intense neurological pain." "I'm not referring to the hostile, though that is good news. I'm referring to you entering Buffy Summers', the experiment's, residence, being discovered there by her, losing your weapon, and being held captive. Does that ring any bells?" "We had...very few options. I gave the order I thought was most appropriate. I know how important she is to you. She does know that we're somehow connected to what happened to her, but beyond that, nothing. I didn't reveal anything, and they never saw my face. It could've gone a lot worse." "I agree." Walsh studied him. "They have no idea who you are? You're positive of that?" "No, ma'am." He had just lied to her. He had never done that before. "They could've harmed me, any of my men, but they didn't." "I'll make sure to note that. Until I say otherwise, I want patrols to be cut down to three nights a week, and I want them as short as possible. The less attention we draw to the Initiative, the better. We came too close to sabotaging the whole operation tonight. Hopefully their attentions will be drawn elsewhere in weeks to come, and everything can run on the regular schedule again." "What do you want to do about them?" "Have you forgotten our talk?" She asked him, staring. "I need to think,so if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Riley watched as she went into Room 314. *** Giles joined the rest of the gang, fifteen minutes after Riley left, andthey were all sitting in the living room. "On the bright side, we kinda made progress." Willow told everyone. "But now what? How are we supposed to act around him?" Buffy asked. "It's their move, but they're probably gonna lay as low as possible." Faith said. "So we just play it cool, and wait for an opportunity. Maybe one of these times we'll get lucky, and a vamp or demon'll give us some info and we can make the move." "Can you handle waiting?" Xander asked with a smirk. "Don't got a choice. That weapon is pretty high tech. Usually I could care less about odds, but we're talkin' a wicked serious disadvantage here." "I have to agree with Faith." Giles nodded. "This is foreign territory for us. Demons are a completely different -" "Ballgame than humans with futuristic firearms that have government funding?" Buffy supplied. "Basically what I was going to say, yes." He took off his glasses. "It'sa delicate situation, and since we have yet to find out what they put in..." Buffy frowned, and Faith pulled the blonde to her. "We don't want to do anything that may cause them to do any further harm to you." "If they do, Riley and I are gonna have a talk." Faith swore. "But I doubt he'll do anything stupid." "And let's not forget that there are still plenty of supernatural creatures that need killing." Xander reminded the gang. "Like Spike. And Harmony." "You know what was weird?" Willow said. "He couldn't bite." That left them scratching their heads. *** "You sure I can have the bed?" Willow asked her friends later, who were lying on the floor. They were trying to go to sleep. "Yep." Buffy said, as Faith tightened her hold on her waist. "We're perfectly comfortable down here." "I bet." They could imagine the redhead's grin. "You sure you're all right?" "Strangely, I feel a little better. Nowhere near total wellness, but I'msure I'll get there eventually. "Like you said, Buffy, we'll both be okay." She smiled. "Thanks for being here for me, guys." "Always." "Yeah, it's no problem, Red." Faith said to her. "Night." Willow said with a yawn. "Night." The slayers said together. Buffy turned slightly so she could see her girlfriend, and they shut their eyes after sharing a goodnight kiss. "We can start our own game. Where people throw ducks at
balloons and nothing is as it
seems." (Homer J. Simpson) "You think you know? What's to come? What you are? You haven't
even begun."
(Tara and Dracula to Buffy, BTVS) "I'm telling mom you slayed in front of me." (Dawn,
BTVS)
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