FF: Nka (10/?)

["Christeen Demons" <Shyfox30@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Disclaimer: Buffy belongs to Joss. Voyager belongs Paramount. Nuff said.

Chapter Ten

Buffy was making her way across the quad lost in thought. She was thinking 
about the night before, how wonderful it had been to be with Willow, to 
finally be with the one she loved. She was also wondering what her lover 
must be going through right now, and thinking that Will might need some 
emotional support after telling Tara the truth. She was halfway across the 
quad when a devestating feeling of loss hit her directly in the gut. It was 
so strong that it made her stop in her
tracks, bile rising in her throat as she fought down a total and complete 
urge to panic. ?Will.? She groaned, softly, before breaking out into a 
full run, ignoring the strange looks she got along
the way, and brushing past anyone that got in her way.

Captain Katheryn Janeway, who had been following the Summers girl from a 
discreet distance, saw when Buffy went into a full out run and knew she 
wasn?t going to be able to keep up with her. She could keep an eye on her 
in the distance though, and knew which direction she was
headed. She?d just have to hope that either Seven or herself got there 
before all Hell broke loose.
*****

Seven had heard the scream from the corridor she had been standing in, and 
it had sent a nasty shiver down the ex-drone?s spine. She had heard that 
sound from the countless beings across the galaxy in which she was 
personally responsable for having assimilated, as well as the memories of
all of the lifeforms the Borg had assimilated altogether. It was a 
horrifying, chilling sound, a sound full of anguish for the loss of their 
past life. And Seven berated herself for not being able to
stop it from happening once again.

Hurrying to the computer lab, she made it just in time to see the drone 
injecting Willow Rosenberg with the nanoprobes necessary to turn her into a 
Borg drone. The cry had faded into a thin moan, even as the redhead had 
slumped over, sinking mercifully into unconsciousness, as the
nanoprobes had begun their work of transforming her.

Tara was in the process of contacting the Queen when she was jumped from 
behind by somebody strong enough to send her flying to the floor. Willow, 
whom she had been forced to drop due to the attack, had rolled, due to the 
momentum, several feet away from where she had landed. Tara
picked herself up effortlessly, and swung to look at the person who had 
attacked her. It was that blonde substitute, and now her eidectic memory 
was telling her she had seen her somewhere else before. She was the one who 
had been at the Bronze the night before, and now as she got an even better 
look at her she could tell...
?Seven of Nine of the unimatrix 01. Why do you always defy us? Return to 
the Borg, where you belong.? The voice of the Queen came through steadily 
from the Tara/Drone?s vocal cords, creating an eerie illusion.
?I prefer to remain an individual. I don?t believe that she would choose to 
give up her humanity either.? Seven replied, sparing a glance for the 
redhead who was even at that very moment starting to sprout metallic 
implants.
?It is too late to save her. She has already joined my collective.? The 
Queen announced, sounding almost triumphant to the ex-Borg.
?You will not take her.? Seven declared, preparing to fight the other 
drone, to the death if necessary.
?Resistance is futile.?

?I?ll give you resistance.? Buffy growled low in her throat, before 
launching herself at the Tara/drone, a fine mist of rage engulfing all of 
her emotions. She was able to get in several good hits to the metal 
covering the left half of Tara?s face, feeling her knuckles cut and start to 
bleed at the abuse, before Tara picked her up by the throat and threw her 
into the nearest wall.
Seven hadn?t even seen Buffy enter the room, that?s how focused she had been 
on the borg drone, but when the Slayer had attacked, and was consequently 
thrown, Seven saw her opening and attacked the distracted drone. The two 
grappled viciously with each other, neither getting the
upper hand, Seven finding that the other drone?s strength matched her own.

Buffy eyed the two, watching and waiting for another shot at Tara, when a 
bright laser beam of light accompanied by a high keeling sound struck her 
directly in the chest causing her to fall weightily to the ground. The 
taller blond stared bemusedly down at the one on the floor, then up
to where Buffy had guessed the sound had originated from.

?Why didn?t you just stun her?? Janeway asked, an eyebrow arched on her 
forehead while she tried to hide a half amused smile.
?I was caught up in the heat of the moment and didn?t consider all of the 
options.? The ex-Borg answered ruefully.
?I can see that.? Janeway replied.

?Stun her? Why not just kill her?? Buffy asked, staring at her ?substitute 
teacher?, rage still pumping through her system. ?After what she did to 
Will, I...? At the mention of her love?s name, she went deathly white. 
?Will.? She whispered, running over to where the redhead lay so still, 
covered in newly sprouted metallic parts.
Janeway followed, examining the girl with a sober expression, while Seven 
stood guard over the fallen drone. Buffy kneeled beside Willow, not daring 
to touch her, for fear that she might be revulsed by the touch. ?What the 
hell did she do to her?? Buffy asked, feeling like her anger was about to 
explode again. Her hands clenched in fists as she fought against the urge 
to rip every limb off of Tara?s body and throw them into the nearest garbage 
heap. She was about to
make good on her inclination when a blue light lit the room and Tara?s body 
disappeared.
?Where did she go?? Buffy asked, demanding an explanation. ?Who the hell 
are you guys??
?Looks like the Queen?s reclaimed her.? Janeway answered, understanding the 
confusion and anger in Buffy?s face. She could appreciate the girl?s 
distress, but right now was really not the time to deal with it. ?We?ve got 
to get her to sickbay.? She said, not bothering to direct the statement to 
Buffy, who wouldn?t know what she was talking about any way. Tapping the 
insignia on her chest, hidden by the white cotten jacket she was wearing, 
she initiated a con signal.
?Janeway to Voyager.?

Buffy looked at her ?teacher? like she was crazy, questions spinning dizzily 
in her head. She didn?t know what was going on, but she really wished that 
Giles was here to throw her a clue. She thought she was going crazy when 
she heard a male voice respond from inside the woman?s
jacket. ?Oh, I get it. Some kind of mic.?

?Voyager here, Captain. Go ahead.?

?Lock onto my signal and beam four directly to sickbay. Energize.?


...to be continued.:-)

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