FIC: Trinity's Child 24/?

[CDRERamius@xxxxxxx]

TITLE: Trinity's Child 24/?
AUTHOR: Tony McD
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB and 
others. This is for fun, not profit.
SUMMARY: Sequel to Terra Australis Incognito. 17 years on Buffy, Xander, 
Willow, and their child must face very different evils to save the world 
(again).
SPOILERS: None really. AU.
RATING: MA 15+ (Australian system)

Trinity's Child 24/?

"A doomsday virus?" Li said, her voice uneven with fear. Taryn and 
Tanya had their weapons out and trained on the man. He held a gun which was 
pointed at Paul.

"How? Why?" Paul stammered.

"How?, you ask. Back during the 1960's and 70's the former Soviet 
Union and the People's Republic of China embarked on a program to produce the 
world's deadliest biological weapons. Hidden from the rest of the world, they 
researched and produced hundreds of tonnes of smallpox, Q fever, glanders and 
anthrax each year. They looked at how to make viruses even deadlier by 
combining various viruses. I was part of that effort.

"Since the end of the war, this work had come to a stop until I 
approached the Sisterhood of Jhe. In return for their support, I would 
research and make a virus. A super virus, a doomsday virus. A virus so deadly 
that it would wipe humanity from the face of the planet." the man said. 
Everyone looked at him in horror and revulsion.

"Why in God's name... " Tran started to ask but he was cut off.

"There is no God!" the man barked. He started coughing, a sick hacking 
cough. Finally he was able to go on.

"There is no God. I am living proof of that. Would God let me do the 
work I do? Would God allow my country, my friends, my family die by nuclear 
weapons? Would he allow me to slowly die from the radiation that poisons the 
land?

"If there was a God, he wouldn't have let this happen. But it did. So 
there is no God, unless he is totally uncaring. So to the non existent God 
and to the world which has killed me I say 'a plague on both your houses. You 
have made worms meat of me.' Now you know why." the man said. There was a 
deathly silence.

"You know we can't let you go through with this." she said as she 
moved between Paul and the man.

"And you must know that I can't let you stop me." he said and raised 
his gun.

The sound of the gunshot was deafening inside the room and made 
everyone jump. It took Jenny a moment to realise that she hadn't been shot. 
She looked over at the man. He lay slumped against the wall. A bullet hole to 
his chest and the gore of the exit wound splattered over the wall behind him. 
Paul rushed to Jenny and hugged her, relieved that she was OK.

Spike looked over the dead man. He had met some insane humans in his 
time, but this guy was the all time champ.

"Could he actually do what he said?" Spike asked, not taking his eyes 
off the man.

"Spike, humans have been able to do that sort of thing for almost 50 
years now. I just guess that we lucked out this time. We stopped him before 
he could spread that virus around." Paul told the vampire. Spike turned away 
from the dead man.

"Now what?" he asked.

"We have got to destroy that virus. If it ever got out, it would be 
the end." Tanya said. Taryn looked at her.

"How do we destroy it?" she asked. They all looked to Paul.

"Well, exposure to strong UV radiation, some chemicals like bleach or 
acid. I don't know if they would work on this particular virus though. The 
only sure method would be to incinerate it. Burn it hot enough to break down 
the molecular structure. The only question is how." he pondered. Li's face 
lit up.

"The Fuel-Air bomb!" Li exclaimed. Paul looked inquiringly at Tanya.

"Will it work?" he asked the soldier. She nodded.

"You better believe it. It'll vaporise this entire building." she told 
him. They headed for the hangar where the bomb was. The tires of the cart 
that it sat on had rotted away with time. Paul, Taryn and Tanya tried to move 
the cart without any success.

"You sodding weak bastards. Out of the way." Spike said as he roughly 
pushed them aside and started pulling on the cart. Slowly it dragged along 
the ground on its rims. He dragged it into the other building.

"Now what?" Spike asked. Paul thought for a few moments.

"We need to get this into the hot lab." Paul told them.

"Hot lab?"

"The lab where the virus is actually kept. It's called the hot lab 
because you have to wear special protective suits to stop the virus from 
infecting you. The lab itself would be completely sealed from the outside 
world." Paul said to the vampire. Spike grabbed the cart and started to move 
it.

"Wait!" Taryn yelled. "Before we do that, we need to figure out a way 
of detonating it remotely. We need to be miles away when this thing goes off."

"Shit! How?" Jenny wondered. They thought it over for a few minutes. 
Tanya snapped her fingers.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed. She grabbed Paul's palm top computer and 
started pulling it apart.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Paul whined.

"I'm removing the speaker from you computer and exposing the wires. I 
then set the alarm and when the timer goes off it sends an electrical pulse 
to the speakers. Except that the speakers are gone and the wires will spark 
like this." she told him. Setting it up on a work bench she entered the alarm 
time. A minute later a tiny spark jumped between the exposed wires.

"Is that enough to set it off?" Spike wondered. Tanya gave him an evil 
grin.

"You better believe it, sunshine." she said wickedly. She picked up 
the improvised timer. "Let's get this into that lab so we can make like a 
shepherd and get the flock out of here."

Spike dragged the cart through the heavy door which lead to a room 
where an isolation suit hung. Paul went over, grabbed it and gave it to Spike.

"Put this on." he told Spike. Spike started to strip.

"No! You idiot, it goes over the top of your ordinary clothes!" Paul 
yelled at the vamp. Grumbling Spike put the suit on. Tanya checked Spike out 
to make sure the suit was on correctly.

"Listen to me. You have to go through two airlocks to get to the lab. 
Go into the first lab and shut the door. When the airlock is ready, the 
second door will open to the cleaning room. Once there, go into the lab. Put 
the cart inside the lab and open these valves on the bomb. The fuel will 
start mixing with the air. Once you've done that set the timer for fifteen 
minutes. That should be enough time for you to get out of there, get 
decontaminated and for us to fly out of here. You got all that?" Tanya asked. 
Spike nodded.

"Good. Now we can communicate through these microphones in your 
helmet. We'll be in the main room watching on the closed circuit TV. You got 
any questions or any problems, you just tell us. Understand?"

"Yeah, piece of cake." Spike said as the others went back into the 
other room. They watched as Spike dragged the cart into the hot lab. He 
opened up the valves and the fuel began to mix with the air forming a mist. 
Spike moved around to set the timer.

"Oww!" Spike yelled.

"What is it? Talk to me Spike." Paul said into the microphone.

"I cut my bloody leg on this stupid cart!" Spike yelled and kicked it. 
In the other room Paul paled.

"Spike, this is important. Is the suit torn?" Paul asked, afraid of 
the answer. There was a moment of silence.

"Yeah, and I'm bleeding a bit." Spike said quietly. Paul buried his 
head into his hands.

"What? What?" Jenny said in near panic. Paul started speaking into the 
mike again.

"Spike." he stopped. How could he tell him? There wasn't any easy way. 
Choking down his feelings, Paul went on.

"Spike, you can't leave the hot lab. Not now, not ever."

"What? NO!" Jenny yelled. Paul took hold of Jenny's hands. Spike heard 
what came next.

"Honey, he's infected with the virus. Once that suit tore, it got into 
his system. The virus can't kill him, he's already dead. But if he comes out 
of there, he will spread the virus. It would kill you and me and pretty soon 
everyone else. That's why he can't leave the lab." Jenny started to panic, 
shaking her head in denial for the implications.

"No! No! There's always a way. We can disinfect him! We could find a 
cure! We can't leave him here!" Jenny yelled at Paul. Paul looked at her, 
saddened.

"It's in his system. Once it's in the system you can't disinfect it 
and you can't cure it. I'm sorry. If there was a way I'd do it. But there 
isn't." Jenny stood up, tears threatening to erupt.

"I can't let him die! I've got to help him!" she exclaimed as she 
headed for the door leading the airlocks. Taryn, Tanya and Paul grabbed hold 
of her.

"You can't go in there! You'll get infected and die!" Paul told her 
forcefully. Jenny burst into tears, she was totally and utterly unable to 
help Spike. From the speakers she heard Spike's voice.

"Pet, listen to me." Jenny went over to the microphone.

"Uncle Spike?"

"Listen to me. You got to leave me here, OK? I have to stay."

"But I don't want you to die!" Jenny told the vampire.

"I'm already dead. I died almost a century and a half ago. But you're 
alive. I want you to stay that way. I promised your parents I'd protect you. 
I couldn't protect you from becoming the Slayer, but I can protect you from 
this. You have to leave me here."

"But I don't want to." Jenny cried.

"You have to. That's something you'll learn as the Slayer. Sometimes 
you have to do things that you never want to do. Sometimes you have to give 
up everything you love to fulfil your destiny." Spike told her gently. Jenny 
wept, her heart breaking.

"I love you Uncle Spike." there was a moment of silence.

"The scary thing is, I love you too, Smurfette." another pause.

"Smurfette? Do me a favour?" asked Spike.

"Anything." replied Jenny.

"Go. Live a really long life, have a million cute kids and always 
remember I love you. Now go, leave me." Spike said as he started to remove 
his suit. Jenny fell to the ground, overcome by grief. Taryn and Tanya picked 
her up and lead her out to the aircraft. Paul stopped at the door and took 
one final look at the monitor which showed Spike wandering around the hot 
lab. With deep sadness, Paul closed the door and left.

Spike sat on the bomb, thinking. The minutes ticked by. He thought of 
his death. He had always believed that once he finally died, he was destined 
for Hell. But looking back now on the last few years, he had a tiny doubt.

Was the love he felt for Jenny enough to save him from the fires of 
Hell? Was fighting evil and sacrificing himself to save the world enough to 
overcome all that he had done before? Jenny was destined to one day to go to 
heaven. For the first time since he was turned, he hoped he would be there 
waiting for her.

He looked down at his watch.

It was time.

He took out a cigarette and his battered zippo lighter. He laughed.

People always told him that cigarettes would one day kill him.


The aircraft had cleared the airfield and was heading east into the 
new dawn light. Below them came a brilliant flash and a few seconds later a 
bump as the shock wave passed. An emotionally drained Jenny looked up at Paul 
with red teary eyes.

"Take me home."