Wanted: A Werewolf 8/8 - B/W/T - R

["Hunter Ash <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wanted: A Werewolf and a Superman
Red Moon Rising, Book III
Part 8

Frau Hunter Ash
carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx
www.hunterash.com

Rating: R for violence
Pairing: B/T/W, X/A, G/J
Disclaimers: The characters and show of Buffy and Angel all belong to 
Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. 
The storyline, however, is the sole property of the author. This 
story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this 
story may be made for private use only and must include all 
disclaimers and copyright notices.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship 
between people of the same gender and may even include 3 at the same 
time <G>. If this offends or is illegal for you, then please leave.  
Come back when you are older, have an open mind, moved, or changed 
your laws. 

Spoilers: Up to New Moon Rising. 

Summary: The LA gang and Scoobys plan on taking on Adam, which means 
also working with the Initiative troops. Can we say ? "doesn't play 
well with others"?  


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Major Rydell watched the lab technicians and the red-head as they 
focused on the equipment and computers in front of them, all of them 
lost in their work and ignoring the Major and the chained Riley Finn.

"Damnit, that's not the frequency," one of the scientists complained 
and threw a small screwdriver down. It was almost noon and they had 
started their work at 7a.m. Everyone was getting a little frustrated.

"Look, guys," Willow said, "I suggest we get food and some caffeine 
and continue this in about 45 minutes. There's a fast food place 
close by."

"Okay, just don't let Leonard drive," Jerry Slavinski grinned. "He 
hasn't been out of a lab in twelve years. He probably couldn't 
remember how to start a car."

"I'm driving!" Willow jumped in before the three government 
scientists could start in on each other again. In a way they 
reminded her a lot of Tulsa and the other computer geeks she had 
worked with in Los Angeles, the main difference was they had shorter 
hair.

Major Rydell growled to himself. He didn't like the way the techs 
accepted the young woman as one of their own once she showed them she 
knew what she was doing around computers. They had been in absolute 
awe when she had worked some magick in front of them to compensate 
for not knowing some of the scientific end of the chips they were 
working on. Rydell hated his assignment and wanted nothing more than 
to end Adam's reign of terror and be assigned somewhere else. After 
all the set backs suffered by the Initiative, he just wanted out of 
Sunnydale.

Major Rydell had a feeling that his next posting would be somewhere 
in extreme northern Alaska or Antarctica after everything that had 
gone wrong under his command. Now his techs were making friendly 
with HSTs.  

<Vampires, werewolves, and magick,> he cursed under his breath, he 
hated the Slayer and her friends. <She was supposed to be killing 
them, damnit, not shacking up with them! Goddamn perverts! Werewolf 
witch perverts!>

Willow watched the scowl on Major Rydell's face deepen as he watched 
her working with his men and felt a stab of fear. She had flashes of 
memory of the Major looking down at her with such disgust that she 
had fought back tears. Being restrained to a gurney with only a 
hospital gown on didn't help her feelings of self-confidence either.  
She remembered him ordering some of the "tests" that the Initiative 
scientists had put her through. The more painful ones.

Willow had a feeling that was one part of his job that Major Rydell 
enjoyed. Her wolf senses had taken in the scent of his excitement as 
she screamed silently from the electric shocks, her body arching with 
every muscle in her body contracting and expanded.  

Willow fought the rushing feeling that was threatening to overcome 
her. So far the other techs hadn't noticed her clammy skin, rapid 
breath and frightened eyes but Rydell had. Willow whimpered slightly 
in her throat when she looked up at the top of the stairs and saw his 
eyes narrow as he watched her. He smiled a cold and brutal smile and 
the witch knew that he was very aware of her fear.

Rydell almost managed to squeak as something grabbed him from behind, 
pinching his neck painfully and sending him to his knees, unable to 
move and unable to speak.

The techs, starting to head up the stairs for lunch, froze as they 
took in the sight of their commanding officer kneeling in front of 
the small blonde they called the Slayer.

"Listen up, Maple Leaf," Buffy growled in Rydell's ear. "You leave 
Willow and the guys down here alone. I catch you anywhere near her 
and I'll rip your tongue out. Or your eyes, I haven't decided 
which. Giles says we need you to control your men and lead the 
attack so I'm not going to put you in the hospital yet. If you're a 
good boy and don't look at or say anything to my friends, I may 
forget that you enjoyed hurting her. Got that?"

Willow's eyes were still wide with fear but now with gratitude too.  

Rydell gritted his teeth and resisted giving in to the small girl 
behind him. <Damnit! She wasn't even 21 yet!> The pinch on his 
nerves and muscles tightened and he realized he was learning about 
Slayer strength firsthand. He finally nodded and dropped his eyes 
from the red-head.

Buffy let him go and stepped back a foot. "Go have some lunch with 
Giles and Wesley," she ordered the Major and pulled him to his feet 
roughly. She spun him around and shoved him out the doorway to the 
basement without a glance back.

The Slayer smiled down at her lover, "Come on, Will, let's take your 
geek friends to lunch," she suggested.

Willow knew that Buffy was hoping to draw her out of her panic attack 
and was grateful but couldn't seem to get her feet to move. The 
hacker closed her eyes with a whimper and grabbed the table for 
support as memories began flooding her brain, driving everything out 
except the images and feelings of terror. Willow remembered being 
wheeled from one room to another, watching the overhead lights with 
fear, always wondering what they were going to do next. Extreme 
cold, extreme heat, shocks, intentional pain, blaring sound and 
light?.

"Will," Buffy spoke softly. She had rushed down the stairs, past the 
shocked looks of the scientific geeks and approached Willow slowly.  
She could see the pain on Willow's face and knew her lover was caught 
in a whirlpool of a flashback.

"Buffy?" Tara's voice called from the top of the stairs.

"Easy, love," Buffy called back to her. "Flashback, a really bad 
one," Buffy explained softly as Tara ran down the stairs.

"Will, open your eyes, honey," Buffy urged. "Come on, baby, you're 
home and you're safe."

"Willow, you're safe, love," Tara added, keeping her voice soft and 
low.

Buffy and Tara managed to catch the red-head as her breathing sped 
into hyperventilation and Willow became too dizzy to stand up.

Slayer and Witch looked up at the concerned faces of the three techs 
as they rushed back down the stairs.

"It's okay, guys," Buffy said calmly as Tara sat down on the floor, 
resting Willow's head in her lap. "We were told this might happen.  
It's a panic attack; she'll be fine in a few minutes."

"Panic attack," Leonard repeated thoughtfully. "What set it off? Did 
we do anything?"

"No, Willow just has some really b-bad memories c-concerning your 
boss," Tara said as she stroked the hair from Willow's head.

"Memories?" Jerry said softly. "Oh my God. I'm sorry, guys. Rydell 
never told us that she had been taken down."

"What?" Ramon Cruz asked.  

"He told us that she was a witch and a werewolf but he didn't tell us 
that she was once in Initiative hands," Leonard explained.

"Does it make a difference?" Buffy asked bitterly. "You probably 
wouldn't have even noticed her face, would you? Just another body, 
another demon to experiment on."

All three men blushed bright red at the Slayer's words and everyone 
glared at each other as Willow's breathing began to slow down in her 
unconscious state.

"Alright," Jerry finally nodded. "You're right. I never thought of 
Hostiles as humans. First step in science and demonology, forget the 
thing you're cutting up has feelings or a history."

"Jerry, man, that is a little harsh!" Ramon protested. "We were 
making great advances in the research."

"Research?" Buffy's voice almost cracked with the anger washing over 
her. "Have you ever gone through those tests that you put Hostiles 
through?" she demanded.

"No, of course not!" he snapped. "Those aren't meant for humans!"

"So they w-were okay when the Nazis used them in the c-concentration 
camps because the Jews w-weren't human?" Tara demanded.  

"Of course not!" Ramon said defensively. "That was different and 
wrong!"

"What's so different about it?" Buffy asked wearily. "Look at her, 
you bastard. She's a 20 year old female college student. A computer 
geek like you, someone that was picked on every day in school because 
she was smart and not popular. A girl that was so battered by her 
fellow students that she still doesn't believe that she's incredibly 
beautiful and that anyone would want her."

"She's a werewolf, don't try and tell me that's a normal college 
student!" Ramon snapped.

"No, she's a werewolf because she was brave enough to take the curse 
from me onto herself," Buffy said, silently cursing the tears trying 
to overflow her eyes. "How does it make you feel to watch a 
beautiful young woman, not even old enough to drink yet, scream in 
pain as you record some numbers on a chart?"

"Fuck you," Ramon growled. "Demons, vampires and werewolves are 
different parts of the evolutional tree. To reach superiority, man 
left Cro-Magnon man behind and killed him when necessary. This is no 
different."

"Yeah, I've read the same arguments about Jews, Blacks, Latinos, 
Gays, pagans, and Muslims. Find a new line, you fucking Nazi," Buffy 
growled, holding Willow's hand gently.

"I'm outta here," Ramon announced. "I don't need this from you 
freaks. You guys coming?"

Jerry and Leonard looked at each other for a moment and glanced down 
at their shoes.

"You'd rather stay here and play with demons?" Ramon demanded.

"I don't think things are always so black and white," Jerry said 
thoughtfully. "We've met a vampire with a soul, another vampire who 
was so pure in life that his soul refused to leave and let the demon 
keep control. We have two witches in front of us, and they seem to 
get things done according to the reports and one is also a werewolf.  
So what?"

Jerry's face took on a stubborn look and he glared at Ramon.

"Ten minutes ago you were best friends with the girl because she was 
one of us, a computer geek. How were your high school years, nerd?" 
Jerry demanded.

"At least I'm human!" Ramon shouted.

"So is she!" Leonard snapped. "Just has a little bit of a DNA 
problem."

"Fine, see how you like unemployment when we get back to base," Ramon 
threatened and stomped up the stairs.

Jerry looked over at Leonard and shrugged. "Always wanted to start 
my own company out of my parent's garage, how about you?"

"I always wanted to start a computer program company out of your 
parent's garage," Leonard repeated with a nod of his head and Buffy 
and Tara smiled for the first time in an hour.

"We're sorry about Ramon," Jerry said softly. "He's always been an 
ass. Leonard and I are going to go grab some lunch, want us to bring 
you back stuff?"

"Yeah, burgers and fries would be good," Buffy nodded, grateful for 
their understanding.

The computer techs shrugged and headed up the stairs.

"If this keeps up we'll have to buy a mansion to house everyone who 
helps us," Buffy smiled as Tara began to relax.

Willow mumbled and began showing signs of coming around.

Both Witch and Slayer waited, hoping their lover wasn't too mentally 
distraught.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tara grinned as she watched from the top of the cellar stairs. After 
a few awkward moments when the techs returned with lunch, everything 
had settled back into a comfortable working relationship, minus 
Ramon.  

The blonde witch was so pleased, she knew that Willow was stronger 
than some people gave the red-head credit for but the panic attack 
had scared Tara. Buffy told her about Major Rydell's intimidation of 
their lover and how it triggered the panic attack. Tara had been 
afraid that Willow would slip back into her non-communicative shell.  
Instead, the hacker had apologized for the attack and the two techs 
had blushed and brushed it off.

As they sat down to lunch, with a protective Buffy sitting next to 
Willow and Tara keeping an eye on the gagged and chained Riley, the 
computer techs/scientist and hacker launched into a discussion of the 
work they were attempting and how the various chips they put 
in "hostiles" worked.

After a few minutes, Buffy smiled and kissed Willow's cheek and 
headed back upstairs, relieved that Willow was back into "research 
mode," the panic attack forgotten by the techs and hacker for the 
moment.

Tara fed Riley a hamburger, fries and coke while Willow, Jerry and 
Leonard discussed the chip that currently controlled the soldier.

"Is part of your mind still your own?" Tara suddenly asked and 
Riley's eyes brightened and he blinked once, very slowly.

"One for yes, two for n-no, okay?" she asked softly.

He blinked once.  

"Are you on Adam's side?" Tara asked.

Two blinks.

"Can he read your mind?"

Two blinks.

"If we f-free you, will you h-help us?" Tara noticed the conversation 
at the work tables had stopped and noticed Willow and the techs 
watching and listening.

One blink.

"Okay, I think you're t-telling the t-truth," Tara said softly. "I 
want you t-to know this?I know you h-hurt her, I know you w-were 
there. You get out of t-this alive, you leave town and n-never go n-
near Willow or Buffy again. If not, I'll will k-kill you myself. 
Agreed?"

One blink.

"Good," and looked over to see Willow grinning at her as Jerry and 
Leonard turned back to the problem of over-riding the chip.  

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Is being a jerk a learned process the Army teaches you or does it 
come naturally?" Giles demanded as Major Rydell sat back down at the 
kitchen table, a fresh cup of coffee in hand.

"Some of it is natural, some is surviving 17 years in the Army 
working for every damned secret government group you could ever think 
of," Rydell answered.  

Buffy, grabbing a coke from the refrigerator turned with a growl and 
Rydell was smart enough to ignore the Slayer.

"Can you restrain yourself while working with my kids?" Giles asked 
wearily. "We're sending people into to die tonight; I would think 
that requires our attention more than your petty differences with 
Willow and our vampires."

"I don't consider harboring a werewolf and two vampires `petty 
differences,'" Rydell countered.  

Joyce, sitting at the table, frowned.  

"Major, I am trying to understand your point of view," she said 
slowly. "I learned that my daughter is a Slayer, the Slayer. I've 
seen vampires, demons, zombies, androids, ghosts, and possessed 
friends. I've also come to reluctantly trust a couple of those who 
we would normally consider an enemy."

"And what happens when the werewolf bites your daughter during sex or 
gets out and kills someone?" he demanded.

Joyce instantly sought Buffy's eyes and wasn't surprised when the 
Slayer turned around, not letting Major Rydell see her eyes filling 
with tears. Giles knew that Joyce certainly wasn't going to tell the 
Army officer that Willow had gotten out and killed someone.  

It didn't help ease everyone's fear that the victim had been a 
werewolf who had just killed his girlfriend though.

"I trust my daughter to practice safer sex in all matters, Major," 
Joyce snapped. "I also trust her judgment in her friends."

"Mom!" Buffy squeaked and turned, her face red. "I'm gonna help? I'm 
gonna help somebody."

Joyce smiled innocently as Major Rydell choked on his coffee.

"This stupid magick thing you're trying tonight," Rydell began, 
changing the subject. "What is it supposed to accomplish?"

"It'll increase Buffy's strength and natural Slayer powers," Giles 
explained, purposefully keeping it vague though.  

"We know that stun guns don't work against him, he has a built in 
machine gun in his arm now, the other one has a spike and regular 
bullets won't penetrate his skin. You expect me to believe and trust 
that little girl can do damage against this thing?"

"Well, I doubt anything I can say would change your mind about 
Buffy's skills, talents, and determination," Giles said slowly. "I 
also know that you won't believe that she has saved the world 
numerous times, facing down demons, mouths of Hell opening and Master 
Vampires. Just consider her your `point man' that probably won't 
make it out of the anticipated battle."

"Giles?" Joyce asked softly.

"She's the best chance we've got," Giles explained, his eyes 
softening. "Buffy stands a better chance than any of his soldiers.  
If we leave Adam to his own, he'll begin manufacturing a race of 
demon cyborgs that could cause serious damage before being nuked into 
oblivion and taking the state with them."

He reached out to hold her hand.

"I just wish you weren't involved tonight, Joyce," he said softly, 
ignoring the military officer.

"I'm more than willing to do my part, Rupert," Joyce said 
firmly. "Anything to help Buffy, the kids and the world."

"It won't be easy, just follow Willow and Tara's lead," Giles tried 
to smile.

"As long as you're there," she said softly.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tara wrapped her arms around Willow and felt the young woman's tense 
body begin to relax.

The blonde witch looked up with an amused expression as Jerry and 
Leonard argued about the placement of some part in a transmitter or 
something. Tara leaned over and lightly nuzzled Willow's neck.  

"How's it going?" the blonde witch asked her lover.  

"I think we might be close," Willow said wearily. The hacker witch 
and techs were working frantically to find a way to break Adam's 
control over Riley before dusk. "How is it going with the ritual?"

"Going well, all the ingredients were at the Magic Box and they're 
fresh," Tara smiled as Willow leaned back in her arms. "You doing 
okay with the Initiative techs?"

"Yeah, we speak the same language and they forget I'm a werewolf 
three nights a month."

Tara was grateful to see Willow smiling, even a small smile.

"They probably wouldn't even notice me changing into a werewolf in 
the same room if there's a computer in front of them," Willow smile 
widened.

"We've got about two hours to sundown. The Major and Giles wants 
everyone in place by then," Tara said.

"I think we'll have it," Willow nodded, watching the techs connecting 
some circuits.

"Eureka!" Leonard shouted and pointed. The two girls looked over and 
found Riley no longer in the upright position he had been in all 
night and day, now he was slumped over and shaking his head.

The small group ran over as the soldier raised his head and blinked.

"Oh thank God!" he whispered.

"Can we intercept Adam's commands so we know what he wants Riley to 
do?" Willow asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, we're totally tied into the circuit," Jerry answered.

"What's on your mind, Will?" Tara asked.

"Well, he's just another burned out soldier right now," Willow said 
slowly. "Not that it's your fault, Riley, just that you've been 
under a lot of stress and were a jerk to start with?"

"Willow!" Tara interrupted.

"Sorry," Willow muttered with a blush. "My idea is to send him back 
to Adam, maybe beaten up a little bit or something and then during 
the battle we can use the new gizmo to release him from Adam's 
control."

"Hey, I don't think that's a good idea," Riley protested.

"I do."

Everyone turned to see Buffy at the top of the cellar stairs with a 
grin that didn't cheer Riley up at all.

"I get it," Jerry nodded enthusiastically. "We intercept Adam's 
signal and we order Riley to do whatever Adam was thinking and then 
when it's time, we can order Finn to turn on the demon."

"Adam won't believe that you had me and just let me go," Riley 
protested with a frown.

"Right," Buffy agreed as she walked down the stairs. "So we need to 
convince him that you got caught and have been hiding or that you 
escaped."

Riley blinked as his jaw muscles twitched nervously. He stood up and 
looked down at the Slayer and began to worry when he didn't see any 
sympathy in her face for her former boyfriend.

"I'd go for he got caught and ended up in jail until this afternoon," 
Willow suggested and Buffy nodded.

"Tara, go get Giles and Major Maple-Leaf down here," Buffy suggested 
and the blonde witch quickly dashed up the stairs.

In moments, all three returned as Tara explained the transmitter the 
techs and Willow had constructed to over-ride Adam's control of Riley.

"Sir, you're not going to let them beat me up, are you?" Riley 
demanded from the officer.

"Shut up, Finn," Major Rydell snapped. "You'll do whatever we need 
you to do. I'm not forgetting that you're the one who revealed our 
operation to the Slayer and brought her and her loser friends into 
the fold. Nor am I forgetting it was your whacked out mother that 
created this freak!"

"Mother?" Buffy whispered and Riley's head dropped and he wouldn't 
meet her eyes. "Walsh was your mother?"

"Yeah," Major Rydell sneered.

"And we are so not losers!" Willow protested with a sullen 
expression. "I seem to remember Buffy and the others whipping 
Initiative ass a few times."

Major Rydell glared and then shifted his eyes when he caught Buffy's 
eyes narrowing and remembered her threat.

"Listen, are you sure this will work?" Giles demanded, looking at 
Riley like he was an interesting test subject.  

Willow shifted on her feet, looking uncomfortable.

Jerry grinned and punched on a small keyboard and Riley snapped to 
attention, his eyes blank once again. The computer tech typed 
another sentence and Riley lifted his left knee and held it there.  
Another sentence and the foot lowered to the ground once more.

"Excellent, I suggest having him tell Adam he was caught setting the 
bombs and spent the morning in jail," Giles said easily. "And since 
Buffy isn't known for her patience, some bruises are in order."

"I can't hit someone just standing there, Giles," Buffy 
frowned. "Even Riley."

"I understand," Giles muttered and took off his glasses, beginning to 
clean them. "Everyone go and get ready for the battle. Willow and 
Tara with the spell things, the techs with their radio control thing 
and Buffy with the Major to join the troops."

"What about Riley?" Buffy asked.

"Don't worry; once Jerry programs Riley to tell Adam what we want, 
I'm going to drive Riley to the caves."

"The bruises?" Tara asked with a frown.

"Oh, don't worry," Giles said, lifting his eyes to his female charges 
and they suddenly had the feeling they weren't looking at Giles the 
ex-Watcher, but at Ripper, worker of questionable magick and 
ethics. "The bruises will be there."

"Uh, Giles?" Willow whispered.

"Don't worry, luv," Giles accent was a little thicker and only the 
women seemed to notice as Major Rydell was talking with Jerry and 
Leonard about the control device. He grinned from his wheelchair at 
the top of the stairs. "It'll be fine."

Buffy reluctantly led Tara and Willow upstairs with Rydell and the 
techs behind them.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Willow glanced over as Giles directed Joyce and Xander in finishing 
the preparations for the circle needed for the ritual and turned back 
to join in the hug between Buffy and Tara.

"You'll be careful, right?" Tara whispered to the Slayer.

"As careful as I can," Buffy promised. "Adam goes down tonight."

"Giles released Riley?" Willow questioned, her head resting on 
Buffy's shoulder.

"Yeah, complete with a knife wound in one shoulder and plenty of 
bruises," Buffy said softly and with a frown.

"That was Ripper, wasn't it?" Willow asked softly.

"I think so," Buffy nodded. 

Tara, not quite sure what they were talking about, made a mental note 
to ask them later as Buffy straightened up in the hug, breaking it 
reluctantly.

Major Rydell barely kept the contempt for the young women off his 
face as he approached them.

"There's movement in the caves, scouts report that the demons, 
vampires and werewolves are about to exit," he said.

"Right, we take them out, during the battle I cruise inside with one 
of your strike teams and take out Adam," Buffy repeated the 
plan. "Sounds simple, lets do it."

"Don't you need weapons?" Major Rydell frowned. He truly didn't care 
if the Slayer lived or not but figured if she was half as good as 
Initiative reports indicated, then she might be able to help. <Only 
if she didn't get herself killed in the first five minutes, though,> 
he thought angrily.

"I have my sword and trusty stake, I'm good," Buffy grinned.

"Goddamn civilians!" the Major muttered and turned to head back to 
his troops.

Buffy grabbed Tara and kissed her for several long moments and then 
repeated the embrace with Willow.

"Take care of each other," she said softly and trotted away before 
they could reply.

"Goddess, I hate being separated from her," Willow complained.

"If the ritual works, we won't be," Tara pointed out.

"Good observation, love," Willow smiled and Tara's heart leapt to her 
throat. It was a smile she recognized from the old Willow. The one 
before Oz, before the full moon and before the Initiative.

"I love you, Willow," Tara said softly.

Willow reached out for the blonde witch's hand as they trotted 
towards the magick circle and Xander "cut" a "doorway" for them in 
the already formed circle.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Adam listened to the reports from his operatives, demons who were 
intelligent enough to work walkie talkies and the few humans he had 
allowed to join his forces. After Riley had almost crawled back to 
the caves, Adam had been in a rage and one human and a demon had died 
for it.

Now Riley looked better after his wounds and bruises had been 
attended to and he had been fed.  

Adam had listened intently as Riley told the cyborg/demon hybrid of 
being caught by Buffy and Xander, apparently having returned to the 
Summers home for research books and fighting with Riley and 
overpowering him.

Riley's tale included being handcuffed and chained by the Scooby gang 
but eventually picking the handcuff lock and escaping while they were 
upstairs planning on how to fight Adam and the demons.

Adam carefully took in the abrasions and bruises around Riley's 
wrists and the bruises covering his face and arms and nodded, 
satisfied.

"So the Slayer and her friends plan against me," Adam said 
thoughtfully. "Programmed response, pre-emptive strike is in order.  
Officers, take your troops and surround the Summers' house. Destroy 
anything inside and level the place."

"Yes, Adam!" several of the demons and vampires shouted and scurried 
away.

"What do you think, Riley?" Adam asked the soldier as he sat staring 
straight ahead. "Of course, you can't respond unless I want you to."

Adam ignored the sounds of the demons, vampires, werewolves and few 
humans moving through the main tunnel to the outside. Howls, cries 
and shouts filled the air.

The cyborg/demon bent over Riley, inspecting the soldier's shoulder 
wound.

"Too bad you aren't put together more efficiently. Did you know one 
of the first humans I met was a boy?" the creature asked the non-
responsive young man sitting in front of him. "I took him apart, 
slowly and very carefully. I determined how he worked and it was 
enlightening. The human body is really quite fragile when compared 
to other creatures and yet because of the dexterity of the fingers 
and the advance brains, humans are in control."

Adam sat down and watched Riley's eyes.

"I intend to correct the sudden stoppage of evolution," Adam 
promised. "I will create a race that will be the next step in the 
process. The speed and durability of the demons, the mainframe of 
the humans and the technology of the computer age. Our brothers and 
sisters will rule the world."

Adam frowned as the sounds changed. The screams became higher, 
almost shrill and there were new sounds added. Gunfire and small 
explosions.

Two of Adam's officers, two demons, came running in the side room.

"Soldiers were waiting outside for us, ambushed us two hundred yards 
in the clearing," one shouted.

"Send out reinforcements!" Adam snapped.

The first demon to turn and follow Adam's orders never saw the sword 
slicing through the air before his head left where shoulders would 
have been on a human.

"Hi, guys," Buffy grinned. "Can I join in?"

"Slayer," Adam growled and Riley stood up in response, his eyes still 
blank. "Walsh had plans for you but you went against them."

"Sorry, even the Watcher Council learned that I'm not one to jump 
through hoops on command. I've never been really one to toe the 
line."

"Kill her!" Adam growled at the other demon.

Another demon came up behind Buffy to join in the fight. He grabbed 
Buffy's arms, pinning them to her sides as the other demon snarled 
and reached for her throat with his claws out.

Buffy, leaning into the demon behind her, brought both feet up into 
the face of the demon attacking her, sending the creature back into 
Adam and Riley, knocking all three of them down. The Slayer snapped 
her head backwards and was quite pleased to hear the demon howling in 
pain as he released her arms.

She spun around with a backhand blow that sent him flying back into 
the main tunnel.

"Glad to see you have a nose I can break," she quipped and turned to 
find Adam and Riley gone and the other demon a puddle of ash.

Buffy frowned and picked up her sword, following down the only other 
tunnel entrance in the room.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Willow and Tara closed their eyes and began breathing deeply. Xander 
quickly grabbed Tara and Joyce's hands on either side of him and 
followed. Giles nodded at his fiancé and both grabbed hands as well, 
completing the circle.

Having already formed the circle, most of the footwork had been done 
before the battle had even started and Willow was grateful. Having 
to form a circle with the screams, shouts, and shots going off all 
around them would have been difficult. Doing the main body of the 
spell would be hard enough without the distractions.

Everyone in the circle trusted the skills and dedication of Angel, 
Wesley, Cordelia, Anya, Carson and Brad Santiago patrolling around 
them, protecting those in the circle. They began to focus on the 
task at hand.

Willow began chanting. "The power of the Slayer and all who 
yield it. Last to ancient first, we invoke thee. Grant us thy domain 
and primal strength. Accept us in the power we possess. Make us 
mind and heart and spirit joy. Let the hand encompass us. Do thy 
will."

"Goddesses and Gods of Justice and Light, heed our prayers and grant 
us our wishes," Tara intoned.

"Beings of Light and Power, hear our prayers and lend us your 
righteousness," Giles said firmly.

"Spirits of righteous warriors fallen, lend us your courage," Joyce 
recited.

"Elements of Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Spirit, combine your powers 
to us," Xander said.

Willow, dropping her hands from Tara and Giles, reached down to the 
cards in front of her and handed one to Xander as the others released 
hands.

"Animus, the Heart, the Spirit is our brother," she said softly as he 
accepted the card.

She handed another card to Giles.

"Sophus, the Mind, the Air, is our father," Willow said softly.

The witch handed a card to Tara.

"Terra, the Earth, the grounding is our power, our sister," Willow 
said firmly.

Another card to Joyce.

"Inflammo, Fire, courage is our sister and mother."

Willow took the last card into her hands.

"Fluvius, water, emotions is our sister, myself," Willow said.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Buffy ducked as a demon tried to ambush her with a vicious swipe of 
his claws and rammed her fists into his ribs and felt some of her own 
bones break. As she fought against the pain and blocked another 
swipe from him, she frowned. She normally didn't get broken bones 
from hitting something. The Slayer was known for her strength and 
toughness.  

"Stakes definitely wouldn't work on you, would they?" she muttered as 
her sword barely cut through a few layers of the demon's skin across 
his chest. He angrily shook off the minor cut and backhanded her 
into a stone wall.

The demon grabbed her and flipped her over onto her back onto the 
stone floor. Before he could grab her again, Buffy flipped up onto 
her feet and snatched the sword up. With one swipe she cut through 
several cords leading from a box on the wall and the place went dark.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"We enjoin that we may inhabit the vessel ? the hand, daughter of 
Sineya?first of one, the first of many?" Willow chanted as everyone 
held hands again.  

Joyce cried out at the sudden charge of electricity surrounding them 
and opened her eyes. She felt Xander and Giles tighten their grip on 
her hands and resisted pulling away as she took in the sight of the 
glow that filled the inside of the circle.

It seemed to float like a heavy fog and began swirling around.  

The Slayer's mother could feel the energy they were harnessing and 
containing and realized with a touch of fear of what kind of power 
Willow and Tara were capable of.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Buffy ran into a larger room in the tunnel complex and was jumped by 
four demons instantly. One of the demons, a cyborg, threw the Slayer 
onto a table and the others began struggling with Buffy, trying to 
get restraints around her hands and feet.

The Slayer looked up and saw Adam grinning at her and an emotionless 
Riley, their faces looking strangely eerie in the emergency lighting.

Buffy smacked one in the nose and pressed a button on what appeared 
to be a pager.

"Is this all you have, Slayer?" Adam asked as the demons continued to 
struggle with Buffy.

"No, she has me!"

Adam turned, surprise on his face, as Riley rammed a knife deep into 
his stomach and then rushed past Adam and quickly hit two of the 
demons, knocking one out. As he began to fight with the other one, 
Buffy quickly snapped a leg and arm out and shook the other two off 
her and rolled off the table.

Adam frowned and turned to run down another connecting tunnel.

"Damn this place, doesn't it ever end?" Buffy complained. "I need to 
go after him."

"Go, I'm fine now, that way leads out," Riley growled, grabbing up an 
axe from the floor and put himself between the Slayer and the 
demons. Buffy watched as the soldier lashed out and a demon arm went 
flying.  

The Slayer ran down the tunnel after the cyborg hybrid while howls of 
pain and rage filled the room behind her.

When Buffy emerged into the clean night air, she was horrified at the 
scene that awaited her. It was like something out of Dante's Hell 
only with modern weapons. Men and demons were everywhere, mostly 
dead or dying. Buffy's eyebrows furrowed as she watched a werewolf 
slowly ripping a soldier's chest open with his claws. The young 
woman realized the soldier had been part of Riley's strike team and 
she couldn't remember his name. Buffy shook her head and wondered if 
all the violence was getting to her, if she was becoming immune.

The place was well lit with spotlights and flares and the clearing 
looked like something out of a bad sci-fi movie with overdone 
lighting. The blood seemed too red and the bodies were too many to 
be real. One soldier was sitting on the chest of a huge red demon 
and was repeatedly ramming a knife into the chest and head of the 
creature as green blood covered the young man. His eyes had gone 
manic and he kept screaming every time he drove the knife in.

"Fall back to the tree line!" Rydell was shouting as he fired a 
shotgun in the face of a werewolf. "Protect the flank!"

Rydell managed to scream once as another werewolf ripped out his 
throat.

Buffy spotted Adam standing at the edge of the tree-line, watching 
the horror in front of him. He glanced back and smiled at the small 
female.

"Having fun?" Buffy demanded.

"I do appreciate violence," he said easily.

"Good, I'm about to give you a lot of it," Buffy growled and charged 
him, shaking off her stupor over the scene in front of her.

Adam snapped the demon spike out of his forearm and parried Buffy's 
sword strike. With his other hand he grabbed her wrist and snapped 
it over, forcing the Slayer to drop the sword. He shot out his hand 
and punched her hard in the face, sending her flying backwards.

Buffy, rolling with the blow, jumped to her feet and landed a good 
solid kick in his chest but barely moved him. Moving in for another 
strike, Buffy found herself at a disadvantage with his height and 
longer reach as he grabbed her wrist again and flung her into the 
cliff side.

The Slayer, reacting on instinct more than skill, grabbed his skewer 
as he tried to impale her. Buffy pulled the large creature closer to 
her, using his own momentum and snapped the skewer over her knee and 
elbowed him in the face.

"Guess I broke your arm," she growled.

"I got another one," Adam shrugged and grinned.

Buffy's eyes widened at the sight of a small firearm of some kind 
emerging from his other arm.

"I've been upgrading, what do you think?" Adam asked.  

"Oh hell!" she muttered as the weapon began firing at her on full 
automatic.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"We implore thee, admit us, bring us to the vessel, take us now!" 
Willow cried out.

"Lead us, accept us!" Tara shouted.

"Together we are always strong!" Xander added.

"None can stand before a combined strength," Giles said firmly.

"No one can match the power in the love of a mother, the love of 
friends, the love of family, the love of a lover," Joyce shouted.

"Take us now!" Willow repeated.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Buffy cringed behind the boulder where she was being shielded from 
the steady stream of bullets pinging all around her. One ricocheted 
off the stone wall and Buffy cried out as it tore into her shoulder.

The Slayer quickly dived out from behind the boulder as the bullets 
stopped, just in time to avoid Adam landing on top of her. She 
wasn't quick enough to stop him from kicking her in the ribs, however 
and she landed hard, clutching her side.

Another kick to her jaw had Buffy seeing stars and spitting blood.  
The Slayer was down and barely moving.

"You can't last much longer," Adam taunted as he started to bend over 
to crush the Slayer.

The cyborg/demon/human stopped, a puzzled look on his face, as the 
Slayer's body jerked and straightened out.

Buffy opened her eyes and Adam frowned at the sight of very orange 
eyes that held a renewed strength and purpose, the wounds vanished.

"We can, we are forever," Buffy and the magick circle said.  

"Interesting," Adam commented as the Slayer began speaking in ancient 
Sumerian. He pointed his gun at the small female in front of him but 
the bullets fell to the ground a foot away from the Slayer, as if 
hitting a force field. "Very interesting."

The cyborg hybrid continued to fire and the bullets continued to fall 
as Buffy held up her hand in a simple shielding gesture.  

Adam growled and another device emerged from his arm and a rocket 
tore out of it, heading for Buffy but at a gesture from her hand, it 
turned into three birds that flew off into the night. Another 
gesture and the rocket launcher retreated back into the cyborg, 
despite his attempts at releasing it again.

Adam howled in rage and charged the Slayer but, instead of finding a 
wounded and exhausted girl, he found every punch blocked and a kick 
in the stomach that knocked him to the ground.  

"How is this possible?" he demanded.

"You cannot begin to grasp the source of our power," Buffy and the 
magick group said together.

As the cyborg regained his feet the small female hit him with an 
uppercut that sent him flying to the ground again. Buffy grabbed the 
creature and threw him against the rock face, holding him against the 
cold surface.  

With a determined look in her glowing eyes, Buffy thrust her hand 
into the cyborg hybrid's stomach as he struggled, her other arm at 
his throat. The Slayer growled and twisted something inside the 
creature and then pulled.

"Your power is right here in my hands," Buffy said calmly as the 
cyborg collapsed.

The Slayer stared at the uranium power pack in her hands. She didn't 
seem to notice Riley running out of the tunnels and approaching her 
slowly as the power pack began to levitate out of her hand.  

Riley knew it was Buffy's voice speaking some kind of ancient 
language but he knew it wasn't just Buffy causing the orange eyes and 
ancient chanting. Suddenly, the power pack disappeared.

Buffy looked over at the soldier, her eyes now normal.

He barely caught her as she fell unconscious.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Willow fell over against Tara, Xander fell over backwards, Joyce fell 
forward onto her hands and Giles grabbed his head as the backlash and 
abrupt flow of energy stopped.

"Oh wow!" Willow muttered. "That was?"

"Intense?" Xander said softly.

"Hey!"  

Giles managed to look up at Angel's concerned face outside the circle.

"Did it work?"

"I believe it did, let me open the circle before we all?" Giles fell 
back unconscious.

Willow pulled herself upright and grabbed the athame in the center of 
the circle.

"We thank all those who have helped us in our rite and wish you peace 
and harmony. Go in peace and with our thanks. Gods and Goddesses, 
beings of light and elements all, we thank you and dismiss you," she 
muttered, thrusting the knife into the ground and fell over.

Angel, seeing the glow dissipating at Willow's last words, rushed 
forward into the circle and quickly checked his friends.

"Are they okay?" Wesley demanded, firing another round of shotgun 
blasts at a demon getting too close to the circle.  

"Yes, energy drain, they didn't have time to ground," Angel said, 
keeping an eye out for other demons, werewolves, vampires and cyborgs 
as well.

"Angel, there's Buffy!" Cordelia called and Angel looked where she 
was pointing and was relieved to see the Slayer rushing towards them 
with Riley a few steps behind her.

"Willow, Tara!" the Slayer cried. "Mom!"

She skidded to a stop next to Angel.

"Giles? Xander?" she demanded.

"They'll be fine, they need food and sleep," he explained. "Or 
they'll wake up in a minute and be so filled with a backlash of 
energy that they won't come down all night. I don't know which to 
expect."

"As long as they're okay," Buffy muttered.

"We'll protect them until it's over or they wake up," Angel 
promised. "You got him?"

Buffy looked out onto the fight that was still raging around them.

"Yeah, we got him," Buffy said as she looked down at her friends, 
knowing how much they had risked for her. She turned to Riley.

"I'm not forgetting that you were a willing part of this, including 
kidnapping and tormenting Willow," Buffy growled. "I'd like to take 
your balls off with my fingernails but right now, I need your help.  
Organize the soldiers into a strike force, I'll take point."

"Alright," Riley nodded.

"Are you up for this?" Angel asked Buffy as Willow began to stir.

"Yes," Buffy said simply. "I have to be, I'm the Slayer."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Agents Mulder and Scully," a man in a suit began, motioning for the 
FBI agents to sit down in two chairs placed in front of the long 
conference table where 15 men in suits and military uniforms sat on 
one side. Each had a stack of folders in front of them. The 
lighting was designed to place each face in shadows.

"You have been asked here today because it has come to the attention 
of this committee that you are aware of a top secret government 
project," the man continued. "We wish to update you on the 
disposition of said government project."

"Which project?" Mulder asked with a smirk. "There's so many of 
them."

"Mulder," Scully said softly.  

"The Initiative," the man said calmly, ignoring Mulder's jab. "It 
was an experiment. The Initiative represented the government's 
interests in not only controlling the other worldly menace but 
harnessing its powers for our own military purposes. The considered 
opinion of this council is that this experiment has failed."

"When did you reach that conclusion?" Mulder demanded. "Only when 
one of your experiments broke control?"

"Once the prototype took control of the complex, our soldiers 
suffered a casualty rate of 60 percent. It was only through the 
actions of a group of civilian insurrectionists that our losses 
weren't total. I trust the irony of that is not lost on any of us.  
Professor Maggie Walsh's vision was brilliant but ultimately 
unsupportable," the chairman continued.

Mulder held his tongue as Scully placed a restraining hand on his arm.

"The demons cannot be harnessed nor controlled," the chairman said 
calmly. "It is therefore the recommendation that this project be 
terminated and all records concerning it expunged. Our soldiers will 
be debriefed and assigned to strike teams. From now on, they will 
concentrate only on eliminating threats from the demons, no attempts 
at study, experimentation or containment will be sanctioned by this 
Council. Those soldiers unable or unwilling to continue will be 
debriefed and given the standard confidentiality clause. We will 
monitor the civilians and the usual measures prepared should they try 
to go public. I don't believe they will. Will they, Agent Mulder?"

"No, they won't go public," Mulder nodded. "What about us?"

"What are your terms, Agent Mulder?" one of the suited men asked.

"Terms?"

"Come now," the chairman snapped. "You've danced before. What do you 
and the civilians want?"

"I don't dance," Mulder growled.

"How about I play the music and see if you like the tune?" the 
chairman taunted. "All records of Sunnydale, the Adam experiment, 
and those records pertaining to Willow Rosenberg, Elizabeth and Joyce 
Summers, Tara Maclay, Brad Santiago, Rupert Giles, Alexander Harris 
and Anya Smyth will be destroyed. We will also offer a contract that 
no Initiative member will ever move against Willow Rosenberg or Tara 
Maclay even though Ms. Rosenberg is both a witch and a werewolf and 
Ms. Maclay a powerful witch. Sunnydale will be off limits to 
Initiative actions and we'll leave it to your civilians. Can you 
dance to that tune?"

"We didn't get all the records, did we?" Mulder asked wearily.

"You mean when you sabotaged the Initiative computers?" the chairman 
asked. "No, there's always a file somewhere, another backup, another 
computer not connected to the main net. In exchange for their 
silence and yours, the government will only lightly monitor them for 
awhile until we're satisfied they won't go public and aren't 
considered a threat."

"And if we try and go public?" Scully asked. "Those experiments were 
cruel, inhumane, and torturous. I don't care if they were demons or 
not."

"I understand that you have become friends with one of the hostiles 
that was experimented on," the chairman said, his tone dismissing her 
anger. "If you try and go public, well, there are a lot of holes in 
the desert, I'm told."

"Enough for all of us?" Mulder demanded.

"Agent Mulder, you know we could make the entire town of Sunnydale 
disappear," one of the shadows spoke and Mulder recognized the voice 
of the Smoking Man.

Special Agent Fox Mulder glanced over at his partner, Special Agent 
Dana Scully before turning back to the Council.

"We'll dance and so will they," he muttered.

"Good, consider this matter closed," the chairman announced. "Thank 
you for coming, Agents."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

GrayFox to Redwitch7: the Initiative is dead. Strike teams to fight 
evil demons only, no captures. You and others are erased from their 
reports and Sunnydale is off limits. They know that you pulled their 
chestnuts out of the fire by taking care of their runaway 
experiment. They promise not to harass you again. Silence on both 
sides ensures everyone's safety. Take care, Fox.