Fic: Simple Choices...NC-17 Buffy/Willow (7/?)

["Chris " <elizabethrex1@xxxxxxx>]

Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and 
lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, 
just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers: Big alterations ahead for S5 after "The I in Team."
A/N: Thanks to the best beta crew: Zigpal and Zenithar. There would 
be no writing without you guys.


"OK, Xander, what's the plan?" Buffy asked. They'd headed to his 
parent's house to grab some supplies before hitting the Initiative.

Frowning in concentration as he loaded a clip into his `borrowed' 
handgun, the brunette Scooby replied, "We get you two into costume, 
use your security code to get us in, and hope we find a chatty 
scientist to explain the 314 thing to us."

"We need to find Dr. Engelmann. He and Walsh are cozy. If anyone in 
the Initiative knows what 314 is, I'm betting on him." The Slayer 
grabbed the clothes Willow handed her. "Hey, since when do I have to 
dress in unflattering blacks and browns?"

"Well, I guess I could be the big bad Marine," the redhead commented 
with a quirky grin. "I've been working out you know." She held up a 
thin arm and flexed.

"Nice, Will. I'm sure you could take on at least a platoon all by 
yourself." The girls shared a laugh as they moved behind Xander's 
privacy curtain  sheets dangling from a clothesline strung across 
the basement  to change. Buffy tried to remember how Riley put his 
clothing together and tucked, tightened, and fastened every button 
and flap she found. The clunky boots were another matter. Ten minutes 
later, she managed to get the pants to blouse correctly and tied the 
footwear with a flourish. Standing, she held out her arms and 
posed. "How do I look?"

"Kinda butch. Cute, but butch." The redhead giggled at the shock on 
the Slayer's face. "What? I'm a college girl now. I know lots more 
things than I used to." She moved behind the shorter girl and undid 
the ponytail. "If I remember correctly, this has to be above your 
collar." She started braiding the blonde hair with the ease of 
familiarity. "Hey, this is like being back in high school, huh?"

"Hmmm, let's see&big bad monster guy, check; possible large scale 
death and destruction, check; quality time with my bestest friend, 
check." She grinned. "Yep. High school all over again." 

"Goof." Willow smacked the other girl on the shoulder.

She just happened to hit a bruise left by the demon's axe. "Ow!" 
Buffy pulled away.

Eyes wide, the witch started apologizing. "Buffy, I am so sorry. I 
didn't mean to hurt you, really, I mean&Hey, how did I hurt you, 
anyway?"

"Remember the sewer demons from earlier? One of them got off a lucky 
shot." The Slayer poked her friend in the arm. "Course, it could be 
all that working out you're doing."

"Yep. Better be careful, Slayer, I might be after your job." Deciding 
she just had to do it, Willow played on Buffy's earlier shock. Moving 
closer to the camouflaged blonde, she dropped her voice to a husky 
whisper. "You know, I'd be happy to kiss that nasty bruise all 
better."

Buffy's head came up so fast, Willow was surprised it didn't pop 
off. "Will!"

Shrieking with laughter, the hacker ran for safety, chanting, "I got 
you! I got you!" She dashed through the curtain, nearly ripping it 
from the clothesline, and hid behind a bemused Xander. 

"Gee, Will, I'm glad to see you, too. Wanna tell me why the Buffster 
is stalking toward us with that death look in her eyes?" He checked 
the safety on his weapon and slowly stood up. "Girls, normally I'd 
enjoy a little girl-on-girl smackdown, but we have a mission to 
complete. Remember, Professor Walsh and some big demony guy?"

Buffy straightened to her full height and meticulously adjusted her 
belt buckle. "Fine. We do the mission. Then," she glared at a still 
laughing Willow, "we're talking about this new person who's taken 
over my shy redhead."

Sensing it might be time to get his friends moving, Xander handed 
Buffy her own gun. "Xander, I don't do guns."

"You do now, Marine," he commented. Picking through a cardboard box, 
he finally located a weapons belt for his small friend. "Here. See if 
you can get this tight enough. If not, I'll have to punch a new hole 
in the belt."

Mumbling under her breath about evil twins and soldier memories, the 
Slayer donned the belt, pulling the leather through the buckle until 
it fit. Thanks to military engineering, there were just enough holes 
so she could fasten it without worry it would fall off. With a last 
grimace of distaste, she rammed the gun into the holster, snapped the 
flap closed over the butt, and tied the holster to her thigh. "Let's 
do this," she said.

***

The three disguised Scoobies crept through Lowell House. The normally 
bustling faux-frat house was deserted.

"Seems pretty quiet," Xander commented, peering around a corner. 

Buffy scanned the area with her Slayer senses. Someone was heading 
their way. She gestured for Willow to get behind her and nodded down 
the hallway. Xander nodded in return and his hand dropped to his gun. 
Seconds later, a uniformed man rushed by, brushing past the Slayer 
without a word. "It usually is," Buffy finally answered Xander's 
comment. 

The trio continued down the hallway. Buffy stopped in front of a full 
length mirror. Punching a button on the wall, she gazed at her 
reflection. "Hey, Buff, maybe you could check the look later." Xander 
moved behind her.

"Don't." The Slayer shoved her friend out of the way, eliciting a 
surprised yelp from the boy. "Sorry," the blonde apologized without 
looking away from the mirror. "I'm the only one who can pass the 
retinal scan."

"Ooh," Willow cooed. "She means they scan her eye and match it to a 
print on file," she explained. 

"Well, we'll know in a few seconds if my clearance is good." Buffy 
waited while a green light traveled up and down her body.

A mechanical voice chimed, "Retinal scan recorded. Summers, Buffy," 
and the mirror slid aside, revealing an elevator car. The Scoobies 
climbed aboard and began their descent. On the ride down, Buffy and 
Xander checked their weapons and uniforms while Willow donned a white 
lab coat. Feeling faintly ridiculous, they waited for the elevator to 
reach the ground floor.

The doors finally opened, revealing the heart of the Initiative. 
Military and science personnel scurried around the huge expanse. 
Willow and Xander wandered forward, dazed at the size, to peer over 
the railing into the examination lab inset into the floor. 

"Holy moley," Xander breathed. "I totally get it now. Can I have sex 
with Riley, too?"

Willow giggled at the look in his eye and Buffy's irritated response. 
Grabbing her fellow "Marine," the Slayer dragged him away from his 
vantage point. They marched down a flight of metal stairs with the 
redhead following along behind. Despite frequent moments of panic 
when faced with groups of soldiers, the Scoobies had little problem 
crossing the base. 

Once they left the more public areas, all three teens relaxed 
slightly. The long white corridors were less heavily populated. 
Buffy, having been in the facility before, naturally took the 
lead. "Hey, Buffy? How many people work down here?" Willow wanted to 
know.

"I'm not sure, Will. Is it important?"

Nervously tugging at the too-large coat, the redhead replied, "It 
could be. Think about it, guys. If you were a secret military 
organization run by a psychopathic scientist, you'd want a bunch of 
people working for you. It makes it much harder to keep track of all 
the projects going on. You can have groups for research or personnel, 
and each one has its own mission statement. With everyone focused on 
their own job, they aren't going to be interested in what happens 
across the hall in, say, Room 314."

"That's so simple, it actually makes sense," Xander said.

Buffy paused and motioned for them to gather in a recessed doorway. 
Voices sounded down the hall.

"The men are still out there," a man said urgently. "The longer they 
go without their meds, the more dangerous it becomes."

"I know," a second voice said. He sounded tired and frustrated. "With 
the professor's death, the schedules are all off. We've managed to 
locate all but a few. The last group was in pretty bad shape, but we 
got them stabilized." 

The three hidden teens listened, shocked at the information. Drugs in 
the food? What was the Initiative doing to the soldiers working in 
the lab? Buffy was concentrating so hard on the problem, she nearly 
missed the rest of the conversation. 

"Finn is still at large, right?" the first speaker asked. 

"Yeah. We have all available personnel looking for him."

"He's a key part of the project. You make sure you find him and bring 
him in. He's the only one I really care about." The voices faded as 
the speakers moved away from the trio. The gang remained frozen in 
place, each trying to reconcile the information they'd overheard. 

"Come on, guys. We can deal with this later. Right now, we have a 
demon to find." The Slayer sprinted down the hall after the 
scientists. Rounding a corner, she glimpsed a white-coated figure use 
a key card to access a sealed lab. Waiting until he went inside, she 
rushed to the door, making sure it didn't close behind him. Willow 
and Xander joined her and the three slipped inside. The individual 
they'd followed had his back to the door, staring intently at a 
computer screen. 

Buffy stalked across the room and grabbed the unsuspecting man, 
spinning him to face her. "You know," she told the frightened 
scientist, "I don't usually like killing humans, but I've learned it 
pays to be flexible in life."

"I was wondering when you'd turn up," Dr. Engelmann remarked. He 
looked down at the tiny blonde who effortlessly held him in place.

Clicking her tongue and looking at the other two teens, she 
lamented. "Darn, then this wasn't a surprise. Now, you can tell me 
what you did to Riley and then we can all take a tour of 314."

Arrogantly, the man stared over her head. "Someone's coming, you 
know." Xander and Willow glanced at the closed lab door. "I'm sure by 
now security has spotted you on the cameras."
"Will," the Slayer ordered.

"On it." Pushing passed the blonde and her captive, the hacker tapped 
furiously on the keyboard. "It's got a password. I can break it, but 
it'll take a while."

Lifting Engelmann off the ground, Buffy asked politely, "Password, 
please?" The dark haired man shook his head. "Damn. Have it your 
way." She swung the scientist around, slamming him against the wall. 
He grunted, but made no comment. The frustrated blonde prepared to 
rough up the smug scientist when a body hurtled from above, landing 
on the ground with a sickening sound.

Everyone looked up at the grotesque figure standing on the 
catwalk. "Tell the witch not to worry about security. I made sure the 
cameras were inoperable."










Willow: "It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
Buffy:  "I kinda love you."
                     'Choices'

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