Actions and Consequences(PART 2)

by Gizmo

Can the Watchers bear the consequences of their actions?

DUBLIN:

The Shelbourne Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in Ireland and the most expensive. Located just off Stephen's Green it has the best view of old Dublin that a person could only get permanently with a very large wallet.

Udo had one.

The benefit of living for a few centuries meant that interest got really interesting after a while. If you got all the money that he was worth at the moment you could use just the interest to run a small country. But the Pale Men had been wise to reduce the amount of capital they had over the last few years. The advent of electronics had taught them that they couldn't keep all that money secret for very long.

Money wasn't on Udo's mind at the moment. A small folder lay on the table in front of him. For such a slim volume, only thirty pages in length, it made for fascinating reading.

Sir Edward Arthur Giles, an Earl of a moderate estate in England. He had inherited the title after the untimely death of his brother. His direct heir was Rupert Giles, the son of a younger brother and a name that Udo recognised from Joe's Sunnydale report.

The Earl had been young enough to miss the Second World War but not the Korean War. Assigned to a detachment of United Nations troops he had excelled and had avoided the intelligence services attempt to grab him because of it. Being a member of MI-5 or MI-6 would only have drawn attention to his Watcher activities. After the War he had joined the Watchers full time and risen through the ranks gradually.

Here the information grew fuzzy, as informants within Watcher ranks filled in the blanks as best they could. It had been Udo's idea and Joe's follow up that had scored big time.

If the Watchers had looked for spies or anyone who worked against them in their ranks, they wouldn't have found the Pale Men's people. Most of the senior Watchers were landed gentry and needed staff like butlers, maids and groundskeepers. The Pale Men supplied them and it didn't take much to monitor the comings and goings of these important people.

The last few pages dealt with Giles' rise to the Head of the Watcher Council and his decision to improve the Watcher's Shield.

* The nail in the coffin. *

Udo could recognise the traits of a politician and saw that this was a man used to power and all it's trappings. By and large any person who sat on a committee or council was a politician. And Giles was as much a politician as any senator, congressman or Member of Parliament. But the difference was that these Watchers firmly believed that their way of combating evil was the only way and acted accordingly.

The Pale Man could guess what the Watcher would attempt now.

A cough brought Udo out of his contemplation. He looked up to see a red coated man standing over him.

"Sir. You're party is here."

Udo craned his head to see around the maitre-de and saw two men, one old and one young, silhouetted against the large windows. He nodded and stood up. The liveried man led him across to the men and wordlessly guided them to a set of doors. Opening them, he led them into a restaurant where a whole flock of waiters were ready to cater to them.

"We're not eating!"

Udo turned his head slightly to look at Edward Giles. He could see the anger plainly on the old man's face and he responded with an emotionless tone.

"Very well. That is your decision. But I am. And if you leave then the consequences are on your head."

The Watcher's face went bright red for a second, and then he sat. All three men let the waiters seat them and take their first orders. Once that was done all of them backed away well out of hearing.

Edward Giles took a moment to look about. He saw that they had been seated away from most of the other guests and that the waiters were some distance away but looking at them. He appreciated the fact that what would have to be said at the table would be meant for only their ears.

"I said that you were to come alone. And I told you what the penalties would be."

"I'm an old man. I need help in getting around. This is my nurse."

Udo handed the folder across the table. As Giles began to page through it, the ancient Swede pointed to the 'nurse'.

"Justin Delancey. Born April 10th 1954 in Manchester. Joined the army at sixteen and enlisted in the Special Air Service at an unknown date. You were honourably discharged after a severe training accident and came almost directly into the Watchers. The only medical knowledge you probably have in combat first aid and what you probably picked up from dating nurses. And the final little thing is that your position in the Watchers is that of Deputy of the Watchers Shield."

Giles heard this entire speech but ignored it. He knew that bringing Justin was against the parameters that the Pale Men had set but he had to test their boundaries.

"The penalty for this infraction is very simple. You will loose, forever, one tenth of the books seized from your Essex based library."

The Watcher recoiled in horror. The library that the Pale Man had just mentioned contained the Watcher Chronicles, the accumulated knowledge of several centuries of Watcher diaries. Udo tapped his fork against the table to get the old man's attention.

"Mr. Giles. The Pale Men have been around for millennia and predate most of civilisation. We have seen the birth and death of the Empires of Rome, Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. And we were around when the Watchers were first created. The Pale Men sometimes worked with them and what memories I have of those occasions are good.

But you've changed.

I don't know what changed you but whatever it is, it stops here and now. We, the Pale Men, have watched your organisation sanction genocide and the murder of innocents. In all our history, the Pale Men have never, NEVER, taken the life of an innocent."

Udo sat back to get a breath of air. He was not a man who let his emotions rule, but this was an exception. The original Watchers would be spinning in their graves if they saw what their younger generation had evolved into.

"We were content to sit back and use subtle ways to return you to your original course but your attack on Galway changed our methods. To make matters worse, once your attack failed we were informed that the Order of Teraka had been hired to finish the job you started. Or tried to start."

Justin clenched his fists beneath the table. The decision to use the Order had not been sanctioned by the Council, only by Nathan and using funds that only he had direct control of. He risked a quick look at the Earl and saw the lines tighten around the old man's eyes. He could well read the signs that Giles was pissed but would not discuss that subject until this meeting was over.

"By using the assassins you have shown that you can no longer be trusted to help in the protection of this planet. As we speak, your organisation is dying and with any luck will be dead by the end of the year. Your only hope is the Pale Men."

Udo sat back and let Giles take the floor. Whatever response the old man came up with, Udo knew that it would be so much horse manure. The Watcher would bow down to any demand given and then stab the Pale Men in the back once they had their precious books back. Udo had played out the few scenarios that could come up. The purpose of this meeting was to gauge the Watchers limits, however strong or weak they might be.

"As Head of the Watchers Council, I am empowered to speak with their voice. We would like to see an end to the current differences between us."

* A typical politician's response. *

Udo caught the Watchers use of 'We'. Giles was trying to say that the Pale Men and the Watchers were organisations of equal power. Udo decided to deflate their balloon.

"I am glad to hear this. Before the books are returned to your libraries, we have certain conditions that will be met."

"Of course."

* Like hell you'll meet them. *

`"One. The governmental connections that the Watchers have across the world will hand in their resignations over the next year. This is not negotiable. Two: The locations of all potential Slayers and their families will be revealed to us. This also is not negotiable. Three: From this moment on, the relationship between the Watchers and Slayers will change dramatically. THIS is negotiable."

Udo watched the Watcher process this information. He had left one condition open to bargain with. The Watcher would take this as a sign of weakness and try to use it as a lever into the other conditions. That wasn't going to happen here.

"To what extent do you think the relationship should open up to?"

"Active Watcher participation. The Watchers will no longer issue orders to the Slayer, only advise. A team of Watcher Shields will be near each Slayer to aid her in removing lesser... obstacles. They also will receive orders from the Slayers."

Giles sipped his wine and thought about the 'advisory' role that was being proposed. He knew from history that advisors had ruled nations through weak Kings and Queens. It wouldn't take much to assign the best Watchers to the Slayers, Watchers who had enough sense to know which buttons to press to run his or her Slayer.

******

Udo could guess what Giles was thinking. He would use dominant personalities for Watchers, people instructed in psychology to run the Slayers. A system of checks by the Family would be kept in place to remove that action of the Watchers.

******

"I would like to discuss these conditions with the Council."

Udo nodded his acceptance just as his mobile phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and moved his chair back slightly.

******

Sir Giles stared at his opponent. He'd spent a fair amount of time checking out this 'person' in front of him. Udo Reinher was thirty years of age and a native of some backwater in Sweden that had been all but destroyed in an unusual flood. Most of the records pertaining to his birth and early schooling had disappeared with the town and records of later years were lost in move after move by his parents. All in all, the only thing that the Watchers could really find out was that he had Doctorates in Medicine and Business.

Listening to the one side of the conversation that he could hear, things were not going well for the good Doctor. He hid a small smile as the carefully laid veneer of civility burnt off and became a mask of pure rage. What he wasn't prepared for was the ripple in Reinher's face as he Paled for a fraction of a second.

Justin was halfway out of his seat and reaching into his pocket when Reinher pointed his finger at him.

"Back in the chair, fucker!"

The look of hate was powerful enough that the former SAS man did exactly what he was told. Udo spoke for a few more seconds and closed the phone, ending the call. He leaned back into the table and pointed at the Watcher and his Shield.

"I have just learnt that a number of Watchers, or Watchers Shield, made an attempt on a Pale Man's life in Los Angeles. I say an attempt because the team that went against him died and he himself is wounded. Luckily for you he isn't dead otherwise all the Pale Men would be going to England and destroying the Watchers. And nothing you could do would stop them."

The Pale Man's face rippled again as his emotions went into overdrive. Justin flinched again and he gripped his gun again.

"Now the rules and conditions have changed. The Watchers as you know it are gone. The Council will be dissolved and all activities pertaining to the Slayer will be carried out through the Family. They will be the new Watchers. All of the books seized by us will stay in our possession for good. Any attempt by you to take them back and they will be destroyed. Any attempt to harm the Family will be met with equal or greater acts of violence.

You will be followed and watched from now to the day you die. Good bye."

Udo stood up and walked out. Giles could only stare at the floor as a force older than recorded history obliterated the future of the Watchers.

******

Joe dropped the telephone handset back into the cradle and stepped back. He had heard the rage in Udo's voice even through the bad connection. From what he could gather Udo had been in the middle of arranging a settlement between the Pale Men and the Watchers.

* That's in the shitter now. *

Turning slowly, Joe walked to the car he had just rented from the Hertz station only minutes before. He had been out of the loop for at least ten hours because of the injury, more than enough time for the Watchers to make a move against Buffy. Hopefully, for both of their stakes, the Order had been pulled off the contract by Whip.

Accelerating slowly, Joe sped towards Sunnydale.

******

Buffy and Willow had been waiting in the house for nearly a whole day now without word form Josephus. Although she had never fully understood Joe, she did understand his motives. Sitting down in front of the TV had worked for about an hour before the adrenaline levels had made it impossible for her to sit still. Playing the Playstation had been a mistake because Joe only had a couple of games and they were all beat-'em-ups of one sort or another.

Willow handled the time a lot easier. Delving into her bag she pulled out a few small books on magic that she had got on witchcraft. Ever since the little spell that had brought forth Ash she had toned down her headlong rush into the Black Arts. Now most of the magic she worked on was small glamours and potions.

Before long Buffy started to pace hard, slamming her foot down on the ground with each step. And with each thump Willow's concentration started to break. Using an old Wiccan trick she focused on her heartbeat and slowed her breathing but the rhythm of Buffy's stomping shattered her will. She closed the book and walked to the phone.

"I'm going to call Ash."

Buffy ran forward before the witch could dial a number.

"Could the Watchers trace the number?"

"I don't know. They could have been following our e-mails but they couldn't monitor the Internet unless they were checking up on Ash and me. They'd be after you rather than us."

Buffy still didn't look satisfied.

"Is there any way for you to divert the call so they can't trace it back to here?"

Willow didn't answer but her face gave Buffy an altogether different answer. The Slayer was to unfocused, too preoccupied with the Watchers and how they were beginning to affect her life. For nearly four years they had controlled every action in her life and now they were hunting her. They knew everything about her due to Wesley and Giles...

Giles knew everything about her. Everything from how she fought with weapons to the type of ice cream that she liked. And if the Watchers had even a tenth of what Giles knew, then she was dead. But she couldn't really see Giles turning her in. That would be Wesley's job. He was the unknown factor.

She remembered what she knew about Wesley and it didn't amount to a hell of a lot. But what she did know was that he reported everything to the Watcher's Council. Everything.

Rocking back and forward in her chair she tried to think of all the things that the Watcher could have told them.

******

Giles paced in front of the ward where Xander was being kept under guard. The wound hadn't been a bad one, only cutting through some fat and muscle. The boy had come back with his sparkling repartee immediately by saying ' That's not fat that's designer fat. The sort of fat that takes years...' Giles had tuned the rest of it out and smiled. His friend was all right. Keeping him that way was another thing. The cops wanted to know about the gun that Xander had fired.

Unluckily or luckily, depending on which way you looked at it, a squad car had been outside the school when the shots had sounded. It had given Giles and Xander only a few seconds to come up with a story that would satisfy the probing of the cops. But the ex-Watcher didn't know if the boy had managed to take any of it in because of the shock.

Giles thought that he been fairly successful in coming up with the story. The woman had come in and knocked Wesley out. Xander and she had struggled and he had grabbed a gun. They both fired and Xander had killed her.

The librarian thought about that for a second.

* Xander killed the assassin. *

The thought of Xander actually killing something didn't affect him. Maybe it was because the woman was a hired killer and a member of the Order of Teraka, but he doubted it. He'd become so used to the killing and death since arriving in Sunnydale that he couldn't focus on it like he used to. The death of people was something he had never really been something he had needed to look at because it hadn't been something he'd help cause.

This was different.

******

Joe's back didn't feel any better by the time he got into Sunnydale. The drive had been painful at best, each bump and sharp turn causing it to shatter his already fragile consciousness. Slowing down, the Pale Man used what surveillance tradecraft he had to see if anyone was following him. He knew that there was little chance of that but it didn't hurt to take certain levels of precaution.

Pulling into the area right beside the Palace, Joe was happy to see that the place looked run down. This part of town had little else but pizza delivery places and a couple of take-away's and that was exactly why it had been chosen. Looking around again his eyes fell on the spots that he knew surveillance posts had been set up previously. The camera-mounted telephone pole was now bare of those devices, as was the flat above the laundry. The camera's had belonged to the now dead Mayor while the laundry detail had been that of Sunnydale's finest.

Joe crept up to the door of the Palace and saw little that indicated that the girls had moved in. Some boxes and dirt-filled plastic bags were piled to the front. Knocking on the door seemed a little stupid in this case but he had left all the keys with Willow. There was no noise from the inside for a few seconds and he felt an anger build up inside. Pushing it down, he focused on a spot on the wall beside him until his emotions were back in control. Ever since the attack in the airport he had been getting these flashes of emotion, usually anger, that were getting harder and harder to stamp down.

* I'll have to talk with Udo about them. *

The door opened quickly revealing little but a dimly lit interior. Stepping in quickly, he felt a hand gently guide him inside. Before his eyes could adjust the lights, some of them, snapped on and he shook his head to shake off the shock of the glare.

"Did anyone follow you?"

Joe fought down a wave of rising anger. The Slayer looked like he felt. Dark circles showed that she hadn't rested much since she had heard about the Watchers and the Order. Having assassins after you sometimes did that.

"Can you give me a fucking second? I'm in pain here."

Shaking off his jacket, he heard a gasp from behind him as his shirt was exposed. He caught a glimpse of Willow and saw that something had shaken her.

"What's wrong?"

She pointed to his back.

"There's blood all down your shirt."

"Aw shit!"

Twisting his head around to see if could see any damage only put strain on his neck, so he just stripped off the shirt. Willow went through an interesting array of shades of green before she looked away. Buffy stepped froward and helped him into a chair and bent him forward. He heard her hiss at what she saw.

The wounds were almost one running mass of damaged flesh, spread from his lower back to the nape of his neck. Patchy with open cuts and fresh scar tissue it looked far from healthy. Buffy leaned froward and caught sight of something. She reached forward and stopped, giving Joe a grimace that he could barely see.

"There's something lodged in your back."

Grabbing an edge of whatever it was, the Slayer pulled it free. Joe shuddered with pain and then arched his back in agony as his wounds reopened and began to bleed again. Holding the gory fragment in her hand she showed it to Joe.

"That might explain why I haven't healed. Go ahead. And don't worry about hurting me. I'll heal."

Taking the small chunk of material in his hand he wiped it off and saw what it was. The Dark Crystal, or at least a good-sized chunk of it. He beckoned the Slayer over.

"I need you to do me a favour. Try and find as much of this crap as you can and pull it free. If I pass out, don't stop. Get as much as you can of it out. If you need to cut into my back."

Buffy blanched at his request. His back was already a mess and what he proposed wouldn't make it any better.

******

Nathan folded the last of his clothes and put them into the bag. Around him the seven surviving men of the Watcher's Shield team were doing the same, quietly and with slow movements. The aura of defeat was heavy as the Chief Shield reviewed the last few minutes.

The Head of the Watchers Council had called, telling them about the events of the last few days. Shock had been their only reaction. Sir Giles hadn't mentioned anything about the Order of Teraka but Nathan knew that he would be saving that for a private chat. Until then, the nine men would pack up and leave for England as soon as possible. It had been hard but Nathan had managed to understand the implications. If the Watchers and the Watchers Shield didn't withdraw totally, and as soon as possible, the Pale Men would destroy any and all chances of the Watchers ever becoming a viable organisation again.

And so the Watchers Shield made to leave Sunnydale.

******

Buffy woke from sleep suddenly, as if surprised. Something had caught her attention, a sound or change in her surroundings. But now that she was awake she couldn't remember what it had been.

A glance to the night-darkened slit windows in the walls told her that dawn was still far away. Rolling over, she went to check on Joe and...

He was gone.

Getting up quickly, she lowered herself to the ground and loaded her crossbow. Moving slowly, she strained her Slayer senses and tried to locate Joe in the darkness. A passing car's lights illuminated the massive room and she stood, taking the chance to see anything at all. All seemed okay, even the sleeping form of Willow, slumped over the table where she had been reading books. The slow rise and fall of her back drew the Slayer's attention for a moment before her eyes stopped on a sliver of light

She crept forward slowly, avoiding the obstacles of couches and chairs, before she reached the open door to the outside. She risked a quick look outside and saw nothing but the faint outline of the trash in the alley. She shut and locked the door with a bang, waking Willow.

The younger girl woke also and shielded her eyes as Buffy switched on the lights.

"What's wrong?"

"Joe's gone."

Buffy's voice was toneless, a sure sign that she was in full Slayer move, her eyes darting from door to windows and back. Willow asked the obvious question.

"The Watchers?"

"Can you really see Joe going off peacefully with the Watchers?"

Willow shook her head and went over to the couch where Joe had been lying down. The blanket that had covered him had been tossed to the side and the grey sheet underneath had two slits running lengthways from waist to shoulder height. She pointed these out to the Slayer just as a knock sounded on the door.

Buffy couldn't help herself, the tension was too much. The door opened slightly and before anyone could say anything she pulled the trigger. Doyle's head came into view and the bolt slammed home into the door by his fingers, cutting into the deeply into the webbing between his fingers. He shrieked in pain and stumbled back into Angel, who pushed him aside and ran into the room.

The tension broke as soon as he came in the door and Buffy ran into his arms, wailing like a child.

"What's wrong? Where's Joe?"

Willow answered for him.

"He was here when a couple of hours ago but we all fell asleep. Say. How do you know he was here?"

"Doyle..."

Remembering his friend, Angel moved to the door, keeping and eye on the weeping Slayer as he did so. The half-demon was sitting on the ground cursing with his bloody hand held up before him.

"I try to save the bloody girl's life and she shoots me. What kind of fucking gratitude is that? I mean I have to go through those fucking headaches and to top it off, your fucking girlfriend shoots me."

His tirade stopped as Angel lifted him off his feet and into the Palace. Checking the wound, he motioned Doyle over to the couch and sat him down. Willow broke open the First Aid kit again and looked at what was left in the box.

"We only have a couple of plasters and some disinfectant left. We used most of the stuff on Joe."

"What happened to him?"

"The Watchers attacked him in the airport. He said that he beat them off but he was still injured. I thought that he would have healed quickly but they stabbed him with some crystal."

She lifted one of the fragments from the ground and gave it to Angel. The vampire looked at it for a minute before handing it to Doyle. It took only a touch and he had another vision.

******

An image of Joe, bloodied and torn, fighting a demon flew through his mind. They exchanged blows, ripping flesh from each other while someone looked on. The view changed, homing in on the spectator. It was a blend of beings, of middle height and blades protruding from its body. Its face was hideous, sharp and empty of emotion.

The vision whited out and he saw a group of men walking. The blended creature landed down among them and ripped them apart.


******

Doyle reared up and screamed in pain. The familiar migraine kicked in and his hands scrabbled about for a pen and paper. Angel took them from his pocket and shoved them into his hands. The Irishman managed to scrawl something before the pain became too much and he blacked out.

******

Nathan led the seven men to the car, a Spacewagon rented in Los Angeles. It was going to be a bit squashed going back to the airport but the men wouldn't notice it. They were all still in shock from the phone call from England. A growl from the shadows brought them out of it.

Moving quickly the men formed a circle and pulled their weapons from holsters. They slowly moved towards the car, trying to reach the weapons that were within. Nathan whispered to them.

"Speeks, Smith, Tolley and Garvidge. Run for the car if we're hit. Get the weapons and move into support. The rest of us will slow whatever this is down."

Nathan was angry with himself. They'd been too focused on the Slayer and the Pale Man and forgotten that there were a lot of other dangers in Sunnydale. Like the vampire or vampires that were mow hunting them. He knew that bullets wouldn't kill one but if they could slow one down, hurt it enough, they would be able to stake it.

"I should thank you for freeing me."

The group of men aimed their weapons to where the voice came from. Looking closely a dim outline could be seen against the darker wall behind. The single form of a man, or something that looked like one. But Nathan knew who it was and lowered his pistol, slightly.

"Hello again, Josephus. Nice to see that you're back on you're feet. Sorry about the airport."

The figure moved.

"I sincerely doubt that."

The Pale Man stepped into the light. Joe's face was drawn and dark circles of exhaustion and pain were bagged under his eyes. But the grin on his face was one of happiness and freedom.

"You know that for all the time the Pale Men have been in existence we have never been able to kill an innocent unless it was absolutely necessary. Can you believe that? I have been alive for over a thousand years and whenever an evil has taken an innocent hostage I couldn't move against them. That's not a problem anymore. I really have to thank you."

The Pale Man kept moving forward and Nathan raised his gun again, aiming for Joe's head. Joe saw the movement and froze.

"What? Do you think that I'm going to hurt you? You must be nuts."

Josephus Paled.

His face greyed and then whitened and settled at a mottled grey. Nathan shuddered in fear at the changes. Wesley had given him a detailed description of the change and it wasn't the same. Josephus's face was pale but strips of black ran across his cheeks like deep scars. His eyes were totally black and lifeless but the grin remained on his face. The flesh at the Pale Man's elbows popped as blades shot back out from his forearms. His fingers melded together into two strong digits with a pair of vicious claws on the end. A loud pair of pops sounded and bony nubs came out of his head and flared back like ram's horns.

"I'll be nice about it and kill you quick."

The creature jumped.

Nathan emptied his pistol as fast as he could, catching the demon centre-chest with each shot. The other members of the Shield team did the same as four of their number ran for the car. Josephus tumbled in the air, his balance lost with each shot hitting him. He shoulder rolled when he landed on the ground and came up, claw first. The talon bit into the stomach of the man to Nathan's left just as he was reloading. The empty gun clattered to the tarmac as the man doubled over and screamed in agony.

Ripping his hand free, Josephus pushed the dying man to the side and jumped up and into the group making for the car. The boot door was open and one man was armed, the others reaching into the space for their guns. The Pale Man landed on the raised door, catching the three men's legs and backs. Cracks and screams echoed as bones broke. The armed Shield didn't hesitate. He aimed and shot Joe repeatedly when the Pale Man tumbled to the ground. The bullets tore chunks of tarmac and flesh apart and the creature roared before he kicked out and knocked the gunman down.

The other half of the team ran to the fallen man's aid and fired their weapons repeatedly. Rolling quickly, Joe put the body of the car between himself and the humans. The pain was nearly too much and he ran for cover and time to heal.

******

Nathan looked at what was left of his team.

He had four badly injured men, one of them who wouldn't survive unless he got into surgery. But he knew that that wasn't going to be a problem. Sirens were already sounding in the distance and getting closer.

He checked his men and talked to the most lucid one.

"We are going to stay in Sunnydale. We can't have that thing following us back to England. Do not contact anyone. I'll get word to the Council and we'll sort this out."

He left his orders at that and tapped the other men on the arms. Wordlessly they ran off just as the cops arrived.

******

Edward Giles put his phone down and looked at Nathan's deputy. The younger man placed the companion handset down beside it.

"What do you think of this situation, Justin?"

He pursed his lips and sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"There is no way that we can come out ahead in this situation. If the Pale Men learn that we are hunting one of their men they'll destroy us. If we leave the creature alone there is a possibility that it will hunt us down. The only thing we can do is tell the Pale Men."

Giles nodded. He'd come to pretty much the same conclusion. The only difference was that he'd use his remaining Shield members as a liaison force to the Pale Men when they arrived in Sunnydale.

"Thank you for your input. Can you put a call through to Mister Reinher again? We have some news for him."

******

"Thank you, Sir Giles. We'll do exactly that."

Udo pressed the button that disconnected the call. Whip rose from beside him and grabbed the bags that he had just dropped on the floor. The Pale Man had just arrived in Galway from a hard aeroplane journey from Italy. He spoke without turning back to his Brother.

"When do we leave?"

Udo walked out the door of the sitting room of the penthouse suite and into his bedroom.

"We have the plane ready in Shannon airport. It will take us half an hour to get there and another ten to get to Sunnydale. And then we will meet with these Watchers."

"What do you think of this meeting?"

"Giles thinks that by us fighting together we will loosen up around his men and divulge secrets. If we are successful he will try and use it as a bargaining point: the Watchers Shield could be used as a backup team for the Pale Men. So we will watch what we say around them. Okay."

Udo didn't really need to ask. Whip was a long time soldier and knew how the game was played. One day you can be fighting with someone at your side and the next day be his mortal enemy.

"Do you know anyone in Sunnydale or have you been there?"

Udo shook his head and kept packing.

"Our contact in Sunnydale died while Josephus was there. There was a team left to watch this Mayor's prison but they are located in Los Angeles. The only people that we have who know Sunnydale are the two girls that Josephus brought back. We will have to bring them."

"What will we tell them?"

This was going to be a problem. The girls had bonded with Joe and wouldn't be able to be unemotional about this. IN all probability, if the Watchers weren't lying, he would have to be killed.

******

Josephus sat down and waited for his wounds to heal. He didn't really understand the limits of his change but he was going to push those boundaries. The physical change was easy to follow: better reflexes, strength and healing. He could feel the flesh move as gaping holes in his body closed. He smiled.

* I could get used to this. *

As he began to feel better a hunger grew in him for something he couldn't place. But he could smell its source in this old building. Looking around he saw a small pile of reddish brown dust. His smile grew wider.

* A meal no one is going to miss, least of all me. *

******

Ash screamed when she heard the news. Faith just walked out of the room and brushed past Whip. The Pale Man followed her out, leaving Udo alone with the vampire.

"I'm sorry but that's all we know for the moment. Maybe it's not as bad as we think but for the moment we have to proceed on the basis that Joe has gone bad. With what he knows about all of us, he could pose a great threat to the entire world. He could even..."

Udo blanched at the thought. All the Pale Men were privy to a secret that could shatter the planet. He shouted out.

"WHIP."

The Pale Man came back with his hand on the Slayer's arm.

"The Seals. If he has gone bad..."

"We leave now. No more questions. We find him and find out for sure whether he is bad or not."

******

Joe spent all of twenty minutes in the sewers before he found his first food. A vampire, still covered in the dirt of the grave, charged him, thinking that it's newfound immortality stretched far enough to include invulnerability. The creature that Josephus had now turned into pinned the demon's arms behind its back and bit into its neck, draining it dry.

As the last trickle of black blood oozed out of the wound on the vampire's neck it seemed to scream and dissolve into dust. The Pale Man didn't move, frozen in the position of mouth open where the vampire had been. Slowly his head came up and a grin stretched his face.

* So easy. And so... beautiful. *

Swivelling about he ran forward into the sewers, towards Sunnydale and more food.

******

Nathan and the last of his men decided to stay mobile after the attack. They had seen the cops load all their injured friends into ambulances and drive off, leaving the crime-scene unguarded. The ex-soldiers were shocked that that would happen when Tolley gave them the reason for it.

"A demon would probably attack a single cop."

Getting transport was not easy that late at night so the men ran for the nearest rental agency and paid three times the normal rate for a van. The next ten hours had been sleepless ones for the four.

A watch alarm went off and all of the team woke, rubbing their eyes, stretching and yawning away the sleep. Nathan sat in the front passenger seat and gestured to the driver to start the van. They had to be outside the local shopping mall in ten minutes.

Parking beside the cinema entrance to the mall they waited, two men outside with their jackets open and hands loose by their sides while Nathan and the driver remained inside with the heavier weapons at the ready. Even in daylight they were wary of attack. A van, similar to theirs, pulled up beside them and parked. The two outer guards moved aside and let the vehicle manoeuvre into the space. They could see Nathan's arm swing and lift. If they looked inside they would have seen the barrel of the gun pressing against the door panel and their boss's finger on the trigger.

The side door opened and Udo stepped out with Whip not far behind. Looking around they easily marked the cameras covering the car park and the security men. The armed Watchers didn't seem to interest them. Once they were satisfied that the coast was relatively clear they nodded to the other passengers who stepped out.

Faith was the first one out. Her face was drawn and tired from the journey. Hopping up and down for a second she fought to clear the cobwebs from her head. Ash came next, flinching as she left the van. She was covered from head to toe in heavy clothes, a large hat over her head. Nathan sucked in his breath at the sight of the vampire and tightened his finger on the trigger.

Two men followed the girls, one a large, thin black man his face scarred on both cheeks and forehead. The other men had long almost matted hair and the appearance of a total weed-head, doped to the gills. Each man stepped up and took position behind the girls.

"Mister Wyndam-Pryce. My name in Udo Reinher. Sir Giles said that you would be expecting us."

Nathan thought about swinging the barrel of the gun up and cutting the Pale Man in half but knew it would be futile. If he was anything like the creature that hit them last night, the four humans wouldn't have a chance.

"I'm Pryce. So what are your orders, Pale Man."

Whip and the other two men laughed at the tone of the human's voice. They had no illusion about the chances of the human if he gave Udo any crap, so they would stay out of this just to keep up the entertainment value. Udo turned to the two unknown men.

"Asa, Jamesy. Can you get Ash inside? I doubt she likes this? And try and get her to the nearest phone. Ash, as soon as you can get in contact with the Slayer."

He gestured up to the sun and the vampires eyes followed for a second before flinching back down to the ground. The two men helped her in through the doors.

"While Ash is doing her thing, we will map out our... strategy for tonight. For one, I suggest that you men get some sleep while we stand guard."

"The hell with that. We hit this thing now."

Udo wanted to smile to ease the situation but this Watcher was getting on his nerves.

"Fine. We'll go after him now. You lead the way."

Nathan made to leave the car and put the gun aside while opening the door. Udo moved and slammed the door shut, reaching in through the window and grabbing the Shield's neck.

"You will listen now. WE, Josephus's friends, do not know where he is. We are going to be professional and think about where he would go. What we need from you is a description of what he has become and that you are nice and work with us. We do not need you to piss us off."

The Pale Man released the struggling human and stood back.

"You were given orders to work with us. Be professional and follow them."

******

Ash breathed a sigh of relief when the two Pale men escorted her inside. She had met the two Pale Men at LAX not long after arriving. Jamesy had arrived from the Middle East where he lived the life of a British 'ex-pat' and Asa had flown in from Sydney. He'd mumbled something about 'the cleaning business' and left it at that. As much as Joe had helped her with moving around in the daylight she was still uncomfortable with the whole sunlight thing.

"Udo said to find you a telephone. There's one."

Jamesy pointed over to a bank of three Phone Booths and the three walked over to find two covered with out of order stickers and the third in use by a middle aged man, shouting into the handset.

"GIVE ME A FUCKING REST."

Looking about, both Pale Men tried to see if any security cameras covered this area. The tall Pale Man spoke to his shorter Brother in a deep voice tinged with an Australian accent.

"I can't see any man. Work your magic."

Taking his cue the short Pale Man tapped the shouting man on the shoulder. Whirling about the man kept the handset glued to his ear while shouting at the Pale Man.

"WHAT the fuck do you want?"

Jamesy kneed the man hard in the groin and grabbed him as he doubled over. Taking the handset from the man's, now limp, grip he gave it to the vampire.

"Make your call, luv. Me and Asa'll take care of this guy."

They carried the moaning man off in the direction of a bench and sat down beside him. Ash could see them talk quietly with him, probably telling him what would happen if he called the cops. Jamesy, as dirty looking as he was, would probably give him tips on etiquette and greeting people. She threw a handful of quarters into the slot and dialled the first number that came to mind.

"Summers Residence."

"Hello Mrs Summers. Can I speak to Buffy?"

"I thought she was with you, Willow."

Ash was stunned by the use of her old name. The last time she had used it...

"Is something wrong with Buffy, Willow? She left some note that she was staying at your place."

"No, Mrs Summers. She said she was heading back to your place and meeting me at the mall later. I probably heard her wrong. I'll get her to call you when I see her again."

Hanging up before the worried mother could ask anything else she dialled an old number from memory. It was done before she realised it.

"Rosenberg."

"Mom."

The vampire collapsed onto the ground, the only thing holding her the handset. The last time she had seen her mother was when...

... she was draining the life out of her. The ultimate sweetness of blood coursing down her throat, made all the sweeter by being family blood, true blood. But it ended too soon and she had to wait. Her father came home an hour later to see his wife lying on the floor, a tiny pool of blood under her head. Willow was lying beside her, moaning in pain. He went to comfort her and the last thing he saw was her teeth descending on his face.

"Willow, is everything all right? How's Xander? Your friend Mister Giles said that he'd been shot at the school."

"I... I didn't know Mom. I'm going to go over there right now. Don't wait up."

"Okay dear. Love you."

Crying now, Ash responded the only way she knew.

"Love you too Mom."

She sat there and cried for a while until Asa came over and sat beside her.

"What's wrong?"

"I just talked to my mother."

Asa gently took her by the shoulders and lifted her to her feet. Even more, gently he hugged her to his chest.

"What happened, happened in another place. You cannot take it back, just try and make it right while you have the time."

She smiled at all the clichés and shook her head.

"I'm all right. I'll call Joe's place now."

She remembered what her 'mother' had said.

"Xander was shot. Giles will be with him at the hospital. And if Giles is there, Buffy might be there too."

Asa frowned. Hospitals were big, quiet and, more often than not, poorly guarded. If Joe had gone rogue, he could hit the place.

******

Joe sat down in the pool of ashes he had built up. Six vampires had fallen to his thirst so far and it seemed to be slacked for the moment. The problem now was what to do.

He had no doubt that his brothers would be coming for him. Secrets like the Seals of Paradise and the Weapons were too big to risk exposing. It was only a matter of when they would arrive.

* I need bodyguards. *

******

Word had got out about Joe and his killing. It was hard to find single vampires now but that was what he wanted. Running past a junction at the full speed that his new strength could take him, he closed on a pack of five vampires. He singled out one and knocked all five to the ground with a massive kick that sent them sprawling. Picking one he elbowed it in the face and watched it squirm on the blade.

The other vampires got up and backed out of range, hoping that Joe would be too busy playing with his food to worry about them.

"Stay and reap the benefits or run and I'll hunt you."

The sentence was spoken coolly and in a relaxed tone. It got the vampires attention.

"What do you want? Demon?"

"I am a Pale Man. And I want to stay alive. You will help me with that and I will give you blood, lakes of it."

******

The convoy of two parked by the hospital. Before anyone could go running off, Udo held out his hand.

"In the interests of friendship, I have a gift."

Jamesy opened the boot of the van and showed the Shield men a bag full of guns. Handing them out the little Man gave them an evaluation on their new weapons.

"Hollow point rounds filled with oil blessed by a bishop. Guaranteed to kill a vampire, providing you hit it in the head or the heart."

That done, all ten, Watchers, Pale Men, vampire and Slayer, started to march towards the entrance. Udo and Nathan stopped them.

"We can't all go. The staff will say there are too many of us."

Two of the Shield team, Whip and Jamesy stayed behind with the cars and the heavy artillery. It was doubtful that Joe would make a daylight attack: it was too busy. Nathan took care of getting in by asking the receptionist about his team members. Ash asked about Xander and both groups found out that their people were in the secure area.

They ran into Giles and Wesley long before that. The older man was unshaven and had a worried frown on his face. The Watcher had a bandage on his head and an expression of torture. Two seats in the waiting area had furrows worn in them they had been using them for so long. Farther down the hall, a pair of cops sat in front of two separate rooms. They looked up as the two groups approached but looked down again as Udo waved them in beside Giles.

As soon as he saw Nathan, Giles blanched but stepped forward. Faith and Ash stepped from behind the men and stood in front of the ex-Watcher.

******

He looked at the two 'girls' and smiled for the first time in nearly a day.

The change in the two was remarkable. Ash was dressed from head to toe in colours that he viewed as far from sensible but wouldn't attract attention. Faith was the same, having ditched the vamp look for a floral dress that she wouldn't been seen dead in a year ago. But most of all both girls had contented expressions on their faces. They were happy.

"How's Xander?"

Both of them sang out the question at the same time. Their attraction to Xander was mutual but for different reasons. Faith had always 'liked ' him while Ash had had a 'relationship' with her universes' Xander. But it was more than that for the vampire. The Xander in this reality represented everything that she herself killed when she turned Alter-Xander.

"He's fine. The bullet went in and out without hitting anything important. They have him in custody at the moment but the police say that he's going to be released as soon as the doctors finish with him. The assassin shot and wounded a student in the school before and is wanted on a dozen counts of murder in the United States alone. In their words 'she was no meter-maid'."

Faith and Ash grinned in relief.

"Can we go see him?"

"I'll ask."

Going around the corner, Giles took the girls along. That left Wesley with Nathan.

"Hello Nathan."

"Cousin. Fancy meeting you here."

"I saw your men arriving. What happened?"

"Josephus."

Wesley shocked his cousin by putting on a wide grin.

"I see that he missed you. Hopefully, not by much. Tell me, did you crap your pants?"

Nathan responded with action. He grabbed his cousin by the lapels and got a knee in the bollix for his troubles. His two men stepped forward but Udo stopped them.

"This is family. Leave it that way."

Wesley bent down over his cousin and gloated.

"You have no fucking idea how long I've wanted to do that."

His reply was a fist to the jaw. Both men started to tussle but neither of them was up to it. Udo bent down and picked them up.

"Now, now, ladies. Play nice. We can't have you acting like irresponsible pricks at this moment in time. We have to focus on the task at hand. So shake hands, make up or I'll kneecap the pair of you."

Giles came back around the corner with the girls. They looked reasonably happy.

"Xander said that they went to Joe's place here in town. We can pick them up there."

"No need."

They all turned to see Buffy standing there with Willow, Angel and some scruffy, little guy. Udo could see Jamesy, Asa and the other two Watchers coming up behind them. He walked up to the Slayer.

"I am Udo, one of Josephus's... Brothers."

The reference to 'Brothers' wasn't lost on Buffy. Nor was the presence of Wesley and someone who looked a lot like him. Or the other men with him and behind her. She moved into a defensive stance, her fists balled and up in front of her.

"You look like a bunch of Watchers to me."

Udo stepped back into the shelter of the Waiting Area and Paled. Another of the men with him did the same. Two of the men behind her, one scruffier than Doyle and the other a tall black man both Paled for a second.

"I get the picture. We don't know where Joe is. He came to us last night, wounded. We patched him up and he disappeared."

Udo changed back and walked to Buffy's side.

"Was there anything strange about the wounds?"

"There was something in them, fragments of a crystal."

"Do you have any? What did it look like?"

She took a small cloth wrapped bundle from her pocket and opened it. Pieces of the Dark Crystal lay still bloody from the Pale Man's blood. Udo waved Asa over and pointed to the shards.

"Is that the Crystal that we told him to get rid of?"

Asa frowned.

"We asked him, not told him! But yes it is the Dark Crystal. Do you know how it happened to get into him?"

"He said that the Watchers attacked him. One shot went through his backpack and into him. It must have got in that way."

"Fine. At least now we know what's wrong. Nathan, see to your men. We'll meet in the car park."

******

There are few places in hospitals that are guarded or have guards on them. One is the secure area, if a hospital is unfortunate to be near a prison. The other is the emergency room, or ER, as it is normally called. Most other areas are watched by cameras, patrolled or just locked.

The blood bank is one of these areas.

Vampires are dumb and don't really go for an easy meal. To them, hunting down some poor kid is the nearest thing to a free buffet. They never really considered doing what Joe had proposed.

Sunnydale being Sunnydale, the blood bank was guarded like Fort Knox.

The Bank was on a corridor that had only two other rooms, both supply closets. A pair of cameras covered the length of it, one on both ends. The Bank itself was built like... well a bank. Reinforced glass, buzz in doors, panic buttons, the works. The security room was directly above with half a dozen guards in it, hanging around. At the slightest sign of a problem these guys would be down and on top of any trouble. A lot of these guards had problems such as 'tendency to use unnecessary brutality' or 'capacity for violence well beyond human norms'.

To make it easier to explain, the Mayor hired these guys.

The plan was simple: Divide and conquer. One group of vampires would go to the back where the kitchens were. They'd use the shadows and attack the staff there, just before lunchtime. Their orders were to make bloody but non-lethal wounds. And there was to be no snacking.

The guards would have to respond to the kitchen staff's aid. At the same time a couple of vampires, in human form, would come in and distract the ER staff by saying they were attacked by some gang. A call from the kitchen to the ER would say there had been an attack there and then the dominoes would fall. The ER would call the Blood Bank, telling them to prepare a large amount of plasma because of the kitchen attack.

At the very least the Bank would get the blood ready. And the last group would hit the Bank, where all that blood would be ready and waiting to be transported down to the ER.

It went like clockwork. The vampires attacked, keeping well out of the sunlight and flinching every time a beam was reflected into them from a passing car. The staff were out smoking their cigarettes, one of the only ways they could relax. The first thing they knew two of their friends were on the ground screaming, blood fountaining from wounds. In the true cavalry fashion the security guards charged to the rescue.

The vampires ran with the guards in pursuit. One stayed behind to make the call to the ER to get ready for multiple traumas, high plasma loss.

Joe was ready and waiting for this.

He'd arrived an hour before with four of his new recruits. They had raided a linen closet and stolen a couple of lab coats and surgical gowns. It wouldn't take much to spot that they were bogus but it would be enough for a casual glance. If they were stopped, the story would be that the ER staff was too busy and the new doctors were being used as stevedores for the moment.

The guard was waiting for them. Joe stayed to the back and let one of his 'boys' handle it a young blonde called Harmony. Apparently she had gone to school with the Slayer and her friends but she got stupid one night and ran into a vampire. The guard took one look and went to shout a warning. Harmony snapped his neck.

By the time they managed to get inside, another member of staff had hit a panic button and an alarm started to sound. The vampires went to kill the other two members of staff and Joe stopped them.

"What do you want? To feed of them once and waste what time we have or to have your fill whenever you want later on?"

The vampires grabbed the plasma bags and piled them into cooler bags and packs. They had only a few minutes for this whole gig and that time was nearly gone.

And then it was gone altogether as the Pale Men arrived.

******

Udo was leading the gang out through the ER when Faith spotted the two vampires. She was walking up between Udo and Whip, talking about little things. The only reason she was there was because Buffy was with them now. The antagonism was still there, even though the rogue Slayer had 'reformed'. And the Watchers Council was another thing she couldn't think about now.

Every time she thought about the Watchers she had to shut her eyes and try to remember to breathe. They had attacked her and her friends in the hope of killing them. And a lot of innocent people had gotten hurt in the process. Opening her eyes the first thing she saw was the vampires.

Their movement was fluid and too perfect for someone who looked sick. Each of the demons had a couple of small cuts on their faces, nothing too major, and burns from walking in the sunlight. They weren't doing anything threatening except talking to a few nurses and making waving motions to somewhere outside. Faith grabbed the wrists of both Pale Men and whispered.

"Vampires."

Both Men stiffened and came to a stop, heads and eyes moving in an effort to see what she had seen. The vampires caught the movement but they didn't see any threat so they went back to talking with the staff. One of the nurses was bringing out a couple of sterile trays. Buffy and Nathan moved up beside them and that's when the vampires reacted.

The familiar sight of the Vampire Slayer sent the two into hysterics. Batting aside the nurses hovering around them, the demons made a beeline for the ER entrance and, most probably, a sewer entrance. Whip was the first to move.

"Federal Agent! Freeze!"

He drew out the gun that Jamesy had given him only a few hours ago and shot off two rounds. One of the vampires went down, it's features contorting into its demon form. Buffy and Faith ran after the other one, catching it before it reached the door. Faith jumped and hit the ground, rolling into its legs and knocking it to the floor. Buffy jumped and landed her two feet into its gut, getting an agonised squeal of pain that faded to a gurgle as Faith clamped her arm around it's neck. It's hands waved about for a second before fastening on her arms and levering them towards its mouth and the fangs within. Buffy stopped that from happening with a couple of well-placed kicks that knocked the creature farther into its little universe of pain.

"Do we have any wood?"

Whip knelt over the wounded vampire and held the demon's wrists together before aiming the gun again. The demon didn't move, as the muzzle was placed right over it's heart.

"You can feel the pain that my bullet caused you. So you can guess, correctly, that another shot right here will kill you. Why are you here?"

The vampire didn't bother to bluster, it was too young for that.

"The Blood Bank."

Udo nodded to two Watcher's Shield.

"Dump these outside. Faith and Willow, stay with them. Ash, Buffy, Watchers and Men with me."

"I'll stay here to explain what happened. We can talk later."

The gang separated and Whip held back the staff as the Slayer and the two men escorted the vampires out to their death. Udo grabbed a young doctor and got her to show them the way to the Blood Bank just as an alarm sounded. They were in time to see the body of the Bank guard hit the floor as the first plasma-laden vampire stepped out. It lasted half a second as the Watchers aimed their guns and fired, cutting the vampire down and dusting it.

Udo, Jamesy and Asa ran forward, Paling as they moved. Buffy was a second behind, leaving the Watchers and Ash with a very shocked doctor. Three more vampires piled out and ran for the far doors, dropping their load. Asa and Jamesy were on them before they got a dozen yards away from the Bank. Udo pulled his gun and stepped forward slowly, the pistol extended awkwardly. Of all the Pale Men he was the least informed about these weapons.

He heard Buffy running up from behind him and went to stop her from running ahead. The move saved his life. A three clawed hand smashed into the wall by his head, cutting his Pale scalp open to the bone. Raising his gun, the Pale Man emptied the magazine into the form that was right in front of him, hitting with every shot. A scream of rage and pain was his reward.

******

Joe knew his plan had gone south when he saw his two friends run by after his vampires. Crouching down behind a counter, he waited for someone to walk in. Morphing into his new shape was still painful process but necessary for survival, especially now. He heard a scraping noise as someone stepped by the body of the guard and he jumped out, swinging his talons as he leapt.

Udo's head jerked to the side just as the blow landed, scoring a hit but nothing fatal. A load of shots rang out and Joe folded over, his chest in tatters as bullets ripped through. But his new body was a lot more resilient to damage. Roaring he ran full tilt at the only window and smashed through.

He hit the far wall of the corridor as the Slayer was passing the Blood Bank. He nicked her shoulder as he passed by and ran on, right into Ash and the Watchers. The men raised their guns and shot at him, hitting more than missing. Joe stumbled and fell at the feet of a young girl dressed in doctor's whites. He reached up and grabbed her around the throat, pulling himself up.

"Throw down your guns or I kill the little bitch!"

The Watchers hesitated for an instant and that was all he needed. Morphing back into human form he pushed through the door and into another corridor, hostage in hand. Moving quickly he walked towards the elevator and freedom.

"Anyone follows me and I kill her. If you think I can't do it look at the two in the Blood Bank."

******

Udo picked himself up off the floor, the wound on his head nearly healed. He wished for a second that he was still blinded. Two women were lying dead in the corner, their throats ripped out. From the way the blood had spattered from their wounds, they had died slow.

* Josephus must have hidden the bodies from sight of the window. I should have thought about that. *

That's one of the reasons he hated to use guns. They gave him a false sense of security. Yes, it was nice to have a weapon that could kill some attacker some distance away but it didn't help much if the guy had a bigger gun. Swords were easier. They relied on strength, speed and skill. You just pointed a gun, pulled the trigger and hoped for the best.

He had been lucky that his best had happened today.

He moved back into the hall and found Buffy lying up against the wall, a red hand pressed against her shoulder. Farther down the corridor the Watchers were pointing guns at someone around the corner, out of his sight. Asa and Jamesy were with them but had their guns lowered. It didn't take much to see that Josephus was getting away.

******

Joe backed up, keeping low. The doctor kept whimpering but moving, luckily for her. The only option now was to find someway out of the hospital that was fast and then to something faster.

"Do you have a car?"

He squeezed the woman's neck a little until he got a gasp and a nod.

"Good. Where is it?"

"ER. In front of the ER."

"Good girl. Let's go."

He pulled her back until they were right beside the stairwell door. Pushing a gurney in ahead of him, he then pushed the doctor into the narrow space. Just as he left the corridor he saw his former Brothers rush from the Blood Bank corridor and head towards him. Slamming the door he propped the gurney against it, bracing the other end against the concrete banister railing.

Pushing the doctor ahead of him he stopped at the door that led to the ER. Wheeling about he saw an emergency exit and pushed the crying woman through it. Her car, and freedom, were only a few feet away.

******

Asa pounded against the door, barely restraining the urge to Pale in front of all the witnesses that had popped up at the sound of the gunshots.

"Bloody Americans."

He gave the door one last kick. Jamesy and the Watchers were already heading to the ground floor using the elevator but by the time they got there Josephus would be long gone.

* If he has any sense. *

He gave and ran to Udo who was packing gauze against the Slayer's shoulder. The wound had stopped bleeding and just looked messy. But it had slowed them down and that was the point. They could follow him and loose the Slayer to blood loss or save her and loose their target.

* Not much of a choice. *

"What happened in there?"

Buffy sounded weak but the question was a valid one.

"He tore out the throats of a pair of nurses. They took their time in dying."

Asa's eyes widened at this.

"It has something to do with the Crystal?"

"Yes. I'll explain later. Asa, grab her legs and we'll find a gurney."

******

The ER was a mess. The kitchen workers that had been attacked by the vampires were lying on gurneys and being worked on by frantic staff. Sheet covered forms told Udo and the new improved Scooby Gang that the medical staff had lost some of the fight. As horrifying as it was it didn't interest Udo at the moment.

"Luke, what's the story?"

Whip turned on hearing Udo's voice and went back to his conversation with one of the hospital's security guards. A hurried discussion ensued and ended with Whip having a satisfied look on his face. Taking his fellow Pale Men to one corner he started to fill them in.

"The security guards know a little bit about the 'situation' here in Sunnydale. The security tapes that show Josephus will be given to me as Federal Agent in Charge of this investigation. Don't give me that look Udo, I know what I'm doing. I have a lot more experience with Americans than you do. Anyway, we know he took a doctor hostage so I found out what I could about her.

She's still in college on a part-time basis and lives on the local campus. From what we could find out the car was heading in that direction."

Udo nodded. It was Josephus's way of thinking. If someone is following every move you make based on your personality then use someone else to make the decisions for a while. It's not a good leadership move but sometimes it's more efficient and safer.

"How far away is this campus?"

"That's not the problem. Sunnydale University is small by most American University standards but because it's Sunnydale its got an augmented security force. Nothing great but they could get in the way when we try and go for Josephus."

Udo heard the tone in Whip's voice. This was the thing he didn't like about his fellow Pale Man. It wasn't a big thing but Lucius Gratias Constantine, Whip to his friends, had this way of not telling you what he was going to do. You would have an idea that he was up to something and then he'd hit you with it, sometimes literally.

"What are you up to? We don't have time for detours or any of that crap?"

"Let me call one phone number. Maybe another call after that and then I'll be with you."

"Fine. Be quick."

******

The number hadn't changed in over fifty years, the prefixes had just been added on as Washington had moved out of its old city limits into the neighbouring states. Whip hadn't had much in the way to use it but when he had the results had been nothing short of spectacular.

"Pentagon Operator. How can I assist you?"

"Office of Management Analysis, please. Colonel Lucas Roosevelt calling."

"One moment please."

Some really crappy musak came over the line. Just as he identified it as Barbers Adagio for Strings a gruff voice came over the line.

"Sergeant Masters speaking. How can I help you sir?"

"Colonel Lucas NMI Roosevelt. Serial Number Alpha four seven two three Kappa four. Sunnydale, California. Possible Three with transport."

"One moment sir."

The hard part done, Whip relaxed. Even though he had an eidetic memory he could never get the serial number out without something going wrong.

"Sir. Go to 19 Wayborne Avenue. An ex-Gunnery Sergeant will meet you."

The Pale Man hung up. All in all the call had been less than a minute long and virtually untraceable, even by today's standards. And with what he had done, nothing could stop the Pale Men from killing Josephus now.

******

Whip walked away, leaving Udo fuming. Asa saw his friend's blood pressure almost visibly rise.

"And you say that Josephus has a bad temper?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You cannot control this situation. Leave it at that. I will check on the girls and those two Watchers upstairs. You take care of the Slayer and these 'Shield' men."

Udo took the suggestion gratefully and walked over to Nathan while Asa and his Brother went to check on the rest.

******

"How's the shoulder?"

Buffy looked long and hard at Faith before she decided to answer the question. A lot had changed in her fellow Slayer's life. Every time they had locked eyes before she had had to look away, the pain in Faith's eyes had been so apparent. Now the pain was lesser than before. Being with Joe, or at least being given some level of forgiveness had changed her.

* Hopefully for the better. *

"I won't be playing the violin for a few days, but otherwise I'm in minor grade agony. How's Xander?"

Faith welcomed the change in subject. She and Buffy had never really 'clicked' and trying to mend a non-existent relationship now would only take up time.

"The doctors are saying he can go home tomorrow. I gave him Udo's number for when he gets out."

Buffy shifted her weight again to ease off her shoulder and another set of bruises announced their presence. Udo stepped up and asked her Faith's first question. He got the same answer. But her question got him angry.

"Why are you hunting Josephus? I mean apart from the obvious reason."

Jamesy answered the question in an accent that belied his ratty look.

"Joe is attracting attention to us. The last thing we need is the federal authorities running around after someone who can get shot ten times and still is able to gut a dozen people. If they start looking the intelligence agencies and the military will start looking and stones will be overturned, unmasking our presence. And that is the last thing we need."

"The worse thing is not what he is but what he knows. There are secrets that are known only by the Pale Men and absolutely else. Not even The Powers That Be. And if some government got their hands on them, well, kiss your ass goodbye."

Udo nodded agreement.

"So you're hunting him down to protect your secrets?"

Udo and Jamesy turned to look into the face of a very pissed off vampire. Ash was standing just behind them, hands balled into fists and ready to use them, if need be. Jamesy raised his hand.

"He has secrets in his head, any one of which makes your Hellmouth small by comparison. All he has to do is go to a certain place and break a few things and Hell would stream back onto this world. And there would be nothing that even we could do."

Ash didn't let up. The dark haired vampire stepped forward, closer to the Pale Men, so they both could see how near she was to trying to kill them. Even when she knew that she wouldn't have a chance against them both.

"How did he turn like this?"

Udo nodded to Jamesy after a second. The short Pale Man took her by the arm and led her to a quiet corner, away from everyone. He turned about until no one but she could see his mouth.

"Asa can tell the story better but I'll give you the general details. Word came to the Pale Men that something was going to happen in Africa, something to do with a Hellmouth. Now, at any one time there is only one Hellmouth that can be accessed easily and at the moment the one in Sunnydale is it. Four hundred and twenty years ago, the Hellmouth was open about thirty days walk from Addis Ababa in Africa.

Josephus was pissed off with Europe and wanted to travel so he took one other Pale Man with him to check this warning out. It turns out he should have brought more Men with him. Anyway they ran into the last batch of Alsha demons. They're a type of vampire that's extinct now but back then they were shunned by all demons because they were too interested in dying."

"That doesn't sound that bad. Why didn't Josephus oblige them?"

"They wanted to take the world and Hell with them."

"Okay. Right. Total assholes then."

"On a scale you can't begin to imagine. Anyway, these creatures managed to bond their leader's essence with the temple that cloaked the Hellmouth. The demons were killed off but the additional evil focused on the Hellmouth started to open it. A spell was worked that focused that demonic essence into one fragment of rock; The Dark Crystal. Josephus immediately found out that touching the crystal infects you with the essence."

"How?"

"How do you think?"

"So what now?"

"We do what is necessary."

******

The car drove into the university grounds, stuttering and banging all the way. The girl was less afraid now or at least seemed to be. Joe had seen this in some people before. They tended to go all quiet and compliant after they had the absolute shit scared out of them. Sweat dripped down the girl's face as the car lurched into the start of another stall but she corrected quickly and the little machine chugged on. The first time she had nearly stalled the Honda had been at the exit of the hospital's car park and that had been too close to the other Pale Men for Joe's liking. He had Paled and the doctor had almost died from fright.

The grounds didn't look too bad. If push came to shove he could hide out in here for a couple of days and the Pale Men wouldn't be able to find him.

With a final crunch of the handbrake the car came to a stop in front one of the dormitories, or frat houses or whatever these Americans called them. Pushing open the door he pointed at the young woman and said one word to her.

"Stay."

Walking around to the driver's side of the car gave him the opportunity to see the lay of the land around his new home. A couple of small copses of trees, a small shed nothing major to worry about. The real danger lay in the building itself.

An old four-storey house, the dorm seemed to be half brick and half glass. Covering egress points, the entrances and exits, would be nigh on impossible. His only hope would lie in the fact that the place looked like it was occupied. As long as someone was around the Pale Men couldn't make any form of attack without attracting attention. Two people walking in wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary but ten armed men and women would stand out like a syphillic pecker in a convent.

******

The cameras followed Joe and his hostage as he walked into the building. A team was already on the move after the first pictures had been seen. Each lens on the cameras produced a spectrum of images ranging from infra red to ultra violet. And the images of Joe were the focus of some of the brightest minds in the world.

******

Udo wasn't exactly happy with the detour they had to make. The only thing that kept him silent was the possibility that Whip could drum up more support at this time. Taking one of the mobile phones and promising to get in touch when he had something Whip still said it might take a while. Meanwhile, Udo and the rest would go onto the University and check out this girl's address.

******

The team leader led his men in the back of the dorm, by one of the emergency exits. It took a few seconds to get their web harnesses and balaclavas on but the months of practise made their movements fluid. Dividing his team into two sections of four men each he led the one that ran up the stairs. The other section would work their way slowly to the front and cut off all exits. Another team, approaching from the outside, would provide sniper cover.

Reaching the third floor ahead of the target, the last of the intel filtered through the leader's earphones.

"Room 6, third floor. Windows at north and south ends of corridor. Stairwell exits into midpoint of corridor. Two cover points at Room 3 and Room 9. Both are open for repairs. Staff is not present at the moment. Beta team is in position covering outer perimeter."

Clicking the transmit button twice on his radio, he pointed and began to silently deploy his men. Two ran off to one end of the target corridor, the other would stay with him. One man ducked into the room labelled '3' and ran out with a dirty cloth. It took him a second to drape it over the window. The other man reached in and shifted a couple of paint cans out into the hall.

* Good idea. *

In seconds the natural light dimmed in the hall as another rag was placed over the south window behind the leaders position. Hopefully, even if the target saw the drapes, he would only think some redecorating was going on. Checking the charge on his gun he got a nod from his 'wingman'. The other man had a rifle loaded with darts containing a fairly powerful paralysing agent. It wasn't lethal to humans even with multiple hits but it worked fast, usually within seconds.

A thump echoed up from the stairwell, followed by the erratic click of shoe heels against the ground. Every few seconds the pattern would change as another turn in the stairs was reached. The leader cursed him self for not checking how far up the well the target and his hostage were.

As if they came from nowhere the two made the last turn and popped into view. The leader was using a dentist's mirror to cover what he could see in the hall and it didn't look good.

The target was beside the hostage, keeping her close with one arm over her shoulders and the other free arm holding a handful of her coat. A rising bruise on her face told the team leader that she had tried to make a run for it and this was his answer. Waiting until the pair was clear of the stairwell by several feet he fell out of the door and discharged his gun into the ceiling above the two.

The target's reaction was unbelievably fast.

His face blurred into a greyish white shade and the team leader acted. Aiming his gun at the demon's torso he squeezed the trigger. And he had to let go as the creature threw the girl ahead, into his line of fire. The creature kicked out at the door of one of the rooms, smashing it open. Pushing against the wall behind him he jumped into the room and out of sight. Darts from the rifleman peppered the walls and door as the demon flew through the opening.

And two hit it in the leg.

There was a roar of rage that got cut off as the door to the room slammed behind it. The team leader clapped his hand to his ear and shouted into his microphone.

"Beta Team. Hostile may try to leave building. Third floor, east side. Alpha Team, converge on third floor."

Within a few seconds all eight members of the team had both blasters and rifles aimed at the door. Repeated queries to the outer perimeter had come up with nothing. They hadn't even seen movement from the room.

"Send one man to the roof of the next building. Try to get a look inside."

"Aye sir."

There was a hiss in the earphones as another signal broke in. The dry authoritative tones of Command sounded in his ears.

"Alpha-six. You are out of time. Apprehend the STE now or pull back. We have word of a possible local authority approach."

"Understood."

Motioning his team into position, all four team members with blasters took aim at the door. It wouldn't damage the wood to any degree but if the creature were directly against it, it would get one hell of a shock.

The blasters fired and blue energy coursed across the wood, blackening it around the handle and hinges. A mute scream of pain came from the other side and a crash sounded. 'Alpha-six' kicked out and the door slammed open, revealing the creature lying on the floor, its clothes smoking. The team acted instinctively, firing shot after shot from their rifles until it was still.

"This is Alpha-six. Target is secured. Move in Sweep teams."

******

Xander struggled into his shirt, wincing as he stretched the wound in his side. The pain didn't really matter though because he was getting the hell out of the hospital as quick as that nurse with the wheelchair could carry him. He had one thing to do first. With one shoe in hand, he hopped over to the door and pointed to the payphone as the waiting nurse looked up.

"I just need to make a quick call warden."

Taking the scrap of paper that Faith had left him he started to dial the number. He stopped and thought for a second about the girl who had left this for him. When he had seen her she had looked peaceful. She was more relaxed and the anger that had always seemed to lurk beneath the surface was under control now. Or at least seemed to be. A voice on the line broke his train of thought.

"Yes. Hi, I'm looking for Faith. Is she there?"

"Who is this?"

"Tell her its Xander."

"Ah, the boy from the hospital. Is something wrong?"

Xander became worried.

"I was meant to call her when I was being released. She was supposed to pick me up."

"She's with the others. I take it that you are still at the hospital? I'll be at the main entrance in twenty minutes. Ciao."

******

Whip stood at the corner of the street, not too far from the old bungalow that was 19 Wayborne Avenue. It wasn't anything spectacular but Whip doubted that the house represented anything to begin with. It was just a place to meet, busy with lots of people but had great access and a motorway was straight down the road.

Slowly cruising past, a massive man leaned over in the drivers seat and flashed a small gold and red badge and then pulled into the kerb. Whip walked over and bent down to talk to the driver.

"I'm Roosevelt."

The large man nodded assent.

"I know. There is Federal identification in the back along with numbers to call in case you need some help. There is a black project in operation in Sunnydale that you can call on for delicate work. I have been told to tell you to avoid it but just in case, you have been given the Oversight contact codes for that base. No one will question them."

"Fine. And transport?"

The man got out of the car and handed him the keys.

"Goodbye."

Without another word he turned and walked into the midday crowd.

******

Whip was outside the hospital with time to spare. He waited until he saw a kid being wheeled out by a nurse and drove up. He leaned over and opened the passenger seat door, shouting out the boy's name.

"Xander. I'm Whip. One of Joe's Brothers."

Xander caught the use of the capital B and got out of the wheelchair with a wince of pain. Whip saw the flash of pain in the kid's face and winced in sympathy. He could still remember his first wound in battle and the pain that he had felt. For some reason the first is always the one that hurt the most, even if you got wounded ten times worse some time later.

"Get in. We have to go to the university. Quickly."

******

The convoy arrived at the university grounds just in time to see an ambulance pull away from one of the buildings. No one had to suggest going in that direction, they just knew that if someone needed an ambulance Joe had probably been behind it. But they weren't expecting what happened when they stepped out of the car.

The two vans pulled to a stop separated by one parking space. Everyone got out and stretched for a second before moving towards the dormitory entrance. And then the teams struck.

******

"Alpha-six. We have more hostile's approaching from the east. Intel suggests that we have possible hostage situation. Evaluate and report."

Leaving the Initiative ambulance, the young masked man ran back up the stairs towards the roof. Shouting into his mike, Alpha-six reached out to both Command and Team Beta.

"Team Beta. Provide covering fire from roofs of neighbouring buildings. Sweeper teams provide ground level containment. Alpha team, prevent the HST's from entering the building. Wait for my word."

Reaching the roof, he whipped off his balaclava and looked down. He was confident that even if the new targets saw him like this they would only think he was some student. The two vans pulled to a halt and all the passengers got out. A pair of girls ran forward and stopped at a faded shout from one of the men. All in all Alpha-six counted twelve targets. As soon as they were clear of the vans he spoke into his mike.

"Command. The targets are clear of the van. Do we have any further intel?"

The voice came back after a second.

"We are getting readings on three of the men, possible HST's. The smaller female in the dark clothes is a type three. Additional intel suggests that all the men bar two are armed. Orders are to capture all of them for containment."

The change in orders caught him for a minute. With the amount of people he had he could just about do it, but just about was not good enough.

"Sweep Team, Beta Team engage on my mark. Snipe only, do not expose your positions. Do not let the targets leave in the vehicles. Riflemen, use multiple hits on the possible HST's and dart all other targets as opportunity arises. Alpha Team, when the remaining targets attempt to enter the building, engage them. Do not wait for my signal."

The targets were nearing the front door of the building.

******

Udo shouted out to Faith and Ash as they ran forward.

"He might still be inside but I doubt it. Don't run off."

Walking forward he sensed that no one wanted to wait by the cars, which was good. If Joe was watching them, something he doubted, he could see that nicking one of the cars wouldn't be a possibility unless he had learned to hot wire lately.

Ash was touching the door when the shit hit the fan. Cracks appeared in the glass of the door and the vampire flinched in pain, as did Faith. Both crumpled to the ground and lay still. Giles and Wesley ran forward, trying to pull the girls away from the door, when more shots rang out knocking them to the ground as well. This time the fire came from the rooftops of the buildings surrounding them. Pulling free their guns, the Gang let loose with wild covering fire.

"Back to the vans!"

Turning back was no help either, as Udo saw. Two of Nathan's men were draped across the ground and another was falling beside him. Without a word, Udo held his hands up and let his pistol hang from one finger. The others followed him. Camouflaged men stood up from their hiding places and more shots rang out, dropping all the unarmed men to the ground.

******

Xander looked at the driver, a man he only knew as a Pale Man. He was holding a cellular phone to his ear and obviously waiting for someone to answer his call. And the waiting didn't seem to be a good thing. Slamming it down, the Pale Man slowly accelerated.

"So. You're a Pale Man. What's it like?"

Whip gave him a look that sort of said 'mind your own business' and 'now is not the time for stupid fucking questions' but it faded away when he saw the crystal around the boy's neck.

"Joe give you that?"

Fingering the crystal he nodded.

"It helps me remember."

"What?"

"Being a soldier."

Whip looked at him with amazement.

"You're only a kid!"

"We had this Halloween where everyone became what they wore. I was GI Joe."

"You were a real soldier? Weapons training and everything?"

Xander nodded.

"Interesting. Do you remember who you were?"

"I think I was a Sergeant Kyle Wattersil. I had a lot of weapons training. I have a question if you don't mind answering it."

Whip shook his head.

"I don't mind. Go ahead."

"Why are all you Pale Men so down in the mouth? I mean I've met a good few of you now and none of you are real party animal types, you know."

Whip turned back to looking at the road and thought about answering.

"We don't dream.

Well, that's not right. We dream but not like when we were human. As Pale Men when we sleep we relive the Turning. That's the spell that created the Pale Men, all of us. It's something that is full of pain and power and every night we are forced... no that's the wrong word... we are made to remember why we are here on this Earth.

We are the Pale Men.

We have been and are Death and destruction for any and all threats to humanity that have come and gone.

In short, if you fuck with us dig your own grave first.

Is that a good enough answer?"

Xander nodded and Whip turned back to driving the car. The conversation died a death after that. But that didn't matter since they had reached the university. Whip drove the car carefully and slowly through the gates, looking about.

"Just a quick question. When you use that crystal, do things appear different? As if you are looking through someone else's eyes?"

Xander's reaction was a sudden intake of breath.

"How did you know?"

"It doesn't matter now. Just do me a favour and use it."

Xander gripped the crystal and his perception shifted. Trees and bushes that he had dismissed before held a greater importance now. Each bit of foliage was classed as suitable or unsuitable for hiding. Buildings were assessed from the view of defence and attack positions.

And a lot stood out. Subtle little things like oversized security cameras with multiple lenses, gunshots ringing in the air and a couple of camo'ed up soldiers running into a car park. Whip slowed the car down for a second and then let loose a shouted curse before wheeling the car around and speeding for the entrance. He didn't even wait for the barrier to raise and crashed through it.

Driving and cursing for the better part of ten minutes, Whip wound his way through Sunnydale traffic before pulling into a multi-storey car park. He jumped out, grabbing a bag from the back seat and shutting the door. Xander got out of the car.

"What's wrong?"

Whip stared at him.

"I thought you were using the crystal."

"I was. I saw the soldiers. But why did you...?"

"Didn't you see them attacking Udo and the others? That must be the black op. Well fuck that for a game of soldiers."

The Pale Man stood there for a second scratching his chin.

"Okay. We find a place to hide. I can assume that they saw us arrive and they have both of our descriptions. They won't use the cops to find us but they will check out your place at the very least. We can't use a hotel. Any ideas? You can enter this conversation any time you like, you do know that."

Xander knew of only one place.

******

"Subject displays remarkable regenerative abilities. Her reaction to stimulus is well beyond the normal parameters of human physiology."

Faith could only hear the voice, coming from somewhere. It was hard to pin down where the speaker was because her vision kept dimming and changing focus without rhyme or reason. Her mind picked details out of what she could see and catalogued them without any real emotion.

Intra-venous drip and two saline bags.

Sterile whiteness of the room.

Clink of metal against metal.

"We will test the limitations of her regeneration by progressive tissue damage. Scalpel please."

******

Joe was strapped to an orthopaedic gurney in a cruciform position. The full extent of the damage to his back could be seen, massive wounds, blistered and raw. A medical technician leaned forward and probed one of the wounds while another watched. The Pale Man could only moan and twitch his shoulders with the pain. The second tech picked up a Dictaphone and spoke into it.

"CT scan indicates several small objects, probably crystalline in structure, embedded underneath the skin. Examination of the wounds precludes the possibility that this is anything but normal for this type of HST. Further examination will lead to sampling of this crystal."

He put the recording device down.

"Get authorisation from the Professor for exploratory surgery. From what I can see these crystals are promoting tissue growth at one hell of a rate."

******

"Preliminary tests indicate that these two subjects have identical DNA. The possibility of cloning has come about especially since one of these girls has American citizenship and the other has been in the British Isles.

Through further interrogation we have been able to assert that the majority of these individuals are English and are affiliated with the group known as the Watchers. This group has been recently exposed to public view in the United Kingdom so an in depth investigation will not be questioned."

******

Jamesy woke up and shook his head. The groggy feeling disappeared in a few seconds without any real effort.

"Good drugs."

Looking up he could see that the room he was in had one wall that was totally glass. The smell of ozone in the air told him touching the glass would probably be a stupid thing to do. But for the moment the glass was not on his mind. The far wall didn't seem to be a wall at all. There was clearance at the bottom, just barely enough to see into the next cubicle. The taloned toes of some demon stomped around on the other side.

"We know that you are not human. From what we can see you are some form of engineered creature. You will tell us who or we let this other in with you."

"I don't know..."

"Let it go."

The wall raised.

******

Whip was pissed off to say the very least.

This kid, Xander, had led him halfway across this little town to a run down mansion that had seen better days. The only sign that the place was anyway occupied was the fresh tire tracks in the mud of the driveway and the music blaring from an open window.

"I can see why you think this is a good place to hide."

Xander didn't respond to the obvious sarcasm.

"Angel. It's Xander."

He opened the door slowly and peeked in. He couldn't see Dead Boy around but the guy could do the appear-disappear trick right out of the movies.

"What do you want?"

Xander jumped and screamed in fright. Losing his balance he fell into the hallway and looked up at his challenger.

Intimidating couldn't cover what this guy was. Comical was the verb in question. Dressed in a pair of fluorescent boxers and a dirty T-shirt, the unshaven, barely awake form of Doyle towered over him with spatula in hand.

"I asked what do you want? Toast or coffee."

"A fresh pair of drawers."

"Don't go near Angel's stuff then. The guy has no taste in underwear."

Xander picked himself up off the floor.

"Where is Dead...?"

"I asked you not to call me that."

Both men jumped again and turned towards the voice. Angel was in the shadows just behind the open door. He reached forward to push it closed and stopped. Tilting his head slightly he spoke.

"Do you want to come in or not?"

Whip stepped in and nodded in the vampire's direction.

"So you're Angelus."

"I go by Angel now."

"I heard."

Whip walked in and put his back to Angel. Xander could tell by the expression on his face that the vampire took that to be a sign of contempt. Realising that violence could break out he decided to change the subject or at least bring one up.

"We need to stay hear for a while. Some soldier wannabe's at the university captured Giles and everyone else. We need to think up a plan to get them out."

"Why are you here then?"

Xander went to answer and realised whom had spoken.

"Buffy! You were in hospital."

"I heal quick. What's this about soldiers?"

Whip took time out from 'admiring' the décor.

"I heard that the government has a very black operation in place in Sunnydale. They are apparently investigating the military applications of trained demons. But I'd say it's more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"Consider the fact that the University is being used. They can bring in some very smart people and hide them in with other very smart people. The soldiers can be students or some kids from the nearby base doing courses. Smart."

Angel stepped forward and gestured in the direction of the University.

"You knew about this."

"Sort of."

Whip turned his full attention onto the group.

"Normally I'd do something about a thing like this in y own sweet time but this is different. No matter what happens with this 'Initiative' a lot, and I mean a lot of people are going to die. And you WILL be right in the middle of it."

******

The cells in the Initiative were spacious. Each 'special' member of the Gang had their own private suite while the humans were treated to the nicer view of steel bars. All in all the humans had the easier time of it. Jamesy was lying in a tattered heap in his cell, surrounded by bits and pieces of the Yorneth demon that had been sicced on him. Udo had a small mountain of vampire dust while Asa and Ash both had unnameable demon pieces surrounding them.

The white coats had really loved the results of their experiments.

Any attempt to communicate between the gang had been fruitless, even with basic sign language. It all had to stop when a gurney was wheeled by with Faith on it. She was drugged and lying face down, bloody bandages on her arms, back and legs. One of the nurses tapped the unconscious girl on the cheek.

"See you tomorrow morning, gorgeous."

******

Doyle drove Angels' car towards the University at a nice leisurely speed. All five of the gang had smartened up and got into cheap suits that Whip had bought or they already had. Doyle had cleaned up well but had already crumpled the suit up. Angel had changed into one of his old suits and Buffy had got into a look that she called 'spinster secretary from the Hellmouth'. The skirt had been tight enough she had barely been able to walk and Whip had told her to change it 'just in case we need those legs swinging higher than decency permits'. She had been happy with the change but that good feeling disappeared with Whip pulling out a gun.

"They'll expect Oversight officials to be armed. Guns and knives, nothing else."

Angel now sat in the back with Whip and Buffy, talking in whispers. Xander sat beside the half demon and quietly worried about the upcoming 'attack' on the Initiative.

Whip had made another mysterious phone call and left in Angel's car. The vampire had been reluctant to let him go but was too worried to leave the weakened Slayer alone. The Pale Man had returned less than an hour later with a bunch of schematics, still warm from being printed off. He had handed a smaller folder to Xander and had sent him off into the corner to read it.

The access points for the Initiative seemed to double for sewer access points, a very smart move on the designer's part. Everything was hidden in plain sight. Angel spent twenty minutes drawing up a plan to use these when Whip cut him off.

"When we go in, we are going in as Oversight. Do you know what that means?"

Buffy, Doyle and Angel all shook their heads. Xander didn't look up from his folder when he replied.

"You are essentially an Inspector General for a Black Op. If you find problems with the operation, that is with how it's run, it's security or anything major, you have the complete authority to sanction the operation."

Buffy looked at Xander with wide eyes and walked over to him. He was holding the crystal that Joe had given him and was reading from a folder that looked a lot like it was a student background file. She looked closer and read the name.

* Wattersil, Kyle Thomas. Sergeant, Unites States Army. *

The rest of the page had little acronyms and stuff like Fort Bragg, SC and JC Spec Ops, Spec Weps. She gave up and squatted down beside her friend.

"What's this Xander?"

"This is the life of that soldier that I became during That Halloween."

She nodded, remembering the incident and the now dead Ethan Rayne.

"He had been for Special Forces training and had most of it done but got washed out because of an accident. He stayed in the army and got training in Weapons. From what I can see here he was going to be groomed as an Armourer or something."

Xander went back to reading the file again and Buffy returned to the table and it's schematics.

"We should go in from the back. Once they see that I'm a vampire and that Doyle is half demon they'll throw us all in with the rest."

"They won't. Once we produce the Oversight codes, we could dress in tutus and waltz our way across their base to the tunes of AC/DC and they couldn't do anything to us. But my concern is not getting in, it's what we do once we are in."

Whip stood up straight and looked them all in the eye.

"I want this to be absolutely clear. When we go in you will do whatever I say, when I say it. If I say shoot someone you aim for the heart and pull the trigger. Understood."

Buffy went to shout at Whip for making such a suggestion but Angel put his hand on her arm. Doyle thumped his fist down on the chart and began to shout when an agonising pain shot through his head. Angel reacted with his vampire speed and grabbed his friend before he hit the ground. Buffy leaned forward to help the little Irishman and she gasped in pain as the bandages over her wound constricted. The Pale Man didn't know which of the two to help.

"What the hell is wrong with him?"

Angel answered Whip's question with a snarl in his voice.

"He has visions. The powers that be send them to him and I try to..."

The Pale Man nodded with a grimace on his face.

"I know the deal. It's happened a few times to me."

Doyle's vision stopped and he relaxed slightly, putting both hands over his face. He could only manage to whisper but everyone heard the plea.

"Drink."

Angel took a tumbler of scotch from a cabinet and handed it to his friend. His fellow Irishman gulped it down and his face twisted in disgust.

"For a fellow Irishman you have absolutely no taste in drink. I have to get you educated."

"What's the vision?"

"Ever the conversationalist. There is something evil afoot in Sunnydale and it is right here."

******

The University looked as deserted as it had the day before but they all knew that this was a lie. The sky was just beginning to redden with the rising sun when the car pulled up in front one of the newer dormitory cum fraternity house. Angel ran in with Buffy and Doyle while Xander and Whip strolled in. They had both spotted signs of the fight that had claimed their friends the day before but they had ignored them as best they could.

It didn't take any great reasoning to realise that the cameras would have picked up both Angel and Whip by now. The description of the base had included a very nice section on security and the camera's abilities.

Whip walked inside and saw that a few 'students' were up and waiting for them. The kids looked as if they had been woken up ten hours too early, which they probably had been. Their superior had seen Whip's destination and warned the soldiers who were smart enough to know that a Hostile Sub-Terranean, or HST as they called them, was unlikely to make trouble at this time.

"Can we help you? If you're looking for the reception, you go..."

"Can the crap for the tourists, Agent Simms. We are Oversight."

Simms flinched and almost stood at attention for a second but stopped himself.

"I'm sorry. You must have the wrong place."

"What? Did Professor Walsh wake you up too early? Is your brain still scrambled from yesterday's capture? DO ME A FAVOUR AND WAKE UP, BOY! I am going down to The Initiative and you will do me a favour and open the door. My retinal imprint isn't stored on file."

The young soldier stepped back and another young man took his place. A six-foot plus blond wall stepped into Whip's view.

"I am Agent Riley Finn, sir, leader of..."

"Alpha squad. Yes, I know. And if you don't get out of my way I will have you posted to either Alaska or Death Valley, whichever is your preference."

Finn stepped back and gestured towards the stairs and the entrance to the Initiative. Whip motioned to his little gang to follow and led the way past the stairs to the mirror that masked the elevator. He held up his hand and beckoned Finn and Simms over.

"Eyes wide gentlemen. Look into the mirror or see your future disappear."

By now the two were intimidated enough to realise that Whip was who he said he was. But they would have a chance to find out. No sooner than they had all stepped into the machine and the doors had closed when a voice sang out.

"Enter authorisation code."

Whip turned and checked one wall and then another before pulling open a panel. A keyboard was exposed and he tapped in a ten-digit code. The voice sang out again with a 'Clearance Level Sanction. Key personnel have been notified.'

"Now, Agent Finn, that I have passed that little test you will oblige me by naming your posting of choice. You can get back to me by the end of the day."

Doyle smothered a chuckle but not very well. He got a tiny glare from the two soldiers that died when Whip looked at them.

"Doyle. Can it or you can join them."

The half demon stared at him for a moment before realising he was the butt of a joke. He glared at the vampire and the Slayer before realising that they were smart enough not to get caught.

"Sir. My apologies."

"Good."

The lift glided to a halt and opened up to expose the Initiative in all its glory.

It was a cube, plain and simple. The walls were buttressed with heavy steel girders and all the walls had a shiny film covering them. The floor had a large hole cut into it and from the surgical equipment in the centre it served as an observation deck for surgical procedures. Coming out into the central floor area the gang and it's two escorts walked towards a group of white coated doctors and lab technicians who were gesturing at someone strapped onto a gurney. Buffy gasped as she saw that it was Faith.

One of the coats heard the gasp and turned about. It was a small woman with greying hair. Her face was cold and severe, entirely without emotion. A little tag on her coat said 'Walsh'.

******

Maggie Walsh had spent the better part of the last day overseeing the progress of Project 314. The crystals that had been harvested from Subject One's back had done remarkable things for enhancing the regenerative abilities of 'Adam' and replaced his power core in one fell swoop. At first she had thought that progressive layers of shielding would have to be used to keep the cyborg alive if injured but with those crystals...

For some reason yet to be determined they gave off unprecedented levels of ultra low frequency radiation that stimulated tissue growth. And if it was in contact with tissue the level of radiation was higher. After basic testing she had ordered her 'baby' opened up and the crystal placed into his cranial cavity. The original problems they had had with the machine-human neural interface had made the project so much scrap. Since the procedure, neural readings had been off the scale.

She heard someone gasp behind her and whirled around to see Finn and Simms, two of her better agents, with the bunch of HST's and humans that had entered the university only a few minutes ago.

"Agent Finn. I see you caught the HST's. Good work. Escort them to the holding area."

Whip turned to the blond soldier and held up his hand.

"Agent Finn. Disregard that order. You and your team are assigned to me for the foreseeable future."

The Pale Man turned back to the doctor.

"Professor Walsh. As of now, I am in command of this facility. I am Oversight."

The woman's head jerked up at the word 'Oversight' but her expression didn't change.

"Do you have proof? Orders?"

Whip stepped past the woman and over to a bank of consoles. A single soldier was sitting down on front of them, monitoring the security cameras, Whip caught his attention and asked him a question.

"Secure communication console or management console."

The soldier looked back at the Professor for permission and got a nod. He gestured to one of the keyboards.

"That monitor gives you access to all functions of this facility."

Whip bent over and tapped into the keyboard.

* Oversight. Shadow Man. Delta X-ray 47. *

The monitor blinked and a few words came up.

* Clearance Level, Oversight. Full project and Room access. *

The Professor leaned over and read the words, her expression darkening as she read and spoke every syllable. She stood up and nodded to the soldier.

"Call the staff..."

"Belay that. Professor, I give the orders. Soldier, order the immediate suspension of all investigative surgical activities in this facility. If anyone fails to comply, notify me. Get that girl cleaned up and released."

Whip took the Professor by the arm and guided her away from the soldier who was bent over a console and talking into a phone.

"Show me your holding areas and then 314."

******

The woman spent a few minutes trying to stop Whip from bringing his people into the holding area, especially Angel. Her only reaction to having the vampire around was to subtly try and warn the guards. Whip took care of that.

"As of now this is a purely military operation. You will take orders only and I mean only from me. I will determine the status of the civilian staff at a later date. Spread the word."

As they walked past each of the cages, Whip got more and more pissed off. The vampires and demons that were kept here were more of a risk than any of these military pricks could imagine. He stopped walking and gathered his group around him.

"Doyle, Angel, Harris, take your time and go through these creatures. Determine which can be released safely and which can't. Make a note of the ones you can't. We'll meet again in ten minutes."

"You can't do that. These are dangerous creatures. If they get loose they'll kill innocent people."

"Shut up and come with me."

Whip grabbed her elbow and tugged her over to a vicious creature with long claws on its feet and hands. Massive flat teeth protruded from its jaw.

"That is a Vor'kish'nel. It is a herbivore that would die before attacking someone mainly because its heart is too weak. The only reason its still alive is probably because you have it doped to the gills. Correct?"

The Professor nodded clumsily, stunned by the sudden rush of information. They had arrived at the same conclusion after about a week of studying the creature. She pulled her arm free of the Pale Man's.

"What are you? You're not human. The monitors showed that much at least."

Whip smiled coldly and gripped her arm again, only this time she wouldn't be able to shake herself free.

"I was once as human as you were and now I protect people from stupidity like this. And I was given the authority by four Presidents of the United States to determine certain types of threat to the security of this country. If you want the exact wording, it states 'clear and present danger to the National Security of the United States of America.' And if determine that this place has created shit that can hurt this country I will personally crucify your skinny little ass. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"

The woman nodded her head just as Alpha Team stepped up. Whip looked at them and liked what he saw. Six people who would do what the hell they were told.

"Whip. Is that you, you dozy bollix?"

Whip's head shot around in amazement.

"Joe?"

"End of the corridor. Across from the thing with the tentacles."

Whip and Buffy ran to the end of the corridor and looked in at the Pale Man. Joe looked like crap but the marks that had covered his face were gone. His torso had been wrapped in bandages that had flecks of blood on them.

"They took the Dark Crystal out. The biggest bits anyway. I honestly don't know what they did with it."

Whip smiled and put his hand out to touch the glass of the cell screen. Joe and Finn shouted out.

"Don't touch it!"

Whip caught himself and looked at the agent in amazement. Walsh was also looking at the soldier but with hatred in her eyes.

" Something has to be done about that poisonous bitch. *

"Agent Finn. Pick one of your men, please."

The soldier looked worried for a second and pointed to a large bald young black man.

"This is Agent Forrest."

"Agent Forrest. Are you armed? Good. You and my assistant, Miss Summers, will escort the Professor to a cell and lock her in there. Then you will return here. If she at any time attempts to escape or orders you to release her, you will take your gun out and shoot her. If you do not Miss Summers will take your gun, shoot you and then her. And if you manage to survive THAT fateful experience your next posting will be Anchorage. Now go."

He nodded to Buffy and the three walked off.

"Now to business. You captured a bunch of HST's and others yesterday. You will personally take me to each of them and set them free."

******

Buffy walked past the entry point for the holding cells with one eye on Walsh and the other on the soldier. He looked reliable enough and had been fairly wide eyed when Whip had talked to him. Walsh was another story altogether. The woman's eyes were going all over the place, obviously looking for some way out of this.

* As if. Whip pretty much gave everyone in this place a major wiggins. *

A sudden tug on her arm unbalanced her and a hard push threw her against the wall. She fell against the wall and saw Walsh running off. A quick look at Forrest saw the soldier standing there with his hand on his holster, gun half-drawn. The indecision on his face was clear to see and put him out of the picture for the moment. Buffy took off after the Professor at full Slayer speed. Heavy thumps behind her signalled Forrest getting into the chase.

As soon as Buffy entered the central area she saw Walsh standing over by a door that had the words 'Secure Area' written on it. The woman was swiping some card through a slot and hitting a few keys. The Professor saw her coming and pushed the door open with a massive effort and slammed it shut behind her just as Buffy arrived on scene. The triumph on the woman's face was plain to see. Forrest came up behind her, breathless from the run, and saw the Professor duck into another room.

"How do we get in?"

Forrest gave her a puzzled look.

"Don't you have a key card? It's the only way to get in."

"Let's get back to Wh... Oversight."

She ran as hard as she could, the soldier following behind.

******

Walsh entered Room 314 and slammed this second door behind her. Swiping her card again she effectively sealed the room to everyone, including Oversight. The room was sterile, like so many others in this facility, but for all of its size this single small room was the focus of every single person in the Initiative.

Even if they didn't know about it.

Banks of computers, medical and otherwise covered one wall while the back and other side was purely medical instruments. But those were just tools. The fruit of the project lay on a gurney in the centre of the room, a large operating light shining down on it.

'It' was humanoid, just over six feet in length. Heavily built it was a blend of the most powerful weapons on earth: A human mind and a demonic body. Sections of the body were covered with metallic plates and one side of the creature's chest had a floppy disc drive built in. But the prize 'addition' couldn't be seen. A plate of crystal, newly installed, was turning this hodgepodge of parts into something that would have the fluidity of movement that any natural creation would have. Unhooking an IV drip from her pet project's arm she only had one thought.

* At last, humanity beats nature. *

Running to a chest of medicines she pulled free an ampoule of some clear liquid and filled a syringe from it. Satisfied with the amount she had of the substance she went to the creature's side and injected it with the liquid.

"Soon you'll get rid of those... creatures and all will be back to normal."

Twitches of movement played over the thing's body as the chemical took effect. Suddenly, without warning it shot up into a sitting position and looked down at her. For one moment she felt fear as she remembered the last time those eyes had held life.

******

The Initiative had barely been operational a month and already teething problems were causing headaches. Most of the weapons that the project had been issued with were useless against the HST's and casualties were coming in. But that was expected and wanted.

The first fatality was what they were looked for. Something that would allow them to harvest a body and give them the opportunity to begin the melding of man, machine and HST into the perfect creation, the perfect soldier.

They lucked out.

Agent Marcus Grierson was attacked by multiple HST's not too far from the campus by a couple of vampires. The funny thing was that he was coming back from a hot date, not on Initiative business. Fellow Team mates had run to his rescue but had been unable to stop the creatures from fatally wounding him. They had returned to the facility as fast as they could but his heart stopped. Professor Walsh, in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, attempted to save him by using the more advanced technology in the Secure Area but they failed. The doctors hadn't been able to save him.

At least that is what they said.

As soon as his body had entered the secure area, he had been stabilised. Hooking up a couple of million dollars worth of life support equipment to the body they had begun an unbelievable amount of psychological retraining. Within a week his memory was purged of identity and everything that went with it. By the end of the first month the first grafts took place.

And now after two years of pain, it was done.

******

"Hello Professor Walsh. How nice to see you again."

She stared in horror as she realised that she had failed. She felt his hands grab her throat and felt something rip. Her vision went slowly, her eyes lazily focusing on nothing in particular as blood shot across her creation's face.

******

Udo, Asa and Whip stood together with Joe and waited until Jamesy had scraped the last pound of demon goop from under his shoe.

"Sorry lads. I would have done it sooner but there wasn't exactly someplace clean to do it in there."

The former Englishman flicked away the last drops and went over to the four.

"Right we can start the shouting now. Or even better, we ask questions and the lost boy gives us yes or no for answers. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded and Udo started off, looking Joe in the eye.

"Did you kill those nurses? The ones in the blood bank?"

Joe shook his head.

"Who did?"

"One of the vampires. I told her to leave them and run with the blood bags but she killed them anyway. I killed her for disobeying me."

"You know that you should have destroyed that crystal ages ago. I always said it was too much of a danger."

The Pale Man reacted angrily to the statement.

"Oh come on. You know as well as I do that that crystal would attract some form of life if I just left it somewhere. The demon's essence would take it over and go in search of something to kill and keep on going. Keeping it with me was the only safe option and you know that."

Joe felt a pair of hands grasp him from behind and he realised he had been on the verge of attacking his Brother.

"Sorry. The effects of the crystal are still with me but not as much now. I'm sorry for the nurses but at the time they were nothing to me. I knew that you'd be after me so I was going to create enough chaos here in Sunnydale to keep you here for a while and then I was going to make a run for it. At least that was what I was telling myself."

Asa let go of his Brother and then hugged him.

"Welcome back to the Pale Men, Brother."

"Thank you Asa."

Another cell opened not too far down the hall and two identical girls stepped out, both dressed in hospital gowns. The one with short hair ran forward and threw herself into Joe's arms.

"You're alive!"

"And you're flapping in the wind."

Jamesy pointed to the back of the gown and the vampire's face went bright red from embarrassment. Willow kept her back to the walls and jumped away from one when a wolf whistle startled her. She took a look at her 'admirer' and saw it was a four-foot high blue thingy with human like features. She went to shout at it when an angry voice drew her attention.

"It took you long enough to get us out, demon!"

Nathan Pryce was not a happy man. Ever since these freaks, the Pale Men, had come into his life, things had very quickly gone to shit. The worst was taking the crap from this bunch of American boy scouts. He was going to give them a piece of his mind when the Slayer ran up.

******

The Slayer ran as fast as her feet could carry her, back into the holding area. She hoped that the gang wasn't off in some remote end of it because it would take ages to find them. From what she could remember of the look on Walsh's face, time was not a luxury they had. She turned a corner just in time to see the last of the Watcher's Shield being set free. The Pale Men, all five of them, stood together and talking quietly.

"She got away. She went into some place labelled secure area."

Forrest came up behind her.

"The prisoner escaped sir. Your agent failed to fire on her."

Whip gave the soldier a look that brought the man to attention.

"I remember something about ordering YOU to shoot her if she tried something. I did not give my agent permission to discharge her firearm unless you tried something. You can pick your posting later. But first you can tell me something: Where is the Professor?"

Still from a position of attention the agent answered.

"Secure Research Wing One sir. None of the Teams have access unless escorted."

"Is room 314 in there?"

The soldier hesitated and then began to stare at something over Whip's shoulder. The Pale Man heard Finn answer the question

"Yes it is."

******

The creature had revelled in their first moments of 'life' reliving the memories of two lifetimes. The man that had been Marcus Grierson had had some amount of fun in his time and the Alsha demon saw all of the wonderful toys that the man had been given access to.

* Guns, tanks and bombs... oh my. Ha! *

They swung their legs down to the ground and stood unsteadily. Kicking the corpse of the Professor, their 'creator' aside they tottered over to a mirror and were amazed at the sight of their face. Crude lines that marked the blending of human and demonic flesh were etched over every part of their body. Raising their arms they could see the patchwork of colours that had represented a dozen species of supernatural creature. Their hands traced the lines of muscles along their chest and collided with a part that was not organic.

The slot was strange until a memory surfaced from the human side.

* A floppy disc. *

Looking around the room they spotted a box that stood out from everything else. The numerals '314' were etched into the front and sides. Opening the box they reached in and took out one of the little squares of plastic. They plugged it in.

******

"Finn. Find me one of the senior physicians. And fill him in on what I will do to him if he fucks with me. Xander, go with him."

The agent didn't move.

"Sir. You should be fully aware of the project and what it entails. You are Oversight, aren't you?"

"Enough of your lip. Maggie Walsh, in her infinite wisdom, has been fucking with this program from the start. And it is now time to shut it the fuck down. Get out of my way."

He pushed past Finn and the rest of Alpha team. Everyone followed, more out of curiosity than anything else. He entered the central area and walked right back to the console he had been on only a short time ago. He picked up one of the phones and handed it to the technician.

"Two things. First Dial the Pentagon. Then ask the operator for the Office of Management Analysis."

The technician went through the motions and handed the receiver to the Pale Man. He in turn placed the phone down and hit the speaker button.

"Masters."

"Roosevelt One Alpha. Shadowman. Declaring a Class One event."

"Go ahead."

"Site of the event is in Sunnydale, California. Project is called The Initiative. This facility is a danger and is to be put under a Probationary Asset Sanction and an Extreme Facility Sanction. I would also advise that an immediate Sanction on the committee that developed, authorised and supervised this facility."

"Your advice is noted. Checking. Hold for one minute."

Whip turned the volume up on the speaker when he heard the man come back on the line.

"By authorisation of National Security Directive Forty Seven, the Initiative is now a non- viable entity. As such, all data and research compiled so far will be turned over to Colonel Roosevelt. This facility will be shut down and all staff will wait for a debriefing team. ANY personnel who disobey this order will be subject to immediate termination. The controlling committee has been advised of their status and is taking their own measures to finish this project. End call."

Whip smiled nastily at Agent Finn.

"That good enough for you, Sunny Jim? Now get off your high horse and get Walsh. The rest of your team will gather up the scientists and push them around until they cough up everything about this place. Harris, is your team finished?"

Xander came forward with Doyle and Angel. If the half demon could look any shiftier he'd have been in a cheap Mafia film. Angel kept looking around as if waiting for something to jump out. The vampire leaned towards Whip and whispered to him.

"I don't like this. You're losing focus. Doyle's vision said..."

"314 is our next stop, Angel. Don't worry."

The Pale Man motioned Finn and Nathan over.

"Agent Finn this is Mister Pryce. You and your team will take him and his men to the armoury and kit them out. Then you will come back here and begin the processing of the HST's and the destruction of the research material. Bring additional ordinance for these other men and myself."

The Pale Man raised his voice.

"The remaining combat teams will proceed to the holding cells and begin disposing of the HST's there. These three agents will instruct you on what to do."

He pointed to Angel and the other two.

"All research and scientific staff will collect all data and return it to here. ALL data, ladies and gentlemen. Failure to comply with this order will result in immediate termination. GO!"

Nathan and the Shield men ran off with Alpha squad. Whip knew that it would take a good while for them to fully change and arm themselves. If Nathan was smart, and Whip could guess he was, the former soldier would just go for the weapons and leave everything else. He started to watch the organised chaos that he had unleashed.

******

When the announcement went over the speaker system, Buffy tugged Xander's sleeve to get his attention.

"What's up with all the military squeak? I thought that as soon as we were done we'd be out of here."

Nathan Wyndam-Pryce answered her question.

"Your Pale Man just levelled a death sentence on this place. When you Americans say those words 'National Security' all rules are off. By right, your friend could take any of these doctors or soldiers and shoot them out of hand. He'd have to have a good enough reason but no one would really stop him."

Buffy was shocked.

"He wouldn't do that?"

Nathan smiled thinly.

"If he's smart he should threaten one, maybe wound him. It would make the rest fall in line."

The sincerity in the Watcher's voice was awful to listen to.

******

The creature finished the last of the discs, throwing it to the ground.

* Such a wealth of information. *

The discs had contained mostly information on how to kill HST's, the final product of hundreds of Initiative Combat Team reports. One of the discs had been the Table of Organisation for the Initiative, Professor Maggie Walsh herself on the top. It had even held a document to the creature himself, explaining that his name was 'Adam'. He understood the symbolism.

* So full of herself. We can remember that, can't we. *

Moving to the door, the creature stopped with their hand on the doorknob and listened for a moment to the message that was being played over the PA system. When it ended, the creature nearly twisted the knob off with rage.

* You human scum. Try and destroy your better. *

Going through the schematics in their head again, the creature entered the hallway and moved deeper into the Secure Area. Laboratories lined the length of the corridor, all the rooms containing the experimental work that had led to the creature's creation. He stopped for a second and thought.

* I am two in one body. What could be a more fitting name than Janus could? *

Chuckling to themselves, they opened the door to a room labelled security and surprised the technician there, killing him with the swing of a taloned hand.

******

Everything was going to plan.

So far the doctors and scientists had turned up a whole list of data, both hard and soft copy. After the first few boxes had been thrown down, Joe had made a remark about 'the bastards are probably lumping down blank crap on us'. Wesley and Giles, just out of their shared cell, were now picking up the odd box and leafing through the contents.

He'd been thinking about what do with all of this stuff and Udo had come up with a suggestion. Boxes of sheets and discs were now being piled into the central chamber and one of the combat teams was dropping the stuff into the Pit. As soon as the last of the research material was in, Whip was going to dump liquid nitrogen in on top of it. The chemical wouldn't cause a fire or anything, just make all the material as brittle as hell. He'd have the entire group of Combat Teams and the Watcher's Shield Team empty a couple of magazines and a grenade or two into the pile.

All the stuff would break into shards or burn. Or so Udo said.

Joe sat down on a gurney beside Faith. Both of them were as groggy as hell from the sedatives that had been pumped into them but their attitude was still as bad as ever. As soon as Faith had woken and stopped puking her guts up she had grabbed the technicians who had experimented on her and broken their arms. Joe had been stopped from doing their legs.

Asa and Jamesy were dealing with Willow and Ash, trying to find them clothes. After the little 'flapping in the wind' remark, two of the doctors had been relieved of their lab coats. Now the two Pale Men were trying not to laugh while the searched through the place.

Xander, Angel and Doyle were dividing up the remaining teams into groups with Agent Finn helping. The soldier seemed to be in his element organising people. The majority of the men would be escorting the harmless ones to the surface. The rest would be... dealt with.

But even though the place looked like the model of efficiency, the pall of the 'death sentence' was still in the air. Whip decided to let them off the hook a little. He grabbed the microphone for the PA system and clicked it on.

"People, your attention please."

When he saw the majority of heads turn in his direction he started.

"I am pleased by the level of commitment that you have shown to this project, even after you and others have given so much for it. Once this facility is closed, you will be assigned new posts that will reflect the reward that you all truly deserve. Thank you."

* As if I give a swinging fuck about this place. *

He cut the power to the mike and through it back to the Comms tech. The combat teams moved off with Xander, Doyle and Angel in the lead. Buffy glanced at the Pale Men before following her two friends. Jamesy went up to Whip and Udo with a problem.

"I honestly think we should take better steps in getting rid of the computer discs. We should..."

Joe butted in from his seat on the gurney.

"Before we get into the merits of disposal systems could you please tell us how the fuck you got involved with the United States Government."

"You never used to curse this much."

"Two things. The first: Bite me. The second: Don't try and change the subject. If I have to explain myself about the Dark Crystal you have to spill about the 'Colonel Roosevelt' bit."

Whip sighed and felt his life get complicated.

"Remember when we got that warning during World War Two..."

"Which one? Remember we had one in Mexico over that Inca's stuff, the Hellmouth in Africa again and the Chinese one."

"The Chinese one. And if you interrupt me again I'll break your kneecaps."

Ash and Faith butted in.

"Over my dead body..."

"You'll already dead. You're supposed to say 'over his dead body'."

"Right okay. Are we finished? Because I want to get this story done with. I went from Mexico to America looking for a way to get to China when the FBI picked me up. They took one look at my fake papers and bang, I'm in jail. Anyway the long and short of it is, I got into a big fight in prison and Paled. After slapping the crap out of a few bastards the Army comes along and proposes experimenting on me. I break a few more legs and arms and next thing you know I'm talking to President Roosevelt who's asking me to fight for my country.

I decide to risk it and tell him some of what we are and he sees I'm lying slightly. I then give him the whole story including the spiel on the Chinese bit. I tell him that the Japanese have sent an army into the Gobi Desert looking for an ancient weapon. He hums and haws so I Pale on him. He still doesn't believe me so I drag a few of his Secret Service guys out into Washington and capture a vampire, bring it back and get it to beat a couple of his guys about. Then I kill it.

That sort of makes up his mind and I get hooked up with the 'Colonel Roosevelt' name and with a group called the Marine Raiders. We go into China, the Gobi Desert, and wipe out the small army. We go back to America and that's when Roosevelt creates The List. It's an Agency that's completely off the books. It monitors anything that might be supernatural and makes sure that certain other Agencies keep well clear of demonic things.

End of story."

Willow and Ash pipe up. The vampire nods to her living twin, who speaks up.

"I read somewhere that ten thousand Japanese walked into the Gobi and were never seen again. You killed ALL of them."

Whip shook his head.

"Nah. They weren't ready for the Gobi. They ignored the locals and went in thinking it was a desert type desert, all hot and everything. They lost half of their men to the cold and frostbite and their commander wouldn't let them go back because he had a hard on for the weapon. When we arrived there was only a couple hundred left. We hit the commander and his staff and took their maps. The rest got lost and died."

The PA system squealed as someone went to announce something. Whip groaned as he felt his life getting complicated.

* I am going to shoot the fucker that... *

"Thank you for such a stirring speech earlier, human."

Whip's head shot up and he looked behind him. The tech was batting away at buttons trying to shut the speakers down. He looked to his Brothers and saw the same shock on their faces.

"We have decided that we like this place, and of course you and your Bothers, so much, that we all should stay here and have a party. SO, all the exits are sealed. And since most of the invited guests are all locked up we thought they should be allowed to join the rest of us."

Alarms blared from over the holding bay entrance as the cell doors clicked open. Then all hell broke loose.

******

The two separate bays of holding cells were designed like three figures of eight placed side by side and separated by heavy doors. That way if the system went down in one section the other two could be separated from the rest. Xander and Angel's original plan, hatched with Doyle throwing in the odd stupid suggestion, had been to deal with one bay first, separate into teams and take care of the hard to kill demons first. But one of Doyle's ideas had hit home.

"Say if you're a demon, pacifistic and all that, and you saw a bunch of demons being dragged off by GI Joe types and killed. And then you saw the same GI Joe's coming towards you...?"

Now all of the combat teams were in one group led by a very weird quintet. A vampire with a soul and no sex life, a half-breed Irish demon with seer's abilities, a nerdy boy with the memories of a fifty year old soldier, a five foot three tall vampire Slayer and a post graduate secret agent. They came to the first lot of cages and stopped. Buffy turned to the soldier.

"Ok, what's the deal? How many do we have to take care of?"

"The facility is at capacity now so we have four hundred HST's on hold at the moment."

"You make it sound like they're on the phone or something. They are living..."

She spotted a vampire in one of the cells.

"Well some of them are."

Angel caught her attention with a raised hand.

"Buffy. We can deal with that later. First we get rid of the tame ones and then deal with the others. Xander, take a couple of your men and clear out the ones we marked earlier. Once you're done we can start on the others."

Finn walked over to the first cage and keyed in a code. A cage door rattled open and a small demon poked its head out.

"Can I go home now?"

Suddenly alarms began to ring and the crack of glass was deafening as every cell door in the Initiative opened as one. Snarls and roars sounded as every demon suddenly realised it had a chance for freedom and flooded the hallways, looking for the exits.

The Watcher's Shield and the soldiers acted by instinct and opened fire, cutting down the demons they could with the conventional weaponry. Others ran on and were met with shot after shot from the Initiative's blasters.

But there was too many.

******

The Agents in the central area heard the crash of the cells opening and realised the sound for what it was. The Pale Men got the idea when they saw the first of the demons stream from one holding bay door and go right for them. The five warriors didn't bother waiting. Whip Paled first and launched himself feet first into a Yenthex demon's horned face. The others did much the same in their own styles but Joe balked and got tackled for his troubles.

Udo got to his feet and kicked hid demon in the face repeatedly. Once he would have thought this a low and undignified form of fighting but being outnumbered did that to you sometimes. When he heard the things double spine snap under the force of his blows he ran to the nearest gaping soldier.

"Get all of your men, civilian and military and get them armed. NOW."

The man twisted from his grip and ran right for the armoury with a few others in tow. Udo didn't bother seeing if they made it. He was too busy trying to win his newest fight.

******

The bullets ran out pretty quick in the face of demons that weren't affected by bullets. Blasters took them down but each successive wave got closer and closer. Doyle emptied the last of his bullets into one Asquanmet demon's face, seeing the white of it's snout come apart as he shot it. He screamed when his gun locked open.

"We need to get out of here!"

He turned to run and saw that the other side was in the same position. Someone pushed him from behind and he turned to shout at the man when he saw a wounded soldier fall to his knees after rebounding off of Doyle's back. The Irishman lifted him up and took him into one of the empty cells, out of the lines of fire outside. Whipping his jacket off he held it to the wound and pressed his hand down on it.

Weakly the soldier nodded towards the fight outside and Doyle could see another man fall, this time one of the older men, a Watcher. The half-breed waited for all of a second before running to aid the man.

******

The fight in Central wasn't going much better. A second wave of demons flooded into the area, overwhelming the few people that were there. The lucky remainder, including the Pale Men, Faith, Ash, Willow and the two Watchers managed to beat the few creatures that came against them by sheer luck. The soldiers returning from the armoury came out and began to shoot randomly at anything that came their way. Half of their bullets were flyers, missing their targets by feet and not inches.

Whip ducked under a blow and sent his attacker flying with a punch to the head. In a fight like this he had to use his head a lot, trying to remember where a particular demon was weakest. A Yenthex ran past him for Willow who was swinging an IV stand into some poor demonic fool's head. The Pale Man lashed out and broke its knee, sending it to the ground. Another bullet whined past overhead and he flinched. Udo shouted to him.

"We have to do something about those kids with the guns?"

"Right. I'll sort it out."

He ran into the mass of demons struggling with each other and the few remaining personnel of the Initiative who were still alive. He swung his fist and knocked a vampire off a white-coated doctor and dragged the man along the ground until he found his feet. Another clot of demons ran towards him and he knew that reaching the soldiers was impossible. Then a shout came from behind him and Joe ran by, blood showing through the bandages, stark against the white of his Pale skin and the cloth. The injured Pale Man catapulted himself into the demons and tore them down.

Whip made for the opening that his Brother had made and pummelled his way through to the soldiers. Turning back to his human form before he entered the calm area around the soldier guns he pushed the doctor ahead of him, more of a shield against a stray shot than trying to save the man's life.

The soldiers were wild eyes and nervous, which was a bad sign. Their training had never covered something like this and direction was something they needed before they could be useful again. Whip did a quick head count and ended up with an uneven eleven. He grabbed the first four and tugged them to one side.

"You make sure none of them get within ten feet of here. Do not shoot at those people over there."

He gestured to his Brothers and the girls with them. He could see that Wesley was down and Giles was standing over him trying to deflect any blows sent the unconscious man's way. Tearing his gaze away from his friends he grabbed another load of soldiers.

"You five cover the exit to the surface. No rock and roll, aim at the legs or head."

They started to do what they were ordered to do, until they all saw one of their fellow soldiers being attacked. Whip recognised the attacker as a vampire and jerked a gun out of one soldier's hand, firing it into the vampire's head. It collapsed under the pain of the damage inflicted on it and the soldier rolled free and ran towards them, making it to relative safety.

"Get back to what I told you to do. The rest of you, back to the armoury and get as much weaponry and ammunition loaded as you can."

He pointed to the new arrival.

"You load as many pistols as you can and get them into a bag. A few extra magazines wouldn't hurt. You have two minutes. You other two get rifles ready for at least another dozen people."

The three ran through a door and the others kept firing, this time hitting and dropping some targets.

******

Doyle dragged another injured man into the cell. The count was five now, with another two dead, and the rifles were almost out of ammo. The blasters had long run out of charge, forcing Angel and Buffy to hold back the tide. The one good thing in this situation seemed to be the Watchers. They were relatively calm, aiming and hitting with their every shot.
The pile of demonic bodies was growing but so was the human's. It was a matter of attrition and the numbers were in the favour of the wrong side.

It was bad enough that Nathan had commandeered the remaining soldiers and Watchers and was holding down one front while Buffy and Angel held the other, with Xander giving what covering fire he could. The two fighters were stemming a tide that wasn't going to stop any time soon and all the young man had was a few pistols. Emptying a few rounds into a charging vampire's chest he clicked empty and grabbed an offered gun. One of the injured soldiers was reloading for him, handing a fully charged gun to him every few seconds. And the man was running out of magazines.

******

Janus gloated as he saw another human fall, gutted by a demon. Information from the discs came to mind about how to kill it but he disregarded it. He thought for a moment and 'listened' to the human voice in his head. It's strength had diminished over the last few minutes, a victim of the demonic influence or the 'new enhancement' that had become part of his body only a few hours ago.

He ran his finger over the plate in his head, where the Professor had placed the crystal. He laughed and went back to the screen. And frowned at what he saw.

* Resistance. *

******

Whip's little army was winning. The shots weren't doing damage to a good percentage of the demons but the bodies had long ago clogged the stairwell to the surface. Other creatures were climbing the rails, making easy shots for his men. Now he had to deal with the ones left in the central area. His group had grown by another three men, one of them another doctor.

"Right. You two and you two..."

He pointed to two of the men covering the exit and the two new soldiers. The men he had sent into the armoury had just returned.

"Start to lay down covering fire for that group. Shoot anything that comes within ten feet of them. Give me that bag."

He picked up the bag of pistols and hefted his machine gun. The plan was fairly simple. Run out, under cover, and get to his Brothers. The tide of demons from the holding cells was getting smaller but his friends had been pushed right into its path.

"Final orders. Keep that exit covered and try and stay alive. If I make it to the group, I'll bring them back here."

* And I'll probably think of something else to do by then. *

He nodded to the soldiers and braced himself, Paling while he did so. They flinched as he did so but still kept their rifles pointed out. He nodded again and the line opened, giving him his gap. Running at full tilt he aimed for his Brothers just as a second wave of demons broke from the other holding cells.

******

Janus was laughing his ass off.

His cameras covering the holding areas had been damaged, some of them totally. The one covering the humans had disappeared with a stray shot from a rifle but he had two cameras covering the other end of the halls. Every few seconds he could see an impact of a wild round scar the walls of one corner. A blue flash meant the discharge of a blaster but they had long ago stopped strobing the display.

He watched as the direction of the demons changed from running into the corridor to one of streaming out to hopeful freedom.

* Dream on. *

The fight in the central area hadn't going any better. Only a few seconds ago he had seen one Pale Man dash for his friends, laden with weapons. He doubted it would help them any.

******

He reached the group of Pale Men just before the demons did. Tossing the bag to Willow he managed a quick shout to the girl before hosing down the demons coming at them.

"Hand them out!"

She reached in and tossed out a gun to Jamesy and Udo. Faith grabbed two and began blasting away, using what strength she had to control the recoil in each weapon. Aiming wasn't an issue with her Slayer abilities. The three armed Pale Men began firing away , cutting down a few demons but not making much of a dent in their ranks.

Salvation arrived in the form of fire from Whip's soldiers. They concentrated their fire, cutting down the front demons and tangling the legs of the ones behind. The Pale Men took the lull to get the hell out of there. Udo ran to Giles and Wesley, scooping the fallen Watcher up and tugging the other along in a headlong rush to safety. Jamesy and Asa stood and shot their guns into the demons, buying more time for the humans to make it to safety.

Ash grabbed Willow by the arm and threw her towards the knot of firing soldiers, running after the girl. Faith kept firing her guns and when the last rounds hit home she dropped the weapons and ran. Something in the corner of her eye drew her attention and she gasped.

"Joe."

The Pale Man was unconscious, bleeding from a couple of bad wounds to his face and chest. A dozen demon bodies littered the ground around him.

And that is when the dying demon struck.

It was a Polgara demon with a vicious telescopic spike in its forearm. It swung up and scored along the Slayers back before punching out at her shoulder. Her scream of agony cut through the noise of the battle and the two nearest Pale Men, Jamesy and Asa, turned and killed the demon with their last shots. Running forward, Jamesy pulled the Slayer free of the spike and Asa grabbed his fallen Brother from the ground.

Then they ran for cover, as if bloody Hell itself was after them.

******

Janus had stopped laughing a few seconds ago.

The fight in the central area was one sided now, the humans having gained the upper hand. He had tried repeatedly to shut the Armoury door but that would mean reactivating all the locking mechanisms. The humans would win by default that way. They formed a circle now and blasted away at the demons. The supernatural creatures were dying slowly, but the were dying nonetheless.

* It is time to leave. *

The creature heard the whisper in his mind that signified the human part of him. It kept saying 'fight' over and over but Janus dismissed it.

* There is no point. 'Live to fight another day', as you were once thought. *

He ran out of the security room and to the entrance door to the Secure Area. Like all the other doors in the facility this was open, but 'Secure Area' was unlikely to draw attention from the demons that were only looking for a way out. He waited until a clot of his half brothers managed to make it between him and the humans before running out the door.

He nearly made it.

******

Jamesy and Asa ran into the rapidly expanding circle of people and dumped their loads gently onto the ground. Udo and Asa bent over the Slayer, gauging the damage.

It was bad.

Udo felt her neck, let out a curse and started compressions, trying to start her heart again. One of the white coats, relegated to bringing ammunition from the armoury, dumped his load and began helping the Pale Man. While he started the mouth to mouth, Udo pounded down and the won their little fight with death. The Slayer took in a lungful of air and both doctors smiled for a second and then went back to trying to stop the bleeding.

Willow and Ash were busy with Whip, shouting and pleading with him.

"We have to go help Buffy and Xander. They don't have a chance in there alone."

The Pale man took each of the girls by an arm and shook them.

"We have to be alive if we try to help them. In five minutes the demons should be thinned down enough for us to make a play but until then we stay here. Now grab that bag and start bringing more..."

He saw one of the doctors staring over his shoulder and spun around, expecting an attack. What he saw scared him even more.

It was large and multicoloured, like a picture of Frankenstein's monster painted by a child. Metallic plates covered one side of its head and some of one leg. The overall effect was frightening, the blend of man and machine. The Pale Man reached behind him and grabbed the doctor.

"What is that?"

"3...314. His name is Adam. But he shouldn't look like that."

Whip looked at the creature again and saw something in its movements that struck a cord. He bellowed to Asa.

"What do you see?"

His Brother looked at the creature and his eyes widened.

"It has the crystal! Stop it."

Whip grabbed the nearest soldiers.

"Shoot the fuck out of that. It is not to escape whatever the cost."

With the order to rock and roll given, the men opened fire on the fleeing cyborg, knocking it from its feet. Bullets tore chunks of flesh and it scrambled for cover. Running as hard as its legs could carry it, it reached the door to the holding bay and dove through, shoving demons aside. Whip lifted a soldier aside and grabbed a rifle and blaster. Jamesy shouldered an identical load and both Pale Men ran after Janus at their full speed.

******

Breathing heavily, Janus bounced off the wall just inside the door and fell to the floor. Ichor and blood from his wounded flesh pooled onto the metal planking. He looked down and applied pressure to stop the bleeding and saw that it wasn't necessary. The flesh was growing at a rate that even he couldn't believe, spurred on by the crystal in his head.

"I'll outlive all you fuckers!"

He shouted this to the door and hopefully the human's outside could here the words. A hail of bullets hit the door and he laughed. Catching a glimpse of someone charging at the door from the other side he got up and ran down towards cover. He needed time to heal from the wounds. If he could get a gun from the dead humans who had come in here he could equal the odds a little.

******

Jamesy and Whip hit the door hard, lobbing in a couple of flash-bang grenades. They had been sitting at the bottom of the bag, presumably standard issue for the soldiers. After the ear-splitting explosion both Pale Men ducked into the doorway and fired randomly, cutting chunks out of the facing wall. Knowing that their prey was running they followed quickly, hoping to choose the right direction and catch the creature. Jamesy posed the question.

"If you were a psychopathic patchwork demon chased by a pair of psychos with really big guns what would you do? Get a bigger gun."

They ran to the door and beckoned to the soldiers.

"If it comes out this door kill it!"

That done, they ran after the creature.

******

Janus heard voices speaking softly just around the corner. Getting to his hands and knees he poked his head around at floor level and saw one of the men, not a soldier, bending down over another. Whoever it was had their back to him and the outline of a pistol was easy to see against the ripped and soiled jacket. Pulling back, he stood and tensed himself. Gripping the corner, he pulled himself forward and kicked out at the unsuspecting man.

******

Buffy was bleeding, but not too badly. One of the demons, almost the last to fall, had backhanded her in the stomach and cut her with its nails. The wound was about eight inches long and bloody but not dangerous. But Angel made her sit down and take care of the wound. He ripped a piece of his shirt off and dabbed at it then flew past her. She looked up in shock and saw a creature standing over her with a gun aimed at her face.

It's finger tightened.

******

Nathan Wesley Pryce was a good mood for the first time in days. He had survived an attack by a deranged Pale Man, had his job fucked out the window, got captured by a bunch of boy scouts on acid and then got attacked by a small army of demons.

* In no way could this day get any worse. *

Caution being the better part of valour, he got up from the floor with his rifle in hand. Glass and shellcasing littered the floor where one demon had flown through the cell door and got nearly cut in half for its trouble. He looked down at the corpse and grimaced as he hitched up his gun and checked the magazine. Wincing as more bruises made themselves known he went to check on his men and the rest of the group. But his men would still come first even though it would probably be quick. Putting on a grave face he walked for ward just as Janus rounded the corner.

The creature was quick even though it looked like it had been put together by a four-year old. He saw it grab Angel's gun from his holster and shoot the vampire twice in the back before turning it on the Slayer. Nathan didn't even hesitate. He raised the gun and emptied what few rounds he had into the creature, knocking it flat against the wall. Measuring the bursts in threes gave him a few seconds fire but it was enough as two of the Pale Men turned the corner and unloaded a fuckload of ammo into the creature.

******

Whip and Jamesy heard the gunfire and skidded around the last corner. They went to fire at the shooter until they saw Janus was the target and joined in. Not giving the cyborg, or whatever the hell it was a chance, they poured on what they had. Jamesy let go of the trigger as the creature fell back over the Slayer and went to grab at her. She knocked away its hands and pulled herself free, giving the two an opening.

Whip took it.

He aimed and fired, shooting round after round into it and killing it bit by bit. Jamesy got lucky and fired a quick burst that blew the metal cap off and exposed the crystal for the entire world to see.

"The Crystal."

******

Angel heard the shouting over the gunfire and saw the chunk of black crystal in the creature's head. He risked all and his hand shot out, grabbing the corner of it and pulling. Janus reacted, pummelling the vampire with what strength he had. But it wasn't enough.

Angel pulled it free and Janus died with barely a whisper.

The vampire collapsed, exhausted from the shooting and the strain and all the crap that he had had to go through.



A WEEK LATER

The hospital was fairly full from the fire at the university. A lot of the staff and some students had died trying to save themselves when a chemical fire had gone out of control. The cops had come in and left when EPA agents turned up and took over the cleanup. There was no problem with that, most of the cops said, they can do all the work. But one thing gets me. Why do they need all those cement trucks?

Willow, Faith and Wesley had to stay in the hospital for most of the week due to blood loss and various levels of pain. Xander and Giles managed to get off with an overnight stay while all the Pale Men and Buffy were pretty much healed within a couple of hours. It was decided that the whole gang should meet when they could.

In deference to Angel and Ash, a restaurant was booked for after sunset so every one could gather with only a few worries. Most of them weren't looking forward to more goodbyes even though they knew that in this business they could be back together within a week.

Nathan Wyndam Pryce was the first to broach a painful subject.

"What about the Watchers?"

Udo fielded the question.

"Because of your help and other considerations we've decided to be lenient. The Watchers will be started up again but with changes to its charter. The first change will be its treatment and association with the Slayers. The girls have proven that they need a lot more leeway and support."

Giles, black eyed and bruised, clapped at hearing the statement.

"About bloody time too."

Both the Slayers ducked their heads and blushed at the attention. Faith ducked her head low and crouched into the safety of her wheelchair. The attack by the Polgara had bruised her spine but the doctors expected a full recovery. They said her healing so quickly was 'miraculous'.

"And support is another thing that the newest Slayer will need."

Everyone was brought up short by what Asa had just said.

Then Finn, the only representative of the Initiative, spoke up, changing the subject..

"What about us?"

Whip took care of this one.

"After reviewing the security tape of Professor Walsh's death and the resultant fight, the Initiative never existed. You and your people will disappear back into the ranks of Special Forces if they want and the civilians will go back to very highly paid private sector work. You will all be watched."

The ominous tone freaked everyone out and the place became sombre again. Joe decided to liven it up.

"Since I am fully recovered from my illness and since the Slayers have a new support structure with yours truly at the helm, I have decided to open up a cover company to explain the Watchers being here. Nathan, you and your men will be posted here permanently if you so wish with houses and health plan thrown in. That includes vampire dust inhalation cover and the rest."

Joe got a few groans for his sad joke.

"On the serious side. Finn."

The soldier looked up.

"We are offering you a position with 'the firm' as one of Nathan's men. If he accepts."

The former government Agent nodded.

"I'll get back to you."

Xander piped up with his normal zaniness.

"What about the rest of us? Holidays in Tijuana, Hawaii or Malibu? Or someplace calmer than Sunnydale? Like Beirut or Sarajevo."

"With a Pale Man and a couple of soldiers backing up the Slayer Sunnydale is going to get quiet one way or another. Enough with the business. Lets get drunk."


THE END

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Maybe some more if feedback is good.