CHAPTER SEVEN:
A new player in the game…
The warehouse was quiet and empty—it had been abandoned for several years now. That suddenly changed as an interdimensional portal formed. Michael quickly regained his bearings as the portal faded. Virgil had been true to his word, bringing the Forerunner installation back online within his 100 hour estimate. Getting back to Sunnydale wasn't as big a problem this time as Michael had the space-time dimensional co-ordinates. This time no wandering between dimensions—he had already been there and done that.
Michael quickly had Junior check to confirm the date and time in this dimension—only five days of local time had gone by. Michael took another look around the abandoned warehouse, during his time away he planned to use the warehouse—again—as his base of operations. He wasn't planning to be here for the long haul, but the main advantage was that he was already familiar with the layout of the building. He quickly set up shop in one of the basement rooms. It was barely above livable condition, but the room could be secured and would suit his—hopefully short term—needs.
As Michael settled in, he went over, once again in his mind, the plan that he had put together over the last few days and what he was going to do to try and locate the "Staff of Uman". As Virgil had warned, Michael's planning had to take into account his interaction with this time line and the impacting results. He knew he was bound within the limitations of how much he could interact with this time line, but he also realized that in order to be successful he would have to cross those boundaries. He hoped that he could "minimize" his interactions. He would have to deal with the repercussions and consequences later.
Michael decided that he would start his search by tracking down the last group he knew that had possession of the staff—the Quasit demons. He still had all the information about them and the location of their underground temple.
He thought with luck that maybe he would find the staff quickly and get back to Virgil. Even with Virgil's warnings hovering over everything Michael did, he knew that he needed to get information quickly. Out of habit, he took out his combat knife and made sure it was sharpened. Considering the last encounter he had with those demons, he was figuring on them not being too co-operative.
Michael was no stranger to conducting "field interrogations" and he knew it would be messy. He knew that Virgil would argue and remind him that this could be considered a major interaction, but he didn't have much choice. The longer he stayed the more chance of changes happening. Besides he had a really hate on for those demons. If they resisted, he wouldn't be too upset about it.
The plan right now was to wait until it was dark and then make his way to the underground temple. He checked his helmet display and saw that he had a couple of hours till dark. Michael focused on his "mission" as he hoped that would keep him from thinking about Faith and Adriana. He took the opportunity to try and rest up before heading out…
oOoOo
It was deserted in the tunnel—there was the sound of distant voices chanting. Michael moved quietly using the darkness to conceal his movements as he got closer to the Quasit temple. He had stayed undetected and unnoticed so far. His motion sensors started picking up a large number of targets ahead—that were quickly identified and cataloged as hostile. The numbers he would be going against were large—over a hundred targets. He wasn't deterred by the odds. He'd always had to fight with the odds against him, plus this time he had no choice.
One last time, he went over the layout of the temple in his mind, hopping that it wasn't different. He would have to move fast to contain the demons as there were two entrances. He didn't need to keep all the demons alive for questioning—the priests would do.
Out of well-trained reflex, Michael checked his MA5 one last time making sure that he had a full magazine loaded. He had lots of spare magazines along with one frag and three plasma grenades. He planned that upon entering the temple, he would use the frag grenade to seal the other exit. He wanted to minimize using them—they were too noisy and he may need them later on.
He was running his helmet display in night amplification mode as the lighting in the tunnels and temple were low-light conditions. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to relax and steady his heart and pulse rate. He opened his eyes and moved towards the temple entrance…
oOoOo
It was late morning and Mayor Wilkins was working hard as usual in his office dealing with civic matters and matters related to his ascension. The Mayor was startled by a light knock on his office door. He hadn't been expecting any visitors at this time and had blocked off this time in his schedule with his staff to not be disturbed unless there was an emergency. Wilkins's concern immediately grew as he called out, "Come in."
The door opened slowly and one of his assistants came in somewhat warily. The Mayor could tell from the scared look on his assistant's face that this wasn't good news.
The assistant was trying, unsuccessfully, to hide his trembling of delivering bad news to the Mayor, "Sir… I received a report from some of your vampire associates about an 'incident' that happened last night."
"What happened?" the Mayor asked, now giving the assistant his full attention.
The assistant gulped and continued, "Sir… It appears that a group of Quasit demons were attacked in their temple last night… The vampires came across a wounded straggler that was running from their temple… The demon begged the vampires to protect him."
The Mayor's eyes widened at that last part of the statement and he started to worry.
What could scare a creature so much to ask vampires for protection?
"I'm familiar with the Quasits… They don't really bother anyone and they try to stay out of everyone's way. Is there any other information regarding this attack?" the Mayor said trying to hide his concern from his assistant.
"Yes Sir!" replied the visibly agitated assistant, "…The vampires decided to check out the demon's story and they went to the underground temple. The vampires reported that they found the bodies of at least 150 Quasit demons…"
The assistant paused as he let the news sink in.
Wilkins sat there trying to absorb this news. After a moment he waved his assistant to continue the report.
"…The vampires reported that a large number of the bodies had bullet wounds and appeared to have been blown up. There were other bodies that appeared to have been killed by either a 'sharp blade' or…"
The assistant paused as he gulped, "… had their necks broken and in few cases it appeared that the heads had been pulled off the bodies…"
Wilkins could feel beads of sweat form on his forehead as he felt a chill of worry—and fear—grow and work its way up his back.
"There's more Sir!" the assistant said catching the Mayor by surprise.
The Mayor nodded the assistant to continue as he found himself speechless as he tried to absorb this news.
"It appears that a large group of the Quasit demons were tortured as their bodies were hanging from the temple's roof. The vampires noted that whoever or whatever did the torturing was an expert and it appeared that they were looking for information rather than doing it for sport… All those demons had their throats cut."
Wilkins found himself in shock and it took him a few moments to somewhat regain his composure before he could speak, "So what you are telling me is that a group of 150 Quasit demons were killed last night. Was the survivor able to tell us anything about the group that attacked them and what they wanted?"
"Ummmm…" the assistant said as he started to tremble harder unable to control himself.
"What is it!" demanded the Mayor.
"Sss…Sir… the demon reported that he had been wounded and knocked unconscious during the attack, so I would not completely believe what he saw…" the assistant said nervously.
Wilkins couldn't control himself anymore and he uncharacteristically yelled at his assistant, "TELL ME!"
The assistant jumped and his eyes widened in fear as he started talking quickly, "…The demon reported only seeing… one attacker. He described the attacker as human shape at least seven feet tall… It was wearing some sort of armor… The creature moved unbelievably fast for its size… The creature had a head, but no face except for one large gold eye."
The Mayor took a couple of deep breaths trying to get control of his emotions and wondering how the news could get any worse, "Is there anything else in the report?"
"Uhhh… Yes sir. The demon reported that this 'creature' interrogated the survivors before killing them. From what he was able to overhear, this 'creature' was asking about the 'Staff of Uman'."
Wilkins sat there stunned. It took him a few moments to realize that his assistant was still standing there waiting on him.
"Is that all of it?" the Mayor asked in a tone devoid of emotion.
"Yes sir… That's everything." the assistant replied nodding his head fiercely and thankful that he was still alive after delivering this news.
"Leave me…" the Mayor said in a low voice.
"Sir?" the assistant asked as he had not heard the Mayor.
"You heard me… GET OUT NOW!" Wilkins yelled as he lost control again.
He took deep breaths again to regain his composure as he watched his assistant scurry from his office. He reviewed all the details of the report in his mind—this was now a major problem. The description of this creature matched the description of the robot that Faith had reported to him.
Wilkins got up and moved over to the cabinet in the corner of his office. The Mayor kept many items associated to black magic and his ascension in this cabinet. He opened a door on the cabinet, reaching in and pulling out a staff. Wilkins stared at the "Staff of Uman" as he held it in his hands. He felt a twinge of fear even though he knew he was invulnerable right now…
oOoOo
It was late afternoon as Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies gathered in the school library for a meeting called on short-notice by Wesley. She was a little surprised by the meeting call and she figured that this was one of Wesley's impromptu briefings. Buffy was even more surprised that even Faith had shown up and had even managed to arrive on time.
All the teenagers were talking amongst themselves as Wesley and Giles came out of Giles's office. Buffy was talking to Willow, but she noticed the worried looks on both Watchers' faces.
Willow saw that Buffy was distracted and she turned and saw Wesley and Giles and the looks on their faces and she got a bad feeling too.
"Uh… Oh" Willow muttered.
The rest of the group heard Willow mutter and they all looked towards the Watchers as they approached the group.
Xander also got a sinking feeling in his gut as he saw the Watchers.
This isn't going to be good news, he thought.
Buffy finally broke the silence in the room, "What's wrong?"
Wesley looked towards Giles. He nodded grimly and Wesley cleared his throat, "Ahem… I received reports from several reliable sources of an incident that occurred in Sunnydale last night. Mr. Giles and I went to investigate the reports to confirm before we would inform all of you—"
Faith interrupted Wesley, "So what happened?"
She was concerned as she hadn't talked to the Mayor yet today and if this meeting was about him, then she needed to know what was going on.
Wesley was a little taken aback by Faith's interruption and gave her a glare. She stared back at him hard and after a moment he blinked, taking a couple of seconds to regain his composure before continuing.
"There was an attack on a group of demons called the Quasits. Normally these demons are quiet and keep to themselves, avoiding conflicts and contacts with other demons and humans… Someone or something decided that these demons were a threat and attacked them in their temple and killed a large number of them…"
"So what're we talking about Wes… 5… 10 dead demons?" Faith said with a smirk.
Wesley looked at Giles. Buffy saw the look and she suddenly got a really bad feeling.
Giles stepped forward, "From our investigation, we counted at least 150 demon bodies in the temple."
Everyone around the table blinked sitting there stunned.
"You did say 150 dead demons or did I just suffer a stroke." Xander said finally breaking the silence around the table.
Faith's smirk had died on her face, "Jesus… Any clues to who or what did this?" she asked suddenly facing the reality that there was a new and powerful force in town.
Giles continued, "No, but whoever or whatever they were… They were organized and knew what they were doing. There were signs of gun fire…explosives… knives and what I could only call extreme hand-to-hand combat skills…"
Oz spoke up, "What do you mean by 'extreme hand-to-hand combat skills'?"
Wesley looked at the group of teenagers, "It means that the perpetrator of this attack broke the necks of a large number of the demons and in a number of cases removed the heads from bodies."
"You mean he cut the heads off with a sword or something like that?" Xander said not sure that he wanted to hear the answer.
Wesley looked at Xander grimly, "No… I mean he pulled the heads from their bodies…while they were alive."
Xander gulped and out of reflex put his hands to his neck.
It took Buffy a moment to register what Wesley had been saying, "You said perpetrator… You don't mean it was one person that did all that… Do you?"
Giles looked at Buffy worriedly, "I'm afraid so… we could only find evidence of one attacker… Who or whatever it was covered its tracks pretty good, but we were quite fortunate to find a couple of clues… Unfortunately that's not the worse news."
Buffy and Faith looked at each other as they were still trying to comprehend a force that could do that much destruction and wonder if they could stop it.
"How could things be any worse?" Xander said trying to control his fear.
Wesley answered the question, "A large number of the demons had been 'interrogated' using some extreme methods. The techniques were ruthless but looked efficient, so we can deduce that the attacker was looking for either information or something that the demons had in their possession. We have no idea if the attacker was able to locate what it was looking for. We must be prepared for further attacks."
Buffy felt her other problems start to fade as they seemed to pale in comparison to this new and potentially more powerful adversary now in Sunnydale that was making its presence felt.
Faith's thoughts raced as well but alone a different line and purpose, Looks like there's a new player in town… I've got to let the Mayor know what's going on and fast.
oOoOo
Michael sat on the warehouse basement floor. He sat there with his head leaning back and his eyes closed. If he had his helmet off, he would have appeared to be resting and at peace, but inside—his thoughts and emotions were racing and in turmoil. He replayed his encounter with the demons over in his mind as he recalled every detail sifting through all the information for what he could use and what was irrelevant.
He had been grossly outnumbered by the demons, but he had no constraints on how much force he could use. He did make sure to leave most of the priests alive—for interrogations. The first few priests were defiant in their refusal to answer his questions, but Michael quickly used them as an example and the remainder were very forthcoming in answering his questions—not that it saved them in the end.
Torture was not usually an efficient or reliable means of getting information—well usually. Michael had been trained by experts and had years of experience performing "field interrogations" to gather information effectively and quickly. The information that the surviving demons provided was useful. The demons confirmed that they knew of the "Staff of Uman". It was considered one of their holy relics and had been lost nearly a hundred years ago. The demons confessed that they didn't know who had possession of it—they only knew that it was somewhere in the Sunnydale are.
It had taken some time to clean up his armor after he'd finished his "chat" with the priests. He tried to rest and relax, but the images of blood and screams replayed over and over in his mind. A part of his mind was telling himself that he'd gone too far, but another part was telling him that he was more than justified in his actions.
Michael finally opened his eyes and pushed the memories away as he mulled over his options—the few he had.
Looks like the trail with the Quasits is a dead end… I'm going to need a new plan and that means more interaction with this timeline.
He called up his suit's AI, "Junior…"
"Yes Michael…"
"Have you been able to access local computer networks?"
"Yes… I have been able to gain access to local government and business networks."
"We're going to be here longer than I planned… I'm going to need more supplies and I'm going need to move around more in the open. I'm going to need some street clothes… preferably something that fits and allows me to blend in."
"Understood Michael… There are several clothing stores located in downtown Sunnydale. I have been able to access their computer inventories. I believe you will be able to locate the type and size of clothing you are looking for there… I would recommend entering these businesses at night time to obtain what you require."
Michael shook his head muttering, "I wasn't planning on entering during store hours."
Michael moved on to the next item on his shopping list. He recalled all the lessons from when he'd arrived in Sunnydale the first time. There was one item that he would need that was important, "I'll need money… local currency for when I move around."
It took a few moments for the AI to respond, "I have noted the locations of a number of automated bank machines…" A four digit numeric code appeared on his helmet display, "The following code will allow you to withdraw any amount of money you require."
"Thanks… It looks like I'm going shopping tonight."
Michael felt somewhat better that he had the makings of a plan in place. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes again in an attempt to get some rest before this evening's shopping trip. His rest was met by images of Faith and Adriana—they were covered in blood screaming for help.
oOoOo
Faith managed to find an excuse to head off on her own, leaving the others behind after the meeting had finally ended. Buffy had tried to convince Faith to stay as they needed to plan on how they were going to deal with this new threat, but she needed to ditch everyone and get to the Mayor to make him aware of what was going on. She was finally able to put off Buffy by agreeing they would patrol together later and look for any clues regarding this new threat.
Faith arrived at the Mayor's office, usually she would just walk in, but she'd gotten a strange vibe walking through the outer offices and decided to err on the side of caution and this time she knocked on the door. She didn't get an immediate response and was about to knock again when she heard the Mayor say "Come in…"
As she entered the office, she felt a chill descend upon her—all the lights were off. It took her a moment to see the Mayor. Usually he was sitting at his desk—everything nice, neat and orderly. Her wariness and bad vibe grew as she saw the Mayor sitting with his chair turned towards the window. He was just sitting there—staring out the window.
She jumped a bit as the Mayor spoke, still staring out the window not even looking in her direction, "Hello Faith…"
Her concern grew and she looked worriedly at the Mayor. She had never seen him like this before, "Uhhh… Are you alright? Is there anything wrong?"
"It appears that we have a major problem… One that can have a major impact on my plans." the Mayor replied still looking out the window.
Faith may not have finished high school, but she wasn't stupid, "I guess you heard about that attack on those demons… Buffy and her Scoobies are trying to figure out who was behind it… I'm also going out patrolling with Buffy tonight to see if we can find out who or what—"
Wilkins held his hand up interrupting Faith, "My sources of information are slightly more informed than Buffy's sources. I know who is behind the attack…"
He paused for a moment and then continued speaking while still staring out the window, "…It appears that your 'cowardly' robot is not quite the coward you thought it was."
Faith's eyes widened as she couldn't believe what the Mayor was telling her, "But… It ran from us… It wouldn't fight Buffy or me!"
"That's what worries me… This robot doesn't appear to want to fight the Slayer, but has no hesitation about attacking demons. This is good news for Buffy… Very bad news for us." the Mayor said still looking out the window as the sun was beginning to get ready to set.
It took Faith a long moment to gather her thoughts before she could speak, "Any idea why this robot is here or what it wants?"
"Unfortunately yes I do know why this robot is here and in a roundabout way it involves me." the Mayor replied with a sigh in his voice.
Faith was shocked as she heard the tone in Wilkin's voice, she'd never heard him like this before. She tried to shake off the feeling as she waited for the Mayor to provide more details, but after a long moment of uncomfortable silence it became evident that the Mayor wasn't going to share this information with her.
She finally broke the silence, "So what do you want to do?"
The Mayor sighed again, which shocked Faith again. He finally swiveled his chair to face her and gave her a hard look, which caused her to recoil slightly in fear, "You will go on patrol with Buffy tonight… You will stay close to her and the rest of her group gathering whatever info they find and report it back to me immediately. We need to find out who sent this robot and who is controlling it and then… We need to kill it."
oOoOo
Michael moved stealthily through the night using the darkness and shadows to avoid the open public areas and being spotted. It wasn't that difficult—it wasn't like anyone was looking for him and this wasn't an Innie or Covenant world. It was probably a good thing that he wasn't on a Covenant world, he hadn't gotten much rest—the images of Faith and Adriana still haunted him.
He'd been able to go in and out quietly and get the clothing and money he needed. He then realized that he'd forgotten something.
Going to need another weapon… Can't walk around in street clothes carrying my MA5 in public.
"Junior… Can you locate the nearest gun shop? I need to pick up an extra weapon and ammo."
"Yes Michael… I am currently locating places that you will be able to obtain firearms. Are you looking for anything in particular?"
Michael gave the question a moment of consideration, "I'll know it when I see it."
oOoOo
Following up on the Mayor's orders, Faith kept her promise and met up with Buffy, so they could patrol. They planned to start their patrolling in the downtown area and then sweep out towards the area of the reported attack.
As they walked, there wasn't much talk exchanged between the two Slayers. There was an air of tension between them and they were finding it increasingly difficult to find common ground to agree upon let alone talk about.
Faith found herself reluctantly trying to engage Buffy in conversation—if more so to try and gain more info, "So B… Who do you think is this new baddie in town?"
Buffy didn't hear Faith's question. She was lost in her thoughts—this new threat, the Mayor, Angel and everything else that was going on in her life.
Faith saw that Buffy was distracted, "Hey B… Hello… Anyone in there?"
"Huh… Sorry… I'm a bit distracted." Buffy replied as she refocused.
Faith shook her head slowly sighing. She was about to give one of her customary sarcastic come backs, when they both heard a large number of police sirens only a couple of blocks away. Both Slayers turned quickly in the direction of the sirens. They were trying to figure out what was happening when they were startled when they heard what sounded like a loud buzz saw sound followed by what was definitely gunfire.
Buffy and Faith looked at each other as the gunfire continued and started sprinting towards the direction of the gunshots.
oOoOo
Michael saw the flashing lights of the growing number of police cars through the front window of the gun shop.
He shook his head muttering, "Damn it… I must have tripped an alarm!"
Everything had been going as planned, except it was now going south. He hadn't planned or wanted a confrontation with local law enforcement—inflicting human casualties was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. He was going to have to do something fast as his motions sensors were showing him that the building was being quickly surrounded.
Junior took this moment to provide his input on the situation, "Michael… I would recommend a quick exit from this location. I am monitoring police radio bands. More units are being dispatched to this location…"
Michael was about to respond when a voice from outside interrupted him.
"YOU IN THE STORE… COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP AND LAY ON THE GROUND!"
"I think you're right Junior… It's time to leave."
Michael knew that leaving by conventional means wasn't going to work without causing causalities among the police. He looked up at the ceiling—and the roof. He had a potential exit point. Now he just need a distraction.
oOoOo
Patrol Officer Harvey Madison found himself the first responder on the scene after a report of a silent alarm going off at the Sunnydale Sports & Gun Shop. He had quietly approached the building first—then quickly retreated to call for backup after he'd seen movement inside.
Officer Madison had caught a glimpse of movement inside from what looked like was only one person. It had been only a glimpse and he hadn't seen them clearly, but what he had been able to make out was that the 'person' inside was huge.
A part of him hoped that this was just a normal break and enter—rather than having to deal with one of the "unique problems" that Sunnydale was known for.
As backup quickly showed up surrounding the building, Madison felt his confidence grow and he finally decided that they needed to end this situation. He grabbed his mike to use the speaker on his car to let the suspect know that they were surrounded and to surrender.
Madison was trying to figure out how long he was going to give the suspect to respond, when he was startled and shocked as the front store window seemed to disappear in a storm of glass. It took what seemed like a long moment for him to realize and recognize the sound he was hearing was automatic weapons fire from inside the store.
Madison and the rest of the police officers in front of the store, dove for cover behind their cars as the gunfire continued. Harvey found himself crouched up holding his head in his hands as the loud buzz saw sound continued as the bullets were shredding the tops of the police cars sending pieces of the cars and lights flying everywhere. To Hank it sounded as the gunfire would never stop, but as fast as it had started, it was suddenly quiet again—though not for long.
As soon as the automatic weapons fire stopped, one police officer and then another regained their composure and started firing back with their weapons. Gun shots blasted the store and the sounds echoed off the buildings around the block and down the street.
oOoOo
Michael was monitoring his motion sensors, satisfied that he hadn't killed or seriously injured anyone. He had directed grazing fire not to wound or kill anyone, only to keep them off balance and distracted.
In that moment when he stopped firing and they were able to regain their composure and return fire, he had moved quickly climbing a heavy metal shelf to get closer to the ceiling. He had no problems punching a hole through the ceiling to the roof, the sounds of the return gunfire drowned out any noise he was making as he punched and pushed his way through the ceiling to the roof of the store.
The police were still firing, when Michael made his way on to the roof of the store. This was his exit point as he could easily access the roof tops of the neighboring buildings. It wouldn't take him long to go from roof to roof and then hit the ground and lose any potential police pursuit.
oOoOo
Buffy and Faith found themselves watching with morbid fascination, from the end of the block, as the police fired their guns at a building. They saw the damage to the front of the store and noted the damage to all the police cars. From what they could see, it appeared that none of the police officers were injured or killed, which seemed to be quite miraculous, considering the amount of damage done and shooting taking place.
Everybody's attention was glued to the front of the store, but for some reason Buffy glanced to the roof of the store. It happened so fast that she almost missed it, but she saw someone or something jump from the roof of the store to the roof of the neighboring building. She knew that everyone else had missed it as it had been so fast and the police were continuing to shoot at the front of the store.
Buffy didn't hesitate, grabbing Faith to get her attention and at first almost dragging her fellow Slayer to follow her as she tried to keep her eye on whatever it was that was moving from rooftop to rooftop.
She thought it could've been human as it appeared human shape from this distance, but it was Faith who identified what they were chasing.
"B… That looks like that robot we ran into!" Faith said between breaths as they ran to keep up with the fast moving creature.
Buffy finally got a closer look of what they were pursuing as it made a huge jump to another rooftop.
Damn… Faith is right… That's our robot, Buffy thought.
Before Buffy could add anything, Faith spoke again, "Buff… If that thing gets ground level it will out run us… You stay on its tail… I'm going to circle around and try to cut it off!"
Before she could respond, Faith broke off in her attempt to cut off the robot.
oOoOo
Michael was making good time going rooftop to rooftop. There appeared to be no pursuit and he was reaching the end of Sunnydale's business district—he could see a park and a residential area past that. It would be a matter of just jumping down and then fading back in to the darkness. He could then make his way back to the warehouse. He was getting to the roof edge of the last building, just a simple drop down. No threats or pursuit—just a few green targets on his motion sensors.
Michael made a loud crunch as he landed on his feet after making the fifty foot drop to the ground from this last building. He was orienting himself to his escape route, when a voice called out catching him off-guard.
"Where do you think you're going tin man?!"
Michael started to turn his head in the direction of the voice and saw Faith come flying in, attempting a drop kick on his chest. His instincts, training and reflexes kicked in and he reacted almost instantly.
Faith had a predatory gleam in her eye as she directed her foot right at the center of the robot's chest. That gleam quickly turned to shock as the robot quickly—and what appeared easily—dodged her blow.
She recovered from her failed strike quickly and found herself facing off against the robot. Her attack may have failed, but she had the robot pinned with its back up against the building. She didn't think or hesitate—it was instinct as she drew her knife. She crouched getting ready to strike with her blade. She was determined to finish off this thing before Buffy caught up to her.
Michael watched Faith draw her knife. His MA5 was on his back and he had his combat knife. He knew he could get to either weapon with no problem, but those weren't realistic choices. He crouched, shifting his weight preparing for her attack—which didn't take long in coming.
Faith slashed out at him and Michael's reflexes kicked in and he leaned back away from her strike. He quickly regained his balance moving sideways with Faith following with a back swing slashing out again with her blade. This time the blade connected—catching him across his armored chest plate. Sparks shot out as metal caught on metal, but no damage was caused.
Faith felt her blade strike home and at first she felt satisfaction, but that quickly changed as she saw that her knife didn't cause any damage—other than a scratch and some sparks. It was at that moment that she realized that she may be in over her head and grudgingly admitted that she would probably need Buffy's help to take this robot down.
Michael saw the look of frustration on Faith's face, but he knew that she wasn't going to back down. He took a quick glance at his motion sensors—another green target was fast approaching. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that it was probably Buffy. He didn't need another confrontation with both Slayers. He needed to end this fight with Faith quickly—without hurting her.
He knew what he had to do though it wasn't without risk. He shifted his body slightly—exposing his mid-section to a knife thrust. He knew that Faith would see the opening and strike. He was counting on his reflexes being faster than hers.
Faith saw the robot shift its body and a predatory smile and gleam came to her as she saw that the robot had made a mistake—a fatal one. She went in hard and fast for the kill—aiming for the stomach area that didn't appear to be as heavily armored.
She wasn't prepared for how quickly the robot reacted to her strike and met her thrust by grabbing the blade end of her knife. She was in disbelief as she knew how sharp her blade was and yet it wasn't doing any damage to the robot's hand. She started to feel the beginning tendrils of panic and fear as she moved trying to twist the knife out of the robot's grasp. It was useless as the robot matched her moves and was now lifting the knife higher.
Faith couldn't believe how strong this robot was as she kept struggling using all her strength almost in vain as the robot seemed to be lifting her effortlessly.
She had become distracted struggling over the knife, that she missed seeing the robot move—almost in a blink of an eye—with its other hand and grab on to her wrist of the hand holding the knife. Faith was now struggling and trying to fight off her growing fear and panic now that this robot had a grip on her.
Her fear and panic escalated as she watched in shock as the robot, with a slight flick of its wrist, broke the blade from the hilt of her knife. She barely had time to register that as the robot then clasped on to her wrist with both hands. She continued struggling as she now dealt with the realization that she was now unarmed. She didn't hesitate and her strikes almost took on a panic level as she used her free arm and hand to strike at the robot's head hoping to distract it enough to loosen its grip on her.
Faith's eyes widened with fear as the robot anticipated her move as it let go with one hand and caught her other wrist as she was about to hit it.
Faith fought to control her fear and panic as she hadn't felt this scared and trapped in a long time. The robot had her by both wrists and that left her one move to try and break free. She started to try and flip while in the robot's grip—using the move to spin and kick the robot, hopefully catching it in the head. She didn't even get a chance to start her move as the damn robot again anticipated her move. It used its strength to overpower her forcing both her arms to her side—effectively pinning her in place in its grasp.
Damn it! Is that machine able to read my mind? How can it react so fast? Faith thought trying to find a way to break free and control her growing fear and panic at the same time.
In that moment she realized she had no moves left—she couldn't even get any leverage to kick with any power. She was pinned in place and she felt powerless and helpless in its grip. It was in that moment of realization that Faith looked at the robot—really looked at it. It was a huge man-sized shape—the head was like a helmet with a solid gold color visor that wouldn't let you see in. As she studied the robot, she couldn't help but notice that whoever had built this thing had done a pretty decent job of the human shape. She could swear that it looked like the arms were flexing. They looked like real arms rather than a robot's. Her eyes saw markings on the robot's chest—the number "113" and a smaller emblem of an eagle holding something with the letters "UNSC".
As she looked over the robot, she then realized something else. Even though the robot was pinning her and keeping her from moving it wasn't hurting her. The grip on her was strong and firm, but it wasn't painful unless she really squirmed and it adjusted its grip to keep her in place. She was trying to figure out what was going on, when the strangest thing happened.
The robot leaned its head in closer to her face, like it wanted to take a closer look at her. This was now getting really weird for Faith, but she couldn't help but look into the face of this robot. In that moment as they looked at each other, even though she couldn't see past the visor, she felt like it was looking at her—like no one had ever looked at her before.
Faith couldn't help it or explain it, but she suddenly felt her skin get warmer and felt her face flush red. She felt her body get a quiver and an excited feeling that was much different from the excitement she got from fighting. She found herself getting a coy smile and speaking before she could give it any thought or help herself.
"Normally I like to be the dom when I play rough, but I'll make an exception for you…"
Faith was surprised by how she'd reacted, but she wasn't prepared by how the robot reacted—it moved its head back—almost like it was caught off-guard and embarrassed. If this wasn't an already strange situation the robot then spoke to her.
oOoOo
Michael had pinned Faith and had to fight hard to make sure that he didn't accidentally hurt her while she struggled. He had to balance using enough force to hold her against causing any real damage. They were face to face and he found himself watching her as she struggled. He couldn't help himself or stop it—he missed his Faith. He caught a glance of his motion sensors and saw the other green target getting closer and he knew he didn't have much time.
He leaned in closer to her face—she looked so young. His thoughts and emotions were at war with each other. He found himself trying to fight the temptation to tell her who he was and why he was here, but the rational voice in his head screamed at him not to—there was too much at stake.
He didn't know what he was going to do, when he was caught off-guard by the smile that came to her face—he knew that smile well. He found himself actually blushing when she made her "suggestion" as he couldn't deny that he had found himself aroused holding her. He knew that she was feeling something as he could feel the warmth of her skin through the sensors in his armored gloves. His bio sensor readings could see her pulse rate increasing and he saw her face flush red.
The green target was getting closer and he only had seconds left. The rational part of his mind screamed again to not say anything but he found himself speaking.
oOoOo
Faith's eyes widened in surprise and shock as the robot spoke to her.
"Faith… I…I know about you and the Mayor… It's not too late to change."
She was still trying to absorb what this robot was saying when she was distracted by Buffy shouting at the robot as she came into view.
"HEY! Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"
Faith felt the robot let go of her—gently. She could have, but for some reason she didn't strike out at the robot as it loosened its grip on her. She found herself staring at the robot as it let go of her and turned to run off. She was surprised again as the robot paused and took another look at her. It then quickly sprinted off, leaving both Slayers in its wake.
oOoOo
Buffy had finally caught up to Faith. She felt she'd arrived in time as she saw Faith caught in the robot's grip. She was confused, surprised and perplexed as the robot suddenly let go of Faith and then ran off. She was even more confused as Faith didn't fight as the robot let go of her and stood there watching it run off. As Buffy got closer to Faith and could see her face better in the street lights, she could have sworn that Faith had been blushing, but Buffy pushed that thought aside as the redness in the face could have been cause by the fighting.
"Are you okay?' Buffy asked standing beside Faith as she looked towards the darkness where the robot had run off to.
Faith missed hearing Buffy's question as she was filled with a torrent of confusing thoughts and feelings. She was also looking off in the direction that the robot had run off in.
She finally processed that Buffy had asked her something and her mind slowly came back into focus as she still dealt with all the thoughts and feelings racing through her.
"Huh?"
"Are you okay Faith? Did that robot hurt you?" Buffy asked again, not quite sure what was going on with her fellow Slayer.
It took Faith another moment, but she managed to regain enough of her composure to respond to Buffy. She bent down to the ground and picked up the pieces of her broken knife.
"I'm fine… But that robot owes me a new knife."
