CHAPTER TEN
Moving day

After Buffy and the robot left to rescue Spike, the group wasted no time gathering and putting clothing and supplies together. None of them wanted to stay around the house with the beckoning offer of safety waiting for them. There were no negative voices raised about accepting the robot's offer to move to its base. For the Potentials it was an easy decision… Robot kills Bringers and Turok-Han… Robot offers safe place… You accept said offer. The group quickly organized the vehicles they had into a small convoy to make their make to the location — and safety — provided by the robot.

Giles was in the lead vehicle. As he drove, he doubled checked the directions and address. He was still trying to sort out everything that had happened and how he was feeling. He glanced again at the address, trying to picture the location in his mind.

This address… It's strange, but in all the years fighting vampires and demons, I don't think we ever had to go to this part of the town. It was always quiet, no reports of vampires or demons. That would seem to make sense if there was a robot designed to fight and protect humans based in that area. Wouldn't it?

Exhaustion weighed on Giles. Knowing they were facing off against The First Evil and the ultimate vampire made him recall what the Beljoxa's Eye had told him and Anya. He wasn't sure if he was thinking logically anymore or just wishful thinking.

Is this robot the new powerful force that made The First take pause?

Giles still sensed there was more going on with this robot than it was letting on. The robot had come to their defense, but then again this could all be part of a bigger plot and deception to destroy them. Giles desperately wanted to believe this was a turning point for them… there were too many threats with too much at stake.

"I pray to God this is what we have been waiting for," Giles mumbled.

oOoOo

As the convoy neared their destination, Giles saw bright lights illuminating the night. A fairly large factory/warehouse building was lit up like it was day. The fences surrounding the building immediately caught his eye. Even in his tired state of mind, he noted the two fences — an inner and outer fence — surrounding the building and property. This wasn't some standard chain-link fence. This was a heavily reinforced fence that had to be almost twenty feet high with razor wire running along the tops of both fences. More razor wire filled the gaps between both fences except for a narrow path. Lights capped both fence lines at regular intervals.

Giles glanced around, noting there were good fields of vision from the building to the fence. Beyond the outer fence line, all brush and potential cover was cleared for at least 200 meters to provide an open area. Like the lights, there were security cameras all along the perimeter at regular intervals, providing overlapping coverage both outside and inside the fences. The whole security setup endowed a prison-like feeling over the building, but it was apparent the security was to keep someone or something out rather than in.

A sense of optimism filled Giles as he drove up to the gate entrance. There was a keypad and speaker unit, with a small red light, at the gate. He rolled down his window then punched in the access code the robot had given him. Giles didn't have to wait as the light on the keypad/speaker unit immediately turned green. The outer gate opened first, followed by the inner gate. As Giles rolled up his window, a female voice came through the speaker, startling him.

"Access granted! Please keep to the right and drive towards the loading dock area. The garage door will open to allow you to park inside to unload."

The robot hadn't mentioned that someone was at its base, "Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?" he asked.

There was a momentary pause, and then the female voice replied, "Please proceed to the designated area to unload. You will receive further information once inside. Thank you."

Despite this apparent lack of disclosure, Giles noted the female voice sounded pleasant and friendly, "Um, yes... Thank you," he replied, pulling forward into the compound. The other vehicles quickly followed as Giles followed his instructions, pulling around the building. It was only moments when he saw a large door opening, indicating the loading dock area. Bright lights flooded the interior of the bay.

Giles stared at the beckoning open loading dock door. In his rear-view mirror he glimpsed the vehicles lined up behind him, waiting for him to enter the building. Behind those vehicles, he noted the now closed gates.

Time to ride boldly on, he thought, taking a deep breath and driving through the open entrance. The other vehicles quickly followed him.

oOoOo

The First Evil watched the convoy enter the building. It was assuming the form of a Potential the Bringers had killed several days before. Until tonight, it loved being able to walk among humans… manipulating them… sowing discord and distrust.

The First was not a happy entity at the moment. It had looked forward to the Turok-Han and the Bringers breaking into the Slayer's house, killing everyone. It had wanted the Slayer to die last… it wanted her to watch everyone else die first. The First wanted the Slayer to know despair and helplessness at how she had failed before she died.

Now… that plan was in ashes — both figuratively and literally. The First had sensed there was a new power in play, but until now it didn't know what it was. The machine had cut down its Bringers and easily brushed aside the Turok-Han. That show of power gave The First some pause as it tried to decide what it should do next. The loss of so many Bringers and the Turok-Han was unexpected, but they were only tools to help achieve its ultimate goals. This setback would cause changes and adjustments to its plans, but the final goal... that was still achievable.

Now was the time to watch and study this new development. Just a cursory observation of this building and property showed that it was more secure against attack. Yes, it would need to watch… to find a weakness and then exploit it.

oOoOo

Giles, along with the rest of the Scoobies and Potentials were enthusiastically exploring and settling into their new accommodations. The Watcher grew more impressed with the facilities and layout as he walked around. If he had to admit anything, he was in fact a little jealous with this building wondering how many times they could have used something like this over the years.

Someone has spent a lot of time preparing… They seem to know what they're doing, he thought as he continued his tour.

On a night that had already unleashed an avalanche of surprises, it still had one more surprise for him. Giles assumed the female voice on the gate speaker was a human. When they parked in the loading dock bay and unloaded, the same voice greeted them seeming to come from all around them.

There was a moment of anxiety and doubt as the disembodied female voice introduced herself to the group. Giles was skeptical as couldn't believe something like this could exist. Skepticism and doubts were swept aside as everyone jumped when a small bluish-red female form suddenly appeared in front of them on a small stand. It took a moment for Adriana to calm everyone down, reassuring them that there was no problem and she was what she said she was.

Willow was the first to grasp and come over at the realization that Adriana was a fully functioning Artificial Intelligence. She went into full geek-mode, peppering the AI with a barrage of questions. Her excitement grew upon finding out that "she" was in control of the building and grounds and plugged into other computer networks.

Between Willow's and everyone else's questions and Adriana providing a running commentary as they toured the facilities, Giles barely got a word in. He grew impressed with the AI's capabilities as she provided an update of what was not only happening in the building, but what was happening in and around Sunnydale. He expressed a loud sigh of relief when Adriana informed them that the robot and Buffy had successfully rescued Spike and were making their way here.

"Sweet setup!" Xander said, interrupting Giles's thoughts as he approached with a huge smile on his face. The young man had taken off with Anya and Dawn to explore despite the older man's urgings for the group to stay together.

"Yes, this is most impressive," Giles replied.

Dawn ran excitedly up to the two men, "This place is awesome! Did you see the living room area! It's huge and has three TVs and a pool table!"

Once again, Adriana's pleasant voice caught them by surprise, "I'm glad you're finding the accommodations acceptable. We have tried to build a facility that would meet not only training and security needs, but provide a comfortable atmosphere."

Giles arched an eyebrow in surprise as he could have sworn that Adriana laughed, sounding happy. He focused on more important matters, "Speaking of training?" he asked.

"The training, exercise and armory are in the lower level. The lower level can be accessed by two different secure entry ways through the north and south fire exits," Adriana responded, immediately reading what Giles had wanted to know.

Giles felt a sense of doubt and creeping uncertainty flare in him. That a 'machine' could be so human and seemingly read him so easily troubled his old-school sensibilities. He brushed those fears away for now, trying to keep an open mind to deal with more immediate matters, "Do we have access to these secure areas?" he asked. He wanted to test this AI and the robot as too what the limits were with this new relationship.

There was no hesitation on Adriana's part as she responded, "Mi-… I mean Spartan-113 has authorized me to grant to full access to designated secure areas. I've already recorded face and voice recognition of everyone here. That biometric info is on file and will allow access to those designated secure areas."

Giles's eyes narrowed at the slip of the tongue. It had happened so fast and the others were so excited that they'd missed. His worry and concerned feelings about the robot hiding something or having its own agenda returned.

I must keep an eye on things…

The "humanness" of this AI still surprised him. It also troubled him that this artificial personality could make mistakes and appear to be capable of subterfuge just like anyone else. Giles filed that information away for now. His focus now was to test this new relationship and find the boundaries that were being imposed on them, "What designated secure areas?" he asked.

"For now, the areas restricted are the computer room and the Spartan's... uh... storage area."

Giles was surprised to hear the armory and supply areas weren't restricted, "Storage area?" he asked hopping to gleam some information from his questioning.

"The Spartan requires time to… uh… recharge. He requires a secure private environment," Adriana replied after a brief moment of hesitation.

Giles noted how the AI kept referring to the robot as "he". He hadn't considered assigning the robot a gender-specific pronoun. It got him thinking again and replaying the night's entire events. It wouldn't do for him to tip his hand and give away what he knew (and didn't know). He felt that as long as he kept watch and his guard up, they could deal with any problems. Even with these troubling thoughts, he found he was more optimistic about the whole situation.

"Would you like to see the training, exercise and armory areas?" the AI asked.

"Yes, please," Giles replied, surprised to feel his own excitement growing.

oOoOo

Everyone was stone-quiet as they returned to the common area from their tour of the lower levels. Xander was the first to find his voice and comment on what they'd seen, "All I can say is... Wow!"

"I think 'wow' is a little over dramatic, but yes it was most impressive." Giles said in the standard British way of understating things. He struggled to maintain his display of reserved calm as he found himself deeply impressed and excited at what they now had access to.

"Did you not see all the guns and all those other weapons down there?" Xander asked sarcastically, shaking his head at Giles's continual understatements.

Willow had joined Xander and Giles for the tour. She was looking all doe-eyed after seeing the lower levels, "Well, I think things are looking up? Aren't they?" Willow said in a quiet, cautious voice.

Giles took a moment to consider the question, "Yes… Yes, I think things are looking better," he said in calm, reserved voice.

oOoOo

"Things aren't looking good," Buffy whispered to Spike.

Spike's weakness was still obvious as he staggered with Buffy helping him to walk. She was worried about him, but he seemed to be recovering as his normal demeanor asserted itself more and more.

The robot provided them with the directions to where they had to go to meet up with the others. Buffy had taken it as a sound precaution in case they got separated. She hadn't expected for the robot to up and disappear on them. One moment it was there… then gone. She couldn't believe something like that moved that quickly and quietly.

Spike grumbled about the robot as they slowly made their way to the location. They suddenly heard a large group of people approaching. With the recent troubles, Buffy knew the remaining residents of Sunnydale locked themselves in their houses at night and didn't venture out. A large group like this only meant trouble. Buffy knew Spike was still in no condition for a fight. She erred on the side of discretion as her and Spike took cover in an alley, hiding behind a dumpster. Her fears bore fruit as a large group of Bringers came from down the street, heading in their general direction, but looking as if they would pass by the alley.

"So, that bloody robot is a bloody coward!" Spike hissed, grabbing on to his left side watching the Bringers move closer. He swore that they wouldn't capture him again.

Buffy heard the pain in his voice, "I don't think it would ditch us. After the beating it laid on the Turok-Han, I can't see it now being afraid," she whispered, not taking her eyes off the approaching Bringers.

"So, then where the hell did the bugger go?" Spike replied, his voice notching up a little louder because of his anger and pain.

Before Buffy could tell Spike to quiet down, The Bringers suddenly changed direction, moving towards the alley and them. Buffy glared at Spike, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Spike hissed, trying not to meet Buffy's glare.

Buffy silently agreed with Spike's assessment of the situation. There was no way they could outrun them in Spike's current condition. That left them with only one choice. As The Bringers gathered at the entrance to the alley, she readied herself for the inevitable confrontation.

The Bringers stopped just inside alleyway… she counted ten of them. As she peered from their hiding spot, she got the sense that even though the demons may have heard them; they appeared as if they weren't sure. Studying the demon's faces, as they stood checking out the alley, it always bothered her by how The Bringers could "see" with their eyes apparently sealed shut. She pushed those questions aside as she prepared for combat. She planned to wait until The Bringers came further into the alley. The confined space would reduce the number of Bringers that could surround and swarm her. She planned to stay between Spike and the demons because he was still too weak for battle.

Much like most of the night, the situation suddenly flipped on its side as something dropped from the roof of a building into the middle of The Bringers. It took Buffy a moment to realize it was the robot dropping into the middle of the demons… quickly and quietly catching everyone off-guard. In the low street-lights, she saw a glint of metal… she instinctively recognized it was a knife. She crouched there with Spike, watching in surprise and shock as the robot took out all ten Bringers in a matter of seconds. It had happened so fast that Buffy swore if she had blinked she would have missed it.

"My God!" was all that Spike muttered, standing up — with Buffy's help — looking upon the carnage the robot had unleashed on its enemies. Buffy silently nodded her head, agreeing with Spike's assessment. She couldn't find any words that would properly describe what she'd just witnessed.

The robot's voice startled them, "Area is secure. You can come out now. I did a 200 meter sweep around us. I've cleared out all hostiles. We should now have a clear path now."

Buffy found her voice, "H-How many hos— I mean Bringers were around?" she asked shakily.

"Including this group… thirty-two," the robot said, kneeling down. Buffy and Spike watched as the robot wiped its knife on the cloak of a dead Bringer before putting it back in a scabbard on its left shoulder.

"You killed thirty-two Bringers!" Spike said loudly, his voice filled with incredibility.

"Do you want to keep moving or do you want to stand around and count bodies?" the robot said, now moving toward the street.

Buffy and Spike looked at each other for a moment. They followed the robot out on to the street.

oOoOo

Michael followed behind Buffy and Spike. He kept one eye on Buffy as she helped Spike as he occasionally stumbled while walking. His other eye was on his motion sensors, keeping a lookout for any further threats.

So far, it looked like a clear path back to the warehouse. Despite having a clear path home, worried thoughts filled Michael. He'd bloodied the bad guys tonight, hurting them bad, but he knew this was just the beginning. He realized that things would now escalate… the enemy would respond. There was much to do and plan for to be ready for the next confrontation.

Michael checked the time display on his helmet HUD. He didn't want to get caught out in the open at sunrise was more for Spike than him or Buffy. After some quick calculations, he saw no problem getting back before sun up — even at their current pace.

He opened a comm channel to Adriana, "How are our house guests settling in?"

"Everything is nominal. Everyone is settling in and I'm working with Giles to make room assignments. I have given them the full tour except for the computer room and your bedroom. I thought you might still like your privacy… Mister Robot," Adriana replied with a chuckle.

Michael snorted, "Thanks. At our current pace, ETA to base is thirty minutes."

"Any problems with the retrieval?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

oOoOo

Buffy glimpsed a brightly lit building, surround by a high fence. From the way the whole area was lit up and the directions the robot had given, she figured that was their destination.

"Lit up like Broadway… Think that's a good idea?" Spike muttered out loud, causing Buffy to shake her head and roll her eyes at his sarcasm.

He must be getting better... He's getting more obnoxious, she thought.

They were both startled when the robot spoke, "Watch and learn."

Michael opened a comm channel, "Adriana, we're 300 meters out from the fence line. Dim the lights when we're 50 meters out, so we don't turn our vampire friend to ash,"

"Affirmative. I have you on my sensor net. The area is clear… no threats. I will dim the lights on the gate and building until you are in. See you inside."

"Roger that."

The group got closer to the gate, the lights along the fence and building side they were approaching dimmed.

Buffy and Spike stopped in their tracks, "What the…?" Spike exclaimed in a confused-sounding voice.

"It's okay, they're a special UV light I've found vampires do not react kindly to. As soon as we get inside the lights will go back to full intensity until daylight. That should keep the Turok-Hans and any other vampires away," Michael said to explain what was happening.

Buffy nodded absently, looking at the robot and back at the fence, "What about Bringers and other demons?" she asked curiously.

"The whole area, surrounding the building, is monitored out to 1000 meters for any threats. The inner fence is electrified and there are some hidden automated gun positions, pre-sighted to cover larger areas inside the fence."

Buffy felt a little intimidated and a little in awe of the defenses, "Oh… okay. What happens if they get past those defenses?"

The robot gave Buffy a look. She only saw the golden visor, but she let out a small shudder as it answered her question, "Then, they have to deal with me..."