First Wave: "destiny is what you do with it..."
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face...
We must do that which we think we cannot."
-Eleanor Roosevelt-
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Max slowly opened his eyes, blinking rapidly at the light and trying clear his befuddled mind.
He knew that something was wrong, but couldn't place the fear. Realizing he was lying on a hard floor and not his bed he slowly swivelled his head to take in his surroundings. The first thing he saw was Buffy who lay unconscious beside him and a little past her was what looked like Oz, also unconscious.
Max couldn't understand what was going on, sitting up abruptly he groaned at the pain in his head, slowly the events leading up to the present became clear. He cast his eyes wildly about the room, looking for Liz, but his eyes found only the sleeping figures of Buffy, Oz and Willow.
In absolute terror he jumped up from his position on the floor, looking for an exit and shouting his wife's name, he found no door, windows or anyway out, nor did he find his beloved.
"No. No. No." This couldn't be happening. It was like the kidnapping all over again. Except this time the capturers had involved Liz.
Using his connection to his wife Max called out desperately Liz! Liz, can you hear me? LIZ!
Max continued to call for Liz as he used every power at his disposal to try and find an opening to the prison, something, anything to manipulate and force open.
There was nothing. No cracks or seems to mar the perfect walls that enclosed him. There was no way out.
Dejectedly he fell back to the floor clutching his bent knees tightly, his mind cruelly telling him he'd failed his wife and that she was now dead, so too were his sisters and his friends, they were his responsibility, they looked up to him and he had failed.
His mind played out all the possible scenarios of what could have befallen his wife, death, torture, the list was endless, and his mind pictured every ghastly event in brutal detail. He shut his eyes in pain as her last words repeatedly thrummed through his head 'Oh God they're going to kill us.' And he had done nothing to stop them.
Again and again he tried to telepathically connect to her, Michael, Maria and Isabel and each time he failed, reminding him of not so long ago when he'd tried to do the same, that time from a white cell. The only difference being then he'd known that they were safe. Until that is, the Government had manufactured their fake deaths in order to better control him.
Who were these new tormentors? Gua or Government? Where was everyone else?
Beside him, Buffy began to stir, but Max found himself strangely uncaring. She was not his priority, nor was she his responsibility, his wife, sisters and friends were, and they were nowhere to be seen.
From what seemed a great distance away, Maria could make out someone calling her name.
"Maria, Oh God please, Maria please be alive!"
Maria opened her eyes, she moaned at the tightness around her body, and realized it was Michael clutching her to him in terror.
"Ugh! If this is what alive feels like I'd much rather be dead thank you very much, and unless you stop squeezing me so tightly I might find my wish coming true!"
Michael grinned, he released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and hugged Maria to him more tightly than before. Maria climbed out of Michael's arms and looked around the room for the first time, taking note of the lack of windows or doors.
"So…um…where are we?" She asked curiously, unsure if she should be concerned or not.
"And where is everyone else?" Michael answered her question with one of his own.
"BUFFY!"
Maria jumped at the sound of Angels voice, turning around she noticed him desperately trying to punch a hole in the wall. With each frustrated punch he cried out her name, ignoring Maria and Michael completely.
"Hey dude, if you could shut the hell up for one second we may be able to find a way out of here, a way that doesn't involve screaming like a lunatic that is." Ground out Michael, who although sympathetic to the Vampire's plight, was still sporting one hell of a headache and so found himself extremely short of patience at the endless and most importantly pointless shouting.
Growling, Angel shifted into his game face "If they hurt her or Cordy, they're dead!"
"If anyone one is hurt, believe me when I say step in line for the killing!" Agreed Maria, her mind also on her loved ones.
Alex massaged his temples with a groan "Why do I feel like I've been repeatedly pounded in the head by a sledgehammer?"
With a grimace of pain Alex took in his surroundings "strike that question, here's a more important one…where are we?"
With a similar groan of pain, Liz sat up next to Alex, her first thoughts of her husband "where's Max?"
Alex took note of the people in the cell with him "and Izzy?"
The Sheriff who was already on his feet perusing the cell added "looks like more than half of us are missing."
Cade frowned in concentration, his thoughts on Gua tactics "if we're still alive then I'm assuming so are they. We've probably all been separated."
Alex shook his head in disgust "great! And it just so happens that none of us in here have powers." As usual, it looked like it was going to be up to his wife to save his ass.
Cade turned from his own perusal of the room to look at Alex grimly "I don't think it matters much, there aren't any doors or windows in the place. Besides, the Gua aren't ignorant of the Royal Fours capabilities, they've more than likely found a way to disable the Royals."
Alex shared Cade's grim look, before a smile settled on his face "yes, but they are most definitely ignorant of the humans among us with superhuman powers. That may just give us the edge we need to find a way out of here."
"I hope you're right."
Xander scrutinised the room with the experience born of being in similar situations constantly due to his close relationship to the Slayer. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore…"
Giles gave the boy a look of deep irritation "we never were in Kansas" with a brief pause to translate the teenage language into English he shook his head in further irritation "right, pop culture reference."
After many years of knowing the Slayer and her friends, Giles continued to find their regard of dangerous situations as something to laugh about disconcerting.
No doubt it was what kept them from developing schizophrenic tendencies and depressive states after the lives they led, which was something to be admired. Yet it still galled him that they continued to treat such situations without the seriousness that it deserved.
Xander gave the Watcher a look "guess someone woke up on the wrong side of the concrete slab."
Giles ignored the comment, knowing it was true. Instead he looked around and noticed the lack of other prisoners "there are only two of us…"
"Great deductive powers G-Man. Its common military practise to separate prisoners, it keeps them weaker and makes them easier to control."
Giles gave the boy a nod in understanding.
"I wonder if the cellmates were chosen at random, or if it serves a certain purpose?"
Giles looked to Xander for the answer, knowing that the boy had more knowledge in this area due to his brief stint as a solider one Halloween years ago.
Puffing his chest out in pride at being knowledge-guy, Xander shook his head "I'm thinking in this case it's random, cause if it is the Goo Goo Dolls…"
"Gua."
"Right! If it is the Gua, then they have no friggen idea who half their captives are, in fact, we're probably on the list of top most expendable prisoners."
"Random though the cell arrangements might be, the kidnapping itself was certainly not. Which begs the question, what do they want with us?" mused Giles.
"Not us, them. The Gwark…Gua, whatever, they only want the Royal family of Mars."
Giles agreed "because killing them gives the Gua free access to earth,"
"Yeah, not that I saw them having any trouble in the accessing department when they kidnapped us."
"Unfortunately Xander, that is all the information I have on the subject, you would have to ask one of them for further details if it piques your interest that much."
Xander grinned at the Watchers obvious bad mood "I betcha Wills and Buff are missing me and my excellent humour."
Buffy gave Max another withering look before turning to look at Oz "thank God and his merciful heart that Xander's not here. I mean I love the guy and all, but by now he'd be driving us all crazy."
"Hmm" Agreed Oz, who was sitting in a corner of the room holding a still sleeping Willow.
"We have to find Liz!" Shouted Max, feeling angry with his lack of power and the continuous banter in the room. He found himself annoyed that Buffy was not taking this threat seriously.
"So you keep saying, I'm beginning to think Xander wouldn't have been so annoying after all." She looked pointedly at Max, who to her annoyance was not catching her none too subtle hint.
With a frown, she made her way over to Oz and Willow "how's she doing?"
Oz shrugged "she seems fine, just asleep."
Buffy nodded, concern for her friend showing clearly on her face.
"Got a plan?" Asked Oz as she sat down beside him.
"Gonna kill the first alien who walks through that door."
"Good plan."
Spike ignored his bloody and bruised hands and continued to pound on the walls in desperation "somebody had bloody better let me out of here!"
He alternated between thumping his head on the walls and pounding his fists on them.
"Get me out of here before I loose what bloody mind I have left" he screamed.
"What is your problem?" Snapped Isabel, feeling desperate enough herself to begin slamming her head against the wall.
Spike rounded on the alien princess with a growl "my problem is you and you" he pointed first at Isabel then at Cordelia.
"If I have to hear one more complaint on how dirty it is and how your clothes are ruined and how messy your hair is…"
"You tell them bleachy!" Cheered Kyle from his corner of the room.
Spike turned "and you with your continuous whining on how it's everyone else's fault you are here."
"Yeah, it's very annoying" agreed Cordelia.
Kyle sneered "and you would know, being Queen of all that is Annoying!"
Isabel snorted in agreement.
Cordelia gave Isabel a condescending look "well what about you and all your talk of powers…I don't see any powers working to get us out of here!"
"I already told you that I've tried, nothings working!"
This time it was Cordelia who snorted.
"Help! Somebody help me!" Shouted Spike as he resumed his banging on the walls.
"I should have ignored my overly curious mind and stayed away." Groaned Kyle.
"Hello? Is anybody there?" Shouted Spike, increasing his volume with each pound on the wall.
"Yeah maybe you should have, it would have saved us all a headache" replied Isabel, turning her 'Ice Queen' glare upon Kyle.
"Just stake me and get it over with, stick me in the sunlight, shower me in holy water…anything!" Begged Spike.
Krieg paced his luxurious quarters as his men reported on the capture of the elusive and well protected Antarians.
He interrupted the long diatribe to ask "so we have them?"
Sharn nodded with immense relief at the success of the operation "as well as some humans Sir."
"Eliminate the humans, they are worthless to me...wait! On second thought keep them, there may be a reason for them working with the King, scan everyone, let's see if they're really as human as they appear to be. Did you find out which ones are the Chosen Two?"
Sharn swallowed nervously "not yet Sir."
"Find out! We need to find out where they get their superior powers from, and I want to know why our weapon is useless while all four of them live."
"I will see to it Sir."
Krieg sat down in one of his plush chairs "and bring me their King, I want to see what inspires such an enormous following."
"Very well Sir."
Krieg rocked back and forth in his chair "before you bring him in, I want to see Joshua, he is the only one ever to have met Foster and lived."
Sharn felt himself shrinking away from his master before speaking up "Uh, Sir, Joshua is not here…"
"Then get him here you imbecile!"
"Wha…what should I do with Foster Sir?"
Krieg smiled for the first time "nothing for now, later I would like to….play with this human who has caused us untold damage in our cause."
"Yes Sir."
Alex squealed when the wall rolled away to form a doorway. What looked like a deformed head on a muscular body strode through the doorway that had not been there previously to stand before them.
"Do not try anything." Sharn indicated small holes in the ceiling that had appeared in the last few seconds.
"There are numerous weapons trained on you at this very moment" He then pointed at Liz "Identify yourself!"
She stood still, confused and frightened.
He backhanded her and warned the now angry prisoners to stay back if they wished to remain unharmed.
"Identify yourself!" He repeated with more force.
Still unsure of what was expected of her, she responded with her name and hoped it wouldn't be an excuse for another backhand "Liz Evans." To her relief this seemed to be the answer he wanted.
He pointed a device that looked similar to a small GPS at her and read the data it projected.
Without emotion he declared her human before facing Alex "Identify Yourself!"
"Alex Whitman, and I can save you the trouble, we're all human."
Sharn ignored him, and instead pointed the scanning device in his direction "You are human."
"What did I just say?" Mumbled Alex quietly, not wanting to be hit, but definitely looking forward to an opportunity to revenge the soon to be bruised face of Liz.
"Identify yourself"
"Jim Valenti."
After consulting the scanned data, Sharn determined that Jim was yet another human.
"Identify yourself."
"Cade Foster."
Sharn looked up sharply, then into a communication device he spoke in his own language, obviously announcing to all that were interested that The Twice Blessed Man was in custody.
With a lingering look in Cade's direction, Sharn exited the cell.
Xander gasped in surprise as Sharn entered the cell, both from surprise that there was in fact a door, something he was beginning to doubt after hours of search, but mostly because of his malformed appearance.
"What the hell?"
Giles gave him a look to silence him, which Xander for once obeyed.
"There are numerous weapons trained on you, do not try anything stupid."
The prisoners remained silent. Although they could perceive no weapons, this was not the time to test out the threat.
Both Xander and Giles were then made to identify themselves whilst Sharn used his scanning device to determine if they were human.
Sharn's eyes turned on Giles after reading the results, something peculiar was going on here because although the results showed him to be human, there were also slight indicators of ancient magic in the DNA, indicators that were remarkably similar to the Old Ones.
Xander nudged Giles and whispered in his ear "Is it just me, or does that Alien look remarkably like…"
"A vampire…yes!" He watched as the Alien left the cell and the wall closed behind him.