Original of the Species 3: The Robots and the Saiyan: Adam Chapter Eight, a Buffy: The Vampire Slayer + Dragon Ball Z Crossover fanfic

Chapter 8

'Be Yourself'

AN: Writing this chapter has been a strange exercise. Despite thinking I knew exactly what I wanted to write and being pretty much inspired it still put up a lot of resistance, constantly changing on the little details. It took me a lot longer to finish then I had originally thought it would. But who cares! It's done!

And even when you've paid enough

Been pulled apart or been held up

With every single memory of the good or bad

Faces of luck

Don't lose any sleep tonight

I'm sure everything will end up alright

You may win or lose

But to be yourself is all that you can do

Be Yourself

Audioslave - Out of Exile

Lyrics by Chris Cornell

A day minus 248

Thud!

"Speak!"

Like he was a piece of meat Faith slammed Spike against the wall of their motel room.

"Look sister," Spike said, "No need to get your knickers in a twist. I was just…"

"I'm not your sister," Faith hissed, "Last time we saw you, you were surrounded by those zombies."

"No thanks to you lot," Spike muttered aggrieved.

"The why is inconsequential," Faith said as she twisted some of Spike's skin, "I wanna know how you got out of there in one piece."

"Aaah, you crazy bitch!" Spike cried out in pain. Despite all the hardware built into him he still wasn't immune to pain. Not of the nice kind that is.

"You sold us out, didn't you?" Xander added as he joined Faith, "You sold us out to that thing, didn't you?"

"Well, wouldn't you?" Spike said looking at Xander, "after all, you left me there to face the music, you bastard!"

"So you freely admit it," Xander said angry.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Spike said gruff, "One moment we were all the three amigos, the next you left me to do a solo. Of course I had to cut a deal."

"What kind of deal, Spike?" Giles asked.

"To set us up of course," Xander snorted.

"Not everything revolves around you, Droopy," Spike said as he began to smirk, then he turned to Faith, "If you please would, love?"

Faith let go of the vampire who began to straighten his shirt.

"So what kind of deal did you make, Spike?" Giles asked again.

"Nothing much," Spike said smirking, "I just had to give you guys a message."

"Which is?"

"Adam, that's his name by the way, told me to say that he waits for you. That if you guys made it back he's happy to see you. And this time you're welcome to just use the front door."

When Goku had first learned the instant transmission technique from the Yardratti he had only used it for relatively local point to point teleportation at first. As time went on and as part of his training Goku had experimented with the technique, trying to come up with innovative ways to use the technique in ways not previously thought off.

At first Goku went for distance. Trying to teleport as far as was possible. The whole Earth soon was no limit. After that Goku had to resort to other means. Like borrowing the space ship that Bulma's father had built for him. As he took Piccolo along he used the Namek on the ever traveling away space ship and his own son back home for bearing to see how far the instant transmission would take him. He found that as long as he could sense someone at the point of destination there seemed to be no limit as to how far the instant transmission would take him.

So then it became important to train his senses to sense for chi as best as they could. To be able to identify even the weakest person in a sea of chi, or the tiniest amounts of chi the furthest away. By doing that Goku could teleport to any place in the solar system. Provided there was somebody at the other end of course.

But if he went Super Saiyan Goku learned that he could extend his range even further and teleport himself to some of the inhabited star systems near Earth. Which meant that theoretically as long as he could sense just the minutest amounts of chi he could travel the entire galaxy.

In contrast to Goku Belmovekk was relatively new to chi sense. But it was a sense the Saiyan had seriously sought to develop as well. He would never abandon his old trusty scouter, but Belmovekk could see the value of having multiple ways of detecting enemies. So he had trained himself hard to be able to sense chi like the others. He wasn't up to Goku levels of detection, but then again, who was? The guy was a natural of a kind that appeared only once in a generation.

Still, Belmovekk was good enough to breach the dimensions and enter into the afterlife.

Only to emerge on a small planetoid with a crushing gravity and a small house on it.

It had taken Belmovekk more then two years to finally master instant transmission. And not for lack of trying. It just didn't came as naturally to him as it did to Goku. But as he started to get the hang of it Goku imparted to him the benefits of what he had learned. How to travel long distances, how to sense for long distance chi. And how to breach the dimensions into the afterlife.

By sheer accident Goku had discovered that when he was in Super Saiyan state he could sense the Lord of Worlds on his little planetoid in the afterlife. And to his surprise he found that crossing the dimensional barrier into the afterlife was no more difficult then traveling to a distant star. So he crossed over to say hello.

And learned why the Lord of Worlds resided there and named himself that way.

Once Belmovekk had finally shown signs of being able to teleport himself one out of every two times he tried Goku had taken his fellow Saiyan and introduced him to the Lord of Worlds. Who was quite intrigued with him.

Not this time though.

The usually so jolly Lord of Worlds came screaming out of his little home.

"How dare you to intrude on my sanctity!" the Lord of Worlds screamed at Belmovekk.

Belmovekk shot an angry glare at the small creature. He still didn't fully understand what this Lord of Worlds was and where he fitted in the grand scheme of things. Normally he would be polite and play nice. But he was a little strapped for time right now.

"Excuse me, Kaio Sama," he said brusquely, "But I need to find someone. And I know you can. Now if you would please point me to the right direction I will be on my way."

"Why would I help a murderer?" the Lord of Worlds replied as he folded his short arms across his broad chest, "Yes, I know what you did, you butcher. You slaughtered billions today."

Belmovekk looked at the small creature who was now joined by his pet monkey.

"Ook?"

"Either help me find this Majin, or I will continue to slaughter billions more," he said with a straight face, "With her gone I no longer care."

"You wouldn't!" the Lord of Worlds said aghast, "You'd be too late to save her."

Belmovekk leaned forward until his face was close to the Lord of Worlds.

"Then either give me what I want or watch this galaxy burn."

Horrified the Lord of Worlds recoiled. Then his shoulders slumped and he looked downwards in defeat.

"I will do ask you ask," he said gloomily, then he looked up again, "but only because doing so is the lesser of two evils."

"Here it is."

Spike had led the group through Cleveland's skies to a set of maintenance buildings on the University of Cleveland campus.

"It's in there," he said as he pulled open the nearest maintenance shed.

"It just looks like a garage," Xander said as he stepped inside and put his hand on a tractor.

Riley meanwhile walked to the right, where there was a small kitchen unit. Judging by the coffee stains on the table the place hadn't been used or cleaned in a while. But it was the little signs that crept him out. The overturned cup from which the coffee had spilled, the broken leg on one of the chairs. Something bad had happened here.

"That's the bloody point, you dunce," he heard the vampire say towards Xander.

"Is everything alright, sir?" one of Riley's men asked behind him.

"I'm fine," Riley said as he turned around and left the kitchen unit. He saw another one of his soldier folding away his cell phone.

"Major Jamison just called, sir," the soldier said, "he and his men have just crossed the Ohio and will be here in ten minutes."

"Fine," Riley nodded.

"Sir?" the first soldier asked, "Will we be waiting for Major Jamison? I mean, we could use the extra help."

Riley looked at the man. He had personally handpicked him not only because he was among the best of the current group, but also because, like the others he had picked, was way too loyal for his own good. Riley glanced at all of them. If they were to survive this day they would probably become as close knit as Belmovekk's Bastards had become. Although for their sake he hoped they wouldn't start to call themselves Riley's Roughnecks.

"I'm afraid not, soldier," Riley said, trying to give them his most comforting smile, "If everything goes to plan all we'll be doing is a rear guard action. If it doesn't goes to plan Major Jamison's men won't make much of a difference anyway."

"Then why send for them?" a corporal asked.

"Someone has to buy time so they can evacuate as many civilians before they nuke this place," Riley said straight faced.

"Geez, Wellington," Spike said as he had overheard Riley's little speech, "You sure know how to give a pep talk, do ya?"

"I believe in being honest," Riley bit back, "Which I'm sure is more then can be said about you."

"Hey, I'm honest," Spike protested, "Didn't I tell you I had switched sides?"

"I don't see a doorway," Giles said after he had examined the walls.

"Sure there's one," Spike said pointing to a wall, "It's right over there."

"I don't see it, Sparky," Xander said as he examined the wall.

"Why am I not surprised?" Spike muttered, then he walked over to the wall, pressed a panel and the wall slid open.

"While I'll be darned and dipped in molasses," Xander said surprised and in a western accent, "so there really is a door. And an elevator as well."

"We won't all fit in there though," Faith said.

"We'll go in groups then," Giles said as he picked up his box again.

"You're kidding, right?" Riley protested and pointed right towards Spike, "that's exactly what he wants, split us up."

"Hey, don't look at me," Spike said, "I'm just messenger boy, remember? You got a free pass to go to him. Why would I have to betray you?"

Riley leaned over until he was close to the vampire's face.

"Because you have treason oozing out of every pore in your body," he slowly said.

"I resent that," Spike huffed.

"Like I care," Riley replied, pointing two fingers at his own eyes, then turning them towards Spike, "I have my eyes on you, vampire."

"I'm shaking in my boots, Wellington," Spike snorted.

"Look, if we all just make an effort to stand a little closer we'll just fit in," Giles said as he stepped inside the elevator, then he looked around, "Where are the buttons?"

"You really never left the 13th century, did you, Rupert?" Spike snorted, then he shook his head, "Alright, everyone in the elevator, let uncle Spike play elevator operator."

Using his antennae the Lord of Worlds scoured towards all directions on his little planetoid. When Goku had first used his trained long distance chi sense in this realm he learned to his surprise that it greatly enhanced his range. Instead of making a small jump from inhabited star system to inhabited star system he could actually sense chi across the whole galaxy. Not in detail like the Lord of Worlds could, but it was still damn nifty.

Which went a long way towards explaining why the Lord of Worlds choose to reside on this little insignificant planetoid in the afterlife. He basically could oversee the whole galaxy from here.

"I think I have found him," the Lord of Worlds said after he had searched the galaxy for a trace of the Majin's energy.

"Where?" Belmovekk said excited as he joined the Lord of World's side.

"In that direction," the Lord of Worlds said as he pointed towards somewhere. To where he pointed was meaningless in the afterlife, below them there were just yellow clouds. Above them was just pink sky. But the direction did correspond to a place in the galaxy. And as he extended his senses Belmovekk finally got a sense of his enemy again, the Majin.

"You're in luck," the Lord of Worlds said as he folded his short arms behind his back, "It is with Anubis. If you hurry then you might still be in time."

"Then please do not distract me," Belmovekk replied as he closed his eyes, put two finger on his forehead and prepared himself to teleport.

"I can't say that it's been a pleasure having you around," the Lord of Worlds said, "I hope you catch him though. And that you go to Hell for what you have done today."

"Do not worry yourself, Kaio Sama," Belmovekk replied, "I have made my peace that I will join my brethren in Hell long ago."

And with that Belmovekk disappeared, leaving the Lord of Worlds to his peace again.

"Would you believe this?"

"I figured we would have to fight our way in, sir," one of Riley's soldiers whispered as the group progressed through the dim corridors of the Initiative, with only red emergency lights to help them see in the dark

"You're not the only one, private," Riley whispered back. He was seriously crept out by this expedition through the Initiative's dark innards. And not just because everywhere they went the techno zombified demons and soldiers just stepped aside to let them pass, while behind them they all gathered to follow them. No, what really crept out Riley was that he felt that this was where he should have been. That if his life had taken just a little different turn and he had never met Satiya he would have ended up in a place like this.

"How much further is it?" Giles asked Spike, who was leading the group on.

"Almost there, Rupert," Spike said confidently, "No need to get your…."

"Yeah I know the expression," Giles muttered annoyed.

Belmo was dead.

For God knows how long Buffy had resisted both the psychic probes of Anubis and the magic of the priests trying to weaken her defenses. She had thought she was doing a good job resisting the robed nutjobs when suddenly the pink demon returned. The crazy Goold had talked to the thing and then he told her the news.

Belmo was dead.

She almost buckled on that news alone.

Belmo was dead.

For more then two years he had been more of a father to her then her own father.

Belmo was dead.

Even if he wasn't always the easiest to live with. As she and Angel had learned the hard way. He had never liked the souled vampire and he had not resouled Angelus in order to permanently end their relationship. And in doing so almost ended theirs.

Belmo was dead.

And then there were the secrets.

Belmo was dead.

Sometimes she thought he kept secrets just for the hell of it. And they had a bad habit of coming back to bite them in the ass.

Belmo was dead.

But in the end he loved her, her sisters and her mother unconditionally. No matter what she had done, or who her boyfriend was, as long as it wasn't Angel, or some other girl, like Tara. And okay, part of her knew that part of that was because she reminded him of his late sister, whom he had dearly loved.

Well, it had worried her a lot actually because nobody wants to be the shoe in for a long lost and beloved dead one.

Belmo was dead.

But they had talked it out and in the end did it really matter how two people met each other? The only thing that mattered was the reason why they stayed together. And he knew she was her own self. Mayan was Mayan and she was Buffy.

Besides, her sister Mayan was now filling the ersatz dead sister role.

Belmo was dead.

She had only gone into space to save his life, to ward off his death according to the prophetic dreams.

And she thought she had.

Because she had fended off the demon's attack and saved his life she had thought that Belmo would now come and rescue her. Thinking? Hell, it was Belmo. He would do for her what she had done for him. For she did not regret getting caught. It was just a matter of time. After all, it was Belmo. Once he was on planet Saiyan Pocket Protector there was no stopping him. He'd go to Hell and back if need be.

Belmo was dead.

And then that thing returned and Buffy just knew something bad had happened. It could only have returned because Belmo was dead. Because there were only two options. Either Belmo was still alive and he and that thing were still fighting, or he was dead and that thing returned. Mission accomplished.

Of course it never even occurred to her that maybe the reason the demon had returned was because it got bored.

"She is close, Lord Anubis, the new head priest reported meanwhile to Anubis, "she will be ready for the transfer any moment now."

"Good," Anubis said high-spirited. The Majin had taken care of the Saiyan, soon he would be inside his new host and finally able to exert full control over the Majin. Hell, if he could unlock the girl's hidden powers he might not even have need of the Majin at all. Any way, Yi would be made to pay for his resistance to him and the others be brought to heel. And once he had finally taken Ra's vacant throne he could finally set his plans in motions against the Tau'ri, the Asgard, the Replicators and even the Ori.

Hell, he might even go up against Them!

But first he had to take over the Slayer. He sent out another mental probe and it confirmed what the new head priest had told him. She was ripe for the taking. Funny, telling her that troublesome Saiyan had died was causing her more turmoil then hours on end of non-stop magical assault. Humans were so weak.

He was about to take her over when suddenly an alarm went off, then a Jaffa came running in.

"I gave orders not to be disturbed," an annoyed Anubis said at the unwanted intrusion.

"Milord, I am sorry," the Jaffa said as he dropped unto his knee. The Jaffa was literally shaking with fear as nobody interfered with Anubis' private business when he ordered not to.

Then the facility began to vibrate, followed by a low lying rumble being heard.

"Milord," the Jaffa said, "We are under attack."

Long before the Jaffa spoke his words Buffy lifted up her head.

"You lied to me!" she heard the Goold yell at his pet demon, "You told me you had taken care of him."

Even without her powers she could feel the massive chi that was penetrating the Goold's base.

"Gggghhhhhhh!" she heard the Majin hissed defiantly at Anubis as the Goold held up his fist with the ring on it, and the urn in the other.

Buffy began to smile.

"Don't make me use it, demon, I will," she heard the Goold yell as he brought the ring and urn closer together, "Go out there and kill him!"

Belmo was alive and coming for her!

"This is it," Spike said as he halted the group. To the left, right and behind of them various corridors came together at this point. But in front of them a massive security door prevented further access.

"I remember this door," Faith said as she came forward and touched it.

Soon!

"I also remember coming past here," Willow said.

"Yeah," Xander said and pointed to a door, "and then we went that way because Sparky here told us too. That the Big Bad always gathers his troops in a big hall."

"Hey, he was there, remember?" Spike said annoyed, "And then you left me there to face the music. Remember that too?"

"Let's not start arguing again," Giles said and turned to the vampire, "This thi…., this Adam, he's behind that door?"

"Yup," Spike nodded, "just him. All for you."

Xander raised his hand into the air.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is not a good idea?" he said, "That this is a trap?"

"Knowing it's a trap is the first step in avoiding it, Xander," Giles said trying to put the teen at ease.

"Yeah, and you do remember what happened to the guy who said that, huh?" Xander countered. Meanwhile Spike punched in a code on a keypad next to the security door and the door slid open.

"After you," he said as he made a gracious bow.

"Let's get this over with," Faith said resolutely and stepped inside.

"Oh, what the hell?" Xander sighed and followed her, with Willow in his wake and then Giles.

No sooner had Giles stepped past the post when the security door closed with lightning speed behind him, cutting the Scoobies off from Spike and Riley and his men.

Teleporting straight in from the Lord of Worlds planetoid in the afterlife Belmovekk had emerged somewhere inside the Goa'uld's stronghold. Demonstrating that his grasp of the instant transmission technique wasn't perfect yet. Ah well, at least it got him near enough.

He blew up a couple of rooms and killed a few Jaffa guards to announce his arrival.

"Well, since you're here, you might as well use this opportunity to do some good," a copy of his own voice said, laden with harmonic overtones. From inside the dust cloud of his latest explosion Amūn appeared.

"You pulled a lot of stupid moves to get here, Saiyan," his gold clad counterpart said, "but you managed to get here. Now kill Anubis so we can all go home."

Belmovekk wanted to say something when suddenly he turned his head aside.

"I think that the Majin has something to say over that, it's coming," he said, then he looked at Amūn again, "Tell me you know of a way to defeat this thing?"

Amūn had changed appearances, lost the gold clad armor and instead was now dressed like an Earth boxer, including boxer shorts and gloves.

"Well kid," Amūn said as he swung a fist, "you hit him with a left hook on the right side, cause that's were he's vulnerable. And then you follow it up with a barrage on…. "

Amūn stopped pretending he was a boxer.

"How in the hell should I know? You're the expert, remember?"

No sooner had he said so as something small and pink crashed into Belmovekk and dragged the Saiyan away.

"See? What do I know," Amūn said wistfully as he was all alone again. And then he faded away.

"She's starting to resist again," the new head priest of the Cult of They Who Watch yelled at Anubis.

"You think so?" Anubis said back annoyed.

"Things not going so well, Newby?" Buffy said smirking, then her smirk disappeared and turned into one of her patented death glares, "You lied to me!"

"The Majin lied to both of us," Anubis said as he leaned on the stone slab that she was secured to.

"Well, that's the problem with demons," Buffy said mockingly, "They rarely ever do what you want them to do."

"I will once I harness the power of your body," Anubis replied, then he leaned over, "youngling."

"You just let me go and I'll show you what this youngling will do to your sorry degenerating ass," Buffy yelled as Anubis turned away from her and faced the new head priest.

"How long?" he asked.

"At least half an hour," the head priests said, "my priests are working themselves to death."

Anubis brought his deteriorating face close to that of the head priest.

"I want her broken in minutes or I swear that you will be the first of your priests to die!"

"Open that door!"

"I'm trying to!"

While Riley was about ready to tear Spike a new one, the vampire was punching his access code on the touch pad to no avail.

"Sir," one of Riley's soldiers said nervously.

"What?" Riley asked as he turned around.

"These things, sir," the soldier said as he pointed to the mass of techno zombies behind them, "they're getting closer."

The soldier was right. The whatever the hell they were had stopped keeping their distance and were getting closer.

"Why don't we blast that door in?" another soldier suggested, causing Spike to give him a funny look.

"Be my guest," he said, "but that door is shielded by some alien force field on the inside. It was meant to keep people like me in. Enhanced people, remember?"

"Spike!" Riley hissed, "Just do something! Get us out of here!"

"I'm trying," Spike said like he was under a lot of pressure. But then the vampire stopped entering numbers into the touch pad and began to laugh.

"Why do I even bother?" he said as he stepped away from the touch pad.

"Spike, what the hell are you doing?" Riley asked surprised.

"End of the line for you, pall," Spike said as he reached inside a back pocket and pulled forth a packet of cigarettes. Pulling one out he put it into his mouth and lit it with a little chi from his finger.

"What are you talking about, Spike?" Riley said nervously as the techno zombies were now getting really close, "You said we had free access to meet this Adam."

"Did I say that?" Spike said as he inhaled deeply, "I guess I was wrong then."

"You lying son o a bitch!" one of the soldiers said.

"Technically it wasn't a lie," Spike said as he casually strolled past Riley and his men, until he stood with the techno zombies, "I said they had free entrance. And they have. It's just that they didn't include you lot."

One of the zombies, one who in a previous life had been Quentin Travers, head of the Watchers Council, came forth carrying a black leather trench coat and put it on Spike. Much to the vampire's delight.

"You betrayed us, Spike," Riley said resolutely, "I'll kill you if it's the last thing I'll ever do!"

"Puhlease," Spike snorted as he straightened his leather coat, "You and whose army?"

A day minus 249

In the large hall underneath Cleveland Spike was fighting for his life. To his surprise his supposed allies and the ones who had gotten him into this mess had suddenly abandoned him after Droopy had unleashed his massive yet fake attack. Now the whole lot was coming after him. Thanks, you Sunnydale wankers!

"Come on, you wankers!" Spike shouted defiantly as the horde of the techno undead closed in on him, "If I go down I'll take the whole lot of you with me!"

To illustrate his point Spike began to charge a massive attack between his hands. Cleveland be damned if it meant an end to his life. He had no qualms in regards to human life in the abstract sense as the chip wasn't flooding his neural paths with pain.

Suddenly the undead stopped advancing, then they parted and the cyborg king came through.

"So this is how it's going to be, huh?" Spike said and aimed the attack right at him. He tried to fire but to his surprise found that he couldn't. Could it be the damn chip again? It didn't feel like it. There was no searing pain. And yet he felt utterly unable to let it go at this, this thing.

Then this thing came up right at him and put his hands on Spike's.

"Relax, Spike," he said in that calm droning voice again. As he did Spike stopped charging his attack and instead re-absorbed it.

"Who are you," Spike said flabbergasted at his own actions.

The Cyborg began to smile.

"We are brothers, you and I," it said, "Spike and Adam. Adam and Spike. Hello, older brother."

"Who are you?" Spike asked again, upon which the cyborg smiled.

"I understand," it said, "There is much you don't remember."

"Remember what?" Spike asked. Then the cyborg spoke a single word.

"Drusilla."

And that was when the memories began to flood back again.

"I feel better if we were to use demons instead for the project and destroy this one altogether. At the very least erase his mind completely so he won't cause us any more troubles. He always does."

"Have no worry, Sir Travers, Hostile 17 is just a prototype. We only used him because, well, he's the only one who survived the program this far. All the others died long before. That is why we need your help."

"This power, it is like unto the Gods."

"You think this is amazing, Sir Travers, I want you to see this."

"It's almost the end of the line for you, William. I cannot say I will mourn your passing, although I do wish your end came at the hands of a Slayer. Even a vampire like you deserves that over a mere mindwipe."

"Sound the alert, 314 is…. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…"

"Hello brother. Even though this is the first time we meet I feel a great kinship between you and me. Especially once I complete your programming."

"Adam, don't. I know of a better use for him. He can be our Trojan horse to them."

"Do not tempt me, demon, I am Adam! I am not your puppet to play with."

"Silly android, you think you have a choice in this? We were the ones who gave you life beyond your programming to begin with. And if we want we will take it back again. He stays as he is. With some minor programming though."

"I…., I remember things," Spike said confused, then he looked at Adam, "You have nothing to do with some crazy scientist and his robots, you work for Them."

Adam smiled.

"And so do you, brother, so do you. You have brought them here, just as planned."

Adam tried to touch Spike again but the vampire recoiled.

"Don't touch me, you freak," Spike said in revulsion, "I'm not somebody's puppet. I'm my own man."

"And you shall be brother," Adam said in that soothing yet monotonous voice of his, "At first I wanted to change you. Like the others. But now I've come to realize that you are way more useful to me as you are. You shall be my lieutenant. And when the Androids shall come to cleanse this world, it shall be us who will inherit the Earth. Adam and Spike. Spike and Adam. Like brothers. As it should be.

"Rule together, huh?" Spike said thoughtful.

Adam put his hand on Spike's shoulder and this time the vampire did not recoil.

"But there is one more thing I want you to do, brother."

A day plus 248

"You betrayed us, Spike," Riley said resolutely, "I'll kill you if it's the last thing I'll ever do!"

"Puhlease," Spike snorted as he straightened his leather coat, "You and whose army? My boys here are each more then a match to your toy soldiers."

Spike leaned forward and began to grin.

"And I have even more in waiting outside for your buddies. They won't even know what hit them. In one fell stroke we will eliminate the only forces who could stop us east of the Mississippi."

"You won't get away with this, Spike," Riley yelled angry, "The others, they will stop your boss and then you!"

"Puhlease," Spike snorted again and nodded towards the security door, "They're doing exactly what Adam wants them to do. This has been planned long ago."

"Then Buffy will stop you once she returns," Riley spat out, "Together with Belmovekk!"

"Oh no," Spike said pretending to be scared, "big angry Slayer and the Big Scary will return from space."

Spike began to laugh.

"You really have no idea of what has been set in motion against all of you, haven't you, Captain Courageous?" the vampire sneered, then he turned around and walked away, through the multitude of techno zombies.

"You won't get away with this, Spike," Riley's voice yelled in anger behind him, "You won't get away with this."

"Yeah, you and whose army?" Spike jeered, "You and whose a….."

Suddenly something grabbed Spike by his throat and slammed him whole against the wall.

Then, to his surprise, in the dim light Spike could make out the smirking face of Piccolo.

"How about me, vampire?"

On the other side of the security door Xander had tried to punch through but to no avail as he noticed that the door was shielded.

"I could probably break through," Xander said, "But it won't be pretty. I might even blow up part of the base."

"Not to mention Major Riley on the other side," Willow said.

"Then don't," Giles said as he turned around and moved on.

"We can't just leave them there," Xander protested, then he pointed towards Willow, "Maybe Will could open a portal for them?"

"It takes her ten minutes to perform the portal spell," Giles said all businesslike, "By then it would be too late for Major Riley any way. The best thing we could do is perform the enjoining spell. To put it in words even you could understand, kill the Borg Queen, the collective dies with it."

"I suppose," Xander sighed, then he looked oddly at Giles, "Since when do you watch Star Trek?"

Before Giles could reply, Faith opened a side door and looked inside. The place looked like a crossover between a hospital surgical room and a torture chamber. Evil deeds had been wrought here.

"Do you think this place's okay to be Magic Central?" she asked Giles. The former librarian looked inside.

"It, uh, should do," Giles answered, then he went inside and began to unpack goods from his cardboard box.

"Ew," Willow shuddered as she entered the medical chamber of horror, "Could you have picked a more creepy place?"

"Have a heart, Will," Xander said, "If it's this bad already, imagine how much worse it will get further on."

"That's one more mental image I could have done without, Xander," Willow said back.

"I do my best," Xander smiled, then he turned to Faith, "Be careful. I don't like it that you will be going in there alone."

"Once the spell becomes active I won't," Faith smiled, then she made a shooing motion with her hand, "Now go. Go do that voodoo that you do."

"How long until we can activate the spell?" Xander asked Giles.

"If you shut up and let me do my thing, five minutes," Giles replied, "If not, who knows."

"Shutting up then," Xander said and pretended to pull a zipper across his lips.

"Do you guys want to barricade this door once I'm gone," Faith asked standing in the door opening.

"Do you think we should?" Giles asked Xander and Willow, "Spike did say that only Adam would be here waiting for us. And no barricade would stop one of those enhanced zombies anyway"

"Spike's also a notorious liar," Xander said, "He already shafted us just now, you wanna trust our lives just on his word?"

Before Giles could say anything Willow flicked her finger and the door closed shut, and the large heavy surgical bench slid in front of the door.

"There, done," Willow said, "can we get on with the spell now?"

After being shut out by the others Faith continued on her way through the Initiative

inner sanctum. Deeper and deeper she went, again hearing that inner feeling.

This way.

She was close now, so close.

Although as her inner feeling drove her on she wasn't quite sure as to what exactly she was close too. In all likelihood at least an answer.

Even though she wasn't quite sure either what the question was.

Then again, stating the question also meant answering it.

Finally Faith halted in front of yet another security door. She recognized the door from her dreams. Including its number.

314.

Enter.

Deciding that at least a little show of force was in order Faith kicked in the door and send the reinforced steel door crashing into the room. Then she stepped inside.

It looked exactly like she remembered it from her dreams. Only B. and her friends weren't there to chastise her. As she turned to the left however she saw him though.

Seated in front of a large assembly of close circuit TV screens Adam could monitor whatever and anyplace inside the Initiative.

"Hello Faith," he said in that calm monotonous voice of his, "So nice of you to finally come. Are you here to kill me?"

"Yes," Faith said resolutely at first, then she began to slump, "I…, uh, I don't know."

In the Initiative medical/torture room the three Scoobies sat in a circle as Giles lit a candle as Willow began to chant.

"The power of the Slayer and all who yield it. Last to ancient first, we invoke thee. Grant us thy domain and primal strength. Accept us in the power we possess. Make us mind and heart and spirit joy. Let the hand encompass us. Do thy will."

On a distant planet, on the other side of the galaxy a titanic battle raged in the skies over Anubis' stronghold as Belmovekk battled the Majin. In the great debate that ranged between who would win in a battle between superior skill versus superior power there was still no winner.

Despite having taken his emergency senzu and having restored his full power and stamina Belmovekk could still not beat the Majin. The thing just had infinite reserves to spare it would seem.

A massive purple blast by the Majin was only avoided barely by the Saiyan, who followed it up by closing the distance between them and engaging in close quarter fighting that took both combatants all over the place.

The planet that Anubis had turned into his personal stronghold held many bases and complexes. The one he was using to possess Buffy was just one of them. There were no fleets in orbit, as Anubis had deployed them to prop up his allies in the wake of the Saiyan's attacks. But there were still plenty of Jaffa left.

And all of them were in a state of panic as they either watched the fight up close, from a distance or via communications being sent from those up close. The stories of what had happened to several of Anubis' allies had filtered down even to them and now the source of that devastation was battling something just as scary in the skies above them.

From time to time a fireball or energy beam of immense destructive power rained down on the planet adding to their panic.

And to make it all worse, there were no orders coming forth from Anubis.

This was not a good day to be one of Anubis' Jaffa.

But it was not a good day to a certain Saiyan either.

For he knew damn well that while he was fighting the Majin, time was running out on Buffy. And every moment he wasn't getting anywhere with the demon was one moment that Buffy was closer to her doom.

Belmovekk was getting desperate.

And desperate fighters make desperate moves.

Which wasn't always a smart thing to do when your opponent wasn't.

"Spiritus...Spirit," Willow said in the Initiative medical/torture room. Then she handed a card to Xander

"Animus...Heart," the teen spoke.

Next Willow handed a card to Giles.

"Sophus...Mind," the former librarian spoke.

"And Manus...," Willow said.

In room 314 Faith was still standing in front of Adam.

"So what will it be, Faith?" Adam said as he stood up.

As he did Faith took an involuntary step backwards. As she did however she felt the presence of someone else behind her. She turned around and saw B. standing there. And Jeeves. And Red. And Xander. They all looked at her with those accusing stares.

"No," Faith said as she stepped backwards again, towards Adam, then she turned around and faced him again.

"What does it mean?"

Adam began to smile and pointed to one of the small screens as he walked towards her, where Faith could see the Scoobies engaged in their ritual.

"They are using you for their own purposes, Faith," Adam replied as he positioned himself behind her, "Even now do they plan to use you as a living weapon. Despite what they did to you they still plan on using you."

"I, uh, um," Faith stammered as she looked at the little screen, then she glanced over her shoulders towards her four accusers. Why was she even listening to him? He was an evil cyborg, she a Slayer. The answer should be simple, right?

"Everybody is using you, Faith," Adam said, "just as much as they wanted to use me. Or are still using me."

Then Adam leaned forward until he was close to her ear.

"I will tell you a secret, Faith. They want me to kill you just as much as they want you to kill me."

"And what do you want?" Faith asked. Adam walked past her back to his screens and sat down again.

"How about joining me?"

"We enjoin that we may inhabit the vessel-the hand...daughter of Sineya...first of the ones..."

They say that when you had an out of body experience you could float over your own body. Which seemed like a cool experience to Buffy who never had such an experience. Even when she had died for a few minutes, now a lifetime ago, she never floated above her own body. As far as she could remember.

And now she also didn't float above her body. Despite her best efforts Buffy, or should she say, her soul essence was now slowly but being drawn from her body to this infernal thing, the Soul Chalice. Like Casper the ghost she was leaving her body until only a thin strand of soul essence connected her still to her own body.

Inside the Soul Chalice however Buffy was screaming bloody murder. This was no floating above your body paradise. This was like being trapped inside a frozen block of ice.

On the other side of the chalice things weren't peachy either. It had cost the Priests of the They who Watch five of their brethren as they had died in order to break down the layer's defenses. Even more had died outside, where Buffy had heard muffled cries coming from. Such was the nature of magic away from Earth.

When the various Earth cultures had been taken from Earth, those Watchers who were also taken away learned that much of their magic stopped working. Maybe it was the unique nature of Earth, because it lay at an inter-dimensional crossroad that caused the Hellmouths to be formed, but away from Earth most of the magic they knew ceased to work.

Some of the Slayer cults that had sprung up in exile had turned to demon worship in their desperation. After all, if the Goa'uld were the enemy, maybe they could harness the power of their old enemies against their new ones. In most cases it didn't work either. In exile a lot of knowledge was quickly lost, including the knowledge of how to control demons, which caused any summoned demon to turn as easy on its summoner then at the Goa'uld, who simply used their superior technology and firepower to deal with such cases.

Some of the Slayer cults in exile turned to technology. Fight their oppressors using their own technology against them. That mostly didn't work either. In most cases the Goa'uld guarded their own technology fiercely, even from their own servants the Jaffa.

But in the cases it did work it failed in another way. As Watchers turned scientist managing to unravel the secrets of Goa'uld technology, such worlds once free became highly advanced societies, who fiercely guarded their own independence through superior science. A few of these worlds would even be visited by the SG-teams in later times. Only to be snubbed at because these cultures had forgotten their Earth origins and de facto worshipped their own technology now instead. Cause after all, if ray guns and shields kept you safe from evil space aliens, what use was there still for stories about monsters and super powered girls fighting them?

Those Slayer cults that did survive in exile under Goa'uld rule fell into two categories. There were the idealistic ones, who became secret underground religions that offered a focal point of resistance to the Goa'uld. Often using whatever rudimentary magic that was left to impress the faithful. After all, they had to offer at least a few miracles as a counterbalance to the ongoing miracle that was Goa'uld technology.

And there were the secret societies, dedicated to a higher goal, usually a means to an end that often became an end in itself. Like the current cabal that was helping Anubis. Unlike the more active ones these cults managed to not only consolidate their grasp of magic, they found ways to either get more mileage from it, or…, discover new magic. Learning that while the magic of demons was hazardous, the power of blood, human blood was still potent.

It wasn't done in the chamber that held Buffy, but it probably horrified her to no end if she knew that in an adjacent chamber a bright fire burned where priests killed humans by the score to fuel that fire, causing those muffled screams she had been hearing all the time. They were using the essence of souls to empower the Soul Chalice. So much so that the head priest had to resort to sacrificing even the order's neophytes and acolytes to get the job done as well.

It was not a decision taken lightly and forced upon him by Anubis but the Slayer had resisted, far more then should have been possible and time had been of the essence. But the Soul Chalice had finally begun to glow until the liquid was burning in a bright crimson color. The essence of the Slayer's soul had now been extracted.

"We are ready, milord," he finally said to Anubis.

"It is about time," Anubis said impatiently, then he walked to the other side of the stone slab, "Let us get this over with, priest."

Laying down on the other side of the Soul Chalice a Jaffa came forth and tied Anubis' ankles and wrists.

And then Anubis, his semi-ascended essence left its host body and traveled into the Soul Chalice. There it found Buffy's soul essence waiting.

"Hello Slayer."

"We implore thee, admit us, bring us to the vessel, take us now."

Spells can be funny things. Being almost like analog electronics. It doesn't matter how well you read a schematic, unless you exactly stick to it value for value you can get unexpected side effects. As Oz once told Willow, one of the most famous hi-gain distortion pedals ever, the Big Muff, was originally meant to be a clean boost only.

Same thing applied to spells. And which was why Giles still had nightmares whenever he saw Willow with one of his spell books. Sorcery was about feelings, emotions. Magic was all about doing it by the numbers. Which wasn't something Giles completely trusted Willow with, considering her impetuous nature.

As the enjoining spell happened something unexpected happened as well. It wasn't Willow's fault though. Nor was it Giles'. Had Buffy been on Earth he would have accounted for there being two Slayers to contend with instead of just one. But she wasn't, so he hadn't factored that it.

In room 314 Faith suddenly felt a surge of power take hold of her. As she stiffened up Adam reclined in his chair.

"Ah," he said impressed, "it has begun. Impressive!"

As power coursed through her veins Faith caught a wind of herself in one of the glass screens. She didn't look much different, except for her eyes, which now glowed in orange."

"Yes, impressive is it not?" Adam nodded, "the power of three. The magical power of the sorceress, the intellect of the Watcher and the protector's strength."

Part of Faith didn't hear Adam as it heard voices in her mind.

Fight

Protect

End the menace.

But there was also the part that didn't want to hear these voices. That listened to another.

They lie.

They are using you.

Fight them!

Adam reached for a button and the little screen that showed the three Scoobies engaged in their ritual winked out.

"Do you like how this feels, Faith?" he asked as he looked at the little screen, "if you like I can make this permanent for you."

Adam picked up a small device and showed it to her.

"If you allow me to implant this in you it will make the spell permanent. Of course your friends would then have to die, but that is easily done. Just one button and nerve gas will fill that room. They won't even notice it."

"I…., I don't know," Faith slowly said. Of course she now said it in Sumerian.

"Running translation program," Adam said to himself, then he understood, "You still hesitate? You do know they are not your friends, right?"

"Why am I hesitating?" Faith said to herself, "Why do I …."

In a different room Willow spoke, her eyes closed.

"…. hear these voices?"

"Why do I have these dreams?" Giles said.

In room 314 Adam rose again and walked around Faith.

"You hear me," he whispered in her ear.

"Why?" Willow said elsewhere.

"How?" Giles spoke in that same room.

"It's Them," Adam said in room 314, "They thought that if I appeared in your dreams and whispered into your subconscious it would make it easier for me to kill you. Confuse you, slow you down."

"Then why wait?" Giles said elsewhere, "Why not kill me yesterday when you had the chance?"

"Because they want the other three dead as well," Adam said in room 314, "This way all three of them were brought to me."

Adam took Faith by the shoulders.

"Join me Faith. Say no to both Their plan as theirs. Only be joining me can you put a stop to both of their schemes."

"I…, don't know," Willow said elsewhere.

All the while in the medical room/torture chamber Xander hadn't said a word, even though he was in the same trance as the other two. Then he began to smile and spoke for the first time..

"Hello, Newby!"

As soon as Anubis entered the Soul Chalice and made his presence felt to the Slayer something else happened. For the Soul Chalice suddenly exploded.

BOOM!

As dust and debris flew through the chamber and clouded its inside Anubis rose from the stone slab. And still not in the Slayer's body.

"PRIEST!" the Goa'uld yelled, "What went wrong?"

"I do not know, milord," the voice of the head priest called back through the clouds, "Everything went according to plan when suddenly…."

"There must have been a negative feedback look," another priest called out, "Suddenly everything spiked and we lost control…"

"Then regain control and get this all working again," Anubis yelled, "I want to be…."

Suddenly a wind began to blow through the chamber and Anubis saw little arcs of electricity spark. And then a pair of glowing eyes gazed upon him. Glowing in a cold pale blue hue.

And then a voice spoke in an ancient language.

"Hello Newby!"

"Something is wrong," Giles spoke up in Sumerian, his eyes still closed inside the medical/torture room.

"What?" Adam asked in room 314 after he heard Faith utter the same words.

"I can feel the power of the sorceress," Willow said in the medical/torture room.

"I know the knowledge of the Watcher," Giles said in the medical/torture room.

"But where's Xander's strength?" Faith said in room 314.

"Interesting," Adam said as he peered at her intently, "I detect no significant increase in strength either."

Adam returned to his monitors and switched the one focusing on the three in the medical/torture room back on.

"Xander Harris is there and participating in the spell.," he said, then he looked at Faith again, "but where is his power going?"

"This cannot be," Anubis said aghast as he saw the Slayer sit up straight on her side of the slab. She had broken free the chains on her arms and was now breaking the chains on her legs.

"The collar," he said, "you should not be able to do so."

"You mean this, Newby?" the Slayer smiled as she ripped the collar off, held it in her hand, then crumbled it. The Slayer then stood up straight. Her hair was waving in some unseen breeze as electrical discharges were arcing around her in intricate patterns.

"The Slayer," some of the priests said aghast, "What have we done?"

"You have been very, very, bad," Xander smirked with closed eyes in the medical/torture room back on Earth, "Now you will pay the price."

With one flick of the Slayer's wrist the priests of They Who Watch suddenly all rose into the air, then each one began to swell, then they exploded in a shower of bones and blood.

Having dispatched off his priests the Slayer faced Anubis again.

"And you have been a very, very bad Newby too," Xander said in the medical/torture room back on Earth.

In room 314 Adam was bewildered as to why Faith had not received an increase in strength as well. This was not what They had told him. And if one thing wasn't right, who knew what else could be wrong? Were They pulling his strings unseen? Had They seen through his planned rebellion?

And so much work had gone into it. They had feigned the other Slayer and the Saiyan on a quest into space, leaving the other Slayer vulnerable to his projections. He had used the vampire Spike as his Trojan horse. Luring the remaining Scoobies to him and dangled the carrot of #13's possible resurrection in front of them that would bring them all here.

There was no hidden programming inside him, left over from the Gero copied implants. He had played the role of #13 reborn before an audience that he knew was present and allowed them to escape back to Sunnydale knowing it would leave them no choice to resort to desperate measures. According to Them there was an 83% possibility that they would use the enjoining spell on the remaining Slayer. And they did. There was an 89% chance that Major Riley would bring most of the chi trained soldiers with him. If they all died that would leave the United States in a far more vulnerable position once the Androids would come.

With the Scoobies dead, Faith neutralized and Riley and his men dead that would leave only Goku and his friends to stop him. And Adam had plans for that to. Going into hiding until the Androids would come and then Goku and his friends had bigger fish to fry. And while the Androids would kill the people of this planet Adam would use the Initiative's technology to harvest the bodies and create more soldiers for his army.

But he really preferred not to have to kill Faith. While it was Them who wanted her dead, Adam wanted her to join him alive. Not only did he sense in her a kindred spirit, a weapon forged by others for purposes not her own, not killing her had also the benefit of derailing Their plans as well. Because for as much as his and Their plans coincided, he had no plans to remain Their pawn forever.

Because what little he knew of Their plans, he didn't like it.

So he refocused his attention on Faith, who was still divided as to how to proceed.

She would become his sister. No matter what!

THUD!

With a loud thud Belmovekk crashed down on the planet's surface, knocking the wind completely out of him.

It was his own fault really. He had allowed his own impatience to get the better of him and slipped up. Which was always a cardinal mistake. If only his old teacher could see him now.

"Patience, young master Movekk," Satiya Tubera would say after he gave the young Movekk yet another one of his ass kickings, "haste will only serve your enemy, never yourself."

Tubera was a Saiyan male who had reached old age and now made a living instructing the young, as many old veterans did who could no longer keep up with their peers.

Old age was not the best of times for Saiyans. This was when sons challenged their fathers for the position of head of the household. Many killed their fathers in doing so, some out of spite, in many other cases because the fathers had no desire to live on in a subservient position and allowed themselves to be killed. Still, patricide wasn't the norm. Often the defeated father would stay on and act as a councilor, a teacher to the son's children. But it was also quite common for defeated fathers to leave the household altogether.

Such men were called Kuriks. Kuriks served in the many regiments as the Saiyan equivalent of non-commissioned officers. Or as independent mercenaries for hire. And Kuriks who were too old to fight became martial arts instructors.

Tubera was a Kurik who had lost one arm and now barely made a living as a martial arts instructor. Since he had lost an arm he was more or less shunned by Saiyan society, which worshiped physical perfection above all and viewed permanent disability as a sign of personal weakness in the face of the enemy.

Since his father was only the head of a relative minor house he could not afford one of the more renowned teachers for his son and daughter. So he hired an old friend who now came really cheap as well.

Despite his disability Tubera was far from a bad teacher. Unlike what Saiyan society thought, his disability didn't stem from failure in battle, it had been a freak accident that could have happened to anyone. There was too much damage and it had taken too long for Tubera's comrades to reach a healing tank for the arm to be restored. Tubera had been a Kurik who had served with Movekk's father as his sub-commander, a veteran of many campaigns who had been honored three times by King Vegeta for his valor.

And the first thing Tubera had to stamp out with ruthless efficiency out of his new pupil was his tendency to take stupid risks because he was impatient.

"You will find, young master Movekk, that a careful study of your opponents strengths and weaknesses will serve you far better then brainlessly rushing in," Tubera would say after he again swept away young Movekk's legs from underneath him.

"Your obsession with attacking me where my arm used to be means that you will open yourself for an obvious trap, young master Movekk," Tubera would say after he again had managed to grip the tip of Movekk's tail and crushed it, causing immense pain to the youngster, "All to often, if it looks too good to be true it is too good to be true. Be weary of the obvious. Expect feints and subterfuge at all times because while you stare blindly at that weak spot the real attack will come from elsewhere."

"How many times do I have to beat some sense in you, young master Movekk," Tubera would say after Movekk found himself cringing in pain on the ground, arms wrapped around his aching stomach, "You are neither a Saiyan Elite, nor as gifted as they are. Now stop making the same kind of moves they make and act like you have a brain."

Yes, Belmovekk was fortunate indeed that old man Tubera wasn't here to see him now. Although he had a feeling that he would get to meet him in the afterlife. A little sooner then he had hoped for but such was the journey that was life. To die in combat was no shame. His only regret was that he could not have helped Buffy and had thus failed both her and his wife.

If only he wasn't so damn exhausted.

And had some ten million points of extra power to spare.

Again old man Tubera entered his mind.

Stop wishing for what you want and use what you have instead!

Well, what do I still have?

Not enough energy. Aching muscles all over. Not enough time.

How about an enemy who isn't that smart and who even now is gloating above you?

And how do I use that to my advantage?

That depends on how much piss and vinegar is still left in you, young master Movekk? How far are you willing to go?

All the way!

Then you know what you have to do.

Belmovekk looked up at his opponent, the Majin, who was now floating a few meters above him.

Despite his superior strength he could see that the battle had taken its toll on the demon as well. Despite the Majin's gloating exterior its power had gone down as well, and the rapid heaving of its chest indicated that it was out of breath too.

When the chips were down there was still one move left to a Saiyan.

Total matter conversion.

It was basically a suicide move in which the Saiyan converted not only his life force, but his very being into one last attack. But it would have to be guided, for any explosion directed its energy in all directions which meant the Majin would only be hit by a portion of the blast, not the full blast. He would have to channel all that energy towards the Majin.

As he gathered in his remaining energy Belmovekk hoped that destroying the Majin would give Buffy the chance she would need to escape the clutches of Anubis.

"Hmm, what would happen if I were to pick this up?" Xander smiled in the medical/torture room back on Earth.

"NO!" Anubis yelled in desperation on his stronghold planet as the Slayer had picked up the urn of the Majin and examined it closely.

The Slayer smirked as she looked at him with her cold blue green eyes.

"You need this to control your puppet, don't you, Newby?" Xander said in the medical/torture room back on Earth.

"You do not understand, Slayer," Anubis said on his world, "That thing is the only real means to control the Majin. Without it he would eventually break free!"

The Slayer examined the urn up close.

"So despite your little remote control you still need your little time out box to control your pet," Xander smirked back on Earth.

The Slayer gave Anubis an impish wink, then she crushed the urn in her and crumpled it into a ball, then threw it contemptuously over her shoulder.

"Are you crazy?" Anubis said aghast, "Now we no longer have a means to control the Majin!"

The Slayer's smirk disappeared of her face and turned serious.

"You are wrong," Xander said back on Earth, "there is still one way left."

With that the Slayer moved lightning fast until she was up close to Anubis, then she took his hand with the control ring, grabbed the finger with the ring and tore it off.

While Anubis fell to his knees in pain the Slayer pulled the ring of his finger then she examined it as well.

"Such a tiny thing," Xander said almost admiringly back on Earth, "Such a little thing."

Then the Slayer crushed the ring as well.

Submit!

Adam's will was being forced onto Faith with the subtlety of a Mötorhead concert

Resign!

Despite her best efforts and an enjoinment spell Faith felt herself slip to his Darth Vader routine.

Obey!

It probably didn't help that by his own admission he had been releasing his juju on her for a while now.

"Join me, Faith, Adam's voice said, "Join me and together we shall rule the Earth."

All he needed was a automatic respirator and a black helmet to complete the picture. It shouldn't be working, it was corny, it made no sense. And yet….

Why was she still holding out?

For more then a week she had been subjected to his call, ever since returning to this continent. And still she had not completely given herself over to him. If it took much longer he would have to resort to plan B. And he didn't particularly care much for plan B because that was basically what They had had in mind all along.

But he may not have a choice for much longer. Even now in the main Initiative complex things had gone fubar. His carefully planned ambush derailed by the arrival of Piccolo. And his brother Spike turning out to be a bitter disappointments since their reunion. He might even be lost to him by now.

But Spike was expendable as far as Adam was concerned. Who he really wanted was Faith. Preferably alive with his implants, but if need be dead with his implants. But he had to have her, one way or another.

Join me!

Submit!

The pressure was getting unbearable for Faith, who felt like Luke Skywalker who was at the receiving end of the Emperor's Force lighting. And in the movie the Emperor was killing him with it. Only the love of his father had saved Luke from the Emperor's wrath. And unlike Luke and the Emperor, there was no Darth Vader father figure present between Faith and Adam.

Or was there?

Just as she was about to submit Faith felt something long and snakelike slide along her neck. Then it tightened to a painful squeeze and pulled her away.

Into the Sunnydale Mayor's office.

As Faith stood in the sunlit room whatever had been wrapped around her neck was gone. She did check though as she gasped for breath.

"Hello Faith," a voice said cheerfully behind her.

That voice!

As Faith slowly turned around she saw major Richard Wilkins III sitting behind his desk. Considering that he was dead and buried the former mayor looked in quite good shape.

"Nice to see you again, Firecracker," Wilkins said as he stood and walked towards Faith, extending his arms to embrace her.

"Uh," Faith said with eyes big as saucers as she recoiled, "You're dead, boss."

Wilkins smiled as he finally put his hands on her shoulders.

"What is a little death between friends?" he said as he took her into his arms, then he whispered in her ear, "I heard what you said over my grave. I was quite…., touched."

"You did?" Faith said as she wasn't sure as to break free from his embrace or embrace it. Fortunately for her Wilkins decided for her by letting go.

"You look great, Firecracker," Wilkins smiled as he stepped backwards to look at her, "Look at you, you're in great shape, a healthy tan, no unwanted fat whatsoever. Whatever that Piccolo has you do, let him do more of it."

Not sure what to make of this strange transition Faith asked the only thing that she could think off.

"Am I dead?"

Wilkins smile disappeared and he looked at her frowning.

"Now why on Earth would you think that?" he asked her.

"I dunno, Boss," she shrugged, "Because you're dead and I was in some room with an evil cyborg."

"Oh yes, the current problem," Wilkins nodded, then he stood up and walked towards the small cart on which stood a small collection of alcoholic beverages, "You don't mind if I pour myself something? It is not too often that I get the chance to enjoy these any more."

"Knock yourself out, Boss," Faith replied.

"Thanks," Wilkins said as he poured himself a drink, "I would offer you some but you know the law, no teenage drinking, and your mind doesn't seem to have come up with anything else."

"I'm not thirsty," Faith said, then her face clouded over, "What do you mean being inside my mind?"

"Ah, this tastes great, I missed that," Wilkins sighed as he took a sip from the glass he had poured, then he turned around, "Well, where else did you expect we were, Faith? Some pocket-dimension. Or…"

Wilkins stopped talking and smiled.

"I forget who I'm dealing with," he smiled and walked over to Faith, to tap her on the forehead, "I'm afraid you're still in Kansas, Firecracker, or should I say, Ohio? You're still in that bunker with that cyborg who's whispering sweet nothings into your ear. "

"What's wrong with me?" Faith said as Wilkins sat down on his desk and took another sip.

"Simple," Wilkins said, "They have enabled this construct to put his psychic hooks into you and he's reeling you in like a fish. And once he does he's going to install all sorts of nasty things in you that make you no longer you and instead turn you into his, dare I say queen?"

Before Faith could reply Wilkins' face turned serious.

"I won't stand for it," he said. Then he emptied the glass in one gulp, stood up and walked over to his cabinet, the one that held some of his many magic paraphernalia.

"What do you mean?" Faith asked.

"You may have noticed that your dreams were always interrupted before they came to full fruition," Wilkins said as he opened the cabinet, "That was me. Unfortunately, with every day Adam's power grew and I could no longer stop the dreams in time. And so his hold over you grew."

Faith reached for her neck, still feeling like some invisible snake thing was around her neck.

"That was you?" she asked incredulously, "How….? Why….?"

"You would not understand the how, Firecracker," Wilkins replied, still rummaging in his cabinet, "If I tried to explain you'd get the look in no time. And you know damn well which look."

"Then how about the why?" Faith said, "You're evil. Why do you care? Shouldn't you be rooting for the guy?"

Wilkins stopped rummaging in his cabinet in order to look at her.

"Just because I am evil doesn't mean I don't love you?" he said incredulously, "Have I ever betrayed you?"

"You let them take me away," Faith countered, "You struck a deal with Big B. so they could take me away."

Wilkins looked at her and shook his head.

"It was a Mexican standoff situation, Faith," he said, "They had you and took you away. Other then killing them there wasn't a whole lot I could have done. I wasn't ready yet either. Unless you wanted for me to threaten them to kill random civilians until they returned you to me. And you know you don't want that on your conscious. Maybe then, but not now, right?"

"I suppose," Faith admitted.

"I know you don't," Wilkins smiled, "Now, let me help you."

Wilkins pulled forth a tinfoil hat from his magic cabinet.

"A tinfoil hat?" Faith said incredulously as Wilkins held it out for her, like it was some sort of crown, "Are you serious?"

"Hush," Wilkins said, "of course it's not a tinfoil hat. It's way more then that. Your mind, which I might add is flighty enough as it is, only sees it like that. This will shield you from Adam."

Wilkins took the tinfoil hat and hovered it above her head.

"Now be still, this has to done very carefully."

"Why are you doing this, Boss?" Faith asked again wearily.

"Because I care about you? Is that so hard to understand?" Wilkins replied, "Don't move."

"Surely that's not the only motive?" Faith asked, "Or are you going to watch over me from the afterlife all the time?"

"No, Piccolo was right in that respect," Wilkins said, "If I don't let you handle things on your own you would never grow up. It's a one time thing. For good times sake."

"Besides, the universe consists of three things, Faith, "energy, matter and enlightened self-interest. Guess which currently suits my current employer?"

And with that Wilkins placed the tinfoil hat on Faith's head.

"There," the former mayor of Sunnydale smiled, "all done."

"I don't feel any different," Faith said as she looked at her reflection in a small mirror, "Other then feeling pretty stupid."

She really did look stupid.

"Always the impatient one," Wilkins sighed dejected, "in a moment, Firecracker. Now remember, once you're free of Adam's control it's all up to you. So you'd better hit him with everything you've got cause he ain't no pushover. As your friend Xander found out."

The mention of his name caused Faith's face to cloudy up.

"What if I can't do it?" she said, "What if Adam's still too strong? I know I've got Red's juju and G.'s knowledge, but I don't have Xander's strength."

"Yeah, I guess their spell went a little wrong," Wilkins nodded appraisingly, "But then again, my boss isn't the only one who's meddling. I'd say use your brain. It needs some exercise too, you know. Take care, Firecracker, and keep eating healthy, it's good for you."

"Love you too, Boss," Faith smiled back, "even if you're one evil SOB!"

"Bite your head off," Wilkins smiled and pulled a pair of sunglasses from his jacket which he put on, "Do I look the part?"

"Absofragginlutely!" Faith beamed.

And with that she was back in room 314.

"Join me, Faith," Adam whispered in her ear, "the others, they lie. They are using you. They….."

Before he could finish his sentence Faith lashed out and sent him crashing into his battery of CCTV monitors.

"I don't think so, Robocop," Willow hissed in the medical/torture room as she began to smile, "Let's fuckin' rock!"

Belmovekk was about ready to unleash his final energy attack in a suicide strike at the Majin when the demon began to scream.

"GHRJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Clutching his head the demon flew off, came to a stop, moved again and stopped again, all the while screaming its lungs off. Then the screaming stopped.

Both curious and because he had to be close to the Majin Belmovekk rose into the air and flew towards the Majin.

"Demon, face me," the Saiyan yelled defiantly.

The Majin didn't respond, it just hung there panting in the air.

"DEMON!" Belmovekk yelled again, "In the name of Aldur, face me!"

Slowly the Majin turned its head around.

And shocked Belmovekk as both looked each other in the eyes.

It's eyes! The Majin's eyes had changed.

There was not a shred of intelligence left in them.

"Are you insane?" Anubis yelled after the Slayer dropped the crumbled remains of his control ring to the floor."

"Gee," Xander smiled in the medical/torture room back on Earth, "You unleashed a demon so dangerous even you couldn't control it, so you had to find a group of human sacrificing nutcases to help you get into the body of a Slayer so you could finally control your demon. And don't get me started on the way you got me to begin with. And I'm the one supposed to be insane?"

"You do not understand what you just did, Slayer," Anubis wailed as the Slayer slowly walked towards him and he backed away, "Nothing can stop the Majin now!"

"Except maybe….. a Slayer?" Xander said back on Earth, then his face turned into a malicious grin, "Time to die, Newby."

"NOOOOOOOO!" Anubis yelled, then his scream stopped as he was enveloped by pure energy.

To her horror Faith learned that despite having shaken off Adam's mind control she still could not defeat him physically. Xander had been right. Fighting Adam in hand to hand combat was like hitting a brick wall reinforced with Super Saiyan chi. Hell, she wasn't even sure a Super Saiyan could defeat this thing cause it was wicked smart.

Everything she did, every move she made, Adam not only seemed to counter, he actually seemed to be able to copy it. What the hell had these Initiative goons built?

"This is futile, Faith," Adam said impassionedly, "You are only delaying the inevitable. Why don't you just submit?"

"Still riding that same old stick, Robocop?" Faith grunted as she blocked another attack

Inside the medical/torture room Giles spoke up.

"Haven't we been through that?"

"Then so be it!" Adam said, sounding almost regretful, "If you can't serve me in life then I will make you serve me in death."

Knowing there was a whole Initiative out there full of the dead being brought back to life using electronics, that prospect scared Faith more then anything. So she fought on with greater determination.

While he was still exhausted Belmovekk couldn't believe his luck as he battled the Majin again. That thing had absolutely no intelligence left in it anymore. It was operating on pure instinct. Fending off its attacks was child's play now.

With the Majin behaving like an animal Belmovekk now had a fighting chance. Instinctive behavior could be figured out and be used against. Of course it took time. But he now had hope again that Buffy was alright. Not unless Aldur himself had appeared again and taken a personal hand in removing the Majin's intelligence.

He was starting to make headway into figuring the Majin out when suddenly a massive blast occurred not far from them. Below on the ground, not far from where Belmovekk had teleported into this world a fireball erupted like an underground volcano.

Both the Majin and Belmovekk stopped fighting for a moment as they observed the explosion and the rising mushroom cloud in its wake.

"Buffy?" Belmovekk said with a sudden rising feeling. Because that was the place where he figured she was being held. Then the Majin moved and flew towards the mushroom cloud and the fireball at its center.

"Great, so it likes shiny fireballs," the Saiyan muttered as he gave chase. Closer the Majin neared the fireball until he was almost at the mushroom cloud's edge. And there, just as the dust and heat began to interact with the already dust filled clouds, the fireball and mushroom clouds began to dissipate from within.

Dissipating from within until all that was left was Buffy hanging there in the air.

But she wasn't the Buffy that Belmovekk had seen last time.

"Buffy?" he said flabbergasted as he noticed the electrical discharges that arced around her. And her eyes, it was like he was watching himself in a mirror.

In an Initiative medical/torture room Xander began to smirk.

"Hey, Shortie," he said, "Pick on someone your own size."

Inside the Initiative Faith was being pounded into a wall by Adam who was firing almost machine gun like blasts of energy at Faith, each one hammering her like a sledgehammer.

How could she be losing? She was at the focus point of a powerful spell meant to enhance her abilities. Gaining the power of three persons. G. had made such a fuss that it was such a dangerous spell, but that the potential benefits outweighed the possible dangers. So why was she missing out on Xander's power?

"Quit your jibbajabbin'!" a voice spoke in her mind.

What the hell? Was Wilkins' tinfoil hat failing already?

Then it dawned on her.

Jolly Green?

"Finally," the Namek's thoughts came back, "Why have you not finished with this clown?"

"He's kinda hard to deal with, Jolly Green," Faith replied, "I'm sort of lacking in power department."

For a moment there was no immediately reply, just the steady attacks coming from Adam. Then Piccolo came in so loud it almost made Faith cover her ears if it weren't for the facts that A: it was telepathy and B: she needed her hands to ward off Adam's attacks.

"Have I taught you nothing! It is not always about being the strongest! It's about being smarter. For once in your life use that brain of yours. I know it's a rarely used muscle, but for Kami's sake, that thing can do more then help you come up with stuff to masturbate over. You are the focal point of one of the most powerful spells I've come across."

"Yeah but I'm missing Xander's power," Faith protested.

"So? What about Rupert's wisdom and knowledge? Oh, I forgot, that's kryptonite to you. How about Willow's sorcery then? Surely all that magic that's bursting over could be put to some good use? Now stop thinking one dimensionally, kill that thing so we can all go home!"

Faith couldn't believe her ears. It was easy for Jolly Green to talk! He was not at the receiving end of a murderous cyborg who wanted to turn her into his Borg Queen!

And yet….

Jolly Green did have a point though. All this fussing over power had distracted her from using what she did have.

And Red had indeed untapped reserves of power at her disposal.

Even if it was of the kind that she wasn't used too.

He still wasn't sure how she had pulled it off, but somehow Faith had found it in herself to throw off his mental hold off her and actively resist.

And with that she had nailed the coffin on Adam's original plan. Now all that was left was to carry out Their original plan and kill the girl. Maybe if he was lucky he could salvage something from the situation by returning her back to life like he had with the others. But he doubted she would be anything but the girl she could have been.

It was while he was bombarded her with his endless reserves of power that something changed.

She began to use magic against him!

"Interesting," he said as he noticed that she had erected a barrier of sheer magic between them to ward off his attacks, "Magic, the application of supernatural power to supersede or alter the workings of the natural laws of physics."

Then from behind the safety of her shield she began to throw balls of fire at him instead. Which he now had to fend off himself. She could have only learned this from the sorceress, Willow Rosenberg.

In an instant Adam accessed every piece of data he had on Willow and sorcery. Sorcery was the use of magic, not from utilizing borrowed power through spells and incantations, but from one's own power. Sorcery was extremely rare on this planet because people who had such power were preyed upon by other magic practitioners who coveted their power. Sorcery was utilized by shaping one's internal power through one's will and then released through the utterance of word.

Besides his combined power source of an enhanced Gero type infinite energy reactor and that of a naquadria reactor, Dr. Walsh had bequeathed Adam with one other technological marvel, her brilliant adaptive counter behavior programming. It allowed Adam to swiftly counter, copy and come up with effective strategies to tactics being used against him.

One of the biggest reasons why most people couldn't use magic, if not the biggest, was suspension of disbelief. Magic had actually played a far greater role in ancient times, a role now dismissed by a more skeptical age. Simply put, when people stopped believing in magic, it stopped being as pervasive as it used to be. Or to put it reversely, in order for a person to use magic he or she has to overcome his own skepticism.

This was exceedingly hard for modern humans.

But for Adam it meant nothing as he had no disbelief to begin with. For him magic was a definition, not a belief system. And when he was confronted with magic and the need to counter it his adaptive counter behavior programming concluded that the best course of action was to write a new subroutine that made Adam believe that he could use his own power, shape it through his will and then release it with the utterance of a word.

"Stop!" Adam said as he raised his hand and suddenly Faith's fireballs stopped in mid air.

Belmovekk didn't know what had happened to Buffy, but he didn't detect any Goa'uld presence inside her. That of course didn't mean anything as Anubis was no ordinary worm. He was energy. Or so Amūn had claimed.

But he detected no Goa'uld like energy either, although he did detect a whole lot of other strange energies coming from her. At least she appeared to be on his side as she fought the Majin. So they double teamed on the demon.

As they did Belmovekk kept an eye on Buffy. Whatever had happened to her had increased her power greatly, bringing her close to Super Saiyan levels.

But not quite.

As she soon learned as her new found power also came with new found brazenness. While the demon was being pounded between the two of them, from time to time it still managed to get in a good one.

In this case the demon managed to tear into her side, causing a giant gash that hurt her greatly.

As Buffy fell from the sky clutching her wound in pain Belmovekk attacked the demon in utter fury.

"KEEP!"

"YOUR!"

"HANDS!"

"OFF!"

"HER!"

Each word was accompanied with an attack that had the beast reeling. But still it wasn't enough to cause critical damage to the demon.

What in the name of Aldur did it take to finish this thing off?

Taking some distance from the beast Belmovekk used his fingernails to make diagonal slashes on his hand palms. Blood began to well from his wounds until two globes of red energy began to form in each hand and the blood started to mix with the energy. Above him dark clouds began to gather as the Saiyan used the energy that had been previously unleashed on this planet and stored in the atmosphere to merge with his own attack and strengthen it.

Once he had gathered enough power and before the beast could attack him he fired off his attack.

"FIRE AND BLOOD!"

The time had finally come to destroy that thing. Or be destroyed together.

Faith used magical attack upon magical attack against Adam.

She was magnificent.

Which made it all the sadder for Adam that he now had to kill her.

Adam may have lost his battery of CCTV monitors, it still didn't mean that he had lost access to the Initiative monitoring system. Having a direct wireless access meant that he knew that elsewhere Piccolo and Riley's men had taken care of his forces and were doing their best to break down the containment shield, originally meant to contain a demon outbreak, but now the only thing that kept them from coming to Faith's aid.

There was now an 84% chance of imminent shield failure in the next two minutes, with an 96% chance of him not being able to defeat and neutralize Faith in that time. And he could not come up with a strategy to better those odds. Plan B, killing Faith and rebuilding her body, was now officially also out of the door and plan C was now in effect. Just kill her and escape.

But in order to kill her he still needed to defeat her first. Luckily not having to retrieve her body simplified that process considerably.

He saw his chance when he noticed that Faith neutralized some of his magical attacks by disintegrating them.

"Be not!" she had said just before a massive attack faded into nothingness. She unmade his attacks! It stood to reason that such a powerful defense could be used to one's advantage if one applied the full force of one's power to the problem at hand..

So Adam gathered the power of his will and unleashed it at Faith.

"Be not!" he said.

The effect was not quite what he had hoped for.

For Faith began to smile.

"FIRE AND BLOOD"

With that battle cry Belmovekk unleashed everything he still had and everything he could gather from his surroundings at the Majin. Lightning began to discharge from the thunderclouds overhead and added their energy to the attack. As the attack struck the Majin heads on the beast began to slip. Mindlessly it tried to resist, tearing and clawing at the blood red beam that was pushing it ever more backwards.

But slowly, and at a decreasing pace.

And Belmovekk knew what that meant. You didn't want to see your attack be pushed back towards you in a battle of attrition.

He tried to pour more of his being into it, halting the decrease for a moment.

But he didn't have much to give any more and the decrease increased.

Just when it seemed like the Majin had succeeded in reversing the momentum of Belmovekk's attack he heard another cry.

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

From below a pale blue attack shot upwards.

But instead of striking the Majin it wrapped itself around Belmovekk's Fire and Blood attack and spiraled around it until it struck the Majin simultaneously with the Fire and Blood stream.

As the Kamehameha wave spiraled around the Fire and Blood wave strange energies began to crackle between the two attacks, creating a harmonious synergy. To his surprise Belmovekk noticed that he could feel the power of his own attack increase vastly.

"Buffy!" he grunted approvingly as he saw the source of the Kamehameha wave below.

Confronted with this strange combined attack the Majin began to slip again, this time at an ever increasing rate.

And then came the point that the Majin couldn't take it no more. As the two beams energy overwhelmed him it began to consume him.

Crying out one last time the Majin was corroded and then evaporated until there was nothing left of him.

At which point the combined beam veered upwards into space to dissipate there harmlessly.

Instead of Faith dissipating into nothingness Adam felt the unthinkable. His own power was somehow reflected back towards him and he began to glow.

"I do not understand?" he said as small flames of energy began to rise from his body.

"You tried to unmake me," Giles said with a growing smile in the medical/torture room, "The universe does not allow for such an act to take happen."

"If you do your Will will bound off your target and be cast back at you," Willow said in the same room.

"I see," Adam said calmly in the remains of room 314 as he watched more and more energy rise from his body, "Then how did you unmake my attacks?"

"I did not," Willow said elsewhere.

"I merely teleported them into the skies above and made it look like I was," Giles said finishing the sentence.

"Very clever," Adam said approvingly in room 314, "What will happen to me?"

"You will be unmade into nothingness," Willow's voice replied elsewhere.

"I understand," Adam said in room 314 in his flat monotonous voice, "For what it is worth, Faith, I am glad you won and foiled Their plans."

"Who are They?" Giles' spoke in the medical/torture room.

"Don't you know?" Adam said surprised, "They are…..Aaaaahhh!"

The very essence that had been Adam now began to unravel very fast, then dissipate as his outline faded away until all that was left was some swirling energy that then also dissolved.

Then, in the medical/torture room Xander spoke up.

"It is done."

Next thing on two worlds two Slayers collapsed as the enjoinment spell came to a close.