CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

I'm getting a headache…

5414 Erde-Tyrene Research Installation

414 Eternal Vigilance hummed to himself as he went about his daily tasks. With the main systems back on-line and fully powered up, they had to be monitored constantly as they were over one hundred and fifty thousand years old—even if they had been powered down and in stasis.

The AI checked his internal chronometer and noted that it had been five days local time since the Reclaimer—Michael—had returned to his dimension. During that time 414 Eternal Vigilance had been busy performing a number of operational tasks, the most work he'd had to do in over one hundred thousand years.

The AI found himself in a cheerful mood as he continued humming as he worked. He found it satisfying to have an actual task and mission after all these millennia rather than just being in a caretaker role. While he carried on his maintenance tasks, he was once again processing through all the data that he had downloaded from the Reclaimer's combat skin and its ancilla. Eternal Vigilance almost felt a strange feeling—almost a thrill—as he went through this new treasure trove of information for him to catalog and index.

The perplexing part for him was the task given him to try and find a resolution to the temporal displacement problem that the Reclaimer was currently suffering. All the data modeling and scenarios did not seem to point to the resolution that the Reclaimer desired—a restoration of his established time line. The temporal paradoxes and causality effects were difficult to control or much less even foresee, there were just too many factors at play.

There was one common random factor in all the data models—it was the energy field readings. The energy field that caused the Reclaimer to "travel back" in time was unlike anything he had seen before, but that didn't stop the AI from continuing his search through all databases and files.

414 Eternal Vigilance had accessed all available data records when the Reclaimer had first arrived, but now with the installation in full power up mode all systems were now active and he was going through those systems in his research.

He had spent days going through research indexes and data logs and had found nothing that matched the energy field signature. He had reluctantly given up trying to find a match. With the installation at full operation, he decided to take this opportunity to do a clean-up and purge of unnecessary data. It was during this "clean-up" when he was accessing a sub system related to logistical management that he found a data file that had been misfiled…

It appeared that the data file was related to an experiment conducted by the Forerunners in the last days before the installation was shut down and abandoned due to the conflict with the Flood. As 414 Eternal Vigilance accessed and reviewed the file, he was inundated with information. It appeared that the Forerunners had tried experiments in temporal displacement. The reason behind the experiment was to attempt to send information, equipment and people back in time to help warn the past about the Flood to change the past and defeat the Flood.

As he reviewed the technical data he was elated to find energy field readings—they were an exact match to the energy field readings that had been recorded by the Reclaimer. This was a most happy discovery! He continued reviewing all technical data and when he reached the section that detailed the experiment results and findings, his normal cheery color started to pulse in excitement at what he had discovered.

"The Reclaimer needs to know this immediately! I wish there was some way of contacting him!" the AI said to himself after reviewing the experiment data and results and realizing the implications.

oOoOo

Buffy found herself at Angel's. She had lost track of the time as she replayed what she'd seen at Giles and the cryptic conversation with the man. She had considered going back to confront Giles, but it was late and she wanted to check in and see how Faith was doing. When she got there Angel had told her that Faith had finally fallen asleep in one of the upstairs bedrooms. He was convinced from talking with Faith that she was being honest and genuine.

It didn't take long for Buffy and Angel to find themselves snuggled up together on a sofa. Buffy didn't waste any time telling Angel about the encounter at Giles's place and discovering that the robot was actually a man and their conversation about the Mayor and Faith.

Angel actually showed surprise as Buffy related all the details, "So you think you can trust this…man? Backing down against the Mayor at this stage…sounds risky."

"I don't know… But I think I can trust him. Considering how strong and powerful he is, he could have just tried to kill me rather than talk to me."

"And this guy's connection to Faith? Any idea what it could be?" Angel asked.

Buffy shook her head as she was still puzzled, "I don't know… Whatever it is… It's something serious."

"Are you going to talk to Faith about this?" Angel asked.

Buffy looked upstairs towards the bedrooms and took a moment to consider what Angel had said, "No… Not right now… She's still pretty fragile… Maybe in a day or two."

"Are you still going ahead to have her go back to the Mayor?"

"I don't know… I need to talk to Giles first… For now just make sure she doesn't leave here until we actually know what we're going to do." Buffy said seeing Angel's concern as he nodded in agreement.

oOoOo

Michael had found a vantage point in the brush, where he could stay under cover while keeping a watch on Angel's place. He had made his way over here after his "meeting" with the Mayor. He wanted to make sure that Faith was safe as he was still dealing with the news that she had confessed and switched sides. He sighed as he knew that he had screwed up royally. He replayed the time they had spent together and he knew that meeting with her was a mistake. He had wanted to be with her so much and his own personal desires and selfishness had resulted in this.

"God knows what will happen next..." he muttered.

Spartans were known for planning and adapting to changing situations, but this was beyond anything that he had been trained for. His mind swirled with thoughts as he tried to look at all the angles and anticipate all the reactions and results.

How does one restore a time line?

As that thought passed through his mind, a smirk came to his face as he thought of what CPO Mendez would have said—more like yelled at him.

Adapt and Overcome!

Michael realized this is what he would have to do. He had made changes to this time line and if he was able to get back to his point in time, then he would have to live with the fallout and consequences—no matter what they were.

His main focus—his mission priorities were now making sure that Faith stayed safe, obtaining the "Staff of Uman" and then killing Mayor Wilkins.

From his observation spot, it didn't take him long to locate the position where the Mayor's man was that was keeping an eye on Faith. Michael noted the position so that when the time came he could quickly take out the Mayor's eyes.

He turned his attention back to Angel's house and studied the outside layout of the place—noting all entrances and other potential points of entry. He caught a glimpse through a window of Buffy and Angel relaxing inside. He didn't see Faith, so he switched his helmet optics to thermal mode. Michael scanned the house and detected a heat signature in one of the upstairs rooms. He figured that it was Faith and from her position it appeared that she was sleeping. Michael found his mind drifting—wishing that he was with her at this moment. He quickly shook his head to refocus and get those fantasies out of his thoughts.

"Easy there boy… Park it in the barn…" Michael muttered with a smirk.

He stayed in his position and watched and waited until just before sunrise, then he headed back to his hideout to try and get some rest.

oOoOo

Buffy finally made it to the school library in the early afternoon. She had been biting at the bit all day for the chance to discuss last night's events with Giles. She wanted to talk to him alone before everyone else showed up—there was much to discuss. She slipped quietly into the library, it was quiet and empty. She had asked Xander and Oz to pick Faith up from Angel's and bring her to the school, but she didn't know when the others would show up. She hoped that she would have enough time to get to the bottom of this.

She replayed last night's encounter in her mind once again. She had some answers, but she now had more questions. What was this man's connection with Faith and why did he want Buffy to stand down in her fight with the Mayor? She desperately needed to talk to Giles and straighten things out and get some answers.

Buffy looked around and didn't see anyone, but then she heard noise coming from Giles's office. She made her way over and stood outside his office, she only had to wait a moment when Giles came walking out of his office. As always he had his nose in a book and at first didn't notice Buffy standing there watching him. It took a long moment, but he finally seemed to sense someone's presence and looked up. He appeared mildly startled, but then he smiled at her.

"Oh… Buffy… You're early for today's meeting?"

She nodded her head with a serious look on her face, "I need to talk to you before anyone else is here…"

This started to get Giles worried and his smile disappeared. He removed his glasses and started cleaning then as he tended to do when he was nervous.

"What is it that you wish to discuss?" he asked with the concern obvious in his voice.

Buffy looked at him without betraying any emotion, "I want to talk to you about your tin man friend and what he was doing at your place last night…"

Giles tried to maintain his composure, but she could tell from seeing his eyes that he was struggling with the situation.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about…" Giles replied slightly turning away.

"I saw your 'friend' leave your place last night and then we actually had a brief chat… It was an informative talk, but it raised more questions for me." Buffy replied in a matter of fact tone.

Giles sighed, "How much did he tell you?"

"Just that we need to protect Faith and to stand down in our fight against the Mayor. He told me that you would provide the details and answers my questions."

Buffy watched Giles sigh again and pull out a chair out for her to sit down and then he pulled a chair out and sat down himself.

"There's a lot going on right now and it has some major repercussions on not only events now but in the future." Giles started saying.

Buffy looked puzzled, "What events…"

Giles ran his hand across his face, "I don't know how much I can say, but we need to follow our 'friend's' lead on this as he has a unique view point and skill sets."

"You're losing me Giles… I know that this guy is not someone to take lightly, but what does that have to do with Faith?" Buffy said shaking her head.

She watched as he was thinking and appeared that he was debating with himself. Finally he stood up and held up a hand for her to wait and he went into his office. It was only a moment and Giles came back out holding on to something. Buffy could see that it was photograph. At first she couldn't see who it was. Giles stood next to her and handed her the photo. Buffy at first took a quick glance at the photo, but then she did a double take and looked at the photo more closely.

Buffy was stunned and in shock as she found herself looking at a picture of Faith holding a baby! Faith appeared different than she did now—she appeared older and much happier.

Buffy looked at Giles confused as her mind tried to process what she was looking at, "What is this? What does this mean?"

"Take a close look again at the bottom corner this time." Giles said.

Buffy looked at the photo again. She still couldn't believe what she was looking at—Faith with a baby and then she saw the numbers "11062005".

"2005? Are you saying this is a picture of Faith from 2005? Six years from now?" Buffy said looking at Giles still stunned as she tried to grasp what she was seeing.

"Apparently… So you can see that this now takes on another dimension and aspect… We are dealing now with not only protecting ourselves, but protecting Faith and by extension her unborn child." Giles replied with a heavy sigh.

"But who is the big guy in the armored suit and what is his connection to Faith?"

Giles hesitated for a moment, "If I told you who our 'friend' is or from you would think I was completely insane… But I believe him… Sufficed to say 'the big guy' as you put it is Faith's husband and father of that child in the picture."

Buffy's eyes widened at what Giles told her, "Husband… You did say husband!" She tried to believe what she was hearing and she almost pinched herself to make sure this was actually happening.

"Yes… Apparently Faith and her husband, his name is Michael, were helping you avert another apocalypse in 2010 and something happened and he found himself here." Giles explained.

Buffy shook her head still trying to comprehend and understand everything she was being told. Suddenly she was hit by a thought that felt like a sledgehammer.

"Michael… You did say that his name was Michael… Right?" Buffy asked urgently.

"Yes… That's what he told me his name was…" Giles replied slightly confused.

"Jesus…" was all that Buffy said.

"What is it?" he asked with concern.

"Michael… That's the name of the guy that Faith met the other day… The man that the Mayor had killed that caused her to come back to us…" Buffy said still trying to wrap her mind around everything she was hearing.

"Are you sure that was the name Faith told you?" Giles asked.

"Absolutely… The way she described the guy… You wouldn't forget it." Buffy replied.

"Oh dear! That would explain why our friend was shocked about Faith's change…" Giles said thinking over what was happening and understanding what Michael had said about getting headaches when considering temporal paradoxes.

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked.

"This Michael said that Faith would redeem herself, but it wasn't supposed to happen at this time." Giles said.

"What does that mean?" Buffy asked.

"It means that the future that this Michael is from has probably changed to be completely different from what he knew…" Giles said sadly.

"How was he going to get back?" Buffy asked.

"That's what the research was for that I didn't tell you about. Michael wasn't able to locate an object…called the 'Staff of Uman' by himself and he needed my help… I wasn't able to find any information to help his search. Giles said.

"So what's he going to do now?" Buffy asked with concern.

"The staff has been associated with ascension ceremonies, so his only choice now is to deal with the only person in Sunnydale that knows about ascension." Giles said with a slight sigh.

Buffy's eyes widened at this, "You're saying that Michael has to deal with the Mayor in order to find this staff to get back!"

"Yes… Michael has outlined his plan with me for dealing with the Mayor, but it is important that everyone still think of Michael as a 'robot' and his association with Faith be kept secret as that will just put everyone in jeopardy." Giles explained to Buffy.

Buffy could only shake her head as her mind filled with thoughts as she tried to understand everything going on…

Faith… a mother and married… time travel… I'm getting a headache from just thinking about all this…

oOoOo

Unseen by both of them was Wesley hiding among the book shelves. He had been doing some research and had seen Buffy enter and talk to Giles. He had thought of joining them, but when they started talking about Faith, the robot and the Mayor, he decided to remain hidden and find out what they were planning. He heard everything Giles said and this gave him a lot to think about.

A person from the future that has his knowledge and power… The Watchers Council would benefit greatly having someone like that working for them… It would be a literal feather in the cap for me… The key to controlling this "Michael" person is Faith… I'll need to make a call to make some arrangements, Wesley thought.

oOoOo

Faith finally woke up from a long night of restless tossing and turning and unsettling dreams. She tried to shake off her exhaustion as she wandered downstairs. She didn't know what felt worse—the exhaustion or the hole she felt in her heart. She was surprised to see that Angel was still up when she got downstairs.

"Don't you ever sleep? Faith said with a slight smile.

This actually brought a smirk to Angel's face, "Yeah… I'm going to bed soon… I just wanted to be here when you got up… Buffy has a message for you."

"What's up?"

"She wants you to stick around here today and not go see the Mayor… I think Xander and Oz will be by to pick you up to take you to the school this afternoon." Angel said.

"I thought the plan was for me to go all Mata Hari with the Mayor… What's changed?" Faith asked puzzled with the change in plan.

"Uh… There were some developments last night and Buffy wants to keep you out of the Mayor's sights for a while." Angel said with a shrug as he tried to change the subject.

"What developments?" Faith asked getting concerned.

"I'm not sure… It will be discussed at the meeting this afternoon. They'll bring you up to speed there." Angel said as he didn't want to get into the details.

Faith shrugged, but on the inside she was upset about the change in plan and how she was notified.

As always… I'm the last to be told… My butt's going to be on the line and they're keeping me in the dark, she thought as she tried to keep her emotions in check. She counted to ten and felt the growing flash of anger start to subside.

"Ok… I guess I'm hanging here then…" Faith said not showing any of her internal emotional struggle.

She watched as Angel nodded and headed off to his room.

A couple of days ago, I would've offered to rock him to sleep, she thought with smirk.

She decided to play the "good girl" to show that she could be trusted, so she sat around and waited and got bored. Xander and Oz finally showed up and they headed to the school. As they drove off, a man that had been standing in the bushes for a long time made a call with his cell phone to make his report.

oOoOo

Giles watched as everyone gathered in the library for Wesley's daily briefing. He was still thinking of how he was going to discuss "his" plan on how to deal with the Mayor. He didn't expect much trouble from the kids, it was Wesley that would be the biggest obstacle.

Giles looked at Faith sitting down. He could still see that she was in pain. He had to shake his head as he tried to reconcile seeing her here now with the picture of her from the future.

His mind wandered and he tuned out what Wesley was saying as he droned on through his briefing—repeating information that everyone was already aware of. Giles's mind came back into focus as he heard Wesley ask if anyone had any questions or comments.

"Yes… I have a few items to bring up." Giles said as he finally saw his opportunity to speak.

Wesley looked at him somewhat strangely as he nodded, "Go ahead." he said.

Giles spoke, "Well first thing… I know that we did discuss yesterday about having Faith go back to the Mayor in an attempt to spy on him and learn more details of his ascension."

Faith spoke up interrupting Giles, "Yeah… What's up about that? I was already to go in all James Bond style this morning and B tells me to stand down…"

Xander's eye brows arched, "James Bond? More like Pussy Galore." he muttered. Oz heard what Xander muttered and he tried to hold back a smile.

Giles looked at Faith, "After further consideration and discussing with Buffy, I thought it would be too risky at this time to put you back in close approximation with the Mayor considering your mental and emotional state."

Giles could see Faith getting angry and struggling to control her temper.

"You saying I can't do the job?" she said as she took a deep breath trying to control her emotions.

He shook his head, "No I'm not saying that… It's just that it is too soon to put you back in harm's way… We need you for when we do face off against the Mayor."

"I agree with Mr. Giles." Wesley said interrupting him.

This caught Giles, Faith and Buffy by surprise. Giles had expected Wesley to oppose this suggestion and had spent a lot of thought on how to convince him. He started to get a worried feeling as he was trying to figure out why Wesley was supporting this move.

Wesley continued speaking, "…I think we should consolidate our forces and strength until such time we know that we can successfully strike back at the Mayor… As you informed us Faith, the Mayor is invulnerable right now and we can't harm him so anything we do would be considered a wasted effort and tip our hand."

Giles was shocked. This was the same argument that he was going to try and use with the group to hold off any action until ascension. This started alarm bells ringing in his head. He was wondering what had changed Wesley's mind and what game he was playing.

It took a moment for the news to sink in for Faith. She was disappointed, but she was in no position and not really in the mood to argue right now—no matter how much she wanted payback, her revenge would have to wait a little longer. She let out a sigh as looked at both Giles and Wesley and shook her head, "Whatever you want… Like I said I just want to be around to see the Mayor twist in the wind."

Wesley turned towards Giles and smiled, "Was there anything else you wanted to bring up Mr. Giles?"

Giles was off balance, but he recovered somewhat, "Yes… I have a couple of suggestions…"

He began to outline the idea of the plan that Michael had discussed with him, without going into some of the specifics—especially Michael's existence and role in the plan. When Giles finished he was met by confused and incredulous looks from those in the library.

Xander was the first to speak, "That's pretty crazy…"

Giles tried to hide his smile and own doubts as he had told Michael almost the exact same thing, but Michael said that this was almost the exact same plan that Buffy, Giles and the others had used before to defeat the Mayor in his time line. It just now had to be modified to take into account the time line changes—Faith's switch back to their side and that Michael needed to obtain the staff from the Mayor (if he did indeed have it) first before they killed him.

Giles looked at Xander and then at each of the others, "It may be crazy, but can each of you do your part and what's required of you."

Faith spoke, "That's a pretty out there plan G-man…" She then started smiling as she imagined the look on the Mayor's face when he saw the surprise, "You can count me in."

Xander and the others nodded as they accepted their roles in the plan.

Buffy was still trying to absorb Giles's plan. Faith was right, it was a pretty out there plan, but it was so crazy that it might work, but she had a few questions.

"Giles… How do we know when we're supposed to attack and how do we get the Mayor into the area we need him to be?"

Buffy knew that this must be Michael's plan and she didn't want to give too much away in relation to him yet, but there were those slight "minor" details to the plan that needed to be answered.

Giles looked at her, "There will be a pre-arranged signal for us to strike. As for the Mayor being drawn into the trap… Let's just say we'll know when the time is right." he said trying not to give too much away.

It didn't take much for Buffy to put the details of the plan together and she tried to not show any surprise or shock as her mind raced.

So Michael is going to signal when to strike after the exchange for the staff and he'll draw the Mayor in… Pretty confident and gutsy… I hope he knows what he is doing…

Giles glanced towards Wesley. He expected the Watcher to object to this plan, but Wesley again surprised him, "That sounds like an excellent plan… I trust that all of you will follow the plan. Giles… Since this is your plan I trust you will oversee all details. Please keep me informed."

Giles took a hard look at Wesley, What are you up to Wesley?

As he continued to wonder, he couldn't shake the bad feeling he had.

oOoOo

As the meeting broke up, Wesley walked over to Faith, "Faith… Now that the plan has changed. I think that keeping you out of the Mayor's sight would be best… I would like you to stay at Angel's place for the next few days. I think it would be for the best and the safest place for you at this time." he said.

"Sure Wes… I can hang out there as long as Angel doesn't mind… I got nowhere to go to and I got no engagements planned… well none planned until the Mayor ascends… That day is booked." she said with a predatory smile in anticipation at getting her much desired revenge.

"Excellent." Wesley said with a smile.

Buffy had overheard the exchange between Faith and Wesley and she suddenly got an unexplained bad feeling.

oOoOo

Mayor Wilkins was sitting at his desk in his office. From outward appearances he looked calm, but on the inside he was seething. He was still digesting the news from the call from the man he had watching Faith. He knew that she was holed up with that vampire—Angel—and she was meeting with Buffy and her group. From all appearances it now looked like she had changed sides—once again. Angry thoughts raced through his mind as he fought and struggled to maintain his calm exterior appearance.

That traitorous bitch! How could she do that to me after everything I had done for her! I should have known a whore like her would have betrayed me… I would get that damn robot to kill Faith and then Buffy along with the rest of those meddlesome kids, but it appears that it has a soft spot for the Slayers and refuses to get its hands dirty that way… It was bad enough that I had to make a deal with it on its terms… I need something to redress the balance and give me the advantage over everyone…

Wilkins's mind continued to race furiously on what he could do to deal with all his problems. It didn't take long for him to come up with a plan as an evil smile came to his face.

oOoOo

Wesley was on his cell phone making one of the most important calls of his career—and life. There was a pause and the static on the line crackled as person on the other end of line was a number of time zones away.

"Are you sure of this information?" the stern forceful English-accented voice on the other end of the static filled line asked.

"I'm positive." Wesley replied in an obedient tone.

There was another pause as the voice on the other end of the line considered the information and its ramifications. The voice spoke again in that same unchanging stern forceful tone, "If what you say is true… Then this would be a great benefit and advantage to the Watchers and our cause… We may not have to rely upon the Slayer as much to do our work… They have always been a little uncontrollable and these latest Slayers have been most troublesome in their behavior."

"How soon can you have a team here?" Wesley asked eagerly, feeling that he'd finally pleased the voice on the other end of the line.

There was another pause, "As we speak, a Special Operations Team is being dispatched and they will be at your location before nightfall. Please ensure that you provide them with all the assistance and equipment they require." the voice said in a demanding tone.

"Understood…" Wesley replied.

"This could be a major coup for you and move you up the Watchers' ranks… So… No mistakes!" the static filled voice said in a forceful yet almost disappointed tone.

"Yes father… I will make sure everything goes off without a problem." Wesley said as the voice on the other end of the line disconnected.