The Iron Coin Chronicles: Season 2

by KyliaQuilor

4th Fic in the Iron Coin Chronicles. For most, college is starting. For Xander, not so much. But with the coin in hand, he plans to keep doing what he can to protect his friends from Fate's plans. Change has already happened, and as Change Accumulates, Fate is making its own responses. Will Xander's luck with the coin hold out?

20. Episode 19: Fallout

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Author's Note: This chapter proved surprisingly difficult to actually start, which is the primary source of the delay here.

There's a little more Riley POV in this chapter than normal, or will be likely in future chapters, but it is somewhat inescapable given the needs of the story. On the plus side, more Xander POV than has often been the case in some recent chapters, and, for those of you that aren't fans of Faimy, no dedicated Faith/Amy scenes this time around.

The Iron Coin Chronicles: Season 2

By Alkeni

Episode 19: Fallout

March 21st, 2000

The Initiative, Sunnydale

Riley watched as Buffy, Willow and the rest escaped the Initiative, wondering if he'd have to face a court martial. He didn't think that Professor Walsh was very likely to listen to his story, if he protested innocence. But on the other hand, would she be able to bring any charges against him on scanty evidence? That was the question.

He inhaled sharply, hearing the alarm still going off.

His story was going to be fairly simple. He'd cleared the room so he could check the equipment, concerned it wasn't working completely to par, and he'd raised the alarm as soon as he'd seen the… unauthorized intrusion? Well, whatever the brass was going to call it, anyway.

His best defense, in case that didn't work, at least with the majority of the personnel on the base, was that Professor Walsh and her superiors would be unlikely to believe he was actually working against the Initiative. He'd led the soldiers of the Initiative effectively and bravely since his posting, not assigning any task he was unwilling to do himself. It was cliché, perhaps, but his men were pretty loyal to him, and they'd want evidence of misconduct. Plus, while his men all obeyed Walsh and the rest of her lab coats, since they were in charge around here, most of the soldiers on the base didn't like or even really trust them.

It was something that he'd tried to address, but for the first time in his life, Riley was happy he'd been less than successful at something.

My men will want proof, and hopefully Walsh won't try to force the issue without it. He could hardly believe he was thinking like this, trying to hedge his bets and hope for insubordination on the part of soldiers of the U.S. Military, but...

"What the hell is going on, Ri?" Riley turned as the door burst open, Forrest barging in. Just behind Forrest, Riley could see Graham shooting him an apologetic look. "Your girlfriend just broke into the base and released one of the HSTs!"

"You know, I wondered why I'd raised the freaking alarm!" Riley shot back, unable to maintain a calm demeanor in the face of everything that had happened in the last two days. "I'm well aware of what happened, Forrest. I saw the whole thing!"

"You raised the alarm when they were nearly out," Forrest said, stepping in close, nearly in Riley's face. "You sent everyone out of the room and then your freak girlfriend and her freak friends all show up, and break their other freak friend out. Really convenient, don't you think, Riley?"

Riley took a deep breath and pushed Forrest back a step. "You wanna get out of my face? I was checking the equipment - not looking at the feeds. And if you call Buffy a freak again-"

"You'll what? Hit me? Sure, let's have it out. Because that chick has fucked you up, if you're helping her break HSTs out. Ever since you two started dating, she's been leading you around by your dick. Is the sex really-" Riley's fist connecting with the other man's face stopped him from finishing the question.

The force of the blow had Forrest stumbling back - Graham caught him before he could fall back on the floor.

"I have to admit, Forrest, you were kind of asking for that," Graham pointed out calmly, as he stepped between Riley and Forrest. Even though Graham knew exactly what had happened, and why, Riley could see no sign of it on his face.

Graham had always been good at being inscrutable and it was helping now.

"C'mon, Forrest, you know Riley. We know him. Buffy might be his girlfriend, but he's not going to disobey orders and risk a court martial to help her break Willow out of her cell. Even if I think she shouldn't have been in one."

"Yeah, that's another thing! He was just as unhappy about locking that fr-" Forrest abruptly cut himself off before he said 'freak' again, probably due to Riley's glare and clenched fist, "about locking her up as you were! How do I know you weren't in on it, too?"

"Really? Riley conspired with me to help his friends break someone out of the detention block?" Graham asked deadpan. He crossed his arms in front of him. "Yeah, sure, that's exactly what happened. And my job was to distract you while he pulled off his evil plan." Rolling his eyes, Graham scoffed. "Come on! You know how loyal Riley is to Walsh. He's not going to go against her."

"I tried to convince Professor Walsh to let her go, yeah," Riley confirmed after taking another breath. He still felt frazzled, but he also felt like he was doing a better job of faking like he wasn't. He hoped.

"Because I was worried about just this sort of thing happening, damn it. I was worried Buffy and the rest of her friends - people we don't really have any idea what they can actually do - would break in and get Willow. And that's exactly what happened! For God's sake, if I was planning on breaking her out of here, do you really think I'd practically tell the professor that beforehand?" Riley took another breath.

"Look, I'm sorry I punched you," He told Forrest. Actually, he was only sorry that he'd let his anger get the better of him, not that Forrest had been hurt by it. Graham was right. Forrest had been asking for it, between the way he'd handling Riley dating Buffy and now... this. Forrest was his friend, but... that only covered so much.

Forrest took a breath of his own, nodding. "Yeah... alright. I mean, Graham's right. I do know you, and… you're not a traitor." The words didn't quite match his expression, Riley noticed. Forrest was still suspicious, but he wasn't leaping down his throat about it anymore.

Riley could take that for now.

"We should probably go tell the Professor," Riley added, "She went into 314 to do some work, so she probably didn't hear the alarm." He didn't know what Walsh got up to in that room, what she was working on. And at this point, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. His confidence in Walsh, in the Initiative, was shaky enough at this point.

But whatever it was she did there, she'd never heard any base wide announcements or alerts while she was in there before. Riley could only guess she'd had the room sound proofed or something, so she could work without distraction. That sounded like her.

March 21st, 2000

Crawford Street Mansion, Sunnydale

As the wolf-Willow threw herself against the bars of the cage, snarling, Tara stood as close to the cage as she could - she made sure she was far enough away that Willow couldn't bite her. But Tara was right on that line. Still, she wanted to be there for Willow. After what she'd been through? Willow needed her.

And Tara needed to stay right there, to reassure herself that Willow was going to be there in the morning.

"She likes it if you read to her," a voice suggested softly behind her. Tara jumped a little, letting out a small gasp, then took a deep breath when she realized it was Buffy. Tara turned to face the blonde Slayer. "It calms her down. Probably just the sound of someone talking to her - I don't think she can actually understand the words you're saying when she's a wolf... but it's a trick that she used on Oz, before... well, he bit her." Buffy explained.

"And we've used it a few times with her since." She finished. Then she furrowed her brow. "Of course, I don't think we brought any books with us..."

"If it's just the sound of someone talking to her... I don't need a book." Tara replied, biting her lip when she finished.

"Anyway... I... I need to go back to the perimeter... make sure that the Initiative isn't coming for her here... look, Tara, I just wanted to say thank you. We might not have not have been able to pull this off without your help. You didn't have to come in with us, help us find her -"

"Yes I did." Tara said before she could stop herself, then looked down, realizing she'd interrupted. "I - I mean... I - sorry..." She stammered, her voice lower, barely audible. Willow had stopped snarling and trying to get out for the moment, but it was a period of calm that Tara knew wouldn't last for long. "I - I just... I did have to." Tara managed to say, forcing her voice to be firmer. She already felt exhausted, just this much effort to rise above her own instinctive withdrawn nature. Combined with the adrenaline from rescuing Willow, and the comedown... Tara was surprised she was still on two feet.

I have to stay strong. For Willow.

"She's - she's my friend. I - I care about her." 'I think I might be falling for her', you mean. "I couldn't just... not help." Tara said, her words shaky, but at least she wasn't stammering quite as much.

Buffy smiled. "Well, thanks again, anyway. I don't know what I'd have done if we couldn't get Willow out... or if..." Buffy shook her head violently. "No, let's not think about that." She muttered, before looking at her again. "I'd love to actually have a moment to actually... you know, meet you, go through the full introductions, but-" She nodded her head back towards the exterior of the mansion.

"N-no. I get it," Tara shook her head. "We don't - we don't want the soldiers to-to surprise us. Go."

Buffy nodded. "If they even think about coming after her, they'll regret it." Buffy looked past her, to Willow, who was once again starting to throw herself at the bars of her cage, howling and snarling, then left the main room of the mansion.

Tara knew that the rest of Willow's friends were elsewhere in or around the mansion. Xander had said he'd come and take second shift on watching Willow for her, let her sleep, but Tara didn't want to take him up on that.

Tara took a breath and started to sing softly, a gentle Gaelic lullaby that her mother had used to sing for her. Tara could have translated the words, now that she knew the language, but she'd never wanted to. Translating them would... rob them of their power, the emotional resonance it had for her.

Raising her voice just a little, though she still kept a soft, soothing tone, Tara kept singing the lullaby. For a moment, Willow didn't stop attacking the bars of her cage; but then, all of a sudden, she did. The wolf settled back on its haunches, looking at her, lupine head inclined to the left just a little, almost quizzically. Willow let out a low howl and whine, but made no other noises as Tara kept singing.

Tara allowed herself a slight smile as she realized it was working. As long as she was singing, Tara suspected she could go all the way up to the cage, actually touch Willow without having to worry. But she didn't want to - couldn't afford to - take that chance.

Still... it was working. It was soothing wolf-Willow. Tara closed her eyes a moment, calling on magic so innate in her that felt barely felt the expenditure of energy, and once more, she was looking at Willow's aura.

When Willow was human, Tara could see the wolf...

But now, when Willow was a wolf, Tara could see the human overlaying the physical form of the beast sitting there, listening to her sing. And Willow's aura, at least for the moment, radiated peace, calm. But only restrained calm. The beast, the wolf, was coiled underneath the surface, ready to return to the fore. As long as Tara sang, she could keep Willow in the eye of the storm.

March 21st, 2000

Crawford Street Mansion, Sunnydale

Buffy blinked in surprise when Willow's howls died down completely, but it only took her a moment to realize that Tara must have taken her up on her suggestion. Not reading to her, but... talking to her, or something.

She hadn't expected that trick to work so quickly, though.

She started for the edge of the property, ready to do another circuit around the mansion. She couldn't just stand around and wait for the Initiative to maybe come after Willow. She had to do something.

And even after tonight... we'll have to keep Willow hidden somewhere... they know who she is, where she lives... The Initiative could come after her at any time

Which meant Willow was going to have to…

Well, the odds were that Willow was going to have to drop out of college. Which, for Willow, was probably a fate worse than death.

Then again, given how well she's doing in all of her classes, maybe she could convince her professors to let her do everything indirectly while she's 'sick'? Willow would appreciate that. She was about to be hunted by the United States government – or at least part of it – because she had the bad luck to be bitten by a werewolf. Her life was going to get even more messed up than it already was…

A little normality would be nice for Willow.

Hell, I'd take a nice slice of normality myself, right about now.

Just up ahead of her, she saw Amy crouched on the ground, a knife in one hand, scratching something – some sort of symbol? – into the soil with the blade. After a moment, Amy held her hand over the symbol, chanted something and then Buffy saw something on the ground glow bright red for a split second.

"Trap for the Initiative?" Buffy asked, wondering what spell Amy had just cast.

Amy shook her head as she stood back up. "Nope. Containing that sort of magic in a sigil in dirt is beyond me right now." She slid the knife into a small holder on her hip and looked over at Buffy. "It's an alarm spell, basically. Once the entire net is done, if anyone comes at us from any direction, we'll know they're coming." Amy smirked a little cruelly, "And, it might make whoever is crossing the wards wish they brought earplugs."

She looks a little like her mom, doing that. Buffy resolved not to mention that to Amy, because the witch was doing this to help protect Willow - and maybe get a bit of revenge on the Initiative for taking her in the first place - not because she was some evil narcissistic bitch like her mom.

And... I'm not going to be shedding any tears over ruptured eardrums from Initiative soldiers... Buffy admitted to herself.

"Nasty," Buffy finally said.

"Nothing more than they deserve. It won't be permanent, but it'll hurt like hell," Amy nodded. The witch then looked past her out into the Sunnydale night. "Do you think they'll come?"

Buffy said nothing for a moment, thinking. She didn't have a good answer to that. "I think..." She started finally. "I think they'll try to, but I don't know if they'll figure out we're here tonight. And I'm hoping they're not going to go around attacking and grabbing people in broad daylight. They seem to like their secrecy." She really was hoping that part was true, anyway. It would give them time to move Willow, a chance to get her somewhere even safer. And since this was the last night of the full moon, they didn't need to move her somewhere with a cage.

Buffy just wasn't sure where there was that she could take Willow that would be safest. A place they wouldn't think to look, that would be hard for the Initiative to get into...

And a place where Willow could actually stay for...

God knows how long. Ideally, however long it took for Buffy to track down and beat the crap out of Professor Walsh. Punish her to within an inch of her life.

Or, if Xander's right, however long it takes for her to die. Xander was... usually right, when he gave her cryptic information. Or, at least, suggestions without enough context. Given his track record, Buffy was a little surprised that he was able to tell her Walsh was going to die. More specific than he could usually get, come to think of it.

Professor Walsh dying didn't guarantee that they'd stop coming after Willow... but maybe they'd be too busy dealing with that to come after her wolfy best friend? Maybe whoever was in charge after Walsh was gone could be convinced that Willow wasn't a threat?

That was all Buffy could hope for, really.

Buffy's stomach roiled at her thoughts. Whatever else she was, Maggie Walsh was human, and as a Slayer Buffy knew she shouldn't be hoping for any human to die.

But... it was the best solution on the table. And assuming Xander was right, it was going to happen. So... she was just making the best of what was inevitable, right?

"I'm hoping I can find some sort of... notice-me-not spell, or something, to use on Willow. Like... they have on the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter." Amy's words drew Buffy from her musings on the advantages of Walsh's death. "Or something like that. Just... so that they can't find her, even if they find her."

"What about making her invisible?"

"Invisibility is actually really hard to get right. And then to maintain it? "Amy shook her head. "A bad idea all around, to be honest."

"I'll take your word for it," Buffy said with a sigh. "As long as Willow's safe. That's the most important thing."

March 22nd, 2000

Crawford Street Mansion, Sunnydale

Before tonight, Xander hadn't realized that Angel's old mansion had an upper level. But it did, and here he was with Cordelia.

His girlfriend had been unusually silent the last few hours, and together they'd sat in companionable silence, Xander wondering if Walsh really was going to die.

He'd witnessed Riley say she was dead, thanks to the Coin. He'd seen her dead body, though no sign of her killer or how she'd died.

But he'd also told Buffy to not go near her. He didn't think Buffy had been the one to kill her in the visions he'd gotten. Buffy wasn't a killer.

But... what if his words had led to a, a butterfly effect? What if Walsh lived now, thanks to his actions?

"I hope that bitch does die..." Xander murmured, not realizing he was speaking aloud.

The wannabe Mad Scientist deserved it, for what she had likely been planning to do to Willow. And with any luck...

Dead Professor means they leave Willow alone. Maybe. Hopefully. Xander could only hope.

"Xander?" Cordelia looked to him, her voice level and firm. "Who's dying?"

"Professor Mad Doctor Walsh. Hopefully," Xander replied. "I don't know how, or even who. But... assuming nothing got changed, she's going to die. If she's not dead already."

Cordelia bit her lip, then let out a sigh. "I don't particularly like her, or what she's done... given what she was probably going to do to Willow... but she's human, Xander."

"Yeah, well, I'm not saying we should be the ones to kill her." Xander replied. "I just told Buffy to stay away from her, so she'd be less likely to be blamed for Walsh's death. I don't think she was the one who did it, but-"

Cordelia scoffed, "Buffy wouldn't kill her. Beat her to within an inch of her life? Maybe. But if either Slayer was going to kill someone, it would be Faith doing the killing. Buffy's no murderer." Xander looked at her pointedly. Faith had accidentally killed one person. She was more aggressive than Buffy, sure, but she wasn't a murderer. He couldn't believe Cordelia would think Faith would kill just kill someone.

"I don't think that Faith is a murderer either, Xander!" Cordelia explained, defensively, reading his expression. "But she's also a lot less controlled in her fighting. I'd believe she beats up Walsh too hard or something, a lot more than Buffy doing it. Plus... she's one pissed off girl, a lot of the time."

"Better than last year." Xander pointed out. "Having a girlfriend has done wonders to improve Faith's disposition."

"The same's true for you, now, isn't it?" Cordelia pointed out with a self-satisfied smirk. She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips before pulling back. Then she let out a sigh. "If the Initiative does end up coming after Willow... they'll come after us, too, sooner or later. You do get that, right?"

"I don't think so. I mean, we're not HSTs."

"Yeah, but they don't know that. Maybe they think we all are," Cordelia countered. "I mean, it would make sense from their end; Slayers, witches, Watchers and who knows what else? And... well, I mean we did break into their highly secret base. I think that's a crime." Cordelia took a breath. "That's a crime. Like, I mean, jail for life, crime. They could stick us in a deep, dark hole somewhere if they decide to come after us."

"Somewhere without any shopping malls in sight -" Xander started, trying to keep the mood light. He hadn't really thought of it like that... but she was right.

Cordelia interrupted him by punching him on the shoulder lightly, "I'm serious, Xander!"

"And I'm trying not to be, Cordy." Xander countered. "It's bad enough that my best friend is going to be hunted like a wanted criminal. I don't really want to be, either! So, I don't want to think about it right now."

"Well, we have to, dumbass! Because even if Psycho-Scientist does die, the Initiative is still going to be around, and I don't think the thing she built is going to just change course!"

March 22nd, 2000

Crypt, Sunnydale Woods

Spike had thought he was done with digging after his failed adventure with the Gem of Amarra.

As it turned out, an army took space, and the best place to get that space was to expand the cavern underneath the crypt he hung his hat with Dru. It gave his minions something to do while they waited around for something interesting to happen.

Not that it bloody well has. Weeks of building the army, recruiting vampires, newly risen, older and more experienced, even nabbing a few new arrivals when they came into town, expecting the Hellmouth to be an all you can eat buffet.

Honestly, what were they thinkin'? How had every vampire in the whole bloody country not heard that there was a Slayer on the Hellmouth, and a damned effective one at that? That there were even two of them now?

The Slayers got most of the new arrivals, yeah, but Spike had managed to get a few into his army - the ones that had proven smart enough or fast enough to not get dusted a few days in town.

"Bloody hell, what am I doing?" He wanted the chip out of his head, but he was getting pretty damn sick of dancing to the tune of this mad scientist.

"The music doesn't come from the doctor, Spike," Drusilla said, coming up behind him and gently putting her hand on his shoulder. "The music comes from the first. From the metal man."

"And has Miss Edith told you more about this 'metal man', that you're always on about, luv?" Spike knew Dru was cryptic at the best of times when she got prophetic, but she'd been even worse the last few weeks, telling him he had to keep building the army because the stars and Miss Edith told her it was important.

"No, no, no… Miss Edith keeps her secrets, the naughty girl. But he comes... ooh, I can hear him!" Drusilla giggled. "Just you wait! Wait for him outside, won't you?"

Spike turned to look at her, smiling at little at the woman he loved. "Trying to get rid of me, are you?"

"Go, go," Drusilla sing-songed, making a shooing gesture at him. After a moment, Spike nodded and moved out of the crypt, reaching into his black leather duster for his lighter on the way.

He was halfway through his cigarette when he saw it. A tall - more than tall, sod it, it was fucking gigantic - human-shaped figure moving towards the crypt with purpose. Big and broad too.

As it drew closer, Spike saw more details.

It... wasn't human. But it wasn't a demon either. It was some hellish combination of the two, all patched together like a biological jigsaw puzzle... held together by technology. Like a latter-day Frankenstein's monster. It was...

Well, it was bloody intimidating, Spike had to admit. He wasn't scared of it, but he didn't fancy having to fight it either.

And maybe I won't have to. There was only one group on this thrice-damned Hellmouth that would mess around with technology and demons like this, right? Spike certainly hoped so.

So this was what that mad scientist professor was really up to, eh? Bollocks. Still, Spike wasn't going to just let this... thing hang around.

"I don't know what the bloody hell you are -"

"I am... ADAM." The... thing interrupted, sounding far less bestial and monstrous than Spike would have expected, given the thing's appearance. "You are Spike, child and partner of Drusilla."

"Yeah? What of it?" Crazy bint named her creation ADAM? Spike hadn't been a religious man in over a century - but even for him, that seemed just a touch insane, and possibly inviting - or even begging for - a smiting, if there really was a big man up there lookin' to dish out divine punishment or whatever.

"Mother put an anti-violence control chip in your head." ADAM observed. "She commanded you raise an army in exchange for its removal."

"She did, yeah. What, you here to collect? You got some kind of surgical kit hidden in all that tech of yours?" Spike dropped his fag on the grass and crushed it with his foot. "The army for you, or something?"

"That was Mother's plan, yes. However, she will not now see it come to fruition."

So that was what Drusilla had meant. The Mad Scientist lady's dead, eh? Spike allowed himself a small chuckle. "So, what, some sort of 'killed by her own creation' thing?"

"Indeed." ADAM held up one arm, and a long skewer sprang out of his wrist. Spike could smell blood on it.

"Polgara?" Only demon that had wrist-skewers like that, as far as he knew.

"One of many demons in my makeup, yes." ADAM confirmed. "I assume you have realized by this point that Mother's plans will not now be undertaken. But I might still have a use for your army, William the Bloody. And possibly for Drusilla. Mother wrote of your sire's purported prophetic abilities."

"Nothing 'purported' about it, you effin' Frankenstein's berk!" Spike cut in angrily. Drusilla was a genuine seer, and Spike had eviscerated men for even thinking about calling her a charlatan. He'd find a way to do it to this... What did the git call himself? Right, ADAM, if he had to. "And I'm not just your sodding' lapdog that can be ordered around. Your 'mum' and I had a deal. But she's dead now, so I want a new deal."

"Very well. As my preliminary offer, I will ensure the death of the one known as Buffy Summers, once my own plans are finalized and completed." ADAM said. There was no inflection in ADAM's tone, but Spike felt like he was picking up on a hint of smug satisfaction.

Spike let out a low and angry growl. "Keep going, mate; I'm listening."

March 22nd, 2000

Crawford Street Mansion, Sunnydale

Most mornings after the full moon, Willow woke up sore from throwing herself at the bars of her cage over and over and over again. It was enough to make it so she was stiff, had some pain, but she could function.

But this morning... there was no pain. No soreness.

The unfamiliar cage threw her off for a moment, before she remembered.

Buffy, Xander and the rest breaking her out... they'd had to get her to a cage quickly, and the closest had been here...

Hurriedly, Willow reached through the bars of the cage and grabbed the blanket that had been left for her. Covering herself, she looked around. The clothes she'd removed last night were in a neatly folded pile near the cage, and Tara was asleep, propped up against the wall in what couldn't be a very comfortable position.

Dressing quickly, Willow went over to Tara, smiling a little at how peaceful she looked. The sunlight coming into the mansion captured her hair in just the right way, and it almost glowed for a few moments before a cloud or something passed in front of the light, breaking the effect.

"Tara?" Willow gently nudged her friend's shoulder, crouching by her.

"Wha-?" The blonde opened her eyes slowly, blinking repeatedly against the sunlight. Her eyes focused on Willow, and she smiled. "Willow." Tara threw her arms around her, and after a moment, Willow returned the unexpected hug, which lasted a little longer than it probably should have - and yet, Willow didn't mind at all.

Finally though, Tara pulled back, flushing a little. "I - sorry... I didn't mean. I'm just... I'm just glad you're okay. I didn't really get a chance, last night - with the sun about to come down and everything." She bit her lip and looked down, gathering composure before continuing. "So... how... how are you feeling?" Tara's voice seemed a little off, until Willow realized that it was a little raspy.

"Really - really good, actually. I'm usually hurting a little - from, you know, getting all wolfy and throwing myself against the bars of the cage all night. My throat is usually a little sore too... howling and all that. But... today, I'm... good. I feel good. Really good, actually.. Which is kind of odd since I'm probably wanted by the United States Army, so I should probably feel terrified out of my mind, and I am worried... and you just woke up and I'm already babbling at you and I shouldn't and I'm sorry - and I'll stop now." Willow took a deep breath, as much to force herself to stop talking as anything else.

When would she ever stop babbling like that? It was a lot more embarrassing these days, than it had ever been during high school!

"It's alright." Tara sat up a little more, rubbing the back of her neck. "And..." She trailed off for a moment, and then, "Buffy said - she said when people read to you, you... you were calmer, as a wolf..." Willow nodded. She'd done it with Oz to... some success, and Buffy had done it for her once or twice. "So I... I sang the lullaby my mom... that she used when I was younger. And... it worked... so I kept singing for a while... until... until you fell asleep." She pointed to her throat. "Which I guess... Would... Be why..." She winced. "I should... stop talking."

Her singing quieted the wolf? That was... Willow could hardly believe it, but she couldn't imagine why Tara would lie about it. "I'm sorry I missed your singing... or at least... that I don't remember it. Uhm... come on." She helped Tara to her feet. "I'll - I'll see if we can't get you some water or something..."

"Xander? Buffy?" She called out, wondering who was here. "Faith? Amy? Cordelia?" She knew her friends. They'd have stuck around. Given that the Initiative could have come after her last night - and thank God that they hadn't actually come after her - they wouldn't have strayed far.

And sure enough, moments later, Xander and Buffy entered the room; Xander coming down the stairs and Buffy coming in from outside. Willow could tell that both of them had gotten little, if any, sleep. Buffy was carrying Willow's backpack in one hand and a heavy-looking (in anyone else's hands) bag in the other. The Slayer put them both down and came towards her.

"Willow." Buffy gave her a quick hug, followed closely by Xander doing the same. When Buffy stepped back, though, she was all business. "Okay, here's the sitch. We have to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere hidden, in case the Initiative comes after you. I packed up clothes and other stuff from the dorm... I can get you anything else from there later, but right now, we gotta motor."

"Couldn't I just stay here?" Willow pointed out. "I don't want to be crammed into some basement or abandoned warehouse somewhere. If I'm going to have to stay somewhere for a while... at least there's room here..."

"No. There's no invitation threshold here. Vampires could just come in any time," Buffy pointed out.

"On the other hand, is there really anywhere she could go that would work?" Xander countered. "I mean, Willow can't stay at my house... the Initiative would look there. Same with your mom's house, Buffy. Or her parents' house. Or Amy's dad's place, or Faith's apartment... or really with anyone related to people they know are close to her."

Tara started to say something, then shut her mouth, looking away.

"I could... I could stay with Oz's parents..." Willow said softly. It pained her to suggest it, but... it made sense. She'd stayed in touch with Oz's parents... they still had Oz in common. His loss. And in the regular absence of her own parents, they'd become someone she could talk to in general. "They wouldn't think... to look there, I mean."

"Riley knows you dated Oz-" Buffy started, then she paused before adding thoughtfully, "But the whole Initiative... I mean, they might know... but... well, they probably wouldn't think to look there."

"Yeah, and they know I'm a werewolf..." She'd told the Osbournes that Oz had bitten her the first time they'd spoken, after the funeral. And of course they'd known their son had been one. "And they're still hippie-anti-establishment enough to not have a problem with hiding me from the government."

March 22nd, 2000

Buffy's Dorm, UC Sunnydale

Actually attending class today was the last thing on Buffy's mind. She was too agitated. Willow was at the Osbourne's house, and hopefully she was safe there, at least for the moment. There wasn't much Buffy could do from there. Amy had gone with Willow to help her set up some magical wards - alarms or defenses or whatever, the witches hadn't said exactly what - around the residence, and Buffy wasn't sure where Faith had gone off to.

Giles and Wesley were talking to the Council - her Watcher had said something about trying to get the Council to put pressure on the U.S. government to do something about the Initiative and the way Walsh was running it.

Apparently, that was something that was at least conceivable. Nice to know a bunch of unethical old British dudes who'd be happy to kill me if it suited them have that kind of power. Buffy may not have quit the Council, thanks to Wesley's timely information about how to save Angel last year, but that didn't change the fact that Giles had told her that they would not have been above killing her if she'd refused to cooperate with their sick Cruciamentum test-thing.

The same Council that had fired Wesley for daring to tell Faith that the Gem of Amarra had been stolen, and then sent that Ahuja guy to take over, someone who had made even Wesley in his early days seem competent.

Nice to know they had that much power.

So there wasn't much Buffy could do on the Willow front just yet.

And while Willow was the most important worry she had, her best friend wasn't the only person she was worried about.

Riley had risked his career and even his freedom to help her get Willow out of that prison. And if his bosses found out he had done that...

Well, then, that would be a problem.

Odds are I'll just have to break in again and get him out, next time. She wasn't going to leave her boyfriend to rot in a jail cell for helping Willow - for doing the right thing.

But until she knew what had happened with Riley... again, nothing she could do.

She was so consumed with her worries for her best friend and her boyfriend that she almost didn't even see Riley standing in front of her dorm room. She drew up short. "Riley?" Before she could stop herself, she hugged him, tightly. That was one problem solved. Right?

Riley returned the hug enthusiastically, his arms going around her waist; but after a minute, Buffy pulled back. "You weren't caught, then?"

"No, not exactly." Riley said after a moment. "Forrest suspects, but he can't prove anything, and right now the base has bigger problems. Professor Walsh is dead." He said those last four words so flatly and without emotion that Buffy knew he was very upset about it. You didn't talk like that when you didn't care.

Even knowing that it was coming, Buffy was still surprised to hear it. She could see a bit of redness in his eyes - not much, just a tiny bit, like he'd cried ever so slightly at the revelation of that evil bitch's death.

"I'm sorry." Buffy said after a moment, biting back a snarky comment, no matter how much Walsh deserved one. "I know you... Respected her?" She hated how that last bit sounded like a question, but she really didn't quite get Riley's regard for the Professor. Never had, especially not now.

"We should... we should probably take this into the dorm... instead of talking out here." Buffy said softly. Riley nodded and stepped aside, away from her door. Once the door was closed behind her, Buffy turned to Riley, who took a breath then opened his mouth.

"I know you didn't - but I need to hear you say it, Buffy. You didn't have anything to do with her death, did you?" Riley asked. "I know - after what she did to Willow - I know you didn't," he said again. "But... the timing..."

"I didn't have anything to do with it!" Buffy reacted defensively, feeling furious that Riley could even think that she would kill Walsh. I'm not a murderer. "How can you even-"

"The timing... I just had to ask, Buffy." Riley said earnestly. "I just..." he trailed off a second. "I know you're far from unhappy that she's dead... and after what she was planning to do to Willow, I get it. I do. But that's exactly why I had to ask. At the same time you and your friends were breaking in to save Willow, someone or something... killed Professor Walsh." Riley sagged his shoulders, and for the first time, Buffy realized how truly beaten he looked. Exhausted, mentally and emotionally. Probably physically too.

"She's dead, Buffy. She's dead and - I have no idea who did it, or what to do about it. Or what to think." Riley looked down at the ground. "I thought - I used to think the Professor knew best. About what we needed to do with HSTs. About how to deal with them. She picked me right out of OCS - she's the entire reason I'm where I am today. She was the smartest person I've ever met."

He looked up, "But the fact that she was willing to hold Willow prisoner, to experiment on someone she knew, a student in one of her classes. Someone who was innocent, who wasn't a threat to people... like Willow was as a human... she's not some bloodthirsty vampire or rampaging demon pulled in out of a graveyard. How can I still respect a woman willing to do that? How can I be upset she's dead?"

Well, when you put it like that...

"I killed Angel once," Buffy said softly after a silent minute. Even as she said it, she wished she could take it back. Talking about Angel with Riley... it wasn't really high on her list of things to do, she had to admit. But now that she'd said it, she had to keep going.

"I mean... actually killed him. Sent him to hell and everything. He came back... but for a while, he was... he was dead. Gone. And I didn't think he would be coming back. He was... he'd been... he'd been evil. Something happened, and he became a monster, terrorizing me, my mom, my friends... the whole town. Eventually he found this ancient demon... statue... thing. He was going to use it to destroy the world. The only way to stop Angel was to kill him. And... I did." She didn't - couldn't - go into all of it. That he'd gotten his soul back at the last moment. That she almost hadn't had to do it.

"I was... God, I was shattered afterwards." Buffy admitted. "I'd killed the guy I loved... but I'd had to do it, to save the world. He'd been a monster. How could I mourn him? Feel guilty about it?"

"My take from all that, Riley... sometimes you just gotta grieve someone's loss, whatever else they were. I don't get it... but if you have to mourn Professor Walsh's death... just do it. Do what you need to do."

March 22nd, 2000

17619 White Oak Drive, Sunnydale

Xander put the phone back down in the cradle after Buffy hung up.

So Professor Walsh really was dead. Fun. What that meant in regards to the Initiative hunting Willow down was unclear, so while Xander had his hopes up, he wasn't going to relax just yet.

Xander finished dressing – Buffy's phone call had interrupted him – and slipped the Coin into his pocket. Then he took it out again and looked at it.

Somehow, I'm thinkin' that the thing or person that killed Walsh is going to be the Big Bad for the rest of the year. Just seemed like it was fitting, given the way things had worked on the Hellmouth the last few years. Of course, he had no idea who or what had killed Professor Walsh – the Coin hadn't given him any clues. So far.

Looking at the clock, Xander made a few quick calculations about how long it would take for him to flip the Coin. He didn't need to do it again until tonight, but given the pace things could be moving? Might be worth it to flip for a few people now.

Scratch that. It will be worth it.

But he also had to get to work. Xander hated the idea of going to his job like nothing was happening, but the rest of the world didn't just stop moving because there was supernatural related drama. Even when it involved his oldest friend. And they couldn't just not go about living their lives. Not when there was nothing they could actually do.

The ball is in the Initiative's court, Xander. Cordelia had pointed out, before she'd left for classes. There was nothing she could do, nothing he could do.

Unless he found something out with the Coin.

"Willow Rosenberg."

When he got nothing from the Coin, Xander wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not. Whatever was going to happen to Willow, whatever she was going to do? At least, at the moment, Fate had no hand in it. That was... good?

It's something. At least when Fate was behind something, he could... know what it was.

"Riley Finn."

Riley and a bunch of other soldiers. They were approaching a warehouse of some kind. Out of the corner of his 'eye' he could see Buffy and Faith going for the window, trying to flank whatever was inside.

"This is a kill mission, not a capture. If that thing has to be completely obliterated to be stopped, that's what we're going to do."

As Riley gave those orders to his men, Xander realized that the soldiers weren't holding their standard taser-blasters. They were holding top grade military assault weapons - the soldier memories let him know that much. And one of them had a grenade launcher.

The scene suddenly rippled, and it was the interior of the warehouse... bullet holes, explosive residue and blood painted the walls... he saw Buffy and Faith, both of them beaten, bruised and bloody - but still alive.

The number of dead soldiers, however... a pitiful few were (maybe) just badly wounded. A few were mobile, though - Riley, another guy that Xander had seen with Riley at the Bronze but couldn't place... but they looked even more beat up than the Slayers. It seemed a marvel they were standing, let alone walking, however staggeringly.

The 'camera' of his vision panned a little to look at one of the dead. African-American man, another guy that Xander had seen hanging around Riley. Dead. He heard Riley say a name as he ran to the body, but for some reason, he couldn't make it out clearly...

The vision ended, and Xander rocked back on his heels as the pain split through him. It hurt as much as any of the high-importance visions he'd gotten before, but having to deal with that pain as often as he did, it was making it easier for him to handle.

And maybe the changes happening to you because of the Coin are also making it easier to handle.

If that was the case, then at least that would be a side benefit to the 'not being entirely human' anymore thing.

Flips for Buffy and Faith got him the same results, just from different angles and perspectives.

He didn't have an exact date, but he knew it was going to be soon. He'd have to try to warn Buffy, warn Faith... warn someone.

How much do you wanna bet that they were after Walsh's killer there? Xander made a small wager with himself on that question, and quickly flipped for everyone else on down the line. Nothing for Cordy, Amy, Buffy's mom, or Giles.

But Wesley... he did get something for that guy.

They were all crowded into Giles' living room - why they weren't in the library like usual, he couldn't guess.

"...Well, honestly, I think this is actually quite a good idea. At the very least, there's a lot we could learn from ensouling them."

"Make up your mind, Wes!" Buffy shot back, "First you want to torture them, now you want to give them their souls back?!"

"I do believe Miss Rosenberg suggested giving them souls first, Miss Summers." Wesley pointed out. "After all of you dismissed my torture suggestion, that is. I just happen to think this idea has merit as well. And you seem to prefer it to my idea, regardless of what I think."

There wasn't even the slightest pain with that vision, which was odd, given that they were talking about giving vampires souls (had to be vampires - what else would you give souls to?)

Wesley suggesting torture wasn't surprising. Every time Faith's Watcher brought up torture, Xander wondered about that guy. What was that saying, about needing to watch the quiet, mild-mannered, straight-laced guys? For someone who at least at the start had been all sticking to the rules to the death and wearing fancy suits all the damn time to be so enthusiastic about torturing vampires...

Then again, Xander considered. This is the Watcher's Council. I mean, the same assholes who invented the Cruciamentum. For all you know, torturing vampires is in the Slayer handbook right after the section on how to carve your own stake.

But who were they going to ensoul, and why? Torture as an idea was probably to get information, so giving them a soul was to... what? Make them talk out of guilt, or something? That was the only thing that made any sense to him, anyway.

But what could the vamps know that would make it so important to find out what they knew, that giving them souls seemed like a good plan? Or at least, a plan at all?

We shouldn't be giving vamps souls. It wasn't a good idea. Look what happened to Angel, after he lost it! Plus, once you started down that road, why not just ensoul them all and let the Slayer retire, already?

And... from what Cordelia had said about what the casting of the spell was like for Willow, when she cast it on Angel... it sounded like ensouling a vampire was pretty dark, nasty magic. The kind of stuff that drove people insane, at least in comic books.,

Which... well, it made sense? Ripping a soul out of the afterlife to stuff it into a vampire? Probably not the rainbows and bunnies sort of magic, yeah.

But the subject was gonna come up. But what vampires? Why? When?

Xander figured his best bet was to wait until they needed to get some info from some vampires, and then figure out a way for them to find out whatever it was they needed to know.

Just... y'know, without the torture. Because Xander was a little wigged out by that idea, to be completely honest.

After a quick glance at the clock, Xander took a breath, stuck the Coin into his pocket and headed to work.

March 23rd, 2000

The Initiative, Sunnydale

It was just after midnight when Dr. Angleman called Riley into what had been Professor Walsh's office.

There was talk that the higher-ups were going to send a Colonel (there were a few names being bandied about by the men) in to take over the base, at least temporarily, while they addressed the fallout from the death of the Professor and found her killer.

But for the moment, as Professor Walsh's second in command, Dr. Angleman was in charge. Because this was supposed to be a science mission before anything else. Find out how all the demons worked, and all that. So it made sense another scientist would still be in charge.

"Captain Finn." Angleman was standing behind the desk, looking through a pile of papers he had strewn all over the Professor's once obsessively tidy desk. Riley nodded.

"Sir." He didn't have to call a civilian that, but it was half instinct for him to call his CO 'sir'.

"Forgive the mess. I'm looking for a particular file of Maggie's, but I'm having trouble locating it." Angleman looked up from the desk at Riley. "Regardless, there are other things we need to deal with right now. I know there are rumors that someone else will be taking over the Initiative soon. That is still being discussed, but not outside the realm of possibility. However, until such time as our superiors - yours in the military chain of command, and mine outside of it - give orders to the contrary, I am in charge of the Initiative, and I expect to be obeyed the same as Maggie was."

"Should I be worried that will be a problem?" Angleman didn't radiate the expectant authority that Maggie Walsh had. When she'd given an order, she'd just expected it to be obeyed, known it would be obeyed. Angleman didn't have that.

Then again, he was just thrust into a command position he didn't expect. During a wargame simulation, when he was still a lieutenant, Riley had been unexpectedly given command of whole battalion because his superior officers had been 'killed' early in the exercise. Faced with authority he hadn't expected or been prepared for... well, he hadn't exactly covered himself with glory.

"I don't think so. We all understand the chain of command." Of course, if Angleman started ordering him to do something like finding Willow and bringing her back, there would be a problem. Offhand, Riley could think of any number of ways he could make sure his men somehow just couldn't manage to find her. Despite their 'best' efforts.

"Good. Because I don't think everyone will be entirely happy with my first order." Angleman stepped away from the desk. "I feel confident that Miss Summers, the other Slayer and her friends weren't behind Maggie's death. Which means that we have another problem, and frankly, one that is of bigger concern than a single escaped lycanthropic HST. If the escapee simply drops into our laps, detaining her is an option, but I don't want anyone wasting their time trying to find her. Or going after her friends and associates."

Angleman frowned. "The timing suggests that whoever or whatever killed Maggie used the break in as some sort of distraction or cover. Certainly, it points to any number of flaws in our security."

"Agreed. I think we should seal some of the outlying tunnels, for now," Riley said, playing the part of the dutiful soldier. "We're not using the space for anything, and it turns out it was something of a gaping hole in our defenses."

Angleman nodded. "See to it. In fact, do whatever you need to do to make sure there can be no further break ins or break outs. The scientific staff are at your disposal for this. Until we have something - anything to go on - in terms of finding Maggie's killer... ensuring our security will be your primary focus."

"Understood, sir." Riley nodded. That shouldn't be too hard. He was the reason for the break in, after all. Buffy and her friends may have been able to figure out another way to retrieve Willow without his help, but it probably would have been messier and more direct. So he could ensure there wouldn't be another one.

Wait a minute. I'm the reason for the break-in...

That thought registered within him fully, right along with Angleman's words that Professor Walsh's killer had likely used the break in as cover.

Which means...

That he'd had a hand in the Professor's death...

Fighting back a wave of guilt-induced nausea, Riley took a breath and asked Angleman: "Sir... if I may ask, do you have any... ideas about the killer?" If they could figure it out... if he could get justice for Professor Walsh...

Angleman tensed up just a little - it was almost imperceptible, but it was there. "Guesses, yes. Nothing that I could even call an educated guess, though." Angleman's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. Riley didn't know the man well enough to have his tells memorized, but...

He knows something. Or at least Angleman had something more than an uneducated guess. Why was he lying?

And just what file had he been so frantically searching for? If you weren't in a rush to find something, you didn't leave papers strewn everywhere in your search.

At least the mystery would give him something - anything - to focus on, other than his own apparent partial culpability in Walsh's death.

March 24th, 2000

Osborne Residence, Sunnydale

Tara sincerely hoped that what she was doing wasn't going to cause Willow any problems. That she hadn't inadvertently led the Initiative straight to where Willow was hiding.

She... she knew that she shouldn't be here. That she shouldn't be coming to see Willow. But...

Tara simply couldn't help it. She could feel Willow's pain and anxiety through their link. So she had to be there for her. Tara was almost surprised that Amy wasn't here as well. The other witch had to be feeling Willow's emotions, just like she was. But then, Amy at least had Faith to distract her. Tara, on the other hand...

Well...

Tara was... well, she was in love with Willow. Or very close, at least. Maybe that magnifies the link? Tara made a mental note to ask Amy for the spellbook she'd found that ritual in. Maybe she could find out if that was the reason.

Or maybe her feelings were so intense such that she felt so much urgent need to help Willow?

Swallowing, Tara brought her hand up to the front door of the house.

The house where Willow's still too-recently dead boyfriend had grown up.

She knocked twice, trying not to think about that.

After a long moment, a middle-aged woman opened the door. "Can I help you?"

Tar swallowed nervously, fidgeting. "I - I'm Tara. I'm... I'm a friend of Willow's..." She held out her hand flat, a pencil on her palm, and with a few chanted words, let it float above her hand a few inches. "I'm just here... just here to see her."

She was hoping that showing magic would prove that she wasn't with the Initiative, if there was any chance they might think that. Willow had said they'd known that Oz had been a werewolf, that Willow was, that magic existed... so...

"Come in." The woman said after a long moment. She stepped aside silently and Tara came in, the air around her getting a little heavy. I shouldn't -

But she was here now. So she kind of had to see it through at this point, right?

"Actually... it's probably good that you're here - that one of her friends are here." The woman - Oz's mom, most likely - said after she closed the door. "I think staying here is bringing up more painful memories than Willow expected... and... not just for her."

"I - I'm sorry for your loss..." Tara said, feeling like she was giving them a meaningless platitude.

Mrs. Osborne nodded. "Willow's... Willow's staying in the guest room in the basement... this way."

Tara silently followed the other woman down into the basement. The stairs ended in a hall that had two doors, and through one of them was a bedroom. Willow was reclining on the bed, but she sat up when she saw Tara.

"Tara! I - is something - is something wrong?"

Tara shook her head hurriedly, "No - No... I just wanted to see you. I was... I was... concerned."

"I'll leave you two alone, then," Oz's mother said after a moment, and left, shutting the door behind her,

"How... how are you feeling?" Tara flushed the moment after she said the words, feeling like an idiot. She could feel how Willow was feeling, and the redhead would have to know that.

"A lot of things at once." Willow admitted softly. "I mean... I don't..." She frowned. "This was a mistake... hiding here," she admitted, her voice soft. "I thought, if I didn't go into his old room, if I... " She trailed off, swallowing hard, her eyes visibly wet. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make you come here, make you feel all... this," She gestured to herself.

"I'm here because I wanted to see you, Willow. You're my friend. And you're hurting. That's enough reason to come here." Tara reached out and took one of Willow's hands in hers, not letting herself think about how much that was probably a bad idea.

"I wish... I wish there was something more I could do to help you." Tara said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I know, but you can't. I miss him, Tara." Willow said softly. "So much. I still... I'm still expecting to see him walk through the door into class, some days. Or I'll see something strange and interesting and feel like I need to remember tell Oz about it later." The water in her eyes started to trick down her cheeks, more tears forming.

"I loved him, and he's dead, and I'm here, where he lived, where he grew up, with his parents who miss him just as much and it hurts. It's like... It's like he just died yesterday!" She raised her voice a little bit at the end, Tara squeezed Willow's hand gently.

"And I can't... I can't not be here... I mean... where else can I go that would be safe?" She asked the question rhetorically. "That's what makes it so much worse, you know. I'm gonna be stuck here, like this, for... God knows how long." She wiped at her eyes with her free hand, sniffing sharply.

"You don't have to be stuck here," Tara suggested before she could stop herself. IDIOT! She berated herself after the words escaped her.

"I - but... where else can I go? Apart from hiding in a warehouse or something, or getting a hotel room... but then there's no threshold..."

"You can stay with me." Tara blurted out. What? What the hell was wrong with her? It seemed like she couldn't... like she just couldn't stop herself around Willow. "I - I mean..." she immediately hesitated, her face burning.

"Can I?" Willow asked quickly, obviously eager to get out of this house. "I... I mean - if I'm not... imposing. I mean... I know your dorm is a single and-"

"No, no, you wouldn't be imposing." Never imposing. "I can... we can make it work... we'll have to... disguise you or... something, so there's no chance they see you... or.. or notice..." Stop it, Tara, stop digging yourself in even deeper! She couldn't have Willow in her dorm. What if she slipped and said something she shouldn't? She couldn't risk... she couldn't risk ruining what she did have with Willow by letting her know.

Letting her know how she really felt about the redhead.

Willow's expression fell, "No... I can't - I can't put you in danger like that. If the Initiative-" She looked down. "I don't want you to get hurt by them, or worse..."

Tara frowned. "Willow... I..." She wasn't a coward. She...

"You don't have to stay here, if you're hurting here... and... I... I'm fine with taking that risk, if it means helping you."

Stupid, stupid, stupid...

"I..." Willow bit her lip in a way that, that only made Tara's heart flutter a little. "Okay." Before Tara realized what was happening, Willow had thrown her arm around Willow in a half-hug.

"Thank you," Willow said softly, her voice heartfelt and full of relief.

And suddenly, Tara didn't care how stupid her idea had been.

March 24th, 2000

Campus Library, UC Sunnydale

"You would think that having a dead professor would mean we wouldn't have to do any homework," Cordelia muttered to herself, as she highlighted another line in her Psych textbook before turning the page.

Officially, of course, as with most teacher deaths she'd dealt with growing up in Sunnydale, Professor Walsh wasn't actually dead. She was just on some sort of emergency sabbatical. Which was apparently possible. Regardless, they were apparently expected to keep to the syllabus, because they would still be having the Psychology 101 final at the end of the semester.

"Sometimes I worry about you, Cordelia."

Cordelia looked up at the sound of Buffy's voice, and sure enough, the Slayer was pulling out the chair across from her and sitting down, setting her own textbooks on the table lightly.

"Why? I mean, in the past, how many of our teachers have died or gone missing? At least... what, two a year? And I've been in Sunnydale my whole school life. So I've had it worse than you." Cordelia shrugged. "You learn to take it casually, eventually. Besides," She added, laughing scornfully. "It's not like you're shedding any tears for Psycho-scientist."

Buffy had to nod at that. "No... I can't say I am. But I can't just take it casually. Who or what killed her? Because I'm gonna worry until I know."

Cordelia let out a long sigh and nodded in turn. "I suppose it would be too much to hope for that she was struck down by some sort of karmic justice, for being an evil crazy person."

"If things worked like that, my job would be a whole lot easier," Buffy shook her head. "Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about Walsh... well, actually I did, sort of, but first... well, I wanted to talk to you about Xander." Cordelia picked up a serious, almost hard note in Buffy's voice.

Immediately, she stuck a piece of paper into her textbook and closed it, looking at Buffy, making it clear she should go on. There's a lot of things she could want to talk about Xander with me... but I'm guessing it has to do with his knowing things... Thing.

"How often does Xander tell you about the things he finds out?" Buffy asked, right on cue. "I mean, I know he does sometimes, and... given how close you two are... he probably tells you just about everything, right?"

Cordelia nodded. "If he can. Assuming he doesn't start coughing or choking or just... going all soundless. He tells me almost everything." Or else. "What about it?"

"I... don't know." Buffy admitted softly. "I'm just... sometimes what he knows is really useful. And sometimes it's just... unhelpful. I don't… I don't get my role in all this. Am I supposed to stop it? Speed it along? Cheer it on as it happens?"

"If it's any comfort, Xander doesn't always have the answer to that either," Cordelia offered, then frowned. "Then again, I'm not sure that is comforting."

"It's not, really," Buffy chuckled humorlessly. She took a breath. "Sometimes he doesn't feel like himself, like the Xander I knew before... before senior year started, and then he'll say or do something so uniquely Xander..."

Cordelia nodded along with what Buffy was saying. She knew exactly what the Slayer meant. Xander was still Xander, but he was different than he had been. But sometimes, he was like he'd always been.

Some of it is just, you know, growing up, Buffy. Sometimes, Cordelia got the impression that Buffy really, really just sort of expected everything to stay the same - that the world wasn't supposed to change on her, that people weren't supposed to change on her. That was only in her less charitable moments, which were a lot less commonly directed at Buffy these days, though.

"I dunno. I guess I was hoping you'd have some magical answer... but I don't even know what the question is. I'd talk to Xander about all this, but then we already know how that goes." Buffy shook her head. "But there's something else I wanted to talk to you about. Not Xander-related."

"What, exactly?"

Buffy shrugged. "I want your take on... everything that's just happened, really."

"My take?" Cordelia shrugged. "You're the one dating the guy in the secret organization that may or may not be about to arrest us for breaking into their super-secret hideout."

"That's exactly what I mean, though," Buffy replied. "I mean, we didn't exactly get off on the right foot when I first came to Sunnydale, what with you being..." Buffy trailed off, grimacing a little.

"You can say it. I was a bitch who treated people badly just because I could. Though there was that whole thing where you nearly staked me at the Bronze, when you were looking for Willow." Cordelia added, feeling a small smile rise to her face. In a weird sort of way, that whole thing was almost funny now; even if it hadn't felt like it at the time.

Apparently Buffy felt the same, from the way she laughed just a little at the reminder. "You asked me what my childhood trauma was, I think. But what I was gonna say is that... even when we didn't get along, when I kinda hated you, I respected that you had this... way to just... strip away all the crap and just get to the heart of things. It's a talent for you. You just... say it like it is."

"I think it, I say it," Cordelia pointed out. She had no patience for bullshit, for false pretenses and lies. For pretending. She'd done enough of that in her desperate scramble to be popular. And even then she'd always kind of hated it.

"I don't have time for adding on extra crap. Things are what they are." Cordelia finished. She shrugged, "As for everything that just happened? Well, I mean, we broke into a secret military base. Run by a group that had absolutely no problem holding Willow in a cell, and maybe doing things to her like they did to Spike - or worse. I mean, they cut demons open to try to figure out how they tick, right?" Buffy nodded.

"So they could have done that to Willow too. And we broke in there and took her out. So I'm still half-expecting them to come in here and arrest us for that."

Buffy blinked, shaking her head a little. "And yet here you are, at the same table you always are, doing your homework like it's any other day?"

"Short of trying to go into permanent hiding, what the hell else can I do?" Cordelia shrugged fatalistically. "Don't get me wrong - I'm terrified they'll come after me, or Xander, or you, or anyone else in the good ol' Scooby Gang. But I can't just be afraid and cower under my bed. I have plans for my life, and they include graduating college."

Cordelia ran a finger through her hair, "Willow - we know they want her. So she has to hide. And given how far ahead in every class she probably is, she can probably afford to hide until finals. I'm afraid they'll arrest us, but I don't know it for sure. Of course, they could just be waiting for the best moment to come and take us all in as 'dangerous HSTs'. Which is such a wonderful thought!" She paused, another thought occurring to her. "On the other hand, they're more likely to come for you and Faith first. And I can guess how that will go."

"Broken bones for the soldiers, and a lot of embarrassment?"

"That's pretty much what I guessed, yeah," Cordelia confirmed. "But maybe it'll be better now that Walsh is dead. I know Xander is hoping that." Well, he was hoping it before they even knew for sure that she was dead, but no need to mention that to Buffy. "Maybe they'll be too busy to hunt us all down and give us the gulag treatment. Hell, maybe whoever takes over from Walsh won't even be interested in dissecting Willow. But I wouldn't count on it."

"But you're probably right that who or whatever killed the Psycho-Scientist will be a problem at some point. I mean, March isn't even over yet. Apocalypse season hasn't started." Cordelia let out a long sigh. "I mean, you could always offer to help Riley figure out what killed her." She mused aloud, not really considering her words.

Buffy suddenly smiled. "Cordelia, you're a genius!"

March 24th, 2000

Tara's Dorm, UC Sunnydale

As soon as Tara opened the door to her dorm, Willow stepped in hurriedly, wanting to minimize her time out in the open - such as the hallway had been - as much as she could.

She couldn't let anything happen to Tara because of this.

"I... I wanted to say, again-" Willow started, flushing, her tongue feeling unusually tied and twisted. She was babbling, but usually when she babbled she at least got the words out. Here she couldn't even-

"You don't need... you don't need to thank me again." Tara said softly, offering Willow one of the small, shy little smiles that Willow had come to expect from the blonde. Every time she saw it, she had this weird feeling that she couldn't place. Willow could only assume it came from the link between them.

That spell may have helped me when we did it... no - no, it did help, and I really did need it badly, but we really did leap into it half-cocked and without enough information.

"I want to help." Tara added. "You're always welcome in here anyway..." She added, licking her lips a little when she was done. Willow looked around, and saw that Tara had arranged a few blankets and pillows on the floor near the bed. She suppressed a yawn at the sight of the bed and of the She'd cut coming here as late as she could, hoping to reduce the odds of people noticing her. But that also meant she was very tired, and given... everything, that pile of blankets looked very inviting right now.

It wouldn't be as comfortable as a real bed, but Tara's dorm was a single, and it would be worth it.

Worth the discomfort, in place of all to raw and real memories of Oz haunting her at every turn.

"I'm sorry... I didn't sleep very well last night." She admitted, explaining her yawn. "I..." She started to make for the blankets, but Tara's words drew her up short.

"You - you don't need to - that's for me." Tara gestured to the blankets. "I - I want you to have the bed."

Willow blinked, looking at Tara, "But it's your bed..."

"And... and you're the guest... so you should have it," Tara insisted quietly.

Willow shook her head, "No - I didn't come here to kick you out of your bed, Tara. You don't have to sleep on the floor. You shouldn't." Willow looked at the bed again. It was a little bigger than the ones in the dorm room she shared with Buffy. It might be tight, but it could actually probably fit the both of them.

No, it definitely could fit them both.

Willow gave a small chuckle, "You're going to keep insisting I take the bed, and I'm going to keep insisting you take it. So...in the interests of saving time... we should probably share it."

Now it was Tara's turn to blink in confusion. "We - what?"

"We should share the bed," Willow said again, "Unless you agree that you should take the bed, and I sleep on the floor."

Tara started to open her mouth, then bit her lip, saying nothing for a long moment. Willow could pick up - or maybe she could just see it - conflicted emotions in Tara, probably as she decided if it was worth fighting her on this issue.

It isn't, missy. You won't win this argument.

"I... Okay." Tara conceded at last.

Willow smiled, "See? Everything goes smoother when you accept I'm right." She said it in a jokey tone, just happy she wasn't forcing Tara out of her own bed.

March 25th, 2000

Tara's dorm, UC Sunnydale

Willow was slow to wake up the next morning. She was half-awake, if that much, and she was content to stay that way for the moment, out of sheer laziness. She just... she just didn't want to get out of bed.

Lying there, barely aware of the rest of the world, eventually Willow realized, as she snuggled under the blankets more, that she wasn't alone in the bed.

There was someone else, someone else next to her, and...

She instinctively knew that she was safe with that person. With what little awareness she did have, she could tell that she didn't need to fear whoever was in the bed with her - even the wolf had this sensation she almost wanted to call purring (even though canines couldn't purr, really) at the nearness of the other person.

In her sleep-hazed brain, Willow connected those sensations with a belief that there was only one person that would share her bed, that she'd feel that way around. That the wolf would react to like that.

The person she'd spent months waking up without their presence, missing every day.

But...

Oz is here. Oz is alive.

The last few months - his death, the grief, the pain, the aching emptiness of losing Oz...

It had all been some horrific nightmare. Some twisted dream from the darkest pits of her mind. It had felt real, but this...

This had to be real.

A small smile playing across her features, Willow shifted in the bed, moving to snuggle into her boyfriend's body.

Willow tried to banish all memory of the nightmare from her head, but it was still there, oh well never mind - it would pass in time... Oz was here. She could feel him... could smell...

That's not Oz's scent!

Lilac, lavender and a hint of vanilla...

Willow snapped into full awakeness as she realized where she was, and who was in the bed next to her. Tara. Not Oz.

Not Oz.

Because Oz was dead.

It hadn't been a dream.

It had been a nightmare, but the nightmare was real, a waking horror she'd had to live with...

Barely able to breathe, Willow broke into open sobs, the tears bursting forth from her in a quick flood.

She'd allowed herself to articulate an impossible hope, and now she felt even more empty inside.

March 25th, 2000

Tara's Dorm, UC Sunnydale

The sound of Willow's sobs ripped Tara from her sleep, away from all-too pleasant dreams. For a split second, Tara couldn't understand what she was hearing, but then she realized that Willow was crying next to her.

No, not crying, Tara realized, as she turned over to look at Willow. Sobbing. They were quiet sobs, but from the way Willow's shoulders were heaving in time with her tears, they couldn't be anything else.

There were no coherent words coming from Willow as she cried, but there was a name - Oz.

Tara didn't stop to think, to consider what she did next. She just did it, barely aware she was doing it until it was done - until her arm was around Willow's stomach and she was holding the redhead against her, humming that Gaelic lullaby she'd used to calm the Wolf not a few nights ago.

With her free hand, Tara reached up and began to stroke Willow's hair lightly, wishing there was more she could do to ease Willow's grief than had already been done - she could feel it through their link, but obviously there was more in this specific moment than the link could transmit.

It was the worst Tara had ever felt off of Willow.

But the real pain wasn't her own ghost-sensation of Willow's pain, but her own pain at watching and hearing Willow be in so much pain.

Tara wished she could say something, but she couldn't even imagine where to begin without knowing what had prompted Willow's tears. All she could do was hold Willow, try to sooth her as best she could and hope she could help the redhead once Willow had managed to regain some coherency.

March 25th, 2000

The Initiative, Sunnydale

"Dr. Angleman, I was under the impression that the project wasn't even ready for trial activation, let alone mobile. Can you explain how it managed to kill Doctor Walsh, in spite of that?"

"With all due respect, Mr. Ward," Angleman prefaced, his voice practiced and careful. Maggie had always been much better at handling the politicians. "We're dealing with things that are extremely poorly understood - and at least, on the surface, defy all rational explanation. And the science Maggie was using to put the 314 Project together relies on concepts, principles and ideas so new and untested we barely even have names for them." He'd actually resorted to practicing this little spiel before the video call came through.

"I won't go so far as to say that it was foreseeable that this could happen, but now that it has... well, it isn't exactly surprising. Something that shouldn't have happened has happened, and now the Project has escaped containment, and Maggie Walsh is dead. While I don't want to make this a battle of recriminations, I will remind you for the record that both Maggie and I filed objections at the pace of progress which you and the Board were demanding."

"For someone trying to not make this about recriminations..." The man paused. "No, never mind. Now, what's the status on the prototype's capture?"

"We have no idea where it currently is. I suspect it's hidden somewhere in the extensive tunnels underneath Sunnydale. It would have been spotted publicly by now if not, and if the prototype is active, we have to assume its self-preservation protocols are also in place."

"The Board wants the Project taken mostly if not entirely intact. Alive is... negotiable." Mr. Ward said after a long pause. "Do whatever you have to do to make sure that happens."

"Understood."

"As for the break-in... I'm afraid that Dr. Walsh was less than entirely forthcoming about these... civilians. Chief among them, a 'Buffy Summers'? What can you tell us about her and her associates?"

"Less than what I'd like to. Miss Summers and her chief compatriot, a 'Faith Lehane' exhibit HST-level strength and speed, but Miss Summers is human by all available evidence - including her DNA. Two of her associates - Willow Rosenberg and Amy Madison - also exhibit abilities that... well, the term 'magic' seems the best available descriptor."

"Magic?" Mr. Ward gave him a pointed look, and Angleman cleared his throat.

"I'm not saying that actual magical abilities are real, but just as 'vampire' is the best available term for one common kind of HST, magic is the best available term for the mix of telekinetic, pyrokinetic and more esoteric abilities Miss Rosenberg and Miss Madison display. And these are separate to the lycanthropic nature that Miss Rosenberg also appears to possess."

"I see. And the British Nationals?"

"They appear to be experts in HST phenomena, and part of a larger group. Though their understanding of HSTs is couched in archaic language and mysticism, Maggie theorized that their organization must have been formed when such superstitions were more common - the human mind would resort to the most logical explanation they could find, given their framework. Thus, demons. And somehow this archaic understanding has stayed in place for them."

"That didn't stop Dr. Walsh from taking advantage of their familiarity with the 'social dynamics' of vampires, however. As I believe she outlined to you in a recent report?" Angleman didn't entirely agree about the efficacy of using 'vampires' as some sort of shock troops. They seemed too unruly and destructive. Maggie had only found moderate utility in the idea, but several of the members of the Board, albeit not Mr. Ward, had been more in favor of that plan, rather than the 314 Project.

"Indeed. The Board is finishing their deliberations on that idea, and we'll get back to you about it fairly soon, I imagine. As to the break in - how did it happen? And what do you intend to do about it?"

"Captain Finn is working on that. His theory is that Miss Summers' group somehow used their 'magic' to spoof the locks on a secondary entrance, and then they took advantage of some sort of tracking mechanism to find Miss Rosenberg quickly and get her out of the complex." Personally, Angleman didn't believe it. He was fairly certain that it had to have been someone on the inside; the 'search and rescue' op had gone too smoothly for it to be otherwise. Possibly, Finn himself had been the one to help Summers carry out the prison break. Then again, he had trouble believing the man could have betrayed Maggie like that.

It's more likely that bleeding heart, Lieutenant Miller. But Angleman had no proof of anything, and with the 314 Project on the loose... this definitely wasn't the time for a witch hunt.

"In an ideal world, we could retrieve Miss Rosenberg quickly and quietly, but her public identity as a US citizen may create unneeded complications... and more importantly, at this time, antagonizing Miss Summers and her associates again would be counterproductive to our current objectives, in my view."

"You're that concerned about these civilians?" Mr. Ward sounded skeptical, peering at him even more pointedly.

I am, and so should you be. Angleman also didn't think eliminating Miss Summers and her friends served any useful purpose. Especially not now. They could be of use in the upcoming hunt for the prototype, if nothing else. Maggie had been wrong to approach them antagonistically, and to hold Miss Rosenberg prisoner as well.

"In the words of Captain Finn, Miss Summers could "wipe the floor" with our soldiers. While I'm no military expert, I'm sure proper application of numbers and tactics could defeat her and her compatriots. That said, however, I'm doubtful active hostilities are the most effective use of The Initiative's resources, given the need to locate and retrieve the 314 Project. Especially given that there remain too many unknowns regarding the abilities and motivations of those people. If the Board disagrees-"

"I don't think it's likely that the Board will be settling anything on that front anytime soon. Walsh's death has... unsettled things," Mr. Ward interrupted. He took a long pause, obviously considering his words. "Your priority should and must be the recovery of the project. While capturing HSTs encountered in the course of that mission may continue, that should not be the primary objective. Walsh's death, the break in and the escape of the 314 Project leave the entire Initiative open to investigation from other arms of the government, and the Board cannot have that. Solve this problem first, and things will be reconsidered then."

"In short, do whatever you feel necessary to ensure that your primary objective is met," Mr. Ward finished. "Is there anything else we need to discuss, Dr. Angleman?"

Angleman shook his head, "I don't believe so."

March 25th, 2000

The Initiative, UC Sunnydale

"Si- Dr. Angleman," Riley corrected himself mid-word. "You wanted to see me?"

"I did." Angleman had actually moved into Professor Walsh's office. Which made sense. It was his office now. But he hadn't really put any of of his own touches on the room. Out of respect for the Professor or because he hadn't been there long enough, Riley didn't know.

"There's a few things I'd like to discuss with you," Angleman continued. "First of all, I understand that a few of the men have reported to the infirmary with unusual 'wooziness' and feelings of being a little 'light-headed'?"

Riley nodded. "Yes, that's true. It looks like there might be a bug going around the base. Nothing serious - the doctors didn't find any reason to worry, so everyone should be back in full rotation soon." He'd felt a little light-headed himself this morning. Something had felt... just a little bit different. He hadn't been able to place it, though.

He wasn't light-headed now, but he had gotten close to yelling at one of his men for a minor mistake. Riley was not one to flip out like that - he'd barely restrained himself.

"Good, good." He saw Angleman write something down on a pad of paper in front of him. Angleman took a breath and then let it out slowly. "I also called you in because I'm fairly certain that I know now what killed Maggie."

Riley immediately stood to attention. This, this was the news he'd been waiting for. Despite going over the video logs with a fine toothed comb, checking Room 314 over in minute detail, there had been no clues. Nothing as to the identity of the Professor's killer.

"It was a 'what' and not a 'who'?" Riley asked, wanting to be sure he'd heard right.

"Correct." Angleman nodded. "You're aware that the primary goal of the Initiative has always been about experimentation and gathering information, rather than simply eliminating HSTs?"

"Of course. We can't beat them if we don't know how to kill them." Even if he didn't understand the idea of putting antiviolence chips in vampires, like Hostile 17... who was still at large.

Understanding the ways their brains work could be useful, though... they're not human, after all.

"Indeed. You're also aware that Maggie and I worked on some sort of project in Room 314. Highly classified, no details. And that Walsh was found dead in Room 314." Riley nodded along with Angleman's words. He wasn't an idiot.

The Professor's death had been related to whatever project she was working on.

"Well, I've been talking to my superiors, and you've now been given clearance to know more. We were working on this." Angleman opened a folder on his desk and took out a photograph, which he extended out to Riley.

When he got a look at the picture, Riley did a double take. Then a third take.

The... thing he was seeing, lying on a metal lab table, looked like something out of Frankenstein in Space,if such a thing even existed. Stitched together parts of bodies, some of them human, some of them very clearly not. And the whole thing seemed held together by technology, including some sort of chassis on his chest - in the picture, the chassis was open and a tangled mass of wires and computer chips was exposed.

Riley lowered the picture, fighting back a rising sense of revulsion. Professor Walsh - she'd... she'd been working on this? This...

He didn't even have the words.

"I can tell you're... bothered by this news, Riley, but the Initiative's primary purpose has been to find a way to harness the HST threat to contribute to the national defense. I believe the initial theory was something along the lines of using HSTs to take out terrorist training camps or the like, in areas where the United States military shouldn't be - such as the Afghanistan-Pakistan border."

Despite his feelings of nausea, Riley could understand the logic. Perfect deniability. Even if they truly understood what had attacked them, any surviving terrorists, or their allies, or the government that had sheltered them would never be able to trace the HSTs back to the Initiative. And it wasn't as if the people these hypothetical 'shock troop HSTs' would have been sent against wouldn't have deserved it.

But...

Even then, Riley felt misgivings at the thought. But compared to this...

"Unfortunately... it's proven to be easier said than done to control HSTs in any meaningful way. So Maggie came up with another idea. A kinematically redundant, biomechanical demonoid, codenamed Project 314, or ADAM." Riley caught the grimace in Angleman's expression as he mentioned that last bit.

Riley's head was spinning. He'd always believed that Professor Walsh was right. Always right. His resolve had been shaken following the capture and detention of Willow, sure, but this? How could the woman he'd respected so immensely have been a party to this... this... abomination? Had Walsh been completely insane, and he'd simply never noticed?

And calling her creation 'ADAM'? Riley wasn't overly religious, though he semi-regularly attended church on Sundays, but he still felt the urge to cross himself at the implications that Walsh must have deliberately aimed for, in using that name.

"ADAM?" Riley managed to get out, hoping against hope that he'd heard Angleman wrong.

"Maggie always had an immense ego, Finn, I think we both know that. A well earned one, but quite an ego nonetheless. But yes, it was... a bit much to call him ADAM, I agree."

Riley bit his tongue before he could blurt out the question that he really wanted to ask: What the hell?

The whole concept of what he'd just learned, everything he was being briefed on... this was wrong. You didn't create weird hybrid monsters like this.

Why would Walsh do this? Create this? Did it mean he was always wrong to believe in her? Had she really always been like this, or was this just... a mistake, a bad judgment call, and not reflective of her character as a whole?

Well, don't forget how Walsh wanted to dissect someone she knew full well was no threat... a little voice insisted, and Riley tried to ignore it.

"The 314 Project was, in theory, at least two weeks away from being ready for trial activation, possibly more. But..." Angleman trailed off for a moment. "Maggie was pushing the boundaries of the possible - I was barely managing to stay three steps behind her, if that much. And when you're dealing with as many unknowns as she was..."

"Are you saying that this... ADAM thing is what killed the Professor?" Riley asked bluntly, after Angelman trailed off.

"That, or else whatever or whoever killed her absconded with the project. And given its weight and bulk... that seems unlikely." Angleman confirmed. "Without being able to examine it, I can't know what went wrong; I can only assume some errant bit of command code was corrupted, or misfired or something, and ADAM was activated and read Maggie as a hostile before it killed her and fled, operating under some warped version of its self-preservation protocols."

"And you want it... you want it retrieved, Doctor?" Personally, Riley wanted to destroy it - for what it had had done to Walsh, as well as what it was. Even more than an HST, it was... unnatural. ADAM shouldn't exist.

Riley had never been much for condemning things as unholy, or evil. Or even sinful. But this... ADAM... if anything on God's green Earth was deeply, truly, profoundly unholy, it was the monstrosity that Professor Walsh had created... that he might have had an indirect hand in creating, bringing back the demons she'd cut up to put into this thing.

Get a grip, pal, there's no way you could have known. You followed orders like a good soldier. You trusted your commanding officer like a good soldier. You couldn't have done anything else.

"A lot of time and money has been sunk into this project, Finn. Our superiors in the Department of Defense would like, as much as possible, to retain the progress that has been made with ADAM so far. Their wishes are clear. Your orders are to find the project, kill it, and bring back intact - at least, as intact as possible - the remains. Most importantly, its brain and computer core must be intact. The rest is... negotiable, but preferred to be retrieved in one piece."

"May I have that order in writing, sir?" Riley's words were stiff, flat. Just like his posture - he was holding himself stiffly to attention, trying to fight against showing any of the revulsion and horror he felt.

I'm a good soldier. I follow orders. My superiors in the Military Chain of Command have assigned - for the moment - Doctor Angleman as someone who has the authority to issue orders to me.

And on a certain basic level, Riley could almost understand the logic behind this cluster-fuck. Just looking at the Frankenstein's monster reject, he couldn't imagine it would be easy to kill. Or even stop. So deploying it against the enemies of the United States...

Can you imagine what would happen if we sent just a squad of these things into the North Korean DMZ? Assuming they were as tough as they looked, with appropriate support... a lot of American and allied soldiers' lives could be saved, letting 'ADAM' and the things like him take point.

But...

But even contemplating the possible advantages, he still couldn't accept that logic as a valid reason to create this sort of monster. There were lines you didn't cross, and they had been crossed here.

"You may. I'll have it for you in an hour. Dismissed." Angleman replied to his previous question.

Riley started for the door, but Angleman speaking again drew him up short: "Oh, one more thing, Finn... when next you see Miss Summers, you can let her know that the Initiative no longer has any interest in Willow Rosenberg. It would be best if she is kept out of sight of some of our more... gung-ho soldiers, such as Lieutenant Gates, but given... the situation, antagonizing Miss Summers and her compatriots would not be helpful to the Initiative at all. Devoting resources to addressing her, her abilities, and the abilities of her friends - some of whom represent significant unknowns - is not where we currently need to be allocating those resources."

Riley turned back and nodded stiffly. "Understood."

"Do not inform her as to the details of Project 314, in any fashion." Angleman added. "She's not cleared for that information, in any way."

"Yes Doctor."

That was one order he wasn't going to even consider obeying, however.

March 25th, 2000

Buffy and Willow's Dorm, UC Sunnydale

Buffy looked down at the picture Riley had handed over to her again, trying to wrap her brain around what she was seeing.

You know, given that I've run into killer robots twice now, you would think that I wouldn't be as surprised by this as I am. And yet... she was.

Cutting vampire's heads open and putting chips in their brains was one thing. Cutting dead demons open to find out how they worked - she almost got that. Know your enemy and all that fun stuff - Giles was big on that.

But this?

"And this thing was made by the woman you thought was always right?" Buffy tried to keep the disgust, scorn and disbelief from her tone, but she failed to do so; she simply couldn't help it.

"That's what I thought, yeah. Turns out..." Riley shook his head. "This thing is somewhere in Sunnydale, Buffy. Dr. Angleman is sure it hasn't left town, even if he hasn't offered any proof why he thinks that, but he has no idea where in town it's hiding.."

"You know, when you told me that the Initiative wasn't going to go after Willow, I felt like maybe things were starting to look up." She'd been afraid that whatever was behind the death of Walsh would be something she'd have to worry about, sure, but...

But she'd never imagined anything like this.

"I don't like this anymore than you do, Buffy." Riley pointed out. "And technically, I shouldn't be bringing this to you; but sooner or later, you or one of your friends are going to run into this thing. And you know this town, all the hiding places, better than me or any of my men. So... here I am."

Buffy lowered the picture, looking back up at her boyfriend. "Does this... Frankenstein's monster of Walsh's have any sort of weakness? Off switch?"

"Not that I know of. Not that Angleman told me." Riley shook his head. "It was designed to be an unstoppable shock trooper the military could deploy against our enemies. Giving it some weak point would be a little counterproductive. It would be nice if they'd built in a convenient blow it up button, but they didn't."

"Of course. Because that would be too easy." Buffy sighed, then got up, grabbing Riley's hand. "Come on. We're getting everyone together, and you're explaining this all over again." Maybe one of her friends could figure out some way to beat - or at least fight - this thing.

I can't imagine beating Willy up - or even paying him - would be the way to find this sort of demon Terminator reject. No, if she had to guess, Buffy would say it would be hiding in the sewers, caves and electrical tunnels under the town.

Mayor Wilkins's gift that just kept on giving.

March 25th, 2000

Private Room, Sunnydale Public Library

Well, I guess this explains what's going to totally destroy Riley and his men when they try to attack it. Just looking at the picture that had been passed around the table, Xander could imagine it was strong and with all those metal bits, including the armor on the chest...

Well, ADAM was obviously not going to be easy to kill.

I wonder if that name would count for a Coin flip? On the one hand, Xander didn't want to have what he might see from flipping for this monster burned into his memory; but on the other hand, if they didn't have any luck finding it, he just might have to.

Then again, have we ever really had trouble finding the latest Big Bad? Sooner or later, they always come for Buffy or make some big public move anyway.

"Okay, I'm just gonna say it, since no one else wants to. Professor Walsh was a fucking lunatic!" Cordelia said, putting the picture down. "What the hell was she thinking?"

"That it was worthwhile trying to turn demons into weapons for the military." Riley repeated his explanation, quite obviously his expression completely blank.

"And leaving aside how all kinds of stupid and wrong that is, there still have to be better ways than updating Frankenstein's Monster to the 21st century!" Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Is it just me, or does it seem like she was almost asking to get killed by her own creation? Dealing with things that Man Was Not Meant To Know, and all that standard sci-fi and horror crap."

Xander could see Riley's hand clench tightly as he said nothing, but Giles clearing his throat drew Xander's attention away from the soldier.

"Well, yes - as always, Cordelia, you manage to put it quite succinctly. Professor Walsh was trying to manipulate things she barely had any understanding of, and trying to harness demons and their powers has rarely ever worked out for any humans involved, in the long run. But the point is, this... thing exists, and now we need a way to find it and deal with it before it becomes a greater concern." He let out a long sigh.

"Though, I will admit, I-I'm at something of a loss on where to start."

"How... smart is this thing, Riley?" Xander asked after a moment. Riley didn't know about his habit of... accurate hunches, and it wasn't something Xander wanted to get into right now. "Could it... lay a trap for someone trying to track it down?" He would tell Buffy in private, but if Riley was at least thinking of the possibility (assuming he hadn't been already) that could only be for the good.

Riley opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "I... don't know. It has some sort of self-preservation instincts, so I suppose it may be possible. It has to have a certain amount of intelligence in order to hide, anyway, not to mention to escape the Initiative..."

"God, I hope it can't lay a trap." Riley finished.

"Is there any way you guys could track it?" Buffy turned to look at Amy, Tara and yes, Willow. The news that the Initiative wouldn't be going after her had been very welcome, Xander had to admit. "Cast some kinda spell and find it? I mean, I know you usually need a piece of whatever you're looking for, but..."

"I can't think of anything," Amy was the first to answer. "I mean, there's plenty of spells out there, and magic can do a lot, but with this thing… I don't even know where to start." She looked over at Willow and Tara. "What about you two?"

"There's spells that can track demons in general, but given how many of those there are in Sunnydale, and the fact that this thing is like a patchwork of a lot of different demons..." Willow stated slowly, but trailed off.

"It would be pretty useless, yeah." Faith finished. "Me, I'm less worried about finding it - I figure this ADAM guy will find us sooner or later - than I am about killing the damn thing. I mean," she looked back over at Riley, "I don't think I can just drive a stake through this fucking armor on his chest."

Riley shrugged helplessly, "I don't know what might bring it down. It was designed to be an unstoppable killing machine."

"I'm really getting behind the Walsh was a lunatic theory," Faith mused aloud in response.

"I'm gathering that that seems to be the consensus," Riley replied stiffly, then he slumped his shoulders. "And, to be honest, I'm finding it harder to disagree than I'd like. But it doesn't have an obvious weakness. From the information Dr. Angleman gave me, ADAM is... relatively slow, so that can be used against him, I've seen the speed you two can fight with." He looked to the two Slayers.

"Sheer brute force might be the order of the day, though. Angleman wants the head and computer core intact, and I'm going to do my best to see those orders through, but there's no rule that says any of the rest of it has to be intact. I'll be issuing some of my men with grenade launchers, and if that doesn't work, I can requisition flame throwers."

Faith nodded, chuckling a little. "I can get behind that idea."

"What about power?" Willow asked abruptly. Everyone looked over at her. "I mean, he - it - has cybernetic parts, and a computer actually running the body. Which would need power. So odds are he has the ability and need to like... hook up to a generator or the power grid or something, maybe some kind of battery. Maybe that's something that can be exploited. To track him, or stop him, or both."

Riley opened his mouth, then closed it. "I don't know about that one, either... I'll have to ask."

March 25th, 2000

Sunnydale Public Library

Buffy saw Xander gesturing at her out of the corner of her eye after Riley left to go find out about ADAM's power source. She'd seen that expression on his face enough times over the last year to guess that Xander knew something.

Probably going to be just on this side of useful. It wasn't Xander's fault, but what he could tell her usually ended up being only kind of useful, if that much. If she ever did get her hands on the asshole that was stopping Xander from sharing everything he knew, she'd have to give them a very firm beating or three.

Buffy followed Xander into the empty aisle.

"What can you tell me?" Buffy asked, as soon as she was sure they were alone.

"Less than I'd like. But this... ADAM thing is going to wipe the floor with you, if you're not extra careful," Xander replied flatly.

"I love that vote of confidence, Xander," Buffy said dryly.

"I'm serious, Buffy. This... whatever the hell it is, demon-cyborg-monster, is going to take on you, Faith, Riley and a whole bunch of his people and leave most of them dead. I know you, Riley, Faith and some other guy live, I don't know for sure about the rest." Xander grimaced. "I don't know how. I don't know about the fight, I didn't find out about that. But I think it was... will be, an ambush. A trap."

"So that's why you suggested that to Riley." Buffy observed.

"Yeah." Xander nodded. He tried to keep talking, but suddenly there was no sound coming out, and Buffy waved a hand dismissively.

"Whatever you wanted to just tell me, didn't come out."

"Great. So there's no way to tell you where the ambush will be. Real helpful." Xander let out a long breath. "Just... be really careful, alright? Maybe if you just... expect a trap, it'll go well."

"Or better, at least." Buffy agreed, hoping Xander was right. "Okay. If there's anything else -"

"I'll tell you." Xander confirmed.

March 25th, 2000

The Initiative, Sunnydale

"They put a nuke in this thing?" Graham shook his head. "You're shitting me!"

"It's a battery, powered by Uranium-235. Not quite a nuclear weapon. But... more or less, yeah. Some highly experimental new mobile power source. Early model. But enough to keep it running for a thousand years, or more." Riley kept wanting to say 'him' and 'he' in regards to ADAM, out of a societal default based on the fact that the human parts of ADAM appeared to have come from a man, but Riley rejected the instinct. ADAM was an it, a thing. Not a person, not a 'he'.

Or even a she, for that matter.

"Well, I suppose it isn't like they had to worry about him having kids." Graham muttered. "So what are you going to do about this, then?" Apparently Graham had no such problem with using 'he'.

"I've issued Geiger counters to every squad. Maybe we can use those to at least get a few seconds of warning before it tries to... ambush us. Or figure out where it's been." Riley let out a sigh. "Doesn't get us any closer to actually taking it down, though."

"Is that all you're doing?" His friend asked that question in a low tone - Graham was the only person Riley had told about how he'd brought all this to Buffy's attention. He was the only guy he could be absolutely sure wouldn't tell anyone else.

For all that Forrest had been - was, damnit! - a friend as close as Graham, Riley knew full well that on this, Forrest would be a good soldier and tell Angleman Riley had broken the rules.

Mostly because he'd be upset I told Buffy. Forrest had barely said two words to him since Willow had been rescued, still suspecting him of… something.

"Not exactly." Riley muttered back. "My other plan could pan out. I'll let you know."

According to Buffy, Willow had an idea, some sort of spell that she could use or adapt or something to track down the radioactive decay of ADAM's power source. In theory, anyway. Buffy had said that Willow wasn't sure if it would actually work according to plan, so he wasn't going to assume that idea was going to work.

March 25th, 2000

Graveyard, Sunnydale

Some of Sunnydale's many graveyards were more popular with the vamps and demons than the others, even if Faith or Buffy went through them all on a regular basis. Faith didn't know why, but it meant that she tended to patrol in or near those graveyards most nights. But when she and Buffy had done their various dividing of patrol duties, they both made sure that they at least occasionally visited the less popular ones.

One in a while, that even meant she actually ran into something to kill.

Not fucking tonight, though.

Wesley must have heard her sigh. "Bored?"

"Little bit." Faith said after a moment. "You're just not as much fun company for dull patrols as Amy. No offense."

Wesley snorted, "I should think so." Now it was his turn to sigh. "Perhaps we should check out one of the other cemeteries? And then, when we're done, you see if Miss Madison is done helping Miss Rosenberg and Miss Maclay with that spell to try and track our lovely new enemy. As you say, she makes for better company."

"You have your moments, but yeah." Faith smirked, noticing a chance to fuck with her still too stiff Watcher. "And not just because she can-"

Wesley interrupted hurriedly. "I don't need or want to know any details."

"Oh, come on, Wes - don't tell me you haven't wondered? I know how much girl on girl can get a guy's motor going." She teased him, saying, "Unless you're gay. That could explain a lot."

"I'm not gay, Faith, a-as quite a number of women can attest!" Wesley said, his voice a little more insistent than a normal denial should be. Faith couldn't help but laugh, her humor increasing even more at Wesley's sputtering half-incoherent response.

"I dunno. I mean, let's face it, Percy - you might not be as magnificent a poof as Captain Forehead, but you do a pretty good job of playacting at one!" Spike jumped off the top of a crypt and landed in front of them, a lit cigarette in hand.

Ignoring her Watcher, Faith raised her crossbow, pointing it at Spike. "What the hell do you want, and where the hell have you been, Fangless?"

"It's a long story, and I don't wanna tell it," Spike shot back. "I'm here because I've got information about a new monster in town for you lot, if you've got the dosh."

"What the hell is 'dosh'? That some stupid British thing?"

"It's a slang term for money." Wesley confirmed. "A little more modern than you, for that matter."

"Not like I haven't been back home plenty of times since I became a vampire, ponce. So, are you going to pay, or do I need to track down the other Watcher?"

"Spike, you fucking hate us." Faith tightened her grip on the trigger for her crossbow, looking suspicious. "So why the hell are you offering to help? Even for money?" If she was Spike and she had useful information that would help 'the good guys', she'd have stood back and watched them all die.

"Suppose you wouldn't believe me if I said something about the goodness of my heart?" Spike smirked.

"Get on with it now, or I dust you. I don't care about fair fights like B seems to." Faith growled at Spike.

"I'm almost out of vole's blood, okay? And since I'm stuck drinking pig thanks to this bloody chip in my head, I'd rather not be. So I gotta buy some more. And I might not be able to kill you, but I'm fast enough you won't be able to kill me either."

"I could always just beat it out of you?" Faith offered.

"Faith, there's no reason we can't be reasonable right now." Wesley cut in. He lowered his crossbow and pulled his wallet out of pocket. Faith rolled her eyes. What the fuck is he wasting his time on this for?

Wesley pulled several bills out and extended them to Spike, who snatched the cash out of his hand, then scoffed.

"A hundred bucks? Are you sodding kidding me?"

"You can take the money, Spike, or we can go with Faith's strategy. I can even bring out some holy water, if you'd like us to try that."

"Oh, bugger this." Spike stuck the money in his pocket, then he added, "There's something new moved into town. Big, scary. Took over a warehouse close to the docks, and either drove out or killed all the vampires and demons nearby. Heard it off one of the survivors that got away. It's big, got some kind of armor, and was strong enough to just tear a vampire's head right off."

"Figured you lot would want to know, so you could go kill it - and hopefully get yerselves killed, if there's any justice in this world!"

Covered in armor? Big? Scary? Strong enough to rip a vampire's head off?

Sounds like ADAM to me.

It sounded convenient. Maybe too convenient. They just find out about the Big Bad, and Spike shows up telling them where it is. But it was a lead.

'Sides, he knows we'll find him and kill him if he's lying or trying to trick us somehow. Spike was pretty stupid sometimes, but he wasn't that stupid.

"And that's all you have?" Faith demanded, taking a step towards him.

"A hundred dollars isn't enough to make me go check out some scary demon that could kill me. Not for you lot. You want to know more, go find it yourself, psycho-slayer."

March 25th, 2000

Cemetery, Sunnydale

Spike almost couldn't believe they'd fallen for it.

Course, they probably didn't fall for it as bad as Frankenstein's Demon thought they would. Spike loathed taking orders from that freak of nature, but Dru had promised it would all work out in the end - and that was good enough for him, for now. Besides... the chance, even a small one, to send the Slayers to their deaths at 'Adam's' hands?

Almost as good as killing them myself. Almost. Spike really wished he could be the one to do the killing; but until the chip was out of his noggin, that wasn't an option, and even then...

Goldilocks and the Psycho are bloody hard to kill. Spike liked a challenge - hell, he loved a challenge, but there was a reason why he'd killed the two Slayers he did but not these two. Deep down, those two were ready to die.

And these two? They're more than ready to live. He'd bag himself a hat trick, sooner or later, but he couldn't do that if he was dust in the wind.

March 26th, 2000

Giles's Apartment, Sunnydale

"What, and you trust Spike?" Buffy looked over at Wesley in disbelief. "I thought the one thing you had going for you was that you were smart!"

"I hardly trust that vampire, Buffy," Wesley said back, his voice cold. "But it is a lead. And what, do you think Spike is working for ADAM?" Wesley sounded like he thought that was a crazy idea, and from the expressions on their faces, Faith and Giles agreed.

But...

"Waitaminute! I bet he is!" Buffy realized. It had to be. "No, seriously, think about it. What does Spike want more than anything else?"

"To kill you? Me? All four of us?" Faith shrugged, "Doesn't matter, he can't do it."

"As long as that chip is in his head, yeah, but who put it in there? Who made ADAM? And you're wrong - he wants Drusilla. He walked into an obvious trap last year just on the slim chance that he'd see her. If he hasn't been spending every waking minute since Wesley let him go trying to find a way to rescue her, I'll eat my favorite shoes! Who can get her for him? Who can get the chip out? Hint, he's demon and human and cyborg all over." Xander had said there'd be a trap. But this was too obvious. Of course Spike would be an unreliable source. He was Spike.

Either ADAM didn't realize that they wouldn't trust Spike, or he had some of second level to his trap. Either way...

"Yeah, it's a trap, I'm positive of that." Buffy went on. "But if we know that it's a trap, then maybe we can use that against ADAM."

"So, you want to walk into a trap?" Faith deadpanned.

"It's what we did at Graduation, and we won there. We know where ADAM is, or at least we do if Spike isn't being Undead Liar Guy. And if we don't take the Big Ugly out now, then he'll probably move somewhere else."

"It might not be ADAM there, though," Giles pointed out. "For all we know, he might plant some sort of bomb."

That... was something she hadn't thought of. Goddamnit! I wish Xander could have told me more.

"No, but she's right." Faith said, "Sitting around and doing nothing isn't gonna accomplish jack. We know there's gonna be a trap. So we spring the trap our way. Fight him on his turf and win."

"Ah. Well. If we're going to take this risk, then best not let Mr. Finn - or whatever his rank is - bring all his men. Just a few people. So you can escape more easily if it doesn't work. Simply getting the measure of ADAM would probably be useful." Wesley suggested, and Buffy hated to admit it - but it sounded like a good idea.

If Xander's right, he's planning to fight a whole giant team. She thought back to the Princess Bride, unbidden, to the scene where Fezzick was trying to fight the man in black, explaining that you had to use different moves fighting half a dozen people than when you only fought one.

That held true upwards, though, from Buffy's experience. If you were planning to fight a dozen or more, and only came up against four or five...

"We get Amy, Willow and Tara to give us some protection spells, or something. Something that can give us an edge, and then we get Riley, have him bring a few people - just a few - and then we try it." She nodded at Wesley, acknowledging his point.

Hopefully, they'd outsmart ADAM and his trap. And what Xander had found out about wouldn't happen, because the start wasn't the same.

Is this the kind of reverse-double-backwards approaching he has to do all the time, with the things he finds out?

March 26th, 2000

Warehouse near the docks, Sunnydale

"I was expecting more of you."

To be honest, Riley wasn't sure what he'd expected, once they'd breached the warehouse and found ADAM inside - just like Hostile 17 had said he would be. Some sort of barely functional slavering monster, maybe. A trap, of some kind, perhaps.

Not a casual, almost human sounding voice. There was a slight electronic-metallic cast to its voice, but still.

That thing has human vocal cords. How else would it sound?

"Do you underestimate me, Riley Finn? Do you really believe three men will be enough?"

Not really, but that's neither here nor there. Riley just aimed his assault rifle at the cyber-demonoid - Graham and two others stood near him, all aiming at ADAM as well. One had a grenade launcher - in person, ADAM's armor looked less impressive than the picture, but still. Breaking that armor would be the most important thing.

Riley had opted to leave Forrest behind, since Buffy and Faith were helping on this - and he'd picked men to join him who cared more about results than the specific rules.

Keeping his gun leveled at ADAM, Riley spoke, stalling for Buffy and Faith to get into position. "You know my name?"

"Of course. Mother left behind notes on all of the Initiative's personnel. But the ones she left on you were the most extensive."

Riley scowled. It calls Professor Walsh 'mother'?

Okay, in the most twisted of senses, it actually made sense. But he couldn't help but feel his skin crawling at ADAM's words.

"Newsflash, but she wasn't your mother. She made you, she built you to be the Initiative's weapon!" Riley half-shouted. "And you killed her!" This was Walsh's murderer. And for all that some of the esteem he'd held her in had eroded with recent revelations...

Riley was only barely holding back his rage. But he had to do it. Angry people made stupid mistakes. And this was not a time when stupid mistakes were an option.

"Her own notes, her thoughts and feelings say otherwise, Riley Finn. She considered me a son, considered herself my mother. Just as she too was your mother, in a sense."

What the hell?

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Riley demanded, unable to keep himself from swearing aloud. "Professor Walsh wasn't my mother-" He was starting to see red, his self-control stretched to the limit.

"Not your birth mother, no," ADAM agreed, voice maddeningly calm. "But after you met Maggie Walsh, she was the one who shaped your basic operating system. She taught you how to think, how to feel. She fed you chemicals to make you stronger - your mind and body both. She said that you and I were her favorite children. Her art. That makes us brothers. Family."

Chemicals? Family? What the-? Riley didn't have time to ponder what ADAM meant by that, because he saw Buffy and Faith finally in position on the catwalk above, ready to pound on ADAM from behind.

Screw this whole chatting with the enemy crap. It was time to let their weapons do the talking!

"Now!" Riley opened fire with his gun, and so too did the rest of his men - the grenade launcher fired, the first explosion hitting ADAM in his chest armor -

Riley briefly thought he could see damage, but he wasn't sure - because before a second grenade could be fired, ADAM was moving, faster than Riley could have believed possible. He - it - whatever, the bad guy reached his man with the grenade launcher, before yanking it out from the grunt's hands and then ADAM punched the weapon's former owner into the wall.

The sickening 'crunch!' noise couldn't be masked by the sound of ADAM spinning around and firing the grenade launcher at Buffy and Faith - who evaded the RPG by jumping off the catwalk as the projectile hit; the two Slayers were sent flying by the force of the blast, but they got up quickly, at least.

Damn it, this is not working... Riley redirected his aim to ADAM's face, trying to hit the demonic enemy in its eyes. But ADAM was moving again, and far too quickly for something that size and weight, moving to attack Buffy - who tried to kick him backwards, a move he'd seen dozens of times by now -

But when ADAM caught her leg before it could connect with the monster's chest, all that happened was that Buffy was flipped backwards straight into the wall again.

If Riley had been angry moments earlier, now he was completely enraged. Moving towards ADAM, Riley kept firing, aiming for any part of the cyborg he could hit - bullets connected with armor, with legs, with arms, one even grazed ADAM's skull. But it was moving too quickly, and then he had to aim more carefully when ADAM engaged Faith.

Despite his care, Riley's bullets winged Faith twice. But soon Faith was sent flying and ADAM turned to him, moving towards him with deadly purpose, weaving and quite frankly, ignoring the bullets that hit or bounced off of its armor.

Nothing was working. And the shit looked like it was truly about to hit the fan -