So here's chapter twenty-five. I am deeply sorry for the extreme delay. I'm working on some other stuff which is why I have been so bad with updating. I promise everyone that I will not give up on this story. Nor the sequel. I'm sticking with this. I promise. By the way if there are any mistakes...forgive me. I'll fix them later. Anyway please please review. It will make me write faster. Thanks for reading. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the dialogue used from Buffy. As much as I would like to have Spike all to myself him along with the other characters belong to Joss. This is just me playing around with his ideas.

Denial, Despair, and Desire

Chapter Twenty-Five: Open Arms

After a few moments of silence, the quiet was broken by their steady barrage of conversation and questions, getting up to speed on recent events.

"So how did everything go in L.A.? Did you find Faith?" Spike asked calmly. He was desperately trying to hide his anxiousness behind the subject he was itching to bring up.

"Yeah. I did, but I let her go." Spike just tilted his head in curiosity but quickly lifted it. He was wondering why she would let Faith go after everything she did but he quickly realized that was just the type of woman Buffy was. Compassionate. Kind. Pure. The real question was not if she'd let Faith go, but why.

"She's in jail now, atoning for her crimes. Maybe it'll help her." she replied shrugging, the faintest bit of hope evident in her voice. And that answered Spike's question. Buffy was harboring a silent hope that doing time would help faith on some level.

Eventually Spike finally found the right opening to bring up what he'd been wanting to all night but unfortunately for him the sun was coming up soon. Of course it came up just before he got a chance to find out what she'd said about him. Bugger. He was going to find out sooner or later.

"Sun's coming." he said softly against her hair. She sighed but reluctantly pulled away.

"Okay. I'm going call over by Giles just to get any information off the disks you got and then I'll figure out what to do from there." Buffy said refocusing her thoughts on Adam. But before she could completely shut down Spike grabbed her by the tops of her arms and brushed a hair from her face.

"You're not in this alone. Alrigh'? I'm here." Spike wasn't sure when exactly he'd started to care about Buffy. It might have been the spell or even before that but what he was doing went against everything he was and he didn't care.

Buffy nodded in agreement. No she wasn't. She had to admit she was partially relieved at his words. She had someone on her side. Maybe she could work things out with everyone and they could take down Adam together? It was a long shot but potentially possible. Her and the gang had been through so much, they would make it through this. They had to. "Look you better go, I don't exactly fancy seeing a pile of ashes laying on the grass in a few minutes." She told him awkwardly.

"I'm going to see what the big man himself is up to." Spike said grinning.

"Meet up later?" Spike just nodded leaving Buffy alone to her thoughts. She walked towards campus and eventually made her way into town to scour for any information.

"I didn't send for you Spike." Adam said firmly as Spike strolled into Adam's lair. Spike swore he could hear the slightest bit of annoyance in the demonoids voice but even that was a stretch.

"Well I was in the neighborhood. Everything's going according to plan then?" Spike asked as he leaned against the wall of the cave. He had to focus and get any information he could. Buffy was counting on him.

"Not yet." Adam's voice carried through the chamber's of the cave. Spike rolled his eyes in frustration. What else could Adam possibly have planned? Hadn't he had long enough to figure something out? Evil plans usually never took this long. Just a few seconds after the thought Spike watched as Riley walked through the caves entrance and Spike's mouth fell open in shock. Soldier boy was working with Adam. That was Adam's secret plan. His secret weapon. He had to tell Buffy. But how?

"I've been waiting for you." Adam smiled as Riley came to face him.

"And now I'm here."

Across town on the UC Sunnydale college campus the four original scoobies gathered together to discuss their plans about Adam.

"So? What's the word?" Xander asked as he and the other scoobies stood together awkwardly, each one of them three feet apart from each other. Buffy had been all around town and hadn't find much on Adam. She concluded meeting up with the gang was the only option. No matter how bad it was going to be, she had to do it. Completely unavoidable if she was planning on taking Adam down. Giles shuffled uncomfortably while the other's stood silent. Buffy noticed the lack of Anya and Tara in the group but decided not to voice the observation. She knew they probably weren't there because they didn't feel welcome after the what everyone said yesterday.

"I talked to Spike and he told me what he knows. I think we should get on those disks. There are only lead so far, besides are inside man we've got nothing." Buffy told them. Hopefully those disks would help in some way.

"Oh, I decrypted them." Willow told them enthusiastically. "Well, they decrypted themselves, but I almost had it." she said defensively, her shoulders slumping. She could have done it, if she'd had time.

"What did they say?" Giles inquired. Maybe this would get them somewhere.

"A bunch of stuff we already know about 314. But it also said there's some final phase where Adam manufactures a bunch of creepy cyber-demonoids like him. There's a special lab in The Initiative, but it didn't say where." Of course it didn't. Just what they needed, another mystery to solve.

"This lab, it's in the Initiative?" Buffy wondered. If it was. She knew what he was planning.

"Hidden somewhere." Willow said nodding. Well that doesn't really help much.

"We'll give the demon his due. He thought this one out." Buffy said pursing her lips.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked confused.

"You know how overcrowded the containment cells have been at the Initiative?" Riley had told them how easy it had been catching them. Willow nodded remembering and waited to see where Buffy was going. "Those demons were just too easy to catch. It's like they wanted in that place." They wanted to be there for the fight.

"The Trojan horse." Giles added removing his glasses and polishing them. The demons knew what was going to happen. There was going to be an uprising.

"Adam's gonna make sure the demons attack the Initiative from the inside."

"Demons versus soldiers. Massacre, massacre." Xander said shaking his head.

"And Adam has a neat pile of body parts to start assembling his army. Diabolical, yet...Gross." Willow concluded, her face scrunching up at the thought.

"Does anybody else miss the Mayor, I just wanna be a big snake?" Xander quipped as they contemplated the new development. The snake seemed so much better compared to Adam.

"I've got to shut him down, Giles. His final phase is about to start." She couldn't let him create his own army and kill all those people.

"We need to warn the Initiative." Giles urgently. They needed to know before the final phase began or many lives would be lost.

"They're not gonna listen to me." Nope. Not a chance.

"Riley?" Willow tried. Maybe they'd listen to one of their own?

"He's a deserter. He got some bad news anyway, and kinda took off." Buffy told them sighing. Of course he would leave when we needed his help.

"Okay, I'm confused again. Adam has this evil plan. Why is he so anxious for you to know about it?" Xander wondered aloud. He didn't get it.

"He wants me there. Probably figures I'll even the kill ratio." That or something else.

"He's not worried you might kill, oh say, him?" Because she is the slayer.

"No, he's really not." She didn't have even the slightest idea of how to kill him. So no he definitely wasn't worried. "Let's just go to your place. We'll sit down and figure something out." Buffy said to Giles anxiously. She wanted to hurry up and figure it out so they could get on taking Adam down. Giles nodded and they all took off towards Giles' place.

"She's coming. I can feel it." Adam said smiling. Yes the slayer was coming, it wouldn't be long now.

"Good on you. Got a chunk of prognosticating demon in there, right?" Spike walked over to a chair and sat down trying to attempt to get information without being too obvious. "Now, what exactly are you thinking about doing?" Adam turned to Spike curiously. "I mean its going to involve pain right? Lots of it?" Spike cringed internally.

"Yes. There will be pain." Adam replied simply. "About your chip…"

"Oh. Yeah. When's that coming out? We had a deal." Spike demanded trying his best to sound angry.

"When she's here."

"Certainly no lack of supplies. I only wish I knew which ones would kill Adam." Giles said raking his eyes over the weapons chest that lay open on his living room floor.

"According to Riley, his power source is uranium core embedded somewhere inside his chest. Probably near the spine." Buffy informed him. The problem was getting to that power source. She was defenseless whenever she faced him.

"Great, so we just ask him to lie down quietly while we do some exploratory surgery." Xander suggested goofily. Yeah he wasn't so sure Adam would agree willingly.

"What about magic? Some kind of, I don't know...uranium extracting spell?" Willow asked trying to be helpful while the others looked at her incredulously. "I know I'm reaching." she sighed.

"Perhaps a paralyzing spell." Giles suggested as he walked over to his book shelf in search of a certain book. "Only I can't perform the incantation for this."

"Right. Don't you have to speak it in Sumerian or something?" Willow was pretty sure she was unfluent in Sumerian, which might be a problem for her.

"I do speak Sumerian. It's not that. Only a...an experienced witch can incant it, and you'd have to be within striking distance of this object." Giles said sadly. They were running out of the already waning options they had.

"See what you get for takin' French instead of Sumerian?" Xander asked playfully.

"What was I thinking?" Buffy said smiling. She liked this. They were bantering again.

"So no problem, all we need is combo Buffy-her with Slayer strength, Giles' multi-lingual know how, and Willow's witchy power." Xander told them nodding. Yep. All the important parts of the group. Giles gave him a look and Xander sighed. "Yeah, don't tell me. I'm just full of helpful suggestions."

"As a matter of fact, you are." Giles replied perplexed. Xander's eye brows flew up in surprise. Did he mean me? "We'll need you too Xander."

"Let's get the supplies and get going." Buffy told them as they gathered up their things and set out.

"Nervous?" Willow asked as they entered the Lowell house.

"No way. I'm full of that good old kamikaze spirit." Xander said sarcastically.

"Xander, just because this is never gonna work, there's no need to be negative." Giles told him as they made their way to the elevator.

"The adjoining spell, is it powerful enough to defeat Adam?" Willow asked.

"It's very powerful. It's also extraordinarily dangerous." Giles replied seriously before they all paused before the mirror that hid the passage to the initiative.

"Game faces, guys. We're going in." Buffy said as she kicked out the glass.

"How you doing?" Buffy asked as her and Willow started to climb downward

"Super. What was I thinkin', using stairs all this time?" Wllow quipped as they repelled downward.

"Okay. Will-" Buffy started but Willow cut her off.

"No, really, Buffy. It's not as scary as I thought."

"No. It's not what I was gonna say. I just...I'm sorry. I hate that things have been so strained between all of us." Buffy said somberly.

"It's not your fault. Adam just helped stir up trouble. We're all stressed."

"Yeah, but I think trouble was stir-uppable. I think we've all sort of drifted apart this year, don't you?"

"Maybe a little. But, you know, first year of college, it's hard to keep the old high school gang together." Willow said as they continued downward.

"But I want it together. Will, I miss you. And Giles, and Xander. And it is my fault. I've been wrapped up in my own stuff, I've been a bad friend." Buffy said shaking her head.

"You're the Slayer, Buffy. Your stuff is pretty crucial." They all knew that, they just forgot for a little bit.

"Well, I haven't been Miss Available either. I-I kept secrets. I hid things from everyone." Buffy bit her lip. She understood why Willow kept Tara a secret. But did that apply to her too? Should she tell Willow what she's feeling about Spike?

"That's not your fault. Will, you were going through something huge." Just like I am.

"I wanted to tell you, but I was so scared." Ditto.

"You can tell me anything. I love you. You're my best friend." Buffy said, tears sprang to her eyes and they grabbed each other in a hug.

"Me, too. I love you too." Willow replied as they hugged, before they were suddenly falling. "Oh, falling now!"

"Let's promise to never not talk again." Buffy said still holding Willow.

"I promise, I promise." Willow said happily as Xander landed in between them.

"Xander." Buffy said wistfully, looking up at him as her and Willow grabbed Xander into a hug.

"Oh, wonderful Xander!" Willow shouted as her and Buffy squeezed him tighter.

"You know we love you, right?" Buffy asked him seriously.

"We totally do." Willow assured him, just incase he didn't know.

"Oh God, we're gonna die, aren't we?" Xander asked wide eyed. Only logical reason they would be all over him.

"No, we just missed you." Xander's grin reached ear to ear as he looked up at Giles.

"Giles, hurry up!" Xander yelled happily. This was great. His two best friends, holding on to him on each side. Giles looked down at the three of them and smiled. "You definitely wanna get down here for this!"

Once everyone was on the ground Xander took a crowbar at one of the side panels to open it and get inside, while everyone else watched and waited, supplies in hand.

"Okay, we stick together, then everything should be fine. Everybody ready?" Buffy asked just as Xander and Giles pushed the panels aside. "Let's...do this." Buffy said half heartedly as five commando guys stood in front of them, guns aimed directly for them. Oh boy. They were in trouble.