Riley was walking in, and he looked...intense. He was angry, but the thing that caught Buffy's attention more was the fact he was sweating and pale, compulsively scratching his right hand at times, though he didn't seem aware of it.
"Is it just me or does he look sick?" Tobias asked her. She ignored him, standing up and meeting Riley halfway.
"What are you doing? Following me?" She asked before he could talk.
"You told me you were tracking the Polgara demon. I was going to help you." He looked, jerking around. "But now I see you're not hunting demons, you're socializing with them. Again. I thought you were supposed to be killing these guys, not buying them drinks." His angry voice carried through the bar, causing the remaining patrons to go quite. The demons looked nervously at the Slayer and the commando.
"Smooth, Officer Riley. They teach you those undercover moves in the special forces?" She asked sarcastically.
"I'm serious Buffy. What are you doing here?"
Unnoticed by anyone, Tobias walked around them, looking closely at Riley as he noted everything. Short jerky movements, irritation, sweating, lack of color, a compulsive itching of his right hand that was showing signs of being worn down from that. The top layers of skin were scraped away with the underlying ones being heavily irritated. Narrowing his eyes, the teen palmed his sonic and pointed it at the commando, hoping the buzz wouldn't be noticed in the conversation.
Willy helpfully spoke up just as Tobias pressed the button. "Just cooling her dogs like the rest of us. Now, why don't you relax..."
Riley ignored the bartender, keeping his focus on Buffy. "I want you to tell me. Who are you, really?"
Willy, still trying to keep things from escalating, said, "No kidding, let me get you some chicken fingers on the house-"
"Hey, think you can shut up?" Riley snapped.
Tobias looked interested and a bit stunned as he pocketed his screwdriver. 'Well, you are just full of surprises, aren't you?' He thought as he started edging closer to the couple, keeping his eyes on the commando. He had a feeling things were about to start going downhill.
"I'm just saying-"
"I said shut up." Riley nearly yelled this time, looking enraged now. "Or maybe you'd like to go back to the lab with me. I'm sure the coats would love to classify a - whatever you are." The bartender backed up, looking scared while the rest of the patrons started shifting.
"Leave him, he's human...Riley, you're shaking." Buffy noticed before he was shivering slightly, but it was much more pronounced now. His muscles were taut, stressed to the limit with the veins standing out. He snapped his head back around as she reached her hand out, looking wild.
"So...he's human. He just harbors demons. Which makes him a good guy like you?" He grabbed both arms and pulled her close, snarling. "The truth, Buffy. Now."
Buffy felt her resolve harden. She did not like people telling her, or in this case demanding her, to do something. After the Council and all the crap she put up with, she only followed orders if they were reasonable and sound, not because her boyfriend was having a meltdown.
"Excuse me?" Tobias's hand entered their field of view, snapping its fingers a few times to get their attention. He was looking closely at Riley, searching for something. "Yeah, hi, can you look at me for a second... Wow, you're pupils are dilated, did you know that?"
"And you!" Riley let her go, turning his attention to Tobias. "You just show up out of nowhere, acting like nothing's wrong, but you fight off demons with a sword and then join our operation?"
"Yeah, it's my hobby, have you been feeling ok? Because looking at you I'd say you've been experiencing mood swings, hot and cold flashes, paranoia, shortness of breath, anxiety, headaches." Tobias listed rapidly, ticking off each symptom on one hand. "I can also see muscle tension, your pupils are extremely dilated, do you want me to keep going because I'm only halfway through here and I think I already know what's going on with you."
Buffy blinked at the sudden outpouring of information, but it looked like Riley was even more off balance than she was. A little less angry, a lot of confused. She made a habit of bantering in a fight because it served to make people less cautious and aware of their surroundings, but even she couldn't have said all of that in one breath. She noticed Tobias's eyes flick away from Riley's for a moment, and turning her head, she saw one of the patrons, a old woman with a coat, was slowly making her way towards the door. She was swaying slightly as she went, clearly a bit tipsy. It must've tipped off Riley too, since he turned to look.
"Hold it you!" He pushed away both Buffy and Tobias, drawing his handgun in the same smooth motion to aim at her head. The woman froze, looking terrified now.
"Whoa!" Tobias instantly stepped into the line of fire, holding up his hands. "Ok, Riley. Take a breath. Calm down." He said slowly. "And maybe put the gun down."
"Hey, we got new rules in here." Willy added helpfully. "No killing-"
"Right," the commando cut him off again. "Except the rules don't seem to apply much these days do they? Like if I shot you," he focused on Tobias, staring into careful eyes. "I don't know if I'd have a corpse on my hands or if you'd just shake that off like everything else. Maybe a pissed off vampire with her?" He nodded at the old woman.
"Riley..." Buffy whispered. He ignored her as his hand started shaking.
"I mean, who do you believe? First it sounds like lies. Then it sounds like the truth..."
"So pick them out." The commando stopped as Tobias straightened up, determination and steel seemingly filling him. "I can't tell you what's true and what's false Riley, you need to pick that out yourself, just like the rest of us. But what I can tell you," he started taking steps forward. "is that you aren't well. You aren't thinking straight. Because the Riley Finn I know is a good man, who has good intentions, and that he wouldn't be holding a gun on me, or the woman behind me who's now praying." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at said woman as she held her hands together. "So, tell me...is that the truth, or is it a lie? Because if it is a lie," Tobias whipped his hand out, grabbing the barrel of the gun before pressing it to his forehead. "Than pull the trigger." He finished.
Buffy felt her heart jump into her throat as he did that. This was up there with him diving into that hole straight to the Hellmouth weeks ago. That is, completely insane and suicidal! It was like he was trying to kill himself. So why did he look so certain and confident? She along with the rest of the bar waited with bated breath as Riley started taking deeper breathes, faster and faster until he yelled. When his hand came up, the blonde thought he was going to pistol whip Tobias. Instead, it smashed a bowl of peanuts on the bar to smithereens. Willy fell over himself while the woman yelled before running towards the door.
Buffy went to her boyfriend's side, keeping an eye on his face while Tobias took the gun, ejecting the loaded round and clip of ammo from the weapon quickly. Riley was looking at the empty hand as it shook violently, than at her as she took his other one. He looked so broken and confused it made her heart hurt.
In a broken voice, he whispered, "What's happening to me?" On his other side, Tobias looked at her and nodded at the door, mouthing the word leave. She nodded in return, gently picking him up. He followed, all the fight gone now.
"Let's get you out of here."
As she left with her boyfriend, Tobias looked at the gun in his hand distastefully. His eyes flashed silver as the inside of the gun gave a squeal of rubbing metal, the firing pin inside being bent into a spiral shape that would never move, let alone be removed or replaced. Nodding, he dropped the now useless weapon on the bar while pocketing the bullets. Looking around at the patrons, he cleared his throat. "Sorry to disturb you all. Have a nice night." His peace said, he went after his friends.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Later in Xander's basement, the teen was rubbing his chin in thought while on the other side of a makeshift blanket curtain, Buffy was putting Riley to bed to rest. Also there was Xander, Anya, and Giles, looking awkward as they sat in their various places. He ignored them, thinking more about what he'd found earlier. Between the boy's body, Walsh's death, and now Riley's behavior along with the reason behind it, he was feeling more and more certain the Initiative was everything he expected it to be. Plus, he was worried about Kazehana and Yahan. They were fine, he could feel that, but otherwise the bonds were closed. He was snapped from his musings as the Slayer came through the curtain, looking haggard. "How is he?"
"Confused. He's sleeping right now." She looked at him, eyes switching to her slayer mode. She was clearly ready for some answers. "This isn't just grief affecting him. Something is affecting him physically, and it's getting worse. You said you know what it is."
"I had suspicions, but all the symptoms are there, and I checked with this earlier," he showed them his sonic. "So I'm certain now. He's going through drug withdrawal."
"Withdrawal?" Giles said sharply.
Tobias nodded. "His body is filled with drugs, all of them apparently designed to increase his strength, intelligence, everything. Based on the levels, I'd say he's been on the stuff for months, maybe more. Everything we're seeing now is his body trying to cope without them."
"And you're sure?"
"Positive."
"No," Buffy shook her head. "Riley doesn't take drugs at all. I mean, he doesn't look like a drug abuser, all he takes are..." She trailed off, eyes going unfocused. "Vitamins."
Tobias snapped his fingers. "How often?" He asked.
"I-I don't know...he had some this morning."
"I'm betting whatever is in those pills, it isn't vitamins."
"So," Xander said slowly. "Mr. perfect isn't so perfect. But I agree with Buffy, Riley doesn't seem like the kind of guy to take drugs just to get an edge."
"Unless he didn't know they were drugs." Tobias pointed out. "Walsh was clearly up to some shady stuff. I can't see her not drugging her own soldiers to give them an advantage. I mean, they're all fit and healthy, but can you see a regular Joe, even four well armed well trained Joe's, taking down a demon?" Silence was met all around. "Ok. Now, I know what drugs were in Riley's system, but I don't know what will happen to him if he doesn't get more. His exhibiting classic withdrawal symptoms right now, but his body has built up such a dependence anything is possible. We need to know what other side effects can happen, and for that we need to talk to Walsh."
"Kinda hard to do with her deadness and all." Xander pointed out.
"She must have kept records somewhere." Buffy said. "About Riley and 314 and all of it. And I doubt she was the only person at the Initiative who knew what she was up to."
"So, we're going to have to do something drastic." Tobias sighed. "Undercover?" Buffy nodded.
"Giles and Anya can keep an eye on things while you, me and Xander go in."
Anya stood up, alarmed. "Hey, remember before? No Xander. Not in a boyfriend-way or a lead-him-to-certain-death-way."
"Not even pretending to understand that," Tobias sighed. "Xander is the only one here with any military experience, pseudo or otherwise. He might be helpful."
"It's not like he was in "the Nam." He was G.I. Joe for one night." The ex-demon looked more alarmed than before. Xander stood, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok, Anya. I've backed Buffy before."
"Can't you find another way to help these guys, like Xerox the handouts or something?" She suggested meekly.
"I'll be careful. Promise." Xander kissed her forehead.
Tobias cleared his throat. "Ok. Um, why don't you two get ready? I need to check on the girls. I'll see you two at the dorm?" Without waiting for an answer, he went to a cleared section of floor, sat, and closed his eyes. Taking deep breathes, he began entering his astral form.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
When he opened his eyes, he was standing outside in one of the graveyards in Sunnydale. A quick look around helped him spot both Kazehana and Yahan were sitting on a headstone. Both of them were now wearing darker clothes. Yahan a dark purple blouse, black jeans, and what looked like a new leather coat that was unzipped, Kazehana a short sleeve t shirt and simple blue jeans. He walked over as they turned their heads toward him.
"Hey." They both said.
"Hello." He sat down next to them. "So, why are you two still out and about?"
Yahan shrugged. "We're still searching for the Polgara demon, justin case you're wrong about it not being the thing that killed that boy, and a little patrolling on the side." She noticed Tobias frown. "Don't worry, we're being careful about the commando's."
That mollified him a little. "Still..."
"You worry too much." Kazehana said, smiling a bit. She found it cute.
He sighed. "Can't help it. It's part of me."
As soon as he finished that sentence, a vampire suddenly ran out from behind a crypt, snarling as it moved. Tobias was about to stand up but Kazehana beat him to the punch, lazily waving her right hand in an arc. A white line in the shape of a crescent formed in the air before zipping towards the vampire faster than it could dodge, separating its neck from the rest of its body. Tobias arched an eyebrow as it turned to dust. "Nice control. Razor sharp edge."
Her smile widened. "I had a good teacher." As she put her arm down, she winced slightly. Noticing it, her boyfriend instantly became concerned.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Kazehana..." He warned her, not dropping this. She sighed, but pushed up her right sleeve. Just barely hidden by it was a white bandage around her upper forearm. The teen looked at it closely, then took a few deep breathes. He knew he wasn't really there, but it still helped keep him calm. "What happened?" He asked, getting up to look at them both.
FLASHBACK
"How many does this make?" Yahan asked as they exited the crypt they had just been in.
"This would be number five I think." Kazehana replied. They'd been searching for hours now, the sun past its zenith and starting to sink, and they had nothing to show for it. They'd searched for the Polgara demon around the area the boy had been discovered, but found nothing, so they had moved onto abandoned buildings, and now graveyards. Aside from a nest of five vampires that had been easily killed, they had yet to see anything of the demon variety. "Maybe we missed it?"
"The thing doesn't strike me as a big thinker, but maybe." Yahan sighed. "I wish Tobias had lent us the sonic."
"Wouldn't have helped. We don't know what we'd be scanning for, and he needed it more than we do." Shielding her eyes, Kazehana looked at the sun to gauge the time. "Let's take a break and get something to eat. We'll keep looking-" they stopped as they heard the faint sound of breaking glass in the distance, behind some small trees. Looking at each other, the pair quickly ran around to check it out. They both stopped as they saw it was the two guys from the Bronze, Forrest and Graham. The guys were dressed in full commando gear, and carrying actual rifles instead of the taser guns. Before they could hide, Forrest looked in the direction, spotting them.
"Is it just me or does he look unstable?" Yahan asked. She wasn't far off either. The dark skinned man looked ready to attack anything that moved, plus twitchy and slightly sweaty. Kazehana never got a chance to reply.
"Hey!" Forrest yelled, raising his rifle.
"Run!" Kazehana yelled, grabbing her fellow females arm as he fired a few shots. She grimaced as one bullet came close enough to carve a flesh wound in her right arm, but that didn't slow them down as they ran. Spotting a open crypt, Kazehana pulled them inside. Yahan took care of the rest, making them dive into the shadows before they landed on the floor of their apartment living room. "Well, that could've gone better." She said, wincing as she pressed her free hand to the wound.
"Yeah."
END FLASHBACK
"That lousy, moronic, short tempered, military jarhead!" Tobias yelled at nobody in particular as they finished the brief explanation, starting to pace.
"It was just a flesh wound."
"I don't care!" He was fine with that bigoted idiot going after him, but shooting at his girlfriend's earned him a permanent place on Tobias's shit list. It also confirmed Riley hadn't been the only one being drugged, which was a moot point at the moment. He was too busy being angry. "Oh, I knew he was going to be trouble from the second we were introduced, but if he thinks he can get away with shooting at my girlfriends, that fucker has another thing coming!" He went off into a rant in what sounded like several different languages and then some apparently pure gibberish, but finally stopped after ten minutes.
Yahan had a lifted eyebrow. "A few things you just threatened to do aren't physically or anatomically possible you know."
"I can get creative if I need to." He growled.
"Yes, well, as much as you being mad on our behalf is touching, I think we can go without causing that kind of bodily harm to another human being." Kazehana said. "Tobias, it happened, and yes it could've turned out worse than it did, but it didn't. And the only reason you're this angry is because you're worried, which is still touching, but we can handle ourselves."
The anger he was feeling collapsed in on itself. "I can't help it. You know what you two mean to me." He said quietly.
"We know." Yahan nodded. "You mean the same to us, but we're still mortal and human. Unless we accepted some offer of divinity or some such power, we can't be everywhere at once and we both know your thoughts on living forever."
He snorted. That was certainly true enough. He positively loathed the idea of enduring for an eternity, no matter how tempting somebody might make the prospect seem.
"So, what brings you to this wonderfully decorated graveyard anyways?"
"Right." Tobias sighed. He had gotten side tracked, and by now his friend's were likely on their way to campus or waiting for him now. He gave the girls a quick rundown of what had happened at the hospital morgue, the bar, and basement as well as the plan to infiltrate the Initiative base. Both Kazehana and Yahan nodded in understanding as he finished. "So I'd feel better if you two were either at home or with the others in the basement until we finish up."
Yahan tapped her chin a few times. "Home probably. Riley still sounds unstable, and people still don't know where we live, so it's more secure. But," she pointed at him. "If we find out you were captured, I for one am going to be very miffed." The stern statement was ruined with the smile threatening to break out.
"Same here." Kazehana said, also trying and failing to look stern.
"Well, if they can catch me, I'll be very surprised. I'm staying in this until we get what we need anyways." He gestured at himself. That caused them both to frown. Guessing what they were thinking, he added, "Don't worry, I'm staying away from the nausea inducing feeling if I can help it. I don't think Xander would appreciate me throwing up on his floor."
"Oh thank you for reminding us about that." Yahan said sarcastically before sighing. "Just... Be careful, please."
'God I wish I could kiss them.' Tobias thought to himself. It would make them all feel better, but this was one downside of being pure spirit. No true physical contact. "I will. I promise."
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Buffy nervously checked her hair one last time as they came up on Riley's dorm. They had made a quick run to her room so she could change into something less conspicuous. She now had a light sweater, long black skirt, and heels, trying to mimic a scientist attire. She had also grabbed a long white lab coat from the chemistry lab that was over her arm for the moment and a pair of thick glasses. The lens were a bit hard on her vision, making everything slightly blurry, but not too bad. To look more mature, she had also thrown her hair into a neat bun.
She was feeling nervous for good reason.. This was the organization that had tried to kill her just the other day, and now they were breaking in to get information on what they did to her boyfriend, as well as 314. She looked at what was looking more and more like her only back up. Xander was wearing the solider outfit he'd worn on the Halloween Ethan Rayne had turned them all into their costumes. It was a bit small and tighter in the gut area, but otherwise he looked very similar to the uniforms the Initiative wore. He also looked very nervous, just like her. He stopped as they were halfway up the wall. "Maybe we should wait for Tobias?" He suggested, sounding very much like he wanted to wait. Sadly that route of escape was swiftly cut off as the teen in question appeared next to them. He looked around, getting their bearings.
"Sorry I'm late. Got sidetracked." He looked them both over. "Nice disguise. But Xander, I think that uniform is a little small on you."
"Hey, I got it two years ago so I think it fits ok!"
Tobias waved off the protests. "Yeah, yeah. So, front door approach? Sneak in, get information, and sneak out?" He asked Buffy.
"Yeah, that's about it." She nodded. A great deal of this plan relied on circumstances and luck, but it was the best they could do on short notice. "Um, are you sure you should stay in your ghostly form? From what I've heard, last time-"
"It's the best course of action." Tobias cut her off. "I don't want to meet whatever was giving that aura off in person if I can help it, but the advantages of this," he pointed at himself. "Outweigh the cons. Now, let me look before you head in." Without waiting for an answer, he went down the rest of the walk and right through the door, leaving them no choice but to head for the door and wait for the all clear.
A minute later, they both jumped as Tobias stuck his head through the door. "Aside from somebody who just came downstairs, it's all clear. Let's move quick though, I don't know how long it'll be before he comes back."
Nodding, the pair entered the dorm, looking around cautiously before Buffy led the way to the secret entrance, stopping in front of it with the boys on either side.
"Buffy, maybe you should check the look later." Xander said.
"No, it's... Oh crap!" Tobias suddenly said, looking at Xander. Moving quickly, he went through Buffy to push him out of the mirrors sight. "Stay here, and don't move."
Xander froze, not moving a muscle. "Why?"
"Buffy is the only one who can pass the retinal scan, assuming her clearance is still good. Anybody else tries and it sets off an alarm."
"The...eeeew! I don't want to see that!"
Tobias rolled his eyes while Buffy kept facing the mirror. "Retinal scan, Xander. As in scanning the eyes." They both watched as the green bar started scanning their female friend.
"Guess we'll know in a few seconds if my clearance is still good." She said nervously.
"Or if we're about be killed by fifty grief fueled military goons." Xander said. They all watched tensely, but thankfully the elevator opened. Sighing, Tobias and Buffy went inside while the last member of their group looked around the inside. "Why am I not entirely comforted by the arrival of the man sized microwave?"
"Just get in." Tobias snapped.
As they rode down, Buffy slipped into her lab coat and buttoned it, completely her scientist look. She glanced at her companions. Xander was still nervous, but he'd helped her through tougher situations before, so hopefully his nerve would hold. Tobias looked calmer, flexing his hands and looking ahead blankly, like he sometimes did on patrol when he was looking with his Air Pulse. Offhandedly, she wondered what he saw when he used that ability. Before she could ask, the elevator stopped and opened, admitting them. As they stepped out, Xander's mouth opened slightly, taking in the enormity of the base.
"Holy moly."
"Yep." Tobias said, looking around.
"I totally get it now. Can I have sex with Riley too?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. Sometimes she forgot what a huge idiot he was, as well as huge dork. She gave him a small push towards the stairs. "Come on." They went down quickly, but stopped at the first landing when they spotted two soldiers coming towards them, apparently deep in conversation. Buffy and Xander both froze, not sure what to do.
"Turn your backs and act like you're talking!" Tobias whispered harshly. Not having any better idea, they both did as he said. Buffy heard the heavy boots on the metal grating under them come closer, closer...than walk right past them without pause, continuing their conversation as they headed towards the elevator. "Ok, they're gone."
"How did you know that would work?" Xander asked.
"When you're concentrating on something intensely, like conversation, you tend to tune out everything not related to what you're discussing unless something catches your eye. It's called selective attention." He explained. "Now come on, we need to...hello~." He said, looking towards the door to one of the hallways. Following his line of sight, she saw Dr. Angleman moving quickly in that direction, looking worried and rushed. "Wonder where he's going in such a hurry. Follow him?"
"Yeah." Buffy said.
"I'll lead."
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
They followed the doctor through the labyrinth of corridors, Tobias in the lead. He'd peek out around corners and signal if there was nobody else or someone was coming their way, but the latter rarely happened. After a while, he held up his hand, making them stop around the corner. "He's talking to someone. I'm gonna get closer."
Buffy and Xander both looked after him cautiously. Angleman and a colleague were talking, apparently agitated since they were gesturing while they talked loudly, neither of them noticing Tobias as he stood next them. Buffy could hear them talking easily.
"How many of the men are still out? The longer they go without their meds..." Angleman said.
"Everyone's off their schedules because of the Professor's death." His colleague replied.
Angleman rubbed his temples. "It's dangerous. I don't want to think about the damage our guys could do under the stress of withdrawal, especially since they won't understand what's happening to them."
Buffy saw Tobias frown and mimicked his reaction. So he had been right, Riley wasn't the only one who had been drugged. But from the sounds of it, they weren't getting their normal dosage at the right times. If everyone was outside and going through the same behavior Riley had in the bar...
Before that line of thought could continue, the other man spoke up. "We've located all but a few. The last ones were in bad shape, but we've stabilized them."
"But Finn wasn't one of them, right?"
"No, but-"
"Find him." Angleman cut him off. "He's the one I care about. He's too important to the work to lose now."
Tobias looked at the, both and gestured to go back around the corner as he walked back towards them. "Seems like I was right, they're dosing everyone with those drugs I found in Riley." He said quietly.
"Yeah, but why did mister large and in charge seem to want him back?" Xander asked. "I mean they must have tons more guys, so why him?"
"That is a very good question Xander." Tobias tapped his chin. "Unless..."
"Unless?" Buffy prompted.
"They had to have a starting point." Tobias started slowly. "Drug trials are long and complicated things. They're finicky, the smallest things can cause mass reactions, side effects you didn't want or maybe a result you didn't expect. But once you get past that stage, perfected the drug and combination of chemicals, than the next logical step is to work towards a goal. Perfect something else...and they said Riley was too important to the work. What if they're attempting to make a perfect demon fighting super soldier? With Riley as the template?"
Buffy swallowed heavily. If she understood what he was saying, than Tobias was saying Riley had been so good at...well, everything because of the chemicals he'd been taking. Would that mean when he was off them, he wasn't the same person? Was everything about him just the product of the Initiatives experiments?
Some of her fears must've shown on her face because Tobias looked a bit startled before rushing on. "Buffy, I'm not saying everything about him was part of the drugs. No, no, that just would've made him stronger and faster, maybe a bit smarter, but not enough to completely change his personality. He's still Riley, just...extra."
She sighed, feeling her tension leave her muscles. "Ok, I just...yeah, ok."
Giving her a concerned look and pat on the shoulders, he leaned back to look at the two doctors. "Ok, looks like Angleman is finished with his talk. Let's go see where he goes and then get some real answers." He looked at Buffy again. "Maybe I should handle that bit." It wasn't a question, but she didn't argue. Nodding, Tobias jogged in the direction Angleman went as his colleague went in the opposite direction, walking beside him while Buffy and Xander followed more cautiously. They walked for another five minutes before Angleman opened a door with his key card.
Buffy quickly speed up to try and catch the door, but Tobias stopped it from closing. "What would you do without me?" He smiled jokingly. The blonde was tempted to punch him playfully, but she knew without him there, the door would've closed a split second before they could catch it. Moving again, they found themselves in a large document vault. The first floor was lined with file cabinets and a few tables, the second floor with computers and catwalks to access them. Angleman was heading for one of the cabinets when Tobias focused on him, eyes flashing silver. The doctor suddenly went stiff before flying towards one of the walls, back first and held with his arms up.
"You know, I'm having a bad few days." Tobias said casually as he walked towards the captive with Buffy, Xander hanging back to watch the door for intruders. "I mean, first I have to deal with a massive dose of nausea and vomiting in the morning, than a idiot with bleached hair whom I hate, than save my friend from being killed by demons, and now," he stopped in front of Angleman. "I have to find out what else you did to my friend and her boyfriend." He nodded at Buffy.
"I was wondering when you would show up." Angleman said, struggling to escape his bonds.
"Oh, darn, so this isn't a surprise." Tobias pouted. "Don't bother by the way, you couldn't get out of those unless I let you out. Besides, I just wanted to show I can really get weird if I get angry, so," snapping his fingers for effect, Tobias let the doctor go before focusing his normal layer of air around his ghostly hand so he could grab the collar of the doctor's shirt. "Let's get down to business. I want to know what you did to Riley, and what you did with project 314. And don't bullshit me, a child is dead because of whatever it is you did, so I'm on a very short fuse at the moment."
"I'd listen to him." Buffy advised.
"Somebody's coming, you know." the doctor said, a quiver present in his otherwise confident voice. "I'm sure they've already seen you on the security monitors..."
"Monitors are non-functional at this time sir." Everyone's head snapped towards the other entrance in the room. Riley was standing there, looking as pale and sweaty as before, but more clear-eyed. "Went down about ten minutes ago." His gaze shifted to Tobias. He looked confused. "Tobias? But, you were..."
"Uh-oh, sounds like you aren't going to be getting that help after all." The teen smiled sweetly, not in the mood to explain things to Riley or tip his hand with his astral projection. "But hey, thems the breaks."
"Finn, take these three to the stockade, immediately!" Angleman ordered wildly.
"Riley, he can tell us what we need to know." Buffy said softly, hoping she'd have better luck convincing him than the others. He looked at her, not showing anything on his cold face, but he also didn't move from his spot. She looked at Angleman, who now looked terrified as he now realized he was on his own. "Maggie wanted me dead, didn't she?"
"She did, but understand," he said quickly. "The Initiative has no interest in eliminating the Slayer. It was her own vendetta."
"Why? And what did she have planned for me? Because Maggie, she was a smart woman, I think she knew I wouldn't let my friends death go easily." Tobias growled.
"I don't know..."
"My fist is itching for something to punch, you know. I suggest you think harder. Was she planning to put a chip in my head?" Tobias smirked evilly as the man's eyes dilated slightly with fear and surprise. "So, she was planning to chip me then."
"Y-yes."
"Now Buffy...oh, I know. She didn't like how she was asking questions about 314, am I right?"
"Yes."
Tobias snarled, his eyes turning white as a growling undertone entered his voice. "Did it escape and kill that boy?" Angleman looked like he was about to pass out from terror as he nodded his head, not able to talk anymore. He jumped as Tobias smashed his free fist into the wall next to his head, making the concrete spider web with cracks. He couldn't even stand right as the teen let him go and slid right to the floor.
Tobias noticed his friends looking at him with shock, but he didn't care. "You fucking idiots! You just can't leave things alone can you!? You have to poke and prod and cut and scan and grab everything you can to figure out how it works don't you!? Humans, you all look at something and try to figure out how it can be used to work for you! It's so few of you that can think and figure out that some things aren't meant to be meddled with, but left alone!" He yelled angrily, walking around, as he couldn't stand still. "But no, the military, you have to find the new weapon, the next big thing, and you have to own it before somebody else does, you utter fucking morons! What was it in 314?! What did that psychotic, stupid, control freak of a bitch make in that room!?" He screamed at Angleman, but the man was long past talking now. Instead he was shivering and sweating with pure fear on his face, as he was the focus of Tobias's rage.
Buffy was, if not as scared as Angleman, still uneasy as she watched her friend. She thought she had seen him angry, but that was a quiet anger. This anger, the loud shouts, the moving around, and the sheer in your face quality of it was much more degrading and hard to deal with than cold looks and indifference. And why did he say human like he wasn't one? She vaguely recalled something he'd said, so many months ago.
"Thanks, no I'm not a demon half breed, but I admit I'm not fully human."
"So what's the other half?"
"Unique." "Good or bad unique?" Buffy asked. "Depends on who's asking. My friends, family, good. People who piss me off by trying to kill them or innocent people, bad, very bad."
It looked like that was more right than she had thought.
"That's enough!" Riley yelled, looking angry. "You're making her sound like some psychopath! She wasn't like that. She was a brilliant woman -"
"And she was evil!" Tobias yelled back. "I looked into that woman's eyes Riley, and there was darkness in those eyes! However brilliant she was, she was not human in her methods of doing things!"
"All she was trying to do was help people, and this is how you want them to remember her?!"
Tobias looked around in an exaggerated manner. "Helping people? Well, I must have missed that bit in a lot of things! Like how she fed you and the other soldiers here performance enhancing drugs, or maybe how she conducted behavior modification research on demons, and we can't forget how she tried to kill you girlfriend because she was too curious, and to top it all off, she made something that killed a seven year old boy before dissecting him! And you know what I found on the body, hhmm?! Three different strands of DNA, two of it demon and the last one human! Whatever good that woman did, it happened long before she ever joined this organization, because I see nothing but inhuman acts of a control freak who lost sight of what it means to be human!" The teen shook his head with a snort. "You saw what you wanted to see Riley. If you want to believe a lie, fine. Be my guest. I have no time to deal with childish fantasies while something that kills innocent civilians is on the loose. You," he pointed at Angleman. "What did you make? Because the Polgara demon, you said we weren't to damage its arms. Now to me, that says you needed them for something, something important. I guessing it was for the 314 project, am I right? And give me a real answer, not some pathetic shakes of the head."
The doctor swallowed as he got up, using the wall to support himself since his shaking legs wouldn't do the job. "I-it was an experiment. W-we theorized that s-some demons genetic strands and p-physical attributes could be used to augment a h-human body..."
"No." Tobias said flatly, but his eyes looked shocked as he shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no, you did not do what I am thinking...that is so far beyond human...you... Do you any idea how..." He stopped suddenly, looking at his hands. Buffy was alarmed to see how pale he was turning, how fast it was happening. "Oh no. No, no, not now...GUH!" He suddenly hunched over as he fell to his knees, his form started flickering in and out of focus.
"Tobias!" Buffy was by his side in an instant, but she didn't know how she could help. He wasn't really here, and he looked like he was about to disappear at any more. He looked at her, his face full of pain and nausea.
"Buffy...it's close..." He grunted as his body jerked with a spasm, sending him to his side. "It's here!"
"What, what's here?"
She looked up as something landed behind them with a heavy THUD! Looking over her shoulder, she spotted the body of a military M.P. on the ground, badly skewered as blood pooled underneath him. Stunned and knowing everyone was doing the same thing, she looked up.
Standing on the catwalk above them was Adam, and he was calmly looking down at them as he answered Buffy's question. "Me."
A/N: Whew! I got intense there at the end! I don't know why, but any scene I've had in mind for a while I can write really well, it's the stuff I make up along the way I have trouble making sound or flow good. Anyways, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and if anybody is curious about where I got the idea for Tobias's rant about humans, I drew inspiration from David Tenant when he played the 10th Doctor in Doctor Who, so much thanks goes to him and his wonderful acting skills for giving me the ideas I needed. Anyways, next chapter will be wrapping up this episode for good, get some things set up for the future chapters, maybe have a punch I've been trying to fit in correctly. So, leave a review please, and bye.
