Part 2: Captives
She wasn't sure how long she had been there, a month, maybe two, but she was sure that she had to get out of there soon. The way they were studying her - her strength, her endurance, her intelligence, and all of her personal and private habits - she knew they were preparing to do something to her, something bad, and she had no intentions of becoming someone weird science project.
They drugged her whenever they handled her. First it was in her food, a fact that she caught onto quickly. She stopped eating for about a week and was so weak by the end that she couldn't fight them off when they took her to the infirmary. They were smart and kept her strapped down to the bed as they force feed her drugged food.
That had actually been the first time she had gotten to see any of the compound besides her room. The place was built like a hospital, with corridors that all blended together and nurses - or guard- stations on every corner.
In her hospital room, there was a large window that they usually kept shut. Buffy only got to look out once when her nurse opened it for a moment to see something. The compound was in the middle of a heavily wooded area and off in the distance was a beach. Good. Then maybe she wasn't to far from home.
She stayed in the hospital room for nearly two weeks. Thanks to the window, she was able to count the days. However, she didn't know how long she was out, so it could have been a couple more days then that.
The little blonde was actually well by the end of the first week, but they took the opportunity to study her biology while she was there. Buffy had never been fond of doctors or hospitals before, and, when they were finished, she really hated them.
Once they were finished, they took her back to her regular room where she had remained since. There was nothing really wrong with it, besides the fact that it was actually a cell. It was about a twelve by ten, with a double bed, a closet filled with clothes, and her own bathroom. The bathroom was well stocked, with her favorite shampoos, body soaps, and toothpaste, and there were always new bottles at the end of ever so many days. That was how she kept track of time here.
After the hospital, she had not seen a soul. She knew there were there. After all, someone was leaving her a tray of food every day, refurnishing her bathroom, and washing her clothes. The thing was, they would do this only after they drugged her and made sure that she was out.
She knew what they were trying to do, to break her in isolation, but it wasn't going to work. It would take a whole lot more then this to make her crack.
They've now given her a goal to work for. Kicking all there asses whenever she got out of there, and she would. She always did.
*****
He laid flat on his back, staring up at the light that was built into the ceiling. Two bleeding months had gone by and he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the people who were keeping him. They were watching him, he knew that. And they feed him everyday, but he had no idea what they wanted.
At first he was hesitant about drinking the blood that they dropped from him, but he got so hungry that he didn't care if they experimented on him at one point. When they didn't drug him, he had eaten the blood on a regular basis, though he hated been 'feed'. Made him feel like some sort of blasted animal.
"I must be in hell," he thought aloud.
His voice had been the only one he had heard in all his time there. When he woke up in the tiny white room, he thought that maybe Solider Boy and his friends started up their experiments again, so he called to the person who should be in the next cell, only to find it empty. Thus, after calling for a long while, he found himself completely alone with no one to talk to or bother but himself.
What he wouldn't give to have someone to fight with. Hey, at this point, he'd even take the Whelp, but he really wanted the Slayer, his slayer.
When he wasn't dreaming about ripping the wankers who kept him here throats out, he was dreaming about her. The way her hair smelled, the way she moved when she was beating the crap out of him, even the taste of her kiss that he remembered from when Red had put that spell on them. If he had only known how much he would crave that taste later on, he wouldn't have been so quick to push her away when he had her.
Yeah, she was what he wanted right then. He not only wanted to see her, but he wanted a good dance that only she could give him. True, he couldn't really fight back, but that night outside the Bronze had proven they could find ways around that. It might not be as good as a real fight to the death, but it was still better then half the battles he had been a part of during the past couple of months.
A blaring signal went off over head as a small hole opened in the ceiling and bag of blood dropped to the floor beside him. What? Did the wankers just steal the idea from Solider Boy and his friends? They could have at least tried to be a little original.
Spike reached over and grabbed the bag off the floor. He looked at it for a moment, then sighed.
"Could at least give a bloke a mug or something," he called up to the ceiling.
In response, the hole that had dropped it slammed its door firmly shut.
"Figures," he said to himself before he tore into the bag and drank it greedily.
*****
The woman looked down into the micro scope, adjusting the lens to get a better view of the blood test before her. The person that the blood came from had given them a chance to do something that they never dreamed possible, but now it was looking more and more likely. And then there was that prophecy they had found. It was exciting to think that maybe they would have something to do with saving the world.
She reached over and jotted something on the paper beside the scope, giving the pretense that she was actually working, before she looked up at the clock on the wall. Not much longer now, that is, if everything went to plan.
They had done everything they could to make it a controlled environment, but, when it came to dealing with slayers and vampires, nothing was ever to controlled. They kept her so weak for so long, they weren't sure if they would be able to carry this out or not. But she had gotten better, and her test all came back good and clean.
She was the prefect subject for this. They just had to wait for the prefect time to carry it out. Now was that time. They had to wait almost a month after the tests were finished, but the time had finally come. Now she felt like a kid waiting for Christmas morning to see if Santa had brought them anything good. Only thing was, if this worked, they would still have to wait awhile for the gift to arrive, but it would be worth it.
"Dr. Lang," a voice called to her.
The middle age Asian woman turned on the black stool to face her co-worker.
"It's time," he said evenly.
Lang did her best to hide her excitement, but she felt the tips of her lips curl up ever so slightly. To keep the appearance of total professionalism, she stood up, straitens her white coat, and forced the smile down.
"I'll be there in a moment," she told him as she reached over and picked up the clip board that held the paper she had been working on. "I just have to enter this into the computer."
Didn't want to seem too eager, she thought.
The man stood there for a moment, then lowered his head a bit before saying, "Yes, Ma'am."
When he shut the door, Lang turned and looked at the clock one last time, before flipping a few pages on the board and jotting down what the clock said. She held up the pen, clicked the bottom of it, and then placed the board on the table. The good doctor would let one of the underlings put the information in the computer. She couldn't miss this.
The short woman then headed for the door as she said to herself, "Show time."
*****
Buffy knew what happened the moment she woke up. That taste in her mouth said it all. They had started to drug her food again.
"Oh, come on, Guys," she called up with her eyes still closed. "I thought we've moved past this."
"Slayer?" a familiar voice said from nearby.
Buffy's eyes shot open as she stared strait up at the dark ceiling. No. It couldn't be.
She sat up in bed and looked out into the darkness of her room. The bathroom door had been left open, and the light was caste across the floor, which caught the figure that lay on the ground. Spike groaned slightly as he forced himself up onto his knees and then reached for his head.
Buffy slid out of her bed and walked over towards her old enemy. At first, she thought it a mere hallucination brought on by the drug. In fact, that was how she was going to treat him as she reached him. He looked up with those deep blue eyes. They looked as if he were trying to decide whether or not she was real either.
Against her better judgment, she held out her hand to him to help him up. She was sure that once they didn't touch, he would disappear. Then maybe she could have a hallucination about someone she actually liked. He looked at it for a moment and then took it.
Buffy jumped when the cold skin touched hers. He was really there! Spike seemed just as surprise to feel her warm skin against his cold. It was dark, but Buffy would almost swear that he seemed glade to see her.
Instantly, she tried to think of how he must be responsible for all this. Some way, somehow, he had to be part of this. He just had to be.
But then she looked up at this bleached blond hair that he had always been so careful to keep completely white. It was now about an inch longer, and his dark roots were showing through. Unless he started to go for a new look, he wasn't in on this, a part of her was telling her. Not that she was really listening to it.
"What are you doing here?" she bit at him.
"Baking a bloody cake, Slayer," he said sarcastically.
She glared at him. Now really wasn't the time for that.
"Haven't the foggiest," he told her in an honest tone. "I just woke up and found myself here. You?"
"Same," she sighed. "Course, that was about two months ago."
"Two months?" he said surprised. "I can see them not lookin' for me, but the Scoobies leavin' you here for that long...Hard to believe that."
"What? You've been here that long too?"
"Yeah," he said going and leaning against the wall. "Course, my room isn't near as nice as yours. Ain't that always the way."
"Well, if you want it, you can have it. Just get me out of here first."
"Don't worry so much, Slayer. I'm sure Captain Cardboard has the National Guard out lookin' for you right now."
Buffy winced at the nickname.
In her two months there, she had a lot of time to think, especially considering the lack of other options. Her and Riley's relationship had occupied many of them. Now that she thought about, Xander had been right. She did treat him as the transition guy, but, maybe, that was because that was just what he was.
It didn't mean that she did love him, she did in her own way, but he wasn't the long haul guy. After all, he had left her right when she really needed him because she didn't love him the way that he wanted. Whether she liked to think of it or not, if he left because of something like that instead of working it out like a normal couple, he would have left her eventually anyway. At least she wasn't in to deep when he did.
"Or maybe the Slayerettes," Spike continued after she remained silent about her old boyfriend.
He was either ignoring her reaction to his mention of Riley, or had just decided to play cool about it. One could never tell when it came to the annoying, not-as-evil-as-he-use-to-be, handsome vampire.
Handsome?! Since when has Spike ever been anything more then repulsive at best?! Ugh, Buffy. You've been locked up in this room way, way, way to long.
"You're awful quiet over there, love," he said when she still remained silent. "What? Wonderin' if Major Mistake is lettin' some girlie girl suck on him?"
She knew he meant about Riley letting female vampires suck his blood, but everything Spike said always seemed to have some sort of sexual undertone to it. This was just a little bit closer to the surface then most.
"Yeah, I bet that's what it is," he went on. "We're bein' held her against our bloody will, and she's worried about her sex toy."
"He's not my sex toy," she bit at him coldly.
"What? Tired of him already?"
"You know, you're lucky I don't have a stake," she told him.
Spike pushed away from the wall and walked towards her.
"Why? You don't have the stones to do anythin'."
Her eyes narrowed in on him.
"You know what. I don't need a stake," she said before she slugged him.
*****
Chen sat at the desk, watching the monitor that was being feed an image from the Slayers room. Lang was standing behind the man, studying the interaction between the two mortal enemies.
They had done nothing it seemed but fight since they woke up. Not exactly what she had planed. In fact, it wasn't even close.
Now the vampire had now antagonized her enough to make her hit him.
"Should we gas them before they hurt each other?" Chen asked as he turned to the woman in charge.
She watched them for a moment. The way they fought, it was almost like watching someone dance across the stage. They moved with each other, knowing the others intentions before the person even realized it. She had studied vampire/slayer relationship for years, and gotten to see more then four different slayers in battle. Never, in all that time, did she ever see one like this.
"No," she told him. "Let them continue."
He gave her a worried look and then turned back to the monitors.
*****
Buffy rolled across the floor and jumped to her feet as he came back after her. She kicked up at his head, but he dodged. She came with a round house, which knocked him to the side with her.
"Come on, Slayer," he said as they straiten back up. "I know you can do better then that."
He causally through three punches at her head like he had outside of the Bronze that night she asked him about the other slayers, and she dodged them just as easily.
"Oh, I intend to," she said as she swung at his head. He dropped to the ground, and then tried to kick her feet out from under her. She jumped in the air to avoid it. "It's my job to beat the crap out of you after all."
She caught his punch before it hit her and through him over her shoulder like she had learned in high school. Looking down at him, she said, "Not that you would know what having a job is like."
He made a face as he kicked his legs up and leapt to his feet. "I have a job," he said as they started their fight again.
She laughed as she through a punch at him. "Hustling at that run down bar on ninth isn't my idea of a job. Didn't think I knew about that, did you?"
"Do you really think I care? Besides, a bloke's got to pay for his blood somehow," he said as he caught her fist in his hand. "Might as well be from the winnin's at a pool table."
She through another punch with her free hand, and he caught that one as well. He stepped to her to where their bodies were pressed against one another, and he had both her arms locked behind her back. She tried to break free, but the way he held her she couldn't.
"Speaking of winnin'," he said with an evil smile. "How are you goin' to do it now, pet?"
She looked at him for a moment, going over every move that Giles had ever taught her. Only problem was, she was coming up empty, but she sure as hell wasn't going to lose. So she did the only thing she could think of. She crushed her lips against his, and began to kiss him deeply. It had surprised him alright, not to mention herself.
Why had she chosen this as her means to win? What even made her think that this was something she could use?! Why was she still kissing him?
She only pulled away when she needed air, and the two looked at each other in complete shock. This was disgusting, wrong, evil, did she mention disgusting? Then why couldn't she fight the urge to kiss him again? And why was he kissing her back?
When he let go of her arms, she placed her free hands around the back of his neck as if she were forcing him to hold the kiss. Then she jumped up and wrapped her leg around him. He responded to by placing one arm under her to hold her up, and the other around her back to keep her from falling away from him.
She felt him move forward a little, and then she fell backwards onto the bed. He was the one to break the kiss this time, and he just looked at her for a moment. Those deep blue eyes seemed to be searching for something, though she wasn't quiet sure just what. She just smiled for a moment before she pressed her lips against his again.
She had been alone in the room for way to long, she told her. Way, way, way to long.
*****
Chen sat at the desk watching the monitors closely. Man, he had the absolute best job in the world. Where else could you watch something like this and it be considered a scientific experiment?
"It's not scrambled porn, Chen," Lang said from behind him. "So stop watching it as if it were. You'll give yourself a nosebleed if you don't."
After he had started to make her scream, Lang had ordered the volume turned off, much to Chen's displeasure. The last thing she needed around here was for the others doctors involve to think that she was doing just what she accused Chen of doing. This was scientific, and she would gladly argue with anyone who disagreed.
"I guess they weren't kidding whenever they told us that that potion would increase their libido activity," she said more to herself then to him.
"You mean make them into a pair of lust bunnies?" Chen said flatly.
He always did have a way of putting things in the crudest terms.
"Yes. I guess you can put it that way. All thought, when the boss calls, I wouldn't say that to him."
"Not like I talk to the man anyway," he said going back to watch the monitors.
Chen's eyes widen for a moment as he watched the events a little longer, then turned back to the doctor.
"You know, she'll kill him once the spell or whatever wears off."
"That's why he won't be there when it does," Lang told him calmly. "The spell has another good two hours before it'll be over with, so we'll give them another hour and a half, then gas them. By the time they wake up, it'll be over and done with."
"Are you sure this is going to work?" he asked. "I mean, just this one night?"
"One time is all it takes," she told him. "We've studied her; know what we needed to know. Besides, if at first you don't succeed..."
"Dr. Lang," a new doctor called from the doorway. "Call for you. I think it's the main office."
"I'll take it in my office," she told him heading for the door. She stopped and then said over her shoulder, "And, Chen. Stop drooling."
He made a mocking face at her as she left, then turned back tot he monitors.
Man, he loved his job.
*****