This chapter has a fight scene and I'm not really good at those, so sorry if it's not very good. I need reviews to tell me if I should bring Riley in person to Perfection or if I just need to write in a phone call from him. Suggestions? By the way, I am NOT a Riley fan. So, whatever I write will probably make him look like the stupid jerk he is.

~~ * ~~
A million thoughts were running through Buffy's mind as she ran down the tunnel. The Initiative, here? Her mind was not comprehending.

She increased her speed when she heard Angel's voice farther down the tunnel.

She reached the cavern where Burt and Angel were waiting for her.

She looked inside and it was almost like walking back in time. Directly in front of her were cells, exactly like the cells in Sunnydale. The entire place had the same feel. Buffy shivered. Angle put a reassuring arm around her shoulders and walked with her as she checked out the place. There were no bodies or computers left. This lab hadn't ended the way the other had but had been shut down for some reason.

Buffy couldn't find any words. She was trying to believe this was a nightmare and she would wake up. Was this place a prelude to the lab in Sunnydale?

Angel walked with Buffy and was trying to gauge her reaction. She gave no outward appearance of being upset. The only way Angel could tell was the tensing of her muscles. He understood how this must bring back memories.

Burt stood to the side and watched Buffy and Angel explore the incredibly large cavern. He saw Angel's arm go around Buffy for support and wondered exactly what it was Angel was trying to give her support for. Did Buffy have ties to the military?

"Oh, my God." Came Tyler's voice from the entrance and broke the other three out of their thoughts.

Buffy turned to see Faith and Tyler standing there. Tyler's mouth was slightly open while Faith's mouth was set in a thin line. She recognized the place immediately from the stories Spike and Buffy had told her.

"Why did you want Buffy to see this place?" Burt asked Angel, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

Angel looked to Buffy for help. He couldn't tell Burt without spilling her secret.

"Because I think I know who put this here and why. There was an underground lab in my hometown almost exactly like this one." Buffy answered.

"I see." Said Burt. "How did you know about the lab in your hometown?"

"I was dating one of the soldiers who worked there."

"So, they just let you into what, I assume, was a top secret lab?" Burt sounded unconvinced.

Buffy sighed. Time for the bitter truth. "No, they let me in because they thought I might be useful to their research. They were a branch of the government that were researching and, unknown to me at the time, experimenting on vampires and demons."

"And they thought you could help why?" Burt asked, his natural suspicions coming out.

"Because you're a slayer." Tyler injected into the conversation. Burt looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Yes. They thought the slayer was a myth. When they found out I was real, they thought they could use me to further their cause."

"What is a slayer?" Burt asked with irritation shining in his voice.

"To make it short and sweet. A slayer kills vampires and demons and protects the world from things that go bump in the night." Faith answered. "I'm a slayer, too."

"How many slayers are there?" Burt asked.

"There's only supposed to be one at a time. But, I died and another was called. Thing is, I was brought back by CPR." Buffy said.

"So, why didn't they just dismiss the other slayer?"

"It's not that simple, Burt. Slayers have powers. We are as strong as vampires and have super speed and agility. The power comes from mystical sources so you can't just take it back once you're called. You're stuck with it whether you like it or not." Buffy explained.

"I see." Burt said, even though it was obvious he had lots of questions.

"We can discuss this later. We need to get back to the situation at hand." Angel interrupted.

Buffy was immediately back in charge. "Right. We need to talk to Riley. If this was a first base for the Initiative we need to know if they left anything behind that could affect the screechers."

"We have to find the screechers. We don't have much time until they change." Burt argued.

"I know, but you don't what they left down here. They used drugs and chips to manipulate the demons they captured in Sunnydale. What if they left some of that stuff behind? It could be just as bad as that mix master stuff the other lab left behind." Buffy said.

"Can you get in touch with this guy?" Tyler asked.

"Maybe." Buffy replied. "I just have to get past the security measures.

"Fine. Why don't you go back to town and try to get in touch with this guy and we'll continue the search for the screechers. But, you shouldn't go alone. Take someone with you."

"I'll go." Tyler said, earning a glare from Angel. "It seems Faith and Angel would be better at tracking the screechers and I know all the tricks to hide from them."

"Fine." Burt said.

Buffy started back out into the tunnel. Angel put a hand on her shoulder and she turned around. "Please, be careful." He said.

Buffy gave a small smile. "I will. You too."

Buffy and Tyler disappeared into the tunnel.

Burt, Angel, and Faith began exploring more of the cavern.

"Well," came Faith's voice from the other end of the cavern. "I think I know why the screechers were multiplying so fast."

Burt and Angel rushed to where Faith was. There was a shorter tunnel and at the end was what was left of boxes and boxes of MREs. The screechers had found this storage area and feasted. There was a large air vent in the room and Burt would just about bet money it opened somewhere near where the graboid grabbed some of the screechers. There was no grate covering the vent and was large enough for a screecher

Faith was in deep thought. She remembered Buffy saying the soldiers in Sunnydale were given drugs to increase their strength and stamina. What if they put drugs in the MREs? What would that do to the screechers?

~~ * ~~

Buffy and Tyler rode in silence on the way back to town. Buffy was deep in thought about Riley and the Initiative and Tyler was deep in thought about Buffy.

Suddenly, a screecher landed on the hood. Tyler hit the brakes hard and sent the screecher flying off the hood.

Instinctively both pulled their heat dusters over them and exited the vehicle.

Three more screechers attacked the SUV

Tyler crawled over to Buffy who had dropped to the ground a safe distance away.

"Burt's gonna be pissed." Tyler said with a grin.

"Yeah." Buffy agreed. "He is."

Buffy looked back the screechers who had ripped the hood open on Burt's SUV. They hadn't found food and were not very happy about it.

"I guess we wait until they leave." Tyler said.

"No." Buffy began. "We don't have time to wait. We have to get back to town. I need to know what might have been left in that lab."

"So, what do we do?" Tyler asked.

"Wait here. I need to get my bag from the truck."

"We have four screechers searching for food and all you can think about is your bag?" Tyler was incredulous.

"That bag may save your life." Buffy retorted, angry. Without waiting for Tyler to answer she started to crawl for the truck. The screechers had moved several feet away but were still milling around trying to find food. Buffy decided this was the second group. Probably just hatched.

She encountered no resistance as she moved toward the truck. When she reached it she stuck her arm up and grabbed the bag and ducked back down.

Unfortunately, when her arm shot up one of the screechers saw it and started signaling the others.

Buffy rolled under the truck and the four screechers approached.

Once under the truck she began to pull items from her bag. Out first came her crossbow and arrows. After that Buffy pulled out two long daggers. Finally, she pulled out her sword. It felt good in her hand. It had been a long time but her adrenaline was screaming at her to get moving.

She glanced over to where Tyler lay and made sure he was safe. Then, she slowly eyed the area trying to get a fix on the screechers. After she located them she emerged from underneath the truck and stood up.

Moving slowly, so not to move the duster and expose her body heat, she made her way toward the nearest screecher, sword in hand.

Tyler watched in awe as she moved toward the screecher. Part of his brain still wasn't comprehending what she was capable of. Knowing she was a slayer was one thing, seeing her in action was quite another.

Buffy made it the first screecher without incident. She walked up behind him and raised her sword. He sensed her heat and turned. But before he could let out his namesake screech, Buffy separated his head from his body.

She looked over at Tyler and grinned. "One down, three to go."

Tyler didn't like the fact she was doing all the work and he was playing the damsel in distress. "What can I do?" he asked.

"Stay there and don't let them sneak up on me." Buffy answered.

Buffy started her stalk toward the second screecher. She was almost in striking distance when the screecher turned, shrieking as he turned. He had caught a glimpse of Buffy's arm and that was all he needed.

The screecher started toward her and Buffy and she just held out sword as the screecher ran into it. It emerged from his back and Buffy jerked the sword back as the screecher collapsed on the ground.

She was home free yet. The other two screechers were almost on her. She heard Tyler yell for her to look out and then they were there.

Hoping these things weren't any stronger than the demons she normally fought, she let go with a sidekick to the screecher's head. It didn't stop it, but it did slow it down. The other screecher caught a right hook and then Buffy pivoted and let go with a roundhouse kick to the head. The second screecher went down. By this time the first screecher was fully recovered and almost on top of her. She swung her sword and made a deep slash across the torso. The creature cried out in pain and tried to retreat.

Buffy, sensing she had the upper hand, attacked as the creature retreated. Her sword came around and slashed the creature's throat. It collapsed and didn't move.

Buffy turned back to the screecher she had knocked down earlier. Tyler was pulling one of her daggers out of it's back.

Tyler looked at her and grinned. "I couldn't let you have all the fun, could I?" he asked, a twinkle in her eye.

"Guess not." She answered with a smile. "Well, let's go. Our work here is done. Do you think the truck is drivable?"

"I believe so. They just ripped up the hood."

Buffy and Tyler gathered her other weapons and climbed back in the SUV.

They were driving before Tyler spoke again. "You were amazing back there."

"It was nothing. They aren't as nasty as some creatures I've come across in my life."

"How long have you been a slayer?" Tyler asked.

Buffy closed her eyes as memories came back to her. "Since I was fifteen." She answered. "Before that I was an average teenager."

"Is that how you met Angel? Did you try to slay him?" Tyler asked.

"No, actually, he followed me into an alley and I knocked him down. He gave me information and a cross and walked away. I was still pretty new at the whole sensing vampires thing and I didn't know he was a vamp." Buffy finished the last part with such sadness Tyler decided to change the subject.

"What about this soldier guy you dated?"

"His name is Riley. We met my first year of college. We started talking and then one night we found out what the other was."

"What happened?" Tyler asked.

"He couldn't deal with fact that I was stronger than he was. See, once it was discovered they were being given strength enhancing drugs, disguised as vitamins, they stopped taking them and reverted back to normal human strength. He had this complex about men being stronger and being the protector. I didn't need or want that and he couldn't handle it. So, he ran off to the jungles of Brazil."

Tyler couldn't think what to say. Before he could say anything Buffy was speaking again.

"I am long over Riley. Don't worry about it." Buffy said, thinking Tyler was quiet because he thought he brought up a touchy subject.

Tyler knew he shouldn't say it but his mouth overrode his brain. "What about Angel?" he asked quietly.

"I'll never be over Angel." Buffy answered so quietly Tyler barely heard her.

Tyler recalled Faith's words, "You'll never get her. She's spoken for" and let out a silent sigh.

They rest of the trip was made in silence.

They arrived at the hotel and brought everyone up to speed about what was happening.

Jody confirmed the screechers they encountered appeared on the screen in the same general area that the second graboid had disappeared and that Buffy and Tyler had got them all.

'At least we have one less thing to worry about' Buffy thought.

Buffy went upstairs to her room and retrieved the number to the "florist" she had used to contact Riley about Spike's chip.

She made her call and went back downstairs. All they could do was wait and hope he called back. She had told them it was urgent and had to do with Perfection, Nevada. She hoped he knew something about it.