Title: Dimension Hopping for the Modern Minion
Author: Xander03
Rating: R (language)
Summary: "Please take your seats. Faith and I will be discussing the possible end of the world for a few moments, don't mind us."
Author's Notes: Spoilers through the ends of Season 4 Angel and Season 7 Buffy. Thanks to K, verucawerewolf, spifarific, and h0taru. And R for some "beta-testing." I have a big welcoming party in my inbox for feedback and constructive criticism, swing by and enjoy the cake (of various flavors, and with ice cream!).
"They're not the brightest gods in the bunch, are they?" Dawn asked, following Giles' explanation of the events surrounding Nysa and her sudden induction into the side of good. "I mean, why in the world would you send a demon to be mentored by Faith? Unless you want them to turn out a murderer."
"I think we can agree that Faith has turned a corner in her life," Willow said. "You know, with the saving the world help and all." She rolled across the office and grabbed another slice of pizza off of Giles' desk. The office was more functional now. Buffy and Willow had taken a day to get everything fixed and assembled after the LA people had found their thief.
"Which is fine," Dawn said. "But giving her someone to look after? Doesn't seem too smart."
Giles said, "I'm sure they had their reasons. The Powers probably also had some input."
"And that makes me wonder about them," Buffy said.
"I'm thinking thief class now," Andrew said suddenly. "Maybe a fighter-mage-thief after the ritual with Faith."
Dawn answered everyone's stares. "He's talking about D&D again."
Andrew nodded. "Nysa would make a great multi-class character. Especially if we could add a specialty kit to thief for 'cyber thief.' That'd be awesome."
"You have no idea how confident it makes me to know that we're trusting the future of the world's Slayers in your hands," Buffy said dryly.
"We should start categorizing demons by their ability scores," Andrew said, nodding at Giles. "That would be a great way to identify them and prepare Slayers to fight them."
"You're so very strange," Giles said to Andrew. "But I suppose a new idea is not necessarily a bad one. Come up with a few examples, and we'll reexamine the matter in a week or so."
Andrew giggled and rushed out of the office, presumably to start work on the main bank of computers. Dawn followed, although a little more slowly and without the same level of crazed enthusiasm. Buffy and Willow just stared at Giles in disbelief.
"Well, you never know, it might work," Giles said to the two. "And besides, it does keep them occupied."
The fax machine beeped as it came to life, spitting out papers onto the floor. Andrew had broken off the paper tray with his mock lightsaber earlier in the week, and they had as of yet to get it repaired.
Buffy rolled to the pile on the floor, and quickly scanned it. "Solve one problem, gain another." She got up and handed the report to Giles. "It's from the Coven."
Giles read the documents, his face growing more and more into a frown as he read. "It would seem they have found a large concentration of previously unidentified Slayers in South America. They didn't notice them before because of high level wards surrounding the area."
"Someone didn't want us to find them?" Willow asked.
"Apparently," Giles said. "They'll send more information if they find any." He returned to his seat. "Go get Dawn and Andrew. I'd like to start researching the area to see what we can find."
A few hours later, the group was sitting around the conference table, thoughts of developing a new catalog system completely out of their minds.
"I've been looking through the old records during the last few weeks, and the area the Coven mentioned made me remember something," Dawn said. "Several years ago, Roger Fyren resigned from the Watcher's Council after reports he had beaten his Potential. His methods of discipline were arcane and brutal, and after the Council had removed her from his care, she committed suicide. Fyren's last known location was Brazil."
"I remember him," Giles said. "Many in the Council believed he was right to be so violent. They claimed it made for better training."
"Glad I didn't end up with one of them," Buffy said.
Willow agreed, "Definitely. More proof we lucked out with Giles."
"Yes, thank you. Fortunately for you, Quentin and other powerful Watchers even thought Fyren's methods were inhumane. Those who agreed with him did not go far within the organization. It is important to note that many of these Watchers are as of yet unaccounted for." Giles took a seat at the side of the table. "Andrew?"
"The Coven claims to be sensing the Slayers in this area," Andrew said, flipping on the power to the overhead projector to display an overhead map of northwest Brazil. "There are no obvious abodes for evil in the area, however," Andrew said, changing the transparency to show building schematics, "this building, located in the center of the suspicious area, is the entrance to what was once a secret U.S. military base."
"The Initiative?" Buffy asked. The last time she'd spoken with Riley, he'd told her the Initiative didn't really want to have dealings with them anymore. Apparently the association with Wolfram and Hart made the American government nervous.
"Yes," Andrew answered. "Although the main force left the area over a year ago, according to the documents I was able to find online when I broke into the security system. They would have destroyed the facility, but thought they may reuse it in the future, so now there is a minimum security detachment to keep the locals from discovering it."
"Did the Initiative hide our Slayers?" Willow asked. Concluding the government had decided to be interested enough to kidnap pre-bred soldiers wasn't a huge leap for any of them.
"One would think so, unless one was able to dig even further into the matter." Andrew paused for effect, ignoring the impatient glares he was receiving. "For the past eight months, the facility has been sending in remarkably regular and boring reports to headquarters, claiming absolutely nothing interesting has happened at the base or in the surrounding area. There is also nothing else to hack into except the basic reports it sends to headquarters. None of the soldiers that are supposed to be there have email accounts or do anything online, which is hard to believe."
"How much are we hacking into places now?" Buffy asked, interrupting Andrew to his annoyance.
"A lot," Dawn answered. "But it's okay because we can also hack into all the places they might report us to, should we get caught, and delete all evidence."
"Wow," Buffy said.
"There's more about the base," Andrew continued, breaking up the discussion on hacking. "Thermal satellite imagery of the area suggests that far more than a simple security detachment resides in the underground complex."
"There have been stories from that area of powerful sorcerers performing some pretty heavy magic," Dawn added. "The rumors are concentrated around that particular city, and even include tales of locals being drafted into some sort of army not ran by the Brazilian government. The Federal Police have reported a substantial decrease in normal crimes in that area for the last seven months, and have all but eliminated their official presence in the region in order to send officers to more troubled areas of Brazil."
"So we've got all the signs of a military operation going on," Buffy said, "but no signs of a military to run it."
Willow added, "And we have a large chunk of violent former Watchers that we can't seem to find, combined with some hidden new Slayers. Sounds like a problem."
***
Giles cautiously approached the building earlier identified as the entrance to the secret military compound. It was in the middle of a very small town, and the military had done an excellent job of blending the building in with the surroundings. Small and in disrepair, the building normally wouldn't spark interest in any passerby.
There were a few wards at the perimeter, but they did not halt his progress, only communicated his presence to whoever was inside. He knew from Andrew's hacking there was also an electronic monitoring system, but he'd already concluded they'd be expecting him, so he didn't worry about either the wards or the electronics.
He knocked on the door, and tried to act surprised when a familiar face answered. "Roger Fyren. It has been a long time."
Fyren smiled. "Yes it has, Rupert. Please, come in." Fyren stepped away from the door allowing Giles entrance before reaching out his hand to shake Giles'. He said, "We've been expecting you."
"I'm sure," Giles said. "It was just a matter of time after your wards came down that we noticed."
"That was unfortunate," Fyren said. "I assure you that the warlock responsible will not make the same mistake again."
"I'm sure of it," Giles said, taking note of the inside of the building. It matched the outside, and unless he had already known about it, he would have never guessed there was an underground facility attached. The feeling of magic inside the building was strong, but not overwhelming. He might have assumed it was all just for the upstairs, based on his experience.
"Come, Rupert. I'm sure you know of the basement. I might as well show you."
Giles nodded, and followed Fyren across the room where the other man lifted a rug to reveal a hidden door. Barrier wards protected this entrance, and Fyren took several moments to drop them before leading Giles through the door and down a ladder to a small room at least a story below the surface. It reminded Giles of a bomb shelter, only with an elevator.
The decent into the facility was long, and Giles knew they were at least five hundred feet below the surface. He asked anyway.
"Low enough that military listening devices can't hear us," Fyren answered. "The Americans are quite particular about their bases."
"Yes," Giles agreed, stepping out of the elevator and running into two armed guards. They were locals, seemingly well trained at what they were doing. One look at their eyes, though, and Giles knew they'd been brainwashed.
"We pay them well," Fyren offered as way of an explanation before passing the guards and entering a hallway. "Their families appreciate it."
At the end of the hall, two more armed guards stood before an open door leading into the open part of the complex. Giles knew from the schematics this was the center of the facility and the main hub for activity. "So tell me, Roger," Giles said, "What is it you hope to gain from allowing me to see all this?"
"I'm just being polite, of course. Later, I'll probably have some questions for you, and then your new Council will have to face ours without having you as a leader."
"Very nice of you to be so honest," Giles said as calmly as he could manage. Dawn had been right about the weakness of polite Watchers. "Any particular reason why?"
The two men passed through the door and entered the larger room. There were at least ten girls in the center on mats, practicing martial arts. No fewer than eight men, some of whom Giles recognized as Watchers, stood on the sides commenting on each move and verbally abusing any errors. The girls were covered in bruises, most of which were obviously not from practicing.
"That's why, Rupert," Fyren said, pointing at the girls. "The Slayers we find will be stronger and more fit to shape this world than the ones you are having trained by your vampire in Los Angeles." He stopped in front of the mats, nodding at another Watcher when one of the girls made a mistake. Her blunder was rewarded with a blow to her shoulders with a staff. She fell, but did not make a noise. "These are the soldiers of the future, Rupert. Surely you see that."
Giles had to concentrate to hide his anger. He'd not learned everything he needed to know before setting his second plan into action. "And surely you understand my methods are different." Changing the subject, he asked, "How did you end up here? Where are the soldiers?"
Fyren laughed. "Never could handle the actions necessary to make a good Slayer, could you? Very well, I'll not force you to watch this." Fyren led Giles away, and down a different hall, stopping at a large room with several bunks. "This is where the girls stay. They are fed well, and clothed, and will stand a chance in the upcoming battle."
Giles asked, "What battle?"
"I'll get to that shortly. The answer to your earlier question is we were contacted by a resident at this facility when the main force left. He wanted us to join him, and to show us something interesting. This would have been around the time you started discovering the First."
"Thoughtful of you to keep track of me."
"Well, the First was of interest to us, of course. Our new friend found some help, and when they arrive, the First Evil will no longer be a concern."
"It is hardly a concern now," Giles pointed out.
"It will be soon enough," Fyren answered. "You merely slowed its latest advance. The resurrection of your Slayer made sure it always will have an opening. As far as the soldiers go, we've made them compliant with our needs."
"And this new friend of yours, I suppose he can solve all the problems," Giles said, hoping to confirm his earlier suspicions about the identity of this third party. Before departing for South America, Dawn had connected several pieces of information to discover this was the very base the Initiative had stored Ethan Rayne.
"Your group does good research, Rupert," Fyren said. "But you are small, and alone. I know who you suspect allowed us here. You are right. Ethan informed us of this little operation before leaving, and we've been more than happy to use the facility to our advantage. The United States left it all but unguarded, you know."
"Interesting," Giles said. "I take it I won't be speaking with Ethan then?"
"I'm afraid not. He's elsewhere at the moment, fulfilling his duties to the new Master."
"The Master who will bring peace to earth?" Giles pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began to wipe his glasses. This "Master" was the piece of the puzzle they had been missing.
"The very same. It is unfortunate you'll not get to meet the new Master. It could have gone very differently, Rupert. Now you and those you've gathered around you will be some of the first eliminated when the Master arrives."
"Tell me something, Roger," Giles said, turning back to the man. "Why is it you let me in when you know my Slayer is outside?"
"Do you believe your Slayer has any chance of entering the compound? She'll be dead shortly after you are."
Giles laughed softly. "I believe your intelligence gathering on the new Council has been a tad incomplete." Giles held out the white cloth to be examined, and Fyren squinted at the small transmitter located in the corner.
"So I see you have some technology," he said. "I'm not too surprised."
A look of shock came across Fyren's face as the powerful wards guarding the complex came down instantaneously, creating a near vacuum of magical energies. Alarms sounded around the complex, and the entire building lost power. Red emergency lights flashed in the hallways and in the room Giles and Fyren were standing in.
"Oh, this technology isn't ours," Giles replied. "It belongs to them."
A team of heavily armed Wolfram and Hart assault soldiers flooded the room, tackling Fyren in the process. Shouts of "Clear!" could be heard around the building, and the raid was over almost as quickly as it began.
"This is impossible!" Fyren shouted. "They're not supposed to be here!"
"Yes, oddly enough they kept receiving urgent missions elsewhere," Giles said, recalling the phone conference he'd had with Angel the night before. It seemed all of Wolfram and Hart's projects had run into emergencies shortly after Fyren's wards had failed and the Coven had located the Slayers. There just hadn't been enough warning for the Senior Partners to properly prepare, apparently. "Apparently your 'Master' didn't count on the fact our vampire is actually quite bright."
***
"There were twelve Slayers there," Wesley said. AI and the Academy staff were once again in the office, where Wesley was debriefing the group on the Council's latest mission. "Originally, there had been fourteen, but Fyren killed two who did not agree to go with him. Over fifteen former Watchers were involved. A large portion of the adult population in the area had been brainwashed to serve Fyren's new Council."
"What was he planning to do?" Robin asked.
"From what has been gathered through interrogation, they were all serving some master demon that Ethan Rayne supposedly has contact with. They haven't actually seen this master, and Ethan disappeared shortly after they arrived at the base," Wesley said.
"Why would they believe him?" Xander asked. "He never struck me as the most normal guy, and the idea they thought he was trying to be helpful is just crazy."
"Keep in mind, most of them were recruited during a time when the Council was under a great amount of stress, both from the First Evil, and from the weight of their own arrogance. Also, these particular Watchers were never fond of the system and believed they were being denied power. These were not good men and women to start with, and Ethan offered them an opportunity to excel."
"They don't know anything else?" Robin asked.
"Oh, we think they do," Wesley said. "But there is some sort of magical mental block on them that is preventing them from sharing, or perhaps even recognizing the information they have. We'll have to investigate Ethan and his master independently of them."
Faith asked, "What will happen to the Slayers that were found?"
"They'll undergo therapy and receive a new education on their purpose in life," Wesley answered. "Unfortunately, we're just not equipped to do this ourselves, so Angel has set it up."
"We're letting Wolfram and Hart do it?" Xander asked.
"No," Wesley answered. "They're just paying for it. A completely independent group will care for the girls. Willow and Buffy have been deployed to oversee the operation to ensure the Senior Partners are not able to affect it. When they're ready, they'll join us here."
"This is just crazy," Xander said. "How do we know there aren't more groups like this one, just sitting around hoarding Slayers?"
"We don't," Wesley said quietly. "We can only hope that as the Slayers we train here go around the world, they'll be able to find any such groups in the future. For now, we have to focus on the ones we do have."
"Not trying to interrupt the depressing discussion we've got going on here," Gunn said, "but, Wes, we need to get to that house tonight."
"Yes, a good point," Wesley said. "A man came to us today and asked for assistance. His wife died a few days ago, but came back to bother him last night. He was too stunned to speak, so fortunately he didn't invite her in."
"Need any help?" Robin asked.
"Should be a simple case of woman turned vampire," Wesley said, putting his coat on. "Thanks for the offer, though."
Wesley and Gunn left, leaving Robin, Xander, and Faith in the office. "So," Xander said to Faith, "How is Nysa?"
Faith had completed the Mrifnoc with Nysa the night before, and the sounds of the demon screaming had caused a restless night for all. Nysa remained hidden in her small room all day, unable to move very far.
"She claims she'll live," Faith answered, "although I don't know if I will if I have to do this three more times. It is supposed to get more painful for her each time."
"Just don't will her to die," Xander offered.
"Very funny," Faith said. "I can feel a slight connection there, so I guess it's possible, but she assures me I'd have to meditate on it pretty hard for it to happen."
"Now what will you do with her?" Robin asked.
"Have her join the Slayers in some classes," Faith answered. "Wesley offered to help her with her magic. She doesn't have a lot of control or focus."
"And we're absolutely sure we want her to have these powers?" Xander asked, again. He'd repeated the question at least once a day since learning of Nysa's capabilities.
Faith said, "She's on our side now. She has to do what I want her to do."
"Definitely eager to please," Robin said. "Almost totally different than her earlier attitude."
"Yeah, but I couldn't kill her with my mind before. Probably makes a difference," Faith said.
Robin asked, "Is it just me, or does she not like Kennedy?"
"Not just you," Faith replied. "Yesterday she tried to throw Kennedy off the balcony when Kennedy argued with me."
"Before the ritual?" Xander asked, surprised. "'cause isn't that a little silly for her to try when she's as strong as your average Joe?"
"Yeah, not her brightest move ever. Fortunately Ken was too busy laughing to punch her. Really hard for me to sit there and tell Kennedy she's being immature when my little minion is trying to toss Slayers over railings."
"I can imagine," Robin said.
Faith was about to say something else when Kennedy came flying through the door. "Elizabeth's been taken!"
It took a second for the words to register, and then Robin said, "I thought you all just went for ice cream!" Robin, Faith and Xander rushed out of the office into the lobby.
We did, but we were ambushed by vampires." Kennedy followed Robin them out to where the rest of the ice cream group waited. "There were at least thirty. All they seemed interested in was grabbing one of us."
"Any of you?" Faith asked, running to the weapons cabinet, "Or just her?"
"I don't know!"
Faith scowled at the other Slayer, but didn't say anything.
Robin jumped in immediately to take charge. "Faith, organize the Slayers into search teams," Robin said. "Start at the ice cream stand and move out from there. I'll call Angel."
Faith and Kennedy took control of two search teams each after the Slayers had been organized. The younger and less experienced Slayers stayed at the Hyperion with Robin and Xander, both armed with swords and crossbows, in case of another attack.
Angel deployed Wolfram and Hart's full search team, comprised of fifteen ten-man units. They included members from Fred's department, equipped with high-tech surveillance and tracking equipment. Each team also had at least one mage. The communications center at the firm went on alert, monitoring all phone calls and transportation pathways in the area, looking for Elizabeth.
Two Wolfram and Hart tactical assault teams joined the regular security detail, Robin, and Xander at the Academy. The search teams and Slayers scoured the city all night, even tracking vampires into unmapped parts of the city sewer system.
Wesley and Gunn returned part way through the night. Robin had been unable to contact them while they were gone, so they were surprised to enter the Academy in such a state of chaos.
After receiving Robin's report on the kidnapping, Wesley explained Angel Investigations' failed mission to the other Guardians. "It seems we've been tricked, although not as well as I suspect was the intent. The man we met with yesterday had been lying. He wasn't married, and his wife certainly wasn't a vampire."
"He was just here to empty out the Guardians?" Robin guessed.
"I believe so, yes," Wesley said.
At sunrise, there were still no signs of the taken young Slayer. All the vampires involved worked themselves deep underground, making them more difficult to find. The Wolfram and Hart search teams found a few, but an unseen force dusted the vampires before they could be captured.
With the search teams still out, Angel Investigations and the Slayers regrouped at the Hyperion. Kennedy was avoiding Faith, who was holding the younger Slayer completely responsible for the kidnapping. Robin was pacing across the lobby, and Wesley was loading and unloading his shotgun, examining the rounds each time.
"What do we do next?" Xander asked.
"We wait," Wesley said, setting his shotgun aside. "I suggest we all get some rest for the time being, and prepare for another attack, just in case."
Robin nodded. "Teams one through three, go shower and get some rest. Team one, set up patrols in pairs around the hotel. Xander and I will continue for this shift; the rest of you go rest."
For the next five days, the Slayers and the Academy staff rotated between sleeping, searching for their missing student, and guarding the hotel. Angel kept at least five teams out all the time, adding more at night, and forgoing sleep himself so that he could join the search effort.
Finally, Wesley called the main search off. "If they were going to attack again, they would have done so immediately." The vampires had disappeared completely. Fortunately, there was no indication they'd turned her. A hungry Slayer vampire would have been nearly impossible to hide.
Angel nodded. "I'll still keep a team out all the time, just in case. And I'll double the security on the hotel."
"Should we call her parents?" Gunn asked.
"It has never been the position of the Council to inform parents," Wesley said. "I'll call Giles to see what he would like to do."
