Chapter 25
Faith was standing alone on the Summer's front porch looking out into the distance when Buffy came outside to join her. She walked up to her and stood silently beside her, noting her demeanor and the way she held her arms protectively against herself. Neither said a word for a long while.
"You do realize the seriousness of our situation I hope. Do you think you can look past our differences to do what needs to get done and not betray me or my friends?" Buffy questioned in a not so friendly tone.
"Yeah, sure B. More than you know..." Faith closed her eyes as she involuntarily remembered.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Look, you better not double cross us, cause I swear-"
"No. I'm not gonna do that. You don't know how much I want that place burned to the ground, preferably with Maggie Walsh inside of it. I've only got one personal vendetta now, and believe when I say it has nothing to do with you."
"Really? And how's that?"
"Well you know, gotta get my priorities in order." she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"What happened to you there? I mean, I'm almost certain that there was no one else you wanted more to die than me." Buffy said with genuine interest and curiosity.
"When I came out of the coma, I didn't want you to die. I mean, how can I possibly torment you if you're dead. I was pissed as all hell when I found out that the lover boy you tried to kill me over was long gone, but I mainly just wanted your, your uh, existence. I didn't wanna be me." she said, looking Buffy directly in the eyes. Buffy frowned her confusion.
"Why would you ever want-"
"Think about it- new face, new body, and I'd still get to keep my slayer strength, well, yours anyway. But then, I thought, with your body comes your friends, your family, their trust and faith in you... That was what I always wanted. I didn't want to be alone. When I really think about it, I think that's my main reason why I went to the mayor, ya know? He became my family. He trusted me, got me the best of things, and he loved me, understood me. I know, that justifies none of the things I've done, but, I'm ready to make amends, starting here, now. Besides, I wouldn't want what happened to me to happen to you, or the kid." she said with genuine sincerity.
"Wouldn't want what to happen?" Faith took an uneasy breath, then focused her attention elsewhere while she explained.
"When Walsh learned of your pregnancy with a vamp, she wanted to see if she could duplicate the effects with me. But not before I was her personal guinea pig. Then she let this vamp in to come and play, with me." she said softly. She closed her eyes again before continuing. Buffy watched on in a stunned silence as compassion entered her heart. Faith may have deserved lots of things to happen to her, but personal violation was wrong, no matter how you cut it.
"I think she mainly did it out of some sort of personal hatred towards me. I don't know why she did, but I could see it in her eyes. She wanted me to hurt. I think she was punishing me, but I- I just could never figure out why and she, I saw her once and she, the bitch was laughing at me. Always had a fucking self satisfied smirk on her face, just for me. I wanted to rip her fucking throat out, I wanted, but I couldn't. I couldn't move. Just thinking; endless thinking. I wanted to die. I wished that he would kill me." Her voice cracked as her eyes finally became over burdened with tears and slowly traveled down her cheeks. She started to rub unconsciously at the puncture wounds on her neck. Buffy, shocking the both of them, held her and stroked her hair in a soothing matter. The kind, placating manner in which Buffy was treating her in caused her to sob. Buffy didn't notice the warm wetness on her own face. She became caught up in her sister slayer's pain. She seemed to have felt every nuance of it.
"I'm sorry that happened to you. That was supposed to have been me, wasn't it?" Faith lifted her head and stepped back as she attempted to composed herself.
"Probably both of us, I don't know. But it doesn't matter now. Tomorrow, we're taking 'em down, right?"
"Yea. I just hope Giles' little spell works."
"I'm sure it will. Besides, the element of suprise will be on our side. And with our two hackers, Warren and Willow, slipping in will be a breeze." she stated as she started to turn around.
"Faith, if you ever need to talk about- I just want you to know that I'm here for you. I know we can't just glaze over the rocky past between us as if it never happened, but it would be nice if we could start fresh. Ya know, after the impending apocalypse." Faith gave her a half smile in response, and went inside.
**************
It was only in uneasy sleep did he ever escape it. Now he was awake again. Riley opened his eyes as the uncontrollable shakes began. They were becoming less frequent now, and he was able to allow his brain to finally focused. When he did, it scared the hell out of him. He woke up in some operating room that appeared to be apart of the Initiative, but he himself had never seen it before. He could have sworn that when he was first coming out of the effects of the drug that he was in some type of cave. He remembered some weird looking half demon half human guy, but now he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Maggie found him, and locked him up for punishment. Oh god! She had to forgive him! He sat up and looked about frantically. Then, he saw a familiar bleached blond head attached to a body clad in black strapped to an operating table. Spike. He stood up on uneasy legs and slowly walked over to the vampire. Bastard.
Spike heard someone moving about in the room, but he couldn't see them. He heard a heart beat, so he knew it wasn't Adam. What the bloody hell was goin on? Then, standing right before him was white bread, looking like shit. Great.
"Spike- I should stake you right now." Riley said with venom. Spike merely scoffed.
"Go ahead, soldier boy. See if I care." Riley blinked in confusion, then shook his head to clear the fog from his mind.
"Fine. I will. A disgusting creature like you shouldn't be allowed to live."
"Now, now brother. No need to talk in such ways. After all, soon he will be apart of our family. We must treat each other with respect." Adam said, appearing to have materialized out of nowhere. Riley stumbled backwards in shock.
"What the hell are you?" Riley said.
"I am your brother. I would very much appreciated if we all could get along." Adam said calmly.
"What the hell are you talking about? What family? What are you talking about?" Spike asked, irritation evident in his voice. Obviously the wanker was half way around the bend. Riley decided on not waiting on explanation and attempted to go to the door.
"Stop right there, Riley. Go have a seat while I explain a few things." Riley was shocked when his body stopped without his commanding it to and sat in a chair. The shock and fear was written all over his face.
"How did you- you put a chip in my brain, didn't you? What are you gonna do to me?"
"Actually, the chip is not in your brain, but in your chest. No need in trying to escape. You are now apart of the final phase."
"What's that about a phase now?" Spike said, straining his neck in an attempt to get a better look at what was going on around him.
"No need to worry, Spike. Or shall I call you William the Bloody?" Adam said as he stepped to the side of him, so Spike could see him as he spoke.
"Oh, so you've been reading up on me, have you?"
"I've doing much more than that. I like the way your mind works. You could prove to be a valuable asset to me in the future."
"Really, how's that?"
"First, I shall free you of all your weaknesses, all of your doubts. You, the two of you, will belong to me." Adam said in a monotonous tone.
"Hey, care to say that once more with feeling, mate? Besides, your crackpot plan won't work. If you did all of your reading, then you should know that as far as operations go, I'm inoperable. You can't cut me." Spike said full of self assurance. If he could move his arms, he'd place them grandly behind his head.
"Yes, I anticipated this would put a damper on my plans, which is why I've found a way to remedy the problem." Adam said with a very disturbing grin. Spike looked worried for half a second before resuming his poker face.
"Care to share? Come on, let's see if you can impress us." Adam walked away to one of the operating tables, picking up a syringe filled with a red liquid.
"You see, I've also been doing research on other creatures, and I've learned quite a bit. You see, in order for you to really belong, and to be equal with me and Riley, you must share our same properties. At this point, you don't. Neither of you do. But no need to worry. I shall fix you both, to my liking."
"What do you mean? Fix me how?" Riley said full of fear.
"For you Riley, I shall make you indestructible like me. I already have some choice demon parts for you- a better arm, for instance. Also some computer parts. You'll get a full upgrading. Mother wanted it that way."
"She isn't my mother. My mother's back at home, in Iowa with my father. So stop calling her that." he said menacingly.
"It is true, she is not your biological mother. But she did mold you to who you are now. She gave you the chip modifier and she is the one who wanted you in the final plan. Her vision is brilliant, and I shall carry them out for her. As soon as you make a full recovery, I will get to work on you." Riley gulped worriedly in response. There was nothing he could do. His will was no longer his own. Adam walked back towards an incapacitated Spike.
"And as for you, well, you'll be the completion of my little experiment among vampires. You've heard of the Mohra demon, yes?" Spike's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh don't worry, I'm only going to give you enough to start your heart. You have to be equal, Spike. Just like us: equal part demon, human, and machine. Welcome to the family, brother." Adam said, as he plunged the needle into Spike's chest cavity. After a couple of seconds, Spike began to scream in pain.
"Oh, did I fail to mention that I've added a couple of other things to the blood? You see, with just plain blood, the other vampires became completely human. I didn't want that for you. You will be different; unique. Interesting. Very interesting." Well, Dru was right. The master of the tin soldiers came and got me after all Spike thought before passing out from the pain.
TBC
Faith was standing alone on the Summer's front porch looking out into the distance when Buffy came outside to join her. She walked up to her and stood silently beside her, noting her demeanor and the way she held her arms protectively against herself. Neither said a word for a long while.
"You do realize the seriousness of our situation I hope. Do you think you can look past our differences to do what needs to get done and not betray me or my friends?" Buffy questioned in a not so friendly tone.
"Yeah, sure B. More than you know..." Faith closed her eyes as she involuntarily remembered.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Look, you better not double cross us, cause I swear-"
"No. I'm not gonna do that. You don't know how much I want that place burned to the ground, preferably with Maggie Walsh inside of it. I've only got one personal vendetta now, and believe when I say it has nothing to do with you."
"Really? And how's that?"
"Well you know, gotta get my priorities in order." she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"What happened to you there? I mean, I'm almost certain that there was no one else you wanted more to die than me." Buffy said with genuine interest and curiosity.
"When I came out of the coma, I didn't want you to die. I mean, how can I possibly torment you if you're dead. I was pissed as all hell when I found out that the lover boy you tried to kill me over was long gone, but I mainly just wanted your, your uh, existence. I didn't wanna be me." she said, looking Buffy directly in the eyes. Buffy frowned her confusion.
"Why would you ever want-"
"Think about it- new face, new body, and I'd still get to keep my slayer strength, well, yours anyway. But then, I thought, with your body comes your friends, your family, their trust and faith in you... That was what I always wanted. I didn't want to be alone. When I really think about it, I think that's my main reason why I went to the mayor, ya know? He became my family. He trusted me, got me the best of things, and he loved me, understood me. I know, that justifies none of the things I've done, but, I'm ready to make amends, starting here, now. Besides, I wouldn't want what happened to me to happen to you, or the kid." she said with genuine sincerity.
"Wouldn't want what to happen?" Faith took an uneasy breath, then focused her attention elsewhere while she explained.
"When Walsh learned of your pregnancy with a vamp, she wanted to see if she could duplicate the effects with me. But not before I was her personal guinea pig. Then she let this vamp in to come and play, with me." she said softly. She closed her eyes again before continuing. Buffy watched on in a stunned silence as compassion entered her heart. Faith may have deserved lots of things to happen to her, but personal violation was wrong, no matter how you cut it.
"I think she mainly did it out of some sort of personal hatred towards me. I don't know why she did, but I could see it in her eyes. She wanted me to hurt. I think she was punishing me, but I- I just could never figure out why and she, I saw her once and she, the bitch was laughing at me. Always had a fucking self satisfied smirk on her face, just for me. I wanted to rip her fucking throat out, I wanted, but I couldn't. I couldn't move. Just thinking; endless thinking. I wanted to die. I wished that he would kill me." Her voice cracked as her eyes finally became over burdened with tears and slowly traveled down her cheeks. She started to rub unconsciously at the puncture wounds on her neck. Buffy, shocking the both of them, held her and stroked her hair in a soothing matter. The kind, placating manner in which Buffy was treating her in caused her to sob. Buffy didn't notice the warm wetness on her own face. She became caught up in her sister slayer's pain. She seemed to have felt every nuance of it.
"I'm sorry that happened to you. That was supposed to have been me, wasn't it?" Faith lifted her head and stepped back as she attempted to composed herself.
"Probably both of us, I don't know. But it doesn't matter now. Tomorrow, we're taking 'em down, right?"
"Yea. I just hope Giles' little spell works."
"I'm sure it will. Besides, the element of suprise will be on our side. And with our two hackers, Warren and Willow, slipping in will be a breeze." she stated as she started to turn around.
"Faith, if you ever need to talk about- I just want you to know that I'm here for you. I know we can't just glaze over the rocky past between us as if it never happened, but it would be nice if we could start fresh. Ya know, after the impending apocalypse." Faith gave her a half smile in response, and went inside.
**************
It was only in uneasy sleep did he ever escape it. Now he was awake again. Riley opened his eyes as the uncontrollable shakes began. They were becoming less frequent now, and he was able to allow his brain to finally focused. When he did, it scared the hell out of him. He woke up in some operating room that appeared to be apart of the Initiative, but he himself had never seen it before. He could have sworn that when he was first coming out of the effects of the drug that he was in some type of cave. He remembered some weird looking half demon half human guy, but now he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Maggie found him, and locked him up for punishment. Oh god! She had to forgive him! He sat up and looked about frantically. Then, he saw a familiar bleached blond head attached to a body clad in black strapped to an operating table. Spike. He stood up on uneasy legs and slowly walked over to the vampire. Bastard.
Spike heard someone moving about in the room, but he couldn't see them. He heard a heart beat, so he knew it wasn't Adam. What the bloody hell was goin on? Then, standing right before him was white bread, looking like shit. Great.
"Spike- I should stake you right now." Riley said with venom. Spike merely scoffed.
"Go ahead, soldier boy. See if I care." Riley blinked in confusion, then shook his head to clear the fog from his mind.
"Fine. I will. A disgusting creature like you shouldn't be allowed to live."
"Now, now brother. No need to talk in such ways. After all, soon he will be apart of our family. We must treat each other with respect." Adam said, appearing to have materialized out of nowhere. Riley stumbled backwards in shock.
"What the hell are you?" Riley said.
"I am your brother. I would very much appreciated if we all could get along." Adam said calmly.
"What the hell are you talking about? What family? What are you talking about?" Spike asked, irritation evident in his voice. Obviously the wanker was half way around the bend. Riley decided on not waiting on explanation and attempted to go to the door.
"Stop right there, Riley. Go have a seat while I explain a few things." Riley was shocked when his body stopped without his commanding it to and sat in a chair. The shock and fear was written all over his face.
"How did you- you put a chip in my brain, didn't you? What are you gonna do to me?"
"Actually, the chip is not in your brain, but in your chest. No need in trying to escape. You are now apart of the final phase."
"What's that about a phase now?" Spike said, straining his neck in an attempt to get a better look at what was going on around him.
"No need to worry, Spike. Or shall I call you William the Bloody?" Adam said as he stepped to the side of him, so Spike could see him as he spoke.
"Oh, so you've been reading up on me, have you?"
"I've doing much more than that. I like the way your mind works. You could prove to be a valuable asset to me in the future."
"Really, how's that?"
"First, I shall free you of all your weaknesses, all of your doubts. You, the two of you, will belong to me." Adam said in a monotonous tone.
"Hey, care to say that once more with feeling, mate? Besides, your crackpot plan won't work. If you did all of your reading, then you should know that as far as operations go, I'm inoperable. You can't cut me." Spike said full of self assurance. If he could move his arms, he'd place them grandly behind his head.
"Yes, I anticipated this would put a damper on my plans, which is why I've found a way to remedy the problem." Adam said with a very disturbing grin. Spike looked worried for half a second before resuming his poker face.
"Care to share? Come on, let's see if you can impress us." Adam walked away to one of the operating tables, picking up a syringe filled with a red liquid.
"You see, I've also been doing research on other creatures, and I've learned quite a bit. You see, in order for you to really belong, and to be equal with me and Riley, you must share our same properties. At this point, you don't. Neither of you do. But no need to worry. I shall fix you both, to my liking."
"What do you mean? Fix me how?" Riley said full of fear.
"For you Riley, I shall make you indestructible like me. I already have some choice demon parts for you- a better arm, for instance. Also some computer parts. You'll get a full upgrading. Mother wanted it that way."
"She isn't my mother. My mother's back at home, in Iowa with my father. So stop calling her that." he said menacingly.
"It is true, she is not your biological mother. But she did mold you to who you are now. She gave you the chip modifier and she is the one who wanted you in the final plan. Her vision is brilliant, and I shall carry them out for her. As soon as you make a full recovery, I will get to work on you." Riley gulped worriedly in response. There was nothing he could do. His will was no longer his own. Adam walked back towards an incapacitated Spike.
"And as for you, well, you'll be the completion of my little experiment among vampires. You've heard of the Mohra demon, yes?" Spike's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh don't worry, I'm only going to give you enough to start your heart. You have to be equal, Spike. Just like us: equal part demon, human, and machine. Welcome to the family, brother." Adam said, as he plunged the needle into Spike's chest cavity. After a couple of seconds, Spike began to scream in pain.
"Oh, did I fail to mention that I've added a couple of other things to the blood? You see, with just plain blood, the other vampires became completely human. I didn't want that for you. You will be different; unique. Interesting. Very interesting." Well, Dru was right. The master of the tin soldiers came and got me after all Spike thought before passing out from the pain.
TBC