A/N : Finally I finished new chapters! Real life (mainly my job) has been kicking my butt the past week or so, but thankfully I can always seem to find for a little bit of Spuffy fic. Thanx for all the reviews; uandme4eternity, Freezyboncoolipants, SinisterChic Heather Martin, Culf, spuffyfan4eva, kori hime, sPIKEaNDmE, Amandamanda3, pixiecorn, rubi-elektra, spikeswife1, theoneandonlygurl, La Diosa, Arisluv, hells child, Slayergirl1212, Lady Savage, MikiBaby, iluvglorfindel, spuffyfan-1, Cady Monroe, Screeching Dragon, Bridge, Shania Maxwell, Brittany, lilmisscookiemonster, Steph, spikespet2002, electricgurl - it's you guys that keep me and my stories going. Hope you like the new chapter though I should warn you the next one will be the last one...oh, and this chapter contains some more Primeval stealage...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 29
Faith ducked down behind a large computer console as Adam's arm sprouted a mini gun and began firing at her. She'd though she was so smart snapping off that bone skewer he had but right now she'd prefer that to the bullets that flew all around.
"Come on, Red" she whispered to herself, wishing the gang's spell would kick in. Dying didn't scare her but she knew if Adam got past her it was the end for Sunnydale as it was now and for some weird reason she cared about that.
"We enjoin that we may inhabit the vessel, the hand" Willow chanted beyond the door "daughter of Sineya, first of the ones" she breathed erratically as the force of the magicks she was envoking pulsed through her, her eyes turning black as she gripped Giles and Xander's hands tighter "We implore thee, admit us, bring us to the vessel, take us now"
Suddenly a huge surge of power shot through all three of them, and Faith felt it too. She felt strong, stronger than she ever had before, and like she could do anything. She rose from her place behind the console as Adam's firing ceased. Her eyes glowed eerily orange but the hybrid was unphased.
"You can't last much longer" he scoffed.
"We can" said a voice that came from Faith's mouth but was not truly hers "We are forever" she told him, before beginning to chant in Sumerian. Bored by this now, Adam raised the gun again and fired. With a flick of her hand and further foreign words a force field appeared repelling the ammunition that few toward Faith. Then, the battle got interesting.
- - - - - - - -
"Buffy!" she heard her name being called again and finally managed to open her eyes. The electric light in the room seemed too bright as she tried to focus and found herself to be on the sofa now with Spike hovering over her, "What happened, luv?" he asked her, clearly more than a little worried. Buffy shook her head slightly, mindful of how dizzy she still felt.
"I don't know" she admitted, trying to pull herself up to sitting position, her back against the cushioned arm of the couch, "One minute I was up, the next, I wasn't" she said, trying to remember why she'd passed out like that.
"Was it to do with the baby?" Spike was still worrying, "Are you in pain or anything?"
"My heads a little woozy" she told him, as her eyes finally focused and she realised how worried he looked. She reached a hand out to his and found he was shaking, "I didn't mean to scare you, Spike" she assured him, "and it's not the baby, I don't think, nothing hurt or felt different, not really"
The vampire let out a breath he didn't need but had been holding all the same. Buffy smiled slightly as she placed his hand and hers on her stomach and the baby kicked, just to remind them it was still there and just fine.
"Don't ever worry me like that again" Spike told both Buffy and her bump, "I know you're the mighty Slayer" he continued to her only, "but that doesn't mean..."
"The Slayer" she echoed, interrupting him, her vision rushing back into her mind but now just a memory of the pictures and feelings, "Oh God Spike, they're all gonna die"
"Die?" he repeated, "Who's gonna die?"
She didn't answer, and she looked so stunned by the revelation.
"Buffy, talk to me" Spike begged, trying to get her attention back as she stared at a blank spot on the wall and tears filled her eyes.
"We have to go back to Sunnydale" she said suddenly, eyes shifting to lock onto his, "I have to save my friends" she started pushing her legs over the side of the couch to get up but he gently held her down.
"Buffy, you cannot go back there and fight" he reminded her, "Not in your condition...and how do you know they even need you"
"They're my friends, Spike" she shook her head, "and I...I don't know how I know, I just, I saw it"
"What? You had like a vision or something?" he checked, frowning at the idea, since he didn't remember anything like this happening to her before. Prophetic dreams, yes, Slayers had been having those since the dawn of time, but visions? This was new.
"You were holding me" Buffy tried to recount, "We were dancing and I was just about to tell you..." she stopped herself from making the admission, now was not the time or place, not anymore, "and then I saw it, this monster, and my friends, and Faith...and this other girl, who somehow I knew" she paused as she thought about it for a moment, "She's a part of me, Spike, she's the Slayer. The very first one"
"Why would you see all that? I don't get it" Spike shook his head as Buffy pushed herself up into her feet.
"Because I was supposed to, obviously" she said, almost yelling now, "My friends are in danger from some robo-demon beast and I'm supposed to save them!"
"Adam" Spike sighed as he took her place on the end of the couch and Buffy turned to look at him.
"What?" she asked, wondering where that name had come from and why.
"The beast you saw" he told her, "The robo-demon or whatever, they call it Adam. Your Professor at the Commando lab built this hybrid, don't rightly know what for but it revolted, it's what killed her and the Soldier Boy you used to be so fond of...before it escaped and wreaked a little havoc"
Buffy's face went through eight different expressions of horror and shock before it settled on angry.
"You knew all this and you didn't tell me?!" she exploded, arms waving emphatically. Spike jumped to his feet and stood just inches in front of her.
"Now hold on a second" he protested, "Your Scooby pals told me, and then made me swear not to tell you!" he yelled, "God, even your mother knew it was best to keep bloody quiet!"
"My mother knows?!" the Slayer shouted back, incredulously, as she flung her arm around some more. She soon stopped when the action made a muscle in her stomach pull awkwardly and it pinched a little. She lowered herself into the armchair, so confused still and Spike tried to calm himself down before he explained anymore.
"Buffy" he sighed, crouching down in front of her, "We wanted to protect you, pet, it's all any of us wanted"
"Whilst you were all protecting me" she said sadly, "no-one was protecting them...they're gonna die, Spike" she was crying again by now and he felt desperately sorry for her.
"They're stronger than you think, luv" he said more confidently than he truly felt as he reached out a hand to her cheek and wiped away a tear, "They told me they could deal with this thing, and they've got the second Slayer in to help...You have to believe they'll be okay"
Buffy swallowed hard, leaning her face into his hand.
"I know" she admitted, "I just so wish I was there to help them"
- - - - - - - -
Right now Faith felt stronger than she ever had as she channelled the essences of Willow, Xander, Giles, and the First Slayer. Adam fired a rocket from his newly adapted arm but it was no challenge for the combo-Slayer. Faith raised her hand as the rocket careened towards her, causing it to burst into three white doves, that fluttered up over her head.
With a further flick of her wrist and a few Sumerian words, Adam's gun disappeared inside his arm once again. For a moment he was too shocked to react and a moment was all Faith needed as she readied herself for his next attack. Every punch and kick he threw at her she blocked with ease.
She brought up her leg, delivering a perfect kick square in his stomach, and with enough force that the beast fell to the ground. Rushing forward she grabbed his head and wrenched it back.
"How can you...?" he tried to ask but his power was failing and Faith spoke in a combination of voices as she answered.
"You could never hope to grasp the source of our power"
She delivered a punch that sent him flying, and he landed in a heap on the opposite side of the room. In seconds she was by him again, picking him up and kicking him against the wall. In one swift move, her hand punched a hole through his chest, ripping out the uranium core than he ran on.
"But yours is right here" she announced, as Adam fell to the ground, dead.
As more Sumerian words were chanted from Faith's mouth, the uranium began to rise into the air above her hand, before disappearing altogether.
As soon as the battle was over the spell gave way, having lasted just long enough. Faith fought to stay conscious as her extra power drained from her body like the tide going out. Her eyes no longer glowed as she scrambled for the door behind which the gang waited.
With some effort she made enough noise that the gang responded, and Willow and Xander managed to shift the shelving unit away from the door to let her out.
"That was fun" the Slayer gasped for breath as she fell into the room.
"It was incredible" Willow grinned, "I mean, the feeling, like we were all really there"
"It was cool" Faith agreed, before shaking her head, "but it's not over yet. We still gotta get out of here"
"Are you sure you have the strength to fight?" Giles checked as he gathered up the magic supplies into his bag.
"Man, I always got that" Faith told him, smiling once again as she reached for the battle axe at her feet, "You guys ready?" she asked Willow and Xander who both nodded with more confidence than they felt.
"Let's rock 'n' roll"
- - - - - - - -
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this!" Spike complained as he drove his DeSoto down the highway and past the sign that stated 'You are now leaving Santa Monica'
Buffy shifted in the seat beside him, trying to get comfortable but finding it almost impossible, plus she was getting these little twinges in her stomach, she guessed they were either side effects from the vision thing or maybe just gas from the concoction of weird things she'd eaten the day before.
"They're my friends, Spike" she stated as if that were all the answer required "You know I can't let them die without trying to help!"
He gripped the steering wheel as he tried to stay calm. If he got worked up so would she and that was not good for her or their child.
"Buffy, we agreed this already" he reminded her, "I said I would take you back to Sunnydale, but you are going nowhere near any fights. Now you promised me" he said, glancing over at her before back to the road, "You said you'd stay with your mother and let me do the fighting with the gang"
"I know what I said" Buffy grumpily folded her arms over her chest and Spike rolled his eyes. Sometimes he forgot how much of a child the Slayer could really be.
There was silence for many miles, as Buffy's mind, and indeed Spike's, went into over-drive, wondering what awful things could be happening to the Scoobies and Faith. For all her sister Slayer had done, Buffy could not wish such a gruesome death on her as she knew this Adam could undoubtedly cause.
In a similar way, Spike couldn't really say he had a great liking for the Slayer's friends, well maybe the little witch was okay sometimes, but he'd rather them not all be dead when they arrived back in Sunnydale, and not just for Buffy's sake.
Without thinking he pressed his foot down just a little more firmly on the gas pedal, glad his vision was just as good in the dark as it was in the daylight, since the sun had just gone down when they left the apartment and the moon was steadily rising.
Buffy shifted in the passenger seat again and he glanced over to see what was wrong.
"You okay, luv?" he checked, wanting to pay more attention to her but also knowing the road ahead was a priority.
"It's probably nothing but..." a pain in her stomach took her breath for a second before she could continue, "I just keep getting these little kind of...aches" she told him. Spike looked suspicious but she didn't want to admit how much it was starting to hurt when it was probably nothing.
"Aches?" Spike checked, "Or pains?"
"Maybe little pains" she admitted, "But we probably don't need to panic...ow" the latter half of her last word disappeared into a shout of pain as her hand went to her stomach.
"Bloody hell, Buffy!" Spike cursed, having trouble keeping the car straight, "You've gone into labour"
"It's probably just a false alarm" she tried to convince herself as well as him, the thought of giving birth was actually what scared her most about the whole pregnancy thing, so much could go wrong.
"And it might not be" the vampire shook his head, "those dates you got from the Watcher were only estimates" he reminded her, "You never saw a doctor, but I think we need one now, luv. I'm taking you to the hospital"
"Really, Spike, it's probably just..." Buffy's sentence disappeared as she winced a little, before a strange whooshing sound occurred and a less-than-pleasant smell hit Spike's nose. He glanced over at her again and she looked a little panicked as she spoke.
"You may be right" she admitted "I think my water just broke"
To Be Continued...
A/N : Phew, almost there, just one more chapter to finish...but then comes the sequel so don't worry! Reviews on this will be very much appreciated, and if you've been reading my other WIP fic 'Who's That Guy?' I'm updating that tonight too! :-)