Chapter 11
The factory still stood where it was, even if a shell of it's former self. Long since abandoned by both humans and demons alike, it now stood as a mute testimonial to the rampages of Angelus.
A small office of the burned out building, set aside from the main area, had withstood the fire. From inside, a small whine could be heard as a section of the floor peeled away to allow an elevator to emerge. With a clang, it stopped and opened it's doors, allowing several ragged individuals, led by Buffy, out.
They stood there, for several moments, realizing where they had emerged.
"We always seem to come back to the places we love," Xander said, shaking his head.
"We knew this place would be abandoned, which is why it was picked as a main staging area for the final sealing of the complex," Riley explained. "In fact," he checked his watch, and off in the distance the rumble of several trucks could be heard. "Right on time."
"What happens now?" asked Giles.
"Now, we seal everything up and I get thoroughly debriefed. I'll be ordered by strict oath not to reveal anything about the Initiative or what it did."
"And us?" asked Xander.
Riley sighed. "As civilians, you really have no protection against the government. But something tells me they won't try something without fear of you spilling your guts to the press. A government sponsored program to capture and study demons from a Hellmouth isn't going to look good as a headline in the papers."
"A standoff then?" Giles said.
Riley nodded. "Basically. As long as we keep this to ourselves, we should be fine." Several headlights could now be seen through the windows. "I should go meet them."
Buffy, who had remained silent and stood apart from the main group, just stood there and stared off in the distance with her red-rimmed eyes. Riley was about to say something when he caught a look from Giles. He just nodded and headed out.
"Buffy," asked Xander as he slowly walked up to her. "What happens now?"
She just stood there for a few moments before looking up at him.
"I don't know," she said in a hollow voice. "I just don't know."
---
The eight people sat around the table listening to the debriefing dispassionately. Finally, the head of the group spoke up.
"So, it is the decision of this council that any and all records of the Initiative should be expunged. All personnel will be debriefed and reassigned, and the remains of the complex will be filled with cement." All around the table nodded.
"What about this…Slayer?" one member said as he looked at a report.
"From the reports that we received from Dr. Walsh, she's proven to be very intelligent and resourceful. I think it's safe to assume that she realizes that if she, and her friends, keeps silent about this whole affair, we'll keep our distance. Our briefing with Lt. Finn should have made that very clear. If not…" he let the sentence hang in the air, as he looked at each of the members, the intent understood. Again, all nodded.
One member spoke up. "As a precaution, we should keep them under surveillance, for the time being."
"Agreed. Any other points?" he said as he made a move to end the meeting.
"Sir?" one junior member spoke up. "I have one thing that needs mentioning. Two, actually."
The senior sat back down and gestured, "Proceed."
"Thank you." She said as she motioned to a large flat screen in front of them, showing figures and footage from the Initiative battle. "Just prior to the destruction of the entire complex, we were able to pick up a high-speed, burst transmission on the order of several terabytes." She hit a button and the screen changed to one of the underground facility. It showed Buffy's point of view as she looked at the screen showing Giles, Riley and Xander.
"This is telemetry data we were able to retrieve from the video headset the Slayer was using after terminating the ADAM prototype." The footage showed Buffy walking up to Adam's severed arm, looking at the countdown, and then running off.
The scene rewound back to the arm and froze. "Understandably, Ms. Summers couldn't have seen this due to the fact that she just found out about the countdown." She hit another button and the display on the arm expanded and enhanced. She then looked at the rest of the members, several of whom started to look uncomfortable. The senior member just looked thoughtful.
On the arm, just above the timer, the words "UPLOAD COMPLETE" could clearly be seen.
The senior member cleared his throat before speaking, "And your second item?"
The junior member brought up a scene that showed a camera just above the hallway leading to the medlab, looking down on Buffy and Spike as they spoke between the observation window.
"Our techs nearly missed this completely if one of them hadn't slowed this down by mistake." She hit the play button, and on the screen could be seen Riley pulling Buffy away from Spike, who then walked off camera. Seconds later the whole area exploded and the screen went to noise.
"I didn't see anything," one member said.
"Apologies sir. Watch it again at 1/10th speed, and pay particular attention to what happens just after the HST walks away." She hit play again, and slowed it down to where it showed Spike walking off screen, and all that could be seen was the window. Just prior to the explosion, a burst of pure, incandescent light erupted through the window. The explosion followed it immediately after.
"Part of the explosion?" one member ventured. The woman shook her head.
"No, not before. We ran the light through analysis and concluded that although we can't tell what it was, it definitely wasn't part of the explosive bolt."
All the members looked at each other before looking at the senior, who sat there drumming his fingers.
"The transmission, the upload, this." He gestured at the image. "What does it all mean?"
The junior member now looked uncomfortable. "Honestly sir, we don't know."
---
Buffy walked up to the freshly made graves and laid a rose on each tombstone. She stepped back and sat down between them, and smiled sadly as she read each inscription.
Willow Rosenberg – Friend / Your Fire Went Out Too Soon From This World.
William Longstreet – Lover
Although no bodies could be buried, Buffy had insisted that some memorial be setup. She shook her head at remembering the others reactions when she suggested one for Spike as well.
Buffy, are you nuts? He's tried to kill you in the past!
Hello? Buffy? Spike equals demon equals going to hell equals not going to look good to local clergy.
It shouldn't matter to the local clergy since the last time I checked, Willow's faith doesn't even believe in a Hell.
Buffy…And so on. The argument was finally over when she told them all of Spike's professed love for Willow. For all that Spike had tried to do to her, he sacrificed himself to try and save Willow. That meant something.
That was a week ago, and now she sat there trying to decide what to say or do. She leaned over and clutched a small mound of dirt.
"I swear, Willow, we will go on. The gang won't break apart. We won't be the same," her voice choked, "without you, but we will go on." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as a gentle breeze wafted around her. Opening her eyes, she looked back down at the two tombstones.
"For a good while now, I've been in the service of the Powers That Be. In that time, I've seen so much pain, death and anguish to last several lifetimes. Angel…Jenny…you. And in all that time, I've never asked anything from them."
She sighed. "Xander was right, though. I have no doubt where Willow would go, but for all you've done, Spike, you're still a demon and hell would be your home."
She stood up slowly and brushed herself off.
"I just wish, if I had any real power, that you two could meet and be together somewhere in between."
With that, she walked off.
---
Light.
Brighter than a dozen suns, yet his eyes didn't hurt.
A parting.
A figure appears, smiling.
Emerald eyes twinkling, she beckons with an outstretched hand.
His comes forth and envelops hers.
A finger brushes away a strand of fiery hair.
Close now, they share a small kiss.
The light envelops them.
Not Hell...not quite Heaven.
Didn't matter.
He was home.
-FIN-