Divine Intervention
She woke up an hour later, feeling well rested for the first time in weeks. It was a contradiction in itself, but it only served to place the smile back on her mouth. He was holding her, and she curled up to him. She knew they'd have to get up. Last night she hadn't even considered the fact that Adam might stop by, looking for his escapee, but now it occurred to her with its glinting obviousness. And then there was the telling, of what had happened, to the Gang. What had happened with Adam, that was, not with Spike. Her smile broadened and she shimmied up so that she could look at his face. She truly felt happier than she had in a long time. But right now they were in the midst of... or more on the brink of war, and they had to face that before they could do anything else.
She realized she was already thinking of them as a they.
Then his eyes opened, meeting hers, and her smile settled, feeling as though it was never going away. They lay watching each other in silence for the longest time before they finally slid to an edge of the bed each. They stood, eyes catching and both of their smiles growing. They climbed the ladder, beginning to dress. It was slow, every now and then their gazes locking again.
He felt like a lovesick sixteen year old who's made love for the very first time... Looking at her he wasn't sure he would ever be able to take his eyes off her. To have her look at him the way she was... He didn't want her to stop. He felt elated, like he could go out and conquer the world because it was there for him, for them. His smile widened self-consciously. He felt like a fool, but he trusted her with all his heart. She loved him. And she wouldn't hurt him. It was a fresh start, this was. For both of them.
She pulled her sweater over her head as he buckled his belt and they faced each other.
Morning was chasing golden beams through the air of the crypt, none of which hit the vampire, of course. In this light she was radiant. Then again he knew that she could be half-drenched and covered in mud and he'd still think her the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
His smile turned to a smirk, and hers grew.
"What?" she asked.
He merely shook his head.
"Adam's probably looking for you," she said.
He suddenly realized he hadn't told her what he'd found out the night prior.
"Are you going to see your entourage?" he asked and she smiled a half smile before she nodded. "We're taking the tunnels, then. I'm coming with you."
They climbed back down the ladder and she followed him as he showed the way.
"He won't be coming for me," Spike stated with assurance. "I'm not that important. Bloody hell, for all I know what he told me was something you're meant to hear."
"What did he tell you? What are you talking about?"
"He played me like a sodding fiddle's what he did, the bugger."
They arrived close to Giles' apartment and burst into the open, both of them running at top speed until they reached the shadows of the courtyard. Buffy made Spike stop before the door, having him look at her.
"You almost died. Well, more," she said. "Whatever he's done before, last night he meant business. Otherwise Ath wouldn't 've..."
She trailed off and he furrowed his brow.
"Ath wouldn't have what?"
"I'm just saying, don't count on knowing what Adam's really up to from here on out. All bets seem to be off."
Spike smiled suddenly.
"Wouldn't count on that, love," he stated, knocking hard on the door. "And by the way," he added, pulling her close by the waist, catching her lips with his and kissing her deeply.
She returned it, trying to keep the rising heat at bay, not being very successful at it. They could both hear Giles clamber down the stairs. Just as he was about to open the door they broke apart, facing it and looking innocent as lambs.
"Buffy?" Giles said, baffled. "It's seven-thirty in the bloody morning, what're..." He noticed Spike. "... you doing here," he finished, Spike smiling sweetly.
"Can we come in? Much obliged, Rupert, truly," he said quickly, stepping passed the mortal and entering the apartment.
Buffy followed him and Giles closed the door, looking profoundly innerved.
"This can't be good," he muttered.
"Actually it is," Spike stated, turning around to face them both. "Well, maybe not in the we're-about-to-stand-as-sodding-victors-bring-out-the-bleeding-champagne sort of way, but still good."
"It's much too early for this," Giles said with a begging look at the Slayer.
"Just listen," she encouraged, curious to hear this herself.
Spike went through a detailed recount of everything Adam had told him the night before. It didn't take long before Buffy had called Willow, Xander and Riley.
Spike wasn't sure why, but he didn't care that the soldier boy was coming. He looked at Buffy and felt at peace. And when her gaze met his, at first searching for a negative reaction, and when not finding one warming immediately, it made a deep sense of satisfaction settle within him.
She wasn't sure how to break the news to her friends. What to tell Giles. How to tell her mother that she was dating a vampire again... Of course, Joyce didn't seem that apposed to Spike, did she? She hadn't been able to shut up about some piece at the gallery that Spike had actually witnessed in use somewhere in some remote mountain village in some godforsaken country far, far away. Buffy smiled at the memory. God, she couldn't stop smiling. Not even when she was about to strategize what would most likely lead to their plan of attack, could she get the grin off her face. She noticed Spike had the same problem and felt herself grow a few degrees hotter, her cheeks burning. She smirked, turning away from Giles.
She had a sudden thought and decided to make one more phone call.
¤
Ath answered.
"Can you come to Giles'?" Buffy's voice asked. "It's urgent."
Ath blinked.
"Of course," she said. "We'll be there right away."
She hung up and looked over at her brother.
"You ready for this?" she asked.
¤
There was a knock on the door and Buffy rose, opening it her gaze met Ath's.
"I thought you could teleport," the Slayer said.
"It's rude to do it into someone's home," Ath remarked silently.
Buffy smiled a little.
"Please, come in. It'll probably be a little while before the other's get here. There's something I'd like to ask you."
Calor followed his sister. He wasn't sure he was ready. But last night he had felt he simply had to show Buffy who they were. And what he had done. Last night he had been able to let her feel what he had felt when he performed the spell. Perhaps it would give her the opportunity to at least try to understand, and perhaps even forgive.
"Why didn't you tell me right away who you were?" Buffy asked once they were standing face to face in the living room.
Giles came in from the kitchen, Spike raising his head where he was sitting in an armchair.
"We couldn't," Calor replied. "It isn't allowed."
"Allowed?" Buffy asked. "And tampering with someone's life...? Is that allowed?"
Calor held her gaze steadily.
"No," he answered. "It's why we were sent here. To try and contain the damage. Rectify what I had set in motion by getting mixed up in your fate. I hadn't realized it would alter so much."
"But last night you let me know who you are anyway. What's the punishment for that?"
"I had to show you... I had to tell you. Our time has almost run out. I couldn't leave without letting you know, so that someday you may understand how deep my regret goes. When Ath felt forced to intervene, I knew part of our secret would spill into the open. I wanted to offer you me."
"I trusted you," she said.
"Because you can trust us," Ath stated. "Because you are linked to us through bonds stronger than time and age. Your soul is part of our destiny, as we watch over it."
"And doing a fine job of it," Buffy grumbled.
"I wanted you to see the beauty of your gift," Calor said, "and not just the burden which comes with it."
"What are you talking about?" Spike asked, rising.
"They're the Powers that Be, or two of them," Buffy answered. "And, also, part-time genies," she added.
Spike stared at Ath.
"Shimmer," he murmured, Ath's mouth curling into a small smile. "It all makes sense, then," he said.
"Yes, we're puppets for them to play with, and no matter what we do, one of them can come along and decide to undo it," Buffy said bitterly.
"That's not true," Calor shook his head. "What I did I will pay dearly for. It was a grave mistake, one which broke many rules. I am not going home as what I once was – simply a guardian with too much belief of knowing what was right and what was wrong. I'm going back there with traces of this humanity inside me. And I will remember it always. The fight that goes on within you. The decisions you have to make. Ultimately I see the pattern of life clearer than you, but I should never look down on you for it. Your decisions are your own. Free will is that of man, after all. Buffy, I am so sorry for what I put you through. I hope that you will someday be able to believe me."
She looked at him for a long moment, then stepped close and wrapped her arms around him.
"I don't know why I'm more grateful than I am pissed," she said and he had to smile as he hugged her back. "I feel like you've given me something. Something I would only have had for a very short time otherwise..." she added slowly.
She wasn't sure where the words had originated from, but as she spoke them, she knew they were true. Why they were true was another question. Calor simply held her a little tighter before they broke apart.
"When will you have to leave?" Buffy asked.
"Tonight," Ath said.
"Did you bring any cookies, by any chance?" the Slayer wondered and Ath smirked.
"You didn't ask me to," she replied.
Twenty minutes later Willow, Xander and Anya were at the apartment. Another ten and Riley arrived. Spike retold his story.
"I'm not sure how all the pieces fit, though," Riley commented.
Willow opened her laptop, all of them gathering around her and a hush falling over them all.
"I can't take the credit," she said as the blueprints of the Initiative began flashing by on the screen. "It seemed to decipher itself."
She gave Buffy a meaningful look.
"I know this like the back of my hand," Riley stated, then frowned, looking closer. "Only, this," he murmured, pointing to a particular part of the screen, "this isn't supposed to be here. That's weird."
"No," Buffy disagreed. "That's Adam."
The Slayer stepped back, getting all eyes on her.
"He sent me this because he needs me for the slaughter," she said. "Once it's done, I'll have helped provide the body parts for his army, and hopefully I won't make it out of there myself. Kill two problems with one equation."
"So he'll set the demons he's been stockpiling loose, being sure that you'll be down there to face off with him because... that's what you do, and instead finding yourself in the middle of a virtual riot. You'll slay as many demons as you can and then you'll die," Willow summed up. "He seems to have most angles covered. Except now you're not going down there."
"Yes, I am," Buffy stated.
"What do you mean?" Xander asked. "Didn't you hear about the riot and the demons and the death? There's none of that if you stay above ground. All in favor?"
"No, he'll expect me to do that. I need to go down there. I'm finishing this."
"And how do you propose to do that?" Spike asked.
"By means he's not familiar with," Buffy answered simply, her gaze fastening in Ath's.
"What means?" Giles asked.
"Adam's not going to be blown to bits or set on fire or drowned or any of the regular ways we might think up... Riley, how would you suggest we kill him?"
"All I know is that his power source is located close to the spine," Riley replied. "Everything points to it being uranium and placed somewhere where a human's heart would be."
"Nice," Xander muttered.
"Personally I believe that our weapons have been a predicted attack and won't do any good," Riley added.
"Really?" Buffy asked. "Seemed you were all too eager to use them on him last night."
"We weren't going to use our weapons last night."
"And what were you going to do?"
He was silent for a moment.
"Stun him. Capture him."
"Stun him?" she repeated, disbelieving. "That must be one of the more stupid things I've ever heard come out of your mouth."
"Well, last night I guess I wasn't exactly thinking clearly," he bit back and it silenced her.
The building tension was broken as Giles opened up a pad and clicked his pen.
"Let's get to work then, shall we?" he said.
¤
And so they worked, tirelessly, all morning. Finding the ideal point of entry, with a lot of help from Riley. Buffy could feel his searching eyes on her from time to time, and she met them with forced calm. It wasn't easy, because all she wanted to do was curl up in Spike's lap. She had even been about to lean against him a few times when they were all sharing breakfast at the coffee table, but at the last minute had remembered that she shouldn't. She could not, however, keep the smile down whenever her eyes met his. She wasn't even considering that she might be going into the Initiative to ultimately die, the thought was too foreign. She was finally living, wasn't she? It wouldn't end so suddenly, there was no way.
By noon the plan was pretty much formulated.
Buffy stood at a window, looking out with unseeing eyes, going over all the twists and turns. They could do it, she knew they could.
"Hey," Spike said behind her and she carefully let her back connect with his chest, knowing that the room beyond was concealed from her by him.
"Hey," she mimicked him, feeling his hand gently slide down her left arm, his fingers finally locking loosely with hers.
She slowly turned around, looking up at him as she slipped one hand up his chest. She longed for him to hold her. Maybe they should just tell them all and be done with it. But then she thought of the pain she would inflict on Riley, though she suspected he had already suspected what their breakup actually had led up to. No, she still couldn't do that to him. He deserved better than to have it rubbed in his face.
"I wish..." she began, Spike's eyes growing in faked alarm and she smirked, checking herself. "Sorry," she whispered, making him return her smile.
"I just remembered something," he then said and she raised her eyebrows wonderingly. "Adam. He was talking about a brother. Do you know what he meant?"
Buffy looked at him for a moment, her brain working.
Riley?
"I might," she said. "But... I don't think it's important."
"Alright," Spike said. "You all fired up, love?" he then asked and she nodded a little, though she wasn't exactly thinking along the lines of battle. "Let's do this, then," he said and she nodded again, giving the fingers still entwined with hers a squeeze before letting go and stepping around him.
"Alright, people," she said. "The hour is now."
They headed for the front door, filing through it and continuing on in silence for a while. Buffy fell back to walk beside Ath.
"You won't be zapped back home in the middle of this, will you?" the Slayer asked and Ath smiled.
"No," she replied.
"Because I'm counting on you."
"I know," Ath nodded, glancing over at Willow she said: "She's more powerful than she knows."
Buffy looked over at her friend as well.
"I've always known that," she said with a fond smile. "But you don't really need her help, do you?"
Ath smirked at Buffy's perception, then answered evasively with:
"You never know."
And it was true. To have Willow not act as part of the mystical aspects of this battle seemed too big a gamble; Ath knew this was, no matter what happened, the road the amateur Wicca was destined to follow.
The goddess turned her gaze on Spike's back, watching it for a short while before saying:
"Even in chaos there is reason."
Buffy followed the way the other's eyes were going and smiled to herself.
"I think I finally get what you meant when you said that even the most spotted light deserves a chance to fight the darkness. It was completely lost on me that day, but now I see it."
Ath smiled warmly.
"What had happened if Calor hadn't granted my wish?" the Slayer wondered silently. "Would Spike and I never have...? I mean, would he ever have loved me? Would I ever have loved him?"
Ath's smile lingered, then she asked:
"What do you think?"
Buffy sighed at the lack of answer, then thought about it for a few moments, replying:
"I think we would have... I know we would have. But I'm pretty sure it'd have taken longer. Much, much longer."
Ath's smile curled into a smirk.
As said, perception.
"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" she asked and Buffy shook her head slowly, still looking at Spike and he turned his head to meet her gaze. They smiled in unison and then he looked ahead again. Ath smiled at Buffy's expression. "Calor did succeed after all, only not the way he thought he should have," she commented, Buffy looking questioning. "Bringing your smile back," the goddess elaborated. "I believe, in the end, it is all as it should be," she added. "With you he will be a warrior for good, not evil. Your influence over him is greater than you can even imagine," she finished. "You soothe his demon, because it loves you."
¤
They came to the crossroads which meant it was time to split up. Buffy and Willow faced each other, embracing tightly.
"Be careful," the Wicca said.
"That's me, full of care," Buffy assured with a smile.
"We'll see you soon," Xander assured, hugging Willow as well.
Giles smiled at her and she wrapped her arms around him, too.
And so Ath, Calor and Willow headed down Revello Drive, while Buffy, Spike, Xander, Riley and Giles all went the way leading to the college, and the Initiative, and Adam.
"Are you sure this will work?" Giles asked.
"You didn't see what Ath did yesterday," Buffy replied. "Her and Calor combined will be able to do what I need them to do, I know it. And with Willow there too... There's no failing," she finished with a half smile at her Watcher.
"I'll rally the troops," Riley said, touching her arm gently before he ran on ahead.
"Do they actually talk like that?" Spike asked to her left and she smirked, looking up at him.
¤
Riley fought to keep his hand away from the radio transmitter, but it was useless. Picking it up he said:
"She's three minutes from the compound. She'll be inside within five."
"Excellent," Adam said. "Drive her to the fourth bunker. I will meet you there."
¤
Buffy met Riley at the steps of the fraternity. The place was deserted.
"They've gone down ahead of us, securing the cages so that the beasts won't escape. We don't know how much control Adam's gained of the systems mainframe, so there may be little time. We have to hurry."
"I'm a hurry kinda girl," Buffy nodded as they stopped in front of the mirror which would reveal the elevator bringing them into the Initiative. "I work best under hurry," she added, looking straight into her own eyes as the red scanner ran over her and Riley and the door slid open.
Giles, Xander and Spike came with them, the door closing and the descent beginning.
When the door slid open again, however, they were met by a fleet of guards. Riley seemed genially surprised.
"What's this?" Buffy asked silently.
"I don't know," he shook his head.
Two minutes later they were all standing in front of a rightfully pissed colonel.
"You have some nerve, lady," he stated, looking over at Riley with a darkening gaze. "And what say do you have in all this?"
"Adam's here," Buffy cut in. "In the Initiative."
"Every inch of this constellation is under constant, twenty-four hour surveillance," the colonel snapped."
"Including the secret lab?" Xander asked innocently.
"Including everything," the colonel replied sharply. He looked them all over threateningly, though hesitation was creeping over him as he fastened his gaze in Buffy's. "What secret lab?" he then inquired.
"The one Adam's clearly been using right under your noses," she answered testily.
"I know everything that goes around here," he stated. "A tick on a mouse couldn't get passed without my knowing of it. And if Adam wants to try, we're ready for him."
"Jolly good," Giles said, Buffy hearing the lack of patience in his voice. "And just how do you plan to get close enough to Adam to remove his power source?"
"Hit him simultaneously with multiple tazer blasters. Incapacitate him with as much voltage as we can muster."
"Won't work," Riley said.
"Excuse me? Did I say you could speak, soldier?" the colonel demanded, Riley giving him a challenging look back.
"It won't work," Buffy repeated Riley's words, stepping calmly between him and his infuriated commander.
"You tell me my business?" the colonel asked.
"This is not your business," she said, "it's mine. You, the Initiative, the boys at the Pentagon, you're all in way over your heads, messing with primeval forces you have absolutely no comprehension of."
"And you do?"
"I'm the Slayer. You're playing on my turf."
"Up there, maybe. But down here I'm the one who's in control."
With that, all the lights shut down; darkness swallowing the room swiftly.
"Damn," Riley grumbled.
"He's releasing them," Buffy said, turning to look at Spike. "We have to move."
"You're not going anywhere," the colonel stated brusquely.
"Hostiles are loose, sir," a computer technician seated before a screen said. "The cages are malfunctioning."
"No, they're not," Buffy said with a look at the colonel.
"You two, stay here, these people are under arrest and are not to leave this room," he said to two of the men. "The rest of you come with me. We have to take the armoury."
They disappeared.
Buffy exchanged a glance with Spike, then with Riley, and soon the two guards were taken down.
"This way," Riley said.
They ran through the room, into a hallway. They could already hear the sounds of struggle and it didn't take long before they proceeded straight into a raging battlefield where the unleashed demons and the staff and soldiers of the Initiative were fighting fiercely. Death was already spreading its menacing claws over the scene, snatching unfortunate souls from all around them as bodies dropped to the floor. Buffy wanted to get in the middle of it, but knew she would be playing right into Adam's hands if she got mortally wounded now. Besides, she had the bigger fish to fry, and he was pretty much dangling from the hook as it was.
It didn't take long before they were on the other side of the large room, the door leading to the secret lab having been blasted open. They filed through it quickly, Riley in the lead, Buffy, Giles, Xander and Spike not far after.
"In here," Riley said and they entered a round room filled with different equipment.
There was an opening in one of the corners that didn't look as though it belonged. Buffy looked at the door and could tell right away that it was usually concealed. She turned to Riley.
"How is he controlling you?" she asked.
Riley looked perplexed.
"What? Who's controlling me?"
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," she said, kicking up a foot and hitting him in the side of the head, sending him flying.
He landed, unconscious, by the door.
"Move him," she instructed and Giles and Xander grabbed an arm each, pulling him away. "And barricade that," she added, Spike pulling up some of the heavier equipment in front of the door. "Now, don't let anyone get through."
"Buffy," Spike stopped her as she was about to turn and walk through the other opening. "Let me come with you."
"No, I need you here," she said with a small smile, and then she stepped into him, joining their lips in a deep kiss. "I'll see you soon," she added, before fastening her gaze in Giles' and then in Xander's, both of whom looked completely stunned. "And Adam's controlling Riley, so you should probably tie him up."
Spike furrowed his brow.
"Controlling?"
"I'm not sure how, but Maggie must have... Riley's what Adam calls his brother," she explained, then she turned and resolutely walked through the opening taking her into Adam's domain.
Spike turned his head to the human lying knocked out on the floor. Giles' eyes had just gone the same path and then they looked at one another.
There was a beat of silence, the three men all growing rather self-conscious.
"Something to tie him up," Spike said.
"Yes, something to tie him up with," Giles nodded, correcting his glasses before they all began combing their surroundings for something fitting.
¤
Buffy looked around the room she had entered. It had walls made of stone which looked thick and intimidating. The room wasn't longer than fifteen yards and wasn't wider than eight, but it was enough to host one of the more horrible sights Buffy had seen, simply because of the shock she suffered from it. She took a step forward, gripping the rusty railing before her as she was standing on a sort of platform, staring at the sight of Maggie Walsh shuffling lazily through the room.
"My God," Buffy mumbled to herself.
The professor was sustained with artificial life. She looked like a zombie, her eyes layered with white; her skin grey and lifeless. Buffy carefully climbed down the ladder taking her to the floor. Another zombie seemed to be mindlessly following the form of Professor Walsh, and the Slayer wondered how strong they were.
"Hello, Buffy," a voice said behind her and she spun around.
It was Forrest, one of the commandos, one of Riley's friends. But he wasn't strictly human anymore, demon parts having exchanged both his arms, most of his head and God knew what else. Buffy quickly went into battle mode, any left-over shock or disgust evaporating.
"Lookee here," Buffy said, fighting stance making her body stiffen with expectation. "Mini-Adam."
¤
"Joyce!" Ath yelled.
There was no answer and Calor closed the front door behind them as they moved into the living room.
"She's at the gallery," he said.
"Let's hope she stays there. Willow, go get three white candles. They're in..."
"I know," Willow replied.
"Candles?" Calor asked.
"Ambience," Ath answered, making him smile just as Willow returned.
Willow placed the candles on the rug in a triangle, lighting them with a steady hand and rising to face the two gods. She looked from one to the other, and then she said:
"Now what?"
Ath and Calor joined hands, stepping forward and raising their empty ones. Willow hesitated for only a moment, and then she put either hand in either of theirs so they formed a circle, the candles in the gaps between them.
"This may feel a little strange," Ath said and the following moment a gust of wind tore through the midst of the circle, Willow drawing a breath and holding onto Ath and Calor's hands even harder.
¤
"Find anything?" Spike asked.
Giles straightened his back, about to reply when he was hit in the side by a steel pipe. Xander turned around where he was standing, eyes widening as the pipe was swung in a wide angle, hitting him on the forehead.
"I did," Riley replied to Spike's question, as Xander sagged to the floor.
Spike stared at the mortal, at the rage burning in his eyes.
"This is gonna hurt," the vampire murmured to himself as he got ready for the other to move forward.
Riley did, raising the pipe with a growl. Spike blocked it with one arm, stepping around the other and beginning to move about the room, anticipating another attack. It came, Riley lunging himself forward. Spike braced himself and kicked out a leg, hitting the other on the chin and making him stumble backward.
Pain shot through the vampire's head and he screamed, his hands going to his temples.
Bloody hell, he really was crippled.
He heard the swoosh of the pipe and put one arm up, his hand catching it. He looked up at Riley, anger simmering into his own heart at the unmasked hatred on the other's face. Was this Adam controlling Soldier Boy, or was it really payback? Then Riley's knee connected with his ribs and he went down on all fours. The pipe hit the back of his neck and he fell forward on his stomach. The pipe hit again and he felt it broke through the skin. It hit again and he tried to get up, or at least roll away.
Then he saw feet approaching his face, about to close his eyes for the kick when he realized to whom they belonged. With a yell Giles rammed Riley into the wall, knocking the pipe out of his grip. Giles picked it up, but Riley was already out.
Giles reached down, grabbing Spike's wrist and helping him get to his feet. The vampire looked rather taken aback.
"Thanks," he said.
They both took in their fallen comrade in the corner – Xander not having stirred. Giles moved up to him and checked his pulse.
"He'll be alright," he said and Spike nodded.
Giles straightened up, holding out a roll of thin cable to the vampire.
"Something to tie him up with," he said, producing a smirk of appreciation on Spike's mouth, neither of them noticing Riley's eyes opening.
¤
"I have been longing for this," Forrest confided with a grin, approaching the Slayer.
"Yeah?" she asked, jumping up and kicking one foot out, hitting him in the chest and making him fly backwards. "I'm gonna make you regret it," she stated as he rose.
He threw himself at her, but she kicked out a leg again, this time hitting him on the side of the head. He bounced back quickly and she could feel that he had the same strength as Adam had through the demon parts now active in his system. She ducked as he swung at her, but his next punch hit home and she saw stars. The following hook he delivered to her jaw sent her flying into a wall, creating an indentation in the thick cement before she slid to the floor with a thud.
"Is the regret supposed to set in after I kill you?" he taunted. "Because I've been freed from those more human traits of remorse and grief."
"I feel sorry for you," she said, getting to her feet and stopping his next hit with her hand catching his fist. "You made a deal with the devil, and now you'll pay the price."
"No," he shook his head, "I'll be paid a price for my loyalty, whereas you..."
"Stop talking," she interrupted, swinging her free hand in a fist at his face, hitting him over and over until he had to take a step back.
She kicked up her left leg, hitting him high on the side and knocking the wind out of him. She heard his ribs crack and calculated she had broken at least five. A surge of satisfaction rose and she got ready to deliver the final blows.
¤
"You take the feet," Spike said, leaning forward to begin to tie Riley's hands when the human knocked him over the jaw before skilfully getting to his feet and avoiding all gripping hands as he headed for the opening.
"Bloody hell!" Spike and Giles yelled with one voice, scrambling after him.
¤
Buffy raised her hands, knotted together, aiming for Forrest's neck, when Riley tore through the door opening above and jumped from the platform, landing smoothly on the floor. She looked up as Spike followed. Giles stopped at the railing, then began to climb down.
"No!" Buffy called out. "Stay up there!"
Forrest punched her in the stomach and she folded over. He kneed her in the side and she lost her balance, the wall catching her before she fell.
Giles had done as she asked, mostly because he had heard something hitting the barricaded door. When he got back in the room another hit occurred and the barricade buckled. He wouldn't be able to manage this one by himself, Xander not being in any state to help.
"Spike!" he yelled.
"What?" the vampire drawled, spinning around and avoiding Riley's aimed punch at his stomach.
"Finish up quickly, would you?"
"Sure, Rupert," Spike replied, ducking. "Whatever you say!"
Buffy let out a huff as Forrest got in a too precise a punch to her back. It made Spike pause, looking over at her and seeing her vulnerable position as she was beginning to go down on her knees.
"Buffy!" he exclaimed, taking a step forward, but being stopped by Riley who grabbed him in a locking hold from behind. "Let me...go!" Spike yelled, thrashing furiously against the restraining arms.
Forrest kicked Buffy in the stomach, making her cough. She knew she had to get up, or she was done for. Another kick made her lose her breath completely and she couldn't see properly, white dots dancing before her eyes.
Spike was starting to panic. It wasn't a good thing, not in this situation. But bloody hell, she was getting killed right before his eyes. What the sod kinda power-boost had gotten into soldier boy, to make him be able to hold him back like this?
And just like that the grip was gone. He twirled around, ready for a stake in the chest. But it didn't come. Riley's face was covered in beads of sweat, one hand against his chest. He looked in extreme pain, but his eyes also told Spike exactly what he was doing, and what he wanted Spike to do.
The vampire gave a slight nod, turned around and delivered a double kick to Forrest's shoulder and head. The first bringing him off balance, the second smashing him against the wall. Spike took hold of Buffy and pulled her to her feet.
"I'm okay," she said, turning her eyes in Riley's; they were growing unseeing again. "Fight it," she said, taking a step forward. "You know you can. You're better than this. You don't have to..."
The sound of a drill interrupted her and she turned just in time to block the oncoming Maggie and the weapon she was wielding.
Spike met the kick Forrest was delivering, hitting him across the jaw and then jabbing him in the neck. Buffy grabbed Maggie's wrists as the former professor was swinging the drill at the Slayer's head. It seemed an endless moment as the drill's hiss grew louder, the machine, for a moment, coming steadily closer until the Slayer defeated her assailant, flinging the drill, as well as Maggie Walsh, to the side, sending her stumbling into the arms of Riley.
"Spike!" Giles voice was heard.
Buffy moved forward as Spike raised an arm, taking the jab Forrest had just delivered. She kicked the half-demon in the stomach.
"Go," she said to Spike.
He was reluctant. She could see he didn't want to.
She kicked Forrest on the thigh.
"Go," she repeated. "Help Giles."
He gave a nod, running forward and jumping back up over the railing, landing on the platform and disappearing through the opening.
She heard Riley give a muffled scream and when she turned to him he had the drill in one hand, his other in a blooded fist. There was a cut across the left side of his chest. Her eyes widened. He dropped the drill and used the fist to hit Maggie forcefully enough to make her fall to the floor. Then he turned his eyes on Forrest. Buffy could see he was back, but the blood...!
"My God," Riley murmured, eyes still on his former friend.
"That's what I said," Buffy stated.
"God has nothing to do with it," Forrest said.
"When?" Riley asked him.
Forrest merely smirked.
"Riley..." Buffy began, but he put up a hand, opening the blooded one and revealing the chip he had successfully removed.
It made an odd clinking sound as it dropped to the hard stone of the floor.
"Adam's behind that," Riley said with a nod to a large circular shape in the wall at the far end of the room. "Go get him."
"But..."
"I'm strong enough," he said, eyes back in Forrest's. "Go get him."
Buffy gave him a look of thanks before she turned and ran for the way that would take her to what she had come for. The second zombie came lulling from the side, making some form of noise and seemingly about to try and stop her. She flung one arm out, hitting it square in the chest and sending it flying. Reaching the wall she looked for some sort of mechanism to open it, finding it to the right. Pressing her hand against it, the circular block rolled to the side. She moved through it before it had stopped its movement.
¤
Willow was flying at an awesome speed. Everything around her was a flare of bright. She could feel Ath's hand in her left one, and Calor's hand in her right one, and she wasn't afraid, but she was growing tired, and that fast. She was beginning to feel like she couldn't breathe. Then Ath's voice broke through, speaking words of a language the Wicca had never heard before.
¤
Buffy entered a smaller room, five by four yards, the wall opposite the entrance containing a table with computers.
And before it stood Adam.
He turned around as she entered.
"Here I aim for the element of surprise," she sighed, "and then I find out you've planned the whole thing."
"I don't like surprises."
"Why doesn't that surprise me."
She moved forward, ducking as he swung an arm at her, putting a hook and a jab in his stomach. He punched her in the jaw and she stumbled backward. His left arm revealed its concealed weapon in the form of a long spear, shooting out from the inside of the wrist.
She regained her balance and in one movement she grabbed the spear and snapped it in half.
"Broke your arm," she said.
"Got another one," he remarked, his right arm transforming itself into some form of warped science project gone terribly array, the shape it took was that of a machine gun. "I've been upgrading," he added.
Buffy's eyes grew before she threw herself to the side, landing behind a set of metal boxes. The next moment she felt a crash of heat pour through her entire body. Her first thought was that she'd been shot, but then she felt the most powerful sense of completion. As though she had landed in herself for the first time in her life and knew exactly who she was and why she was. And what she was going to do next.
She stood up.
Speaking words she didn't recognize, but still knew what they meant, she met Adam's gaze with a confidence that stretched through generations of Slayer's, their strength coursing through her blood stream.
"Interesting," Adam said.
Letting his machine gun loose again he watched as the bullets hit an invisible wall, creating ripples in the air as though there was a sheet of water between them.
"Very interesting," he murmured.
His arm turned into a rocket launcher.
Buffy felt like smiling.
He didn't see that it was useless.
As the rocket came racing toward her she gently moved one hand and made it split itself into three white doves.
It was already over, but she did have to finish it.
Moving forward she grabbed the arm of his that had performed the attack. It was burning hot, but she barely felt it. His gaze was questioning, almost desperate. He couldn't believe it. She would make him.
"But how can you...?" he began as her fingers gripped the steel so hard they made it buckle.
"You can never hope to grasp the source of our power," she said, throwing him across the room and being on him the next moment, standing before him she set sight on the middle of his chest.
Drawing her arm back she then imbedded it, fist first, through his ribcage. Her fingers got hold of the throbbing core of his life force and she ripped it out without so much as a blink.
Adam looked truly surprised before he slipped to the side.
Dead.
She stared at the uranium in her hand, then it floated into the air, and again she spoke the foreign language. The core folded in on itself and with a subtle flicker it was gone.
The profoundly heightened power of her ancestry left her as suddenly as it had flooded her. She staggered, but drawing a breath she conquered the slight nausea she suffered and had one last look at her fallen adversary before she ran out through the doorway again.
The room where she had left Riley and Forrest fighting was empty. Then she spotted Forrest. He was lying on his back, the drill in his temple. She looked away with a disgusted grunt, her eyes landing on Riley. He was badly hurt, blood in a pool around him.
"Oh, God," she breathed, running up to him and gently lifting his head.
Tears rose uncontrollably.
"Riley," she said gently.
His eyes were open and they met hers searchingly. Then he smiled.
"Buffy," he mumbled. "I'm so... sorry."
"Hush," she stopped him. "Don't."
There was a crash from the entry room above their heads. She carefully placed Riley's head back down, rose and jumped up in the air, grabbing the railing and swinging herself over it. She ran inside. Giles, Spike and a now very conscious Xander were leaning against the door. It was practically in splinters.
"Buffy!" all of them said.
"Riley's hurt. I'll need you to take the front."
They nodded in unison and it was all she needed. Turning back around she jumped back onto the floor, running up to Forrest and tearing his sweater off him and into shreds, rolling one part into a hard ball and placing it against the wound in Riley's chest, using the others to tie around his torso to keep it in place. Then she lifted him into her arms. He groaned.
"You'll be okay," she said, taking aim on the platform and jumping again, this time clearing the railing and landing on the other side.
Giles came up; helping her put Riley on his feet and slinging one of his arms over his shoulders.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'll take him," he answered. "Just worry about creating a clear path forward and all will be quite well."
She was about to protest, but Xander coming up, taking the other side, shut her up. She gave a nod, letting go of Riley and walking up to Spike. The pounding had stopped. All was quiet.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"That you're a bloody miracle worker," he replied.
She smiled.
"It wasn't me," she said, then cleared her throat. "On three."
"One," he agreed.
"Two."
"Three!"
They ran out through the door, stumbling over the bodies of four dead demons, the signs of an in-group brawl obvious.
"Bleeding gits," Spike chided.
They ran as quickly as they could down the deserted hallway. They were about to enter the larger room, explosions reaching their ears, but Riley moaned in protest, making them stop.
"Door," he murmured, looking at the wall in front of them.
Spike walked up to it, searching the whiteness until he felt a slight bump in its smoothness. He pressed it and the wall slid to the side. They all moved forward as one person, entering the tight space and immediately becoming a single file. They were moving upward now, steadily. Buffy scented the stench of blood from all five of them. Her heart was beating hard with adrenaline. She just wanted to get out of there, to breathe fresh air again. In less than a minute her wish was granted.