Animatus II: The Descent

Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming!

Previously:

"I love you too, B," Faith replied, leaning her head against the desk as Buffy struggled to fight off the virus. Faith could not believe how twisted her life had become. Her presumably dead lover was lying in her arms, desperately fighting off a deadly virus, while she sat in the ruined Initiative compound awaiting a cure to be delivered by a vicious vampire that had plagued the world for centuries. She had to chuckle. Buffy was alive and in her arms. The numbness that had settled on her heart was lifting and, for the first time in several long days, Faith felt the seeds of happiness sprouting in her heart.

Chapter Ten: The Sudden Darkness:

Spike knew that if his heart had been pumping blood through his veins, it would have burst from the strain of his exhausting run through the corridors of Sublevel Three. Despite Kate and Paul's regularly scheduled feedings of the hostiles still alive in Section D of the main floor of the Initiative, Spike felt weak and famished from his extended stay underground. The two Initiative employees had been trying to conserve the blood needed to feed the vampires; thus, Spike had not been fed the amount to which he had become accustomed. Slowing to a stop, he listened to the sound of his boots slapping against the floor as it echo away into infinity. He had run through Corridor D and into Corridor F. Though the labeling had confused him at first, he determined that Corridor A connected to Corridor C, then to Corridor E, and finally Corridor G. Corridor B proceeded in a like fashion. However, he assumed that both wings of Sublevel Three met at some point, which he had not yet discovered.

According to the directory, he had to locate Corridor H, which hopefully would contain the anti-virus. If not, he would have to backtrack to Corridor A and proceed down to the labs in Corridor G. However, he did not believe that the Slayer would survive long enough for him to search the other wing of the floor. She had been fading quickly when he left. With that thought in mind, he continued his dizzying pace through the hallway. The walls flashed by him, blue in the emergency lighting. He could hear his own footsteps raging in his ears. The dark hallway stretched before him perpetually. Never in all of his years as both vampire and human had he imagined that he would be running down the hallway of a secret government facility searching for an anti-virus to save a Slayer, of all people. He had to chuckle to himself, though he knew that if word ever reached his demon friends, his reputation would be ruined for years to come.

Despite his animosity towards the Slayer, as the individual destined to slaughter the very creature that he was, some part of the humanity still lingering in the recesses of his silent heart felt pity for her. He found himself wanting to help her, though another part of him wanted her to suffer horrendously before she died. Yet, he knew that without her, he would never escape from the Initiative whole and intact. Though she had not implicitly told him about state of the world above the Initiative, he knew from the fact that she risked entry into the compound to find the cure after she had been infected that the zombies had escaped and wreaked havoc on Sunnydale. He had seen a deep pain lingering in the Slayer's eyes and he wondered what, or who, she had lost on the surface. Once they escaped, though Spike would have ample opportunity to kill her, he rather thought that he would simply part ways with Buffy in hopes of never seeing her again.

Corridor F faded into Corridor H and Spike slowed his pace so that he could scan the labs dotting the hallway. Windows opened to rooms filled with sterile, stainless steel tables and equipment. Refrigerators still hummed in each room, kept alive by the emergency generators barely lighting his way. Yet, every room appeared identical to the next. Spike wondered how the employees of the Initiative had found their way in the maze of rooms. Outside of each door, a plaque hung on the wall with a simple description of the project that had developed, or had been developing, within. Pausing by one of the doors, he read aloud, "Project 1742: Neutralization of hostiles, cranial implants." Smirking, he wondered what scientist had created the implant resting inside of his own skull. Always, he could feel it pressing against his brain – a foreign, violating thing. At first, it had aggravated him to such an extent that he clawed at his head, trying to pry it out with his fingers. After some time, however, when those attempts had failed, he made a certain uneasy peace with the intrusive object.

He hoped to have it removed upon his escape from his underground hell. Moving away from the door, he approached the next. The description on its plaque did not seem to match any project desirous to raise zombies, so he moved on again. He was nearing the end of the hallway, his anxiety rising with each footstep, when he stopped before a larger laboratory than the rest. "Project 90046, Code Name: Animatus," he read aloud. "Bingo," he said, smiling triumphantly. The door of the lab hung loosely open and Spike could see claw marks in the metal from where the first zombie had escaped from its confines and had ripped open the door to the detriment of his fingernails. A humming refrigerator stood in the corner of the room. Moving swiftly over to it, Spike ripped open the door.

Inside of the refrigerator sat hundreds of little, glass vials of an amber liquid and hundreds of vials of a blue liquid. Spike picked up a bottle of the amber and read, "Virus, sample 97." Shaking his head, he placed the vial back in the refrigerator. Picking up one of the blue ones, he smiled and said, "Anti-virus." He glanced quickly around the room and noticed a carrying case in which he could store a dozen samples of the anti-virus. Tucked inside of a compartment were several needles with which Spike imagined a person injected the serum into the blood stream. After he had placed all of the samples into the case, he shut the lid. It clicked closed and he picked it up. As he was about to move out of the room, he saw movement in the hallway. Ducking behind one of the tables, he waited silently as a soldier entered the room.

The man stopped in the doorway, glancing around warily. His gun was raised, but he seemed to be searching for someone, or something. "Spike?" He asked finally, his voice ringing hesitantly out into the room.

"Bloody hell," Spike murmured, rising to his feet from his hiding place behind a lab table. "Who're you?" He asked defensively.

"It's okay," Jay said, lowering his gun and smiling disarmingly. "I'm Jay. Buffy told me she sent you to get the anti-virus."

"You spoke with Buffy, did you?" Spike questioned.

"Yeah," Jay nodded. "Blonde woman you left back at the desk to Corridor D. The one infected with the virus," Jay explained. "I knew her from before."

"Shagged her, did ya?" Spike asked, grinning widely.

Jay rolled his eyes. "No, I think Faith would have killed me if I had."

"So you knew her before she decided on her suicide mission, but after she decided she didn't want to drive stick anymore?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Jay sighed. "Do you have the anti-virus or not?"

"What do you think I'm holding in my hands?" Spike asked, holding up the case. "I'm not carrying this thing around for the joy of it."

"We should get back," Jay suggested. "I don't know how much longer Buffy has."

"Yeah," Spike agreed as Jay led the way out of the room, "can't let the Slayer putter out on us now, can we?" Jay looked back at the vampire uncertainly and Spike grinned. "Don't trust me with this, do you?" He asked, tightening his grip on the case. "I don't trust you with it either. So until we get back to the Slayer, this stays with me. Understand, soldier boy?" Spike sneered.

"Fine," Jay reluctantly agreed. "Let's just get moving." Jay followed behind as Spike began running back through the corridors to the place where he had left Buffy. Though the vampire had held to his word and retrieved the anti-virus, Jay hoped that he was not making a colossal mistake by allowing the demon to keep it in his possession.

………………………….

"Do you think Spike will find it?" Buffy asked softly, audibly struggling to breathe as she formed her question. The sounds of her ragged breath pained Faith, but she blinked away the tears forming at the corners of her eyes, knowing that she had to be strong for her lover.

"Of course," Faith said as confidently as she could, though she had her doubts. Buffy had trusted Angel because he had possessed a soul. Even though Faith had seen Angel perform many good deeds while in Sunnydale, she still had doubted the sincerity of his actions. She often wondered if he was not simply playing Buffy to remain close to her. However, her opinion of him had changed since Giles' revelation that he had continued to fight the good fight on his own. Faith could not place the same trust in Spike, however. The bleach blonde vampire had not been cursed, or blessed, with a soul. Instead, he had been neutered by a chip in his brain that prevented him from physically hurting humans. However, a person did not have to be able physically to hurt another in order to cause chaos and destruction.

"Once I get that anti-virus," Buffy wheezed, "I'm gonna kick some zombie ass."

"I know you are," Faith replied, running her hand through Buffy's long, blonde hair. Though Buffy had been tense when Faith had first taken her into her arms, the older woman had relaxed considerably. She seemed to be able to breathe easier when the tension had left her muscles, though she still struggled to suck in air.

"It's not your fault, you know," Buffy reassured her quietly.

"I should have protected you," Faith countered. "It's my job to protect you."

"I can protect myself," Buffy reminded her. "It just happened. Maybe it was meant to happen."

"You shouldn't have to suffer like this," Faith argued.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Buffy murmured. "Sounds like something Giles would say." Faith smirked. "Are Willow and Tara okay?"

"They're fine," Faith nodded. "I think Willow might have even been starting to like me," she smiled. "Giles missed you. I could see it in his eyes. He was haunted."

"He'll probably have a heart attack when he sees me again," Buffy joked weakly.

"He wanted me to go to Los Angeles to help Angel," Faith explained. "I guess we can both go."

"Giles and Angel working together, who would have thought?" Buffy questioned.

"Who would have thought me and you?" Faith noted.

"We always had something," Buffy said softly. "Even if I didn't realize it."

"You always were a little slow," Faith joked. She was about to continue her gentle mocking when the emergency lighting above them groaned and suddenly blackened.

"What just happened?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know," Faith said, sitting up and grabbing her gun. Though her eyes were opened, she could see nothing but darkness in the inky black of the underground. "The lights went off."

"Can you see anything?" Buffy asked.

"No," Faith shook her head. "Can you?"

"No," Buffy replied anxiously. "I have a flashlight," she stated, reaching around for the flashlight clipped to her belt. She fumbled in the dark to hand it to Faith, who eagerly accepted it.

Faith clicked the flashlight on and surveyed the room. She could not see anything amiss in the hallway. "I think it's okay," she said. Suddenly, a familiar low sound reached her ears. In the distance, she could hear the ravenous groaning of zombies.

Buffy sucked in a breath and moved closer to Faith. "Oh shit."

……………………………..

Diego and Mark moved swiftly down the hallway. Though he had trained for years to deal with tense and dangerous situations, Diego was completely unnerved by the eerie silence pervading the Initiative. Even the emergency lighting cast a devilish glow about the corridor as they walked. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he wanted nothing more than to return to the wife and baby that awaited him back home. Though none of his companions on the mission knew it, Diego had recently become a father. He loved simply looking down at his daughter as she slept in her crib. She looked so peaceful. He could see her face in his mind's eye as he and Mark sped down the hallway. He feared now that he would never see her again. He knew that the Army would tell her that he had died a hero, but that would only comfort her for so long. A dead hero, at the end of the day, was still just dead.

"Here we are," Mark announced. "Corridor G. Labs are located here. Hopefully we'll find the anti-virus. Once we rendezvous with Jay and Faith, we can get the hell out of here."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Diego muttered.

Mark inspected the nearest labs, discovered that they were useless, and moved on. Diego followed slowly behind. His intuition told him that something was wrong. But as he inspected the hallway, he saw nothing amiss. Mark moved over to another door. "This might be something," he said. Gripping the door knob, he pushed the door open. Diego saw movement flash out of the corner of his eye, but before he could raise his gun, a group of zombies had taken hold of Mark. They had been waiting on the other side of the door, silently hoping that Mark would open it and inadvertently free them. Mark cried out in pain as one of the zombies latched onto his arm and began pulling off the flesh. His gun dropped to the floor with a metallic clang.

"Shit!" Diego yelled, raising his gun as the zombies pulled Mark further inside of the room. They crowded around the wounded soldier, encompassing him inside of a circle, until Diego could no longer see him. He fired several rounds at the zombies, but those that fell were replaced by others. Blood splattered out onto the floor. Diego back away as the zombies began to abandoned the lifeless body of the solider lying in the pool of crimson liquid. When they saw him, their eyes gleamed hungrily. Diego looked down at Mark, popped a single round into his head, and ran. The zombies chased after him. Holding his gun behind him, he fired several shot back into the crowd. One of the shots hit something metal. Diego heard a loud hiss and a pop and then the lights went out.