Initiative Headquarters, under Lowell House, Lab 314.
Walsh had just walked into the secured room where her chief scientist, Dr. Francis Angleman, was working over a figure underneath a white coloured cloth. She closed the door behind her, and pulled until there was a click which made Angleman look up at her with a smirk on his face.
"How's my Adam?" asked Walsh as she nodded at the hint of black hair, pale skin, and a glint of silver from behind the cloth, "are we on schedule?"
"We're just missing a few parts," replied Angleman as he looked down at Adam's still unfinished body, and then looked back up at Walsh while draping the cloth of Adam's body. He then walked around the table that Adam was lying on while taking off the gloves he was wearing, and then throwing them away in a bin labelled with the biohazard logo, "I take it you found something?"
"Two possible HST's," said Walsh with a smirk while she strolled to the doctor who was now leaning against a counter, "both seen to be pretty powerful. One entered Sunnydale Mercy and caused what reports have claimed is an explosion."
"With abilities like that," said Angleman as he pointed at Adam's body, "in Adam? Then he would be unstoppable."
"Something of equal power stopped him," said Walsh as Angleman furrowed his eyebrows at the thought of what he and Walsh could do with two powerful HST's, "I've already sent Forrest, Graham, and Riley to investigate, question witnesses, and then retrieve the body. I intend to find who it was that killed this thing as well, and I have a feeling that it would be there. In the meantime, I want you to have equipment ready for testing this thing's blood… it's unlike anything we have ever retrieved before."
"How so?"
"The blood was black," said Walsh while Angleman nodded his head while rubbing his chin, "I want some of the blood tested here, and the rest sent to our emergency site. Something this powerful, I want us to control it."
"The Council at the Pentagon will want to know about this," reminded Angleman.
"They'll get their weapon," replied Walsh before she looked at the covered body of Adam, "and maybe we'll get to use the cloning technology we recovered and create a brother, or sister, for Adam."
Angleman and Walsh just smiled before heading out of the lab, the male scientist turning the lights off before closing the door shut.
Sunnydale Mercy Hospital, 1120 hours.
Walking out of the elevator in their suits, Riley, Forrest, and Graham walked down the hallway and immediately noticed the damage around them, and the blood on the walls. They then walked past a room where Willow was sitting on the bed and simply looking out the window at the sunlight. Riley just glanced into the room while Graham and Forrest continued along the hallway. He watched the white haired girl then look down at the bed, before looking out the window once again. Just before following his colleagues further down the hallway, Riley glanced around the room and caught sight of a young man and woman just standing nervously, while leaning on a wall; and a young ark haired woman who came out of the restroom and walked to Willow's bed before sitting down next to her.
'It she that actress? The one from… nah, just someone who looks like her,' thought Riley to himself before shaking his head, and then continuing to walk past the door. It was then that he saw Graham looking back at him in surprise, before looking back at the destroyed waiting room and hallways that were littered with debris from two destroyed sections of a hospital room, and then they saw the pool of black blood on the floor, the stench of flesh burning still lingering in the air, as well the stench from the black blood.
But it wasn't that which surprised Graham and Riley. It was seeing Faith and Buffy, both of whom were injured, being questioned by some detectives along with a few more people. Riley looked at Graham, shaking his head and silently signalling to his friend not to say anything in from of Forrest. Riley could see that Buffy and Faith hadn't seen them yet, and that they were busy answering questions that the detectives had; so he turned to Forrest and whispered an order to check the morgue for the body.
"Have a retrieval unit meet you down there," whispered Riley while Forrest nodded his head, before looking around at the damage that was done around them, and then rushed down the walkway they had just come through. Riley and Graham then noticed the woman that Forrest passed by she was carrying a cup in one hand before walking into the room that they just passed; the room with the white-haired girl.
"No sense in both of us being outed," whispered Riley as he nodded towards the room with the open door, "the room that woman just went into, it's close enough to this one for her to have felt something or…"
"Graham?" asked a familiar voice as the aforementioned name closed his eyes and winced. Turning around, Graham looked at a confused Faith while Riley looked at Buffy; and then Faith.. both of whom knew that he wasn't who he said he was. And he was about to lie again.
"Detectives," said Riley after he sighed and nudged Graham, silently telling him to follow his lead, "Agent Riley Conners of the FBI."
"Agent Graham Andrews."
After Riley and Graham put away their badges and identification, something which made both Buffy and Faith frown at the two men, they told the detectives that this was a federal matter now. The detectives were about to say something, but riley interrupted them that their commander would have received paperwork that their investigation was being taken over. Although the detectives weren't happy, they trudged away with one of them, a female, telling Buffy that she was glad that everyone was safe.
"Thanks you, Detective Kennedy," replied Buffy as she nodded her head. The blonde Slayer watched the woman walk past Riley and Graham, not looking at them, and then down the hallway. She saw Detective Kennedy hold on to her partner's arm, and motion towards the hallway.. silently telling him to go on ahead. While Faith put her hands on her hips, and asked Riley and Graham why they were at the hospital, Buffy saw the female detective head into Willow's room. Buffy then shook her head, and turned to both Riley and Graham who was the open to speak.
"Faith, the question is what are you…"
"Are you a part of this thing where you fight demons?" asked Faith glaring at Graham; it was a comment that made Graham shut his mouth, and then look at Riley who rubbed the side of his head while telling Graham that Buffy and Faith saw him last night when he was in the clock tower fighting the Gentlemen.
"What were you two doing there?" asked Graham looking back at both Faith and Buffy. He then looked at Faith, stepped forward, and gently reached for, and placed his hand on her arm, "I mean… are you okay? Were you kidnapped or…"
"Buffy? Faith?" asked Giles who introduced himself, Joyce, and Jenny, to the two newcomers. He then turned back to the two Slayers and asked what was going on, "how do you know each other?"
"Riley and I are kinda… dating," said Buffy as she looked at Joyce who narrowed her eyes at the young woman, silently asking her why Buffy never said anything to her.
"Hi, Mrs. Summers," squeaked Riley, suddenly nervous as he waved at Joyce. Sensing that his friend's nervousness was shining through, Graham nudged Riley with his elbow. That nudge brought back Riley to reality as he couched before telling Graham that Buffy and Faith were helping him fight the demons, much to Grahams surprise as he looked at Faith.
"Don't let this body fool you," smirked Faith, "I can kick ass."
"Except for today," said Buffy as she looked at the black blood, and then at Willows destroyed room. Shaking her head, she then stared at Riley and asked him once more what he and Graham were doing at the hospital, "oh wait, let me guess. You two are part of some secret military thing that…."
"Shhh." Panicked, both Graham and Riley while they were waving their hands about and looking around to make sure that there was no one within earshot.
"Are you part of these secret military teams that we've seen around Sunnydale?" whispered Giles as he took off his glasses and stared at them with a serious look on his face.
"Not too secretive, are you?" said Jenny with an eyebrow raised.
"Losing your touch?" asked Faith, "I think I remember a few of you last Halloween."
"Faith, Buffy," said Giles shaking his head before stepping forward until he was at their side, "Riley, Graham, I don't know what the military's role is in this… thing, the both of you are a part of… but what I can tell you is that you have no idea what you're doing."
"You came here to….?" Asked Joyce, her voice trailing off as she looked at them curiously.
"Our orders are to investigate the reports of a blast," said Riley while Graham sighed, before glancing at Faith and nodding his head as Riley continued to speak, "we're supposed to interview all witnesses, and examine the body of the HST."
"Fancy name for demon?" asked Buffy, with Riley sighing and nodding his head.
"G-man is right," said Faith, "do you know what kind of a demon that thing was?"
"We just…"
"That demon kidnapped a friend of mine a year and a half ago," said Buffy. She didn't want to tell Riley and Graham the truth, primarily because they basically revealed that this secret organization was trying to get demons and people with supernatural abilities. While the last part was just an inference on Buffy's part, she was sure that it was true and with what happened to Spike… the blonde Slayer guessed that one of the jobs of this secretive organization was to experiment on the supernatural. So she and Faith, as well as Giles and the others, told Riley and Graham their cover story.
"She escaped from him, and we got her back last night," said Giles, "and today, he returned to take her back. He murdered her parents in cold blood, and injured two people very dear to us, before Buffy and Faith put him down permanently."
"We're sorry about your friends," whispered Graham, "but…"
"You know what you need to know," said Buffy looking at both of the men in front of her. She then settled her eyes on Riley, and sighed, "look, Faith and me? We're Slayers."
"That's a band," said Graham.
"No, no," Giles shook his head before telling Graham and Riley that Buffy and Faith were Vampire Slayers, "if you deal with the supernatural, you must have heard of them."
Judging from the looks of confusion on both of their faces, Buffy and Faith looked at each other, and then at Giles.
"You know," added Buffy looking back at Riley, "the girls who hang out at cemetery's."
"The Chosen Two?" asked Faith motioning towards herself and then at Buffy, "ring a bell?"
"Can't say that it does," whispered Graham, as people walked past them, while Riley looked at the hole in the wall next to the blown out entrance to the room.
"So the blast.. and the hole?" asked Riley nodded at the two gapping sections of the wall discretely.
"The door was blown out by the demon," said Buffy.
"Me and B got mad at the demon after it killed Red's parents," said Faith, "we threw him through the wall, and then killed him. We're having a friend burn the head."
"Faith," said Graham, "you can't…"
"You don't know what you're dealing with, Graham… Riley," said Buffy as she looked at the two of them, "we do. So, stop. Please."
"We have something planned for every contingency," said Graham, "and we know what we're doing, Buffy. The Initiative has been doing this for a long time."
Sunnydale Mercy Hospital, Willow's new room, at that same time.
While Buffy and the others were continuing to speak with Riley and Graham, Cordelia was looking at Willow who was looking out the window at the bright sun-lit sky. Cordelia leaned forward and gently touched Willow's hand, the white haired young woman snapping her head towards her.. and tilting it with confusion sewn on her face. Willow then turned to look at Althanea who was taking a sip of coffee, while a steaming cup of hot chocolate stood on the side-table for Willow.
"She's Cordelia, Willow," Althanea gently said, "she was.. is an acquaintance of yours."
"We weren't best pals or anything," said Cordelia before she closed her eyes, and then silently cursed herself for not being careful about what came out of her mouth. Opening her eyes once more, Cordelia sighed and told Willow, who was looking at her with her eyebrows furrowed, that they had known each other for a very long time, "since middle school. We were in the same classes all the way through high school and… and the rest doesn't matter. We know each other, Willow."
Cordelia knew that she and Willow hadn't been the greatest of friends, in fact… she was the one who usually led in bullying the former redhead. But in the state that Willow was in now, Cordelia couldn't bring herself to admit that to her… she didn't want to cause any further damage.
"I'm just glad you're back, Willow," said Cordelia before giving Willow a warm smile. Willow just looked at the smile on her face, and then just looked down at the bedsheet and closed her eyes. She then had a flash of a younger version of Cordelia making fun of her hair, her clothes, and even her shoes. Looking back up, Willow couldn't reconcile what Cordelia was saying in the present day with her memories; however, deep down, Willow knew that there was more to be revealed from her memories about the young woman in front of her.
For right now though, all Willow felt was a chill up her spine from the young woman in front of her. Then, as if reading her thoughts, Althanea told Willow that she and the Coven had a plan to help her regain the memories that she lost.
"You'll get them back," said Cordelia just as Riley and Graham strolled past the door. It was a few seconds later that Buffy and Faith walked through the door, followed by Jenny and Joyce… two of whom still hadn't seen Willow. They were stunned at how the former redhead looked, and approached her slowly while Cordelia got off the bed to let Joyce take a seat.
"Willow?" asked Joyce as she gently held her hand while sitting down, as Jenny stood next to her and placed her hand on the white-haired young woman's shoulder.
Willow looked up at her and Jenny after looking down at the bed sheet, and then she snapped her head to the closing door. She looked at Giles, the old man in her dreams back in hell, as he slowly strolled towards her after putting on his glasses. She could see his hand, as well as his lower lip, trembling before he coughed. Willow heard a crack in his voice when he called her name, but Willow simply looked away and closed her eyes when she had a memory flash. She remembered the older man in a room full of books, she remembered him alongside Buffy in a graveyard, and then she remembered hugging him with tears in her eyes.
"I'm scared, Giles," Willow remembered saying between sobs.
"I'll do everything I can to bring you back, Willow."
Willow's bottom lip trembled as she remembered Giles stabbing her through the heart as she rubbed her chest. Willow instinctively knew that he had no choice, that there was a reason she had to die… but she couldn't figure it out. She remembered him being pushed away by Buffy as she fell into her arms. Willow remembered the blonde screaming at her as tears streamed down her face, telling her not to go. She then remembered her vision going dark while feeling herself being pulled towards something while she stared at Buffy. Willow could feel the stone floor scrapping her torn clothes and part of her bare back while Buffy was being pulled along with her. Willow remembered the last thing she saw before everything darkened was a dark haired man, and Giles pulling Buffy away. She felt them tear the Slayers fingers and then her arms away, and then… before the end, Willow saw the anguish on Buffy's face as she screamed and reached out for her.
And then there was darkness. And when Willow opened her eyes again, she was in the room in hell.
"Willow?" asked Giles as Willow's body shuddered while she was seated in the bed, "I.. do.. do you… remember me?"
"Said… bring.. back," whispered Willow while she was wiping her eyes and then looking down at the bedsheet, "I… I… don't… know…, I… remember… I.. I don't… why? Who… you?"
"You don't know us," said Althanea as Willow nodded her head, "but you're starting to remember, aren't you?"
Willow simply nodded her head while continuing to look down at the bedsheet.
"Daddy, mommy," whispered Willow as Doyle and Lily looked at each other before looking back down at the floor.
"I'm sorry, Willow," said Cordelia gently while she stroked her back gently.
"Was… was… gone," Willow struggled to speak while her mind was racing, sorting through a trickle of memories that were coming back, "I… Oz? Where… Oz?"
"OZ is…" Buffy was about to say something more, but Willow interrupted her by looking up in anger, "Will?"
"Killed… Oz…," hissed Willow as she glared at Buffy; Willow was having a memory flash of the time she screamed at Buffy back at the High school… telling her that she was responsible for Oz's death and that she should be happy that Angel was getting a reward. The truth was that Willow's memories were coming back out of order since she didn't know Oz, but at the same time she knew that she had feelings for him. Feelings that manifested itself in rage as she thought that Buffy was the one who killed him thanks to her disconnected memories, "you… killed…"
"Will," said Buffy just before she was slammed against the wall by an unseen force. Willow growled before pushing away both Cordelia and Joyce, who fell onto the floor as Willow launched herself from the bed and lunged at the blonde Slayer who was pushing herself off the wall that she had been slammed into. Just as Faith, who had been stunned at the turn of events, was about to move.. Willow had her hand around Buffy's throat as Jenny picked up Joyce, who begged Willow to stop. The white-haired young woman could hear Giles' voice telling her to stop, she could hear Jenny and Joyce, and even Cordelia, but she couldn't stop as she glared into Buffy's eyes. Willow gritted her teeth as she concentrated on tightening her grip on Buffy's throat. Time seemed to slow down for Willow as she remembered her torture victims in hell, Willow remembered what she did over the hundred years to make the humans suffer.
Willow remembered that a part of her eventually enjoyed it.
And she felt that same enjoyment now as Buffy gasped the white-haired young woman's name. Willow saw Oz's face in her mind; she didn't know him, but she felt the feeling she had for him. She remembered their first kiss, she remembered holding hands as time slowed further and Willow pushed Buffy into the wall as her mouth opened.
"Will…" cracked Buffy, "I… so… sor… sorry."
"Willow!" yelled Giles as Faith intervened three seconds later and pushed Willow out of the way. Willow stumbled on the floor as Faith put her hand up and asked Willow to stop, just as Doyle went over the bed and, along with Cordelia and Jenny, held Willow back as she struggled to rush towards Buffy.
"Kill… you…" growled Willow at Buffy who gently pushed Faith to one side while rubbing her throat, "kill you… I… kill… and…"
"Sleep," said Althanea as she waved her hand, and Willow closed her eyes and her body went limp. It was then that Joyce and Lily rushed to Buffy, who was telling them in a broken voice that she would recover.
"We need to make sure that Willow's okay," said Buffy after re-assuring Joyce that she was going to be alright.
"I thought that we could do this after her eighteenth birthday," said Althanea as she watched Giles, and Doyle place the sleeping Willow on the hospital bed.
"Do what?" asked Giles.
"I'm taking her to the Devon Coven," said Althanea as she ran her hand through Willow's hair while looking down at her now peaceful face, "we can help her recover her memories properly. I think she's getting fragments of her memories back, which may explain why she thinks that Buffy killed Oz."
"Technically I did," said Buffy before taking a long glance at Doyle and Lily, "I should have killed Angelus then, and we wouldn't be in this mess."
"If you did," said Lily gently, "then he wouldn't have saved all the people he did."
"Let's agree to disagree," said Faith waving her hands before turning to Althanea and asking her to continue. Buffy sighed before looking away from the newcomers, and then to Willow while Althanea told them that she wanted to wait until Willow was an adult since she was technically an orphaned minor. And none of them were her legal guardians.
"Unless you know something I don't," said Althanea as she looked at everyone who shook their heads, "I know I can have someone from the Coven come here, but with the Hellmouth… I'm not sure how effective it would be to do what we need to do. I want to take her far away, away from the Hellmouth so that she could recover."
"For how long," asked Buffy as she leaned forward and brushed her fingers on Willow's cheek after walking around the foot of her bed. The thought of losing Willow again right after she came back was causing a pain in her chest, "Althanea, how long?"
"Anywhere between a few months, to a few years," said Althanea as Giles shook his head, "you all know she's been in hell for a long time. At my personal estimation, at least nine hundred and fifty years… and that's just me being conservative. She experienced a lot down there, enough to make her forget who we are, and perhaps who she is. Add to that the torture that she had to endure… the pain she endured… Buffy, It's enough to break anyone's psyche. It's enough to shatter someone's humanity. From her perspective, she's been there so long that she's just forgotten."
"And does the Coven have a way to help her?" asked Jenny.
"We can," said Althanea, "we can make her whole again but… but the old Willow we knew is already gone. Whoever comes back will, hopefully, know all of us… but she won't be the Willow we once knew. You need to be ready for that."
"She'll remember all her trauma," added Faith as she looked at Willow. The dark haired Slayer knew that her life was horrible, but when compared to what Willow must have seen and experienced in hell; her experiences were nothing.
"Yes," replied Althanea.
"I can ask the Council for help," said Giles, "Wesley and I haven't told them about Willow's gifts, and we still won't. But we need their help in getting Willow out of the country legally, they have resources we don't. They could help with the legal guardianship and…"
"They'll still want to question her about her time in hell," said Jenny, "and who knows what else they'd do."
"Remember what they did to me, Giles," said Buffy as she reminded him about her Cruciamentum, "we cant have them get their grubby hands on her. If you ask them for help, then they'll want something in return."
"And it will be Willow," whispered Joyce.
"I'll talk to Sheila and Ira's lawyer," said Giles, "and then we'll find out if I can get appointed as her legal guardian."
"You should go now, Rupert," said Althanea, "I want Willow out of this city as soon as possible. And… and I'm sorry but she'll probably miss her own parents' funeral. So please… go."
Giles nodded his head before he rushed out of the room. As he was walking out of the hospital lobby a few minutes later, he failed to notice a white van parked near a side entrance. In that white van, Riley and Forrest were helping Graham and two others load the headless body, that was in a black body bag, into the back of the van.
While Giles entered his car and drove off to talk to the deceased Rosenberg's lawyer, the white van drove off a few minutes later and headed for the Initiative.
TBC.