Author's Notes: Since somene asked Faith was born on January 6th 1982 and that would make her fifteen right now in this chapter but also very close to her sixteenth birthday. Xander is turning 18 very soon too. Though I'm still working on his birthday date. Also this takes place in early season three of SG-1. I know more of you want Jenny action I swear she'll have a bigger role to play soon trust me. As always reviews suggestions, complaints flames not accepted are welcome and all ideas will be taken seriously. Now on with the story.
Chapter 9
Linda drove at the speed limit as she got off the highway and into Johnstown toward the park where the demon Seth was planning on holding a recruitment rally. Linda looked over at Faith who had somehow fallen asleep during the quick trip. "Faith wake up were almost there. Now remember we have to act like were willing to join and listen to the crap that his cult spews."
"Ya ya I'll try to keep from breaking his neck out in the open and I won't tell them their all a bunch of fuckwits for believing this shit." Faith muttered in reply.
Parking the car near the park the two of them walked into the quaint little park to see the rally in full swing. About two dozen cult members in flowing white robes were handing out pamphlets to anyone who passed by. Most of those pamphlets were quickly thrown in the trash but a few were kept and read.
"Here the cry of the Celestial Lord of Creation. He bids that you stand ready for the war is coming. Join us and enjoy the bliss of everlasting life or shall you perish when the fires of creation cleanse the planes?" One of the cultists's shouted as she stood on stage.
Linda and Faith walked up to the stage and were almost immediately handed pamphlets describing the everlasting joy that they would achieve if they joined the group. 'ugh what a load of bullshit' Faith thought as she forced a smile onto her face as she tried to look like she was interested in this garbage instead of wanting to kill their leader and go home.
A young cultist that couldn't have been more than 24 looked them over quickly and came up to them. "Hi I'm Carolyn McNally. Are you here to learn about the blessing of the Celestial Lord?" She asked in a perky voice that grated on Faith's nerves.
Linda knowing that Faith would probably blow their cover answered for them. "Yes we are, can we meet with him to talk about it?"
"Well he's not here at this rally. Most of the times we just bring prospective recruits back with us afterward for him to meet and talk with. If you want you can stick around and meet him when we're finished for the day." Carolyn responded in that same perky cheerleader type voice that reminded Faith so much of the snooty kids that she had hated when she still went to school.
"Ok we'll stick around for that then. We'll just be over there reading this pamphlet until you are ready to head on back." Linda said trying to keep in character.
"Ok that's just super!" Carolyn said before walking off to harass another passerby with her litany of cultist bullshit.
"So how long do you think we've got to wait before we can get close to this guy?" Faith asked as she followed Linda over to a nearby bench.
"Probably not more than an hour or two before they head back. Hopefully we can manage to get him alone so we can get this over with and get the hell out of there as soon as possible." Linda muttered as she pretended to read the Children of Seth pamphlet. About an hour later Carolyn came back over to them.
"We're getting ready to leave. The permit that we got allowing us to gather here for our rally runs out in a few minutes. So are you still interested in coming back with us?" She asked as the other cultists were packing up their tables and picking up their trash.
"Yes we're still interested, should we go with you or can we follow in our own vehicle?" Linda asked as she stood up, stretching to get rid of all the kinks that developed after sitting for so long.
"Uh follow in your car if you want. It'll save you the trouble of coming back for it later." Carolyn responded. "I'll ride with you if that's ok so you know the way?"
"Alright." The small group walked off towards the SUV and headed back out towards the compound. Carolyn gave them the directions to it as they drove. Upon arriving and being directed to park in back near the garage the trio went into the large mansion. Faith had seen the guards who were lurking about trying to remain hidden but doing a very piss poor job of it. Though that was to be expected, they weren't soldiers they were some parent's nutjob children playing around at being soldiers.
Walking through the mansion she couldn't really see any security devices such as cameras or infrared sensors but more than likely there was something hidden to keep people from running. They came upon what she instantly thought of as the throne room. Sitting on a fancy high backed chair was the cult leader himself, Seth. On either side of him were two fantasy style statues carved out what appeared to be gold with ruby red eyes.
Seth sat in his throne as the new recruits came forward. This time there were only two. These insufferable humans were poisoning the population against there true god. They would pay dearly when he took control of this measly world. Ahh such beauty, such fire in her eyes, she would make the perfect host for my new queen.
As they stood on the carpet before him he triggered a hidden control in the arm of his chair that activated the nish'ta which slowly spread throughout the room. This drug was most ingenious, though with several glaring defects, it allowed him to have total control over his subjects with no chance of them failing to do as they were told. The only real drawback to it was that it was easily countered by an electrical shock that would nullify the compound and it would forever be useless on that individual.
"Greetings my children. Do you wish to join my loyal following of souls who shall be cherished for all time when I bring about the rapture of the celestial war upon the heathens? Rejoice for you shall know an eternity of joy and love as loyal subjects in the coming new world order." Seth exclaimed as he saw the first signs of the nish'ta taking ahold of his newest subjects. Faith felt weird, for some reason that she couldn't place she felt like she would follow what this nutjob was preaching. Something about it was just setting her slayer senses off big time but before she could even do anything she was out like a light.
The young one seemed to resist the nish'ta; she would most definitely be a perfect choice for a host for his queen Seth thought as he gazed upon the unconscious duo. "Take them to their chambers and prepare some robes for them. Clothe the younger one in the ceremonial robes of a soldier. She shall fight for the right to become my Consort."
The other cultists rushed forward eager to please his every command. As they carefully dragged Faith & Linda away Seth returned to his throne. With that one as his Queen he would once again be able to breed armies of Jaffa who would live and die by his command.
Faith woke suddenly, something was wrong but her mind felt like it was stuck in quicksand. Every time she tried to think clearly about why they had come here a mental fog blocked it out, her slayer senses were going berserk trying to fight off the nish'ta but it was taking nearly all of her slayer power to do so.
Carolyn came into her field of view suddenly. "Good you're awake. Do you feel up to serving your god Seth?" She asked in that same perky voice that a few short hours ago would have set Faith on edge but now just seemed right to her. It was so confusing for the younger girl.
"Of course. I am always ready to serve my god. How may I do so today?" Faith asked in reply.
"You are to be given the most wondrous privilege of fighting to be his consort on this plane. You shall fight another who was also chosen; whoever is the victor will be granted his boon and the right to sit at his side for all eternity!" Carolyn said, though there was a little sadness in her eyes for she had not been chosen for this great honor.
"Great! Who and where do I fight?" Faith asked basking in the glow that came from within that her God had chosen her to be his consort out of all the others
"Come with me and I shall lead you to your battle." Carolyn said extending an arm to help Faith back to her feet. Faith gratefully accepted the help since she was feeling a little weak at the moment, as she was getting to her feet Faith noticed that she was no longer wearing the clothes that she had on when she first got there.
"Where are my old clothes?" The dark slayer asked, just something about the memory of those clothes struck something deep inside of her as if they were very important to her. Faith could feel the bracers that were still on her wrists but everything else was gone. She was now dressed in armor that Xena would have worn; though instead of being all black it was gold and very revealing in places.
"Those were taken away and put in storage. We all shed the skins of the old world when we join with our one true god Seth and so shall you. He shall give you his blessing when you appear before him. Come we must hurry, we should not be late." Carolyn said while pulling on Faith's arm to get her to hurry up.
The two of them quickly ran through the hallways and down a flight of stairs into a large buried auditorium that resembled an ancient Egyptian throne room. Nearly every single cultist was here, standing around the throne in a semi-circle all of them cheering as the other warrior chosen warmed up in the center of the room.
Faith observed her opponent carefully as she walked to the center of the room. The other warrior was taller, but heavier built so that should work against her giving Faith the advantage in speed. As Faith was looking her opponent over movement near the throne caught her eye, it was Linda sitting at the base of the throne looking up in supplication at their lord and master the great god Seth.
Seth stood from his throne and the room went silent. He spoke in a forceful voice that conveyed power and glory. "Tonight you shall be witness to the greatness that is Seth. You shall see one of your own be elevated to the rank of consort and take her place by my side as your Queen."
Faith felt the rush of adrenaline flowing through her veins as she prepared to fight for the right to be at her god's side for all time. The dark slayer knew that she would have to fight hard and quick to ensure that she was the victorious one here today. Her opponent a heavyset blonde stared at her before picking up a wicked looking short sword. The blade was curved and serrated in a way that told its victim that it would enjoy tasting her blood.
Faith looked over at the table full of weapons and found a plain short sword, she grabbed that it looked like it was functional and wouldn't be too heavy for her. Facing each other they awaited the command of their god to fight to the death in his honor.
101010
Parked nearly a mile away from the compound on an old abandoned country road was a futuristic looking hummer whose lone human occupant was preparing for war. Xander looked out of the hummer's window at the mansion that he would be infiltrating soon. He couldn't see many surveillance devices but that didn't mean there weren't any. With a place this big and only a small following this Seth guy would have to rely on technological surveillance items to insure that no one snuck onto or off the property.
"So what do you think Cortana?" Xander asked as he began to suit up into his MJOLNIR armor. Attaching weapons to the hardpoints on the outside portions, fixing his assault rifle to the specialized clamps on the backpack portion of his armor and gearing up for extended combat operations with plenty of ammo in various pouches.
"Ground penetrating radar indicates that there are a number of tunnels and rooms built beneath the surface of the compound. In particular I can detect nearly sixty-five individual human sized thermal spots that are inside the compounds gates. The vast majority are centralized in one underground chamber directly underneath the mansion. Use extreme caution when approaching that area." Cortana said as she reviewed the most recent data pertaining to the upcoming assault. She began shutting down non-essential portions of herself and storing all projects so she could bring her full potential to the forefront.
"You ready to go?"
"Hold one second" Cortana suddenly said as new information scrolled past her eyes in cyberspace. "I've found nearly a hundred other human thermal spots on the other side of the compound. From radio intercepts I've identified them as federal agents of the ATF agency. They are preparing to surround the compound and demand Seth's unconditional surrender."
"Well that could make things a little more complicated than I would like. Is there any info on when they plan on carrying this little mission of theirs out?" Xander asked as he modified his plan. With that many ATF agents nearby a large explosion would give them a reason for getting onto the property making his extraction that much more difficult.
"True. We'll have to enter in stealth and no large scale combat. If we do encounter anyone we'll have to disable them without raising too much of a ruckus. This increases the likelihood of ourdetection by a significant margin." Cortana advised, knowing that no matter what she suggested that Xander would go through with the mission. He reminded her a lot of John at times. Especially during those moments when by all rational reasoning stating that he should have died by now, but he had somehow received John's luck as well since he came out of every single mission without a scratch.
"Agreed, well time to go." Xander said as he reached down and removed the chip that contained Cortana's essence between transfers. When he inserted the chip back into his armor he could immediately feel the difference as the familiar presence that was Cortana once again took up residence within his mind.
Xander stepped out of the hummer and stealthily made his way closer to the fence surrounding the property. The forest surrounding the property went still, deadly still as the denizens of the woods recognized that a hunter was on the move stalking his prey.
1010
After arriving in town Colonel O'Neill drove directly to the sheriff's office. He wanted to get some up to date intelligence on their target before he attempted to go after him. Also it was always good to check with the locals, you never know when you might have to come back here again and it wouldn't pay to step on someone's toes when you might need them to help you in the future.
"Hey Jack, why are we stopping here?" Daniel asked as he woke up. For some reason Daniel had picked up the habit of sleeping whenever he got the chance, a habit that most soldiers loved to have.
"We're stopping here to get some of the local's readings on Seth's compound. If they know anything important then it could come in handy beside they'll remember down the line that I was willing to work with them and that could come in handy sometime down the road." Jack replied as he parked the large SUV at the curb of the sheriff's office.
Jack got out of the SUV and indicated for the following teams to remain where they were and headed into the station followed by his team. It was the perfect resemblance to an old town sheriff's office even had the swinging gate that lead deeper into the station. There were a half dozen desks, all empty save for the one manned by the receptionist.
Glancing down at the name plate on the desk Jack spoke to her. "Hi Amy, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill United States Air Force. I was wondering if the sheriff was in?"
Amy gazed up at the handsome military officer that was standing in front of her. She knew deep down that she had a weakness for men in uniform, that's why she joined the sheriff's department as soon as she legally could but this guy was just perfect. Fluttering her eyelashes at him she said coyly. "Yes he is. I'll just go get him for you ok?" Standing up before he had a chance to respond she walked away putting a little more swing into her hips than usual.
Carter couldn't believe that little tramp, acting like that in front of her Jack. Sam blushed heavily, thanking her lucky stars that she was at the back of the group and that no one saw her do that. Where did thoughts like that ever get in her head, her Jack indeed. He was her commanding officer and the regulations were explicitly clear that she could never be with him as long as she was under his command.
Amy lead a man in his mid forties back out into the area where Mr handsome was waiting in her eyes. Jim the sheriff knew damn well what men in uniform did to Amy so he was quick to interpose himself between her and the military officers present. "Howdy folks. What can I do for you today?"
"Well I was wondering if you could give any information you might have on a cult that's up in this area. Its led by a guy name Seth Fargough." Jack said in his best commanding officers voice. The change was almost immediate on the sheriff, who nearly came to attention at the sound of Jack's voice.
"Well how bout I take you out to his place, you can ride along with me and I'll fill you in on the way. How's that?" Jim asked as he grabbed his coat and keys. He knew Colonel O'Neill would agree to it, it would let him get the inside scoop before his subordinates did. "Ok. Carter you drive the SUV and get everyone to follow behind you. I don't want to lose anytime because someone gets lost" Jack said as he followed Jim out to his jeep.
1010
Inside the mansion the fight was going strong. Faith was clearly the stronger of the two but it seemed that her opponent at some point had learned how to use a sword quite well. No matter what trick she tried, no matter how fast she moved she was continuously blocked from landing a finishing strike to end the fight.
Seth looked on amused as his pets fought for the right to become host to his soon to be Queen Isis. It was a stroke of good fortune that he had managed to purchase the remains from that sunken ship that had carried his ancient foes. To have in his possession two containers that held his fellow System Lords Isis and Osiris, both of whom he had personally banished before being hunted by Ra for attempting to overthrow him.
His new pet was the one he favored, what was her name again he thought heavily trying to remember. Ahh yes Faith such a wondrous name, for she had faith in him as her god. She seemed to be so much stronger than Ally who was slowly tiring. As he watched Faith seemed to abandon all pretense of using a style and just began to hammer the blows home, with one mighty blow Ally's sword shattered under the relentless assault by Faith.
Seth stood before Faith could deliver the killing blow. "Stop. She is beaten. You have clearly proven yourself as the victor and won the right to become my consort. I shall spare her life for she is loyal and shall serve us well." Seth said, for it seemed like a good idea. With the current lack of those who were willing to bow and kneel before their true god it would not do to waste such a valuable resource.
Walking over to where Faith stood he stretched out his hand for her to take. For an instant he thought he saw her eyes flicker but it passed as she quickly grasped his hand with such a glowing smile on her face.
Faith could feel different, something was changing. For some reason she was finding it hard to believe in her god Seth. It was so confusing, she could see his power, see the bliss he offered her but still she doubted.
Sitting at his feet where he pointed Seth retook his throne. "My children, we shall rejoice for today we now have a Queen befitting of a God of my power. Rejoice my children, rejoice!"
The cultists began to chant. "Seth is life. Seth is happiness. Seth is life. Seth is happiness."
1010
Outside the compound Xander grew ever closer to the mansion. Approaching the fence he saw that it was nearly ten feet high but that there was tree cover extending a good ways inside compound, glancing around he noticed that there was no one in the area so he chanced it. Flexing his legs Xander leaped into the air easily clearing the fence, landing with a barely audible thump. He once again scanned the area making sure that no one noticed his arrival.
"Cortana bring up that map." Xander ordered as he cautiously moved forward, staying in the darkest shadows of the forest. The moon was full tonight and the sky clear which complicated his mission abit but not enough to hamper him too much.
The map flashed into existence on the interior of his face shield narrowing down until it showed where he was and then expanded out showing important features that he needed to be aware of. A blue line jumped into existence tracing the most favorable route from his location to the main building.
"Take this route, it should offer you the best terrain camouflage as you approach the main building. I'll update as we go incase we run into anything that we didn't plan on." Cortana said as she continued to weigh the variables in her head and plan a few steps down the road about what technologies to bring into this world without starting a war over them.
Carefully moving from shadow to shadow Xander made his way slowly to the mansion. It took him nearly twenty minutes but he managed to get there without being spotted by any of the roving patrols that were walking the compounds grounds. Sliding along the wall Xander came to a door that led inside, he listened for a few moments straining his enhanced hearing and sensors to make sure that no one was on the other side. Once he was sure it was clear he opened the door and made his way into the house.
"Can you tell where they were all grouped?" Xander asked as he moved through the halls trying to make no sound and looking into each room as he passed by.
"From the resolution that I got off the satellite they seemed to be underground and closer to the other side of the building, turn around and go the other way if you want to find that room. But remember we can't kill them, this is an extraction mission not a deep strike one." Cortana reminded him, knowing that he already knew all that information but sometimes it seemed like he did better when someone was there to talk to him or just to listen to his ideas. Eventually that habit would come back to bite him in the ass but for now she didn't see the harm in indulging him.
1010
The small convoy of vehicles came to a stop outside the front gates of Seth's compound. Getting out of the cars the group quickly went to work getting there gear ready. Jack talked with the sheriff for a few more minutes before the sheriff got a call over his radio telling him about a fight going on down at the pub. The sheriff quickly left saying that he had to take care of that.
Jack was just about to call over the SG team leaders when a man appeared nearly beside him out of thin air, as a matter of fact Jack hadn't noticed him get out of a car parked in a small side road a few feet away.
"Jesus, where did you come from?" Jack said trying to get his racing heart under control. It galled him that some civilian managed to sneak up on him like that, if Ferretti had seen that he would have laughed and ribbed him about it for days.
"Uh over there." He said while pointing to the car. "Hi, I'm Joseph McNally. I've been out here for a few weeks trying to catch a glimpse of my girl. That bastard has got her locked up in there and the sheriff won't do a damn thing about it. You de-programmers or something?" He asked noticing all the military grade gear they were suiting up in.
"Something like that. You said you've been out here for a few weeks, any tips on where to enter?" Jack asked, not really trusting the man but decided to humor him for a few moments. If the man's information did check out then it would give them just that much more to go on when they did breach the walls.
Mr. McNally went back to his car and grabbed a folder. Jack could see what looked like another man sleeping in the car. "Who's that?" He said pointing at the other figure.
"Oh that's Jason; his boy is in there too. We take turns sleeping that way one of us is always watching in case we can catch a peek at our kids. Uh here's everything that we saw and what the guys we hired to get our kids out saw." Joseph said as he handed the folder over to Jack.
Before Jack could even say thanks nearly two dozen plainclothes officers poured out of the woods surrounding them. "ATF, put your weapons down now!"
He couldn't believe it. What were the chances that the ATF would interfere now with an operation against a Goa'uld? If these agents stormed the compound and saw the snake then national security was screwed there would be no way in hell of keeping this story under wraps.
"Oh for crying out loud. Who's in charge here?" Jack yelled at the agents as they began policing up the weapons from his team.
One of the older agents walked over, he was about mid-forties pretty heavily built seemed like a solid guy from the way he held himself. "That would be me, Special Agent in Charge James Hamnor. Just who the hell are you?"
"Colonel Jack O'Neill United States Air Force." Jack answered liking the fact that Hamnor's eyes widened just a bit upon hearing his rank. "Now you want to tell me why you're confiscating my team's weapons and equipment?"
"We're here on an operation, your presence is not authorized and you're carrying automatic weapons. Until I get orders from higher up I'm placing you into protective custody till I find out what to do with you." He said. The tone in which he said it just grated on Jack's nerves just a little cause he could tell that Hamnor was liking that he could lord his authority over Jack just a little too much for his taste.
"Oh I don't think so. I outrank you and this is now a military operation. Either return my men's weapons and equipment now or you can explain it to the Joint Chiefs of Staff when they personally call you to have a little chat about how you play with the military." Colonel O'Neill said while glaring heavily at Hamnor.
"You're out of your jurisdiction on this one Colonel. This is a civilian matter and you don't have clearance."
"Fine I got a secure phone in the SUV, bring it out here and we'll see which one of us has a higher connection me or you?"
Hamnor looked a little pale at this but he nodded at one of his men who retrieved said secure phone, after checking to make sure it was actually a government issue one he turned it over to Colonel O'Neill. "Fine but this counts as your one phone call."
O'Neill dialed the number that led to General Hammond's office. After a few minutes of talking to him, relying the situation Hammond assured Jack that he would get the President on the phone as soon as humanly possible. Which turned out to be about five minutes. Picking up the phone Jack held it out to Hamnor. "I think it's for you."
Taking the phone from Colonel O'Neill his ear was immediately assaulted as soon as he said his name. "Agent Hamnor."
"This is the President of the United States of America, agent Hamnor for the remainder of your operation you are to place yourself under Colonel O'Neill's command. This is not a request it is an order. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Mr. President. I understand you perfectly but to be frank sir, the jurisdictional rules are clear this is a civilian matter are you sure you want to do this?" Hamnor respectfully replied trying to keep his tone light for one false step on his part would result in the flushing of his career down the toilet.
"Yes I am aware of the normal rules but for right now they are suspended and you will defer to Colonel O'Neill that is an order and it is final." With that the President hung up.
Jack stood there watching as the ATF agent got the chewing out of his life from the man who ultimately was his boss. "Ready to return that gear now Special Agent in Charge?"
Hamnor looked a little shook up but he quickly ordered the gear returned. Once everyone had their weapons and gear back Jack beckoned Daniel to come up closer. "Daniel do you think this Seth guy would build tunnels into this compound like all the other ones?" Jack referred to the other ones meaning the other System Lords; Teal'c on the ride up had told them that frequently System Lords had escape tunnels built into their facilities.
"He more than likely would. If he follows the same pattern that he used to in Ancient Egypt then the tunnels would be buried deep but would have an entrance around here somewhere." Daniel replied after thinking about it for a few seconds.
"Hmm that's a lot of ground to cover." Jack thought on it for a second before getting an evil grin on his face. "Agent Hamnor, I want you to have your men sweep the area surrounding the compound. Look for anything that resembles a tunnel entrance or cave or anything that looks suspicious."
"Yes sir." Hamnor responded then quickly began assigning men to command the various teams. "What should we do when we find one sir?" "
You're to do nothing. You will sit on the exits to those tunnels and await further instructions, do I make myself clear?" Jack ordered leaving no room for negotiation. Hamnor nodded and trotted off to join one of the search teams.
Colonel O'Neill called his teams over. "Ok men, this is a simple retrieval mission, we are not I repeat not to harm any of the civilians that are already inside. According to Jacob they're probably all been hit with some snakehead wonder drug that makes the do what he says. Use a zat gun blast to knock them out then move on."
Everyone nodded at this, killing civilians who were under the influence of an alien drug was not what they were trained to do. They would fight and bring everyone inside back out alive.
"Alright campers lets get going." With that all three teams headed into the woods nearest the gate, heading for an area that would let them get entry into the compound without being spotted.
1010
Xander moved quietly through the halls of the mansion, every room that he passed so far was empty indicating that everyone was either in the large chamber downstairs or out on patrol. This was getting more difficult by the minute he thought. If Carolyn was downstairs then he would have to wait until the group broke up before he could even attempt to grab her.
Glancing out around the corner at the end of the hall he saw a set of stairs leading down. "Cortana how close are we to that meeting room?" Xander asked as he carefully eased himself down the stairs keeping an eye out for anyone who might suddenly come around the bend.
"You're within twenty feet. Probability assessment that even with changes to the structural design of the building you will not emerge in that room. There will be at least one more before it, but proceed with caution." Cortana replied
"Copy that." Xander cautiously moved down the stairs coming out into another hallway that was completely empty. "Which way?"
"Go right and be careful. The room at the end of the hall is the one where they've all congregated." Moving down the hall with a little more speed then he should have Xander went from door to door, opening each and clearing the rooms before he moved on. When he got to the last room before the one he wanted he went inside. "We'll wait here till the meeting breaks up and try and follow her as she leaves."
"Good idea. Just one flaw, what happens if whoever leaves first stops in here?" Cortana asked pointing out the major flaw in his plan.
"Well we'll just have to hope that they don't."
Cortana muttered something so low that it was barely audible but it sounded like 'Idiot' to his enhanced ears. Xander chose to let that go but he was damn sure to get revenge on her sometime down the line if it was the last thing he did.
1010
Faith sat at the foot of the throne of her god becoming more and more confused as she pondered how this creature could in fact be a god. What she didn't know was that this was her slayer healing powers slowly removing the controlling influences of the nish'ta. One second she was confused the next she was back to herself as her full powers finally returned.
The dark slayer was quick enough on the uptake to continue worshipping at the demons feet so as to not alert him that she was now planning his death and not how to serve him. Faith glanced around the room and now that she knew what to look for she could see the glassy eye star from each cultist that told her that they were all drugged, even Linda.
Thinking quickly Faith came up with a way of clearing the room. Before she could talk herself out of it she spoke to Seth directly. "My lord I wonder if I might speak with you in private for a moment. I wish to discuss how I might serve you better." Faith said while flaunting her feminine charms.
Seth leered at her, looking not at her face but directly at her exposed cleavage. Just like any other man on Earth he fell for it. "Leave us." He ordered. Within a minute everyone was out of the room heading back to their own rooms to bunk down for the night.
Once they had all left, Seth turned back to his new consort. "And now what did you wish to discuss with me child?" Seth asked while leering at her. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Well I was planning on THIS!" Faith exploded into action using her full power to slam her fist directly into Seth's chest with enough force to knock him and the chair which was locked to the floor ass over teakettle.
She jumped to her feet and ran for the weapon table grabbing a pair of short swords. Faith then leaped back across the room hoping to catch the demon before he had a chance to recover. But Seth had already gotten to his feet. Stretching out his hand that was covered in metal bands of some sort the jewel in the center began to glow.
"You dare to strike your god! You shall suffer for an eternity for this." Seth roared as he launched an energy wave at her that slammed her into the wall, driving the breath from her lungs. Faith weakly looked up to see Seth stalking closer to her.
1010
In the small room outside Xander heard the meeting break up and the members began to shuffle out filing past his hiding place. Carefully he opened the door a fraction to peek out, to see if he could spot Carolyn. He saw her walk past talking excitedly with another cultist at the end of the group. Just as he was about to go out and follow them he heard the sound of a human body slamming into the wall come from the meeting room.
Without thinking about it he moved with as much speed as he could muster without making too much noise. He charged into the meeting room to see a young girl no older than sixteen dressed in some sort of golden armor that resembled Xena's on the floor with the cult leader standing over her. "Hey buddy don't you know it's not nice to pick on a girl?" Xander said raising his assault rifle to his shoulder targeting in on the guys chest.
"You dare to challenge your god! I shall enjoy making you suffer for this." Seth raised his hand and sent another energy wave in Xander's direction. The girl shouted out a warning but the energy wave hit and dissipated across his shields. Xander barely even felt it but he saw his shield strength drop by 5 percent. Whatever that weapon was it wasn't very effective but he didn't plan on letting the god wannabe get another shot off.
Xander let fly with a few armor piercing rounds that should have splattered the guy across the wall. But to his shock they slammed into an energy shield without any affect on Seth whatsoever. Realizing that guns were going to be ineffective Xander dropped the assault rifle and rushed the guy thinking to knock him out quickly.
Seth stood there sending more and more energy through the magical device on his hand trying to wear Xander's shields down but before he could do that he suddenly doubled over with a good foot of steel sticking out through his stomach. His eyes flashed a demonic white before going dark and all life leaving them, Seth was dead.
Xander looked down at the girl who had just run the demon through. "You ok?" He asked as he stretched out a hand to help her up.
"Ya I'm fine thanks for the assist." The brunette said removing the sword from the demons body before accepting Xander's hand. "I'm Faith the Vampire Slayer. Who are you?"
Xander's mind nearly went into overload at this revelation. How could this young slip of a girl be a slayer when Buffy was fine and well back in Sunnydale. It took a few seconds but then Cortana supplied the answer. "Xander didn't you once tell me that Buffy was killed by the Master last year? If the slayer spirit is passed along at death then she might have been dead long enough for it to be passed but when you revived her part of it remained behind hence causing there to be two slayers at the same time."
This took all of a few seconds but Xander could accept this for now until he could get to a phone and check to make sure that Buffy was still alive. If she was then that meant that Cortana was correct and the world now had another defender, if she was dead then it meant that the hellmouth was unguarded and he needed to get back there as soon as possible.
"I'm Spartan 117. Pleased to meet you slayer. Now we gotta get moving, no telling how many other demons are here." Xander stated picking up his assault rifle and heading for the door.
"Wait we have to get Linda, she's my watcher I'm not leaving without her!" Faith said as she followed him taking her swords with her. Xander turned to look at her and nodded sharply. "Fine, we'll pick up your watcher at the same time as I get the one I came for."
"Who ya looking for? I've seen quite a few of those idiots running around I might have seen her." Faith asked trying to get a reading on this new guy. He was wearing full body armor and carrying some heavy weapons on him but that's all she could tell.
"I'm looking for Carolyn McNally; she's about 5 foot 5 inches, dirty blonde hair and about your build." Xander replied as he moved down the hallways carefully checking each room they passed but once again they were all empty.
"I met her. Come on, she was bunking in my room I'll take you up to her." Faith said before taking off in a light run ahead of him.
"Faith wait!" But it was too late she had already rounded the corner and was heading for the stairs. Cursing under his breath about stubborn slayers Xander quickly followed her.
1010
Outside things were proceeding as planned. Colonel O'Neill and his teams had penetrated the compound security. Assigning SG-3 for rearguard status he led SG-1 and 2 further into the grounds. It took nearly ten minutes for him and his teams to cross the ground from the fence to the main house. Using Special Forces hand signals he signaled SG-2 to take point and head on in.
Major Ferretti nodded in reply and moved in, cautiously sweeping forward in a leapfrog pattern. Every room was checked, if it was occupied which some were then they were shot with a single zat blast to render them unconscious and to remove them from the effects of the nish'ta.
As each cultist they were quickly becoming a problem with so many to deal with and to keep under control. Finally Jack had had enough with the endless questions being asked and his orders for them to shut up being ignored. Grabbing his radio he called Hamnor. "Agent Hamnor come in."
"This is Hamnor. What can I do for you Colonel?" Came the response.
Looking around at the cultist who were milling about while his team tried to keep them under control. "We got a problem in here. My team is grabbing the cultists but we got too many right now to deal wit, I want you to bring some of your men in here and help us police them up."
"Roger that. I'll send half my men in now. I'm going to keep the other half out here; we found that tunnel entrance that you told us to look for. I need them out here for a rearguard incase Seth or anyone else tries to escape."
"Copy that. Major Ferretti will be on hand to help your men. Colonel O'Neill out, and return to radio silence." He said while signaling to Ferretti to stick behind and take over the group. Ferretti looked a little incensed that he had to baby-sit the cultists but moved to do his job quickly and efficiently. Carter sidled up to him.
"Sir we've accounted for thirty-seven hostages or cultists as you want to call them but that still leaves nearly another thirty still unaccounted for. Plus Seth of course."
"Understood Major. Move out." Colonel O'Neill took point this time heading down the hall silently and quickly checking each room as he passed. Now they were mostly just encountering the lone cultist or empty room. One door they opened to reveal a small armory full of zat guns, staff weapons and other Goa'uld weapons. "Whoa, we'll have to remember to come back for all this stuff later."
"Yes sir." Carter answered as she glanced over the weapons quickly taking note of a few things that she didn't recognize as standard Goa'uld tech.
They moved off again. After clearing nearly the entire downstairs area they came across a stairwell that led down into the basement. Just as Jack was about to move to head down the stairs they could hear someone coming up them.
SG-1 quickly took up covering positions with their zats aimed at the doorway. A young girl dressed in golden armor came out of the doorway with two short swords held in either hand. Before she had a chance to do anything Jack fired thinking that she was another one of the cultists. To his amazement she dodged the blast and glared at him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? You nearly shot me!" The young girl yelled at him. Taking up a combat stance she held the swords in front of her to block any more attacks that were coming.
Jack was about to try again when a massive armored figure holding a large weapon that resembled, barely, a futuristic assault rifle came barreling up the stairs. "Faith I said wait for me. Awww shit!"
Xander couldn't believe his luck. Not only did he now have to contend with an extremely stubborn slayer but now he had guys running around in military fatigues carrying weird guns that were now aimed at him.
"Holy shit." Jack whispered as he saw just how big this guy was. He was covered in some sort of black armor with weapons covering his body. Jack immediately thought that this was some sort of new Goa'uld body armor and fired off a zat blast only to see it harmlessly dissipate across an energy shield.
Xander barely felt the energy blast through his shields and armor but he noticed a drop in his shield strength. Realizing that he couldn't use the assault rifle without killing everyone in the hallway, he let in fall on its sling and darted forward using every ounce of speed given to him by the armor and his internal enhancements.
Colonel O'Neill barely even had time to blink before he was grabbed and brought up in a human shield position in front of the mysterious armored individual. "Now do you want to play nice or you gonna try and zap me with those funky ray guns of yours again?" Came the calm and deadly sounding voice in his ear.
"We don't deal with the likes of you snakehead." Jack responded as he tried to get out of the hold that he was in, unsuccessfully mind you.
The hallway wasn't wide enough for the rest of SG-1 to move about or to circle around. Carter moved forward closer towards the creature holding her CO. "Let him go and you won't be in anymore trouble then you're already in!" She shouted at him trying to get a clear shot without hitting Colonel O'Neill.
"I've done nothing to you and you attacked me on sight. Why should I trust you?" Xander responded as he kept the Colonel, from his rank tabs, in front of him. Faith had moved behind him seeing as she didn't know what one of those ray guns would do to her if it actually connected.
Jacob Carter who till now had been at the rear of the group moved forward trying to sense if this was a Jaffa or host. As he got closer he could tell that it was neither. "Stand down all of you. He is not Goa'uld."
Colonel O'Neill had quit struggling at this but still he looked a little shocked. "If he's not Goa'uld then what are you? How did you get to this planet and why are you here?"
Xander was a little stunned. These military people thought he was something else and they immediately thought he was an alien, which was way beyond weird in his mind.
"Cortana have you ever heard of something called a Goa'uld?" He whispered inside his helmet just low enough to prevent it from being amplified by the helmets speakers.
"No I have not. That name does not bare any resemblance to any of the known Covenant races that were encountered at the time of my arrival on this world. This may be an unknown alien race or demon one native to this dimension. Proceed with caution but I would advise letting your hostage go. Their energy weapons would need many hits to drain your shields and in that time you could kill them easily." Cortana advised while sending a transmission barely detectable by 26th century technology, which mean untraceable in this day and age, to the portion of herself that was left behind in the hummer.
The hummer on the outskirts of a lonely dirt road suddenly roared to life. The clone copy of Cortana using what power she had to access the Internet and began searching for anything that she could find on a creature called a Goa'uld.
"Ok I'm going to let you go now. I hope you'll be nice enough to not shoot me for my generosity." Xander said as he slowly let the Colonel out of the hold that he had him in.
Colonel O'Neill as soon as felt the arms holding him loosen quickly jumped away brining his zat gun up ready to defend himself if need be. "Alright so you're not a snakehead then what are you and how did you get here?"
"I have no idea what a snakehead is but I am human and I was born here on Earth just like the rest of you." Xander replied as he shifted his stance slightly to move his body in front of Faith. He couldn't quite explain it but for some reason he felt like he had to protect her, maybe it was just his inner chauvinistic side showing itself.
SG-1 exchanged glances for a few seconds trying to figure this guy out. He claimed to be from Earth but no one had the technology to make an energy shield like that. The only ones who could were the various alien races that they had encountered. "Ok if you're human then prove it. Take off the helmet" Jack ordered, knowing that more than likely it wouldn't be obeyed.
"No. If I remove my helmet then you can track me down by how I look and that's something that I don't want to happen just yet." Came the reply, Jack knew that the situation was rapidly getting out of control. Every minute that they wasted here was one more in which Seth could use to escape and they might not find him again.
"Look it doesn't matter. It's not like you're leaving here on your own anyway. Also we can track you through your friend there." Major Carter said as she pointed with her free hand at Faith who had moved out from behind the armored figure.
"I just met her here today so I think you'll find that kind of pointless." Xander replied not liking how the military was that eager to lock him up at the drop of a hat. This was one of his greatest fears since becoming a Spartan that they military would find out about him and try and experiment on him to gain the technology that created him.
Colonel O'Neill by this time had had enough. "Look we aren't here for you. We came to get this guy named Seth. You know about ya tall, black hair glowing eyes? You might have seen him around?"
The young girl answered to his surprise. "Oh ya that guy. He drugged me and tried to make me his Queen. Hate to say you're a little late if you wanted to talk to him, he kinda had a disagreement with my blade here." Faith said as she held up the sword in question. The blade was stained red from the blood.
"Christ, where is the body?" Jack asked hoping that the snake was still there and not in a sarcophagus being revived as they spoke.
"Downstairs last door at the end of the hall. Take a right as you go down the stairs. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go find the people that I came for."
"You're not going anywhere till we get some answers"Jack said.
"Oh I don't think so. You see your weapons can't penetrate my shields and I don't think you have any shields of your own. So here's how its gonna play out. Me and my friend here are going to go collect the people that we came for and you're going to let us go." Xander said as he raised the assault rifle to aim it directly at Colonel O'Neill's head.
Quickly thinking it over O'Neill that at the rate that this situation was deteriorating that it could end in a bloodbath extremely quickly and he couldn't see anyway out that left his team on top. Reluctantly he stood aside. "Alright, you can go. Though I do ask that you not leave the grounds just yet. There's a ton of ATF agents swarming the grounds and it would be a little hard for us to explain your presence to them. If you stick around I'll try and sneak you out, in exchange you talk to us for a short time."
Xander looked like he was about to disagree but Cortana intervened. "Xander accept the deal. If you leave now and those ATF agents are really out there then you will be spotted and the government will never rest in trying to track you down. That will hamper our operations significantly, take the deal we can always lie about whatever they ask us."
The armored figure nodded. "I accept the deal and it goes for me and whoever I take with me. I want your word that you will never attempt to track them down."
Colonel O'Neill looked at his team and saw the acceptance in their eyes though Jacob's was a little more strained. Selmac was probably giving him a tough time, the Tok'ra were notorious over wanting to get their hands on advanced tech with which to use to destroy the System Lords. "Fine you have my word and that goes for my team as well."
With that the group broke up. SG-1 heading down the stairs keeping a wary eye on the two that they were leaving behind. Even after they said that they meant no harm they still didn't really trust them.
Xander and Faith turned to head up the stairs towards the bunk room that Faith had said was occupied by Linda and Carolyn. Taking the stairs two at a time the two raced towards the room knowing that they had to get to them soon before the military did.
Heading downstairs SG-1 quickly and efficiently searched every room before heading for the one that they had been told contained the corpse of Seth. Entering the room they found the body exactly where it should be, a giant pool of blood surrounding his body.
Jacob quickly moved forward to check the body, since he had a Tok'ra already inside him he was safe from the Goa'uld attempting to take him over if it was still alive. Rolling the body on its stomach he could see the lump on the back of Seth's neck indicating the presence of a symbiote but it was immobile more than likely dead from the sudden massive trauma inflicted upon its chosen host.
"He's dead Jack." Jacob reported after his quick examination.
"Good. Jacob, Teal'c you grab SG-3 and begin rounding up all the snake's toys from this floor and the ground floor. Try to keep the ATF boys from seeing any of it if you can. Carter, Daniel you're with me we're going after our new friends." Jack ordered knowing that they had to move quickly if they were going to catch up with those two individuals before they left the compound grounds.
The group split each going where they were assigned to do their duty. As they were running up the stairs Daniel asked. "uh Jack why are we going after them I thought we said we would leave them alone and try to sneak them out."
"Daniel if their friends were here then they're more than likely drugged with nish'ta and I didn't see any zat gun with them. They have no idea what there are getting into." Jack replied as he tried to figure out which direction they had gone.
"Oh, good point."
Xander and Faith had made good time to the bunk room and found Linda and Carolyn inside praying to the demon Seth for its blessing. "Any idea on how to get them back to normal?" Xander asked. Faith had somehow managed it so their must be a way of breaking the drug's influence.
"I don't know. My slayer healing got me out from it, but I can't use it on them. You got anything in that high tech rambo suit of yours?" Faith asked. She was trying to hide it but she was really worried. Linda was the closest thing she had to family right now. The first person in a long time that had cared for her in any way she wouldn't lose her now, not to some drug by some frigging demon, not if she could help it.
"I have no idea what type of drug was used and I didn't bring any equipment to counteract mind-altering drugs. I thought all the cultists that were up here were here either by choice or under a spell from the demon downstairs." Xander said as he desperately tried to think of a way to bring his childhood friend back.
Before he could do anything or even ask Cortana if she knew of anything three of those military idiots barged into the room with their ray guns aimed at Linda and Carolyn.
"Everyone freeze!" Xander roared as he brought the assault rifle up aiming at the Colonel again. Faith brought her swords up and jumped in front of Linda, no way was she letting these gun-ho idiots shoot Linda.
Jack didn't move his zat from aiming at the cultist. "Listen buddy the drug that they're under is destroyed by an electrical charge. A zat gun will bring them out from under it I swear it." Jack knew that the slightest mistake would result in him and his entire team getting shot really quickly.
"Ya and if you're lying then my friends die. Think of another one buddy. There's no way I'm letting you shoot my friends with those funky ray guns." Xander said as he slowly moved over to block Carolyn from their line of sight.
Cortana began working furiously trying to come up with something, anything to defuse this situation before it went to hell. Quickly analyzing everything she had on the energy weapon she came to realize that it worked by disrupting the atomic bonds in an objects structure, the blast they had been hit with hadn't carried enough of a charge to affect a human body beyond causing extreme pain. Cortana weighed all the possible choices available to her and came to a decision. "Xander let them use their energy guns. A single shot does not have enough energy to kill a human. It would take multiple shots to deliver enough energy to do so."
Xander could barely believe what he was hearing. Cortana was arguing that he should let his friend be shot with an unknown weapon. "Are you insane? If you're wrong then she dies."
"Do you see any other option at this point? Even if we manage to get her out of here without getting shot, an event that is extremely unlikely at this point, we have no way of counteracting the drug ourselves without taking an extremely long time to study it and test it out on subjects to make sure its correct. They came in here with those weapons meaning that they've had experience in the past so it must work and to put it bluntly we don't have a lot of options available to us right now."
Xander slowly lowered his assault rifle and stood out of the line of fire. Muttering a quick prayer to a god that he really didn't believe in but hoping that this time it would be answered. "Alright you can use it on Carolyn here. But I swear if she dies, you won't live to regret it."
"Are you insane? You're going to let him shoot her with that thing!" Faith nearly screamed at him. If she didn't have to block them from getting close to Linda she would have smacked him upside the head for such stupidity.
"We don't really have a lot of choices and I'm sure he knows what will happen to him if he's lying to me." Xander replied as he kept the rifle in a relaxed position but ready to bring it up and fire at a moments notice.
Jack could tell even though he couldn't see his eyes that he was being watched very carefully and that any mistake on his part would result in a very painful, very messy death for him and probably the rest of his team. Nodding once in acknowledgment of the threat and his understanding he moved forward and took careful aim at the blond that the armored man had been shielding. With one tap of the trigger a short blast of energy was released and Carolyn slumped to the ground.
For a tense moment nobody moved, holding their breath praying that she would quickly recover. Carolyn moved slowly trying to work through the pain that wracked her body. "Ugh, did anyone get the number of that truck that hit me?"
Xander moved quickly kneeling down beside her. "Carolyn? Lyn are you ok?" He asked using one of the childhood nicknames he had for her.
Carolyn looked up at the yellowish faceshield of the armored figure standing over her. For a moment she looked scared but then it hit her. He called her Lyn; only one person ever called her that. "Xander? Is that you?"
Overcome with happiness he dropped the rifle and pulled her into a hug carefully watching his strength so he didn't crush her. Carolyn gave back just as good hugging him through the armor.
Jack watched from his place near the door, having a happy ending was always good. Knowing that they would probably be awhile he turned back to the girl in the Xena style armor. "Ok you can see that it worked on your friend's friend there. I swear it only hurts for a short time and it removes the effects of the drug. Will you let me use it on your friend?"
Faith looked torn for a moment, wanting more than anything to get Linda back. But what if it was a trick, how could she be sure that it would work for her. With her luck it wouldn't and it would end up killing Linda. Thinking carefully Faith finally nodded her head giving him the go ahead but not before saying. "She's not a friend, she's my mom." It came somewhat as a surprise even to her but that's how she felt about Linda, the closest thing in nearly three years to a mom, someone who loved her for who she was, not what she could do for them.
Jack nodded once. "Ok then. Just one shot and you get your mom back." With that he once again tapped the trigger sending a bolt of blue lighting to cascade across Linda's body. Faith held her breath hoping against hope that it would work, that she wouldn't be left alone in the world again.
When Linda's eyes fluttered open the first thing she saw was Faith standing over her, blinking back tears in her eyes. "Faith?"
That broke the dam and Faith grabbed Linda up in a bear hug. Linda returned it in kind, soothingly stroking Faith's hair whispering to her that things were going to be alright.
Colonel O'Neill had to blink back tears of his own and he waited patiently for the group to pull themselves back together. They had regained their families and he could afford to wait a few moments. When they seemed to be regaining control and pulling themselves back to normal he cleared his throat to get their attention. "Ok I guess we have a few things to talk about then don't we?"
Xander was the first to respond. After standing up and reclaiming his assault rifle from the floor of course. "You're going to stick to you're end of the bargain we made?"
Jack looked a little uncomfortable but nodded his assent. "Yes you're free to go after a short debriefing." Holding up his hands to prevent any yelling he continued on speaking. "I know it's not what we agreed on but there are matters of national security here. You've seen things that you shouldn't have and I have to address them to make sure that you don't reveal it to the public. My hands are tied here on that matter."
Meanwhile back at the hummer. Cortana's clone copy had been going through millions upon millions of website's across the world. Accessing, thousands of databases looking for any reference to anything remotely resembling a Goa'uld and snakehead. Finally she had found something, buried on a remote archeology website she found a thesis written by one Dr. Daniel Jackson about his theory that the great pyramids having been built by an alien race that had visited Earth sometime in the past. Using that as a basis she expanded her search to encompass any reference to aliens known as snakeheads. She found everything that she would ever need to know in a government classified database in an agency called the NID.
"Xander I have some new information. I found reference's to Goa'uld in the governments classified net." Cortana began to rely the information as fast as she could knowing that time was a precious commodity right now. Xander listened to the info that Cortana was feeding him with mixed feelings. It was great to know that humanity wasn't alone in this universe but he was horrified to learn that these aliens had enslaved mankind across the galaxy and were threatening to destroy the Earth if they ever got the chance.
Jack was about to ask them all to come with him for the debriefing but before he could open his mouth the armored figure spoke.
"You're SG-1 aren't you? Stargate Command 1 and the Goa'uld are an alien race that take human hosts and attempt to destroy mankind or enslave him correct?"
Jack, Daniel and Sam were stunned that someone had this kind of knowledge on them. This meant an extremely high security breach at the SGC. "How do you know all that?" Jack demanded. If this was some sort of NID trick then he was gonna lock them up in Leavenworth till Hell froze over.
"I access the government classified internet. Everything I needed to know was kept in a computer terminal inside the National Intelligence Division. They apparently have complete dossiers on you and every man and woman that works at the SGC. I must say it makes forinteresting reading."
"So now what? You know why we want to talk to you and why we want the technology your armor represents." Jack asked hoping that this wouldn't turn out to be a clusterfuck.
"I guess we can talk on the condition that we can leave at anytime and refuse to answer certain questions. I know I have my own operational security to defend though I don't know about you two." This last bit was said to Faith and Linda. Carolyn was just standing there trying to figure out what was going on.
Linda who still had an arm around Faith nodded her head. This situation was why the Council always attempted to keep out of the governments eyes. They have the resources to keep any investigation from finding them but if they were caught it got harder to bury a file or to rescue the agents involved.
"Alright I guess we'll go with you for now. Remember our deal, we get to keep our weapons and leave whenever we want to and refuse to answer certain questions. This is non-negotiable." Xander stated hoping that he was doing the right thing. Cortana was telling him that as a Spartan he had been created to defend mankind from alien threats and that this was a good thing.
"Alright you got yourself a deal. Let's get going, we'll head up to Seattle international airport and then back to the SGC where we'll all have a nice chat about what the hell is going on around here." Jack said, already imagining the eruption that was awaiting him in the form of one General George Hammond. Though Hammond would be pleased slightly that some of this would fall on the NID and not the SGC completely. Faith was looking a little lost but was willing to go along with what Linda thought was best. As they were turning to go she thought of something.
"Uh wait, before we go. Carolyn you said that my old clothes were taken and put somewhere. Do you know where they are, I really want to get them back and out of this sex slave outfit.
10101010
Back in Sunnydale. Angel and Buffy were walking down the street hand in hand acting for like they didn't have a care in the world. It was getting pretty late and Buffy was thinking of heading back home to get some shuteye but also she was kinda of nervous.
Their route had brought them back to Angel's apartment and they stood at the door. Angel not wanting this night to end and Buffy feeling like maybe now was the right time. Angel was the greatest guy she had ever known, he was caring loving and best of all she felt safe when she was with him.
"Well I guess this is goodnight." Angel said trying to think of the right way to ask her in without sounding too corny.
"It doesn't have to end now does it?" Buffy asked pouting just a little bit as she tried to act a little sexier and grown up. She didn't want him to think of her as a kid even though there was a two hundred age difference between the two of them.
Angel looked a little shocked but recovered quickly. "Do you want to come in?" He asked while unlocking the door.
"I'd like that." She moved past him and into the apartment putting a little more swing in her hips as she did so. Buffy had been her a few times before and knew exactly where the bed was. She went straight to it and sat down a little nervously folding her hands in her lap.
Angel stood in the doorway for a moment before understanding just what it was that she was thinking. He gently shut the door and walked over to her.