The Family We Choose
Ch 4 – Buffy vs. April
As the afternoon wore on toward evening, Buffy pulled up before a non-descript warehouse on a little used road to nowhere. She exited Joyce's jeep and did a circuit around it, paranoid that the rumbling over the dirt tract may have left a dent somewhere. Thankfully, it was just dusty and she thought that would be forgivable.
As she banged at the front door she heard a slight whirr and noticed the camera mounted above her head focusing on her. She waited a few moments and then banged the door again, this time a little harder. She didn't need games right now; she still needed to find something for Tara. Especially, if she was going to be buying the sweater she'd considered for herself instead.
"C'mon Warren! I know you're in there and I need to gab about April!"
The door finally opened and Buffy pushed her way past a dark haired man. As she turned to face him she gazed over the interior space with a critical eye. A far wall held a worktable with a figure draped over it. Apparently, there was another robot waiting to make the scene. It annoyed her since he hadn't kept the April-bot under control. That he'd be building another one seemed irresponsible. Ugh, God! I sound like mom!
"We need to talk about your…uh…girlfriend," she said tapping her foot impatiently.
"Oh, yeah…uh, April…well, she's not really an ordinary kind of girl."
"Yeah, I got that when I met her."
"No, you don't understand…"
"Look, I get it. And I don't really need to know the personal details of your…uh…relationship. I just need you to help me stop her before somebody gets hurt. She's obviously not very stable when it comes to locating you."
"No, really…you don't understand what you're dealing with. April is…well…she's an…uh…ROBOT!"
"Uh-huh," Buffy replied nonchalantly. Warren obviously meant to shock her because he was standing there now, looking befuddled. "So; about stopping her?"
Warren gave a nervous glance over at the tarp-covered figure and then invited Buffy to sit on a stool. Buffy noticed him perspiring, but she didn't really have any interest in whatever warped robo-harem he was working on. She just wanted him to be more careful about it. Sure, it was really twisted having a robotic love slave, but seeing as how she'd been sleeping with a vampiric animated corpse not so long ago, it was a little difficult to throw stones.
"April was an, uh, project that I…outgrew," Warren said as he wiped a hand over his moist forehead. "I left her unplugged and her batteries should have easily run down by now and turned off."
"Well, hate to break it to you, but she's very much…um…active. She's also looking high and low for you. I need your help in stopping her before somebody gets hurt."
"She won't hurt anyone! I mean I didn't build her to be violent."
"No, but you did build her to 'love' you, didn't you? Love makes anyone do the wacky. She's already managed some property damage, not to mention sending me across a room."
"I don't understand how she's still functioning," Warren said with another nervous glance at his shrouded figure on the table.
"I'm thinking right now, the important thing is to turn it off. You're going to have a lot better luck than I am with that."
Warren nodded his head in the affirmative, but was worried about confronting his creation. "I'll help how I can," he relented, "but I'm not sure how she'll react. I mean, somehow, she's already managed to not power off and her programming is a little, uh, quirky when it comes to me as it is. She might not accept my orders to shut down at this point."
"Can't you just remove her batteries?"
"No, it's not that simple. The pack is built deep inside her abdomen in a surrounding box of heavy insulated mesh. I wanted to protect them from any damage during any strenuous activities. But, I'll try. If I remain in a public site, she should be able to trace me."
"Okay. I've got my mom's jeep outside. Any idea where it'd be looking for you?"
"No…but she probably wouldn't be running around randomly. There must be a logical pattern with her searching."
"Well, there was the Bronze incident last night and I think I saw it heading north."
"Foster's Woodland is in North Sunnydale. We may be able to intercept her at the play area there. That should be public enough for her to find me."
"Then let's go," Buffy said.
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By the time April had managed to find them, Buffy had worked herself up to a furious pace back and forth. Warren was even more nervous now. Although she may not have realized it yet, he was fully aware of her Slayer-strength, and she really looked like she needed to hit something.
Buffy glanced at her watch again, something she'd been doing every two minutes for the last forty five. She needed to swing by the house, take a shower, grab Dawn, try Riley's apartment and get a gift bought and wrapped in the next two or so hours. In the meantime, it was just starting to get dark and the air was chilling rapidly. She had only dressed for the mild day and was getting antsy about getting this whole thing done and over.
"Warren! I've finally found you. You were lost!"
"Uh, hi April," Warren fidgeted. "Um, how are you feeling?"
"I was worried. My power cord came out somehow and my batteries nearly ran out. And then I couldn't hear you and I thought you'd been hurt and then you were gone and I thought you may have been kidnapped!"
"No, I, ah, I've been fine. Uh, sorry I had to leave. Uh…."
"Warren," Buffy huffed, "just tell her to, you know, so we can both get back to our own lives."
"Tell me what, Warren?" April stood with her beaming smile. Buffy felt a little sorry for her, even though she probably wouldn't have real emotions. She remembered Ted also simulated feelings, but had he really had them? She hoped that April didn't.
"Listen…uh, April…honey," Warren hemmed until he caught sight of Buffy glaring at him with that 'I need to hit something' look again. "April, there's been a change of direction in my research. I need to terminate this experiment. I'd like it if you would shut down for me."
"Shut down? I don't understand, Warren. Have I done something to displease you?"
"No! No; not at all. I'm just, um; I don't have the time to be a proper boyfriend right now."
"Oh, you're always an excellent boyfriend Warren. You are smart and sexy and attentive and clever and imaginative."
"Oh, good grief," Buffy muttered.
"April, I just… I really need you to power off. Now."
Instead of responding to his command, April's eyes squinted with what appeared to him to be hostility. She took a footstep in his direction and he quickly backpedaled. Sweat began dripping down his face and under his arms.
"You're confusing me with your illogical instructions. I was built for you and only you, Warren! I can't just power off and leave you alone in the world with no sex!"
"A-april, now…now, just calm down here. I'll be fine, I, uh, I'm not going to be sexless. Uh…"
Buffy could see Warren beginning to panic and quickly tried to intercede between builder and buildee, but his mouth was still running. Her heart started to fall, recognizing a babblefest when she saw one. She was best buds with Willow, after all. And her babble usually didn't end well.
"Uh…Buffy is providing for my sexual needs, now!" Even as Warren blurted it, he knew that wasn't the right argument. His mouth seemed to have been disconnected from his brain as soon as April had started advancing. She was programmed to never strike him, but so far she'd been doing a lot of things that he didn't recognize as his instruction set.
"What!?" Buffy could not believe her ears. What the hell does he think he's doing!?
For a moment, April seemed to be struggling to assimilate this new information. It was brief and Buffy immediately recognized the pissed-bot look she sported before in the Bronze. When April proceeded to growl, Buffy's heart completed its downward mobility into the pit of her stomach.
"Oh, crap," she said.
"Oops!" Warren had exclaimed at the same time.
Buffy spared a quick glance in his direction, hoping she'd see him about to fix April's misperception and get this thing back under control. Instead she saw his back and pumping arms as he ran away! Oh, thanks a lot!
"No one is Warren's girlfriend except me! I provide all of his sexual needs." She advanced, completely ignoring Buffy's desperate attempt to head off the physical confrontation.
As April's robo-grip tightened on Buffy's shoulders and painfully squeezed, she head-butted the robot in the face. It succeeded in knocking her off, but Buffy yelled as her head felt like it'd connected with a steel beam.
Reacting quickly, she went into a high kick as April again tried to clamp her hands around her. The robot stumbled back and issued another growl. Buffy was really wondering if maybe she didn't have emotions after all. She certainly seemed homicidally angry and jealous.
Buffy balled her fists and gave April two back handed punches to the face, but then the 'bot swung and caught her in the side. Buffy was sent flying into a slide and she flipped up and over the children's plaything, landing roughly in the sand surrounding the equipment.
April followed her over; jumping over the same slide and landing on her spread feet above Buffy in the sand. She reached down and began choking Buffy in a grip that was unbreakable, no matter how Buffy twisted at her wrists.
Thinking quickly, she noted April's awkward stance, standing straddled over her. Buffy kicked up, catching April in her robo-ass and sending her stumbling and falling into the sand over Buffy's head. That didn't slow her down as long as the Slayer had hoped though, and she lashed out with a kick, catching Buffy in the forehead and stunning her.
Slayer healing was able to allow her to recover as April returned to her feet and before she could capitalize on her strength advantage, Buffy was able to return to her feet as well. She delivered a hard kick to April's mid section, sending the 'bot backward again. She was about to deliver another high kick to April's face, when the robot simply stopped.
Her facial features relaxed and she had stopped snarling.
As Buffy watched with a growing sense of sympathy, again, April half stumbled to a set of children's swings and sat down heavily. To Buffy, she really did seem despondent and she hoped that some vengeance demon paid Warren a visit if he really had managed to give the girl true emotions only to abandon her this way.
She sat down next to April. Watching carefully for any signs of renewed hostility, Buffy noticed the sodium lights coming on around them as night fell.
"I don't understand why Warren has replaced me."
"He…he's just, uh, a jerk, I guess."
"Maybe I wasn't constructed well enough. Or maybe I didn't utilize my pleasure programs effectively. Why does he prefer you to me, when I was programmed to be his perfect girlfriend?"
Buffy didn't bother to correct the lie. It seemed pointless now. With April's labored speech patterns and her immobility, Buffy correctly guessed that her power reserves, wherever they had come from, were depleted. "I don't know. Sometimes, no matter how much two…uh…people may wish differently, it just doesn't work out."
"Maybe he will decide that you aren't better than me if I sit here patiently. Maybe this is a test?"
"Maybe it is. If you want, you can cry. I mean if you're able. Sometimes I find that that helps me," Buffy said, nearly coming to tears herself.
"Good girlfriends don't cry. That's emotional blackmail. I'd be a bad girlfriend if I cried."
"Oh," Buffy said. Again she thought Warren really deserved something harsh to happen to him. Something involving gangrene and his penis, maybe.
"The lights are dimming away. How will Warren find me when he changes his mind?"
Buffy looked at the lights, which of course were fine and as bright as they were supposed to be. A single tear slipped down one cheek. She felt that April deserved to have a tear and if she couldn't provide it for herself, then she could have Buffy's.
"I'll make sure that he knows where to find you. He told me, uh, that he was already thinking about breaking up with me and going back to you. He, um, he just hadn't decided what to do yet. So, you know, I'm sure that he is missing you still."
"Yes. Yes, he'll decide to come back fo-" April came to a stop in mid sentence and Buffy glanced over toward her. When she reached over and closed the robot's eyelids, there was no reaction and Buffy felt even more sad for her.
Twenty minutes later, she'd managed to pull herself together. She loaded the robot in the back of Joyce's jeep. She'd take it to the Magic Box for storage or deconstruction or something.
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Warren stumbled into the warehouse after paying off the taxi driver. He immediately ran to the cell phone dropped haphazardly on one of the unused pallets in the place. Dialing quickly, he waited for Andy-Pamby to answer.
"We've got an issue," he said. "Call short round and get over here. We need to relocate immediately." After a moment of listening to pointless questions, he interrupted, "Never mind what all has happened. The Slayer knows we're here. Thankfully she didn't see it, but we can't risk her coming back – get over here!"
"She isn't the only one to track you down," Warren heard from behind him, spinning startled.
"W-what do you want," Warren swallowed. He recognized the pale, white haired thing standing in front of him. Finding out the major players was one of the first things he did when he'd first thought of using Adam to establish his own lucrative gang. Now, he was kicking himself for not having anything on him. It was all in his coat pocket that was hanging way too far away for him to get to before the vampire turned him into a meal.
Spike stood a moment just enjoying the smell of fear coming off the human. Obviously the wanker wasn't aware that he couldn't do anything harsher than glower right now. It was a rare moment these days when someone emitted that tantalizing scent and Spike savored it before getting down to business.
"You built that robo-chick. I can think why. I'm here to place an order."
"Oh, uh, I'm not building that sort of robot anymore."
Spike stared at Warren hard until he could see the human fidget. The renewed burst of fear was intoxicating and he allowed himself to morph into his game face. With the slightest trace of a grin, Spike said, "Unfortunate."
As he'd expected, Warren immediately caved in front of him.
"Of course, for you…I'd be happy to make the exception! Uh, just…I, uh, just need the specifications you're looking for."
"All right here, mate." Spike pulled out an envelope from under his jacket. Within was a single sheet of paper on which he'd written what he wanted the robot included with. There were short blurbs on family and friendship histories, examples of Buffy's speech patterns, and a section Spike called 'special programming'. Most importantly on the bottom of the sheet and written in larger script than the rest he'd included: MUST PASS AS A TWIN OF BUFFY SUMMERS. This he'd underlined twice and included a snapshot photo of the Slayer that he'd stolen.
He watched Warren with interest as the young man read the sheet of paper and noted his wide eyes as he reached the bottom. Warren bit at his lower lip for a moment and then returned his gaze to Spike, who had de-morphed in an attempt to appear reasonable.
"I don't know about this. I mean, I'll do it! I'm just saying that Buffy….if she finds out about this…."
"You let me worry about her. She won't know a thing and let's just say that I'm not intending to have the 'bot hanging out in Sunnydale long term. How long?"
Spike's intentions were true enough. He just wanted a piece of the Slayer until he could have the real thing. Sure, she'd reacted negatively to his pass, but after all she was a loyal do-gooder. He should have realized she'd be scandalized by the thought of cheatin' on Dudley Do-Right. It was just bad timing on his part. He'd use the Buffybot as a filler and a way to test his pick up lines and being 'sensitive' and await his chance at the real thing. He was still absolutely sure that her and Riley were headed for the big break up, he had confidence that soldier-boy wouldn't leave Sandy alone for long.
"Two weeks. I'll meet you here right after dusk. And then I leave healthy and in one piece, right?"
"Too true, mate. You give Spike what he wants and Spike doesn't get testy on you."
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End Ch 4