Chapter 19.
Please review! Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.
/ Xander's thoughts /
% Jolinar's thoughts %
#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#
/ Mo Money Mo Problems. / Xander observed to his symbiote. Giles had gotten the needed money from the one bank branch in town with limited hours on Sundays. They had gone to Radioshed and Jolinar had given them each a list of items to acquire. Unfortunately, the lists were written in Xander's handwriting. Both Giles and Willow had come back with incorrect parts, which wasn't discovered until they got to Willow's place. That required a drive back to the shop to exchange them for the right parts before they could begin. Giles was completely out of his element and Xander had taken a perverse pleasure in sending the man for donuts.
% What does ' Mo Money Mo Problems' mean? % Jolinar asked.
/ It means that money doesn't solve your problems. It only creates new ones. / Xander explained.
% I suppose. Unless your problem is a lack of money. In which case it probably does solve that problem. % the symbiote deadpanned.
/ Yeah, yeah. You're Earth's funniest Tok'ra. / Xander quipped. / Just keep your mind on your work. If we blow this, we probably wont get any more money. /
% I'm Earth's only Tok'ra at the moment. % Jolinar observed.
Xander just smiled.
"What is it?" Willow asked.
"Oh Jolinar and I were just quipping back and forth. I won." Xander explained.
Willow pouted. "There was a quip war and I was left out?"
"Sorry Will. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me." Xander joked. "Hey, I'm just happy that I'm able to help with this part. Wiring on a larger scale like this is much easier for my clumsy hands."
Willow smiled. "I am a little jealous. You got some cool new powers and I'm still plain, old Willow. But, we make a good team. You take the tedious grunt work and I'll take the tedious delicate work and pretty soon we'll have something amazing." She then flipped her magnifying visor down and started working on the next rectifier. They needed rectifiers to convert the household A/C current into direct current the device could use. They needed a lot of the things because they had to tap the power on 6 circuits to avoid tripping any breakers and/or frying the wiring. They each had to be specially built because the commercially available ones only went up to 12 volts and that wouldn't be enough to heal a paper cut.
"You've never been plain, old Willow." Xander assured her. "You're a genius. Jolinar wouldn't have asked for your help otherwise. And you're my friend."
Willow was silent while she worked and Xander went back to work himself.
"I was wondering something," Willow looked up from her work again. "When you guys combined, was it like being Trill? Where you guys share all your memories to become a new being? I mean without the cold hands and everything." Willow asked.
"Not exactly." Xander answered. "I mean we have access to each other's memories but we haven't become different people."
#"I disagree."# Jolinar put in. #"Though we haven't become one new consciousness like the Trill of your show, blending with Xander has changed both of us greatly. I myself have become far more easy going than I used to be, even just a few months ago. And Xander has found a new measure of patience, especially in regards to Angel. And though he won't admit it, perhaps a measure of respect for your vampire friend."#
"Keep it down would you? We can't have Deadboy finding stuff like that out." Xander admonished.
Willow was fascinated by the conversation. Which, she supposed was the answer to her questions. Trill didn't talk to themselves like that.
They broke for donuts when Giles got back and worked late into the night. Xander finished with his part around 11 and forced Willow to stop as well. "Come on Wills. We don't have enough money for the parts we'd need to work all day tomorrow. We might as well call it quits now, go to school tomorrow, and get back to work after that." Xander gave her an out to go to school and do the work. Willow sleepily agreed and Xander helped her up to her room before letting himself out.
% So? To Angel's place? % Jolinar asked. % Now that I'm strong again, I'd like to show Angel what we're capable of. %
/ Sure. / Xander shrugged and started heading that way.
Halfway there Jolinar took control, stopped walking and crouched down. % Wait. %
/ What is it? / Xander asked. He'd been paying attention but hadn't seen or heard anything.
A flash of their eyes and night turned to day. It was suddenly very easy to see the vampires lying in wait. Only they weren't waiting for Xander, they had their backs to him and were focused on a team of three, no make it four, soldiers. They, in turn, were watching something else.
/ Well, Willow will be pleased to get an answer to her question. Who will watch the watchers? Turns out that it's vampires. / Xander joked.
% You have the oddest ideas. Do you think those soldiers are NID? % Jolinar wondered.
/ I wouldn't bet against it. / Xander guessed. / But I'm more curious what it is that they're tracking. /
Sensing movement, they let their eyes glow again. What they were tracking was clear as day. Buffy.
/ Okay. I have to say. That's a bit disconcerting. / Xander admitted. / And Carter's memories are telling me that we have to improve our team communications. Shortwave radios at least. Maybe cellphones too. It's time to stop leaving Buffy alone on a limb. /
% That's a good idea for the future. What do we do right now, though? % Jolinar queried.
/ We watch. We're too outnumbered to try to take either group alone and we don't know anything about the soldiers. As long as they don't make a move, we won't make a move. / Xander decided after accessing Carter's memories.
It was a long night though. Trying to follow vampires in the dark without alerting them to their presence was tough. Xander's body lacked the skills necessary to do so closely and had to follow at a good distance, where the noise they made was ignored by the vamps. Luckily, to make up for it, they could see much better than anyone else out that night. Though Xander found himself wishing for a pocket spotting scope to help see the weapons of the soldiers better. They weren't anything he could recognize from any of his memories.
He was so focused on watching the others that he almost missed Angel sneaking up on him. He shushed Angel with a finger to his lips before Angel could give their position away. Through a series of not regulation and not ASL signs, he was able to get through to Angel that there were 5 vampires watching 4 soldiers, who were watching Buffy. Though he ended up just having to mouth her name.
Angel mouthed 'Well?' back.
Xander pointed to Angel, then to Buffy and then steepled his hands to tell him to take her home. He told him that he would watch their backs.
Angel considered for a moment before nodding. He backed away before starting down the sidewalk towards Buffy. Xander thought he was walking a little stiffly, like someone who knew he was being watched, but hoped the others couldn't see it in the dark.
"Angel!" cried Buffy and gave him a hug and a peck. Xander couldn't help that his stomach tightened and turned at seeing her kiss Angel.
% I thought you and Angel were getting along? % Jolinar asked.
/ We are. And I'll admit that he has his uses. But we're not friends and he's still a vampire. Buffy is the Vampire Slayer and needs to remember that fact. / Xander said a little darkly.
% The soldiers seem to be breaking off. Should we follow them or Buffy? % Jolinar wondered.
/ The soldiers. Buffy and Angel can take care of everything else that might be out tonight. / Xander stated firmly.
They followed the soldiers back to the college campus. A door so well camouflaged that Xander didn't even see it with his night vision until it was opened. Once the soldiers were gone, the vamps headed off in a group. Xander figured he might as well keep following the vamps. They were certainly up to something too. When they walked into City Hall like they owned the place, Xander was... well surprised wasn't the word. In Sunnydale, the idea that they might literally have to fight city hall was odd, but not odd for Sunnydale. And it certainly qualified as an odd night. Even by Sunnydale standards.
Well that certainly was a pickle. The soldiers his men had watched spent their whole night watching the Slayer. Why they were watching the Slayer, no one could guess. Then again, vampires weren't known for deep thinking. He'd bounce this information off of Allan in the morning. That boy was bright. Too nervous by far, but bright as a star. If the soldiers were after the Slayer, she might be willing to make a deal. Sure they weren't on the same side, but being dissected by the military wasn't on either of their to-do lists. He made a note to bounce that idea off Allan as well. Then it was time to go home. It would be a busy day tomorrow.
P7J-989 was a very nice planet at first glance. Beautiful plants, beautiful gardens, just no people. And then SG-1 got sucked into some type of stasis pods and were forced to live out the most painful memories of their pasts.
All in all, Jack could think of better ways to spend a day.
"Great. So I've got a bunch of soldiers stalking me and they have a bunch of vampires stalking them, who apparently report to city hall?" Buffy summarized what Xander had just told her. She, Xander, and Angel were all in her bedroom after midnight. "I don't suppose your soldier recognized any of the other soldiers?"
Xander shook his head. "Camouflage makeup. But that does remind me of something else. Radios. I had no way to tell you about the soldiers because I had no way to contact you. All three of us should wear radios every night. Giles too. That way, Angel and I can patrol alone and call you for backup when we find something. With Giles monitoring everything from his car to provide quick extraction if we need it."
"Xander, you just said 'quick' to describe Giles' car. I think you want to pick a different word." Buffy complained.
Xander looked at Angel. "Well, if we can convince him, we have that car from the blood heist still. It looks like one of the vamps owned it. Forge a signature on the title and Giles could have a much faster car. Convertible too." turning back to Buffy, "you might need to convince him though. I'll get the radios tomorrow. I'll be busy after school working on a project with Willow. So, I'll give you Angel's in school. Give me a call if you need backup."
Buffy gave Xander a patronizing smile. She liked Xander and he had some good moves, but there was no way she was calling him for backup in a fight. "What color is it?"
Xander sighed. Why was the color important? "Blue."
"Okay. That'll do." Buffy nodded.
"Great." Xander said, "And watch out for those soldiers. Odds are they're NID. Which makes them the bad part of the military. Don't be afraid to show them who's boss if you have to." Xander warned. "And running away is the usually the wisest choice when you're outnumbered."
Xander retired for the night without training with Angel after all. It was already late and he had to get up early now to get the radios before school. He grabbed some food from Buffy's fridge before he left.
He got home and took the back stairs directly down to his room. A quick change and he was asleep as soon as he hit the bed.
Xander woke early and made his way back to Radioshed again. He had enough money left for 2 two packs of radios. A 5 mile range should cover the entire city more or less. It might get fuzzy from the docks to the eastern city limits, but they would have to do. Then he stopped by the post office just after it opened and mailed a package to Samantha Carter, same day service. After that, he jogged to school. He got to the library about when Giles arrived.
"Xander. I wasn't sure you would be coming today. How fares your project?" Giles greeted his student.
"We decided that we don't have enough parts to make working through school worth it." Xander answered. Then set his bag on the table and pulled out the radios, still in their packages. "Which I will come back to. But after we were done, I ran into a patrol of vampires. They weren't looking for me or even Buffy, they were watching some soldiers who were actually watching Buffy. My best guess is that the soldiers were NID. And I really don't like the fact that they were watching her. So I got us these." Xander opened the packages as he spoke. He plugged both of the dual charging stations in and put 2 radios in each. "We need to communicate better as a team."
Before Xander could go on, Giles stepped in. "I'm sorry Xander, that's just not the way it works. The Slayer works alone."
"Not any more." Xander challenged. "Sorry Giles. But against vamps that might have been good enough. But against the military? They'll eat her alive. Every army since Alexander the Great has proved one thing over and over again. Working together makes you stronger than any individual."
"Xander. I realize you're... special now, but I have training that you do not." Giles insisted.
"And I have military training that you don't have. If you don't do this, they'll take her and you won't even know she's gone until she doesn't show up for class the next morning. You won't hear a word. There won't be a trace. She'll just be gone. Eventually another Slayer will show up." Xander felt a little guilty playing on the watcher's fears like that, but the possibility was very real.
Giles sat down and took off his glasses. He didn't say anything, but eventually nodded to Xander.
Once Giles was ready, Xander continued, "I've got four radios. You, me, Angel and Buffy each get one. Buffy will patrol just like she normally does. But now Angel and I can patrol nearby and cover 3 times the ground with less risk since we can call Buffy in for backup. And you'll be nearby in your car ready to extract us if everything goes pear-shaped." Xander paused. "Speaking of which. Buffy thinks you need a new car." Xander held off Giles' interruption, "Now, I happen to have a blue convertible, that's much faster and cooler than your current car. Now it's last owner is blowing in the wind and it has a signed title. All you have to do is register it. In exchange, you can pay me what the car is worth after you sell your car. That way Willow and I can finish the healing device. Now don't answer now. Wait until you've seen the car. Okay?"
"I really do not want a new car, Xander." Giles insisted.
"I know, but Buffy wants you to have a new car. You just try saying 'no' to her." Xander smiled.
"I have. It didn't do any good as I recall."
"Maybe you could think about it as funding the healing device?" Xander offered. "And the car is just a bonus?"
"Perhaps." Giles put his glasses back on and stood up. "Shall we shelve this until later? How about some sword play?"
Xander went to the book cage and picked out the swords.
After a half hour, Jolinar asked, #"Mr. Giles. Would you mind if we fenced a bit? I'm strong again and eager to test my skills."#
Giles was a bit surprised. It was easy to forget that Xander was no longer just Xander any more. "Umm. Yes. Yes, I suppose." Giles took an en garde stance and nodded to Jolinar to begin.
Jolinar did so with speed that surprised Giles, pushing him back. Xander certainly wasn't going nearly this fast. Every bit as fast as Giles himself was capable of going and maybe a bit faster. But it was rough. The moves were still the basic moves he had taught Xander and a few more he supposed Angel had taught them. They also lacked the smoothness than came from years of practice. Giles recovered from the shock of Jolinar's speed and started pushing the alien back again. The opportunity soon presented itself and he disarmed his opponent.
"Well now. That was certainly well done. You are quite quick. Is that a part of the symbiosis?" Giles wondered a little out of breath.
#"As a symbiote, I give my host a boost in strength, speed and intelligence. However, we didn't recognize that move you used on us. Could you teach us?"# Jolinar replied.
"Yes. I suppose. Though not today." Giles looked up at the clock. Students would be arriving soon.
Maggie Walsh frowned as she watched the footage in front of her. Her "superiors" had ordered her to recruit this young girl into the Initiative. The footage showed a very impressive fighter. She'd dispatched two single vampires that night with enough ease to make up puns and jokes while she fought. Maggie, at least, wouldn't be running their little Honey Trap operation. Someone else was running it though Maggie knew the details. Just as soon as she and her 'boyfriend' broke up, Lt. Parker Abrams was to go in and crush the poor girl's self esteem. After that, Captain Riley Finn would swoop in to save the day like a knight in shining armor. If that didn't work they had a whole mess of soldiers and spies who would try to gain her trust. Walsh almost puked at that thought. She despised the entire operation. At least they were upfront with Maggie when they blackmailed her into this position. Which was a very foolish move on their part. The NID was desperate for her help and expertise, but they really didn't know who they were messing with. Already she had recalibrated the machines that dispensed anesthetic. They'd lost three of the four HSTs the teams had brought back and it wouldn't lead back to her. The anesthesiologist would be blamed. She just had to make sure that one of the other doctors took the first under-anesthetized HST exploratory surgery. It would probably mean the death of that doctor and his team, but she was perfectly okay with that.
Walsh looked back up at the monitor. The little girl was thrown into a mausoleum and Walsh's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't that the girl was seriously injured, but when she said "Ow." it just reminded her so much of her sister, Jean that she almost cried. She hadn't seen her sister in years now, though they still talked every night.
She instantly liked the fiery blonde and Maggie Walsh would be damned before she'd allow that girl to be sucked into the Initiative like she had. She'd do what she had to keep her out at all costs. If that meant killing her before the Initiative had a chance to experiment on her, well then that would be a mercy. If she were lucky, Maggie could arrange the death someplace the NID would never find her body for later dissection.
She left the AV room and started prepping for surgery. She couldn't believe what they'd ordered her to do with the first live specimen they were able to capture. They wanted her to build a real Frankenstein's Monster. She had plans to sabotage that project as well. But she had to be careful not to give herself away. One wrong move and it could be her on the slab. Until then it was business as usual. Following orders in as much as couldn't be avoided and sending soldiers to their deaths for the advancement of science. Though, the scientist in her couldn't help but be fascinated by these findings.
A/N: "Mo Money Mo Problems" is a single by Notorious B.I.G
Trill are part of the Star Trek universe. Do not own. Thank you to ReflectionsOfReality for the Trill suggestion and knowledge. Anything wrong is my own fault.
ASL = American Sign Language.
P7J-989 – the Game Keeper. SG-1 did the Matrix first and did it better than the 2nd and 3rd movies. That Neo still had powers outside of the matrix made it clear to me that they never really left. Kind of like how SG-1 never really left the first time either. The "real world" in The Matrix was just a second matrix. As Smith said, "...as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery." (end rant)
A/N: I don't know if any of you have read the book or seen the play "Wicked, the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West", but I have. The book was okay and the play was excellent. So, with that in mind, I'd like to take a deeper look at one of the most hated villains of BtVS. Maggie Walsh.
Maggie Walsh's actions (betraying Buffy and setting ADAM loose) directly resulted in the destruction of the Initiative. She was, to my mind, not so much a villain as perhaps an anti-hero or maybe just a traitor to the Initiative. She was certainly cold, even a bitch. Yet she joked with Buffy. There were certainly some inconsistencies in her actions. This is my attempt to explain those. Also remember that sometimes Evil shouldn't be fought by good. Sometimes Evil needs to be fought by another type of evil.
I do realize that Maggie is a very unpopular character, but try to keep an open mind until the (her) end.