If only they could get done in time for a little fun. Buffy had no real hope for that, however. "You get the gang. I want to take a look around the perimeter. We need time for research, and that could be hard if there are more of Walsh's friends running around."
"Got it." Faith took a step toward the main building and paused. "You sure you don't wanna wait? Red'd kill me if anything happened to you." There was worry in her expression and she watched Buffy closely. "It won't take me ten minutes, B. Wait here."
Buffy smiled. Faith didn't fool her. Willow was only part of the reason Faith was worried. Not wanting to say something to put Faith on the defensive, though, she merely shook her head. "I'll be fine. I'm just going to take look. If I see or hear anything, I'll come back for you." Before Faith could protest more, Buffy took off at a dead run. She was around the science wing in seconds.
Hugging the back wall, she huddled in the bushes and waited for her heart and breathing to smooth out. One breath. Two. Finally, Buffy could hear past her pounding heart. Faith hadn't followed, and nothing moved in the darkness beyond the shrubbery. It wasn't enough to keep Buffy from extending her senses and moving cautiously into the open. They'd rushed into things (OK, she'd rushed into things) on the UCS campus. She didn't want to make that mistake twice in one day.
Starting with the sports fields, Buffy loped quietly through the night. A few vampires blipped on her radar. She paused, considering. Walsh had been experimenting on vampires. Were the ones hiding in the shadows her handiwork, or the run of the mill evil Buffy fought nightly? Either way, they were a threat; however, having the added threat of Walsh's pet monsters on the horizon gave Buffy a chill a normal vampire didn't.
Stay or go find them?
Buffy hesitated, listening to her Slayer senses. The signatures were faint and far away. Further, the blips were individual and not clumped together. If they were working for Walsh, she didn't have to worry about them yet. Making a mental promise to let Giles know about what she'd felt, Buffy continued her sweep of the school grounds. Nothing more than a stray dog and a homeless man sleeping under the bleachers interrupted her patrol. Buffy stuffed the last ten dollars in her pocket into the old man's hand and told him to leave. It wasn't enough for a hotel room. She hoped it was enough to keep him busy at the liquor store until daybreak.
"Willow, have a look at this." Giles hadn't been reading for more than five minutes when he suddenly shoved the paperwork in his hands across the table. "I pray I have misunderstood the notations…"
Feeling her skin crawl with a chill of fear, Tara glanced up and watched Willow frown as she peered at the pages in question. "I guess it depends on what you understood, Giles. I mean, I'm pretty sure this is the outline of the hybrid we saw at the lab. Except…" She broke off and impatiently skipped to the next page.
"Except?" Tara asked. Goddess, what now? Willow's eyes had widened and the dusting of freckles across her nose seemed to glow. "What is it?"
A hand dropped gently onto Tara's shoulder. "Rule number two for Scooby life, Tara," Joyce murmured with a sympathetic smile. "You can't rush genius – or Rupert when he's latched onto a juicy fact. You can roll your eyes, fidget, and think about screaming. If you want the information, though, you have to sit back and wait."
"Wait?" Really? Tara realized Joyce had a point about wanting to scream. Unfortunately, she'd left out the part about wanting to bang Giles' and Willow's heads together – or her own head on the table.
"Trust me, and them, honey. They usually get it right. Sometimes, though, it takes a few minutes for them to process what they've found into something the rest of us can understand." Dragging a chair from another table, Joyce sat down and held out a bag of microwave popcorn. "If I know Buffy and Faith, they'll be starving when they come back. I made one bag for us before they get here and it's all gone."
Tara had just taken a handful of popcorn when Willow's head shot up. "Ohmygosh!" The pages rustled as she turned and brandished them at Professor Walsh. "You're evil!" Words seemed to fail her for a second as her mouth opened and closed with no sound. "Walsh wasn't just planning to make some kind of demon/human killing machine. Her first experiment was on Ethan Rayne! Look at this…"
Willow spread the papers Giles had returned out on the table. "At first, I thought this was a diagram of the thing on the exam table at the lab. But if you look at the notes and all the marked pieces, you can see all the creepy demon parts they've added to the host. There are actually two different subjects, though. The one you were looking at in the report, Giles, is the one we saw at the lab. The second diagram is a few pages back. It only has one modification." She pointed at the head of the human-shaped illustration. "The note here indicates that they used a behavior modification chip of some kind. Right under that fun fact, it identifies the host as Ethan Rayne."
"Behavior modification? Bloody hell." Ripping his glasses off, Giles tossed them sharply onto the table. "No wonder Ethan's actions have made no sense. He was not acting under his own control. That…That woman," Tara had no doubt Giles meant Professor Walsh from the glare he sent her way. "That woman has turned him into her private, magically-endowed puppet."
"Could be worse," Faith's voice announced suddenly out of the darkness. A second later, she strode up to the table. "Walsh coulda got to Buffy before you found the info, Red. Then there'd be Franken-Ethan and his Buffy bride to worry about."
Cold, ephemeral hands clutched Tara's throat. "What?" she choked out.
"Thought you knew, T. You, too, Red," Faith continued. She looked back and forth between them, as if judging the sincerity of their confusion. "Huh. Me and Buffy heard Walsh and the Colonel talking about it before we caught 'em. Walsh told B she was a 'host' or some shit."
"Then I, for one, am doubly glad you girls did not listen to my request for a plan before heading to campus." Giles stood and looked around the room. "Where is Buffy? Is everything alright?"
Faith shrugged and shoved her hands in her pockets, appearing completely unconcerned. "Yeah. B's scoutin' things out and she didn't want my help. We found a good place for Will to do her thing, though. Want me to drag the Duo down the hall while you follow?"As if suddenly bored by the conversation, she sniffed and turned to Joyce. "You got more of that popcorn, Mrs. S? I'm starving. B dragged me out of the apartment before I was done eating."
Tara watched Joyce stand and hand her microwave popcorn bag to Faith. "Of course, honey. I've got more in the kitchen. It's all ready to be wheeled to the new research center. Tara can help me with it." The words, soft and still commanding, drove Tara out of her chair instantly. "We'll be right back."
Faith's "OK," followed them through the candle-lit gloom back into the kitchen.
"How are you holding up?" Joyce didn't mince words as she hurriedly took the handle of a rolling cart and swung it toward the cafeteria.
"Um…" Tara hesitated, not sure how she was doing in the face of the new facts. "O-OK, I guess." Shooting a pained smile at Joyce, she tried again. "Well, th-there is that n-need to scr-scream you mentioned. And run-ning sounds good, t-too."
A soft chuckle answered her. "Then you're in good company. I feel like that every time Buffy goes out on patrol or we have another one of the end-of-the-world research sessions." Joyce's eyes were warm and understanding as she paused for a moment. "Honey, I know this is a lot to take in on your first full weekend as a Scooby. But honestly? It never really slows down. If it all gets too much, come talk to me, please."
Tara didn't know what to say, didn't even know if she could say anything around the burning knot in her throat. "Thanks," she got out in a choked whisper. "I will, I promise."
"Good; you don't want me to hunt you down." With a wink, Joyce wheeled the cart through the doors and into the cafeteria. "OK, gang. The cooking staff is ready. Let's get the show on the road so Willow can tell us how to take care of Ethan."
Glancing up, Tara caught Willow's determined nod. So this was the normal Scooby plan. Let Willow run wild with books and magic. Not this time. At least, not with the magic. Tara trotted alongside Joyce as they followed Faith and their two captives into the hallway.
"Watch your step," Faith warned. "It's pretty bad in here; all kinds of crap on the floor." Her hand shot out before she finished her sentence, catching Professor Walsh as she stumbled over a large piece of loose tile. "See what I mean?"
"Stop complaining," Willow scolded. "C4 does a lot of damage, and it isn't like anyone cared enough to clean up. I mean, it's taken a year for the city to even start the renovations. This place won't be ready for new students for a long time unless they use those horrible temporary classrooms."
Instead of replying, Faith turned her head and grinned at Willow. A second later, her tongue stuck out, pointed at her girlfriend.
Laugh, don't cry. Tara was beginning to understand at least that part of the Scooby Credo. "D-didn't your moth-ther tell you not to do that? Your f-face mi-might freeze," she warned Faith with a wink.
She should have known better. Faith's grin widened until it looked very much like a smirk. "Well, T, Red ain't gonna complain if all she's got is my tongue."
Tara's face sizzled as she stared at Faith. She hadn't…Faith…Her thoughts raced around, crashing into each other. Then she saw the wicked twinkle in Faith's eyes. "Oh! You are an b-bad, bad p-person." Narrowing her own eyes, she threatened, "I c-can turn you into a fr-frog!"
"Nah. You're the good witch, T. Even I know that. 'Sides, Will's afraid of frogs. You wouldn't wanna punish her, too, right?" Faith seemed completely unfazed by the thought of Tara's magic. She flinched, however, when Joyce cleared her throat.
"I don't mind the occasional off-color joke, Faith," Joyce said quietly. "That kind of comment is out of line, however."
Eyes dropping to the floor, Faith nodded. "Got it. Sorry, Mrs. S." Then, barely glancing up, she added in a mumble, "Didn't mean nothing, T. Just havin' some fun." Her heavy boots made it hard to tell if she was stomping her feet or merely walking normally. The thud of her footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Tara might have responded to the apology if she hadn't noticed Professor Walsh watching them with avid interest. She stared at the women until Walsh grimaced and turned her attention away. "Willow?" Tara asked softly. "I kn-know we have the doc-cuments. Can you use th-them? D-Do you think they have ev-everyth-thing we need?" If Ethan had a chip in his head, did that mean they could turn him off and not worry about defeating him magically?
"Only in my dreams." Willow moved closer as she continued. "I have handwritten notes and test results. So far. We didn't exactly make a dent in the paperwork. Once I get set up in the office, I'll hack back into the Professor's system. If there's a way to turn Ethan off, I'll find it," she announced vehemently.
Maybe. Maybe not. Willow appeared to be the brain behind the entire Scooby operation, not the adults. Joyce seemed comfortable as the Head Cook and Team Mom. Giles? Tara hadn't fully identified his role. The voice of caution or devil's advocate seemed the best options. "W-We can talk about that." Smiling reassuringly at Willow, Tara tried to show they were a team. That Willow didn't have to do it all alone.
Everyone stopped talking then. They travelled the rest of the hallway, lost in thought. Tara blindly followed the group ahead of her until Faith (and Professor Walsh) stopped. Nearly running into the professor, she realized they were outside.
"This is it, kiddies. The new Scooby Center. Make sure to stay together until ya' find a seat." Faith's grin was invisible, thanks to the poor lighting. Tara could hear it, though. Opening a set of double doors, Faith ushered them inside another, less dilapidated, part of the building.