"The shortcoming of hanging pawns is that they present a convenient target for attack. As the exchange of men proceeds, their potential strength lessens and during the endgame they turn out, as a rule, to be weak.
"The power of hanging pawns is based precisely in their mobility, in their ability to create acute situations instantly." - Boris Spassky
"I don't care about missing demons or secret government agencies! Willow and Oz are missing Giles. That's what we need to be looking at right now!" Buffy didn't care about anything else.
"I think they're all related. And don't forget that Oz is a demon. Even when he's not in his wolf form, he still has heightened senses, and some extra strength. So if you care about Oz and Willow you'll pay attention to what I have to say about the missing demons and witches." Giles turned toward Xander when the boy cleared his throat.
"I'm listening. Tell me how we get Willow and Oz back."
Buffy rolled her eyes and sat down dramatically. "Fine, let's waste time and get them killed when we should track them."
"For the last three months the demon community has been under attack not just by us, but by what from I can tell is a military organization I'd thought disbanded."
"Military? Three months? The paintball freaks. It has to be." Buffy didn't wait to hear anything else, she rushed off to find one of them and force him or her to free Willow and Oz.
The phone rang as the door closed, and Giles answered, "Hello?"
"She's awake." The woman on the line said nothing more before hanging up.
"Oh dear lord."
Xander asked. "Is Willow okay?"
"It's Faith actually. She's awake." Giles sat down and stared into nothing trying to decide the best course of action.
"And her timing's impeccable as always." Xander groaned. "I want to help. Buffy needs to find Will, so we'll handle Faith."
"The best we could hope to accomplish is locating and perhaps following her."
"Then we'll do that. I can't sit here. I'll just keep freaking out over Willow." Xander put his jacket on and opened the door. Giles followed.
"The decision to research in Sunnydale was a smart one Professor." The Colonel walked through the hall in the containment area, gleaning an idea of how vast their R&D could be here. In three months they'd already captured over two dozen different types of demons, and just as many witches and warlocks with varying power levels and specialties.
"I'm glad you think so." Maggie stopped in front of the last cell containing a witch. "From the preliminary tests, Hostile 29 would be an excellent candidate for our splicing and utilization program."
Colonel McNamara studied the back of the redhead as she lay facing the back wall. "It's skinny. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Like many of the sub-terrestrials its capabilities belie its physical stature."
"Is this the one found with a wolf?" McNamara asked.
"Yes, and it seems the two are protective of each other. That'll work to our advantage."
"Send it to surgery at once. No need to use anesthetic, Dr. Angleman, save it for the troops. We have to keep from acquisitioning too much. Don't want the wrong eyes on us."
Dr. Angleman said, "Yes, sir." And then nodded for two guards to aid him in moving Hostile 29 to the pit.
The sun rising was a thing of beauty to Faith. She'd never stopped to watch one before, but sitting on Kingman's Bluff, the stunning colors were undeniable. The sun now completely over the horizon, had Faith confused at the continuing feeling in her gut. She'd been relying on her instincts to know when vampires were close, but why would it still be acting up now? There was nowhere for a vampire to hide from the sun. She turned around and around until she saw the person sitting right on the edge of the cliff. Black t-shirt, brown hair, and the palest arms and neck she'd ever seen in the daytime.
She pulled the stake she made out of her stolen belt. Creeping up on the thing, he seemed oblivious to her advancements. When she staked him through the back, she'd expected him to either turn to dust or be a body she needed to toss off the cliff. Neither happened. The hole she'd made closed when she removed her stake.
"I have a proposition for you, Faith." His voice slicked her insides with its muddled English accent.
"How'd you know my name?" She watched him stand up, and she nearly cried at the sight of those blue eyes over the sharpest cheekbones she'd ever seen.
"When a bloke returns to town, he likes to catch up on the local gossip, so he doesn't feel out of place in conversations." He ambled down the hill and when she hesitated, he sighed. "For as nice as this view is, it's been a long time since I've been outside in the day, and I'd like to see more."
Faith followed cause why not? "So how long's it been? And what's your name?"
"Hundred and nineteen years give or take. And the name's Spike."
Feeling anxious and like a failure, Buffy's feet dragged her to Giles's apartment. Not a single sign of the paintball freaks she'd been seeing for months. When she got there, the door was locked, and the lights were out. Knocking brought no one to the door, and Buffy sat in the courtyard, unable to go to her dorm with Willow in trouble.
"Miss?"
Her game must have been way off. She hadn't heard the man coming. "Hi. I'm fine. Just waiting for my friend."
"You should get inside. The freaks like the dark." He was tall and sheepish while he told her what to do.
"I know, but trust me. I'm fine." She tried to smile but she couldn't help but notice his clothes. Paint splattered camo. "You like paintball?"
He laughed and looked at himself. "Guilty as charged."
No time for gentleness or stealth, Buffy grabbed him and shoved him against the wall. "Where do you keep your prisoners? Tell me before the sun comes up and you might survive."
Dr. Angleman closed the patient. Hostile 29 had passed out an hour ago from pain, but that didn't make his job any easier. Between the biochemistry, the magic, and Hostile 5 putting up a fight, everything that could go wrong and still have the desired outcome, did. The face and body of the Hostile were covered in a spiderweb of scars, so its once pleasant countenance made him cringe now. This surgery was like shredding Starry Night in its degradation. If it weren't for the knowledge that this witch would've surely destroyed them all, he'd regret being her surgeon.