CHAPTER TWO:

The Past…

5414 Erde-Tyrene Research Installation – 2 days earlier

Buffy was reclining in the chair and enjoying the feel of the warm sun and cool breeze on her skin. It had been almost five months since she'd last visit Faith and Michael and she felt a little guilty as she wished that her visit was for social reasons only, but she was here to ask for their help back in Sunnydale. Her gaze shifted to Adriana, noting how much she'd grown since she'd last seen her. The child was just inside the bedroom playing with some blocks that had strange symbols on them. She watched as the small child stacked the blocks and arranged them across the floor.

"They're learning blocks that Virgil made… The symbols represent different sub-atomic particles." Michael said as he caught Buffy watching Adriana play.

She arched an eyebrow as she watched the child giggle as she continued to stack and layout out the blocks in a pattern.

"…Actually she's doing a pretty good representation of the Shaw-Fujikawa theory." Michael added studying his daughter's handiwork.

A slightly disappointed, but still somewhat cheerful sounding voice spoke out catching Buffy by surprise, "I will have to review my educational program for young Adriana… it appears she missed to take into account what you refer to as the Cherenkov radiation constant in her model."

Michael snorted and shook his head, "Considering she's only five. I think we can cut her some slack this time Virgil."

Buffy's eyes widened at this exchange as she looked at the young girl in a new light. She looked to where Faith was sitting and saw a proud smile on her fellow Slayer's face. Buffy studied Faith for a moment and she could see how much Faith had changed over the years as a wife and mother. She looked happier and more at peace with herself.

Buffy felt a twinge of envy hit her as she looked at Faith and how happy she was. She saw Faith and Michael's relationship and felt an emptiness in her life as her personal love life seemed to be the occasional on again and off again hookups with Spike. Their relationship seemed to be a constant roller coaster ride as things would start hot and heavy and then go to them fighting and arguing and eventually ending up with Spike leaving town for a few weeks or months until he came back and it started all over again. Buffy cared deeply for Spike and she knew that he loved her, but looking at Faith and Michael made her wish again that she could have a normal relationship for once in her life.

Buffy pushed aside her thoughts and feelings as she re-concentrated on the reason she was here. Her face took on a more serious look as she sat up in the chair and leaned forward.

"I wouldn't have come and asked for your help if it wasn't needed." Buffy said a she got back on to the main topic of discussion.

Faith's smile faded and a grim serious look came to her face as she replayed the reason for Buffy's visit in her head and considered it.

"B… I know you need our help, but it's hard to uproot and move back there… I don't want to expose or I at least want to delay Adriana's exposure to that world for as long as possible. To be honest I'm quite happy for us to stay 'retired'." Faith replied with a sigh.

"I'm not asking you to move back permanently… Just come back for a few days and help us deal with this threat… I wouldn't have come to you with this, but the Quasit demons have us badly outnumbered and you would both give us an advantage… especially Michael." Buffy replied trying to convince Faith.

"How about I go back with Buffy and you and Adriana can stay here?" Michael spoke up offering his opinion.

This elicited a glare and a frown from Faith letting Michael know that this was a bad idea, "No way… We either stay as a family or go as a family. The last time you went off on your own you almost got nuked… and this time there are no ODST's to hold me back."

Michael shrugged and let out a little sigh as he knew that it was almost a lost cause to argue with Faith over this subject.

Buffy smiled and let out a small laugh as she witnessed something rare—a Spartan backing away from a fight.

Buffy offered her thoughts on the subject trying to find a compromise to keep Faith happy and get their help, "Well Xander and Anya could watch Adriana… They have their twins to look out for and I don't think they would mind watching her while we're busy. You know they'll keep her safe."

Buffy watched as Faith and Michael looked at each other. It took what seemed a long time as the couple didn't say anything, but it was evident that they were communicating. Faith finally let out another dejected sigh as she turned and looked at Buffy, "Okay… We'll help. What's the big deal anyway about these… what did you call them?"

"Quasit demons… From what Giles has been able to dig up, these guys aren't usually much of a threat, but they travel in large groups and when they attack they try to swarm you. Like I said they normally stay below the radar, but it appears that their high priest has got it into his mind that he wants to ascend…"

Faith's head snapped at the word "ascend" and Buffy now had her undivided attention. Faith still had the old open wound from her time when she worked for Mayor Richard Wilkins when he tried to ascend to a pure demon.

Buffy saw the change in Faith's face and she knew that her fellow Slayer was remembering that period when they were on opposite sides and fought each other.

Michael also noticed the change in his wife's demeanor and he studied both Slayers. Faith had opened up and told him about those dark times working for the Mayor. Michael had arrived in Sunnydale after that period, but he knew that it was something that still bothered her from time to time for the choices and things that she had done.

"How much time do have before this ascension?" Faith asked in a serious tone.

"From what Giles was able to research, we only have a couple of days until the demon has to perform the ascension ritual otherwise according to the research it will have to wait another 275 years…"

Faith looked at Michael, their eyes meeting deeply. He took a moment to consider the tactical situation and logistics before replying, "We need at least a day to get ready. I need to check my battle armor and equipment and we have to pack to bring Adriana with us…"

"Well I can help with the packing and with Adriana. Auntie Buffy has missed seeing that beautiful little girl of yours…" Buffy replied with a smile as she looked back into the room and the little girl.

Faith smiled shaking her head as she accepted Buffy's offer and the two Slayers got up to start packing. Michael watched as they left and he closed his eyes and leaned his head back for a moment as he went through checklists in his mind and what equipment he was going to need. A small voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Daddy… Are we going somewhere?"

The small voice caught Michael off-guard sometimes as it was hard to believe how developed Adriana's vocabulary and other mental abilities were. He recalled that this had been one of the potential "side-effects" that Virgil mentioned when he had to perform the enzyme and DNA resequencing to save Adriana when Faith first found out she was pregnant. Virgil was continually monitoring Adriana's development and keeping Faith and Michael appraised of the results—her higher mental development was obvious, but Virgil had already charted that Adriana would be eventually as strong as or even stronger than a Slayer. She wouldn't be Spartan-II program standards, but pretty impressive without augmentation.

Michael looked at his daughter, "Yes… We are going with Aunt Buffy to Sunnydale to help her against some demons."

Adriana made a frown, "Demons are the bad people that you and Mommy talk about?"

"Yes Adriana." he replied.

"Can Virgil come to? He could help."

"No Adriana. Virgil has to stay here and watch over our home."

Adriana began to get one of her pout faces. Michael shook his head as he had been reprimanded by Faith on many occasions that he tended to be the soft touch for Adriana when she couldn't get her way. He had to remain steadfast in facing down his daughter's sad mood. Michael noted how much Adriana looked like her mother which sometimes made it harder to say no when she was sad.

"Adriana… We're only going for a short visit and we'll be back home and back to Virgil before you know it."

Adriana's mood brightened at this explanation and she moved in and gave her father a big hug, before wandering back into the bedroom to be with her mother and Aunt Buffy.

oOoOo

Michael made his way down to the lower levels of the installation where the armory was located and where his battle armor and weapons were stored. As he made his way down, Michael heard the cheerful humming of their other family member and he was soon joined by the "floating light bulb" that was the installation's AI caretaker.

"Virgil… What's the status on my battle armor?"

"I had anticipated your request as I monitored your conversation with Buffy and have already commenced cycling your armor out of stasis and running checks on all its systems."

"Thanks… Any problems?"

"No all systems are nominal." there was a pause.

"Okay Virgil… What is it?"

"You haven't worn your battle armor in five years and during that time I decided to see what other improvements and efficiencies I could achieve with that… limited design. I still find it hard to believe that you have survived as long as you have wearing such a primitive design."

"Yes Virgil… I'm well aware of what you think of my battle armor. What changes have you made… this time?" Michael said with a chuckle.

"I have updated the suit's operating system… this has provided more efficient response and allowed for more memory storage. I have 'tweaked' your motion sensors and they can now analyze and detect threats out to 900 meters. Shield strength has been increased another 15% and I have improved your armor lock system to increase the time that you can engage it to a full 30 seconds. I have added one other new system…"

"What is it?" Michael asked as he absorbed all the new updates and changes.

"I have added a rudimentary AI system to your suit."

Michael froze in his tracks.

It took a long moment for Virgil to continue, "I'm sorry Michael… I know that Adriana was a big part of your life and involved with your missions. That is why I felt that an AI system was needed for your suit. You could use the system to help in certain situations. It is not close to the same class as Adriana was, but it could make a difference in a life or death situation. I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds and offended you..."

It had been nearly six years since his AI—Adriana—had died and it was still hard not to think of her. Faith and Michael had named their daughter after the AI who was with him for so long. She had lived past her designated lifespan, but even when she was dying of rampancy, she had sacrificed herself to save Michael's life.

Michael took a deep breath as he understood Virgil's intent, "No Virgil I'm not offended. Even after all these years it's still hard to believe that she's gone."

Michael studied Virgil as he hovered in mid-air, "You miss her too. Don't you?"

Virgil's normal pulsating colors changed to a slight reddish hue, "Yes… I enjoyed the time that Adriana and I spent together… She was such a unique construct."

Michael smiled, "Yes that she was."

"So Virgil tell me about this new AI?"

Virgil changed back quickly warming to the subject, "I have used a more basic construct based on my own matrix to assist you. It is limited, but it should serve your needs for the types of combat situations that you will probably face. I wouldn't recommend facing off against a Covenant battle group with this AI, but it can be used to access other computer networks, especially those in Buffy's universe."

"Sounds good… Let's go see if I can still fit into my armor." Michael said smiling.

oOoOo

In the armory, Michael had suited up into his battle armor, "Feels smaller than I remember…"

"Michael… The size of your battle armor has not changed." Virgil stated.

Michael smirked at the quip, "I know. It's just been a while since I had to armor up."

He then went through system checks and saw his helmet display power up and felt the neural interface connect with him. Everything looked and felt the same as he remembered. Michael was going through his checklists when a male voice spoke startling him.

"Hello Michael…"

"Uh… Hello… I take it you're the new AI."

"Yes I am."

"Do you have a name or designation?"

"No… Virgil thought it would be better if you came up with a name for me." the AI replied.

"I'll have to give it some thought… I'll get back to you on that… If that's okay?" Michael said with some hesitation.

"That will be fine." replied the AI.

Michael made his way back up to the living quarter's area, he watched from the doorway as Faith and Buffy talked as they packed with Adriana running around laughing and getting attention from the two women. He soaked in the scene and smiled as he saw his wife and daughter. A part of him still found it hard to believe everything Faith and him had gone through to get to this point in their lives.

Adriana finally noticed her dad and stopped playing, she immediately ran to her mother with a scared look on her face. Michael was caught a little off-guard by her reaction, but then he remembered that Adriana had never seen him in his battle armor, there hadn't been a need for him to wear it since she was born. Faith immediately realized what had happened and she picked up Adriana telling her it was okay.

"Adriana… It's okay. It's only Daddy."

Michael took off his helmet as he entered into the room. Adriana finally looked up from scrunching her face into her mother and she saw that it was her daddy. Her smile immediately returned and she squirmed to get down and moved to her father.

Michael knelt down to get closer to her and she reached out and touched his armor. She then pointed at the UNSC emblem on his armor.

"What's that?" Adriana asked.

"That honey is an important symbol where I used to live before I met your mother. It was worn by brave men and women who fought to protect other people from those that would hurt them. That bird is called an eagle and the letters UNSC stand for United Nations Space Command… Daddy fought beside those brave men and women in space and on different worlds."

Adriana just looked at the emblem and then reached out and touched it with her small hand.

oOoOo

Everything for the trip to Sunnydale was packed and Faith, Buffy, Adriana and Michael made their way to the inter-dimensional transport room. As they stood in the transport room, Faith and Michael took one last look around and she picked up Adriana to hold on to her for the portal transport. They looked at each other and their eyes met, they could both see that they were both somewhat apprehensive about leaving the place that had been their home for so long. Faith smiled at Michael and then Virgil spoke.

"Activating portal… Pleasant trip everyone."

"Take care of yourself Virgil… See you in a few days." Michael said.

Adriana waved and said her good-byes to Virgil as well.

Everything went white and they were gone from that dimension.

oOoOo

A portal opened and they found themselves back in the warehouse in Sunnydale. Michael looked around as the memories came back about how he had helped setup this location with his AI's help. This was where he'd first met Faith—and gotten together. They had trained and lived here to prepare for the "Battle of the Hellmouth", but these days nobody lived here and was used mostly for storage and occasional training.

The warehouse still had an extensive security system in place and Faith and Michael had decided that they would stay here for the duration of their visit. They wanted to maintain a low profile and not draw any attention to their return. They each had their own long lists of enemies and they didn't need any complications while they were back here. They planned to stay as quiet as possible and off the grid until it was time to stop the ascension.

"Xander, Anya and the twins along with Giles are coming over later and we can go over the plan on how we are going to deal with this demon and ascension." Buffy said as she helped carry bags to Faith and Michael's old room.

"What about groceries?" Faith asked.

Buffy smiled, "I've already stocked up the kitchen with enough food for a week."

Faith sighed shaking her head in disbelief, "You knew that we would say yes to help you and come back with you."

Buffy smiled again, "I know both of you too well to not turn down facing off against a possible apocalypse."

oOoOo

It was indeed a couple of hours later when Xander, Anya and their kids showed up with Giles in tow. The group gathered in the common area to meet and discuss their plans as they could let the kids run around keeping an eye on them. At first the talk was casual as everyone caught up and talked about old times and reminisced.

Michael commented that Xander looked pretty good for someone trying to keep up and take care of twins.

"They are a handful some days, but I wouldn't want to change it for anything." Xander said with a smile.

Michael found himself nodding in agreement.

"That's easy for you to say Xander! You go to work during the day and leave me alone with the twin terrors." Anya said with a smile and a laugh.

"Well someone has to earn the money." Xander replied.

"We have lots of money in the bank… You don't need to work." Anya replied shaking her head.

"I like to work… Plus it gives me an excuse to get out of the house." Xander said in a deadpan voice.

Everyone smiled and enjoyed the exchange.

"How are Willow and Kennedy doing these days?" Faith asked.

"They're busy travelling and seeing the sights these days… We email or video chat pretty regularly." Xander replied.

"How's Dawn? Still going to school?" Faith asked.

Buffy sighed, "She's changed schools and majors… again. She can't seem to decide what she wants to do other than party and shop. It was great that your AI set us up all with nice bank accounts, but I think it went to Dawn's head too much."

"At least she's going to school… That's more than I ever did. She'll snap out of it." Faith said trying to console Buffy.

"I hope so." Buffy sighed again.

The others tried to steer clear about asking Buffy about Spike as that tended to be one of those topics "best not discussed", but Michael stepped on that social landmine. Everyone got awkward looks on their faces and Faith shook her head and glared at her husband. Buffy danced around the subject saying that Spike was in Europe taking care of old business—something about back taxes and she didn't know when he would be back.

Occasionally someone would check up on the kids, they were playing well with each other and not causing too much mayhem and destruction. Adriana was the oldest and she had taken over making sure that the twins—Jesse and Tara—who were only 3 years old, stayed out of trouble.

Michael glanced to the kids playing and then at the people around the table and he felt old. The only adult he was close to in age was Giles, who was the oldest of their group and not much older than Michael. It was hard sometimes to keep track due to the differences and shifting he'd done between the dimensions, but Michael occasionally did the dimension calculations or asked Virgil to do it for him. He estimated that he was pushing 51 years old. Faith was still a youthful looking 29 and looking beautiful and not having lost anything even after having Adriana. Some days Michael found himself wondering and then asking her what she saw in him. She would always shake her head and a little smirk would come to her face and tell him that he looked pretty good for an old man—more distinguished and sexier with a hint of dangerous thrown in now as she put it. His augmentation kept him in pretty much the same shape as he'd always been and hadn't lost any of his speed, strength or reflexes. He did wake up on cold mornings feeling the aches in his joints and muscles. His body was still covered with scars accumulated over the years from his augmentation, training and combat, but they were starting to fade with age. He had worried at first that they would scare Adriana with them, but she just called them "Daddy's Owies".

Michael quickly refocused on the discussion as Giles had started his briefing on the Quasit demons and the ascension ceremony.

"It appears that a large group of these demons… numbering at least one hundred have gathered for this ceremony. I was able to ascertain the location of their underground temple… located off of this sewer junction." Giles said pointing at the sewer map layout of Sunnydale.

"Do these demons have any weapons that we need to know about?" Faith asked looking at the map as well.

"They don't use any tools per se, but they have long sharp claws and sharp teeth. If they bite you, they release a toxic venom that can cause delirium and hallucinations. The main concern is the Quasit high priest. From the information I was able to gather, this particular demon has a power staff. It is called the 'Staff of Uman'. I don't have much information of what the staff actually does other than it has a crystal at one end that is powered by dark magic. I believe the high priest is going to harness the power of this staff to help with his ascension."

"So you have a hundred plus demons that have sharp claws and a nasty bite and one demon high priest with a power staff that we don't know what it does… So what's the plan?" Xander asked.

Michael spoke first, "I could go in and do a sweep and clear of everything in the temple."

Giles considered the Spartan's plan for a moment before responding, "Hmmm… Only problem is if the demons try to swarm you then you might not get to the priest in time."

"How about if Michael goes in first and attracts the swarm and then Faith and I come in to take out this high priest and his power staff." Buffy suggested.

It didn't take a military genius to see that plan made the most sense and everyone came to a quick agreement on Buffy's suggestion.

"So when do we go in?" Faith asked.

"We need to make sure that the high priest is present and we either stop or delay the ascension ceremony. According to my calculations, the ascension ceremony should be taking place tomorrow night."

"So we wait until they gather and then go in and do clean up?" Buffy asked.

"Yes… I think that would work the best for timing." Giles replied.

oOoOo

The group visited for a little while longer and then Xander and Anya had to head home with Giles using the pretext as an excuse to call it a night as well. The battle plan was in place, Faith and Michael were going to drop off Adriana with Xander and Anya, meeting Buffy at their place and head for the temple from there. There was some discussion about having all the kids at the warehouse, but surprise and keeping a low profile was more important. As a precaution, there was a backup plan in place that if things went bad, everyone would regroup at the warehouse.

As everyone was leaving, Xander approached Michael and handed him an envelope.

"I've been meaning to get these to you and Faith for a while, but considering there is no email or postal service to your dimension… well you know." Xander said with a smile.

Michael took the envelope and opened it. He saw that there were a number of pictures. The pictures were from when Faith and he got married. Michael smiled as the memory replayed through his mind—Faith looked so beautiful and pregnant that day. That had been a happy day for everyone.

Michael thumbed through the pictures as there were quite a few of them. Some of the pictures were from right after Adriana had been born. Everyone had again visited to see Adriana. Michael recalled that day easily as it had been one of the happiest days of his life.

Michael looked up from the pictures to Xander, "Thank you. This means a lot."

Xander found himself feeling a little embarrassed at the Spartan's gratitude, "No problem."

oOoOo

That night Faith and Michael found themselves sleeping in their old bed in their old room. Adriana was snuggled in between them sound asleep. They had attempted to get Adriana to sleep in the next room, but she had been scared of the strange surroundings.

Michael found himself laying there with his eyes wide open looking at the ceiling and thinking. He couldn't sleep and it bothered him. It wasn't like him to be nervous like this before a mission. He tried to sleep, but his mind kept going over everything, trying to see where things could go wrong and cover off the contingencies. He had too much to risk and lose now.

"Michael? Are you awake?"

"Yes…"

"You worried?" Faith asked.

"Only about you and Adriana… I'm just checking over everything in my mind to try and cover off any problems." Michael answered trying to keep the concern from his voice.

Faith sighed, "Remember you're not indestructible… You watch out for yourself. Adriana and I need you to stick around." she said also trying to keep the concern from her voice.

"I love you too." Michael said.

"Any regrets?" Faith asked.

Michael didn't take long to respond, "My only regret is if we don't get more time to spend together."

There was movement in the bed and Faith leaned across trying not to wake Adriana and kissed Michael.

"I love you Michael… I'll always love you." Faith whispered to him.

oOoOo

Michael was armoring up and going through his systems checks and reviewing his equipment list and the battle plan again in his mind. He finally put his helmet on and did his final suit checks—he had the new AI reviewing and checking systems to ensure everything was working. He still found it strange and was having some difficulty getting used to the idea of having another AI in his suit.

"All systems check out Michael." the AI reported.

Michael was still giving some thought to a designation for this AI. He didn't have a lot of time, Faith and Buffy had already left to drop off Adriana at Xander's and Anya's home which was located in one of the new subdivisions that had sprung up in the rebuilding of Sunnydale. Michael was to rendezvous with them at the sewer entrance that would get them to the underground temple where these Quasit demons were gathering for the ascension ceremony.

Michael was getting ready to head out when it finally came to him—the AI was the offspring of Virgil.

"How does the name 'Junior' sound to you?" Michael asked.

There was a pause as the AI considered the name, "That sounds satisfactory… I have logged my new name and designation as 'Junior'" the AI responded in cheery voice that reminded Michael of Virgil.

Now that piece of business was out of the way, Michael knew that he only had to worry about the hard part now. He only hoped that the actually operation would go as smoothly as they had planned and that they would be finished fast so that he could take his family home.

Michael had no idea how sideways and messed up things were about get…