CHAPTER EIGHT:
You don't want to know what Plan B is…
Giles was rubbing his eyes tiredly as he moved slowly to answer his apartment door. He had dozed off while doing some research and the urgent knocking on the door had startled him awake. He was still wiping the sleep from his eyes and trying to put on his glasses when he opened the door.
He was almost knocked over by the door as Buffy followed by Faith swept into his apartment. It took Giles a moment to recover and he immediately got a bad feeling as he noted how agitated Buffy was. He did notice that in stark contrast, Faith appeared rather calm and relaxed.
"What's wrong?" Giles asked worriedly.
"I take it you didn't hear the news." Buffy replied.
"Well I was researching and I sort of… dozed off" Giles replied sheepishly.
"Geez… Giles don't you even watch TV?" Buffy replied with some frustration shaking her head.
"Well I do own one, but I don't watch it… There's not much on that is of any redeeming value." Giles mumbled.
Giles quickly shook his head as they were drifting off topic and they needed to refocus, "Let's start again… What happened?"
"It looks like our robot friend is back… It decided to turn a block of downtown Sunnydale into a shooting gallery." Buffy replied.
"Oh dear…" was all that Giles could think of to say.
"Are you both alright? Was anyone hurt?" he asked.
Buffy shook her head, but she had a confused look on her face as she replayed the night's events in her mind, "That's the strange part… The police cars were shot up, but no one was hurt… Even Faith is okay after a very close encounter with the robot."
Giles's eyes widened and he turned to Faith, "You fought this robot? What can you tell us about it?" he asked eagerly.
It took Faith a moment to realize that Giles was talking to her as she was still replaying the events in her head, but with a different perspective and feelings than Buffy.
"Huh… Oh yeah… I don't think you could call what I did against that robot as fighting… I threw all my best moves at him and he dodged them all… I even managed to slash him with my blade and it didn't do any damage to whatever he's made of. He gripped my knife by the blade and broke it off without it even cutting him."
Giles looked at Faith for a moment as he noted her report.
"You called the robot a 'He' rather than an 'it'… Why would you refer to the robot as a he?' Giles asked curiously.
"I don't know… The robot looked more man-shaped… I got a very close look at 'him' when he had me pinned…" Faith started to say.
"The robot had you pinned! Are you alright?" Giles said with concern interrupting Faith.
"Yeah I'm fine… Just a few minor bruises as souvenirs… What I started to say was when the robot had me pinned I was able to notice a lot of details. Whoever designed and built this thing did a hell of a job… The arms and body looked life like… He's strong and fast… I have never seen anyone with reflexes that fast. The arms were big and muscular… I swear I could see muscles flexing through his armor… skin… Whatever it was… I…" Faith stopped as she saw both Buffy and Giles staring at her. She realized that she was starting to blush again as she recalled how she felt as the robot held her and looked at her.
Giles took a second to let everyone compose themselves, "Uh… yes… I see. Did you notice anything else about the robot?"
Faith used the break to clear her mind and focus, "Like I said he was fast and strong… Oh yeah, there were markings on his armor."
Giles noted again with some concern that Faith was personifying the robot. There was something else going on.
She's holding something back, he thought.
"What markings?" Giles asked deciding not to voice his concerns at this time.
"There was the number '113' on his chest. There was also another emblem… It was an eagle holding on to something… I couldn't make out what it was… It was a round whatever the eagle was holding and there were the letters 'UNSC'." Faith said.
Faith was not about to tell them that the robot talked to her and what he had said. That was info she would relay to the Mayor when she had a chance.
"Hmmm… I don't have any idea what those symbols would represent. Could be some sort of designation?" Giles said scratching his chin as he thought.
Faith decided to add her thoughts, "The funny thing is… I've hung out in a few bars and partied with some US Marines and that emblem was very similar to the one used by the Marine Corps… There were differences, but it was very close."
"Are we dealing with a military robot? Why would the US military send something into Sunnydale?" Buffy asked with concern.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here… We don't know if this was a US military robot or any other military's robot yet. The letters 'UNSC'… Well the only UN that I know of stands for the United Nations and they have no standing military or special forces that I am aware of." Giles replied trying to answer Buffy's concerns.
Giles looked over both Slayers, "The important thing here is that you are both unhurt and no one else was hurt. I think we should be thankful and try to get some rest and reconvene tomorrow to discuss this further and maybe some more info will have unearthed by then to help tell us more about this robot."
oOoOo
Michael had made it back to the warehouse without any further incident. He was sorting through the stuff he had picked up on his night of "shopping". He'd been lucky that he hadn't dropped anything when he was making his escape from the police and his confrontation with Faith.
The encounter with Faith replayed over in his mind. He saw how young she looked—the wild and dark look in her eyes. That image mixed in with the memories of his Faith. He was tired and needed to get some sleep, but it seemed that every time he closed his eyes he had nightmares of something happening to both Faith and Adriana. He felt so helpless in those dreams, he was unable to save them—he failed them. Michael tried closing his eyes again and this time tried doing some breathing and relaxation exercises that had been taught to him during Spartan training. It seemed to take so much effort and will power to just sit and relax. Images of Faith played through his mind and he knew what he wanted, but that wasn't an option.
Michael knew that his focus had to be on retrieval of the staff. He went over what his next steps would be. He had a couple of options. They were both weak and potentially dangerous, but he had no choice. The question was which option he would follow first.
oOoOo
After leaving Giles, Buffy and Faith went their separate ways. Buffy made her way over to Angel's. She was still wound up from the encounter with the robot. She went over the events again in her mind and she was still puzzled, especially with Faith's behavior.
Buffy knew from past experience that Faith could get turned on and excited by the fighting, but watching her tonight, she saw a different reaction from anything she had seen from Faith before. Buffy had managed to only get a glimpse of the fight before the robot had run off, but she could have sworn that there was some sort of connection between Faith and the robot from the way it held her and then let her go.
Whatever was going on with Faith, this robot was another new problem arising at a bad time along with having to deal with the Mayor. Buffy didn't even have an idea on how or what they could use to stop this robot.
Maybe Angel might be able to provide some ideas, Buffy thought with a sigh.
At the very least it would allow her to spend some time with him and maybe unwind and relax for a little while and try to forget all the problems.
oOoOo
Faith made her way to the Mayor's office once leaving Giles's place. She knew that Buffy was headed over to Angel's place. She was usually envious about Buffy and Angel, but tonight she found that it didn't bother her as much. Her mind was still filled with thoughts and emotions as she kept playing over her encounter with the robot.
She just couldn't shake the feeling she got as the robot looked at her. She recalled how his arms flexed and the strength that she could see and feel. What got to her the most was when the robot spoke to her. The voice and words replayed in her mind—he hadn't said much, but it was what he said and how he said it. There was concern, tenderness and something else in that voice and she could feel it.
Faith had to shake her head as thoughts raced through her head.
Giles is right… Why am I referring to the robot as a "he" rather than an "it"? Maybe I'm putting too much into this.
She tried to rationalize her thoughts and what had happened.
Maybe I'm just horny and need to release some steam… Too bad Xander is too much of a prude… wouldn't mind giving him a second ride... Yeah that's it! A visit to the Bronze and see what's on the menu is what I need.
Faith felt satisfied that she had dealt with her confusing thoughts and emotions and that just some meaningless sex was all she needed. She pushed further thoughts aside as she made her way to the Mayor's office, but a small part of her still couldn't get rid of the thought of what if those robot arms were real arms and what it would be like to have them holding her.
oOoOo
Buffy had settled in at Angel's place for the night. She brought him up to date about the Quasit demons being massacred. He'd already been aware of the killings—he had been one of the "reliable sources". He had no clues or insight as to whom or what was behind the attack.
Angel became visibly concerned and worried when Buffy relayed the news of her latest robot encounter. He was relieved that no one, especially Buffy, had been hurt. Like the attack against the Quasits, he had no ideas or clues on where to find the robot and how to stop it.
"Why don't you ask Willow for ideas on how to stop the robot? She's pretty smart with all that science stuff." Angel said as Buffy curled up with him.
Buffy sighed, "Yeah… You're right. I'll check in with Willow tomorrow. Maybe we can just forget about robots and Mayors for one night?"
oOoOo
The Mayor studied Faith as she relayed her report of what had occurred that evening. Wilkins already knew that something had happened in the downtown area as he'd been informed by the police about the shoot-out. The Mayor at first hadn't given it any further concern or thought as the police had reported that they had no suspects from the break-in and shoot-out, but they were guessing that it was gang-related activity.
Now knowing who was actually involved with this incident didn't bring any solace to the Mayor about this "robot" problem, but then he hadn't survived this long by not being able to find something that he could exploit and use against his opponents. He kept going over the information that Faith had provided him.
Faith sat there studying the Mayor after giving her report to him. She had included all the details from the encounter except—except for some reason she didn't tell him how the encounter made her feel. She couldn't explain why she held back that information, she rationalized it in her mind that it wasn't important to the situation, so he didn't need to know.
Faith watched as the Mayor sat there and studied her. She was starting to feel uncomfortable when he finally smiled and stood up and walked over to her.
"Thank you Faith for that report. It was most informative and helpful. I'm just glad that you weren't hurt tonight… You do worry me sometimes." Wilkins said using his concerned parental voice.
Faith felt a momentarily flash of guilt that she had held back info from the Mayor, but she also let out an inner sigh that he wasn't questioning her more. She found herself having to force a smile on her face.
"No worries… Everything is five by five. Though I'm feeling kinda tired."
"Yes of course my dear. That's perfectly understandable." the Mayor replied.
Faith started to get up to leave the office, when the Mayor spoke up.
"Before you go, I need to ask something of you."
Faith paused wondering and feeling a little irritated about what the Mayor wanted from her now.
"From what you have reported it appears that this robot fellow knows about your association with me… For some reason it appears that this robot and/or the persons controlling it have some 'feelings' for you. It appears that your 'friend' possibly wants to guide you back to the 'right path'... sort of speaking."
Faith nodded with the Mayor in agreement.
"I think we may have found an opening we can exploit… I need you to try and locate this robot and use your 'womanly charms' to try and gather more information on this thing." the Mayor said with a vicious tone.
For some unknown reason the tone and the way the Mayor used the word "thing" to refer to the robot bothered her, but she kept her thoughts to herself and she just nodded in agreement with the Mayor once again.
"What then… After I gather this information?" Faith asked.
The Mayor paused for a moment looking at her, "We kill it…"
A little voice in the back of Faith's mind yelled at her that this wrong. The voice—the voice of the robot said that she still had a choice and she could walk away from the Mayor, but she pushed it down. She had made her choice and this was her path now, even with the voice still echoing in her head that she still had a choice.
Faith was tired of this conversation and she wanted to get some rest to try and put this all behind her, "Anything else?"
"Yes... How's your search going for that demon and those books?" the Mayor asked switching to another important issue.
"Been kind of busy, but I'm on it tomorrow… I don't think it will take long to track this demon down." Faith replied tiredly.
The Mayor smiled and placed his hands on Faith's shoulders. For some unknown reason, Faith suddenly had to fight the urge to cringe under his touch.
Wilkins didn't notice her discomfort as he spoke, "Good… Just remember that the books are first priority and then this robot… Make sure that you keep close to Buffy and her crowd in case they come up with any information that would be helpful to our cause."
oOoOo
Giles opened his eyes and looked towards the clock on his bedside table. He squinted his eyes as he tried to focus on the time—3:49 the clock displayed. It had been hours since Buffy and Faith had left his place. As he woke up more, his Watcher training kicked in and he realized that something or someone was in the room with him. He carefully and quietly moved his hand to reach under the pillow to get his knife out…
"The knife isn't there… If that's what you're looking for?" a voice suddenly spoke out of the darkness startling Giles causing his eyes to widen in shock.
"You can sit up if you want… Relax… If I wanted you dead… You would have been dead before you even noticed." the voice spoke again from the darkness.
Giles sat up warily in bed, he was trying to control his fear as he reached for his glasses. He made a slight move towards the bedside light to turn it on—or use it as a weapon once he located the intruder.
"Hold it! No glasses… No lights." the voice said again in a firm tone catching Giles again by surprise.
Giles took a deep breath, "Well you have me at a complete disadvantage… What is it that you want?" he said showing poise and some defiance in his response.
He was surprised when he heard a slight chuckle from the darkness.
"Good old Giles… I've always liked how you managed to keep your composure in difficult circumstances." the voice spoke again.
"Do I know you? What is it you want from me?" Giles asked with some growing evident frustration at the situation he had found himself in.
He tried again to make out who or what was talking to him, but without his glasses and in the dark, he couldn't see much of anything in his bedroom.
"It's a long and complicated story… I am limited in what I can tell you and in fact I shouldn't be here at all, but I need your help." the voice said with a sigh.
Giles was caught off-guard and his eyes widened at this statement, "You… You want my help? You have a funny way of approaching a person to ask for help."
The voice from the darkness replied, "Well let's just say these are extenuating circumstances and I have limited options available. Will you help me?"
Giles could have sworn that he almost heard the voice plead for his help.
"What is it that you need my help with?" Giles asked somewhat reluctantly, but now more curious than fearful.
"What you do best… Research. I need you to find out where the 'Staff of Uman' is? I know that it is somewhere in the Sunnydale area, but I need the exact location." the voice answered.
Again Giles found himself surprised, "I've never heard of this 'Staff of Uman'. What does it do? What is it for?" he asked warily.
The voice sighed, "To be honest I don't know what it's really used for… All I know is that it can be used with ascension ceremonies… My only concern is obtaining that staff."
At the mention of "ascension" Giles got more worried and concerned. He wasn't about to put it past the Mayor to run some sort of scam on him and the others to try and get something he needed for his ascension.
"How do I know that you won't use this staff to hurt anyone?" Giles asked with concern of where this request could lead.
The voice sighed again, "You'll have to trust me on this… I just need the staff and I'm running out of options. Normally I would just tear the town apart myself to find it, but current circumstances prevent me… I can only say that finding this staff is not only important to me, but to you and the rest of the Scoobies."
Giles's eyes widened at the voice's use of the term "Scoobies". Only someone that was close to them would know of the term that Xander called their little group.
"If I agree to your request I have a couple of conditions." Giles said feeling that he had some leverage finally on the voice and the situation.
"What are they?' the voice said reluctantly.
"One… I can request help from the rest of my group to help with this search." Giles asked.
There was a moment of silence and then the voice replied, "You can get assistance for your search from anyone… except Buffy and Faith."
Giles arched an eyebrow at this counter-condition, "But… Why not them?" Giles asked curiously trying to probe out more information.
"It is important that the Slayers not know about this… I cannot emphasize the importance that they not get involved at this time… Especially Faith… I'm treading a fine line here and time is of the essence."
Giles was finding himself confused now, "How much time?' he asked with concern.
"Yesterday would have been preferable, but I can only give you at most 3 to 4 days. After that I have to go to Plan B."
"What's Plan B?" Giles asked hesitantly.
"You don't want to know what Plan B is…" replied the voice.
Giles felt a chill move down his spine and he shuddered for some unknown reason.
After a moment the voice asked, "Is that it?"
"No… If I'm doing this work I need to know who or what I am doing this for… This condition is not up for negotiation!" Giles said in a firm tone finally feeling that he had nothing to lose in taking this position.
The voice sighed again and Giles could detect movement in the dark room. Whatever was in the room with him was huge. Suddenly the light turned on and Giles closed his eyes out of reflex to the sudden blinding light, but as he blinked he saw a massive man shape by his bedroom door.
It took Giles a moment to recover and his hand went out reaching for his glasses. After a couple of missed attempts he managed to grab on to them and he quickly put them so he could see clearly. He was in awe as he stared at the huge robot that was standing in his bedroom—the same robot described by Buffy and Faith from their encounters.
Their descriptions don't do it any justice, Giles thought as he fought to try and regain his composure.
He found himself taking deep breaths and found his mind filled with so many questions.
"Who… Who… Who are you?" he finally managed to stammer out.
Giles could feel the robot look at him with that gold color visor. He could feel the strength and power there.
"For now… You can call me… Spartan." the robot replied.