One week later:
"Buffy, I'm telling you, it looks bloody perfect!"
"No, something isn't right, I'm sure of it."
"Listen luv, this is our first night here, we don't have to have everything just right in one night." I feel lust pouring into the bond so I already know what he's up to, but I won't be swayed from my self-appointed task. "Why don't we christen the bedroom and we'll give it another look in the morning."
"No, Spike. This is our first place together, my first place at all. I want it to be perfect."
"Fine, we don't have to christen the bedroom. The living room and kitchen still need it too." He walks up behind me and grabs my waist to pull it back against him, I feel his hardness pressing against me. Hmm, maybe he's right, I guess I can take another look at it in the fresh light of day. Mhmm, he's not playing fair, he knows my knees go all gooey when he nibbles my neck like that.
He chuckles huskily in my ear, "That's right, kitten. Leave this for tomorrow and come have some fun with the Big Bad."
I try valiantly not to giggle, he hasn't been the Big Bad in a long time. Thankfully, I'm able to stifle it, I don't want to hurt his feelings, after all.
"Oi, I might not be doing much bad, but I'm still the Big Bad, Missy. You are one step away." Oops, I guess he feels my merriment in the bond. I decide to play along.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Big Bad. I'll be good, I promise." I bat my eyelashes at him and run into the bedroom to proceed with the christening of the bedroom… and the kitchen, and the bathroom… and a few others. When we're finally both sated for the night, we're laying on the couch that I think is still not placed right in the living room, but I'm too tired to do anything about it.
"Get off of me," I whine.
"What are you talking about, you dozy bint? You're the one that's lying on top of me."
"No, you're the dozy bint, I mean you're laying on my hair."
"Oh, sorry luv. Not thinkin' straight, pretty sure I've just cummed my brains out."
"Eww. Thanks for the weird visual. Thanks, sweets," I say once he moves. I'm still trying to find the right nickname for him, so I figure I might as well try one of the ones he uses on me. I like it but I can tell by the look on his face and the feelings in the bond that he doesn't. "What's wrong with that one? I think it sounds nice."
"What's wrong is I have a prick. That's a name for a bird."
"I'm not a bird!"
"Yes, you are, pet." He emphasizes the point by cupping my sex, putting pressure against my clit, and making me moan again.
"Fine. But I like it."
"Seems to me you have to keep trying."
"Whatever." I pout my lip out.
"Mhmm look at that lip. Gotta get it, gotta get it."
He leans in and kisses me, turning words into actions. We spend the rest of the night kissing, loving, and cuddling. Enjoying our first night in our own apartment, or flat, if you ask Spike.
Bright and early the next morning we make our way to Giles' place to make the final arrangements for our plan for Adam. We're also picking up Riley, because we're finally meeting up with Graham and the other commandos to hand him over. Giles is going to do the spell soon and he'll be out of it for a few hours, during those few hours we'll give him to the guys. Tonight is the night that we're going to take him down. It's been a crazy week, making plans to take out Adam, moving into our place, answering the many questions Giles keeps coming up with about our time travel and regular old slaying duties. It's good though because it's kept me so busy that I've been able to ignore that whole immortality thing, I still haven't sat down to think about it, with all it's down sides and up sides. Nope, this girl is fine with living in Egypt for a little while.
Anyway, the plan for Adam is for me and Spike to go in and fight him while Aspen is doing a spell, with Tara and Willow as backup to take the power out of his power center. Once he's powered down, I'll use my Scythe to cut it out of him and turn him off for good. There's a chance that spell won't work because his power center is holding so much energy that Aspen might not be able to hold it, even with Tara and Willow helping her. We have a plan B and C if that's the case. Plan B is for Spike and I to take the power center out without the spell but if that's too much, we're going to fall back on the adjoining spell but with Aspen leading the casting.
I don't know why, but for some reason, something inside me is so against using that spell again. It's a little silly because it worked out just fine last time. I shake my head, it doesn't matter, we'll do it if we need to but not before then.
"Morning everyone, are we all ready to take out our next Big Bad?" I ask perkily.
"Oi, Slayer! I'm the only Big Bad as far as you're concerned and don't you forget it."
"Sorry, darling. It won't happen again." I say sarcastically. Wait, darling, I think I like that one. I look at Spike and feel through the bond that he likes it, it makes him feel warm and happy. I think I might have finally found it.
Giles cleans his glasses and then clears his throat when he decides Spike and I have been staring at each other too long. "Yes, well, I think we're all quite ready for the Initiative ordeal to be over. Isn't that right, children?"
"Watch it, Watcher. Who are you calling a child?" Spike asks indignantly.
"Yeah, I can't believe I'm agreeing with Captain Peroxide over there but what the frilly heck, Giles? We haven't been children for months, years, even." Then continues in a lower sarcastic voice, "Centuries, for Bleachy over there."
Spike gives Xander the two-finger salute. They both still snipe at each other like they're children but they aren't cruel to each other and they don't seem like they actively dislike each other anymore. I think that's the best I can hope for, for now, anyway.
"Be that as it may, I think we're all ready. Does anyone have any last-minute questions?" Giles says as he speaks over the two bickering at each other. Everyone else is looking at them with a look that says, 'Oh well, what can you do?'
"Um, I don't have any questions about the attack itself but I would like to know how you know where Adam is staying and how you led us to finding the adjoining spell, Buffy. Buffy and research are unmixy. If it's possible, Buffy is even more unmixy with magic than research, so I'm just wondering, how and why… and when?" Willow asks.
"Well when I met with the commandos, they gave me the information about the location…" I start but Giles interrupts and saves me from lying. I'm still of the opinion that we should tell them the truth, but Dawn is still uncomfortable with it and it's her secret, too, so I won't tell without her permission. Spike doesn't care either way.
"Willow, how about we worry about this after the battle?" Giles interrupts.
"Wait, guys, I might have a better idea," Dawn pipes in.
"Dawn, we already talked about this. Yes, it's a good idea but you need more practice," I gently cut in before she can go further.
Aspen has been helping her work with her latent key magic. She's even opened a small portal, about the size of a plate to another dimension. As Spike will tell you, it's all about the blood, she can use her blood to open portals, just like Glory tried to do, she's just learning how to use that magic for herself. She thinks she can just send Adam somewhere but there are too many downsides to that plan. One, we can't just send him anywhere, we can't just leave him in a random dimension so he can kill innocents over there. It would take a lot of time that we don't have to find a dimension that's either empty or find one where all the beings there are stronger than him, which is a scary thought. And two, she can't tell everyone about her key powers if she doesn't want to tell them about the time travel because they don't even know what a key is. I know she just wants to help, but she needs more practice and has to think things through.
"More practice for what?" Willow asks, looking interested. Dawn's eyes open wide, I think she finally understands why we shouldn't talk about this right now.
"Just something Aspen and I have been working on, but Buffy is right, I'll need more practice before I feel safe about using it on the field."
"You're working with Aspen, too? But you don't have any magical powers. Tara and I are the only witchy girls in the Scoobies, right?"
"Dawn has a different type of magic than you, it's unique to her. She can't do the things you and I can, but we can't do the things she can either."
"What can she do?"
"Dimensional things. Opening doors and such."
I cringe, I like Aspen just fine but she still has a problem talking about things that are private and telling everyone our business. It's actually majorly of the annoying. She's so nice though and every time she touches me or lets her aura out, I feel like I'm so happy and content that I forgive her. She doesn't even realize she's doing it, she's so open about herself, it's like she's an open book. She just assumes everyone else is the same way.
"How does she have that kind of magic?" Willow asks.
"That's pretty cool, Dawn. Good for you, fight the power," Oz says with a thumbs up to Dawn.
Now that Willow has been working seriously with Aspen for a few weeks, Oz has decided to forgive her. They've been taking it slow but they're working back to having a good relationship again. It's weird though, They've been going out a lot but Tara has been going out with them. I don't know what's going on there, is it just a friend's hang out? Does Tara feel like a third wheel? Is it something more? I don't know, and right now, I'm fine with that. I love my friends no matter what but I have been wondering what's been going on between the three of them.
"Willow, what have we talked about?" Aspen asks in her light but authoritative voice.
"That I need to focus on my magic and not worry about others. That focusing on my magic doesn't mean focusing on how to make it stronger but how to keep it light healthy earth magic because since we live on the Hellmouth, it's easy to draw dark magic from there. Focusing on how other people are doing with magic is dangerous because it breeds jealousy, making it easier to let the dark magic in."
"Very good, Willow. Make sure you keep that in mind."
"Yes, Aspen. You're right." She seems like she's really learning a lot, and I'm proud of her. Though she still looks really interested in how Dawn has any magic ability, and it's a fair question for her to have. I look at Dawn and I can tell she's already realized she's made a mistake bringing it up in the first place. I'll talk to her tomorrow because we'll be alone. She's coming over to spend the night for the first time in our apartment. I think I'm going to have to try to convince her that it's best to tell everyone the truth.
"Okay, Giles. I think it's time to do the spell on Riley. Graham is planning on meeting me in an hour to make the exchange and to let me know if there have been any changes with what's left of the initiative since we last spoke to them." I say.
Giles clears his throat. "Yes, I think you're quite right, Buffy. Aspen, I think that's your cue, you're leading the spell, right?"
"Yes, I am. Tara and Willow will ground me and learn how to properly use the earth to harness their magic Although, Tara is already quite adept at it, I must say. Her mother taught her well. Okay, I'm ready, let us get started."
Tara blushes at the praise, but she and Willow get in position while I bring Riley over to the circle the witches made. He looks confused but at least he's not fighting. Once he's in the seat that was set up for him, and I can tell he's not going to cause any problems, I step out of the circle and let the witches get down to their witchy work. I walk over to Spike who's standing off to the side. Hopefully, sooner rather than later he'll stop feeling like he doesn't belong in our group, everyone has accepted him and likes him. Even Giles and Xander, who both try valiantly not to.
Aspen is speaking in a language I can't even place, although it does sound familiar. Probably because I've heard Willow speaking it during one of her spells. There's a glow surrounding the girls—Aspen is brightest—and slowly, the light is moving from the spell castors toward Riley. He's starting to look freaked out and he even tries to leave the circle but I guess because the spell is active, he can't actually step out of it. Finally, the light reaches his feet and moves up his body to his head where it glows a hundred times brighter. The light seems to sink into his head and his eyes glow for a second, wiggy. Once it's over, it's good he's already sitting down because he slumps over and loses consciousness.
"Is he okay?" I ask in the silence after the spell. Aspen looks a little winded but otherwise fine, but Willow and Tara look a little more run down.
"Yes, he'll wake up in about an hour. Whenhe does, he'll have no memory of the past few weeks. Make sure he is in the company of the people you're giving him to by then. He'll be out of it for a while after he wakes up, so it'll be okay if he sees you but please, try to be gone by then. It's safer that way," Aspen warns.
"On it, thanks, Aspen for the witchy mojo."
"No problem, Buffy."
I walk over to Willow and Tara, give them each a hug, and thank them too. Then I look at everyone else in the room. "So after I drop Riley off and see if the commandos have any last-minute intell for me, I'll come back here and we'll get ready to take Adam down."
"Sounds good, Buffster."
"Yes, Buffy, we'll be here making sure everything is in place for when you return," Giles adds.
"Okay, good. We shouldn't be long."
I look over to Spike and see him roughly throw Riley over his back like a potato sack and roll my eyes. I know he remembers the staking with a wood grain state from the other timeline, but sheesh, that was unnecessary. I don't verbally reprimand him but I know he feels my disapproval in the bond when he looks at me rebelliously, I just sigh. What else can I do? We walk to the car and I open the door so Spike can put him in the back seat. I realize a second too late that I should have told Spike to be gentle because he throws Riley back there roughly. If it wasn't for the spell, I'm sure he'd have woken up from that.
The ride to the meeting point was quick and quiet. When we get there, I can see that Graham and the other commandos are already there, so we make our way to them quickly.
"Hey, where's Riley, I thought we were taking him home today?" Graham asks.
"Oh yeah, you are. We just left him in the car. Figured it would be safer to leave him there while we're talking in case someone walks by and we're just holding up a guy that's clearly unconscious. Then again, they'd probably just ignore it, considering we're in Sunnydale and people like to pretend nothing bad ever happens here."
Graham chuckles, "Good point."
"Now, is there any new information you have to tell us?"
"Well, some of the people in the Initiative have gone missing, we're worried that Adam has gotten to them. He came to me and offered to let me become like him. I told him I needed to think about it, I think he wanted to force me. Thankfully, we were close to a grocery store and I was able to walk in. I was worried that I made a mistake and that he would follow me in there, putting civilians at risk. Thankfully, he just left."
I already know all that, Adam is trying to create an army of his own, an army of beings like him. It doesn't seem like he's been able to capture many people for that project yet though. Which is definitely of the good. I can't let him know that I already know all this though, so time to play all Unknowing Buffy. "You're right, you were lucky. You better be on the lookout for the rest of the night though, he doesn't seem like one to give up easily. So he might come after you again. Although, if all goes to plan, he'll be dealt with by the end of the night and you won't have to worry anymore."
"That is good to hear, Buffy. I can't wait until the threat is neutralized."
"I'll make sure to get word to you one way or another if it works or not. To be safe, it's probably better if we don't meet up for a while. At least not somewhere public like this, anyone can see us and with Adam still alive, it's just getting too dangerous. It's safer for you guys to stay with your squad or whatever you guys call each other," I end with a shrug.
"Okay, Buffy. Then I guess this is it. There's a chance I won't see you before I leave."
"Where are you going?"
"Most of us were offered a position in South America. We're going to kill dangerous demons." He must have seen my look of disapproval because he quickly continued. "It's nothing like what was happening here, I swear. First, we have to research the different species we encounter. Then, once we know if they're dangerous or not, we'll take them out if need be. The higher-ups might deny having anything to do with what was going on here, but they sure learned from the mistakes that happened here."
"Well that's good, Graham, I'm happy for you."
"Yeah mate, as long as you're not just going out and killin' every demon you see, I figure that's a lot better than what you're doin' here. Spent some time down there and there are a bloody lot of nasties in those jungles."
"Uh, yeah, we think so too. Thanks."
"Okay, follow us to the car so you can get Riley. Remember, he'll wake up soon, probably in less than a half hour. He'll be confused for a while and will have no idea what happened to him. I figured that you'd tell him you found him unconscious in a graveyard or something and leave it at that."
"Okay, yeah, that sounds like a good plan." He sounds a little confused but I guess that makes sense, The Initiative doesn't believe in magic, let alone practice it. We make it back to the car and it only takes a few seconds to have Riley over to the guys. As they areleaving, I remember something important.
"Hey, Graham." Once he turns around I continue. "I've read a lot about military operations like the Initiative, when you enter you have to sign a bunch of waivers, right?" They all cautiously nod, "Yeah, I thought so, that's why they won't get in trouble for those 'vitamins' they gave you every morning. It got me thinking, maybe that's not the only type of experiment they've done on you. Heck, who knows what else they could program those behavioral implants for?" I have no idea who else they experimented on like they did Riley, for all I know, it was only Riley because he was Walsh's favorite but it couldn't hurt to put the thought in their heads. The worst case scenario is they check, and there's nothing there.
Most of the commandos look at me like they don't think it's possible but Graham looks like he's actually considering it. "Okay Buffy, thanks. I'll look into it. Good luck tomorrow."
I give him a small smile. "Thanks."
Spike and I wait until they have Riley safely in their big commando car, the same type that Riley had when he came back to town after Willow brought me back. I shake my head and get into the DeSoto and Spike does the same. The ride back to Giles' is pretty quiet, I think we're both a little on edge because of the big fight we know is coming later tonight. It's been a while since I've gotten to really let go in a fight, it's been pretty quiet around the cemeteries lately, which is probably because of Adam. Even with the times Spike and I spar, it's not the same. He's one of the best fighters I've ever gone against and we can really let off some steam fighting each other, but at the end of the day, we don't actually want to hurt each other. So, my muscles are tense, I can't stop from bouncing my left leg, and my fingers are drumming on the dashboard. I almost giggle when I realize Spike is doing the same thing but on the steering wheel while his other hand is holding the cigarette he's puffing away on.
"Oi, it's not that bad, I'm keeping the smoke away from you."
What? Oh, I just realized I'm making the same eww face I always make when he smokes in the car. He's stopped doing it lately and I guess that just goes to prove how on edge he is too. "It's fine Spike, I didn't say anything."
"Your face and the feelings in the bond say it all," he grumbles then takes one more drag before grudgingly throwing it out the window. I roll my eyes. He switches hands on the steering wheel and reaches over to grab mine, so I smile at him.
"Do you think this plan with Adam will work?"
"Yeah luv, you lot always manage to come up with plans that win. I should know, being on the losing side of you a time or two. I reckon this will be much the same."
"Yeah, and if it doesn't work, we always have the adjoining spell to fall back on."
"I thought you didn't trust that spell."
"No, it's not that. It worked fine last time, though it was wiggy having everyone like connected inside me. It's just that when I think back, there are a few big spells that made Willow almost feel all powerful and because she didn't have the proper teachings, it got to her. Now that Aspen is here, I feel much more comfortable with it. She'll stop Willow if she's not following all those witchy guidelines. I don't think Willow will try to though, she just didn't know the rules before. Now that she does, I think she'll be fine."
"Yeah, Red is a right fine lady, she'll be fine," he says as he squeezes my hand.
The rest of the ride is done in silence—but a comfortable one. When we get to Giles' I can tell everyone is just as on edge as we are about the fight. They don't have the same instincts and urges Spike and I do, but they're nervous and just want the fight to be over so we can relax. Well, that is, until the next Big Bad comes to town thinking they can take over the world, or open the hell mouth, or use the Hellmouth energy to become all-powerful or whatever hair-brained schemes they come up with.
"Buffy, good you're back. How'd it go?"
"All with the good. Riley is with the commandos and they know the big fight is going down tonight."
"Did they have any new information for us?"
"No, well nothing we didn't already figure out ourselves. The good news is that after Adam is taken care of, they're all leaving. Most have already been reassigned. All though, they're still all with the demon fighting."
"Yeah, I suppose that is for the best. It's not like we could expect the government to just give up their quest."
"Yeah, they know what they were doing is wrong though. Graham swears it's just going to be taking out dangerous ones, no testing or experimenting on them."
"We shall see." He doesn't sound too sure and the more I think about it, I agree with him. We should definitely keep an eye on them. Although I don't really know what we can do about it, it's not like we're talking about some upstart, we're talking about the American military.
"Now that your little hostage situation is taken care of, are we ready?" Aspen asks, bringing me back to the present and taking me out of my head. We all look around at each other and when no one says anything contrary, I take the lead.
"Alright, let's take Adam down. You all know your jobs. Stay safe everyone, if anyone gets hurt I'll have to kick your butt worse for worrying me."
Okay, it's time to take down Adam.