RC 2018: NEW CHAPTER 7/7/07

[willntlover]

Aggh!! You can't leave it there!!!



Really enjoying the fic



-Will

"Hear that baby? You're my always."



"well, you know, when you play a lesbian witch you've gotta get killed in this fun kind of exciting way, so the heart was the way to go..."



"we have the most amazing fans though they LOVE us."

[mollyig]

Well now, that was quite an adventure.



The rift between Willow and Buffy was interesting, especially that it would seem the person most upset by it was Tara.



So many bad guys here, Warren, the militia, the Shadow, Dr Brown. At the moment, before the dreaded "to be continued" it looks like they have the upper hand. But I have faith in our girls, and in LJ, and am looking forward to the next update!

Adding up the total of a love that's true, multiply life by the power of two
Indigo Girls

[Sheridan]

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This is intense. I am ready to see how you resolve this.

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great chapter very intense, looking forward to the next part

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Aggh!! You can't leave it there!!!

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it looks like they have the upper hand. But I have faith in our girls, and in LJ, and am looking forward to the next update!

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The Rose24, Wilntlover, Mollyig, Grimaldi, Thanks for the kind words, and have no fear, I am already writing the concluding part, 'Legion'.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the

person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 11/13/02 7:43:01 pm

[Sheridan]

Just to let people know I finished the concluding part of the S4 finale. It needs some spell checking and editing and I need to look up the latin for 'Wall'. It should be up in a couple of days.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[willntlover]

Yes!!!!!



All right you just made my night



-Will

"Hear that baby? You're my always."

[Sheridan]

Title: Legion

Author: Mike Mullen

Rating: R/18 because of violence and adult themes.

Spoilers: None what so ever

Disclaimer: All the original BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME, everyone else in the stories are my personal slaves.

Summary: The concluding part of the S4 finale, its all out war in the Initiative and our favourite couple are right in the middle

Authors notes: The end of S4 and the Initiative, and the groundwork for what’s to come…

Feedback: Just add your comments at the end of the story.

Legion

1. “Coniectura”

The morning was clear and pleasantly warm; Tara could smell a hint of spring blossom on the breeze as she walked down the boulevard and hear birdsong coming from the trees. It was as close to perfection as she could have ever have imagined. The street café was quiet, which was also good; it let Tara have her choice of tables outside. As she sat down a waitress walked up and Tara ordered a coffee, or at least that was what she hoped she had ordered; her French wasn’t so hot. The café looked as though it had been there forever but she would have happily gone to a Starbucks if it had this view. Tara looked down the boulevard at the looming shape of the Eiffel tower. Paris, ever since she had first seen pictures of it and heard it called ‘the most romantic city on earth’ Tara had imagined going there. In her earliest daydreams she had seen herself being there with some boy, although even then it hadn’t felt right. Later when she understood why that didn’t feel right the fantasy had receded, not because she didn’t want to go but because she simply couldn’t see there being someone to go with.

        A gentle kiss on the back of her neck almost made her jump out of her seat. “Hi baby.” Willow murmured before she stepped around Tara and took the empty seat at the table.

        Tara smiled, “You shouldn’t sneak up on me like that.” Tar scolded her, smiling as she did it.

        “I couldn’t resist it.” Willow replied with a sly smile, “It really is beautiful here,” she added.

        “Isn’t it just?” Tara nodded.

        The waitress returned and put two cups of coffee on the table before turning and leaving them alone again. Tara watched Willow take a sip from her cup and smile again, “Mmmm this is good.”

        Something about that made Tara uneasy, there was something not right about it, hadn’t she just ordered the one coffee? And for that matter when had Willow started drinking coffee? She avoided it because it made her jittery. “Are we going to go up there?” Willow gestured towards the tower as she spoke, distracting Tara from her line of thought.

        “We will if you aren’t scared of heights.” Tara teased.

        “Nope not afraid of heights or confined spaces either.” Willow replied easily.

        Again Tara felt something wasn’t right; why had Willow mentioned confined spaces? And especially a confined space like a cave or a basement? Now Tara wondered why that had popped into her head, there was something at the back of her mind that she couldn’t quite get hold of. As she was trying to grab hold of it a cloud scudded across the sky and for a moment a shadow was cast over the boulevard, a shadow. The fugitive thought was now cornered and Tara got a firm hold of it, how had she gotten to Paris? For that matter how had she gotten on to the boulevard?



        Brown heard a groan and turned to look at the two young women. He was surprised to see Maclay stirring on the bed. He hastily crossed to her and adjusted the drip stuck into her arm. The increased dosage of sedative quickly subdued her once more. The previous dosage should have been more than sufficient to keep a girl of her size and weight unconscious. Perhaps I should have expected it, nothing else about them makes sense, Brown decided. His tests had barely begun but the one thing the machinery could tell him was that their blood was completely human. This was a serious blow to Brown’s worldview. When he had analyzed the blood of the slayers and conducted an extensive series of physical tests on the one they simply called Faith it hadn’t been too hard to accept their humanity, after all they had superior strength and agility, and they healed with tremendous speed. There was nothing in any of those capabilities that couldn’t be explained in perfectly normal human terms, the Slayers simply represented the extreme limit of human physical potential and nothing more than that.

        When it came to Willow and Tara Brown couldn’t fall back on that comforting notion. He had seen them simply appear out of nowhere when Patterson, or whatever was controlling Patterson, had confronted them. He had heard stories of previous incidents involving these two and dismissed them as exaggeration or trickery. Having been confronted with evidence of their abilities Brown had convinced himself that the pair had to be some subtle form of HST. Despite double and triple checking the results however the data simply refused to change to meet his expectations. The machines stubbornly insisted that Willow Rosenberg and Tara MaClay were members of the human species. The implication of that was that the pair had tapped into some power unknown to him or any of the research he had read.

        “Well doctor?” Patterson had walked in with little sound, not wanting to give the scientist the chance to cover anything up.

        “I’ve established they are human.” Brown offered.

        Patterson laughed harshly, “I already knew that doctor,” he stopped as he took in Brown’s puzzled expression, “But you didn‘t did you? They are quite human I assure you, if it were otherwise their interference wouldn’t concern me.”

        Despite himself Brown couldn’t help expressing his doubts, “It’s impossible, you’re asking me to believe in magic.”

        Again Patterson laughed, “Ah that’s why I won’t wipe out your whole race, you can be so entertaining sometimes.” A wispy dark tendril exuded itself from Patterson’s wrist, “Go on then doctor, touch my true self, tell me what I’m made from, show me I‘m part of your world.” Brown demonstrated no inclination to follow Patterson’s suggestion. The shadow withdrew the tendril. “All your studies doctor and you know nothing about the true nature of what you’re playing with. I on the other hand know everything about you, Tomarov. I know the name of the little Russian town you were born in, the research facility you worked in before you defected to America.”

        Brown, or rather Tomarov, tried to develop a rational explanation for what was happening. Failing he simply asked, “If I’m so worthless then why do you want me to test them?”

        “Because there is a slender possibility that you might uncover something, and since I have plenty of time I might as well let you try.”

        As Patterson left Tomarov turned back to the two girls lying on examination tables. Perhaps it would be better to revive them, let them go. If he did that there was no guarantee that they could, or would, help him and he would cease to be of any use to Patterson if they escaped. Tomarov had no illusions about what would happen to him when that moment arrived. He turned his attention back to running the tests and hoping for a miracle.



        Elias was still trying to figure out a response to the girl who had just appeared out of thin air. He hadn’t met her before but she felt somehow familiar. As he examined her face the elements of it seemed to belong to people he knew. The hair and the eyes were identical to Willow Rosenberg’s. The mouth and the shape of the face were like Tara, right down to that quirky smile. She was clad in what looked like a blue flight suit with big round shoulder patches that bore a starry background with a peculiar looking machine picked out in gold thread in the centre and the word ‘Pathfinder’ stitched below it. “You know having you stare at me like that is so truly weird. Why don’t we focus on Buffy?” LJ asked.

        The bizarreness of LJ’s arrival had blotted out the predicament Elias was in. Now the sense of dread he had been fighting returned in full force. LJ brushed by him and crouched besides Buffy. She didn’t lay a hand on Buffy; she simply stared intently at the Slayer. “Is there anything you can do for her?” Elias demanded anxiously.

        LJ fixed him with a reassuring smile, “There‘s plenty I can do, besides we’re talking about Buffy Summers, she’s indestructible.” LJ’s voice carried overtones of hero worship.

        The way LJ spoke made Elias feel hopeful, he couldn’t say why except that she just exuded a sense of confidence, “Who exactly are you? I don’t mean your name; I mean where do you come from? Why do you look so familiar?”

        LJ turned away from her examination and sighed, “If you really want to know you need to talk to…Willow and Tara. They know me and if they want to tell you about me they will.” There was a sound of snapping twigs and someone cursing that grabbed the attention of both Elias and LJ. “Watch Buffy, I’ll be back in a minute.” LJ commanded, and then a small whirlwind swirled up around her and she disappeared once more.



        Lucas was getting tired and thirsty, he needed a beer and a chance to rest his aching feet. He suspected the guys who had gone straight to the facility were currently probably doing exactly that, which was why they were reluctant to answer their radios. Lucas scanned the other two men in his section; they looked as pissed off as he did. Just because there might be one of those soldier boys still running around the woods they were stuck out here running their asses off and trying to track him down.

        The sudden breeze didn’t really interest Lucas. It was only when someone behind him politely coughed that he paid any attention. As it turned out the person who was doing the coughing turned out to be definitely worth some attention. She was a redhead about five two in height and wearing a tight fitting outfit that made it clear she had a very toned body. When she spoke Lucas had to do a double take before he could take in what she said, “Would you yahoos like to surrender or are you going to make me work for this?”

        Lucas looked to the other two men, they were wearing nasty smirks that mirrored his own, “If it’s all the same to you honey I think we’d like to play rough.”

        LJ shrugged, “Suit yourself, but I don’t play at this stuff.” LJ somersaulted through the air and landed right in front of Lucas. Before he could react LJ grabbed him and wrapped an arm around his throat, cutting off his air. One of his comrades raised his rifle towards LJ. Her left hand was still free and she gestured with it. The rifle jerked backwards and slammed into the chest of the militiaman, knocking the breath out of him and forcing him to the ground. LJ now shifted her grasp on Lucas. Making sure she had proper leverage she tossed him into the air and he landed on top of the last of the trio. The militiaman who had been hit by his own gun was trying to pull himself together when LJ stepped up to him, grabbed the rifle from his hands, and struck him a sharp blow on the forehead. He collapsed back again, this time out cold.

        Lucas was untangling himself from the man he had collided with. His heavily built frame had knocked the other man unconscious. The feeling of cold metal pressed to his temple made him hold perfectly still, “Was that rough enough for you?” LJ enquired.

2. “Tempus”

Elias was checking Buffy’s wound; he was relieved that the flow of blood was slowing but from the paleness of her complexion he knew that she probably had already lost too much already. LJ appeared next to him and handed him an M-16 rifle, “Souvenir from the militia boys. There are three of them tied up in the woods; you can get them later,” she explained. LJ squatted down beside Buffy again. As Elias watched LJ’s eyes changed; not to the threatening black he had occasionally seen from Willow. LJ’s glowed with a pale blue light that was beautiful and serene. The light seemed to flow through her, into her hands and out over Buffy. Elias saw the glow enshroud Buffy and it became so intense that he could barely see his lover.

        After a few moments the light faded away and Elias could see a transformation in Buffy. She was still unconscious but now she had the aspect of being peacefully asleep rather than close to death. There was colour in her cheeks and even the bloodstains on her clothing had faded away. LJ turned to Elias and laid her hand on his, he felt energy flow into him as well. There was an amazing sense of invigoration; Elias felt like he was ready to take on the world. “That should help you out for a while, you’re going to need all the strength you can get before this is over.”

        Elias wanted to ask her what she meant by that; he knew he wouldn’t get an answer so he held his tongue. LJ sat down in the grass and with her legs folded up in a Lotus position, “There’s something else I need to do, just keep an eye out. Buffy will be up and about in a while,” she let her arms fall by her side, closed her eyes, and let her breathing slow as she sent her spirit elsewhere.



        As the militia men in the complex began to recover consciousness Cutler rounded them up with one objective in mind, finding Patterson and forcing an explanation out of him, Cutler just hoped the asshole would take some persuading, he was looking forward to giving Patterson a few lumps. That desire was pre-empted by the man in question walking into meeting room the militia had gathered in. Without a moments hesitation Cutler rushed Patterson, and staggered back as Patterson swung a baton and smashed it into the side of Cutlers head. Cutler raised his hand to his face expecting to feel a mass of blood and torn skin. He was astonished to find there wasn’t so much as a scratch on him. Patterson advanced on one of the others with the baton raised above his head. The man flinched and then disappeared, only close observation revealed a shimmer like a heat haze where the man was standing. For a moment this stunned the other militiamen, then one of them threw a punch at Patterson. Patterson dodged easily but there was a surge of green energy that leapt from the fist at the extreme reach of the punch. It slammed into the wall opposite and knocked a chunk out of the plaster.

        Patterson stepped back and nodded with approval, the enhancements had taken as well he could have hoped. “What the hell have you done to us?” Cutler demanded, now he could feel the energy flowing through him, something new, something strange.

        “I’ve given you the power to do all you wanted to do. Each of you is now the equivalent of a small army. Didn’t you always believe in the power of the individual? Well I’ve simply made that real for each of you.” The shadow wasn’t entirely counting on Patterson’s speech to sway the mortals; the demonic essence they had been infused enabled it to reach the militiamen on an entirely different level.

        The combined approach shifted the militia from rage to confusion, Cutler though was far from willing to simply let Patterson off the hook, “So you decided to just do this to us without bothering to ask us, and you have the nerve to talk about the power of the individual?”

        Patterson gave him a sour look; “If I had tried to explain this to you we would still be standing here discussing this when the army shows up to claim its base back. Before you criticize me any further tell me this, don’t you feel better than you ever have before? With this power we can tear down the whole rotten system, isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?” Patterson’s tone practically demanded a yes in response, and he could see realization spreading across the faces of the militia. As soon as the rest of them had finished their tasks he would enhance them and then it be time for chaos to reign once more.



        Looking out over the vista of Paris Tara felt a little dizzy, she had been in tall buildings before but the Eiffel tower was different, she was completely exposed to the elements. The wind was blowing through her hair and she almost felt like she was levitating. Tara stood back from the edge and looked around, she was wondering where Willow had wandered off too when she caught the sight of red hair through the crowd on the observation deck. She quickly walked over intending to put her arms around Willow. Before she could the figure spun around and Tara came to a halt, it wasn’t Willow. “This is really strange being here.” LJ commented.

        “Paris?” Tara wondered, taken aback.

        LJ shook her head; “No Paris is cool, though I don’t remember it exactly like this. Of course I was only nine when I went there with my parents. No what’s weird is being inside your head.”

        Tara was startled by that last comment but as she thought about it seemed to make sense, “This isn’t really Paris,” she commented.

        “That’s right, remember what’s real.” LJ said encouragingly.

        Tara didn‘t hear her, she was already trying to recall what had happened, “We were in the Initiative, and we were cornered by the shadow. It captured us. I’m unconscious and this is just a dream.” Tara stopped and looked at LJ, “Except you. You’re real.”

        LJ’s air of confidence wavered under that gaze, “I really wish you wouldn’t look at me like that it always makes me nervous.”

        “You projected yourself in here, why?”

        “Because you need to wake up, and then you need to wake up Willow and stop the bad guys.” LJ explained.

        Tara nodded understanding what LJ was saying but not taking her eyes off the girl. There was silence for a moment and LJ became increasingly agitated, “Aren’t you going to ask me the question?”

        Tara had a pretty fair idea, but she decided she might learn more by not asking it, “What question?”

        “Who am I? Everyone else keeps wanting to know, why don’t you?” LJ demanded.

        Tara had been trying to look deeper into LJ’s aura; even in this dreamscape she could sense it. Looking at it had been like staring into a mirror, “Maybe I don’t need to ask,” she suggested.

        LJ exploded, “Damn it mom that is so annoying! Other kids could lie to their parents and get away with it, you just fixed that stare on me and you always knew!” she stopped as she realized what she had said, well that cat is out of the bag.

        For Tara the words were simply the confirmation of what she felt; Tara had a powerful bond with Willow but there was a different sort of connection she had shared with her mother and grandmother, and she felt that with this girl, with her daughter. At the same time she could see so much of the woman she loved in LJ’s face. Tara wanted to ask how that could be but decided there were more important matters. “It must be hard for you coming here, knowing the future.”

        It was a tremendous relief to LJ to be able to unburden herself, “It is just tough not being able to tell people the things I know, warn them.”

        Tara sympathized, “If you do you could wreck the future, and I’m hoping it’s more good than bad.”

        “I think it is, no I’m sure it is.” LJ sighed, “Thanks mom, you were also always good at making me feel better. I wish we could talk longer…”

        “But I have to go.” Tara finished for her.

        “Yeah you do.” LJ drew Tara into a hug and held her for a moment. Then she pulled back, still holding Tara’s hands in hers, “We will have plenty of time to talk later, now wake up!” As she spoke LJ’s eyes flashed with blue light and Paris melted away into darkness.



        There was a bright light shining straight into her eyes that made Tara blink as she opened them. There was none of the usual disorientation as she awoke, she knew precisely where she was and had an idea why. There was something sticking out of her arm and Tara yanked the drip out as quickly as she could. The flash of pain as she did so helped to sharpen Tara’s mind. She sat upright and saw Willow passed out on a table next to hers and beyond Willow was the figure of Doctor Brown.

        A sudden shift in the readings made Brown turn, before he could do anything Tara gestured at him and he was slammed against the wall, “If you move I’ll push you through that wall.” Tara warned him before she turned her attention to Willow. She pulled the drip out of Willow’s arm and then took her hand. She willed her lover to wake up and come back to her, willed her to know how much she was needed, “Baby?” Willow murmured as she stirred back to consciousness,

        “It’s me honey, you need to get up, we have a lot to do.” Tara urged.

        Willow struggled up onto her elbows and looked around the room, the sight of Tara made her feel better, the sight of Dr. Brown made her angry and reminded her what had happened, “What are you doing?” she demanded of the scientist.

        “I had no choice,” he explained weakly, “That man, that thing wanted me to study you, and it knew things about me. Where I come from, my name.”

        “Your name?” Now Willow was confused as well as angry.

        “I’m from Russia, I worked in a biological research lab in the USSR until the fall then I found other employment.” He admitted.

        “So who the hell are you?” Willow practically growled.

        “My name is Tomarov.” The scientist admitted.

        Willow shook her head and turned to Tara, “Do you think there’s one person in this place who is actually what they seem, I mean are they all monsters and crazy people?”

        “I think some of them are both.” Tara suggested

        The sound of a nervous cough from Tomarov drew their attention back to him, “You may be right about that, I think Patterson has obtained the enhancement serum and used it on those mercenaries.”

3. “Moenia”

Elias was watching Buffy breathing and waiting for her to wake up when LJ opened her eyes and jumped to her feet. Elias looked at her and couldn’t help but notice that the girl looked more relaxed; maybe this meditation thing had something going for it. “I’m glad your back, she still hasn’t woken up.” Elias pointed out.

        LJ walked over and put a hand on Buffy’s forehead, “She’s fine, it was a pretty bad wound though.”

        Her comments put Elias at ease, even though it occurred to him he still knew very little about this girl, “What were you doing just now?” he had decided the direct approach wasn’t going to get him anywhere.

        “I was having a conversation with someone,” she explained and caught the expression on Elias’ face, “Don’t worry, it wasn’t the voices in my head. Just a little telepathy.”

        That didn’t make Elias feel much easier, even if it did make a sort of sense, “So what do we do once Buffy comes round, go after the rest of the militia?”

        “Actually that will be up to you two, I have to be elsewhere.” LJ shrugged as if to say it was simply unavoidable.

        “You’re just going leave us to deal with this alone?” Elias had been assuming that he would have LJ’s not inconsiderable firepower as back up.

        LJ smiled, “Trust me you won’t be alone, I’ve called up the cavalry.”

        “Fine and in the meantime I’m just supposed to wait here?” Elias was skeptical.

        LJ shrugged again, “That’s entirely up to you. I haven’t got a blueprint for the day.”

        Elias considered asking what she meant by that remark, but given that he was batting zero with getting a straight answer out of LJ he thought better of it. LJ took the silence as a sign that the conversation was over, “I’ll see you again sometime.” With that she disappeared once more, leaving Elias Blinking and trying to decide if she really had just done that.

        His contemplation was interrupted by a yawn from Buffy. Elias practically pounced on her as she struggled back to consciousness, “Are you ok?”

        “Yeah, why shouldn’t I be?” Buffy asked blearily before her memory kicked in and she remembered exactly why she shouldn’t be. Her hand went to her shoulder. She could feel dried blood forming a crust on her sweater but no sign of the wound that had spilled it. Then she asked the question that Elias was dreading, ‘what happened?”

       

        Tomarov had his back pressed against the wall. The witches had released the magical force that was holding him there, still he wasn’t inclined to try and move for fear that they might do something else to him. All his training told him that they couldn’t do anything; that human beings couldn’t perform ‘magic’. The last few hours had put that training to a severe test, and up to this point it was getting an ‘F’.

        “So after the whole invisible vampire thing you decided to make things worse by adding a few little extras?” Willow asked him sarcastically.

        “That was simply a stepping stone, it was never intended for deployment, I3 was always the goal.” Tomarov knew he was babbling and giving away classified material, given that everyone and their best friend seemed to have access to the Initiative’s secrets there didn’t seem much point in worrying about that.

        “I3?” Willow was puzzled.

        “Invisibility. Invulnerability. Invincibility.” Tomarov expanded.

        “How could you even think of doing that? Just mixing up demon blood and giving it to people?” Tara was horrified.

        Tomarov felt compelled to defend himself, “In the proper hands…”

        Tara cut him off, her voice filled with a rare degree of anger, “Proper hands? There are no proper hands for something like this. You stir up a potion without any understanding of the powers you are invoking?”

        “I am a scientist not a wizard.” Tomarov responded with reflexive disdain.

        “Which is the main problem right there.” Tara replied with equal contempt.

        As entertaining as it was to watch Tara being so passionate it occurred to Willow that there were other more pressing problems to deal with, “Baby we need to stop the militia getting out of here.”

        Tomarov answered her point, “I don’t think you need to worry about that yet, he, it, said I would have plenty of time to study you.” The looks he got for that comment made Tomarov shiver.

        “So he’s planning on bringing in the rest of the militia and injecting them as well.” Willow commented to Tara.

        “And taking anything else of value he can find when he does go.” Tara glanced at Tomarov as she said it and it was clear from the sweat on his forehead that the scientist had taken the hint.

        Willow noted the discomfort but carried on, “We have to lock this place down, and we can’t trust the Initiative’s security to do it.”

        Tara nodded her agreement, “There is a spell, but we need to be in the middle of this place to make it work right.”

        “Which means we need to get out of here.” Willow had memorized enough of the map earlier to figure out where they were roughly.

        “Well we better get started.” Tara suggested. Willow gestured towards the door and the pair of them walked towards it.

        “Wait!” Tomarov called out. The couple turned and regarded him again, “What do I do if Patterson comes back?”

        “Just tell him the truth. We woke up, overpowered you, escaped and locked you in.” Willow didn’t sound overly concerned as she closed the door behind her. A shower of sparks made Tomarov focus on the ‘locked in’ part of Willow’s explanation. He wasn’t going to be leaving any time soon.



        As the minutes went by Tomarov began to think about ways to get out of the examination room. He could pound on the door to attract attention; or if he interfered with the door lock he might trip an alarm in the security office. Which would achieve precisely what? He considered. He was thinking as though the facility was still in the hands of the Initiative. All he could achieve was the recapture of the two girls and if what Patterson had said earlier was to be believed the pair had thwarted the thing that possessed him before. Perhaps the best thing to do was to do nothing. That didn’t seem like a better solution. What if Patterson came back before they could do whatever it was they did, or he defeated them, or they simply elected to escape? Patterson, or the creature that controlled him, might simply decide he wasn’t worth keeping anymore and Tomarov could imagine any number of fates that had might befall him then.

        A faint crackling in the air alerted Tomarov just in time to turn around and see LJ materialize between the two examination tables. He should have been surprised; after all he had experienced today he was frankly drained of the ability to be shocked or amazed by anything. LJ looked around the room with a disgusted snort, ‘this is pretty nasty doctor, count yourself lucky I have to take you out of here.”

        “Take me out of here?” At this point Tomarov wasn’t willing to rule out the possibility that this was a delusion, or that he had somehow called up his guardian angel.

        “As in we leave before anything happens to you. Or you could just stand here asking stupid questions until somebody comes along and I leave you to them.” LJ made it sound as though either choice was good for her. Of course she would have to hog tie the man and carry him out of he didn’t agree to go quietly but there was no reason for him to know that, she busied herself scrawling a note while he turned the options over.

        Tomarov was torn between the offer of an escape and the fact that he knew nothing about this girl. Her resemblance to the two who had left him here was did nothing to reassure him. Still if the option was waiting for Patterson to come back… “How exactly will we get out of here?”

        “Same way I got in.” LJ tried to suppress a smile at Tomarov’s reaction to that suggestion. Before he could reconsider she walked over and laid her hands on his shoulders, “Just make sure you fasten your seat belt,” she announced. Tomarov got no chance to reply as the world collapsed around him.

        The scientist wanted to scream. There seemed to be pressure squeezing in from all sides followed by an eerie freefalling sensation. He was fighting off an urge to faint when he found himself standing on concrete again. LJ lifted her hands from his shoulders and Tomarov looked around wildly, making sure he really was all here, wherever here was. “Where are we?”

        “A road outside of Sunnydale, you can find a pay phone a couple of miles that way.” LJ pointed down the deserted road.

        Tomarov was incredulous, “A couple of miles? Why on earth didn’t you put me somewhere more useful? Like the police station or the army base, or at least next to a phone?”

        “Doctor I was obliged to rescue you but I am not going to do anything to help your organization, besides what precisely do you think the local cops or National Guard could achieve here? Just remember you owe me big time.” With that LJ teleported out again.

        Tomarov looked down the road and sighed, given everything that had happened so far today he supposed it had been ungrateful to complain, still his feet were hurting at the thought of that long walk.

4. “Latror”

Moving through the complex was even scarier than it had been before for the couple, especially as they couldn’t count on the concealment glamour anymore. Where do you think they all are? Tara decided telepathy was less risky than speaking out loud.

        As long as it’s nowhere near us I don’t mind, Willow replied.

        I wish LJ were with us. Tara couldn’t help thinking.

        You think we need the firepower? Willow wondered.

        Actually I’m just hoping she’s taking care of herself. Tara explained.

        Willow smiled, Maternal instinct.

        Tara returned the smile, Probably; she seems ok for someone who grew up with two mothers nagging her.

        Yeah, and I think she can take care of herself if anyone can. Despite everything Willow had found an immense sense of relief in Tara’s account of her talk with LJ. Finally to know what she had suspected was true, and that Tara was ok with it, more than ok actually. Of course if Tara was filled with maternal concern did that mean she would have to play dad? Willow tried to imagine herself sitting waiting for LJ to come home and demanding to know ‘what time of night is this to be coming home?’ She just couldn’t visualize it.

        Will here do? Tara pointed to a door marked ‘Janitor’. Willow took a couple of moments to process the reality of such a mundane thing in the middle of a secret government base; she supposed even a high tech Frankenstein’s lab needed someone to mop the demon parts off the floor and polish the test tubes. From what Willow recalled of the layout this place would do. There wasn’t much room in the cupboard, “Kind of reminds of the supply closet at Sunnydale High.” Willow pointed out.

        “And we don’t even have to fight for this one with Xander and Cordy.” Tara commented.

        Willow smiled, but then got serious, “We need to do this spell; we can’t take a chance that one of the shadows cronies decides to wander off.”

        “You’re right, take my hands.” Tara instructed. Willow obliged willingly. Tara settled herself and recalled the words they needed, “Spirits of the light, spirits of the dark, raise up a wall against our foes. Make a barrier against all who would enter or depart, spirits hear our call!” Blue light swirled around the pair and then raced outwards, flowing to the four corners of the complex and reaching upwards towards the surface.

        Willow could feel the magic surrounding them, a shell that was enclosing the entire Initiative. “They won’t get through that in a hurry.” Willow said with satisfaction.

        “And neither will we.” Tara added soberly.



        The demon was in the woods, close to where the commandos had been setting up their ambushes. It had smelt the subtle pheromone scent and moved to investigate. However when the scent had been drowned out by the smells of blood and metal the creature had withdrawn. It had decided to experiment with its new power before it confronted the humans again. The accelerator was firmly attached to the demons wrist and a series of green LED’s were blinking in sequence to indicate that the device was functioning properly and the wearer was suffering no ill effects from it. The demon had no idea what they meant; it just knew that it had acquired a new power that raised it up the demonic food chain. It had no idea why the humans had been so generous, and it was not inclined to offer any gratitude. If they were foolish enough to give away their magic then that was their mistake and whatever happened to them was their own fault.

        LJ materialized a few feet behind the demon and gave it the once over. It was a nasty, lumpy thing, like a clay statue made by a small child. She also saw the glint of sunlight coming of the thick metal band on its wrist. Without that this would be an easy slay, indeed even with it this wouldn’t be more than a good workout if she weren’t under strict orders. “Hey lumpy!” she called out to the creatures back.

                The demon lumbered around and looked at the girl who had appeared behind it. It had heard enough stories about the slayer to know that this wasn’t her. She was supposed to have pale fur on her head and this one’s was copper coloured. Still the way she held herself suggested to the demon that she wasn’t afraid of it. To its mind that just made her very stupid.

        As soon as she saw she had the demons attention LJ quietly uttered an incantation and the world around her shifted and slowed down, she was now in the same time frame as the demon. The demon moved towards her at what it imagined was superhuman speed but LJ could see every single step. LJ called out another spell and a quarterstaff sprouted in her right hand. She brought it around in a single sweeping action that caught the demon completely by surprise. It staggered back and caught its breath, and then it charged again, this time dropping low to tackle LJ in the knees. She ducked to the side and rolled out of the way of the attack, she had a feeling it was going to be a long afternoon.



        Willow handed the note to Tara who scanned it quickly:

       

        “Dear mom and mom,

        Sorry but I had to take Tomarov out of here and stick him some place safe.

        I would have taken you with me as well but that would have gotten me into

        this whole paradox thing. I’ll see you both later,

        Love LJ.”



        “I guess she must have had a good reason.” Tara commented.

        “I hope so, though I’d like to know who told her not to get us out of here.” Willow wondered.

        “I have a pretty good idea.” Tara gave her a meaningful look.

        Willow blushed, ‘Oh, well then it must be for a really good reason.”

        It was pretty obvious to Willow what the nature of the paradox had to be. Somewhere in the future they were going to tell LJ about exactly what happened this day. That meant that LJ had to stick to whatever version of events they had told her, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to tell her it in the first place. It was the kind of thing that could give you a major headache if you spent too long thinking about it.

        “So what is it we should do now?” Tara broke Willow’s train of thought.

        “Capture the militia and defeat the shadow I guess.” Willow said it lightly, but her eyes remained serious.

        “It would help if we knew where they were and what they were doing.” Tara added.

        Willow chewed her lip and tried to think, “Warren!” she exclaimed.

        “Warren?” Tara couldn’t imagine what had brought him to Willow’s mind.

        “When the militia arrived he told them he had turned off the communications, and somehow he must have bypassed the retinal scanner in the elevator.” Willow explained.

        Now Tara got it, “Which means he must be tapped into the security system.”

        “”Right and they have cameras around this place, if we get access to them maybe we can get some clues about what they’re up to.” Willow made it sound like the perfect plan.

        Tara was a little dubious, “Won’t they be keeping an eye on Warren?”

        Willow made a face, “Would you spend more time with Warren than you had to?”



        After initially holding Warren at gunpoint Cutler had slowly relaxed as it became clear that he really had opened up the Initiative to militia. Warren wasn’t sure that it had been an improvement as Cutler being enthusiastic was actually worse than Cutler being surly. It had been a blessing when Cutler got a radio message and decided to leave him behind while he answered it. Warren had retreated into an office to go over everything he had extracted from the mainframe and wait for someone to turn up and retrieve him. He had disabled the tracking device that the Initiative had planted on him and he had a hard drive full of Initiative secrets to add to his own ideas, all Warren wanted now was to get out of this place and turn it into cold hard cash.

        When the door opened he was keyed up and ready to go, he collapsed back into the chair when he saw Willow Rosenberg standing in the doorway. It simply confirmed what he had known all along; that Rosenberg was out to get him.

        “Told you so.” Willow said a little smugly.

        “Ok you won that bet.” Tara accepted. The exchange puzzled Warren but he wasn’t going to ask them for an explanation.

        Willow spotted the laptop that Warren was clutching, “I think that’s what we want.”

        “You don’t have any right to take my computer.” Warren whined.

        Willow snorted her derision and gestured with her hands. The computer flew out of Warren’s grasp and into Willow’s. Warren was startled but wasn’t about to give up his hard won data, ‘You won’t be able to get anywhere with that, it’s password protected and I won’t give it up.”

        “Right like you can keep me out of this thing.” Willow couldn’t resist the sarcastic comeback. She opened the laptop and put her hand on the screen. Within in moments she was past the security system and into the desktop. “Nice backdrop,” she commented as she turned the machine around so Warren could see the display.

        Warren was horrified at how easily Willow had broken into his computer. Tara couldn’t help but feel a little bit of petty pleasure at his discomfort, “Does it have everything we want?” she asked to twist the knife further.

        “Oh yeah,” Willow replied, “Warren was being a very bad boy. He was tied in to all the security systems and he has even more of the Initiatives files than we do. Elias would love to know about that.”

        Warren blanched at that suggestion, “You don’t have any right to do this, and you aren’t supposed to be here.”

        “Neither are your buddies, didn’t stop you inviting them in.” Willow parried, knocking the wind out of Warren’s sails. She checked the computer picking through the folders and hastily closing a couple as they told her rather more than she wanted to know about Warren’s mind. There was one though that grabbed her attention. The program she opened was already running. It was the control program for the accelerator device that was clearly still working, “You left that thing still running?” Willow was incredulous.

        “It was supposed to keep the commandos busy,” he replied lamely.

        “Well I think we can live without your super powered demon running around Sunnydale.” Willow clicked on a couple of boxes and the computer confirmed it had sent the shutdown sequence, “That’s better.” Willow announced.



        LJ was growing bored with fencing with the demon, and wondering how long she was supposed to keep this up. The demon was launching another attack when it suddenly slowed to a crawl. LJ spotted that the green LED’s were all red, “Thank you mom,” she murmured and launched a blistering assault on the demon. In moments it was stretched out on the ground and LJ had the accelerator in her hand. She pulled a post it note from her pocket and stuck it to the device. Then she tossed it in the air and the accelerator vanished.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[Sheridan]

5. “Viator”

As she walked across the meadow Buffy was still trying to process all that had gone on since she had leapt on Elias to save him from being shot. Elias had told Buffy everything that had happened, and then had told her it again at her insistence because very little of it made sense. This girl who had saved her and then teleported away looked a lot like Willow according to Elias, enough like Willow that Elias had wondered if Willow had any cousins or other relatives he hadn’t heard of. Buffy was pretty sure that Willow would have mentioned it if she happened to have a super Wicca cousin. What was even more disturbing was that when Elias described the girl Buffy had a feeling she had seen this LJ somewhere, she just couldn’t pin it down.

        Buffy was so distracted that she almost fell on her face when she tripped on something lying in the grass and only her Slayer reflexes saved her dignity. She turned and saw something shining in the grass and scooped up a heavy metal bracelet with a hinge in the middle. “How the hell did that get here?” Elias demanded.

        “”What is it?” Buffy asked as she examined it and noticed the little yellow square of paper stuck on to it.

“That,” Elias gestured at the gadget, “Is the thing we were chasing around looking for, the accelerator.” He saw Buffy peel the piece of paper off the device and Elias saw that there was something written on it. “What does it say?”

        “Wear me.” Buffy read the rather brief message.

        “Who would expect you to put that thing on?” Elias wondered.

        “Well unless someone is a master forger I’m going to say Willow Rosenberg.” Buffy told him as she handed over the note.

        Elias wasn’t as familiar with Willow’s handwriting as Buffy was. He had seen it on a couple of occasions though and the note certainly looked like Willow’s neat penmanship. “I suppose we have to trust she knows what she’s doing.”

        Buffy knew that commodity had been in short supply lately and it was time to do something about that, “Yes we do.” Buffy stated firmly and snapped the device around her wrist. It wasn’t exactly her taste in jewelry and it didn’t seem to be doing anything, Willow had better have a good explanation for all of this. As she thought that it occurred to Buffy that maybe she didn’t want to have that explanation, she was already getting a headache.



        Having gotten all they wanted out of Warren the couple had locked him the room and headed back for their broom closet to figure out what to do next. Willow sat down on an upturned bucket while Tara kept an eye on the door. As Willow tapped into the base security cameras it became perfectly clear what Patterson and his newly acquired minions were up to. They were gathered at the various exits of the base trying to break through the magical barrier. They didn’t appear to be having much luck, at least so far. “The barrier is holding up.” Willow did her best to sound happy about that.

        “Why don’t we try contacting someone on the outside?” Tara suggested.

        Willow did her best not to flinch; her last telepathic contact had been nightmarish. The terrible sense of agony she had experienced when Buffy had been injured made her reluctant to try it again. However the alternative was to leave it to Tara and there was no way Willow was going to lay that off on her, “I’ll see if I can reach anyone.”

        Letting her mind reach out Willow felt an odd sense of pressure, as though she had to push her thoughts outward. For a moment it felt as though she all alone, it was the psychic equivalent of a dead silence. Then she felt one small spark, another mind in the void. Buffy? She thought tentatively.

        Willow? Are you ok? I thought something terrible had happened to you. Buffy’s thoughts were awash with relief.

        I was thinking the same thing! Willow responded.

        Well I’m fine thanks to LJ. Buffy explained.

        Willow was surprised, You met LJ?

        Not to talk to, but she healed me, kicked some militia butt, gave Elias a booster and then teleported out. Buffy outlined her story.

        She did all that? Willow’s thoughts were coloured by both awe and pride.

        Buffy read those emotions loud and clear; they spoke of someone Willow cared about a great deal. Willow, who the heck is she?

        That’s kind of complicated Buffy. Willow hedged.

        Try me.

        Ok, she’s my daughter. Willow put it as simply as she could.

        There was dead silence again before Buffy’s thoughts came through again, I apologize.

        Apologize? Willow was confused.

        You were right; it is way too complicated for right now. Maybe you should tell what’s going on in the Initiative. Buffy suggested.

        Willow explained what had happened and Buffy realized that it was probably just as complicated as the other topic. There was nothing simple in this whole mess. So when did you decide to send me this accelerator gadget?

        I didn’t. Willow replied.

        Well I’m wearing it right now because it had a note from you telling me to. Buffy pointed out.

Oh, right, well I guess there must be a good reason then. I can activate it from here, so I guess that’s what I had in mind. Willow sounded hesitant; which didn’t make Buffy feel any better.

        If you think it’s really a good idea. Buffy wasn’t going to let her off the hook.

        Willow knew that LJ had to have sent the device to Buffy, and she had to trust her daughter’s judgment, or foreknowledge to be precise, I think it’s for the best.

        Then you better rev it up. Buffy still wasn’t happy.

        Willow tapped in the command sequence and turned the accelerator back on, and released the manual controls so Buffy could shut it down herself if she had to, I’d better explain the controls to you. Willow suggested and then realized she was talking to herself, she had lost contact with Buffy. She tried reaching out again and this time all she got was her own thoughts echoing back at her.

        Tara tried and got the same result, “I think the magic of the barrier is even blocking telepathy, it is supposed to be an all purpose protection.”

        Willow was frustrated, “But we spoke to Buffy.”

        Tara puzzled over that one, “Well didn’t LJ heal her? Maybe she gave her a little of her magic in the process, so she was more sensitive to the telepathy.”

        That made a sort of sense to Willow, “And when I turned on the accelerator that cancelled out the boost, so I suppose I could just switch it off again and talk to her.”

        Tara shook her head, “But we don’t know what she’s doing now, suppose we switch it off at the wrong moment?”

        Willow’s fingers hovered above the keyboard; if she switched the thing off while Buffy was in danger then it could be disastrous. She decided she would just have to trust that she was supposed to just leave the thing switched on. That just left the question of what the pair of them were going to do now. “How long do you think the barrier will last?”

        Tara shrugged, “It’s hard to say, we don’t know how strong that enhancement makes the militia, or how much power the shadow has. It could be a couple of hours, it could be a day, or anywhere in between.”

        This was pretty much what Willow had suspected, “We can’t just wait for the cavalry to get here, and we need to stop these guys now.”

        “We’ll need some serious offensive magic, I don’t think lightning and fire bolts will do the trick.” Tara pointed out.

        “We need some heavy duty tactical spells.” Willow replied.

        “And a bunch of supplies from the magic shop would be nice as well, but we can’t get them without lowering the barrier and walking through a bunch of semi demonic militiamen.” Tara reminded her.

        "Maybe we could just open a hole." Willow was working her way through the possibilities trying to find something workable.

        Regretfully Tara knocked this one down as well, "If we do that we weaken the whole barrier, it could be like sticking a pin in a balloon."

        Willow was frustrated; they couldn't take the barrier down and they couldn't exactly tunnel under it. There didn't seem to be any way around it. She had picked up a pencil lying on a clipboard and was tapping it absently on the shelving. Willow stopped and stared at the writing implement. “The barrier is three dimensional right? I mean it goes left, right, up down.”

        Tara nodded, “Pretty much.”

        “So what if we went for the fourth dimension?” Willow suggested, still looking at the pencil.

        Tara now also began to give the pencil some attention since Willow seemed to find it so fascinating. As she did so Tara began to see what Willow was driving at, and she didn’t like it one little bit, “Willow you have never teleported anything bigger than one of those!” she pointed at the pencil for emphasis.

        “Size doesn’t matter, it’s all about technique.” Willow smiled at her little joke.

        Tara wasn’t going to be distracted by double entendre, “It’s a pretty extreme solution.”

        “It’s a pretty extreme situation.” Willow reminded her, sobering up.

        Tara considered that, and then took a deep breath, “Ok so where are you going to send me?”

        Now it was Willow’s turn to protest, “Hey I’m going to go!”

        Tara looked askance, “Will you can’t work this spell on yourself.”

        Willow realized that was true, but she wasn’t going to give in that easily, “Well I can show you how to do it.”

        Tara was unyielding, “Honey it took you weeks to make it work right. I can’t learn it in five minutes.” Willow remained silent but looked troubled, “Willow if you think this is to dangerous for me then it’s too dangerous for you. So you better make up your mind.”

        Willow wondered if Tara had learned her ‘resolve face’ because Willow could tell that Tara wasn’t going to budge. "Ok then, we better stand up for this." Tara didn't say anything, she just moved closer to her lover. Willow stood behind Tara and placed her arms around Tara's waist. Willow placed a gentle kiss on Tara's neck and closed her eyes and concentrated harder than she ever had in her life. She pictured the place she wanted Tara to go to and the extra dimensional route between here and there. Then Willow willed Tara to be out there, free from this place, safe. Suddenly Willow's arms were empty; she staggered back against the shelves feeling dizzy and drained.

6. "Magus"

Tara found that for her teleporting felt like she was being swept down a river, carried along by a powerful current. She held her breath, not knowing whether there was anything to breath, or whether any of this was real. It might be no more real than Paris, seeming to last forever when in fact it only lasted a couple of heartbeats. The sensation of cold water around her feet made Tara wonder if her brain wasn't carrying the whole motif too far. However when she looked down she realized she really was standing ankle deep in water. Tara glanced behind her and saw water bubbling over a marble column; she was standing in a fountain in the middle of the campus quad.

        A couple of people gave her funny looks as she squelched her way out of the fountain and emptied the water out of her boots. She tried to send a telepathic reassurance to Willow but it didn't work any better from outside the barrier than from inside. That fact set Tara's top priority, find a way back in without letting the militia out.



        Since that last desperate call from Tara Giles had been gathering up what resources he could, and they were pretty thin. He had considered calling the police or the army, but they seemed unlikely to be much use in the circumstances, or indeed in any circumstances. Giles had put a call into Xander only with the greatest reluctance; he simply had no one else to turn to. Giles was acutely aware that without Buffy, Willow or Tara there was very little he could do. After this was over, assuming there was an after, he was going to have to knock some heads together and patch up this ridiculous feud between the old friends.

        Xander was checking over a crossbow that Giles had given him. Anya was sat in the corner of the room glaring at Xander and Giles, she couldn't believe they were actually planning to go to the Initiative by themselves, it was insane and she had told them so repeatedly. She was gearing up to tell them again when the front door burst open, "Tara!" Anya was surprised and relieved at the sight of the witch.

        Giles was also surprised to see her, "Tara! Are the others with you?" he asked hopefully.

        "Willow's stuck in the base with the shadow and his cronies, Buffy and Elias are on the way there, Buffy's got the accelerator gizmo." Tara explained breathlessly.

        Giles simply stood and blinked a couple of times, trying to take in this information. It was Xander who spoke up, "Did I skip a couple of pages here? Because that didn't make a whole lot of sense."

        Tara fixed him with a frosty stare which took Xander aback, Tara was normally the most relaxed of people, "Xander, Willow is alone facing a bunch of super powered lunatics and a demon. I really don't have time to join up all the dots for you."

        "Hey you can't talk to him like that!" Anya shouted angrily.

        Giles put up his hand to silence Anya, "Tara what can we do to help?"

        "I need access to your magic books, the one you usually keep locked away." Tara explained succinctly.

        Normally Giles would have hesitated at that request; of course normally Tara would never have asked for those books. "Alright I'll get the key."

        "Isn't there anything we can do?" Xander had finally picked up on the anxiety that Tara was exuding.

        Tara didn't want to be unkind but all she could think to say was; "Cross your fingers and think good thoughts."



        Willow tried to pull herself together. She had no idea whether she had succeeded in sending Tara back to the campus or simply into oblivion. No, the magic felt right, Willow decided, she had to believe it had worked and that Tara was ok. Any other possibility was simply impossible to contemplate. She felt drained of energy; she was completely tapped out as far as magic was concerned. Willow turned her attention to the laptop which was sat on top of the bucket where she had left it. She picked it up and rebooted it; examining the various hacks Warren had placed in the Initiative's computers. Warren may have been a sleaze ball but he did know his way around a mainframe. Willow considered the possibilities; she knew how to work more than one kind of magic.



        Cutler knew his authority had been usurped by Patterson and he wasn't quite sure how it had happened, or why he had simply gone along with it. There had been something in that speech that Patterson had given that had resonated with Cutler and with the rest of the men. Perhaps it was this new found power that was responsible. In the back of his mind Cutler knew something wasn't right about this; the energy buzzing through his brain made it impossible for him to focus on it.

        After the big pep talk the plan had been to bring the rest of the unit here and enhance them. Then they would pick the Initiative clean and get out of this town. The strange barrier that had sprung up around the facility had radically changed that plan. Cutler had taken a pair of men to explore the dark corners of the facility in the hopes of finding an exit not covered by the invisible barrier; which had been a total waste of time. The entire facility was locked down. Despite the reluctance of his subordinates Cutler decided to return via the containment area, he wasn't going to take the long way round just because they were unnerved by a bunch of animals. He had no idea what the beeping sound coming from both sides of him was until all the doors slid open and the remaining demons found themselves with unrestricted access to the trio of humans.

        Willow watched the feed from the security camera as the demons swarmed over the militiamen. She had been hesitant about turning the demons loose; seeing how they were barely holding their own against the militia despite outnumbering them better than two to one Willow didn't feel so bad about it, in fact she felt a little sorry for the demons.

Tapping a few keys brought up a feed from the room where the Initiative personnel were locked up. She had been thinking about turning them loose; the sight of what the militia was doing to the demons changed her mind. The Initiative security men and scientists wouldn't last ten seconds out there with those enhanced rednecks. That didn't mean Willow was out of options. There were a whole bunch of cool devices built into this place that had never been used. They might not be able to stop the militia; they would however make their stay here more, 'entertaining'.



        The militiaman had reached out for the door control and then flew back about ten feet as a blast of electricity struck his hand. Even with his enhanced endurance the mans hand was smoking. He swore and stamped his feet on the wet floor. They wanted out of this room because something had set off the fire suppression system, drenching them as the sprinklers poured water on the phantom fire. This group had been luckier than some of their colleagues. They had been in a part of the complex that used a halogen fire suppression system; they had almost choked to death as the heavy vapour drove out the oxygen. Another pair of militiamen moved to the door. Instead of wasting time with the control panel the shouldered charged the metal panel. The door buckled and then finally broke, allowing them back out into the corridor. That revealed another barrier less than twenty yards away. It had 'Biohazard Containment' written on it in big red letters. The barrier looked fairly flimsy and one of the men moved to tear it down. That triggered the second stage biohazard system; jets of gas erupted from vents in the ceiling that left the man coughing and wheezing.

        Patterson was growing increasingly angered by the obstacles that were springing up. The barrier that had locked them in might have been created from the outside, these other things had to be coming from somewhere inside the facility, and he had a nasty suspicion of who might have done it. Fighting his way through the multitude of distractions Patterson made his way back to the lab he had left Tomarov and the witches in. It was no great surprise to find it empty. The shadow reached out of its host with its extra senses and picked the faint afterglow of magic, magic of considerable power, magic that it had encountered before. When it had encountered the witches earlier the shadow had looked for a trace of that power and seen nothing. Now there it was. Somehow the witches had called it up again, as they had done when it had tried to gain control of the tuning crystal. The strange sensation that came over the shadow took a few moments for the being to pin down; it finally identified it as apprehension.

7. “Tenebrae”

The vehicle entrance to the Initiative was disguised as an electricity substation, surrounded by a barred and locked fence. Right now there were a number of commandos gathered near it, all sat on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs. A rope had been run through the bindings to form the commandos into a sort of chain gang. The militiamen had broken the lock on the fence and had opened the surface entrance to the tunnel that led down into the facility. There was a steady stream of militiamen trooping in and out of the tunnel carrying weapons and tools and an air of frustration.

        As Buffy watched she was deeply relieved to see that they were stuck outside. That meant Willow's magic was still holding up, which Buffy hoped meant that Willow was ok. "I count eleven, what about you?" Elias asked.

        Buffy realized that he was talking about the commandos. She felt a little guilty, Willow could look after herself, those commandos were in immediate peril, "Yeah there are eleven of them down there." It struck her that there had been more than twenty of them when they had set out to hunt the demon, it didn't take a great deal of imagination to know what had happened to the others. She checked the accelerator clamped to her wrist. After Willow had powered the thing back up Buffy had managed to interpret the control panel. Now she could raise and lower the acceleration rate to suit the moment. Buffy didn't entirely trust the device, however she knew she needed all the advantages she could get right now.

        "We have to get in there and rescue them." Elias' comment wasn't a suggestion.

        As it happened Buffy had no problem with that, "Of course we will, you want come up with a plan or should we just go kick some ass?"

        Elias gave her a scary smile, "Actually that sounds like a plan to me."

        Bowman had been left in charge of the surface unit while the commander led the team into the complex. Once both parts of the Initiative had been dealt with they were supposed to link up, this bizarre barrier had so far thwarted that idea. The calls from Cutler and Patterson were becoming more insistent and frantic. The last message had 'suggested' that he use explosives to penetrate the barrier. Bowman suspected the barrier might be stronger than the concrete of the tunnel, all an explosion would achieve would be to bury the barrier under rubble. Bowman felt a breeze and two of his men went flying through the air. He turned to try and see what had happened and found he was flat on his back staring up into the sky. As Bowman struggled to his feet he was confronted by Elias Carter, who delivered a karate chop that sent him slumping to the ground again. Buffy came to a stop and for an instant the militiamen got a glimpse of her before she started moving again, going through them like a tornado with Elias mopping up behind her.

        Forrest was amongst the surviving commandos. He had caught a rifle butt in the head and was pretty groggy. When he saw the enemy being taken out by, well, nothing he assumed he was concussed. Even when Agent Carter began to move among the commandos and untie them Forrest wasn't sure it was real until he felt the pins and needles in his fingers. "Come on soldier I need you to get up and get moving. We need to get these prisoners secured." Elias gestured towards the militia, all of whom were now disabled. The thought of a little revenge helped to get Forrest's blood pumping. What really got his heart thudding though was the sight of Buffy just appearing out of nowhere wearing a chunk of classified technology. Forrest had more than half suspected she was responsible for what had happened to his team. It was a very uncomfortable feeling to realize that suspicion was unjustified and that he owed his life to her.

        Elias was rearming the commandos as Buffy joined him; she was fiddling with the accelerator. "What's the matter?" Elias asked.

        "I think the batteries are flat."

        Elias grimaced, "Shame, that thing actually came in useful, perhaps I should thank Mr. Mears when we see him again."

        "I think we can arrange a special thank you for him," Buffy agreed, "That's assuming that Willow doesn't get her hands on him first."



        Willow was running the security systems like they were a video game, and by now she was racking up a pretty good score as the militia was shocked, steamed, scalded and beaten up. As entertaining as it was it was clear that shadow Patterson was rallying the troops, and handing out a new set of orders. They were no longer pounding away at the exits to the Initiative instead they were moving inwards opening every door as they went. Willow considered moving but it was only a matter of time until they found her. She flexed her fingers, trying to summon up some magical energy, all she got was one small spark. As she contemplated her options Willow felt an odd tugging sensation, as though she was being pulled in all directions at once. Willow tried to fight it but she was simply to weak to resist.

        Willow found herself standing in a misty formless place which was eerily familiar. The last time Willow had been here she had been sucked through a portal created by the tuning crystal. She had only gotten back because LJ had managed to send her back, it was the first time she had met her daughter. "LJ? Are you here?"

        "She isn't the only one in the family who can work a spell you know." Tara scolded her as she materialized out of the mist.

        Willow responded by rushing over to her and wrapping her in a fierce hug, "You're ok!"

        "I was 'til you started crushing the life out of me." Tara replied smiling.

        "I just wanted to be sure all your bits wound up where they were supposed to." Willow explained as she let her hands stray down Tara's back to encompass her butt.

        As pleasant as that was Tara managed to stay focused on business, "Honey we still have a demon and a bunch of rednecks to deal with."

        Willow let her go, "Ok, ok. Do we have a way to do that?"

        Tara nodded, "I went over the books with a fine tooth comb. There's a spell that's normally is pretty nasty; it lets you leech energy from other people."

        It sounded kind of vampiric to Willow, "You've figured out away to make it less icky?"

        Tara laid it out for her, "Definitely. I tweaked it a little with Anya's help; she does know her demons. It should drain off the power from the militia guys demonic enhancements without harming the human part, such as it is."

        At this point Willow wasn't that concerned about the fate of the militia men, still the spell did seem to fit the bill, "Ok baby, how do I work it?"



        The pair of militiamen had finally pinned down the last of the demons that had escaped from the containment area. The creature had made a break for the elevator in an effort to escape and been stopped by the same barrier that held the militia in place. The creature was wiry and agile, even able to clamber up on the walls and ceiling. This ability had allowed it to survive longer than some of its fellow prisoners; that extra time was now used up as the militiamen were finally confident enough in their new abilities to launch a salvo of energy bolts that knocked the creature off the ceiling. The demon landed on the floor with a distinct cracking sound and a shower of concrete chips. The militiamen kicked the creature just to be on the safe side, it remained motionless, beyond caring about whatever indignities they might inflict on it.

        One of the men had produced a hunting knife and was contemplating whether the creatures ear would make a suitable trophy when Willow found them, "That's just gross," she announced.

        The militiamen exchanged glances. They had been warned that there might be someone on the loose in the base trying to interfere with the operation. What they had imagined was one of the commandos or scientists, they hadn't expected to see an elfin redheaded girl clad in a tight black sweater and leather pants.

        Willow didn't have the energy for telepathy but she didn't need it to tell what was going through their minds. Sure enough one of them advanced one her, "Ok girl why don't you just come with us quietly? We'll take you to where the rest of your people are being kept if you don't give us and trouble."

        Yeah, right, Willow thought. Instead of voicing her disbelief she did her best to sound scared, "Just stay away from me!" she raised her hands in a 'stay back' gesture.

        Exactly as she had expected he would the militiaman lunged forward and grabbed her outstretched hands, "Well if you won't co-operate then I guess we will have to play rough," he sneered.

        "Fine by me." Willow commented, and then murmured the words of the incantation Tara had given her. The militiaman’s expression turned from lust to panic as he felt the strength drain out of him. He didn't manage much more than a strangled cry before he fell to the floor; landing right on top of the recently deceased demon.

        His partner was bewildered as to what had just happened. He didn't let that stop him from reacting. He grabbed Willow by the shoulders, intending to shake her or crush her as the mood took him. She simply reached up and laid her hands on his face. Within a couple of seconds he let go of her and joined his comrade littering the corridor.

        Willow felt reinvigorated; she tried to summon up a fireball and a brilliant bolt of energy floated above her palm. She let it dissipate and couldn't resist a wicked grin; if the rest of the militia were so hot to find her then it would be rude not to let them.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[Sheridan]

8. "Diluesco"

The commandos were sorting through the weaponry the militia had brought with them. What it lacked in state of the art quality it made up for in sheer quantity. There was firepower for every occasion; they had even packed anti-tank mines. "Got to love that army surplus huh?" Forrest commented to Elias who simply shrugged.

        "Yeah and two girls with a spell book faced it all down." Forrest hadn't heard Buffy approaching the truck. He wanted to make a snappy comment to her comment; problem was he didn't have one. Forrest had been down into the tunnel and felt the barrier that stretched across the steel inner door. Felt was probably the wrong word; there was a definite point beyond which he could not go even though he couldn't actually detect anything. The barrier had no texture and no temperature, it simply resisted all attempts to pass through it, the ricochet scars on the tunnel walls bore testament to that.

        "Maybe we should have taken Willow and Tara on as consultants, or whoever takes over from me in this place should.” Elias commented.

        Buffy was concerned, "They can't hold you to blame for this, can they?"

        "Doesn't really matter if they do or if they don't. After I turn in my report on this screw up my career is pretty much over." Elias explained.

        That made Forrest nervous, "I hope you aren't going to do anything crazy Carter."

        Elias gave him a hard look, "Crazy as compared to what? Planning to turn us all into some sort of half human freaks?"

        Forrest wasn't sure he wanted to accept a third hand story which had originated with the Rosenberg girl, he wasn't going to say that out loud however, "I'm just saying maybe you should think carefully about what you're going to do."

        Buffy didn't have a lot in common with Forrest; on this occasion she had to agree with him, "It could be dangerous Elias, we've seen how far they'll go to protect themselves."

        Forrest didn't like that comment anymore than the suggestion that Elias was going to blow the whistle; he decided that this conversation wasn't going to get any better so he decided to change the subject, "Yeah well maybe we should focus on right now and finding something that will knock down that whatever it is down in the tunnel."

        "I think I can fix that." Tara announced.

        Buffy spun round and leapt from the van, "Tara! How the heck did you get here?" she spotted Giles and Xander hustling to catch up with Tara. They were loaded down with weapons and what Buffy assumed was a bagful of magical paraphernalia.

        Tara found it difficult to respond given the bear hug Buffy was crushing her in; she managed to squeeze out a one-word explanation, "Willow."

        Buffy didn't need much more explanation than that, "Where is she?"'

        "Still in there." Tara pointed towards the tunnel, not looking too worried.

        "Well maybe we should get in there and help her." Elias suggested.

        Tara nodded, "That's the plan, before she does something really bad to those militia guys." Elias stared at her and still couldn't be sure whether Tara was joking or not.



        LJ was keeping a close eye on the group; she was itching to join the fight, which naturally was the one thing she couldn't do. Before she had set out for this time and place her parents had reminded her for the hundredth time to only do the things they remembered her doing. Willow had been especially firm on that point; she knew the power of foreknowledge better than anyone. Willow had made it clear that they had been phenomenally lucky once, they just couldn't expect to get that lucky again.

        There was also the question of where did you stop? LJ knew every disaster that would befall the world for the next twenty odd years; if she saved her friends and family from all their troubles how could she not try and save everyone else’s loved ones? She sighed and settled down in her hiding place; the logic was perfect; still it would have been cool to fight alongside Buffy at her Slayer peak.



        Walking down the tunnel was an odd experience for Tara. She had an entire company of commandos formed up behind her, not to mention Buffy and Xander, and everyone was taking her lead; depending on her. It was unnerving and exhilarating at the same time. Some of the commandos obviously didn't feel the same way and kept looking at her in a dismissive manner. Once upon a time she might have crumbled under that kind of scrutiny now Tara just focused on the task at hand, getting to Willow.

        Tara hadn't actually seen the barrier she had created. To the others it was completely invisible but Tara could sense the energy that composed it. It glimmered faintly against the dim lighting of the tunnel so Tara had no problem running her hands over it. She couldn't help feeling proud of the way the barrier had held up; despite all the battering it had taken it was totally stable, it could probably stand firm for days if needed. It was sort of a shame to have to take it down, however it stood between her and her lover so it had to go.

        Buffy was keeping an eye on the commandos as Tara worked. When she and Elias had rescued them they had been subdued, freed and rearmed they were beginning to act like their old cocky selves. That was no good thing; they had gotten into way too much trouble from being overconfident already. She looked back at Tara who appeared to have her hands stretched out in the air, waving them back and forth in a manner that was producing smirks from some of the commandos. The smiles faded as Tara held perfectly still and muttered something that Buffy didn't catch. The corridor was filled with a light that flowed into Tara, the energy of the barrier returning from whence it came.

        Tara turned to the others and saw the commandos standing openmouthed at the sight of honest to goodness magic; she couldn't resist smiling at their reaction. They began to move towards the door that led into the facility until Elias raised his hand to bring them to a halt, "Don't you guys have any manners? It's ladies first," he nodded towards Buffy. She stepped forward and Tara moved to a position behind her left shoulder, ready to add some magical support if Buffy needed it.

        Elias had given Buffy the code for the keypad that opened the door and she tapped it in rapidly. The door slid back into the concrete wall revealing a section of tunnel identical to the one they were standing in. The tunnel appeared quiet and then Buffy felt a whispered thought in her head; they're standing against the walls, six of them, three on either side.

        Buffy nodded in acknowledgment and drew out a throwing knife from her belt and hefted it, trying hard to look casual about it. When Buffy was ready Tara stretched out her hands and let some of the magical energy she had collected loose. It fanned out and arced along the walls of the tunnel and over the concealed militiamen, illuminating them like a neon sign.

        The knife flew out of Buffy's hand and struck the nearest glowing figure, as it happened when demonic enhancement met Slayer strength the strength won out. The blade buried itself into the mans shoulder and his chameleonic cloak collapsed. The rest of the militia abandoned their efforts at concealment and decided to fall back on a frontal assault, at which point all hell broke loose in the corridor.

        Tara let loose a string of energy that raced across the tunnel and wrapped itself around a militiaman, pinning his arms to his side as he prepared to loose an energy bolt. The bolt tore a lump out of the concrete at his feet and he fell over. Buffy raced in and grabbed the man she had hit with the knife and spun him into the path of one of his comrades. The collision slammed the both of them into a wall. Elias fired a burst from a shock rifle straight at one of the militiamen and held the trigger down until the capacitor was drained. The electrical energy held the redneck back but as soon as the rifle went into its recharge cycle he shook it off and began to advance. Elias didn't want to start using automatic weapons in here; the confined conditions could make things, 'messy'.

        Tara could see that things weren't going well; the commandos were being slowly pushed back up the tunnel and despite her and Buffy's best efforts they were only slowing the militia down. Even the one Buffy had hit with the knife was getting back into the fight. Guess that's my cue. The thought was warm and confident, and a huge relief to Tara. One of the militia had his hand raised to send out an energy bolt and it was suddenly held in Willows grip. The man froze on the spot, one of his comrades turned to come to his aid and Willow waved her free hand at him, sending the militiaman tumbling down the corridor and practically landing him at Buffy's feet.

        Willow let go of the militiaman’s hand and he dropped to the ground unconscious. The remaining four were now staring at Willow with something akin to horror, "So whose next?" she asked impishly. Wounded masculine pride overcame fear and one of the men lunged at her. He fell flat on his face as Tara threw a thread of energy that tangled around his ankles. Willow placed her hand on the back of his neck and instantly regretted it; didn't they ever take a shower?

        The sight of Willow dropping the militiamen like sacks of potatoes didn't surprise Elias as much as the rest of the commandos; still it was impressive. He stood next to Buffy and asked, "Are we going to let her have all the fun?"

        Buffy shook her head, "Not a chance." She launched herself at the nearest militiaman and Elias swung the shock rifle up like a club, it was time to finish this.

9. "Victoria"

The commandos unceremoniously tossed the last of the militiamen next to his comrades. They were all trussed up securely and a couple had regained consciousness. From their behavior it was clear that they were minus their enhancements. Willow got a certain satisfaction watching the commandos work. A pair of hands settled on her shoulders and spun her round. Willow was braced to launch a protective spell when she was pulled into an embrace and kissed very passionately. When Tara finally let her go Willow was breathless, "That was..." she found she couldn't come up with anything to say, the sheer passion of the moment was overwhelming. From the corner of her eye Willow observed that some of the commandos were equally impressed by Tara's performance. When Willow arched an eyebrow they found other things to do; they had seen what Willow had done to the militia.

        "After that clinch I'm wondering if you've got anything left for an old friend." Buffy commented.

        Willow turned to face her, after all the arguments and disagreements was a hug really supposed to fix everything? Only one way to find out. Willow put her arms around Buffy and gave her a squeeze. Buffy did the same, and both were overwhelmed with warmth and regret. "I should have listened to you Will." Buffy whispered.

        "Well if I hadn't been shouting so loud maybe it would be easier to listen." Willow responded. They simply smiled at one another, the words were unimportant; they were just an excuse to let go of all the stress.

        Elias had allowed the three girls their moment, after all they had earned it. There was still however the matter of an entire base to retake. "Uh Willow how many of these guys did you take down before you came here?"

        Willow turned her attention away from her friend and lover, "I ran into a few, I think there are a couple of the militia left and Patterson."

        "And you're sure he's, 'possessed'?" Elias didn't like to use the word in front of the other commandos but he couldn't think of anything else that described the situation.

        "Trust me on this." Willow answered with a look that didn't allow any doubt.

        "So I'm guessing you're going after him?" Elias knew the answer; he just wanted to hear it.

        "We will be going after him." Tara's tone was as emphatic as Willow's, not that Willow had planned to argue with her anyway.

        "Guess that leaves me to go with you." Buffy commented.

        "Can't say I have a problem with that." Elias replied, "What do we do if we run across Patterson?"

        "Hit with everything you've got and then run." Willow told him somberly.



        The shadow felt its minions falling away one by one. It couldn't be absolutely certain but the conclusion that it was the witches was inescapable. Once again they had destroyed its plan and once again it had no idea how they could have; where two ordinary mortals could have found the power to oppose the ancient forces that the shadow commanded. The entity put that question aside, the true matter at hand was what was to be done about it? Was there anything that could be done? The last time the shadow had simply retreated, partly because it had been driven from its host but largely because it could see its opportunity was gone. This time was different, there surely had to be away to turn this mortal science to its advantage? The shadows pride made retreating again unbearable, there had to be a solution. It extended its senses and found an option, a slim chance but better than nothing.



        As they walked through the Initiative Willow and Tara held hands, partly to share magical energy but mostly to draw a different kind of strength from one another. The facility was quiet and the silence was unnerving Tara. Given the sound of their footsteps in the corridor it didn't seem likely that they could sneak up on anyone so she didn't see any harm in starting a conversation to fill the void, "Honey do you have any allergies?"

        It took Willow a moment to respond, it was hardly a question she was expecting, "Allergies?"

        "You know, peanuts, dairy products, cat hair." Tara tried to make the enquiry sound casual.

        Willow wasn't fooled, "Cat hair? Honey what are you talking about?"

        "Well I've been thinking about us getting a cat." Tara admitted.

        "Isn't that sort of a witchy cliché?" Willow wondered.

        "This wouldn't be a witch thing, it would be a pet thing." Tara explained.

        Willow thought about it, a pet would be cool and learning to take care of a creature that would depend on them for everything, might not be such a bad idea. After all if they couldn't take care of a cat what chance did they have with a child? "It sounds like a good idea to me, and we can drive it crazy by levitating a ball of string."

        Tara nodded and smiled and was going to go into details when she spotted someone dressed in fatigues ducking round a corner. I think we've found him; she switched to telepathy for privacy's sake. Willow nodded and they moved cautiously to check where Patterson had gone; the shadow had ambushed them once and they weren't going to give it the chance again.

        There was a lot of trepidation as Willow stuck her head around the corner; she was half expecting a fireball to come whizzing past in response. What she wasn't expecting was to see Patterson squatting down rocking back and forth on his heels, holding his head in his hands. Tara peered around also and looked at Patterson's aura. What she saw was a tumbling mixture of fear and confusion, and no trace of anything other than human in there.

        As much as Willow trusted Tara's ability to read people she knew the shadow could be tricky so the pair approached Patterson cautiously, ready to fry him on the spot if he twitched. Actually he was twitching quite a lot, just not in a threatening way. Since he seemed to be paying no attention to them Willow nudged him with the toe of her boot.

        Now Patterson seemed to become vaguely aware of the presence of the pair. He looked at them as though he had never seen them before, indeed he didn't seem to be focusing at all. "Hey remember us? The women you zapped?" Willow enquired, enunciating each word as though she was talking to a mental patient; which she might just be from the way Patterson was acting.

        "I don't think there's anyone home." Tara commented, a little sympathy creeping in despite what Patterson had planned even without the shadow's intervention.

        "I agree, but we need to know what happened." Willow pointed out, "Maybe I could reach in and look around."

        Tara was appalled, "Honey that's dangerous and well, nasty."

        "We need to know where the shadow is." Willow was emphatic.

        "Maybe it's like before, it's gone away, given up." Tara couldn't manage to make the suggestion sound convincing.

        "I wish it would, but I know it hasn't." Willow replied.

        Tara took a deep breath, "Alright, but be careful."

        Willow reached out with her telepathy; and bounced off the fringes of Patterson’s mind. It was like trying to walk into a hurricane wind. Willow pressed harder and fought her way into Patterson's mind, such as it was. The last time the shadow had shown up and taken over a person the host had held up pretty well; of course she had been a Wicca and the recipient of a lot of support while she drove out the shadow. Patterson had simply been discarded, and discarded by something beyond his comprehension.

        The place Willow found herself in was the psychic equivalent of a pile of rubble, the shadow hadn't so much pushed Patterson's mind aside as shattered it. Willow felt around for something useable and found a few pieces that looked 'fresh' for want of any better description. As she accessed them Willow found she was right; the shadow wasn't about to give up and go home. The creature simply refused to return to wherever it had come from, it had searched for any alternative however onerous. It had searched all through the Initiative until it finally found a possibility. A whiny, weasly, possibility.



        The commandos had found the detained Initiative staff locked up in the base cafeteria. After the relief at being free had worn off the scientists decided they had seen quite enough of the facility, they wanted out on the surface. Since Brown, or Tomarov as Willow had explained, was absent the decisions had fallen to Elias and he was sympathetic to the urge to get far away from the Initiative.

        A couple of security men had been detailed to check everyone out and more were positioned on the surface to keep the scientists together and any curious civilians away. The security men weren't the highly trained, thoroughly honed soldiers the commandos were. Their job usually consisted of ferrying demons around the complex and making sure that no one wandered out with anything they weren't supposed to. Between the unfamiliar task and the state of shock they were in after being taken captive it wasn't surprising that they didn't notice anyone sneaking away from the crowd.

        The shadow was doing an inventory of Warren's mind. It was filled with schemes for self-aggrandizement and devices of torture and destruction. The former the shadow dismissed; the latter caught the creature’s interest. With the proper direction that part of Warren's intellect could be a potent weapon so long as his ego was kept locked away, for a mortal it was an astonishingly large thing.

        The shadow sensed the energy before it saw anything. It spun Warren around searching for the source but couldn't pin it down, which was even more worrying than the energy itself. LJ finally materialized twenty feet in front of Warren and his unwanted guest, despite her anxieties LJ had kept up a cheerful front in all her other confrontations. Now that was gone, replaced by a cold disgust. "Everything I had to do today this was the one I really could have lived without," she commented, more to vent her feelings than to address the shadow.

        The creature looked at LJ through Warren's eyes and brushed aside the host's thoughts about the girl. To the shadow the power LJ commanded was like a searchlight being shone in its face. The shadow searched for a source, some higher being acting through the girl, however everything pointed to her as the source of the power, "What are you?" It demanded.

        LJ looked at Warren's perplexed and anxious face and returned a frosty smile, "Sorry to disappoint you but I'm all too human."

        "No, no human can command that much power." Warren's voice robbed that statement of much of the gravity that the shadow had intended.

        "That says more about your limited knowledge than anything else." LJ's jibe provoked anger from both the shadow and Warren. The shadow reached out with a psychic probe designed to bore into LJ's mind and get its answers direct. For the briefest moment she let it through before she cut it off; just long enough for the creature to understand whom it was facing.

        The shadow practically tore loose from Warren as it recoiled from LJ's mind, "Well now you know," she commented before she stretched out a hand and uttered a few words in a language that didn't sound like it belonged in the mouth of a human being. A vortex formed in the air above LJ, "Now are you going to go quietly or do we do this the hard way?"

        The shadow was shaken but defiant, "You cannot expel me from this realm without harming this one.” It tapped Warren's chest.

        LJ's smile got wider, "If you think threatening Warren is going to stop you are just so wrong. I know what kind of monster he could be; I'll be just as happy to see both of you stuck in a hell dimension. So if you really want him for company be my guest."

        The shadow could see that LJ was not bluffing, and the prospect of being trapped with Warren was just too appalling. It separated from Warren and before it could try and retreat to its former hiding place LJ reached out with her magic and launched the shadows flimsy bulk at the vortex.

10. "Concordia"

Tara and Willow had raced after Warren after finally locating a technician who vaguely recalled seeing him and the direction he had been walking. Willow was filled with dread at what the shadow might do with the devious little dweebs toys. Her emotions did a one eighty as she saw LJ standing there and the shadow being drawn into a vortex lazily spinning around in mid air. As the shadow plunged into the vortex it folded in behind the demon and vanished.

        LJ dusted her hands in a 'that's that' gesture and then smiled as she caught sight of Willow and Tara. Warren saw the expression and came close to falling to his knees and begging for his life. He was totally freaked out by what had happened, especially since he wasn’t really sure what had happened. Only realizing that LJ was smiling at someone behind kept him from falling apart, he wasn't going to give Rosenberg the satisfaction. "Glad you stopped by." LJ called out.

        "Well you know we were afraid the bad guys might get away." Willow commented as they got closer.

        LJ shook her head, "My parents were very firm about me always clearing things up when I was finished."

        Willow and Tara smiled, then Tara's expression turned a little sad, "You're leaving now."

        "Kind of have to, people to see, places to go." LJ unconsciously brushed the 'Pathfinder' shoulder patch on her jump suit. Willow wanted to ask about that, and then decided she would rather keep some surprises for the future.

        "What should we do with him?" Tara pointed at Warren, who flinched at the gesture.

        LJ sounded disinterested, "I have no idea, but I'm sure you will think of something," she sighed, "Sorry but it really is time to go," she saw the disappointed looks on her parents faces, "Hey I'll see you again sooner than you think, though it will be a while before we can have any conversations above the level of baby talk."

        Before Willow or Tara could come up with a reply LJ seemed to fold in on herself until there was nothing there but thin air. Willow blinked and stared but LJ was definitely gone. "I guess if we want to see her again we have to do it the old fashioned way." Tara commented.

        "Old fashioned way? Baby there's nothing old fashioned about LJ." Willow pointed out and Tara smiled and nodded.

        Warren was trying not to be noticed but his throat was dry and he couldn't help coughing. That brought Willow and Tara’s full attention on to him. "You can't hurt me, it was all that things fault, it made me do things," he babbled desperately.

        "Right it made you let the militia into the Initiative, and it made you contact them in the first place." Willow's cool tone told Warren that an affirmative answer wouldn't be a good idea.

        Tara could see that Willow wanted to do something with Warren, "We can't really deal with him Will," she commented and Warren looked relieved until she continued, "That's really a job for Elias and his commandos."

        "You can't turn me over to them!" Warren bleated.

        Willow fixed a hard stare on him and then sighed; he was simply too pathetic to be worth torturing. She looked around to see where the sun was in the sky and then she pointed, "That way is south, I suggest you start running." Warren just stared at her, "I'm serious, you start and you run and you don't stop until you see penguins." Willow put on her resolved face; leaving no doubt that she really was serious.

        Warren looked at her, looked at the horizon and then started running, and running fast.

        Tara stared after him as he disappeared into the distance, "What do we do now?" she wondered.

        Willow slipped an arm around her waist, "That's the easiest question I‘ve heard all day; now we go home."



        Tomarov walked into the laboratory and was pleased to see it was intact, at least for the moment. Soon enough they would be in here stripping it bare like every other room in the facility. It had taken every favour Tomarov could call in just to get him back into the base. He checked the computer; the data files and programs were still intact. He tapped in a few commands and the system transferred several biological samples to a cryogenic canister. Satisfied they were safe Tomarov turned his attention to the files. He checked the screen to be sure that he had what he needed:

***FILES TRANSFERRED***



MACLAY T. - OK

ROSENBERG W. - OK

SUMMERS B. - OK



*********************

Tomarov wished he had some sort of measurements on that other strange young woman who had rescued him, still working with what he had perhaps he could gain some insight into her and some answers about the power she wielded.



        The truck pulled up at the gas station and the passenger door popped open. The street was hot and dusty and the air was bone dry. All in all it was still preferable to the inside of the cab. There was no air con and the trucker wasn't a believer in deodorant. Warren stretched and groaned as he set foot on the sidewalk of the little Mexican town, it was little more than a few houses clustered around a crossroads. After some thirty hours on the road it was paradise to Warren. He pulled the map out of his pocket and tried to figure out how exactly where he was; or rather how far he was from Sunnydale. It was a long way but thinking about the expression on Rosenberg's face he knew it wasn't far enough. With a sense of dread he looked around for a truck going further south.



        The Bronze was packed; the dance floor was full, the bar was three deep, and people were perching on the arms of the sofas and armchairs. Nonetheless the table where Buffy Summers was sat remained deserted apart from her. She gazed morosely at the dancers; everyone seemed to be having a good time but her. That was mostly her own fault; Willow, Tara, Xander and even Anya had volunteered to come along. It had been pretty clear that Willow and Tara had only been offering for the sake of friendship, they would clearly rather be alone. Buffy had let them off the hook and Xander and Anya as well, being a third wheel was not going to be a big morale booster.

        Buffy suddenly found her view of the dance floor blocked. The guy standing in front of her had a bottle of beer in one hand and a bottle of one of those fruit juice and vodka mixer things that were aimed at women; and Buffy could guess which woman it was aimed at right now. Normally Buffy could fend off this kind of cheap pass in her sleep; at this moment she just didn't have the energy. As the guy was about to make his pitch someone plucked the bottles from his hands. He spun angrily to confront whoever was horning in and stopped as he was confronted by Elias Carter, "Thanks for the drinks, I'd leave you a tip but I don't have any change." The words were affable; the expression was anything but.

        As the guy scurried away Elias placed the bottles on the table, "Hey lady want a drink?"

        Buffy leapt up and wrapped him in a bear hug, "Why didn't you call? What happened in Washington?"

        "That's why I didn't call, not the sort of thing you want to talk about over the phone, especially when you've promised to keep your mouth shut." Elias pointed out.

        Buffy was still anxious for the details, "So what did they promise?"

        "Basically I don't try and make anything that happened public and they accept my resignation without making a fuss." Elias was concise.

        Buffy couldn't quite believe it, "That's all? They just took your word for it?"

        Elias took her hand, "They believed me because if I go to the press or start posting on the internet that would bring down a lot of heat on Sunnydale, especially on you and Willow and the others, and I'm not going to let that happen."

        Now Buffy smiled and relaxed, "So what are you going to do now?"

        "Well a former superior of mine runs a high end security firm in LA, he found out I was getting a discharge and said to give him a call."

        Now Buffy looked crestfallen, "Oh, when?"

        "Soon as I find somewhere to live in Sunnydale." Elias smiled.

        Buffy's eyes went wide, "Here? You're going to stay here?"

        "Where else?" Elias maintained a deadpan expression, at least until Buffy pulled him close and crushed his mouth against hers.



        Willow was stretched on the bed covered in nothing but a sheet. After showering she hadn't bothered getting dressed, Tara was due back soon and she didn't see the point. Willow had picked up a book and was working her way through a chunk of medieval history. She had gotten lost in the intricacies of the 'Wars of the Roses' when she felt something brushing against her exposed legs and slowly moving up them. Willow froze, not daring to turn round, not wanting to tip off whatever was creeping up on her. She tensed and then threw the bed sheet off and rolled away from whatever it was.

        The something was wriggling under the bed sheet and Willow prepared an energy bolt before she pulled it back. The small black and white kitten looked at her and meowed as if it was annoyed at being disturbed. The sound of laughter from the doorway grabbed Willow's attention. Tara was clearly hugely amused at her reaction to the cat, "I wondered how long it was going to take you to notice her."

        Willow raised an eyebrow, "Her? It's a she?"

        "Well I thought we should stick with our no boys rule." Tara replied with mock seriousness, "You are ok with this aren't you?"

        Willow scooped up the cat and held it a few inches from her face, the cat looked her squarely in the face, "Well I guess we can make the room, just so long as you don't spend more time playing with her than me."

        Tara walked over and leaned past the cat to kiss Willow, which meowed at being ignored. Tara looked at the cat, "Sorry but she does come first," she said nodding towards Willow. The cat appeared to understand and purred in response.

        "Smart cat." Willow commented, "What are we going to call her?"

        Tara hadn't really thought about that and decided to duck the question, "Well maybe you could name her."

        Willow thought about it for a moment, "Something unusual, maybe something like..."



        "...Miss Kitty Fantastico." Reese was staring at the page in the photo album, which showed a ten-year-old red haired girl and a black and white cat. It was slightly unusual in that the cat was actually floating in the air next to the girl.

        Willow looked up from the photo album, "LJ told you about her?"

        "Yeah she told me a lot about when she was growing up, I am kind of surprised the cat looks so calm about being levitated." Reese wondered. He was staring into Willow's eyes, which were filled with the humor and intelligence. She was still a very 'interesting' woman, If she wasn't twice your age and gay, he reminded himself.

        Willow was oblivious to Reese's thoughts, or at least she chose to be, "Trust me that wasn't the strangest thing that cat ever saw," she smiled and then glanced at the huge machine that dominated the far end of the room.

        Reese followed her gaze, "Don't worry that machine is solid, it sent her and it will bring her back, right System?"

        The computer had remained silent until it was addressed, "Despite your best efforts the drive is fully operational and the field was symmetrical, LJ will return."

        As if to prove its point the air in the room shimmered and folded, leaving LJ standing there looking around, "There's no place like home," she murmured with a grin.

        Willow bounced up from the table and rushed over to LJ to give her a huge hug, "It all went ok?"

        "Well mom if it hadn't you wouldn't be standing here asking that would you?" LJ pointed out.

        Willow shook her head, "You try to show a little motherly concern and all I get is a lecture on temporal mechanics," her stern look was undermined as she laughed and patted LJ on the cheek.

        "I'll buzz Tara." Reese volunteered.

        "No need." Tara announced as the door slid open. She rushed over and joined the other two in a hug.

        Reese decided to leave the three alone, "I'll go and tell Admiral Leeman he can have the Pathfinder back."

        The three women remained in the hug for long moments. When they let go Tara voiced her one concern, "You didn't tell anyone anything you shouldn't?"

        LJ shook her head emphatically, "Had to bite my tongue a couple of times but I stuck to what we agreed, I didn't want mess this up," she walked over to a metal wall and touched a control. A panel slid open to reveal a starscape, "Like I told you, people to see, places to go." Willow and Tara joined her and they stared out on a universe that was now wide open to them.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[willntlover]

Dude!!! That was so tight



I was so laughing my ass of at the Warren bits. And how cool is it the Elias is staying! And Ms.Kitty Fantastico is in the story too



Pathfinder? I like it. Still connecting with the original context of the story.



Like always, it was well worth the wait



Thank you so much for the yummy update.



-Will

"Hear that baby? You're my always."

[Grimlock72]

I liked Willow abusing the security system like a video-game. I could soooo visualize Willow having fun with that.Was a bit worried Willow might overdose on power as she absorbed all those evil guys power, good thing that worked out.



I'm all with Willow wanting to do something to Warren, thats largely based on future crimes though... Tara is way to kind for evil criminals like Warren, waste of oxygen he is, heh.



I'm getting more and more interested in the L J-future, want more of that eventually. Tara being maternal, well that kinda figured



Elias staying.... Buffy in a long-term relationship ? Interesting to see if that will hold.



Grimmy

"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

[xita]

Wonderful, what a great ending to season 4. I love the partnership that w/t have in your fic, completely equal and completely trusting. And LJ is a kick ass daughter.

-------------------------------

Buffy?

Let's change it, the Discovery channel has koala bears.

[Sheridan]

Quote:

---

I was so laughing my ass of at the Warren bits. And how cool is it the Elias is staying?

---

Quote:

---

Elias staying.... Buffy in a long-term relationship ? Interesting to see if that will hold.

---

Willntlover, Grimlock Thanks for the kind words and yeah Elias will be around for a 'while'.

Quote:

---

I'm getting more and more interested in the L J-future, want more of that eventually.

---

Well Grimlock I have the very basic outline for something called Reality Check 2016 including some ideas for what W/T are doingand the beginnings of LJ's time as a Slayer. it would lead through several 'seasons' winding up on the Pathfinder on the day LJ comesback from her mission to the Intiative.

Quote:

---

Wonderful, what a great ending to season 4. I love the partnership that w/t have in your fic, completely equal and completely trusting. And LJ is a kick ass daughter.

---

Thanks Xita and LJ will be back, though next time we encounter her all she does is cause backache, nausea(usually in the morning), and sleepless nights.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[The Rose24]

Sheridan,



Interesting developments here.



I have a few questions. Maybe I missed it, but where did LJ come from? I know she is from the future and W/T's daughter, but how did she get there?



How did she know to come?



Who is Reese?

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.

[Grimlock72]

That LJ time-travel stuff is giving me a minor headache. You see, the first time around.... W/T simply didn't ever have a daughter....so how can that daugther-to-be travel back in time and being told what to do based on what she herself did in another time ???



LJ only does in the future what she was told to do by her parents, who wouldn't have survived without LJ there in the first place ??



wraaaaaah.... confusing plenty much



Probably best not to worry to much about it, heh...



Grimmy

"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

[Sheridan]

Hmm questions, questions,

The Rose24

Quote:

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Maybe I missed it, but where did LJ come from? I know she is from the future and W/T's daughter, but how did she get there?

---

Well lets say Tomarov is going do some 'interesting' things with that material he salvaged.

Quote:

---

How did she know to come?

---

Because Willow and Tara told her, which they did because they saw her there, so they told her to come, and we could go round and round all day.

Quote:

---

Who is Reese?

---

He's a physics genius that W/T and LJ meet many years from now and he has this theory on bending space and time...



Grimlock

Quote:

---

That LJ time-travel stuff is giving me a minor headache. You see, the first time around.... W/T simply didn't ever have a daughter....so how can that daugther-to-be travel back in time and being told what to do based on what she herself did in another time ???

---

Well with time travel cause and effect get kind of blurred. There is a long tradition of time travel stories where a character goes back to change a series of events and sets them off in the first place, think 'Terminator' as an example. Time travel should come with a big warning, 'can seriously damage your sanity'.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 12/8/02 9:38:38 am

[Puff]

Hey Sheriden. First of allI apologize for not reading your fabulous story sooner. Luckily (?) for me I broke a rib and have to take it easy, so I spent a wonderful weekend reading this story.



I really enjoy all the twists and new things you have going on, I mean just having Willow go for Tara earlier was brilliant and such a joy too read. I like how you have old and new characters mixed up and like xita said I REALLY love the equal relationship you have going between Willow and Tara. Great work Mike. Thank you. I look forward to the next part.

---

I could crap a better existence than this.
My view on season severed.

[darkmagicwillow]

Quite an ending to season 4. I liked really seeing LJ finally and confirming my suspicions about her. The imagery of Willow playing with the security system like a video game was great as others have said. Elias makes a very satisfying replacement for Riley; I like him.



Grimmy, if you can travel through time you've broken everything about causality. You can just forget about it. Future events can cause past events which cause the future events without any problems except for major confusion on he poor people living through the events.

--

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[Grimaldi]

really enjoyed this story



i liked LJ, she was really cool. it was really funny when she confronted the shadow and threatened to send Warren with him into the vortex. i also liked Elias staying in Sunnydale, its nice to see Buffy end up with someone who can accept her for who she is.

Dude, we're surrounded by perverts!
No! Well, okay. No. Pez!
I don't know, it's like my brain keeps... jacking off

[Sheridan]

Puff sorry to hear about the rib, hope it gets better soon and thanks for the kind words, I'm working on the outline for the next story now.



DMW and Grimaldi Glad you liked Elias. I truly hated Riley and I couldn't face doing an S4 with him. And yeah DMW time travel really can mess with your mind.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[mollyig]

Tara's acceptance of LJ's identity really rang true. She just trusted her feelings and didn't waste time questioning how it could be. Loved Willow's pride when Buffy told her how LJ was assisting, and how it ended with all three together again.



As always, the action scenes were described really well. Oh, and I really liked the shadow's description of Warren's mind.

Adding up the total of a love that's true, multiply life by the power of two
Indigo Girls

[tkheaven]

Such a great fic. I'm glad to see my suspicions were true about LJ. I was also wondering what would happen since Brown/Tomarov was able to save W/T information. Just answered that question by reading the replies ..one question, though...what does LJ stand for?



Can't wait for the next story. You're doing such a great job!

Tk's new and improved "GrrArgg"...Tk's Heaven

---

"I've become really protective of her. I want to make sure if Tara comes back, it's for good reason." -Amber Benson
Tara ate her, devoured her from beneath. -The Edge of Silence giving new meaning to this season's catch phrase.
"Got it: that's a 'yes' to petals; a 'no' to pricks. I should remember that more often." -On Second Thought

[Sheridan]

MollyigI'm Glad you liked it, I was tempted to kill off Warren but I decided he'll suffer more this way, though I do feel sorry for the penguins.

Quote:

---

..one question, though...what does LJ stand for?

---

A very good question TKheaven, but one that you will have to wait for the answer to, it will be revealed in the S6 stories...

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 12/10/02 12:44:12 pm

[tkheaven]

S6!...S6?!?!?! what a wait! but that's ok cuz what's important is that she kicks ass...LJ has become a lovable character...I can see it now, our kids (one day) leaving us a note:

dear mom and mom,

that made me giggle..cute

Tk's new and improved "GrrArgg"...Tk's Heaven

---

"I've become really protective of her. I want to make sure if Tara comes back, it's for good reason." -Amber Benson
Tara ate her, devoured her from beneath. -The Edge of Silence giving new meaning to this season's catch phrase.
"Got it: that's a 'yes' to petals; a 'no' to pricks. I should remember that more often." -On Second Thought

[Sheridan]

S6!...S6?!?!?! what a wait!

Well you could probably figure it out they are names of characters who have appeared in the stories TKheaven, but I will neither confirm nor deny any guesses.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[tkheaven]

Well, I can take a guess where the may come from (if it is I think it's appropriate) and I can think of another for J. Putting it together, though...don't know if it sounds good...

3 syllables then 2...maybe 3 then 1 (for short)..don't mind me...

Tk's new and improved "GrrArgg"...Tk's Heaven

---

"I've become really protective of her. I want to make sure if Tara comes back, it's for good reason." -Amber Benson
Tara ate her, devoured her from beneath. -The Edge of Silence giving new meaning to this season's catch phrase.
"Got it: that's a 'yes' to petals; a 'no' to pricks. I should remember that more often." -On Second Thought

[SlayerSydney]

Last night I finally caught up with reading your series. I guess I became addicted because I had this urgency to finish it as soon as possible.

I enjoyed the spin you put in this series with Willow and Tara meeting earlier and developing their powers together. I liked their progression throughout the stories. I also enjoyed your perspective on Willow's family finding out and the integral part Joyce had in helping Shelia come around. I think that was definitely in character for Joyce.

I really like how Willow and Tara are so independent and can work their mojo together to solve the Hellmouth problems. And I can't say I feel sorry for Xander in the least bit with his decreasing purpose in the Scoobies. He was finally held accountable for the big lie in S2. It's interesting to see your twist on the repercussions from that lie.



And finally, I enjoy the simple pleasures from your fic. For example:

Quote:

---

Tara looked blearily at her, "I just meant to find my bra and I just got kind of carried away. I did wear a bra last night didn't I?" she asked.

---

I can't wait to read more of your series.

---

"There's nothing left to talk about, Unless it's horizontally." Physical--Olivia Newton-John

[Sheridan]

Ok for SlayerSydney and all the otyhers who might be interested here is the Season 5 rough out:



Season 5



1.Buffy vs. Dracula

2.Real Me

3.The Replacement

4.Out of my Mind

5.No Place Like Home

6.Homeground

7.Crime & Punishment

8.Body & Soul(Pt1 of 2)

9.Divided loyalty(Pt2 of 2)

10.Listening to Fear

11.Long Weekend

12.Triangle

13.Crossroads

14.Bloodties

15.Crush

16.The Body

17.Forever

18.Intervention

19.Tough Love

20.Spiral

21.Weight of the World

22.The Gift



The first four stories contstitute an arc, and there will be a bit of angst. However by the end of the stories there will be a 'perfect moment'. Hope that keeps you going SlayerSydney.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

Edited by: Sheridan at: 12/15/02 6:53:06 pm

[BigMac]

I just caught back up with this fic. I love it I like how Willow and Tara work together and how Tara knew about LJ.

Tara: Assume Crash

Positions

[Sheridan]

Thanks Bigmac, I'm about two thirds of the way through writing 'Homeground' and I've got the 'Crime & Punishment' outline finished and most of the 'Body & Soul' one finished as well, so there should be an update along in ten days or so.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am

[Sheridan]

Ok first the good news, I have finished 'Homeground' and it will be posted in a day or two once it's been edited. The bad news is my trip to the US is nearing its end and when I get home I've got some ugly personal stuff to deal with so the writing could be a problem; added to which I'm working on another project. The further updates could therefore take a while, sorry.

Willow: ...I have to tell you....

Tara: No, I understand you have to be with the person you l-love

Willow: I am