New Paths

“Ma’am?” The private steps hesitantly into the meeting room, when Walsh turns her hard-eyed glare on him, he stiffens and looks over her head. “There is a… commotion at the Howell entrance.”



“What is it Private?!” Maggie growls at the Private, having interrupted her meeting as she was briefing her personnel on trying to find Riley and how to disable him.



“Th-the slayer ma’am. She’s fighting her way through the hidden entrance screaming something about a Tara Maclay. The rate she’s going, she’ll be down here in five minutes.” He admits, his eyes wide as the thickness of the doors should have been able to keep anyone and anything out, but he’d watched in stunned disbelief with his own eyes as she worked on forcing open the first set of doors before twisting them so they wouldn’t close back before starting to work on the second set.



“The gas will knock her out.” She states dismissively as she turns back to the soldiers.



“Ma’am, she grabbed a gas mask from the supplies from one of the rooms upstairs.” He swallows hard as she slams a clipboard down on the table.



“I don’t know what she’s talking about! We don’t have her… her… lover.” She snarls the word in disgust staring at him.



Michaels winces even as he stands and brings attention to himself. “Ma’am, there was a call put in that there was an incident in one of the dorm’s. It seems there was knockout gas pumped through the whole dorm. The fire department was going from room to room pulling the students out.”



“DAMN IT!” Maggie screams, starting to pace back and forth. “Riley.” She finally whispers, the gas missing, along with his obviously unauthorized actions. Having realized after the third attempt to take one of the witches that it was useless. They were always with other people, and when Buffy and Tara were together, nothing and no one could breach that impenetrable shield around them. She had given up on capturing one of them to experiment on and had ordered everyone off trying to capture one of them.



***



Buffy pulls the mask down as she finally gets past the barrier and punches the button, smirking as it goes down with the code she’d used, wishing they didn’t have that retinal scanner to enter, would have saved her a lot of time and energy. The idiots having never changed Riley’s code made that a little easier on her. Thankful that she didn’t really need the mask, she tosses it to the side as she steps out of the elevator, frowning as she hears Walsh yelling, she trots towards the sound, her eyes darting back and forth looking for any kind of opposition.



Finally finding the meeting room as Walsh yells at the soldiers, Buffy steps in and knocks the two soldiers at the door out by banging their heads together. “Where is she?” Buffy snarls angrily as she grabs another two soldiers, knocking them unconscious as she works her way through them, pulling one in front of her as a shield when they turn their stun guns on her after they get over being in shock. “I’ll rip every one of you apart if one hair on her head is hurt. Where the FUCK IS SHE?”



“We didn’t take her.” Maggie finally answers, her eyes darting around the room, debating on what to do.



“Forgive me, but I don’t fucking believe you.” Buffy snarls at the woman as she looks around the group of soldiers and personnel of the Initiative. “Every one of you knows what the hell is going on down here. They’re not just experimenting on the demons, they’re using humans for experimentation. Look at Riley!! Would he have wanted to become that… abomination? NO! And yet you guys go on and act like you don’t see what’s happening. Some of you were in the group that tried to kidnap me and Tara before.” Buffy looks at a couple of the soldiers, their eyes giving them away as they won’t make eye contact with her. “We’ve done nothing, ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOTHING for you to capture us. It’s my job, my responsibility to take care of the demons here. Tara just happens to be able to do magic, so you think its okay to grab her and slice her open to find out what makes her tick? IT AIN’T IN OUR BLOOD, IT AIN’T IN ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DUPLICATED… It just is. It’s in our spirits and our souls, and that’s something that you can’t fuck around with. We’re human beings. How would you feel if what they’ve been doing and trying to do to the people here in this city was done to you? What if they found out you could float a pencil? You have no RIGHT to judge who will and will not be captured or experimented on! Should we start saying HEIL HITLER? Last time I checked this was a free country, but I’ll be damned if I’m seeing it here lately in this town. Now I want to know where she is, and I want to know NOW!!!!” Buffy yells, the anger and fury obvious in her eyes and voice as she glares from one soldier to another as she spouts off.



“She’s telling the truth. We didn’t kidnap her.” Graham steps forward, setting his weapon down.



“PICK THAT WEAPON UP AND SHOOT HER, SOLDIER!!” Walsh screams at the top of her lungs.



“No.” Graham shakes his head looking at Walsh. “Enough is enough. I didn’t agree with you experimenting on Riley and now it’s coming back to bite you in the ass.” He turns his gaze on the other soldiers, doctors and personnel in the meeting room. “When I joined the Armed Forces, I didn’t sign up for this. She’s right, we’re turning into the things we’re supposed to be fighting to prevent.” Graham swallows and turns back to look at Buffy. “Riley took her. I don’t know where he is or what he’s done, but if you want my help, you have it.”



Buffy’s jaw clenches as she stares at the soldier before finally nodding her head, in her gut trusting him. The soldier in her arms gently taps her hand. “Yes?”



“I’m with you.” Johnson offers, his eyes looking out at the rest of the people. “I think it’s our responsibility and duty to help her find Ms. Maclay as quickly as possible before anything can happen to her. I know I won’t be able to live with myself if anything happens to that young woman.”



Buffy watches as the soldiers, and other people dart looks back and forth at each other, some whispering quietly as they discuss it between themselves, before her eyes dart towards Walsh whose face is flushed a dark red with her anger. “Love and caring. That’s what separates us from the demons. Not souls, because every one of you have a soul, but I’d say you’ve done some pretty shitty things. I can’t even say humanity, because I know werewolves, and other demons that care more for what’s going on with the rest of the world than you do.”



“You will NOT get away with this.” Walsh snarls angrily, eyes opening wide in shock as one of the soldiers steps up behind her and handcuffs her.



“Take her to one of the holding cells.” Captain Lane orders one of his subordinates. “Who’s coming with us to find the woman?”



Buffy feels her heart pound in her chest as everyone else in the room raises their hands and steps forward. Releasing the soldier she had been using as a shield, she rubs a hand over her eyes.



“I want three groups searching every section of our installation.” Lane watches as six men step forward. “Go! Make sure you grab walky-talkies. I need a couple of other men to take the unconscious soldiers and lock them up until they say they’re willing to help.” He nods as a couple soldiers hurry to grab the unconscious soldiers.



“I don’t think he’ll have her here, if he did this on his own.” Buffy strides up to stand beside the Captain. “He’s either got her in the sewers somewhere, or someplace that’s abandoned that he can lock her away without anyone the wiser.” Buffy looks down at her bracelet, her eyes worried as it still hasn’t gone off. Knowing it’ll probably take a while for the knockout gas to wear off, but still wanting it to point her in the way of her lover.



“Get her some gear.” He orders Graham before looking back at Buffy. “He took her from your dorm, correct?” When Buffy nods and looks at him, he looks at the group of men left. “That’s where we’re going to start. I want that complete building scoured from top to bottom to make sure he isn’t right under our noses by hiding her away in some unused room or on the roof. Then we’ll work outward from there, splitting out and not leaving anything unsearched.”



“Sir, civilians will see us…” One of the soldiers starts to say before snapping his mouth shut at the look that comes from his Captain.



“I don’t fucking care. This woman’s life could be in danger, and when it’s all boiled down, it’s OUR FAULT. We will do whatever we have to. Now I want no less than four to a group when we start the search for Finn. He’s stronger than any of us, and he can probably disable us with the enhancements given to him.” He darts a glance at one of the doctor’s as he nods in agreement. “What do we have to do, to disable him?”



“Take out his power source.” One of the doctor’s steps up and rubs a hand over his forehead. “He’s got some heavy-duty protection around it.”



“Great, so we’re going against the Terminator.” Buffy growls running her hands roughly through her hair. “How do we get through the protection? And can we knock him out, or disable him without literally killing him? I mean, he is still Riley.”



“He is, but he isn’t.” The doctor admits, shaking his head. “The majority of his body is made up of metals, computer and demon parts. Half of his brain is a computer now. He never would have lived through the attack… and truthfully he died on the table. I do, however, believe that he has some residual memories from when he was human and that may be why he went after Ms Maclay… and possibly you.”



Buffy nods her head. “I would have been there if I hadn’t decided to run out and grab food. It had to have happened literally within fifteen minutes from the time I left before all this happened.”



Graham steps up and hands Buffy a walky-talky, a stun gun and an actual rifle. Seeing her about to argue, he shakes his head. “Take it, he could have firepower, though he normally didn’t use it while searching for Hostiles.



Buffy hesitantly accepts the gun before clipping the walky-talky to her jeans and slinging the rifle over her shoulder. “She has to be incapacitated. If she wasn’t, I have a homing beacon that will go off with a thought from her, so hopefully she’ll come to here soon.”



One of the doctor’s looks up from where he was looking through Walsh’s papers, finally coming across the gas that was taken. “This particular gas will knock a person out for roughly three or four hours if they aren’t given something to bring them around. How long has it been?”



Buffy looks at her watch and mentally figures out from the time she left the dorm, picked up the food then came hell bent for leather to the Initiatives hideout. “Probably about forty-five minutes, give or take. I’ve got to call my mom and let her know what’s going on, I know she’ll be worried by now.” Buffy starts to spin around and head out of the room before she’s stopped as one of the soldiers hands her a cell phone.



“Keep it for now.” He smiles shyly at the young woman.



“Thanks.” Buffy exhales softly, trying to calm her racing heart and mind as she debates on what… and better yet, how to tell her mom.



***



“I fucked up, and this is my chance to make it right, now get me there however the hell ya’ can, the quickest way possible.” Faith stares at her new watcher. “Your shrinks and everybody else have agreed that I ain’t gonna go over the edge again, and I have some serious shit to make up for, now do what ya’ gotta do and get me there, NOW!” Faith snarls at Elizabeth.



Elizabeth finally smiles, having been arguing with the slayer trying to talk her out of heading back to Sunnydale for the last forty-five minutes. Not wanting to admit she was testing the young woman, but that’s exactly what she’s doing. Picking up the phone, she just says one word. “Now.”



Faith furrows her brows as the door opens and some of the witches she’s been working with for the last couple months since she woke up from the coma and was brought to England come into the room.



“They’re at the Summers’ home, can you picture the house clearly in your mind?” The head of the coven looks at Faith intently.



“Hell, yeah.” Faith turns to look at her watcher, a small smile finally playing around her lips. “Testin’ to make sure I was ready?”



“Pretty much. This could get nasty, so please take care and do what you can to get the young woman back.” Elizabeth hands the slayer her weapons and a bag she’d previously packed with a couple changes of clothes. “We were planning on sending you back to the Hellmouth eventually, but we were hoping it wouldn’t be this soon. I’ll follow by more traditional means and will see you probably tomorrow or the day after.”



“Thanks, Liz.” Faith takes a deep breath as she closes her eyes and pictures Buffy’s house in her mind as the witches set up around her and start chanting softly. ‘I’m gonna do the right thing, this time. Like I shoulda done the first time.’ Faith mentally tells herself as she swallows hard.



“Good luck, Faith.” Travers calls to the slayer, hoping that things go well in Sunnydale. Having had a change of heart after hearing about Faith’s life before being called as a slayer, and finally seeing the young women that he thought more of as ‘tools’ as actual human beings.



Faith smirks slightly at the sound of Travers’ voice, having butted heads with the head of the council quite a bit since coming here, but finally making him understand that things aren’t always black and white, that there are shades of gray in the world and each person and demon needs to be taken on their own merit. Feeling a slightly unsettling feeling, Faith concentrates harder on the picture of Buffy’s house in her head.



***



“Shift back.” Cordelia orders, pushing Fred and Gunn back, Wesley already on the steps to the house as she gets a funny feeling, her eyes glancing back at Angel who’s waiting until they get the door open to the house before making a dash from the car into Buffy’s house with the blanket covering him.



“What the hell?” Gunn blinks as one moment there was nothing and the next moment a woman wearing black leather pants, a halter top and loaded for bear materializes where they were standing just seconds before.



“Great entrance, slut.” Cordelia snarks, before a slow smile crosses her face. “Bringing in everyone for this, I take it?”



“Queen Bitch herself… Yeah.” Faith takes a deep breath and returns the small smile coming at her from the ex-Scooby. “I ain’t bad… at least not really bad…” Faith wiggles her eyebrows at Cordelia as she smirks at the woman.



“I know.” Cordelia smiles, not having told anyone, but she’d had a couple visions of the slayer showing her how she was turning her life around, figuring the PTB were sending them to her for a reason, just not knowing why yet. “Let’s head in so we can find out what’s going on.”



Faith spins around and looks at the car. “Fang.”



“Faith.” Angel nods from the inside of the car towards the dark-haired slayer, searching her eyes and seeing more of a calmness than he’s ever remembered seeing in the brown depths before.



“Let’s get this show on the road.” Faith turns back to Cordy as the rest of the group heads up towards the house, Wesley already knocking on the door and glancing towards her. “You still kickin’ around?”



“I work for Angel now, in LA.” Wesley relaxes slightly as Faith doesn’t seem like she’s mad at him for what he’d done to her a year ago. “I had a change of heart not long after the debacle with what happened.”



“Yeah, well, that seems to be goin’ ‘round.” Faith looks sadly at the watcher as the door opens and Joyce looks at the group of people.



“Oh, my.” Joyce blinks as tears come to her eyes at the thought of the people willing to come and fight with her daughter for Tara. “Come in, come in.”