Author's Note: I AM IN CROSSOVER HELL!!!!!
1. ok, this is the 4th in the Wicked Willow series...the rest should be posted around at various sites (again, email me if you want to know which ones)
2. Earth: Final Conflict - here goes....
Summary: Taelons (or Companions..whatever....) came to Earth, saying the usual "We come in
peace." crap. In actual fact, they are trying to recapture something they lost along the way...what, I'm not too sure. The Taelons have gone from civilization to civilization, integrating each race into their own, in an attempt to find this thing (some think it's their ability to reproduce). Not all the people on Earth believe them, and shortly after their arrival, a resistance was formed by Jonathan Doors, who then quit the resistance when he decided to run for President of the US (don't ask...). Well, anyways, they've had several spies high up in the ranks, such as Captain Lily Marquette, William Boone, and finally, Liam Kincaid. Liam is part human, part Kimera (a race destroyed by the Taelons long ago). Liam's father was a 'prisoner' who impregnated Siobhan Beckett (a companion protector). A few hour later, out popped Liam, who grew to his mid-thirties in less time it takes us to change clothes. He replaced William Boone as Da'an's protector, when Boone was killed by Zo'or. (Da'an and Zo'or are both Taelons. Da'an fights for human kind, but silently. Zo'or is the leader of the Taelon's, and is utterly ruthless in his objective, which is to enslave humanity to fight their enemies, the Jaridians.)
I'm not going to confuse you even more. Whatever I haven't said, should be covered in the fic.
This takes place at the end of season 2, where Liam, his best friend Augur (a computer hacker – see any possibilities???) and Jonathan Doors have just been bombed, Lily is on the mother ship, having already punched in the codes to blow it to smithereens.
3. I think one of the funniest things on the show is Augur's artificial intelligence...who is a hologram of Lily, but a mind of her own....ie: she just created/had a baby, programming it's algorithms after Augur. In essence, her and Augur had a baby...I love it!!!

This is a nasty, nasty note, I know, but what can you do? I don't know how many people have seen the show, and understand all that's going on...sometimes, even I don't...

Notes: I keep forgetting to mention this......this entire story takes place about 25 years after the
last fic..... just to keep the timeline intact----also, just a little background, cause I don’t think I’ll remember to put it in anytime soon...Buffy was killed years before, when Cordelia got fed up with the Slayer spoiling her fun (I think it was just that Cordy couldn’t stand Buffy’s clothes
anymore.....or the dye job – who knows??) Well, enough with the Buffy bashing...hopefully I’ll remember to explain about the others later on in the fic...I hope......
 

Feedback: Oh, please!! I have no real idea where I'm going with this, so any help would be greatly appreciated...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prologue

A Long Time Ago

On a planet, on the other side of our galaxy, two races were waring. The attackers - outsiders – said they came in peace, to help the people of that planet. The inhabitants of this planet were peaceful creatures, having devoted their lives to searching out other forms of life, believed this strange race. They were advanced in so many ways, that when the invasion started, the inhabitants of this planet had no hope of survival.

These people were soon integrated into the other race, becoming one. The attackers changed forever, both physically and biologically.

However, there was resistance. A group of the inhabitants on the planet came together to fight these conquerors. They had no real hope, as the outsiders were too strong. When the resistance fell, their leader, a being who fought with all he was and inspired others to do so,
was captured. Knowing that if he was killed, he would become a martyr, the attackers put the
leader of the rebels into stasis, and ejected him into space.

At that same time, one of the remaining prophets on their world, saw far into the future. He saw the rebel leader landing on a new planet that these conquerors already occupied, but no war had begun between the two races.

There was still hope, as the rebel was awakened from his long stasis. However, before he was
destroyed, the prophet saw that the leader had sired a child. This child could aid in the survival of this planet and it's population, but not alone. It needed help.

And so the few remaining members of the rebellion planned a final attack. As they fought the
conquerors, sealing their deaths, one of their greatest warriors took off in a small ship. Once he was certain of his safe escape, he placed himself in stasis, reaching his destination years before the rebel leader's stasis pod landed on that same planet. This warrior looked long and hard, finally finding what he was looking for.

A woman of strength and power, who would protect the gift he was giving her. A woman who would make sure that the child he gave her would live to fulfill it's destiny.

That woman's name was Faith.

Present Day

"It's been confirmed. They've arrived." said Faith, approaching the window where the red head stared out. "They're calling themselves the 'Companions'."

"And so it begins." said Willow, turning to look at the brunette.

The war had begun, even if no one knew about it. The fate of the entire planet was at stake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part One

Five Years Later

Smooth and efficiently, the team took out the soldiers walking up the stairs to the room they had just bombed. The room contained Johnathan Doors, former leader of the Resistance, defeated presidential candidate and most wanted man in the world. Entering the blasted remains of the room, they took in the damage. There appeared to be three bodies littering the floor. One was easily identifiable as Doors. Another lay near the window through which the missile had just flown. He was unconscious, but not terribly hurt, having only minor burns. The third occupant, however, was worse. He was the furthest back in the room, but appeared to have taken the brunt of the explosion, as it had landed closest to him. He was on his stomach, not moving. Blood could be seen from various wounds, which was nothing compared to when he was turned over. His front was worse, with burns and pieces of debris covering his body, wherever the blood didn’t.

Regaining a bit of consciousness, the one by the window heard one of the men talking to someone on his Global. "Doors and two others. Do you want us to bring them all in?"

"Yes. Send your co-ordinates." came a voice from the other end of the line. "Sending now."
replied the leader. Seconds later, the body opened up his eyes slightly and was surprised to find that he wasn’t looking around at a destroyed room, but at the wall of his home. Somehow, he’d been transported to the underground shelter where he now lived. Coming back to reality, he heard the same voice that had come from the other end of the Global, ordering people around. "Take him first. He’s the most badly hurt." Not knowing about whom the voice was referring, he tried to look around, but ended up only causing himself further pain, which elicited a moan from his lips.

Hearing this, the one with the voice walked over to him and shouted out more orders to those
around him. "Harry! Get over here!" the voice leaving no room for argument. < Wouldn’t want to argue with that person. > he thought. Re-evaluating what he knew so far, he realized that the
voice that had commanded all these people to action had been female. Hearing more footsteps
approach him, the man sat up, all the while brushing off the hands of the one he guessed was
Harry. "Who are you?" he asked of the woman who was now standing over him. "We’ll explain
later. First, where is Captain Marquette?" her tone made sure there was no room for argument.

"Why should I tell you?" he asked.

"Because she’s in danger, and because the other two are still knocked out. Now, where’s Lily."

"She’s on the mothership. She’s going to set the engines to overload." he said. Hearing cursing
coming from behind the woman, he tried to look up and see who it was that was interrogating
him, but his vision was still blurry and all he saw was two black blurs. One topped with red, the
other with white.

"Blasted woman! You should have killed her earlier, Red. Saved us all a pile of trouble!" said the white topped blur in a distinct British accent. "Stuff it, Brit Boy!" was her response. Then, "I’ll try and get her off before it blows. Give me a minute." Walking across the room, she sat herself down on one of his new chairs and closed her eyes. Almost a minute later, another figure appeared directly in front of the seated woman. His vision clearing, he could clearly see Captain Lily Marquette standing in front of the red head. Lily, seeing the red head, began to stutter a sentence, trying to make at least one word come out coherently. It was then that he noticed a look on her face he’d never seen before. Fear. Even when she’d been addicted
to ‘Bliss’ and thought she was going to die, he’d never seen that particular look on her face.
And it scared him. This red head had the power to render the formidable Lily Marquette to a nervous, stuttering school girl.

"I’ll expect an explanation from you later. Right now, see to your friends." said the red head.
Slowly nodding her head, Lily looked around, her eyes taking in the battered forms of her friends, and walking over to him.

"Augur, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes. I’m fine." he answered, glad beyond belief to see her safe. He thought he’d heard the last
of her when she decided to blow up the Taelon mothership, with herself aboard. "What about
you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I’m fine." Then, under her breath, "For how long is another matter." so low, he could
barely hear it.

"What?" he asked, hoping she’d clarify.

"Nothing."

"Lily, who are these people?" changing the subject. She seemed to know who they were, and he wanted answers.

"Friends, of a sort." was her vague reply. About to ask her to explain, he was suddenly distracted by the red head’s voice. "Kate, I want a full blood work-up on him. Cell count, blood gas, DNA, everything. I want to know who he is."

Looking to where the voice came from, he saw Liam Kincaid on a table, with several people
standing over him. The red head had spoken to a blonde lady, who he presumed was Kate.
Hearing what she wanted, Augur became desperate. < They can’t test his blood. They’ll find the triple helix, and know he’s not totally human. > Standing up abruptly, he was about to charge forward, when a set of arms stopped him, and was surprised to see it was Lily who had prevented him from going to his friend’s side. "Lily! What are you doing?!" he rasped.

"You can’t stop them." was all she said. "Sit down, before they make it physically impossible for you to do anything but!" she added harshly, leading him over to a set of chairs. Deciding to look at the situation before he acted, Augur began to take stock of what was going on around him. In the middle of the area was Liam, badly hurt, being looked after by the blonde - Kate. Two heavily armed men in Taelon security outfits stood, looking over him, with another two over Johnathan Doors, who was now beginning to wake up. Other than the red head, Lily
and himself, there was one other. The bleached blonde, now making his way towards them.

"Well, m’dear. You’ve certainly landed in it this time, haven’t you?" he said, with the same
British accent he’d heard earlier. Studying the man, Augur noticed his hair, first, and his clothing
second. The hair because there was no way it was natural, and the clothes because they were so.... late twentieth century. He had on black jeans, a black t-shirt underneath a black button-up shirt which was only done up half-way, and worn, black combat boots. Covering all that was a well worn black duster, which reached his knees. Glancing over at the red head, he noted that her clothes were similar, but a little more stylish, though still all in black. She had on tight, leather, hip hugging pants, with lace up, thick, high heeled boots which incased her calves. On top she had on a black, leather vest, not quite reaching her navel, and also wore a long leather coat, which ended mid-thigh. In fact, the only thing that wasn’t black on her, was the silver link chain she wore around her waist, that was looped through the belt loops of her
pants.

About to make some comment on their all black wardrobe, he was jolted into silence when the
red head turned to look at him, and he clashed with bright green eyes. She began to move
towards where they sat, when two shadows detached themselves from the walls. "Willow." the
one in the front called out. Stopping, she turned to the voice, a welcoming but concerned look on her face.

"What did you find out?" she asked.

"Not much." said the first shadow. "President Thompson has declared a state of martial law, until Doors is found. He’s using Taelon security instead of national policing agencies. He’s making a lot of enemies already. Enemies he can’t afford to make, but he doesn’t seem to realize that."

"He’s an idiot! He’s so busy trying to please the Taelons, that he hasn’t taken the time to get his
head out of his ass, and do the job he was elected for four years ago. And now we have another four years of him......if it lasts that long." the last was said under her breath. Hearing a snort from behind him, Augur turned to see the blonde trying to control his laughter at Willow’s comment. "What about the other matter? How soon until he’s caught?"

"Soon. Most likely within the hour." said the second shadow, both stepping out into the light.
Augur managed to contain his gasp of surprise at seeing who the second figure was. Liam
Kincaid. The real Liam Kincaid. The Liam injured on the table had taken the name as a way to
move into the Taelon’s circle of power. The real Liam was involved in a top secret government
organization, created just in case the Taelons weren’t who they said they were, called Dark Night. The fake Liam wasn’t human. He had Taelon, Jaridian and human DNA, due to the fact that his father had been the last of a race called the Kimera, which was destroyed by the Taelons millions of years ago.

The other figure, the one who had just spoken, he didn’t know. However, from the way he stood and acted, he’d guess he was one of the people in charge. Like Willow and the blonde behind him, this one was also dressed all in black, with leather pants, shoes and leather jacket, ending at the top of his thighs. His shirt, also black, was long sleeved, and molded to every muscle in his torso, with his dark hair only adding to the look. < Geez, can you say colour-blind. > thought Augur.

About to say more, the conversation was interrupted by the blonde doctor. "Oh my God!" came her gasp of surprise. Augur closed his eyes in resignation. They had just finished the analysis of Liam’s DNA. Meanwhile, beside him, Lily had gotten tense and pale, as if she were about to meet her own death.

Hearing Kate’s gasp, Willow quickly made her way over to where the unknown man was. She
wouldn’t call him Liam, because she knew the real Liam Kincaid. She had been there when they had offered him the opportunity of the Dark Knight program, and for the last eight months had wondered who this person really was.

"What’s wrong? Did you find out who he is?" she asked the human doctor. Looking at where the stupefied woman was still staring in shocked silence, Willow glance at the screen. If she had still had a heart that pumped warm blood through her veins, her blood would have run cold at what she saw there.

Rage began to build in her as she realized that Lily had known about this. She had to have
known. She was close to this man. There was no way she couldn’t have not known. What made it worse, was that Lily had not informed them. Which made her realized that there had to have been more that Lily hadn’t told them.

Willow turned around to look at the group sitting at the other end of the room. Vaguely aware
that Doors had come to and was seated with the rest of the group, she turned her murderous eyes on the object of her rage. "LILY!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part Two

"Come here now!" yelled Willow, making everyone jump, and making Lily tremble even more
than she already had been.

"You’re in for it now, girl. Before, she would have only ragged on you. Now, you’re going to pay for whatever it is you did." said Spike from behind Augur and Lily. "Hope it was worth it, pet."

"Did I not make myself clear?!" snapped an impatient Willow at the still seated object of her
rage. With that said, Lily jumped to her feet and ran to the enraged red head, stopping a few feet from her, with her head bowed in submission. Only Augur and Doors were uncertain as to what was happening, but were shocked into silence at the scene taking place in front of them. They would have interfered had not the idea been scared out of them by the sight of the furious woman before them.

Walking forward, Willow lifted up Lily’s chin, so she could look into her eyes. What she saw
there didn’t make her feel any better. Willow saw fear and guilt, but no remorse. That made her
even angrier. Lily hadn’t felt bad about lying to her and keeping secrets from her, and would
most likely do it again. < Going to have to fix that. >

"How long have you been keeping secrets from us?" asked Willow, in a deceptively calm voice. Getting no answer, she tightened the hand that held Lily’s face. "Traitorous bitch!" spat Willow. With that said, Willow backhanded Lily across the face, sending her spinning to the floor several feet away from the red head. About to advance on her further, a voice stopped her.

"He’s waking up, Mistress." said Kate.

Willow stopped herself from rushing over there.

"Spike." once she had his attention, she spoke the words she knew he’d been waiting for. "She’s yours." Seeing his evil grin, she looked over towards his new present. < That should teach her to betray us. > Willow thought. She knew how Spike liked to play with his
toys. So far, she’d shielded Lily from it, but not anymore. Willow was pleased when she saw
the fear on Lily’s face.

Spike knew that this wasn’t the time or place to teach his new pet her place, but decided to play with her, just a bit, first. Walking towards the now terrified Lily, he crouched down in front of her, still on the floor, and forced her to look at him.

"I wonder," he began casually "how long it would take you, tied to my bed, before you begged
me to stop. And then how long it would be before you begged me not to?" at this, Lily began to
tremble. She knew he didn’t mean sex. Spike was known for his love of torture, and had always been grateful that Willow had kept Spike away from her. But Willow wasn’t protecting her anymore. In fact, Lily had just been thrown to the wolves - one wolf, in fact.

Seeing her sufficiently cowed, Spike stood up and watched as Willow made her way towards the now awake man, sitting up on the examination table. "Go join your friends." he said absently as he went to join Willow and his sire.

"Who are you people?" asked the now conscious Liam. Looking around him, he saw the real
Liam Kincaid, standing behind the three in front of him, as well as armed guards around Augur
and Doors. They seemed to be fairly unharmed, though he felt like hell. He was one big ache, not fully aware of the extent of the pain he was feeling.

"We’re the ones who saved your life." said Willow.

"What does this mean?" asked Angelus, looking at the read-out on the screen that had sent
Willow into a rage earlier. Looking at the dark vampire, she met his gaze before answering.

"He’s the one we’ve been looking for." was all she said, but it was enough. Both Angelus and
Spike understood.

"What’s going on here?" Liam asked, trying to understand. These people obviously weren’t
working for the Taelon’s, but they also weren’t Resistance. "Who are you?" he asked again, not accepting the answer he’d already gotten.

"We are Dark Knight." said Angelus.

Liam absorbed this information, trying to make his brain work. This latest revelation just wouldn’t stick, so he decided to move on. "What happened?" he asked, but before he could say anything else, he was interrupted.

"Yes, that’s exactly what I would like to know." demanded an irate Johnathan Doors. He wasn’t in charge of the situation and didn’t like it one bit.

"What gives you the right to demand answers?" retorted Angelus. He had never liked Doors,
thinking him a self-serving opportunist. Financing and leading a rebellion didn’t make him any
nicer or better than the rest of the world, yet he seemed to think so. He just really pissed off all
the vampires in the room, and there were a lot of them.

"Excuse me?" asked the older (in appearance) man, affronted by the rudeness of this man. It was galling. "The question shouldn’t be what gives me the right to demand answers, but what gives you the right to question me?"

"Don’t get into a debate you won’t win, boy." put in Spike. This guy was really ticking him off,
which wasn’t a good thing at the moment.

"I beg your pardon." exclaimed a shocked Doors. "Do you know who I am?" he asked them
haughtily.

"Yeah, you’re the prick that caused all this damn trouble in the first place." spat Spike. He really wasn’t impressed with the former ‘leader’ of the Resistance.

"I’ll have you know that I fight the Taelon’s not for myself but for the planet. We cannot
allow..." before he could get a good rant going, Willow interrupted him.

"Oh. Shut. Up." she ground out, becoming as annoyed as Spike and Angelus. "You walked into the middle of an operation, and took it over. We were doing fine until you decided to go public, and fight the Taelon’s influence in the spotlight of the media. You forced humans to choose sides on an issue that never would have become so controversial if it weren’t for you. The entire planet was made to become supporters or opposers to the Taelons, which only
advanced the Companions time table for Earth. If you’d left well enough alone, they would have been gone in a short while."

"How can you sit back while they were experimenting on your fellow humans? While they
employed mind control and chemical dependance to control our species?" continued Doors.

Willow let out a loud laugh at this. In fact, the more she thought of it, the funnier it got. Doors
was trying to gain her compassion for the crimes against humanity, when she’d committed worse in her short life. Looking over to her mate and friend, she saw their amused expressions as well, knowing they were thinking along similar lines.

Finally calming down, she looked Johnathan Doors in they eye, and replied to his emphatic pleas for sympathy for his cause.

"You seem to think that you’re all-knowing, when in fact you don’t know the half of it." she told
him, an amused expression still on her young face. "We’ve been involved in this fight for longer
than you have been. We’ve been informed of every single action the Taelons have taken, from
experimenting of humans, to building on the moon, to the colour of floor panels in the shuttles.
Nothing gets by us."

"And you let it go? Just ignored it?" he demanded, appalled. "How can you sit back and let these aliens commit these crimes?"

"Red, can I eat him?" asked Spike, no longer caring who he was. He was just annoying. "He’s
really irritating, and I’m hungry." This earned surprised and fearful looks from several occupants
of the room, including Augur, Doors and Liam, but not from Lily. She knew that if Doors didn’t
keep quiet, he’d be dead soon, but didn’t have the nerve to speak up. Willow was already angry at her - the red head’s actions attested to that. The Marine Captain didn’t want to get any deeper into the pile she’d made for herself.

Lily was truly scared, and not for the first time in her life. Working undercover for the Resistance did have it’s hairy points, but nothing could compare to being undercover ‘in’ the Resistance for Willow, Angelus and Spike. Willow had been the one to actually recruit her, when she was a confused teen with no direction, almost losing herself in her depression
and anger over her brother’s suicide and her dad’s continual absence. The red head had
taken her in when she was nothing more than a broken shell, and built her back up into the person she was now. Willow had been the one to convince Lily to join the Marines, saying that it would be her entrance into the right circles. At the time, Lily hadn’t understood that Willow meant the Taelons. It was something that all of Willow’s and Angelus’ family did. They recruited young people whom they saw potential in, trained them themselves, and when the Taelon’s arrived, they were in good positions to enter the higher circles.

And it was never found out, because each ‘operative’ had a spotless record. No one suspected the truth. But somehow Lily had lost her way, which stung deeply at Willow. She had only recruited a few, Lily being one, the other being the recently deceased Siobhan Beckett whom she mourned deeply. Both women had touched Willow with their strength of character
and strength of will. But Lily would be brought back into their world, Willow promised
herself. She wouldn’t let her slip away from her, especially when everything was close to completion.

Before anyone could say anything else, a loud noise could be heard from the surface. To hear it
this far underground, it had to have been deafening and large. Willow, Spike, a few of the guards and the humans knew what it was.

"What the hell was that?" asked Angelus, looking to his mate.

Willow didn’t reply for a moment, instead piercing Lily with a deadly stare. After a short silence, the red head spoke, her gaze never leaving the Marine captain’s as she informed Angelus of Lily’s actions.

"That was the Taelon mothership." she said levelly. "Lily set the engines to overload."

"Shit!" was all Angelus said.

"My thoughts exactly." agreed the red head. Switching her gaze to her mate, Willow passed a
silent message to him. "You should get somewhere safe." she told him out loud.

"Where are you off to, luv?" asked Spike, stopping the retreating red head in her tracks.

"I’m taking Sasha to hunt down the little runt that caused all this." she said venomously, thinking
of Joshua Doors (Johnathan Doors’ son), who had, in an attempt to get revenge against his father, had allowed Thompson back into the oval office, creating the present havoc.

"Spike," began Willow, throwing a longing glance back to the traitorous brunette. "I want my
Lily back." she said, before turning to leave. Spike didn’t mistake it for what it was.

Willow wanted Lily back on their side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Part 3

A Few Days Later

"How is everything, Spike?" asked Angelus, as he came upon his childe in the hallway. The blonde was just coming out from one of the spare rooms in the compound they now called home, after a ‘session’ with Lily. The marine captain was coming along nicely, Spike thought, especially after only a few days.

"Pretty good, Angelus. Red should have her pet back, by the time she gets back." said Spike. He was pleased with her progress. She’d come back into the fold, so to speak. At the moment, Lily was trying to think of a way to show Willow how guilty she felt about betraying the red head, and figuring out ways to regain the vampiress’ trust. The trust she had casually thrust aside months ago, when she’d began keeping things from them all.

"Good. It’ll be a nice surprise for Willow when she gets back." Angelus was about to continue, but the arrival of one of the minions made him pause. Then made him curious, when the dark haired vampire noticed the peeved expression on his face. At his questioning look, the minion proceeded to explain.

"The annoying one is demanding he speak to you." said the fledgling, emphasizing the ‘demanding’ part. When ‘the annoying one’ was mentioned, both master vampires knew the minion was talking about Johnathan Doors. The little prick had been nothing but a thorn in their side, since they’d captured him 3 days before.

"He ‘demanded’?" asked Angelus, an incredulous expression crossing his face, as he tried to figure out what made the measly little human think he was in any position to demand anything.

"Yeah." spat the fledgling. The twit of a human had a way of pissing off almost anyone within a mile radius, without even trying. It was a characteristic that all the fledglings would have admired, if they hadn’t been on the receiving end of it.

"Where is he?" asked Angelus, resigned to the fact that he’d have to spend time with the human.

"In the Conference Room." replied the minion before disappearing in the opposite direction of said room. Even though he would love to see his master rip into Doors, he would rather not be in the vicinity when the dark vampire exploded.

"Care to join me in teaching Doors some of the rules around here?" Angelus asked Spike, as he began walking towards the room where Doors was waiting. He never looked back, knowing Spike would come, if for nothing more than his own amusement.

"Wouldn’t miss it." was Spike’s reply as he followed his sire down the hallway and through the compound. Their current home was one of hundreds like it around the world. They were the basis of operation for the entire Dark Knight program, which had been started by Angelus when the Taelons had first landed on Earth. If you went deep enough into the Pentagon, they didn’t ask questions like ‘Who are you?’ or ‘Why are you never in the office?’ or even ‘What’s your name?’. Willow had managed to hack her way into the Pentagon’s computer system, placing several of them in high positions, in organizations where they don’t question you. Together, they had recruited a force of highly skilled and well-trained people, listed them all as MIA (missing in action), and created a series of underground compounds to house and hide them all. Currently, they were in one of the main compounds, in northern California.

Upon entering the room, Angelus and Spike took in the scene before them. Liam - the leader of the Resistance, Augur - the computer hacker, and Johnathan Doors were the sole occupants of the room. But that wasn’t what interested the vampires. It was the fact that Liam and Doors were hunched over opposite ends of the table, facing off against each other. And from the looks of it, they’d been at it awhile.

Angelus looked to the younger, darker man, raising an eyebrow in silent question. In the past few days, he’d come to like and admire the hacker. He kind of reminded him of Xander, but with Willow’s sense of humour and Spike’s attitude. At the moment, Augur was trying to create some peace between the two men in the room, putting himself physically between them. Seeing Angelus’ silent question, the hacker explained, but didn’t move from his place between the two combatants.

"They’re fighting about Lily. Doors doesn’t believe we should trust her anymore, because she was never fully ‘dedicated’ to the cause. Liam thinks we should listen to her side of the story, first. Try and understand why she did what she did." explained the almost bald young man.

"There’s nothing to understand." said Doors harshly. "Lily was never fully dedicated to the Resistance. She was using us as a way to get close to the Taelons. She lied to us, and betrayed us." he said, his eyes never leaving the half-alien across from him.

"I’m sure she had her reasons. And she NEVER put the Resistance in danger. Ever." countered Liam, who believed in his friend to the very core of his being.

"As far as we know." argued Doors. "For all we know, she’s been spying for the Taelons, too."

"Lily would NEVER-" started Augur, defending his friend, only to be interrupted by an angry Angelus, who was losing the small amount of control he had by the second.

"ENOUGH!!" he roared, causing everyone in the room to pause mid-thought. "I think it’s time to clear up a few issues." he began, walking towards Johnathan Doors with a look in his eyes that almost sent the gray haired man running for his life. "Lily was recruited by Willow years ago. Willow brought her into the family, taught her all she needed to know to enter into any circle she needed to, and trained her from the first day she was brought in. Lily was near collapse when Willow found her, after her brother’s suicide, and she would have killed herself soon, too, if we hadn’t taken her in." explained the dark vampire, stalking towards the stunned group. "Lily was signed up in the Marines. She rose up in their ranks, until we needed her, 4 years ago, to gain a position with the Taelons. Joining the Resistance was the icing on the cake." Stopping several feet in front of the group, he decided to enlighten them about a few
things, namely the range of their reach.

"Lily isn’t the only one that we’ve placed high up in the Taelons circle of power. We have several others, who have no connection to us or each other." he stated, glaring at Doors, waiting for the moment that he would understand the scope of their infiltration.

As expected, Doors’ eyes widened. "How many? How high up?" he asked, needing to know how far their reach extended.

Angelus just smirked as he felt his power extending over this mortal, quirked an eyebrow and turned back to his blonde childe.

"That would spoil the surprise, wanker." said Spike, enjoying himself. The only way for him to like this more, would be if Willow and Sasha were here, to teach Doors his place. Just thinking about Willow ‘playing’ with this mortal sent a grin to his lips, meeting his sire’s eyes, and knowing Angelus was thinking the same thing. Their mates were extraordinary creatures, no doubt about it.

More would have been said, if a strange look hadn’t come over Angelus’ face. A split second later, the older vampire doubled over in pain, crying out in agony. Rushing over to his sire’s side, Spike took hold of the dark haired vampire, urging him over to one of the chairs next to the table. However, before they reached the desired chair, Angelus’ knees gave out, and he collapsed to the floor, only Spike’s strong grip keeping him away from the carpet.

"Angelus!" cried Spike, scared for the first time in his unlife. He’d had plenty of scares in his life, but nothing could compare to this mind-numbing fear taking hold of his mind.

All the older vampire could do was mumble a few words, but they were repeated with a frequency that Spike didn’t like. In essence, Angelus was muttering the same words over and over again. "No. No. No. No, no, no, nonononono. NOOOOOOOOOO." he finally yelled, the sound coming from the very core of his demon.

"What is it?" asked Spike, repeating the question several times before he got through to his sire. The blonde had a feeling he already knew, but needed Angelus to confirm
it. He wouldn’t believe it any other way.

"Wi-Willow." he finally managed to gasp out, past the pain. "WILLOWWWWW!"

This seemed to be a call to all the other vampires in the compound, as they all dropped what they were doing, and ran to find out who was calling their mistress’ name with such anguish. But before the first of them even neared the corridor leading to the room in question, they knew.

It was the cry of a vampire who was losing his mate.

And that scared them all more than anything, for they didn’t know what was worse.

Losing their beloved Mistress, or having to deal with a mate-less Angelus.

Both prospects were equally frightening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 4

Before anyone could react, Spike ran over to the wall, pressing a button that activated the PA
system for the entire compound.

"Code Red. Conference Room." he said into the speaker on the wall. Years ago, they’d come up with the code red. With so many mated couples walking around, they needed to be prepared in case one of them died. Nobody wanted a mate-less vampire destroying their entire family, so the minions were under orders to either subdue or take out whoever it was. No matter who it was.

Going back to where his sire was crumpled on the floor, Spike pushed the fear down. There was no way he was going to let himself think about the loss of Willow. He didn’t know if he could go on without the vicious red head in his life. He didn’t think any of them could. Willow was what kept them together. Kept him, Angelus and Aaron from killing each other. Together, Willow, Sasha and Cordelia were the core of their very beings, and losing one of them tipped the scales. The entire family would be off balance.

"Spike." rasped Angelus, his hand grabbing his childe’s arm. Fingers digging into the blonde’s
flesh. Looking into his sire’s eyes, Spike felt relief pour through him when he saw that some of
the wildness had left the dark orbs. "Spike, she’s pulled away." He whispered. Seeing that his
childe didn’t understand, Angelus tried to elaborate. "Something’s made her pull back. It feels
like she ripped a chunk out of my very being. Willow’s drawn away from me."

"Is she alive?" asked Spike anxiously. From what Angelus said, she was still out there, somewhere.

The entire room, which was now filled with fledglings and Dark Knight personnel, collectively
held their breath, real and unreal alike, all hoping that Angelus’ answer would be yes.

"For now." was all he said, but it was enough. "Something’s happened to her." he continued,
getting up. "How dare someone hurt her!" growled Angelus, his eyes growing golden as her went over it in his mind. Someone had obviously attacked Willow, forcing her to draw away from him. He was guessing it was the Taelon’s, as they were the main enemy at the moment. This act had caused the Taelons life span to seriously shorten, yet they didn’t know it yet. They had dared to hurt Angelus’ mate, and they would pay.

Seeing their master pace back and forth, the human and vampire population in the compound left the room, seeking a safer place to dwell until Angelus had calmed down some, or Willow came back to them. It was either that or risk getting staked for being in the room, and non of them were that brave.

Angelus barely noted the departure of his underlings, too consumed with the visions running
through his mind. Visions of Volunteer’s blood soaking the ground, and finding out if the
Taelons felt pain of any sort. He could scarcely control himself, wanting to destroy everything
around him, but from deep inside him, came the thought that Willow wouldn’t want him to go
ballistic. She would expect him to do everything in his power to find her, just as she’d done for
him when he’d lost his memory in Toronto all those years ago, and was convinced he still had his soul. Just the memory of that experience sent shudders throughout his body. But it also reminded him that Willow had done everything in her power to find him and bring him back.
Remembering exactly HOW she’d done it, sent more pulses through his body, but they were of
an entirely different kind.

Setting his mind to his task, he allowed himself a minute to think how they’d spend their time
once she was back. First, he’d lock them both in their room for a good week, and if she could
still walk after that, then another week would be in order.

But first, they had to find her, and get her out, knowing that everyone in the compound would
gladly give up their lives to save Willow from whatever danger she was in.

Willow was alive, and they would all work together to find her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tealon Embassy in Washington D.C.

"Is this the one?" asked Zo’or, walking in to the medical facility, towards the large blue tank.
Inside floated a young woman, hooked up to all kinds of machines, and unconscious to the
outside world.

"Yes." replied Agent Ronald Sandoval, Zo’or’s protector. It was his sworn duty to protect this
Taelon from any and all threats. "We picked her up on a routine sweep. She was with a group of others. They managed to escape, but she was not so lucky."

"Who is she?" asked Zo’or, stepping closer to inspect their newest discovery.

"We do not know. She had no ID, and no matches were found in any of our databases. It’s like she never existed. But we do have a report from the Los Angeles police department, about a woman matching her description, being heavily involved in the organized crime in the city, but
so far we cannot confirm her identity." he informed the Taelon.

"What about her injuries? Will she survive?"

"Her physiology is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. She appears to be human, but most of her
organs don’t work, and seem to be almost 30 years older than the rest of her body." Sandoval
informed Zo’or. "We are at a loss."

"Curious."

"Yes." agreed Sandoval. "If we had access to the mothership’s database, we may have been able to find an explanation, but at the moment the doctors are stumped."

"Truly a dilemma." said the Taelon. The explosion of the Taelon mothership was a great loss. It
had been their only link with their home world, and it was now destroyed. It also represented a
great loss for the Taelons, themselves, as a large number of their race had been aboard. They had come to this planet as a last hope in their fight with the Jaridians, and in the process had lost most of the remaining members of their race. There were a few Taelons left, who lorded over certain planets in their empire, as well as a few on Earth, but the majority of his fellow Taelons had been lost when the mothership exploded. Taelons around the world had felt the
huge hole form in the Commonality (in which all Taelons are linked together psychically). So
many voice, now down to a few.

"Can we revive her?" asked Zo’or, anxious to uncover this mystery.

"We don’t even know what’s wrong with her." replied Sandoval.

Accepting that answer, Zo’or left the medical facility, and went in search of Da’an. < He’s spent more time than necessary with these humans, perhaps he’s heard of this before. > thought the Taelon, walking in the direction of his fellow Taelon’s residence in the Embassy.

Meanwhile, neither the human nor the Taelon noticed the figure in the tank open her eyes, as they were leaving. Smiling a slow smile, full of satisfaction and evil intentions, Willow waited until they were a safe distance away before acting. Slowly reaching up, she pulled away the wires that were attached to her body, and began her escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the Compound

Angelus was pacing the length of the room, annoying everyone present, his mind wandering as
he tried to figure out what would make Willow break away from him like that. He was so
absorbed in his thoughts, he didn’t hear Spike talking in the background, telling Liam, Augur and Doors about vampires, mates and the like. They were unbelieving until Spike showed them his ‘wrinklies’, convincing them beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"Why have we never heard of this before?" asked Liam, not quite as unbelieving as before.

"One, vamps have been so commercialized, that very few sane humans would believe they
existed. And two...well, were you prepared to publicize ‘special nature’ to all the world, mate?" asked Spike, looking pointedly at Liam, reminding the Taelon protector and Resistance leader of his alien DNA.

In response to this, the dark haired man just raised one eyebrow acknowledgment. In the past
hour, Liam had revealed a lot about himself, mainly the reason for his triple helix DNA. He’d put his own life in these people’s hands for two reasons. One, to build a bridge of trust with this
group, because from what he’d seen, and learned from the real Liam Kincaid when they’d first
met, these people, vampires and humans alike, were fighting for the same thing the resistance
was. The only difference being that they did it much more quietly, and they seemed to be more
effective than the Resistance had ever been. They had operatives high up in the Taelon hierarchy, Lily being one of them, but these operatives seemed to be VERY good. Their planning went back 10-15 years, and was so in depth it was mind boggling. And secondly, it
was the only way to keep from killing the dark haired one, Angelus. The older vampire had
been pacing like a mad man for the past couple of hours, every now and then a growl emerging
from his throat. Liam could barely control the impulse to jump up and blast him with his
Sha-ka-ra-va, he was so annoyed.

The tension in the room soared to new heights, when a call came in from Sasha. Flipping on the
view screen, Spike let out a sigh of relief at seeing his mate safe and sound.

"Where are you, luv?" he asked her.

"Just outside of Miami." she said, her red hair glinting in the afternoon sun. "We made it this far,
but those Volunteers have every major road blocked, and even a few of the minor ones."

"What happened?" growled Angelus, pushing Spike out of the way as he tried to get information about his mate.

"They’re killing us, Angelus." said the female Brujah over the Global. "Thompson decided to kill 2 birds with one stone, and go after organized crime, while he was policing the country." Stress was evident in her every word.

And they should be worried. Organized crime, in the US, was mainly Kindred. It wasn’t truly
crime, but it looked that way. Kindred controlled cities, such as LA, New York and San
Francisco, were ruled by one clan, and that clan was seen as the head ‘crime family’, as it were. If President Thompson was going after organized crime, that meant he was after Kindred.

"What going on?" growled Angelus, dreading the answer.

"They don’t even stop to question, anymore. If you’re a known associate, or even thought to be connected to it, you’re already dead. They’re just killing us, Spike. They’ve already gotten most of the Princes and Primogen’s around the country. Some clans have been decimated." Sasha told the room at large, over her Global. They could all hear the tears threatening, but only Spike and Angelus really understood. Julian Luna, her uncle by blood, was probably
already gone, as was Lillie Langtry, another Primogen and friend.

"No one’s safe. Not even the Nosferatu." continued Sasha after a moment. "They’re sending
some kind of gas down into the sewers, and it’s killing them. The Ventrue and Brujah are being
hunted for organized crime, the Toreador are dying because of their association with Ventrue and Brujah, and the Nosferatu are being poisoned." summarized Sasha, horror flooding her voice as she realized her race was being threatened, and the world didn’t even know it.

"What about the Gangrels?" asked Spike suddenly.

"They’re mostly Resistance, and don’t want to go down without a fight." she explained. "Those
who weren’t killed, have been taken to the detention centers."

A moment of silence followed her announcement.

"What about Willow?" asked Angelus, needing an answer desperately.

"We got what we came for." began the red head, one of Willow’s closest friends. "He should be there soon." she said, referring to Joshua Doors, the cause of most of these problems. "As soon as we heard what Thompson was doing, we sent out messengers to all the other clans - as many Kindred as we could get to. Told them about the compounds and that they’d be safe there. We were taking a group there when we were spotted by those damn Volunteers. Willow broke off, leading them in another direction so we could get to safety." at this, Sasha paused for a moment, the memories of that event almost too much for her, but Angelus needed to know.

"I went back for her. I really did, Angelus." she cried. "But I was too late. I saw them fire at her. They missed, but she was hurt. Unconscious. They took her away."

"Alright," said Angelus after another moment of tense silence, as they all absorbed the fact that
Willow had been captured. "Get back here as soon as possible. We need to get as many Kindred to safety as possible." he said, turning abruptly to face his childe before leaving the room.

"Call Toronto. Get her here as soon as possible. Now that we have him," said Angelus to Spike. Sending a meaningful glance in Liam’s direction, he continued, "we need to move fast." That said, the master vampire stalked out of the room, ignoring all others present.

Walking along to his room, he finally let the rage well up inside of him.

They had dared to harm his mate. Now they would pay.
 
 
 

Part 5

Willow was walking through the Bronze, looking for someone. Spotting a blonde and brunette
head in the crowd, she made her way over to them, smiling as she approached. Reaching the
table, the two teens looked up, and smiled in greeting.

"Hey Will, we didn’t know if you were gonna show." said the blonde in greeting, motioning her
to take the stool next to her. Sitting down, Willow looked to the stage, seeing the band coming
on. The black haired guitar player looked kinda familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him.

"Willow." drawled the blonde, seeing where she was looking, a smile on her face. "Go for it. He seems like a great guy." she encouraged the red head.

"Buffy?" asked Willow in confusion. < Wasn’t Buffy dead? > she thought to herself. < And who is this ‘guy’? I don’t need one. I have Angelus. > she wondered, confused by all this. This entire place gave her the creeps. She felt like she was back in high school, before Angelus had turned her. Before she’d found her mate.

Looking over to the second occupant of the table, she almost lost it then and there. Xander. Now she knew something was definitely wrong. Not only was the twit suppose to be dead, but he also looked like he had in high school. Which was just weird.

She knew something was really wrong, because she’d been there when Cordy had taken his life. She’d seen her childe drain the life out of her old best friend, and do it with a smile on her face.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up." said Buffy, her eyes glued to the dark figure
trying to blend into the shadows of the club. Willow got up to go and meet her mate, when the
Slayer beat her to it. Before the red head could do more than gasp, the blonde Slayer had her lips plastered to his.

Buffy was kissing Angel. Her Angel. HER MATE.

If it wasn’t for the fact that this entire place felt strange, Willow would have been on them in a
second. Instead, she grabbed the edge of the table, trying hard not to rip it to shreds.

"Oh, great." said Xander when he spotted the two lovebirds, disgust coloring his voice. Turning
to look at the dark haired boy sitting beside her, Willow silently shared his feelings. Seeing her
Angelus making out with the blonde haired bitch was at the top of her list of ‘things to NEVER,
EVER witness again in my lifetime, because they’ll scar me for life’. She’d managed to sand
blast the memories of her former life from her mind, especially those about Buffy and Angelus.

Turning back to the disgusting couple, she saw that they’d manage to separate their lips, and
were now making their way over to the table. Willow looked up into the eyes of her mate, once
they reached the table, and felt herself pale.

This man - this vampire - was not Angelus, but Angel. The guilt ridden pose and anguished-filled eyes were a dead give away.

"Willow," said Buffy, pointing to the stage. "He’s looking at you." Said the Slayer, with a smile
in her voice. Glancing in the direction she pointed, Willow couldn’t contain the gasp that rose in
her throat. The black haired guitar player was staring at her, as he played, his eyes full of interest. She recognized the look, as she had seen in many times over the years, but had never paid attention to it. It spoke of desire and attraction. It was then that she remembered it all.

This had happened several days before Angel had become Angelus. Before she’d been turned.
Angel and Buffy were in love - as revolting and mind numbing as that thought was - and that
guitar player had been trying to get her to go out with him. < His name’s Ox, or Og, or something weird like that. >

Excusing herself, Willow quickly made her way to the washroom, locking herself in one of the
stalls so she’d have some privacy while she planned.

She remembered being captured by the Taelon’s, and being hurt somehow. Then, waking up in
the giant jar of blue goo....she’d broken out....and begun to make her way out of the lab....then a bunch of those damn Taelon security people had ambushed her....DAMN! She’d been attacked, and blacked out. Again. < This has really gotta stop. > she thought to herself.

< So, I’m not really in the Bronze, cause this place was burned down years ago. So....I’m probably in Taelon custody right now, which means < gasp > interrogation. > An evil smile appeared on her face, as she realized what they were doing. < They probably think I’ll
lead them to Resistant hide-outs or something. They don’t know that this all happened years ago. >

Figuring she must be inside some type of computer-generated world, Willow reached out with
her senses, feeling the environment around her. <Ah...there...that’s it. > she thought, when she hit the electronic barrier. Testing it out, she discovered a hole in the programming code, and took advantage of it. She may not be able to get herself out of there, but she could take control of this artificial world, one way or another.

< I’m in some kind of computer world. > she thought. < The Taelon’s must think I’m stupid or
something, because they’ve put me back in the Bronze. They must have scanned my memories,
and chosen this day. A few days before Angelus’ curse was removed. But why so far back? Why not something I wouldn’t so easily see through? > she wondered, before the answer popped into her head. < Because these were the most recent memories they could find! > Willow realized. < After I died, all my memories were made up of dead neural
pathways. I was still alive at this point, and they’ll read as if they had happened a few days ago,
not 30 years. > This was thought with a smile on her face. For all their advancements, the
Taelon’s were still ignorant of many things.

What to do? What to do?

Have some fun.

She couldn’t get out of the program, but the energy used to run it was more than enough to do
what she needed. Everyone thought these aliens were so advanced and intelligent, because they
used biological based technology, but it only helped strengthen her natural powers.

Getting up, she made her way back into the club, searching for someone. There was a purpose for this, and the Taelon’s, not able to just pop it up on a view screen, would need someone on the inside to relay images and sounds to them. Looking up, she spotted him.

Sandoval. Quickly glancing away, she made sure that he thought she was looking for someone
else, when in fact she’d just found him. < Who else would they send in? > she asked herself wryly. < After all, his CVI makes it easy for the Taelon’s to see what he sees.>

Walking back to her friends, she quickly looked up at the dark vampire by the Slayer’s side, and hid her grimace. He was making her want to kill. It was really too bad that a part of his
consciousness couldn’t take over the body of his former souled self. Then things would have
REALLY gotten interesting.

"I’m gonna go home now. I have a lot of work to do." said Willow, wanting to get the show
started.

"But don’t you wanna wait for Oz?" asked Buffy, excitement and confusion apparent in her
voice.

"Maybe later..." said the red head, hoping to sound frightened and shy of boys, while inside she
was sneering. < As if I’d want that boy after Angelus. HA! >

As they walked down the street, Willow once again stretched out her mind, taking control of the program, but very unobtrusively. They wouldn’t know what to do, when they couldn’t extract their precious Sandoval from the program, and the fact that they were using something so sophisticated and extreme to get information out of her, told her that they wouldn’t kill her while she was inside their machine.

Finally extracting herself from the cloying presence of the artificial Slayer and her whipped pups, Willow managed to convince them that she was fine, walking home alone.

Making her way along the dark streets, she led her shadow (Sandoval) on a merry chase, circling the town for about an hour, going nowhere in particular, but making it look like she had a specific destination in mind. After sufficiently confusing the Taelon agent, Willow cut back
around him, turning the tables.

"Bored now." she said with an innocent voice from behind the dark figure that had been
following her, bating her eyes at the surprised man as he spun around to face her.

Taking a second to relish the moment, a smile curved her lips. The great Companion Protector
had been caught unawares, which was a feeling he didn’t particularly like. But he didn’t have
time to dwell on the subject, as he suddenly found himself on the ground.

Willow had just nailed him with a wicked back hand, sending him sailing across the sidewalk,
into the alley behind him. casually making her way to where the stunned man lay, Willow took a
minute to revel in the feeling of power she had. Unbeknownst to anyone, the red head was now in complete control of the program. The Taelon’s couldn’t get her or their beloved Sandoval out, unless she allowed it. They couldn’t even disengage the program, because she wouldn’t allow it. She could exit the program if they released her, but until then, this was her world.

Stopping next to the gasping lump on the pavement, Willow casually placed one sneaker clad
foot on his chest, pushing her heel into his ribs, making him gasp.

"It isn’t nice to follow young girls around in the dark, Mr. Sandoval." Willow told him in an
innocent-type voice. "Especially ones you know nothing about." To make her point clear, she sat down, straddling his chest. He stupidly tried to knock her off, not realizing that she’d changed the program a bit, making it so that she had her full vampiric strength. Not that he knew vampires existed and that she was one, that is. Countering his move, the Taelon agent found himself pinned to the ground, with his arms in a tight grip above his head, and
a pissed off red head on his chest.

"Now, we’re going to play a little game, Mr. San-do-val." she said, dragging out each syllable.
"I’m going to pull the leash, and see how far your Taelon masters will jump." Willow told him,
surprising him. The program had been set up as a way to retrieve information from a subject.
Their memories were probed, and a setting was created around a memories from a few days in
the past. This woman, however, was somehow aware of it all, which was confusing, because they were given drugs so that they’d forget those days. And she was strong. the hit he’d taken had him flying back several feet, something he hadn’t experience in awhile, and never from a human.

"Who are you?" he manage to gasp out. The red head on his chest just laughed at this. Leaning
down close to his head, her lips barely brushing his earlobe, she whispered "Your worst
nightmare." into his ear, sending shivers up and down his spine. Chuckling at his at his confusion
and fear, Willow got up off of Sandoval, and moved to the other side of the alley, allowing him
to pick himself up off the ground.

"I have a message for Zo’or - whom I’m sure is watching every little detail through your eyes."
she told him, making him pause. The red head had hit too close to home, as that was exactly what Zo’or was doing. They hadn’t been able to extract any information out of her before, so they’d opted for this computer generated world, with him inside it as an observer. But something had gone very wrong.

"I want out of this damn program." Willow continued, her voice getting hard as she spoke. "And just so you know, try and kill my body, and I’ll send such a nasty virus into your systems, that a Pop-Tart will look more sophisticated." This she almost growled, but controlled herself in time.

"You can’t-" began Sandoval, before being cut off by the red head.

"Just try me." This time, she did growl. But she knew that wouldn’t convince them, so she sent a tiny warning out, which crashed the computers monitoring her and Sandoval’s vital sings (of
which she had none).

"Time to get better acquainted, Ronnie, cause you’re not leaving until I do." she told him,
looking straight into his eyes, imagining she saw Zo’or through them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the Lab......

Zo’or was in a mild rage, which was quickly building. This woman had caused them great
problems, but he was hesitant to kill her. She could be useful to the Taelon’s, and he was
determined to get her on their side, no matter what he had to do, even if it required him to input a CVI into her brain to gain her co-operation.

She had power and strength, both qualities the Taelon’s needed right now, as their numbers had dwindled with the destruction of the mother ship.

"Release her." he told the Volunteer in-charge of the procedure. Though he loathed to do it, he
would have to acquiesce to the red head’s demands, or risk all that was left of Taelon engineering on earth.

Standing up, he went to leave the lab, ordering her to be held in a detention cell upon her removal from the computer world. She was dangerous, and until she was on their side, she was not to be trusted or left unguarded.
 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 6

"You’re Da’an’s protector. Find out where they’re holding Willow." Angelus told Liam, in a voice that broke no argument. But, then again, Liam never was one to back down from a fight.

"Is that an order?" he asked in a condescending, sarcastic way, that made Angelus’ hands itch to tear him apart. And he would have, if it hadn’t been for the fact that
he was the only one who could find out where they had Willow hidden. And the
half-alien knew it. Angelus glanced around the room, taking in the human trio before him - well, two humans, one not-quite human.

"No." growled the angry vampire, his golden eyes piercing the man before him, who happen to be the main focus of his anger. He was missing his mate, and didn’t care
to get into a debate with someone he could snap like a twig. "It’s a suggestion, which I strongly recommend you take, before I use your alien DNA to redecorate the walls!"

"Hey!" barged in Augur, the dark computer hacker. "Why should he risk his life and his cover for your girlfriend? And on that subject, why couldn’t you just hack into
the Taelon’s systems, to find out where she is? Why do you need Liam?"

Turning his furious gaze upon the diminutive man before him, Angelus took a step towards him, trying unsuccessfully to contain the growl rumbling in his chest. "Willow is much more than my ‘girlfriend’, you insignificant little worm! She is my entire world. You don’t want to be around if I lose her for good." he threatened. Spike had explained to the trio about mates, but only as far as to say that it was the vampire equivalent of a marriage. "And do you REALLY think the Taelon’s are going to log a prisoner into their systems, which they know the Resistance is looking for? They’re not that stupid!" that said, the formerly souled vampire spun around, and
began pacing back and forth across the room, his angry strides shortening the distance greatly.

"Now, now, Angelus. What would Willow think if she heard you talking like that?" said a smooth voice from the doorway. Everyone’s head spun to see who had
spoken, and each face held a different expression of shock. Angelus was surprised, to say the least - well, for a moment, anyways. He then strode across the room, embracing the woman who stood there.

"She’d say that all talk and no action is no way to run a clan." replied the vampire, as he held onto this woman tightly.

No one seemed to notice the expression on the faces of the humans present, at witnessing this exchange. Johnathan Doors was wondering who this new player in the game was, and how he could possibly use it to his advantage. Augur was - to put it mildly - stunned speechless. This woman was truly beautiful in a way he’d rarely seen before. It was the way she carried herself that added to her beauty. This was one lady who wouldn’t give up on anything.

Liam’s reaction, however, was the most intense. He was rooted firmly to the floor, looking on in wonder as the dark vampire engulfed this unknown woman into his arms. Once she was released, he took the time to look her over, taking her all in. She had long, black hair, that almost reached her waist, and fine, delicate features. Her stature may have looked fragile, but looks were deceiving, as the way she held herself spoke of someone who could hold their own. The strange woman was dressed in a dark red, tight-fitting tank top, which ended just above her navel, and a
pair of black leather pants, that molded to every curve. Not to be left out, she also had on a floor length black leather trench coat, which was currently pulled back from
her body, as her hands rested on her hips. Her body language was that of a friend, chastising someone for their bad behavior, but everyone could tell she was teasing.

But what stunned Liam the most, was the vibes he was getting off of her. He felt a pull towards this woman, but didn’t understand why.

"Where’d Spike get off to? I was looking forward to some games?" she asked Angelus, making him grin even wider. Having her here was already easing some of his tension. The dark haired woman before him could always do that - ease away almost any kind of negative emotions.

"Sasha came back about an hour ago, and they haven’t been seen since. They’re probably in their rooms, but I wouldn’t bother them, unless you want something ripped off." replied Angelus, his grin lighting the mood a bit.

"Well, we won’t be seeing them for a few days." said the black haired woman ruefully. Though she was happy in her life, and happy for those around her, she couldn’t help feeling sad and lonely some of the time. They all had mates and the like, but she was left alone. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except for the fact that she never seemed to be attracted to the many followers she had accumulated over the years. She’d never felt that spark, that twist in your stomach you got, when you looked at someone, and realized that this was the person you would gladly loose your heart to.

Banishing those thoughts from her mind, she remembered that they weren’t alone. "I see you have guests, Angelus. Aren’t you going to intro-" speaking as she turned to face the trio of men, she froze as her eyes lit upon the last. He was tall, well-built with dark brown hair that did the same little spiky thing that’s Angelus’ did, and was looking at her with confusion and recognition in his gaze. He wore clothes similar to hers, in that he had on a tight-fitting, dark blue sleeveless t-shirt, as well as leather pants and a long leather coat which was laying on the chair beside him.

Feeling a connection being mad, she lost control of her body, her senses going into overload, as she approached this man. As he approached her. They met somewhere in the middle of the room, oblivious to the gawking stares and shocked, confused looks being thrown at them. Upon meeting, they didn’t even pause in motion before they were touching. Liam’s hand caressed her face, looking at her in wonder as she rubbed her cheek into his hand, demanding more contact. Her own hands weren’t idle, either, as she was busy running them up and down his chest, feeling the muscles bunch and quiver beneath her fingers.

What seemed like an eternity passed, before Liam leaned closer, closing his eyes as their lips touched, sending sparks and jolts of electricity and pleasure throughout
their bodies. His lips moved over hers, tasting the sweetness, claiming her lips, before gently prying those same lips open, allowing his tongue access. Currents of satisfaction coursed through him at hearing her moan, as his tongue swept inside the hot cavern of her mouth. Deepening the kiss, his hold on her face tightened, as his free hand moved around her waist, under her coat, to pull her closer to his body. He’d never felt these kinds of emotions before, and never wanted it to end. That feeling exploded onto a whole new level, when he felt her arms go around his neck, pulling him in closer to her as her hips rocked into his.

No one was sure how to separate the two, who were in the process of making out like two adolescents. But that problem was solved with the arrival of two more
individuals.

"Awww, will you look at that? My little girl’s all grown up." said Faith, wiping a mock tear from her eye. Looking up to her companion, she saw amusement in his eyes.
These days, seeing anything but rage and frustration in the elder vampire’s eyes was
uncommon. It attested to the present situation which gripped the entire planet. If Lucien Lacroix was worried, then the world was truly in danger.

That comment was enough to separate the two, who parted, gasping for breath and
understanding.

Walking up to her daughter, Faith put her arm around the raven haired girl, an amused smile on her face. "Care to introduce us to your young man, Catriona?" she asked. After all these years, Faith still got a kick out of causing a commotion. Mayhem was fun, especially when you weren’t part of it. The look on her daughter’s face, however, brought it all crashing down.

For all her maturity and control, when it came to men, Catriona was only a beginner. Faith had often commented on her daughter’s lack of boyfriends (of which there had
been none), but Lucien had always said that when the time came, she would find the one that was right for her. And the old coot was right. It may have taken longer than he had expected, but it had finally happened and Faith couldn’t be happier.

"Mother.." came Catriona’s hesitant response. She loved her mother dearly, but at times she just wanted to throttle the vampire, and this was one of those moments. She was confused. All these emotions were flooding her at the same time, more than she’d ever felt, and she didn’t know how to handle them.

And this man in front of her.... He made her blood boil, and that wasn’t a terribly bad thing, she soon decided.

Seeing that no one was about to break the stunned silence that had descended upon the room, Lacroix took it upon himself to rectify that. "Shall we commence with
the introductions, Angelus?" he inquired as he moved further into the room. "I do believe the children are becoming restless." he said, amused, shooting a meaningful glance towards Liam and Catriona, who were even now moving closer to each other, trying to be subtle about it.

"Certainly." agreed Angelus, pulling himself together, pushing his rage and need to see blood flow, deep into the back of his mind.

The dark vampire began the introductions, starting with the humans, and moving on to the recently arrived vampires, but he left the two younger ones until the last.

"Liam, this is Catriona. Cat....this is Liam Kincaid." he said, his voice conveying far more than words ever could. And Cat understood it.

"Just what in the hell is going on?" demanded Johnathan Doors, tired of not being the most important person in the room. "What was that...what we just witnessed?" he ranted, waving his hand in the general direction of Liam and Cat, encompassing them both.

"Oh, do sit down." came Lacroix’ smooth reply, as he briefly wondered if anyone would care if Doors were to suddenly develop a gaping hole in his chest, around the
area of his heart.

Seeing that the idiot man still didn’t get the hint, Faith spoke up. "Plant your ass in that chair, before it gets nailed to the wall." Faith never was one to mince words,
and his quick reaction caused several smirks from the undead in the room. The rest of the assembly took the hint, and sat around the table.

"Now, where to begin..."
 
 
 

Part 7

Catriona sat in the chair, looking at the people sitting around the conference table. Some of the people she loved most in the world sat here. Her mother - Faith, Lucian, Angelus. The ones missing were Cordelia, Aaron, Spike, Sasha and Willow.

Willow. Just thinking about the red head and her current situation, sent an unknown emotion through her. Cat had a feeling that it was helplessness, and that scared her. She’d been raised by a pack of the fiercest vampires in the world. And opposed to what people would think, she
was neither cold nor cruel. In fact, Cat believed that she had had a better childhood than
most humans. She’d been loved by a wide array of people, who even if they didn’t say it, showed their affection for her in many ways. Cordelia had taught her to never care what others thought about her, as well as teaching her how to dress. Willow’s dark haired childe had said ‘If I left it up to the rest of them, you’d be wearing black leather all the time.’ And even though Cat wore her share of black leather, she also always added a flash of colour, or no leather, whatsoever. Her mother had taught her to fight, cause she figured that being an ex-Slayer, who
better to teach her little girl how to defend herself. Not that she was the only one. Angelus and Spike had helped in that area, as well. The blonde vampire had taught her how to annoy Angelus, and Angelus had taught her how to get back at someone who annoyed you. Cordelia and Aaron taught her the finer points of that, seeing as they’d been getting back at one another for years now. From Sasha she’d learned the art of rebellion, which didn’t go the normal
teenage route. Instead of pushing her family away by hanging out with criminals and biker sorts, and getting tattoos and piercing, Cat had hung around the jocks and snobs, and joined the
cheerleading squad.

If a heart attack could kill a vampire, her mother wouldn’t have been dead a long time ago.

But from Willow and Lucian, she’d learned the most. Lucian had become like a father to her, and Willow was like a second mother. Together, they’d given her an inner strength that most people lacked, and shown her how to keep other people guessing as to your true motive, until it was too late. This had come in handy more than once, as the Watcher’s Council had been actively looking for her since the day her mother had disappeared with Angelus and Willow, taking Cat along with her.

She remembered with amusement one of the attempts. By chance, a Watcher had seen her in a
bar in Sunnydale, where he was training a newly activated Slayer, when one of Aaron and
Cordelia’s minions had come with a message for her to return home, for some reason or another, which she couldn’t remember. Thinking she was being led outside to become an evening meal, the Watcher had dragged his too young Slayer out of the bar and into the park, where her mother had met her. Recognizing Faith, it took the Watcher several minutes before he realized who, exactly, Cat was, and by that time, they were all gone. But that hadn’t stopped him.

He’d followed her around until him and his Slayer had been able to corner her alone in one of the many cemeteries. The arrogant prick had told her he’d been in contact with the Council, and that they were prepared to take her under their wing, so to speak, and train her so she could properly fulfill her destiny.

Her response to that had been something along the lines of not wanting to become like their
Slayers - brainwashed, unable to think for themselves, and dead before 20. Well, that had got him stuttering incoherently. The idiot had then come back with the argument that soulless vampires couldn’t prepare her for her destiny, and would lead her down the path that would eventually destroy the world. That hadn’t gone over too well with Catriona, who’d asked him if he knew what her destiny was. If anyone on the Watcher’s Council did. He froze at that comment, because he didn’t know. No one did. The Council only knew that she was destined to either save the world or help destroy it, but they didn’t know how. "Well, my mother knew what my future held, the day I was conceived." she retorted. Adding that she didn’t need help from the ‘Tweed-clad Avenger’, she’d turned to leave.

The Watcher, however, had his orders, which were to kill her if he couldn’t bring her to the
Council, and as she walked away from the duo, he’d ordered his Slayer after her. And the
brainwashed twit did it.

That night was the first time a non-demon or vampire had taken down a Slayer. Luckily for her,
the Council still didn’t know what she looked like, because as soon as the pretty little Slayer had been impaled on her own stake, Cat had run out of the cemetery, horror washing over her. She had never taken a human life before, and it had affected her deeply. However, luck was on her side, as Spike had been in the shadows, watching the child they had all helped to raise, take down a Slayer. He’d heard and seen everything, and realized that this pissant Watcher knew what she looked like, as well as her name, and taken care of the situation in short order, much to everyone’s satisfaction.

A hand on her knee brought her back to the present. They were all sitting around the table in the conference room, with Cat and Liam sitting as close to each other as they could get, without actually sitting on the other. The chairs were pulled up close to the table, so the metal top shielded his hand from the others view as it moved further up her leg, his fingers running gently up her inner thigh.

She really did try to listen to Angelus, but the male next to her was trying to distract her, and was doing a very good job at it.

"Are we going to have to separate you two?" asked Angelus angrily. He was happy that they’d
finally found each other, but he didn’t need to be reminded that his own mate was missing, which was becoming harder by the minute, as the scent of their arousal filled the air.

Amused glances were prevalent around the room, on the faces of the vampires, while confusion
filled Augur’s and Door’s face, and embarrassment filled the faces of the two in question, at
being chastised. Cat almost let out a groan as she felt his hand retreat, but noticed that he didn’t
move to put space between their chairs.

"What’s going on?" asked Augur, in that accented voice of his, as he leaned forward, his
forearms braced on the edge of the table, and his hands clasped. There was something strange
going on, and he wanted answers.

"Well, our little Cat has a similar history as Liam, here." began Lucien, leaning back into his own chair, raising his glass of blood-wine that had appeared magically (not literally), to his lips.

"What do you mean ‘similar history’?" asked Doors, leaning back in his own chair, hands
entwined and resting on his stomach. It was his ‘I’m planning something, but I’m not gonna tell
you cause I’m in charge of the world’ pose.

"Cat’s father was Ta’on, on of the Kimera’s greatest warriors." explained Faith. She knew the
details better than anyone, as the memories had been planted into her brain at the same time Cat had been conceived in her body.

"But the Kimera didn’t have warriors." argued Liam. "They were celestial anthropologists."

"Not necessarily. They had a few warriors, who were very good at what they did." explained Cat. Unlike Liam, she’d learned long ago how to access her genetic memories (the memories from all the Kimera who came before her, as well as those of her mother - this had been what had ended her ‘rebellion’ in high school). "The Taelon’s came to their planet, not long after they’d split from the Jaridians, and began to conquer it. They biochemically engineered the Kimera to be compatible with their own physiology. The two species merged, and became what you see today."

A long moment of silence fell over the room, as the vampires waited for the humans to digest
this new information.

"How old are you?" asked Augur, curious. Liam had been conceived and born in under 10 hours, and grown to adulthood in less than a day.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Augur, but I’m as old as I look. Ta’on managed to somehow slow my maturation process, so I grew up at the same pace as you did." replied Cat, some amusement filling her voice. Through their sources, they’d heard about the arrival of Ha’gal, the Kimera ‘prisoner’ that had landed on Earth. They all knew what it meant, but couldn’t seem to find the child he was sure to have left behind. Cat had never been so anxious in her entire life, when she heard of the Kimera’s presence on Earth. They’d tried to find him before the Taelon’s had, but unfortunately, William Boone, Da’an’s old protector, had come upon his first, and lost his life in the process. Ha’gal had eventually been killed, but apparently not before he’d had the chance to impregnate a human female.

They’d been searching for that female for over a year. Which brought up another question that
had been plaguing the group.

"So, Liam, whose oven did you pop out of?" asked Faith in her direct way.

"Wh-what?" stuttered the individual in question. It wasn’t really the question that had surprised
him, it was booted foot rubbing it’s way up and down his leg that had him so distracted. Looking over, he saw the black haired temptress that was causing his distraction staring straight ahead, as if nothing else were going on. As if she was not, at that moment, sending his hormones skyrocketing. Slowly, Cat turned her head, her mischievous eyes meeting his.

"Do pay attention, Liam." said Cat with a straight face. She almost laughed aloud at his
expression, until she saw his eyes. They promised repayment for her devilry. Shivers ran up her
spine as she contemplated exactly what he would do to her, and exactly how much they would
both enjoy it.

Liam’s eyes narrowed at her comment, as he deftly trapped her wandering foot between his legs. Seeing her look of surprise, he turned back to the dark haired vampire.

"My mother was Siobhan Beckett, the UK Companion’s protector." he said, shocking the entire room. Augur and Doors were both stunned speechless that Liam had revealed something so secret to complete strangers - even though they had saved their lives. The vampires, and Cat, were stunned for a completely different reason.

"Well, well, well." muttered Lucian softly. This was certainly..unexpected.

"Liam." hissed Augur. He couldn’t believe his friend had just blurted that out to these people.
They were pretty well strangers, and they didn’t know if they could trust them yet.

"What? Why is that so surprising?" asked Liam, who’d been paying close attention to their
expressions. Something was up here, and he wanted to know what it was.

"Siobhan was...." began Cat, unsure of how to continue. Something like this was REALLY hard to put into words. < I mean, how do you tell someone that the life their mother lived was a lie? That she was never who everyone thought her to be? > thought Cat.

The answer came in the glorious form of someone that these humans and Liam could trust.

"Siobhan was like me. An infiltrator for Dark Knight." came a voice from the doorway. Turning
as one, the group beheld someone they hadn’t seen for days, and for some, years.

Lily.
 

Part 8

"What do you mean?" asked Augur, the first to speak after Lily’s bombshell. Prying her eyes away from Liam’s face, she let her gaze wander around the room, finally landing on Augur.

"Siobhan was recruited, like me, by Willow. The ultimate goal was to infiltrate the Taelon’s circle of power."

"How was it possible? Wouldn’t her CVI have compelled her to share her information with the Taelon’s?" asked Liam. He held all the genetic memories of his mother - Siobhan Beckett, his alien father - Ha’gal, and his human father - Ronald Sandoval. And none of them gave him a clue as to who these people were.

"When Siobhan found out she had a chance to be implanted with a CVI, rising in power with the Taelon’s, she came to Willow." explained Cat, trying to make Liam understand. "Willow agreed to go into her mind, and make sure her memories of us wouldn’t surface, unless
we called them out."

"And these memories were hidden from the CVI? How is that possible?" asked Augur, curious as to how the red head he’d met so briefly had accomplished such a feat.

"If memories are pushed deep enough into the mind, they can take years, if ever, to resurface. Every time Siobhan came to us with information, Willow reinforced the block. She never knew she was betraying the Taelon’s, so there was no conflict with her CVI." explained Faith. She’d
only met Willow’s student a few times, but what she’d seen of her she liked.

"I realized that there was a time in her life that was missing, but I just assumed it was traumatic memories she didn’t want to remember, and had buried." said Liam in wonder, searching the genetic memories he’d gotten from his mother. After a few moments of searching, he let loose a sound of frustration. "Why can’t I access them?" he demanded to no one in general. A large part of who his mother was, was locked up in those memories. He wanted to get to know her better in death, as he’d never known her in life.

"Willow’s the only one who can remove the block." Said Cat gently, lifting a hand to his face, forcing him to meet her eyes. "When she gets back, we’ll get her to remove it."

That comment made him realize that no one doubted that the red head would be back. And now he had a reason of his own for wanting her back. Well, two reasons. One, because she seemed like an important person in Catriona’s life, and he would do anything to spare her
pain. And two, she was the only one who could show him who his mother really was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As she approached the detention area, she noticed that the occupant of the main cell (actually, the only cell on this level) wasn’t doing so well. The figure inside was crumpled on the floor, her long red hair spread out across the floor and down her back. Her body was curled up
into a half-ball, face down on the ground, a loose-fitting, blue body suit covering every exposed
area.

Punching in some codes, the Volunteer waited until the glass-like barrier was down before entering the one-walled cell. There were beams of ligament-type structure stretching from the ceiling to the floor, creating a frame for the glass-like shielding along three sides of the cell, the wall of the mothership composing the 4th. The design didn’t really allow for privacy, so the Volunteer made sure they were alone before approaching the figure on the floor.

Gently shaking the red headed form, the Volunteer almost jumped back in fright when the woman raised her head and golden eyes and elongated canines were visible.

Willow opened heavy eyes to see a brunette kneeling in front of her, in a tight-fitting body-suit the Taelon’s seemed to prefer. She had a blank expression on her face, and an implant along the side of her neck, reaching from her chest to her ear.

Raising herself to a kneeling position, Willow reached up, wrapping a surprisingly strong hand around the brunette’s neck, and pulled her towards her sharp canines. There was no thought of
resistance in the Volunteer’s body as Willow sank her fangs deeply into her neck, drinking
in the much needed elixir. The Taelon’s kept giving her food, when another form of sustenance was needed. And this Volunteer was providing.

Stopping herself before she took too much, Willow removed her mouth from the brunette’s neck, releasing the girl. Closing her eyes for a moment, Willow regained control of her features, and stood up just after the Volunteer. Willow felt positively re-energized after her brief meal, and looked the Volunteer directly in the eye.

"Thank you, Patricia. Spike chose well." she said. That was the signal the Volunteer had been waiting for, and turned to leave the red head, walking out on shaking legs. Not a mark remained on her throat to suspect the reason for her sudden weakness. Bouncing up and down
slightly, Willow realized that she was no longer on Earth. The gravity was slightly different
here. It had an artificial feel to it.

She was on the Taelon’s moonbase.

As Patricia walked back down the hallway she had just come from, Willow couldn’t help but wish that she knew how to fly a shuttle, so she could get off the damn base. But as she didn’t, so having a way out of the cell was pretty much useless, while orbiting the Earth.

Sighing in resignation, the vampire contented herself with walking up and down the length of her invisible cell, thinking of ways to keep the Taelon’s running in circles until Angelus came to bring her home.
 

Part 9

Approaching the cell that held their mysterious captive, Sandoval couldn’t help but admire the picture she made. She stood tall and straight, her red hair falling down her back in long waves. She stood with her feet shoulder-width apart, with her hands clasped behind her back, facing the one solid wall of her cell.

"I see you brought your handler, Agent Sandoval." She said as the duo approached her. Stopping just a few feet away from the glass-like barrier that kept this unknown prisoner contained, Sandoval and Zo’or paused, wondering how she knew they were there, when neither of them had made a sound or announced their arrival.

"I bet you’re loving this, aren’t you Zo’or. Seeing a ‘helpless human’ in one of your little glass boxes." said Willow, still not turning around. She may be caged, but that didn’t make her tamed. "Wonder what you’d do if this lab rat got out of your maze?" she continued in a
considering kind of voice. "You probably wouldn’t know what to do. You’re so use to being in
charge, that having someone pull you down from the pedestal you’ve appointed yourself to would most likely crush that fragile ego of yours." Turning around at this point, she brought her green eyes to the slightly stunned Taelon, catching him in a moment of unguarded thought. Smiling at this small victory, Willow casually walked up to the her two still silent observers.

"You’re scared, good." she said, turning her back on them to walk calmly to the opposite side of the small cell.

"You believe your limited human intelligence is superior to that of a Taelon’s?" asked Zo’or, regaining his arrogance. That this human thought she was in any way comparable to a Taelon made him almost laugh.

"I believe the intelligence of a gnat is superior to that of a Taelon." Replied Willow, smirking at the look of outrage that appeared on the Taelon leader’s face.

"You would do well to remember who you are speaking to." warned the Taelon, his patience nearing it’s end with this female. Her arrogance was insufferable.

"And you would do well to remember what happened the last time you tried to chain me." answered Willow, reminding them both of their ill- fated attempt to extract information out of her, by placing her inside a computer-generated world. < I’ll bet they still don’t know what went wrong. > thought Willow, keeping the laughing smile off her face and out of her eyes.

"In fact, I would suggest you remember that Taelon engineering isn’t infallible." added the red head, tilting her head to one side to look at the Taelon and his puppy steadily.

"In what way would that be?" asked Zo’or, arrogantly walking around the three sides of the cell, her eyes following his every step.

"I’ll bet that whoever designed this base, did the same thing they did on the mothership, and in the embassies on Earth." Was all she said, turning back to the one solid wall, running a hand over the smooth, purple-blue surface.

"And what would that be?" asked Zo’or again, confident in Taelon design and contruction. This human couldn’t possibly know something that their own scientists and engineers didn’t.

"That you have circuits for every major system running through almost every wall." said Willow. Bringing her other hand in front of her chest , hidden from view, she elongated the nail on the index finger until it was razor sharp. "You Taelon’s never design something with sabotage in
mind." added the red head as she sliced carefully through the colored wall, creating a large X. Lowering the bottom triangle of half-living material, she exposed the wires and circuits running underneath to the shocked eyes of Sandoval and Zo’or.

"Remove her from there." ordered the Taelon, fear encompassing his entire body. What this woman said was true, but no one had ever been able to cut through the inner or outer walls to reach those pathways.

Moving to the control pad, the Taelon Protector tapped in the code to release the barrier, but nothing happened. Punching in the code again, he became frustrated when still, nothing happened.

"Hurry, Agent Sandoval." ordered the Taelon, watching as Willow carefully extracted and cut several of the wires.

"It won’t accept my codes." came the human’s frustrated reply as he tried repeatedly to get into the cell.

"Did I forget to mention that this isn’t the first time today I’ve re-wired your system?" asked Willow innocently, turning to face the two stunned beings. "I changed the access codes to my ‘prison’. It should take you about...oh...3-4 weeks to crack the encryption code, and then another week or two to discover the codes."

Elation surged through Willow, as she saw rage building on the Taelon’s face.

"You have successfully trapped yourself. In my power." said Zo’or, trying in vain to regain his control over the situation and himself.

"Not really. I can’t get out, true. But more importantly, you can’t come in." As this realization made itself known to the leader of the Taelon’s, he spun around and literally stalked down the hallway. Away from the infuriating human who had somehow managed to render Taelon
engineering useless, and had gained control of her present situation, all from the confines of her
cell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If Willow actually breathed, she would have sighed in relief when she saw the Taelon and his protector stalk down the hallway, away from her cell. She’d been lucky. But still, Willow wondered how long it would be, before they found someway around her reprogramming.
Then, she would be in trouble.

"Angelus." she whispered, closing her eyes as she reigned in the tremor the threatened to tear through her body. "Hurry."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We need to find out where she is, before we can figure out how to get her back." said Liam, who had already agreed to search for the missing red head. One look from Cat had convinced him, the look in her eyes when Jonathan had said that Willow was most likely already dead sent pangs into his heart. They’d only met about 7 hours ago, but already Liam would do anything to prevent this woman from feeling any kind of pain or sorrow.

"Well, I got that part covered, mate." said Spike as he strode into the large conference room.

"Spike!" squealed Cat, jumping from her chair to throw herself into the blonde vampire’s arms. Spike, surprised to see the black haired imp, hugged her back tightly, glad to see her safe.

"Hey, hey. Get your hands off my mate." said Sasha in a teasing voice before wrapping her arms around the younger girl.

Upon seeing Cat race into the arms of the blonde haired vampire he remembered from before, Liam had to calm himself. All he wanted to do was go and rip the vampire’s arms off, for daring to touch _his_ Cat. That feeling of possessiveness had been growing stronger
all day, and almost exploded at that point. But seeing the red head behind him, and hearing
her teasing words to Cat, reassured him some, and calmed his hormones. Well, some of his hormones. Liam still had to fight the urge to throw Cat onto the table and take her there, and from the teasing touches, looks and whispers he’d been getting from her all day, he didn’t
think she would really mind.

"What do you mean ‘you’ve got that part covered’?" asked Angelus, once the flurry of hellos had ended, and Cat was back to being plastered to Liam’s side. He wanted Willow back. Now.

"One of the kids on the Moon base sent me a message. Willow’s there, and doing pretty good, by the sounds of it. Got Zo’or and his lap dog pissed as all hell." chuckled Spike. Patricia hadn’t had time to tell him much, only that Willow had thoroughly pissed off several people
all ready, and hadn’t slowed down.

Smiling for the first time in hours, Angelus felt a plan forming in his head. He didn’t like it, as he wouldn’t be able to kill anyone, but it still worked.

"Here’s what we’re going to do..."
 
 
 

Part 10

"I don’t like this plan." said Liam as he walked towards the Portal pad. He knew it was safe to travel through inter-dimensional, as millions of people did it every day to commute all over the world, but he’d seen too many things go wrong to use the
system comfortably. Unfortunately, it was the only way to get to the Moon base.

"Well, it’s the only one we have." replied Cat, following him like the good little ‘Volunteer’ she was masquerading as. The black haired woman had on a tight fitting blue body suit, and a fake implant running from her ear to under her clothing at the
neck. Her raven hair was pulled back into a severe pony-tail, covered by the dark blue cap that most Volunteers wore. Liam was amazed. If he hadn’t known who she was, he would have assumed she was nothing more than another Volunteer and barely registered her in his mind.

Of course, he did know her. She had single-handedly and quickly taken up residence in his being, filling the other half of himself he didn’t know was empty. With her help, he’d been able to access most of his genetic memories, mainly those from his Ki’mera father, so he knew that this was how the Ki’mera found a partner. It was akin to ‘soulmates’, which many humans believed in, but much more deep and personal.

Standing perfectly still on the pad, the two hybrids waited while the controls were activated, and they were sent hurtling through inter-dimensional.

Cat closed her eyes briefly, never having experienced being transported through one of the Portals. She didn’t like it.

Her entire body felt like it had been through three rollercoasters simultaneously, and then to suddenly be thrown into a blender and mixed. Her dislike of amusement park rides had always been an issue between herself and her mother, Faith not
understanding why any daughter of _hers_ didn’t like the thrill’s-a-minute rides. At first, the former Slayer had dragged the terrified Cat on the rides, hoping she’d come to appreciate the exhilaration of break-neck speeds and upside-down tilt-a-whirls. But after Faith had to send out the dry-cleaning _yet again_, due to her child’s intense
dislike for the rides, and weak as water stomach, she finally gave up.

That feeling she always got from those death-trap rides was similar to what she felt as they re-emerged on the Portal pad on the Moon base, except it was ten times worse.

Taking a step back for balance, and to gain her equilibrium on this rock with lower gravity, she quickly centered herself. It would do no good for a ‘good Taelon Volunteer’ to puke after a zip through the Portal.

Liam had seen her stumble, but steeled himself against the urge to reach out and steady her. They both had a role to play, and showing concern for some unknown Volunteer was the quickest way to suspicion.

"Major Kincaid. Da’an’s been expecting you." said the Volunteer control and guarding the Portal on the Taelon’s last base of operation.

"Where can I find him?" asked Liam, trying to sound as if he hadn’t
noticed anything was amiss.

"In the Control Center with Zo’or and Agent Sandoval." replied the Volunteer before turning his gaze to the unknown person he had with him. "First time through a Portal?" asked the guard, humour entering his voice. He could spot a newbie a mile away, and this girl certainly was it.

"Hm mm." was all that Cat muttered, her eyes still closed.

Laughing, the Volunteer on guard duty gave her simple directions on where to sign in, after scanning her Ident-a-card -which Augur had protestingly made.

Taking off in separate directions, Cat reigned in her impulse to look
over her shoulder at _her man_.

She knew Liam would head straight for the Control Center, as his arrival would have been duly reported, and the Companion he was assigned to protect would be expecting him.

That left her. Cat quickly changed directions once she was safely out of sight of the Portal guard. Patricia, as well as other Volunteers had given them specific instructions as to the location of their missing Mistress. These same Volunteers had specific instructions on their part in the ‘jail break’, as Spike termed it. One would disable sensors in and around the detention block where Willow was being kept,
while another masked the loss of sensors with ship-wide power fluctuations.

They had only been lucky enough to have a few of their spies assigned to the Moon base, and they were the last. When the mothership blew, it took with it a number of their best infiltrators. The ones on Earth had already been recalled, and those
few left on the Moon base would leave with Liam, Cat and Willow.

Turning another corner, Cat saw what she was looking for, for at the end of the hallway, was Willow. Or more precisely, a pissed-off red head who was furiously pacing her cell. As the black haired girl approached the vampire, she could distinctly hear low growls and snarls coming from the prisoner. Containing a smile, Cat moved in front of the two Volunteers who were positioned as guards inside the room. (This was done because the last time the red head was alone, she had tampered with the access codes, locking herself in the Taelon’s glass prison. Or to be more exact, barring others from entering.

"I’m here to transfer the prisoner to another section." she said in her
best ‘I’m a drone that does what it’s told’ voice.

Looking surprised, the male guard she was addressing finally deigned to look at her, asking in a superior voice, "Authorization.".

Reaching behind her, as if about to retrieve the demanded document, Cat quickly sent an upper-cut to the stone-faced Volunteer, while simultaneously lashing out with her foot, sending the second Volunteer to the floor.

Returning her attention to the first, Cat brought bother her hands up to the face of the still-stunned guard (she could punch like there was no tomorrow, having stunned even Angelus and Spike at times). Pinkish-white light glowed from the palm of her hands, as she placed them over the temples of the guard. Within seconds he was slumped on the ground, yet another victim of the infamous Ska’ka’ra’va (see
previous parts for explanation).

Seeing the second guard gain her feet, Cat turned to the female Volunteer, her hands still glowing, when Willow’s voice halted her.

"Don’t kill her." said Willow’s soft but deadly voice. "I’m starving." Nodding in agreement, Cat merely knocked the woman unconscious before turning to the cell that held one of the people she loved most in the world.

"What have you always told me about control?" asked Cat in a teasing voice, as she saw Willow’s vampiric, golden eyes pierce her, and a set of white fangs poke out through her lips as she spoke.

"Don’t start with me, Kitty Cat." growled the red head, using her pet name for Faith’s child to soften the rebuke. "Just get me out of here."

"What’s the code?" asked Cat, having been fully briefed on the activities Willow had engaged int, while being held ‘captive’ by the Taelon’s.

"Guess." smirked Willow, her canines even more pronounced at the moment. Smiling in amusement, Cat punched in a set of numbers she was familiar with. The date Willow had been turned, and found her mate.

As soon as the glass-like energy barrier was down, Willow gave Cat a quick smile before turning her attention to the knocked-out Volunteer. Draining her to the point of death, Willow quickly sealed the wound on her neck, and rose to face Cat.

"Oh, my baby." said Willow softly as she embraced the woman before her.

However, a shrill beeping noise broke them apart.

It was the alarm.
 
 

Part 11

Major Liam Kincaid slowly made his way to the Control Center. He’d only been to the facility a few times, accompanying Da’an, so he knew where he was going.

As he walked, his mind wasn’t on the situation he was about to enter into with the few remaining Taelon’s, but the black haired beauty he’d just left. She was truly something. Liam wondered how he’d ever been so lucky as to find her, and deep down he felt that he didn’t deserve her, even thought he knew they were destined to be together.

He’d been told about the ‘Prophecy’ the night before, as they’d gotten ready for today’s ‘adventure’. Well, that was when the two of them had been able to keep their attention focussed on the discussion. They’d even snuck away a few times, only to end up in some dark corner making out like a couple of hormonal teen-agers, until
someone would come along and interrupt them.

Turning a final bend in the hallway, Liam entered the large room which now served as the main base and headquarters for the Taelon’s. It was large and round, with control stations around the outer edge, manned by several Taelon’s, the glimmering from their energy-form the only thing making them visible in their dark
cubby-holes (though not as many as there had been on the mothership). There was only one seat in the entire room, that being Zo’or’s, which was placed on a raised platform. All the other control stations were manned by Volunteers, but there were no seats or even stools. It kept the Control Center in a state of constant flow.

"Ah, Major Kincaid." said Zo’or in his arrogant manner. "We were just discussing the recent disappearances of many of our Volunteers on Earth." The Taelon had yet to turn around from the view screen in front of him, which showed nothing but stars.

"My Global’s been offline. I just recently got Da’an’s message." replied the brown haired man, coming to a stop a few feet away from the Companion he was assigned to protect with his life.

"But that does not explain where you have been these past several days, Liam." said Da’an, looking consideringly at his protector. His movements stilled, as the Taelon looked closer at Liam. He noticed something different, but wasn’t quite sure what it
was.

Unfortunately for Liam, at that same moment Zo’or became aware of Da’an’s uncharacteristic stillness, and turned to look at what had caught his fellow Taelon’s attention.

He too paused in confusion.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked in his direct manner. He was the leader of their people, and wanted an answer now.

"What do you mean?" asked Sandoval, his confusion evident in his voice. Liam’s confusion was evident on his face, as he looked at the leader of the Taelon’s in question.

"There is something different about the Major, but I can not discern what it may be." explained Zo’or.

"Search your memories, Zo’or. The answer lies there." put in Da’an, who had already figured out what had caused the difference both he and Zo’or felt in this ‘human’. Da’an closed his eyes and tilted his head, his body shimmering the energy-blue it did, when the Taelon was under great stress or emotional strain. He realized he could no longer protect his friend from Zo’or, and sadness engulfed him.

The leader of the Taelon’s had searched his genetic memories as Da’an suggested, hating that he had taken orders from his rival. Opening his eyes in surprise, Zo’or looked to Da’an.

"But that’s not possible." he said.

"What’s not possible?" asked Sandoval, irritated that he’d been left out of an important conversation.

"It seems that Major Kincaid is more than he appears." said Zo’or cryptically as he advanced upon the stone-faced Liam. Things had gotten out of hand very quickly, and they didn’t look like they were going to get any better, any time soon.

"What do you mean?" asked Sandoval, repeating his earlier question. He’d never liked nor trusted Kincaid, and his suspicions now seemed to be confirmed.

"He is bonded to another. The bond is similar to that of the Commonality, yet different." said the alien, circling the still-form of Liam, speaking of the link that bound all Taelon’s to one another. It existed on a deep psychic level - a spider-like web of
energy that existed between each and every Taelon. When a Taelon was cut off
from that link, it led to a reversion to a primitive form, and base emotions such as rage and hatred emerged, to complement the deadly weapon found in their hands - the Sha’ka’ra’va.

"The Commonality - but how is that possible? He’s not Taelon?" inquired the former FBI agent.

"The Commonality was formed when the Taelon’s split themselves from the Jaridians. We were once one race, called the Ki’mera. The Commonality, which links all Taelon’s, evolved from the Ki’mera. The bond formed between mates when they found each other." explained Da’an, a pained expression on his face. There was another
like Liam out there, and he had obviously found that one.

"What does this have to do with the Major?" asked Sandoval, still confused. How could that have anything to do with Major Kincaid?

"Liam has found his other half - another like himself - and bonded with that one." answered Da’an, receiving a glare from Zo’or and a promise of retribution for keeping such a secret from him and the rest of their race.

"‘Another like himself’? What is he, if neither human nor Taelon?" wondered Sandoval, barely able to comprehend that Liam wasn’t who he thought he was. It was fairly obvious that this man wasn’t fully human, yet he also wasn’t a Taelon. Jaridian-hybrid, maybe?

"As I said. The Major is more than he appears to be." said Zo’or slyly, excitement building up in him. He had, in his possession, a Ki’mera/human hybrid, and was in the Taelon version of heaven. This had been their goal from the beginning - to create a successful cross between humans and Taelon technology, so that they would have an army to fight the Jaridians with. This surpassed all his previous expectations and goals.

"Who are you?" asked Agent Sandoval. He didn’t comprehend everything, but he knew enough that this man was an imposter.

"Well, then. I guess I should introduce myself." began Liam, arrogantly, swinging his gaze to Sandoval as he continued. "My name is Liam Beckett. Son of Siobhan Beckett and Ha’gal." his eyes pinned the human’s dark ones, daring him to say anything. "And did I forget to mention, one Agent Ronald Sandoval." he added,
drawing out the last three words, gaining the incredulous reaction he was looking for.

"Explain." demanded Zo’or.

"When Ha’gal came to Earth, he needed a body, and took over Agent Sandoval’s. In his form, Ha’gal inpregnated Siobhan Beckett, who then had me several hours later. I grew to adulthood in less than a day."

"And took up the position of Da’an’s protector." added Sandoval, shock showing on his face. He had a son.

"Don’t forget ‘leader of the Resistance’ when you enter this into the data banks." said Liam, slowly walking around the Control Center under the ever watchful eye of Zo’or and Sandoval. At hearing this bit of information, the Taelon leader’s head snapped
around to look at Da’an. The Taelon in question refused to show any emotion at Zo’or’s silent accusation that he had known of Liam’s position in the Resistance. If Da’an had known, he would have to justify his actions to what was left of the Synod - the Taelon High Council - an experience Zo’or was looking forward too with relish.

"That makes my victory all the more satisfying." pronounced Zo’or,
an evil looking smile/smirk curving his pale lips.

"So sure of that, are you?" asked Liam confidently, ready for the attack that came. He saw Zo’or give Sandoval the signal to fire upon Liam, to render him unconscious, but was prepared. As the energy bolt from Sandoval’s Skrill came at him, Liam raised his hands in front of his body, activating his Sha’ka’ra’va. A transparent pinkish shield formed in front of him. Since the Skrill was a life form, bio-engineered to attach to the human body, it emitted bio-energy, similar to what he and Cat produced with their Sha’ka’ra’va. Therefore, the shield Liam erected before him bounced the bolt back to it’s owner, sending Sandoval to the ground.

As Liam turned and ran out of the room, his only thought was to get to Cat and make sure she was safe.

Hearing the shrill tone of the alarm only made him run faster.
 

Part 12

Liam raced down the hallways, twisting and turning, the shrill sound of the alarm following him as he went. He had to find Cat and Willow before the Taelon’s Volunteer security did. As satisfying as that little scene in the Control Center had been, he didn’t want it to come back and bite him in the butt. He knew that now, more than ever, Zo’or would want him, as well as Cat. Liam would die before he allowed Cat to be captured.

Turning one last corner, he came face to face with something he had hoped to never witness.

Cat was ducked back behind a section of the wall, protecting herself and a red head with a shield of pinkish energy that emitted from her hands. She was holding off the Volunteers pretty good, but it wouldn’t last long. And neither would she, once she had depleted her energy reserves. Using the Sha’ka’ra’va took a lot out of him, which was why he rarely used it. Mostly, he activated it out of some unknown instinct, but it was still tiring at times.

Seeing his chance, Liam took out his own weapon, set it to stun, and immediately began to knock out some of the Volunteers. But the rest of them turned and started to advance on him. He stunned as many of them as he could, before one got close enough to knock his gun away. Then he fell back onto hand-to-hand combat, which was found in all three of his parent’s genetic memories - thankfully.

Landing a kick on this one, and dodging the fist of another kept his attention on his own situation, and not on that of Cat and Willow. But he did see out of the corner of his eye, the black haired woman take out her fair share of the security, as did the red head, with surprising swiftness.

When the last Volunteer fell to the ground, Liam looked up into the amused eyes of his other half.

"Had fun, did you?" she asked, a smile curving her lips.

"Who wouldn’t?" he retorted back, an answering smile splitting his own face.

"As touching as this moment truly is..." interrupted Willow. "But HOW THE HELL DO WE GET OUT OF HERE?" she demanded in a harsh voice, looking both ways down the hall, on the lookout for another attack.

"This way." said Liam, taking off down the hallway, the two women running to catch up to him.

Arriving in the main bay, where the shuttles were kept and arrived and left from, they saw a large group of Volunteers standing by the Portal, guarding it. Liam stopped abruptly, causing Cat and Willow to run into his back.

The former Taelon protector was positive they were caught. There was no way for them to get through that many Volunteers.

Until Willow peeked out from behind him to see what the problem was. Seeing the five or six so people by the Portal, she breathed a sigh of relief (metaphorically) as she realized that they were her people, so to speak.

"They’re with us." said Willow, striding towards the Portal. After a second or two of confusion, as that information sank into his brain, he took of after the red head, pulling Cat behind him by the hand. He watched in awe as Willow easily slide into her role as the leader of these people, commanding them around. And they obeyed,
though that shouldn’t have surprised Liam at all. He’d seen the way all the fledglings behaved around Angelus and Spike. This woman was Angelus’ mate, so would naturally take charge and expect people to fall in line. Which is what they did. These
‘Volunteers’ were obviously the ones that Cat’s family had managed to place on the
Moon base.

The group placed themselves on the Portal pad while Liam entered in the desired destination, and then programmed the Portal to overload, once they had safely reached their destination.

Stepping onto the pad, between the tall purple columns that framed the large blue pad they all stood on, he took hold of Cat, his arm going around her waist. Pulling her close as he heard the Portal begin to activate, he happen to look up, and see the astonished look on Agent Sandoval’s face, just as a purple-blue energy engulfed
them, transporting the group to Earth.

Sandoval watched as Liam Kinca- < Beckett!! > vanished from the Portal pad. Ever since he’d heard that he had a son, his emotions had been conflicting with one another. His CVI was telling him to grab Liam and whoever he was bonded to, because it would serve the good of all Taelons. But the man in him, who had longed for companionship and grieved over the loss of his own wife, wished his son well. He’d only caught a glimpse of her, but Ronald Sandoval assumed the woman that Liam had held in his arms as he escaped, was the one he was bonded to.

A unit of Volunteers came up behind the FBI Agent in time to see him collapse to the ground, as the human part of him that wished his son well grew larger, and eventually overtook his CVI programming, causing his CVI to go into overload.

They watched in horror as Agent Sandoval, protector to Zo’or, smiled a genuine smile, before his eyes rolled back into his head. A small trickle of blood began to seep from his ear, certifying the breakdown of agent’s CVI. It was an image they would all remember later, when it was announced that Agent Ronald Sandoval had died, due to the disintegration of his Taelon-implanted CVI.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Cat swayed woosily as the group re-emerged at the other end of the Portal. Feeling Liam’s arm tighten about her waist, she looked up into his green-blue eyes, feeling a warmth spread through her chest. Bringing her arms up to his shoulders, she stood on her toes and brought her mouth into contact with his.

Willow watched the two before her kissing, with mixed emotions. On the one hand, she found the scene entirely too sweet, and could feel the sappiness ooze of the two of them. On the other hand, she was ecstatic that Cat and Liam had finally found each other. She’d known that Cat had felt lonely, with the lack of male interests in
her life. Granted, she’d grown up with some of the sexiest vampires around, she had
loved them all like family (not that Willow or even Faith would have allowed anything else, but still....). Cat had found someone just like her, and was crazy about her.

But still, the sweetness and obvious love between the two made her long for Angelus even more. And the smell of their combined arousal didn’t help, either.

"I wonder if water would help separate their over-heated bodies..." Willow mumbled allowed, wondering if they were ever going to get back home. She planned on locking herself in a room with Angelus, and not coming out for a good week.

"Now, that’s something we haven’t tried yet." said a deep voice from off to the side. Quickly spinning around, excitement spread through Willow’s entire body as she took in the sight of her mate. Full of arrogance, danger and menace. And lust.

Just how she liked him.

"Took you long enough, Leather Boy." drawled Willow as she slowly approached him. Pushing all her anticipation down, she prepared herself for the games he loved to play. It made the final meeting all the more electrifying.

"Oh really?" he asked, his eyebrows raising in amusement. He could see the lust and desire in her eyes. All outshone by the happiness in her gaze. Which he was sure was equalled in his own eyes. He had missed her more than he could have thought, and didn’t plan on ever feeling that way again. "We’ll just have to see how long it takes _you_, once we get back." he replied, the innuendo not lost on the
red head.

Her arousal grew ten-fold.

"Oh, yeah? Well - screw it!" she’d begun to answer him in kind, when she asked herself why she was drawing out the suspense. They’d been separated too long, and she just needed to feel him. Taste him. Claim him in front of the others as hers.

Reaching up, she copied Cat, and dragged his mouth down to hers, giving herself up to the feeling of being in her mate’s arms again.

"Bloody hell!" came Spike’s curse as he saw the two embracing couples. "We’re going to get bleedin’ caught if you four stay here and make out like a couple of hormonal teen-agers!" he spat out in a teasing manner. He only managed to separate one couple, Willow and Angelus having been separated too long to pay attention to anything Spike said.

Sighing in mock exasperation, Spike added, "The whole family’s waitin’ for us, so could your Highnesses see fit to unlock your lips long enough for us to get home?" still seeing no reaction from his sire and his mate, Spike gave up. "Fine! YOU get to explain to the General why we’re so late gettin’ back." said Spike, speaking of Lucien LaCroix who had been a general in the Roman army, over 2000 years ago.

Finally separating her lips from her mate’s, Willow turned her amused gaze onto the bleached vampire not too far from her.

It was good to be home.
 
 
 

Part 13

Every person in the vehicle struggled to contain their groans, as they tried to keep their eyes from straying to the couple in the corner. Each could understand why they were going at it like a couple of crazed monkeys, but that didn’t mean they wanted to watch it take place.

A quiet "Oh hell!" could be heard from Spike, as the dark haired man’s hands disappeared under his mate’s shirt, causing sounds of pleasure to emerge from her throat. She’d changed immediately, saying she didn’t want to spend another second in that digusting blue body suit.

"Are they going to...?" trailed off Liam, uncertain as to how to phrase that particular question, but the others knew what he meant.

"If we don’t get home soon, they probably will." said Spike. He was happy to have Willow home, too, but didn’t want to see her and his sire reuniting before his eyes. And in the car, no less. It was quite revolting.

The blonde vampire tightened his arms around his own mate, shifting uncomfortably as the smell of their arousal permeated the limo. Willow had placed herself directly onto her mate’s lap, the instant they’d both been in the car, straddling his waist.
That was when their problems had begun.

Looking across to the seat facing him, Spike noticed Liam shifting a sleeping Cat, bringing her body closer to his. There was another couple who made him want to heave with their hormonal activities.

He still didn’t think that this Liam was good enough for his little Cat, but then again, he realized that no one was good enough for the little girl he’d helped to raise. < Is this what being a father feels like? Somebody bloody shoot me! > he thought disgustedly.

Feeling them slow down, he looked out the window and almost thanked god they had arrived. ALMOST.

The four of them were the first out of the limo, leaving Willow and Angelus alone in the back of the limo.

"They’re gone." whispered Angelus harshly, his mouth moving down the column of her neck.

"Good."

They barely made it through the door to their rooms before they both lost all control. Willow felt her body being slammed up against the door they had just walked through, and her mate’s strong hands began to divest her of her black jeans. The instant they were gone, Angelus freed himself and slammed his hard length deep into her depths. Wrapping her legs tightly around his waist, Willow gripped him with
her legs, keeping him in place for a moment.

She had missed him. The feeling of completeness when he was filling her was uncomparable to anything else she’d ever experienced. Her arms snaked around his neck, keeping his mouth joined to hers as he began to move inside her. Gripping her ass with his cold hands, Angelus claimed his mate as he had so long ago, pounding her into the door. Sinking deeper with each thrust, her channel gripping his cock
with every stroke.

Willow felt her body tensing with her coming orgasm. Ripping her mouth away from his, she let her lips wander down his neck, and sank her fangs into her mate’s throat, claiming him as she came. Feeling a sharp pain in her own neck, Willow felt Angelus climax, spurting his cold seed deep inside of her.

Still pinned to the door, with Angelus deep inside her still-pulsing core, Willow looked up into the yellow eyes of her mate, knowing her own gaze matched his.

"Welcome home, Willow." said Angelus huskily.

"I missed you, my love." she replied, lifting her mouth to his, feeling him harden inside her.

They both knew it was only the beginning. They had a long night to fill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cat paced back and forth, the length of her room diminishing with her anxious strides. She knew what just about everyone was doing right now. Willow and Angelus. Spike and Sasha. Cordelia and Aaron. Probably even Faith and Lucian, though she’d never been able to get a straight answer out of either of them. No one really knew if those two were sleeping together, even after all these years. If
they were, they were VERY good at hiding it.

Everyone (maybe) was having sex. Except her.

And she didn’t know why.

Cat knew she could just go to Liam’s room, and that was what scared her. She didn’t know if she should. Despite her maturity and self-confidence, she was still a teen-ager in the department of sexual relationships. Hell. In _any_ relationship. Which meant she was a virgin. That little fact hadn’t seemed to bother her
before, but it did now.

So far, she’d reached for the door handle about a dozen times, but each time something stopped her, and she pulled her hand back. She felt a strong pull to be with the man just down the hall. But an even larger part of her was scared. And that disturbed her.

She’d been brought up in a family that _was_ fear, so the fact that she was terrified to walk down the hallway made it all the more silly and incomprehensible.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knocking on her door, making her freeze in place. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew who was on the other side of the door, and was undecided if she should answer it.

Suddenly, she found that her body didn’t care what her mind thought or said. It was moving towards the door of it’s own accord, leaving her mind screaming in denial.

All thoughts ceased as she opened the door and beheld him. Liam was leaning slightly to the side, his arms braced on either side of the door, his body in a deceptively casual pose.

No words were spoken as Cat stepped away from the open door. Taking the invitation, Liam walked through, closing the door behind him.

Neither noticed the door at the end of the hall close, the two silent
observers retreating to the privacy of their rooms.

"Told you he’d make the first move." said Faith smugly, knowing her
daughter too well to think she’d be that forward.

"Congratulations, my dear." replied Lucian. "But I truly believed your dear daughter would take command of the situation. She_is_ your child."

"Don’t try to sweet talk your way out of our deal, baby." retorted Faith, turning her back on the elder vampire. "A bet’s a bet, and you owe me a massage, and one hour of _my_ music on your radio station, during your show."

"Yes, well.. What can I say? I had more faith in our dear Cat." he added. This former Slayer was truly a wonder to him. This was not the first bet they’d made for similar stakes, and would not be the last, but he did enjoy them. Even after all these years, Faith still had the capacity to surprise him, keeping him entertained. Which was a
difficult thing to do with one so old as himself.

"I still say you would have enjoyed the opera, my dear." he called after her. The black haired vampire’s snort was his only reply, which caused a small smile to curve his pale lips.

"I’m waiting, Lucy." she called back to him, knowing how that pet name of hers bothered him, but she didn’t care. She was high on her win.

"Yes, I’m sure you are." he murmured to himself, making his way to her bedroom.

Passing by the table, his hand whipped out and he retrieved the pair of handcuffs they’d left there after their last use. Smiling evily, he stuffed them into the pocket of his robe, and continued onwards to where Faith awaited him.
 

Part 14

They stood on top of a mountain in Ireland. Four couples surrounding the fifth. They all exchanged smiles with one another, now that their baby - Cat - had found her destiny. They all stood atop this hill, where Liam had buried his mother, to witness the fulfilment of that destiny.

Liam and Cat stood in the center of their friends and family, knowing what needed to be done. The knowledge of how to rid the planet of the Taelon's had come to them suddenly, when they had ‘joined' together, the first night Willow had come back. It had been as if someone had flicked a switch, and all the information they had needed had come flooding into their minds.

Now, they were about to accomplish what the Resistance had been aiming for. The Taelon's would be gone from Earth.

Facing each other, Cat and Liam looked into the other's eyes, sharing thoughts and words that no one else could hear. They had discovered a silent communication, which bound them together much deeper than anyone had ever thought possible.

Raising their hands to shoulder level, palms facing out, the two silently approached each other, their palms glowing pink. As their hands touched, their Sha'ka'ra'va joined them, supplying the power needed to accomplish their task.

The group surrounding them watched in awe as the two were encompassed in a bright, white light. After a moment of shimmering brilliance, the light exploded outwards, covering the entire surface of the Earth, and shooting upwards, surrounding the Moon. They could all feel the shift around them, as reality was
re-ordered.

As soon as it had started, it ended. The brilliant white light receded back into the bodies of the two half-Ki'mera. Their true nature was evident in the forms before them, as Cat and Liam were not flesh and blood, but forms of pure energy, similar to what the Taelon's had looked like. The difference being that Cat and Liam were white, were as the Taelon's had glowed a blue-like energy.

Everyone looked on in wonder, as the two beings in front of them glowed white for an minute, before returning to their human form.

Green eyes met blue as Cat and Liam looked at each other, silent in their communication.

"Did it work?" demanded Spike, interrupting the moment between the two.

"Spike." hissed his mate.

"What?" he complained, looking down at his own red head. "I'd like to know if I can hunt again, or if I'm gonna be stuck on Lucy's damn blood-wine for the rest
of my days."

Lucian only cocked an eyebrow at the blonde's statement, but his gaze promised revenge for ‘Lucy'.

Spike just grinned.

"Yes. The Taelon's are gone." announced Cat softly, her eyes filled with horror at what she had done. She realized that the Taelon's would never leave Earth willingly or easily, but she hadn't expected to have a hand in their demise. With her last words, she collapsed bonelessly into Liam's arms, sobbing for the lives she had inadvertently taken.

"Liam, what-?" began Faith, the first to speak when Cat collapsed, but was quickly quieted by the look Liam threw at her. Gently lowering her sobbing form to the ground, Liam couldn't help but agree with her. Those deaths would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Murmuring soothing words to the raven haired angel in his arms, Liam, looked up into the concerned faces of his new family. Holding Cat tightly to him, Liam began
to explain.

"Everything with the smallest bit of Taelon technology is gone, as are the memories of everyone not on this hill. Their minds will make something up to compensate for the holes in their memories. None but us will even know that aliens exist." he said, thinking of his friend Augur, who would no longer remember him. "The Taelon's themselves are gone. Destroyed." continued Liam. He paused for a moment, trying to regain control of his emotions. "As were everyone ‘tainted' with their technology." he spat out, hearing Cat begin to sob louder at this.

It was then that they all understood. Everything Taelon had been taken from the planet (and the Moon). That meant that all the Taelon's on the Moon base and on Earth had been killed in that brilliant flash of light, as well as any humans carrying implants or CVI's. The number of deaths that had been caused that day, was innumerable.

Cat, and Liam, too, probably, had ever been able to deal with the death of an innocent. Or death at all, really. They remembered the one time Cat had killed the Slayer. She had been tormented for weeks, even though the Slayer had been sent to kill her.

Knowing that the two of them would torment themselves for years to come (if not the rest of their lives), Willow came to a decision. Since the two of them had such a long life ahead of them (both the Taelons and the Ki'mera had incredibly long lives), she would do what she could to ease their pain. Placing a hand upon each of their heads, she let her mind open, and flowed into theirs.

A few hypnotic-like suggestions later, and Liam looked more comfortable. Cat had even stopped crying.

"Thank you." whispered Cat. A lot of her guilt had disappeared.

Looking up into Liam's green eyes, she was glad. Their life together could now move forward.

And they both smiled.

End!!!!!!!!!
 

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