Prologue

2199 - the real world

"Where's Morpheus?" Neo asked.

"He's in the Matrix trying to find someone to help us.  If we want to win
this battle, we're gonna need a little help."

"Do you think we're going to win, Trinity?"

"I really don't know.  But alone, we don't stand a chance."

* * *

2000 - The Matrix

"This movie was great!"

"I don't know Xand," Willow said. "It was a bit too unrealistic for my
like."

"Unrealistic? On the Hellmouth? No way."

Since there was no big treat over Sunnydale for now, Giles had given the
slayerettes the night off.  Buffy was busy with her new boyfriend so Willow
and Xander had decided to go to the movies.

Linking their arms together, the two friends walked through the park. That's
when they were attacked by vampires. (big surprise here)

There was only one thing to do : RUN!! That's what Willow and Xander tried,
but they were outnumbered and they were surrounded very fast. The two
slayerettes didn't have much choice left. They took out their crosses and
stakes they always bring when going out at night.  Together, they managed to
dust three of them but there was still two left.

That's when Xander was grabbed.

"Nooo!" Willow cried.  Drained, Xander fell on the ground. The red head
gathered her best friend's dead body in her arms. But no tears came.

The two vampires started to walk toward her.  Willow let the rage in her
start to boil. When the bloodsuckers came upon her, she let it exploded.
She took her stake, turned around and backhanded the vampire on her right.
The last one standing was grabbed by the redhead.  She spin him around and
punched him. She rammed her knee in his stomach and he fell on the ground.
Jumping on his chest, she proceed to beat him into a bloody pulp.

Too shocked to react, the other vampire just stood there watching the tiny
mortal beat his friend.  Finally tired to punch the helpless vamp under her,
Willow plunged the stake into his chest. She turned around and glared evilly
at the other vamp.  Not about to stay to watch what she'd do, he ran in the
opposite direction.

Slowly standing up, Willow stared one last time at her friend. Then, she
walked away...someone following behind her.

* * *

Spike was walking in the park, just having finished his evening meal.
That's when he saw her.  A vision in red.  She was punching a vampire as if
he was nothing more than a helpless boy.

"What the...?"

And then, he saw him.  A man dressed in black, hidden in the shadow.  He was
looking thoughtfully at the red head.  When she walked away, the guy
followed her, as well as Spike.  After five minutes, they saw her enter her
house.  She stayed there for about half an hour.  The blond vampire started
to ask himself a couple of questions.  When Willow walked out of her house,
she was holding her backpack and a suitcase.  She went into the car in the
entryway and drove away.  The men in black turned around and headed back to
the park.

Right now, Spike had enough.  He followed the men all the way to an
abandonned warehouse.  [Maybe it's a trap set by the damned slayer,] Spike
thought.  "Bloody hell, damn it!"  He walked through the doorway...

...and came face to face with a gun.

Spike held up his hands and took a step back.  "Tsk, tsk, no need to get
violent, mate.  I'm no treat...ok, I am but that's beside the point."  The
man holding the gun looked at him strangely.  Suddenly, Spike talked again.
"Where's the slayer?  Come on, don't get all surprised.  I know she's behind
all this."  The guy raised his eyebrow.  "I swear you are worst than my damn
sire.  You talk about as much as him."  He was still nose to nose with the
gun.  "Fine, be that way."

Spike had always a short temper and he had just lost it.  Faster thant the
man could see, he grabbed the gun and throw it away.  He took the guy by the
neck and pinned him on the wall, arms trapped into Spike's strong frame.
Just as the vampire was about to snap his neck, something cold touched his
head.  Surprised, the blond turned around to see the baril of a gun.

"It's kind of repetitive tonight," he muttered.  He looked at the savior and
saw a woman dressed in black, wearing sunglasses.  "Now what?" he growled.

The woman look at the guy behind Spike.  "What is he?  He's not an agent and
he move too fast for someone in the matrix."

Spike looked at her.  "What's the matrix?"

The two other ignored him and continued their conversation as if the vampire
wasn't there.  "What shall we do?" Trinity asked.

Morpheus smiled at the vampire.  "Bring him with us."

Part 1

"So let me get this straight.  The world that we know isn't real and you
freaks know how to get out? Yeah, right," Spike snorted.  He was sitting on
a couch, face to face with the  man called Morpheus.

Trinity sighed.  She was getting tired.  That punk had dyied his hair too
much. It was getting to his brain.  He was as thick headed
as...well...Morpheus. [Great! Just what we needed.]

"Every being on this planet is currently being pumped by machines.  The
matrix is a big, and I mean big, computer program."

"I'm in a bloody computer program?" Spike asked, seriously disturbed.

Trinity glared at him. "YES! Every living thing on earth is.  Now are you
finished asking the same questions over and over?"

The blond vampire grinned. "There is just a little problem, luv.  I'm not a
living thing."  The two humans just stared at him. "What? Thought I was some
kind of freak that moves too fast for a human being or that has a taste for
blood? Not bloody likely. I'm a vampire, mate." Trinity and Morpheus looked
at him, doubting him very much. "Don't believe me? Fine.  Believe this?"
With that, Spike morphed into his vampire face and jumped on Trinity.
"Believe me now?"

The woman stared back in horror. "How is that possible?" she whispered.

Spike sneered. "You're asking the wrong person."  He stood up and offered
her his hand to steady herself.

Behind them, Morpheus was staring mouth open. "I'd better call Tank to see
what he can find on this particular situation."

"If you have questions, why don't you just ask them to me right away?"

"Because I'm not talking about your physical abilities or powers but how to
bring you in the real world."  He took out a phone from his pocket and
dialed the number.  A man imediately answered the call.

Still stuned, Spike turned toward Trinity who was still shaking from her
earlier shock.  "He really wants to show me the real world?" he asked, very
surprised by the offer the man had proposed him.

The woman in black finally put herself together and answered him, "Yeah, and
I would like too.  I think you could be a great ally."  She smiled at him.
"I can't believe I said that."

"Don't worry.  I won't tell anybody." He gave her one of his famous smile.

"Ok, Tank, give me a minute."  Morpheus pulled back from the phone and
turned toward the vampire. "I'll give you a pill we use to trace every
members of my team.  With the tracer in you, we're going to try to locate
you in the real world."  He took out a red pill from his pocket and handed
it to the bleached man.

Spike looked at Morpheus, than shrugged. "I hope you know what you're doing,
mate."  He took the glass of water on the table and swallowed the pill.  He
followed the two humans to another room full of computer stuff.  "What's all
this junk for?"

"It's how we're going to find you in the real world."

Spike turned toward the voice.  A man of about 25 years old was starring at
him as if he was a bug under the microscope.  Frowning, he asked, "Who are
you?"

"I'm Neo," the newcomer said.  He took a few steps and shook the vampire's
hand.  "I'm going to be your psy for 'How to accept the fact that this world
isn't real'.  I was brought out of it a bit too old and I had troubled
letting it go.  I'm sure you're older than any of us, so you might need
help."

"I'm 126," Spike told them smirking.

"Well, lets do this," Trinity announced.

*****

Spike opened his eyes.  He was floating in some king of pink goo.  He tried
to sit and it took him a few minutes to get it right.  He looked around him
and found himself surrounded by other 'bubbles' of people trapped inside.
Then, he remembered.  He had been in a room of an abandonned warehouse.  He
had swallow a red pill and then he was surrounded by Trinity, Neo and
Morpheus as he was 'sucked' into the mirror.

Suddenly, some kind of machine appeared in front of him and held him by the
neck.  Then, all was confused.  He felt incredible pain in his body and he
felt himself falling until he dropped into water.  After that, nothing, only
darkness surrounding his mind.

****

"He's cold to the touch."

For Spike, it seemed like the voice was far away.  Then he heard others and
it came nearer and nearer.  Slowly, he opened his eyes.  He was on a bed
with a string of blood attached to his arm.  Morpheus and Neo were there,
looking at him as he woke up.  "I can't move," the vampire whispered.

"No you can't," Morpheus told him. "Your muscles are atrophied.  We're going
to regenerate them later.  Sleep now."

He did as Morpheus told him.  He closed his eyes and welcomed the darkness.

****

He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly.  He slowly sat up, realizing he could
finally move.  Looking around him, he noticed he was in some kind of bedroom
extremly pitiful : the walls weren't painted and the sheets were old and
overused.  He also saw his clothes matched with the room.  He was plugged to
an IV bag full of blood.  So, he was still a vampire in this world.  He took
out the needle from one of the holes he had in his arms. [Wait a minute.
holes?!]  Then he remembered all the tubes that were attached to him before
the weird machine had appeared.

Suddenly, the door opened and Spike stood up as fast as his body would
allow.  Morpheus came in and the vampire saw he wasn't the only one with
ugly clothes. [At least they are comfortable.]  He looked at the man, "Where
the hell am I?"

"We 're not in the matrix, that's for sure," Morpheus said, smiling at him.
"Welcome to the real world, Spike."

Part 2

Spike followed Morpheus as they walked around in the ship.  As they entered
the deck, the vampire saw two familiar faces : Trinity and Neo.  He had
never seen the well built guy, but he'd took a wild guess and say he's Tank.
  But something caught his eyes.  He grabbed Tank's arm and noticed he was
the only one that wasn't wearing long sleeves shirt.  "How come you don't
have any holes?"

The man smiled at him.  "I was born in Zion, the last city of humanity."

Neo came up behind then and put his hand on the vampire's shoulder.  "Ready
to see the truth?"

"Yeah, I think," he answered.  He followed the young man around the group of
computer screens to a group of weird looking chairs.  Morpheus was already
in one of them, waiting for him.

Neo guided him to one of them.  "Hold on tight." He pushed some kind of wire
in the hole at the back of Spike's head.

The blond hissed, then the pain stopped.  He looked around him and only saw
a white decor... no walls or floor, just white everywhere and nothing else,
nothing except Morpheus.  As the human talked, the truth was revealed to him
bit by bit.

Then he saw the real world.

****

Neo looked up as the bleached blond came in the kitchen where the crew was
sitting, eating their breakfast.  He stood up and took a pack of his own
blood from the freezer and tossed it to the hungry vampire.  Nobody said a
word, having learned after a couple of times better to wait after the
vampire had his meal before talking to him.  He was definitly not a morning
person.

He heard Spike sigh in pleasure as he ended his own breakfast and he joined
the rest of the crew at the table.  As the conversation started back, Neo
remembered how hard it had been to the vampire the first few days after he
woke up.  The blond hadn't taken too well the sight of the real world.  He
had gone criptic for a day or two before returning back to his normal cocky
state.  They had agreed to give him a bit of time to adjust before starting
his training.

"So Spike, ready to start your training?" Tank asked.

The blond looked up, confusion marking his face.  "What training?"

Tank smiled and took him by the arm, pulling the vampire out of the kitchen.
  They went to the row of chairs and Spike sat down in one of them.  After
being secured, the human went to his computer and readyied the system.

The blond looked at the screen and frowned.  "I already know how to fight,
mate."

The young man laughed. "You know how to defend yourself in a fight with
someone from the matrix.  You know a way of combat that is based on rules.
Now you are going to learn how to bend those rules to your advantage.
Ready?"  Before the vampire could answer, he pushed the button and Spike
closed his eyes as informations filled his brain.

Hour after hour, he learned douzen of fighting styles, all about computer
and weapons.  After six hours straight, he asked Tank for a little pause.
[I need a drink,] he told himself, exhausted.

He walked slowly to the kitchen, sometimes tripping over some cable and Tank
supressed a laugh every time the vampire muttered a 'bloody hell'.  Stepping
in the room, he made his way to the cooler and took out one bag of blood,
dumped it in his mug and sat down on his chair with a satisfactory
sigh...wich was weird for someone who doesn't breath.

"I think I understand a bit more about vampires," Trinity announced as she
walked into the kitchen.  The whole crew listened to her in hope to
understand a bit more about the 'Spike puzzle'. She sat beside Neo and
started to explain.  "You move faster than normal humans from the matrix and
you are quite stronger than any of us, even in the real world.  I think
vampires may be some kind of humans that weren't properly connected to the
program and got caught in the middle right between the matrix and the real
world.  As time passed, I guess their physical abilities might have been
transmitted to their bodies in this world."

Spike sighed.  "That explains a lot.  The only problem to your theory is
that vampires aren't born that way.  They are drained then forced to swallow
blood in order to change."

The only woman on bord shrugged. "I didn't say it what the answer to all our
questions.  But at least it's a start."

The bleached vampire looked at the crew.  There weren't many of them and he
knew something had happen before he was brought to be part of the team.
"What happen for you to be so little in number?"

Surprised, Morpheus couldn't hide the ridiculous expression on his face.
The others were shocked as well at the perceptivity of this vampire full of
surprises.  "We were engage in a battle for 'the one'.  That's Neo.  He can
change things in the matrix just with his will.  But there was a traitor
with us.  He turned us down to 'the agents', the matrix line of defense.
Four of us were killed beside the traitor.  Tank blasted him off," he
finished with a small smile.

"That bastard blasted off my brother first.  It was only a matter of proper
manners for me to return the favor," he muttered.

Despite the sad story, Neo couldn't help but laugh at the situation.  Soon
after, they were all laughing so hard, tears were rolling on their faces.
"You know," started Spike, "you never told me why you need my help."

Morpheus, Trinity and Tank turned toward Neo.  The young man glared at them
before rolling his eyes.  "That's it.  Just dump everything on 'the one',"
he muttered.

Spike chuckled, "I take it it's not good news."

"No it's not," Neo told him.  He thought for a few moments then started his
explanation. "See, we proved we could beat the agents in the matrix.  We
need to show those people trapped in there the truth.  The problem is the
older won't accept it without being suspicious before seing the real world.
Beside, we are not enough to help them plus the younger ones.  There is a
few more ships out there and our crew is getting better, but it's not
enough.  That's where you came in.  Every ship is planning on getting a
bigger crew.  After that, we're going to need a bunch of really good
hackers."

Spike frowned.  "Hackers?  What for?  And I thought you were that."

"We are," Tank answered.  "But we can't be here and in the matrix at the
same time. Me, I can't even go in there.  We are going to hack the program
and make a few bugs to show those people a piece of the truth.  They're
going to get suspicious.  Then, we show them.  But we've got a lot of work
before that."

The vampire thought for a few minutes before giving them a small smile.
"You want a young good hacker?  I know exactly who we need."

"Who?" Trinity asked, curious.

Spike crooked a wicked smile at her.  "Willow."
 

Part 3

2 weeks later

The redhead dumped her backpack on the bed before slopping down on the chair
against the wall.  She looked around the room and saw the same things she'd
seen the last month since she'd left Sunnydale.  The last two motel rooms
she'd live in weren't any better than this one.  But it was a house none the
less.  And her job wasn't better : barmaid in a cheap bar in the worst part
of LA.

Willow still couldn't believe Xander was dead.  After having packed a few
things such as her laptop and magic stuff, she'd took her mother's car and
drove to the city of angels.  She'd send an e-mail to Giles telling she was
staying with an old friend, meaning herself.  She knew they didn't believe
her.  It was sure that they found Xander's body because they sent Angel
after her.  She didn't want to be found though and the dark vampire
discovered soon enough that yes indeed, Willow is an ace at hiding.

The redhead took a shower than made herself a quick dinner of. food, if you
dare to call it that.  She dressed up in a short black skirt and a dark
green crop top.  She had left all her bright clothes at home and only
brought what Buffy had buy her sometimes.  She wasn't the shy, innocent girl
anymore.  When she'd beaten than vampire in the park, she'd found that dark
part in her that made her dopplegangler self so dangerous and sexy.  The red
haired young woman wasn't exactly as her deadly conterpart, but she was
neither a nerd anymore.  Her makeup wasn't as before either, now chosing
something more dark, making her skin look even paler.  Her new look was
there as a new image and most of all because she got bigger tips at the bar.
  By the look the drunken men gave her, she knew she was doing one hell of a
good job with her style.

She picked up her keys from the dresser and put on her sunglasses before
stepping out of the room.  She made her way through the crowd as she headed
to the bar. "It isn't a life," Willow often told herself.

But at least, she's surviving.

****

Neo and Spike made their way in the bar.  [What is she doing in this rat
hole?] Spike asked himself.  By the look on the human's face, he knew he
thought the same thing.  "Let's find the chit so we can get out of here," he
told him.

Neo nodded, anxious to get out of the bar.  Even if he knew the agents
weren't fool enough to attack him, he still felt uneasy among people.  "How
do you know she's going to follow us?  I mean, she knows you are a vampire
that wasn't exactly friendly to her in the past and as far as she knows, I'm
a stranger that could be a rapper.  So tell me again, why is she going to
follow us?"

"'Cause she's smart," was Spike simple reply.  "You'll see."  Something red
caught his eyes.  He followed the spot of red hair as quickly as possible.
When he saw her... well, he would have stopped breathing if he actually did
breath.  "That's her," he told Neo, pointing toward the girl.

The young man nodded and made his way to the young barmaid.  She turned
toward him and asked, "What will you take?"

"You're Willow, right?"

The girl eyed him warily, not sure to trust him.  [Maybe it's Angel that
paid him to get me.]  But the guy didn't strike her as the detective type.
"Yes, that's me.  What do you want?"  What he said surprised and pleased her
at the same time.

"I'm in search of a good hacker.  Oh, sorry!  I forgot my manners.  I'm
Neo."

"*The* Neo?" she asked with big round eyes.

He smiled at her.  "Yes.  You may know my partners by name : Trinity, Tank
and Morpheus."

Her mouth opened in an unlady like manner.  It closed and opened a few times
before she managed to talk back.  "How do you know me... I mean my real
name?  Mostly, hackers know me as Redwitch."

Neo shrugged.  "We have a... friend in common."  He heard the 'friend' sneer
and tried to stop the giggle bubbling up to the surface.  [Wait a minute!]
"Redwitch?  You're the one that hacked the FBI files?"

Willow smiled nervously.  "Hum... yeah."  Then it cliked.  "Wait!  If you
didn't know that, how come you knew I'm a good hacker?"

"Well, you did told me, pet."

She froze.  [That accent.]  She turned around slowly and breathed faster as
she saw those bleached hair she remembered too well.  "Fuck!"

Then she fainted.

****

Someone slapped her.  She jumped out of the dark and opened her eyes,
staring right into icy grey ones.

She screamed.

Spike hissed at the high pitched sound.  [Bloody heighened hearing.]

The redhead looked hurriedly around her, seing for the first time that she
wasn't in the bar anymore, but in a room full of computer stuff.  "Where the
hell am I?"

Neo stood from where he was sitting.  "You're in one of our hideouts."  The
young woman turned toward him and he cringed at the look of pure hatred in
her eyes.

Spike saw the gesture and saved his friend from the witch wrath.  "Don't be
mad, luv.  Our plan wasn't to kidnap you while you were unconscious," he
explained to her.

"What?  You planned to kidnap me when I was conscious?"

The vampire rolled his eyes.  "Don't get all sarcastic on me, pet.  We
really need a hacker.  I work with Neo, Trinity and company.  I was brought
in their crew last month."

"That's right, Willow."  Neo helped her to stand up and lead her to a chair.
  "Spike hasn't kill in a month."

"So?  Doesn't mean I'll like him more."

The vampire knew the witch wouldn't help them unless... he swallowed his
pride.  "Willow, will you help us... please?"

The redhead blinked, looking at him as if he was a martian.  He was being
nice to her and he was polite.  [Hell must have just frozen over.]  She
stared at him a little more before finally sighing when he gave her his best
puppy eyes.  "Alright.  What can I do to help?"

Neo smiled in triomph  and sat next to the young woman.  "Have you ever
heard of something called the matrix?" he asked, hoping she had.

"Yeah.  I mean, most hackers have.  Why?"  Did they know what the matrix
was.  She was curious and it was driving her crazy not knowing what it is.
She'd learn about this mystery about three years ago on a hacker chat room.
But nobody knew what the damn thing was.

The hacker ignored her question.  "Do you want to know the truth?"

"Of course I want to."

Spike gave her his hand and after a small hesitation, she hers in his.
"Come with me, Redwitch."

Part 4

5 weeks later

"Wakey, wakey, Red."

"Aargh!" Redwitch turned in her bed and snuggle her pillow.  "Go away!"  She
pulled the covers higher around her.

"Reeed," someone whinned.

The young woman sighed.  "Spike, go bother someone else."

Spike grinned before grabbing the sheets and pulling them away from her.  He
laughed as he heard her growl at him.  "Come on," he taunted her.  "I wanna
fight, Witch."  One green eye opened and took a peek at him.  The vampire
raised an eyebrow.  "So, are you interested?"

"Ok, just let me take my breakfast first."  Redwitch stood up and put her
shoes on.  Spike, not known for his patience, grabbed her hand and ran to
the kitchen.  The redhead yelled behind him.  "Not so fast!"  Together, they
barged in the kitchen, startling Morpheus who spit his mouthfull in Neo's
face.  Upon seing that, the wild duo felt to the ground, holding their sides
as they laughed.

Neo glared at them, wipping the mess on him.  "It's not funny."  At Morpheus
look, he gave up and laughed at himself.

The young redhead gathered herself and went to the sink to grab a bowl.  Her
breakfast in hand, she walked to the table and sat down.  Her thoughts lead
her back to her first days after she had woken up from what Spike called
'the sleep of the dead'.  He told her it was because nothing could disturb
you from that state of unconsciousness before you were put back up together.
  She had been introduced to everybody before taking her first sigh at the
true world.

In opposite of the blond vampire, it had been surprisingly easy for her to
accept it.  Her mind was still young and didn't reject completly the truth.
Besides, hackers from around the world knew the matrix exist...they just
didn't know what it was.

A few days after, Tank had started her training.  She was amazed at the
stuff she could learn in a couple of seconds.  Neo, the first one to see her
fighting ability, wasn't expecting her to be that good.  She had been
herself quite surprised at her agility and ability in combat mode.  After a
few well placed shots at him, it was decided Spike was to be her 'punching
bag' since he could barely be hurt.

Three weeks after being disconnected from the matrix, Willow Rosenburg was
Redwitch.  She and Spike had developped a great friendship that still amazed
the rest of the crew : the first days, they had been barely able to just
look at each other without trying to beat the crap out of the other one.
The blond vampire had been the one to gave her the nickname Red.  It was
shorter than Redwitch and it stuck.

The last two weeks, she had been working on the code of the matrix.  So far,
she had created a few bugs, but it wasn't enough.  The program had too much
informations.  It took at least several days to decrypt a small part of a
small detail.  No need to tell you Willow was bored quickly.  So, to
entertain her free time, she worked on a program to learn magic and demons
and other supernatural things.  It could come in handy if they were
confronted to the agents wandering around in the matrix.

Tank stepped in the kitchen.  "Hey Red!  Think you're up to some hacking?"

"Nope, sorry.  I promised Spike to kick his butt."  She smiled at the
vampire that was glaring at her.

"Come on, witch.  Lets get suited up," Spike told her.  He put his arms
around her shoulder, leading her to the deck.

As the door closed behind them, Tank turned around and looked at Neo and
Morpheus.  "I don't know when they are going to realize they are in love."

* * *

"Made some kind of improvement in the hacking department?" Spike asked the
redhead.

"Not really."  Duck.  Punch.  "The matrix is very complex."  Kick.

"Think you can crack some code?"  Block.  Kick.

Willow fell to the floor as her partner's leg hit her hard.  "You are so
going to pay for that, Blondie."  She stood up and jumped on him.  She
slapped his face and twisted his arm.

Spike pushed her off him.  He jumped on his legs and punched her.  Her head
flew at the impack but she didn't back off.  "If you've got some free time,
think you could try to find something on vampires somehow connected to the
matrix?"

She retaliated by a spin kick to his head, making him dizzy.  She took that
opportunity to knock his feet from under him.  "Yeah, I'll do that for my
favorite vampire."  She offered him her hand and he took it gratefully.
"Would you be an angel and test my new program?  It should be ready by
tomorrow afternoon... well, I think it'll be afternoon.  We're never sure in
this place devoid of sun."

Spike grinned at her. "It's fine with me. I don't tan very well."

Willow laughed.  "You're terrible, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you love me anyway."  He turned away from her, missing her
troubled look as she suddenly froze right there.

Realization flooded the redhead at the softly spoken words, pronounced with
no intentions behind them.  It seemed they were quite innocent for the
speaker... Quite the opposite for her though.  It was as a three by four
meters black board that was written 'I love Spike' on it with fluorescents
shalks and flashing lights around it.

The most surprising thing was that she never noticed it before.

Spike turned around to look at his suddenly very quiet sparring partner and
saw something disturbing.  She was looking at him with those big green eyes
full of... love?  No, it couldn't be love.  She hated him.

But she had laugh with him the last weeks and he was sure that she enjoyed
every moments they spend together, just like he did.  They had touched and
flirted as friends often do, but a spark was always present at the small
contacts.  Still, someone as sweet as her couldn't love someone like him.

But why that thought disturbed him so much.  It shouldn't matter if she
liked him or not.  He shouldn't care.  [Oh God, I'm falling for it again.  I
can't.  I won't.  I... Bloody hell!  I'm in love with Willow!]

The vampire and the witch looked at each other, realization flooding them at
the look they gave themselves.  They each took a step toward the other,
getting the space between them smaller.  As their bodies touched, the final
step was made as Spike bent his head and took Willow's lips in a soft kiss.

The couple was suddenly pulled out from the training program.  They opened
their eyes to see the cell of the ship.  Trinity disconnected them from
their chairs.  "There are sentinals wandering around in the sector.  We
thought it best to get you out."

"Thanks, Trin," Willow whinned, still feeling Spike's lips on hers.  She
looked at him and he gave her his famous grin.

He caught her hand in his and pulled her close in one pull.  He bent his
head and whispered in her ears, "Why don't we go finish this somewhere
else?"  She nodded and he lead her to his room, closing the door behind
them.

Part 5

I would die for you
I would die for you
I've been dying just to feel you by my side
To know that you're mine

I would cry for you
I would cry for you
I would wash away your pain with all my tears
And drown your fear

I would pray for you
I would pray for you
I would sell my soul for something pure and true
Someone like you

See your face every place that I walk in
Hear your voice every time that I'm talking
You would believe in me
And I never would be ignored

I would burn for you
Feel pain for you
I would twist the knife and bleed my aching heart
And tear it apart

I would lie for you
Beg and steal for you
I would crawl on hands and knees until you see
You're just like me

Violate all the love that I'm missing
Throw away all the pain that I'm living
You would believe in me
And I could never be ignored

I would die for you
I would kill for you
I would steal for you
I'd do time for you
I will wait for you
I'd make room for you
I'd sail ships for you
To be close to you
To be part of you
Cause I believe in you
I believe in you
I would die for you

Part 6

"Gonna tell us what you found or you're gonna keep it secret?"

"Hum, that's a hard question," Willow said, pretending to really think about
it.  "Maybe if you gave me something in return I would tell you."  She
smiled wickedly at her lover.

"Don't tempt me, luv."

Neo cleared his throat.  "If you two lovebirds are finished, Willow would
you please tell us what is it you found on vampires."

She sighed and pouted. "Ruin my fun."  As he glared at her, she gave up and
laughed. "Ok, ok. Remember when Trin told you vampires were people not
connected properly to the matrix?"  As Spike nodded, she continued.  "Well,
she was right on some details.  Machines don't understand all that make us
human.  I think vampires were not 'grown' right and ended up with some king
of genetic malfunction."

"It's a great answer Red but it still doesn't make sense.  I was turned, not
born as a vampire.  Maybe that's how the first one of us came to life, but
not me."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Spike, the mind thinks it is real, remember?"  He
looked so confused, she wanted to hug him and tell him how cute he looked
like that... But now was not the time.  She sighed.  "Men are so thick
sometimes," she muttered.  "If you bleed in the matrix, you bleed in the
real world."  She smiled when the truth started to kick in.  "When you were
bitten by Angelus, you mind thought it was real and you changed into a
vampire in the matrix *and* in the real world at the same time."

"That's a good explanation," the vampire told her.

"It's the only one that answers all questions," she replied.

Morpheus put his hand on the small hacker's shoulder.  "You did a great job,
Red."  He sat down next to her.  "And as for your new program...?"

She smiled at the older man.  "Tried it on Spike."  As she saw he was
waiting for the 'go' or 'no go' on the witchcraft, she made him almost beg.
Finally, "Spike, show them."

The vampire grinned and turned toward the sink.  He concentrated, his blue
eyes firmly fixed to the spoon lying next to an empty plate.  The spoon
shifted a bit until he finally got a mental grip on it.  The object elevated
as if someone invisible was holding it.  It floated to the table and rested
against the cold metal. Spike looked up to see the older members of the crew
staring at him with huge eyes.  "I like doing the Luke Skywalker thingy.
Makes me feel more manly."

Willow giggled.  It was one of the things she loved the most about Spike.
He had a great sense of humour and he always made her laugh to tears.  She
look at him and wondered how she could have missed his look.  He was totally
*hot*.  A very good male specimen of hunkiness... [does that word even
exist?]

The male in question caught her staring hotly at him.  His jaw tighten and
his hands sqeezed the chair he was sitting on.  His jeans were a bit too
tight right now.

The redhead looked at him directly in the eyes and saw them darken with
lust.  [What am I still doing here?!]  She abrutly stood up and caught
Spike's hand.  She hauled him up and pulled him out of the kitchen.  "See
you guys in a day or two."

Tank and Neo looked at each other with a smile.  "I think you have your
answer, Neo.  That was the noises coming from Spike's room yesterday."

* * *

3 months later

"Spiiiiiike!"

The vampire ran toward Willow has the agents were gaining the upper hand on
the girl.  Normally, she would have been able to get rid of them, but four
agents were a bit too much.  He jumped on one and tore his throat.  He
gripped the next one by the shoulders and made him fly across the room.

Only two agents still around her, Willow quickly killed them.  She took her
lover's hand and ran.  "Lets get out of here before they come back."  They
came across an old motel and took the stairs two at the time.  They heard
the phone ringing and fasten their pace.

Willow opened her eyes to stare directly in those of Morpheus.  "What's
going on in there?!  We almost got killed!  I've never seen so many agents
in one hour."

Morpheus saw the vampire sat up and stared at him as the witch poked him
with her finger.  "The machines are starting to understand what's going on.
They know it's us that makes the bugs."

"Bloody hell!" Spike swear.  He stood up and walked to the kitchen, Willow
and Morpheus close behind him.  "I take it they attack viciously anyone from
the real world?"

"Yeah.  They made it their priority."

"Just great," he muttered.  He pushed the door opened and made his way to
the cooler.  He dumped the bag of blood in the mug and put it in the
microwave.

Trinity watched warily as the vampire barely controlled his game face.  His
eyes had a yellow tint and she didn't like the two canines clearly longer
than normal.  Turning toward the little redhead, she saw the same cold stare
and tensed body.  "I take it it didn't go well?"

"I'm tired of this," Willow said.  "Those machines are getting on my nerves.
  I think it's time for the big guns.  We've been avoiding that solution
because we were afraid of the consequences.  But now, I don't why we should
wait any longer."

"What are you thinking about, luv?"

She looked at each members in the room.  "Computer virus."
 
 

Epilogue

2002 - the matrix

system failure
non functional

* * *

2201 - the real world

"Hey, Willow!"

The young woman turned around and saw Buffy running her way.  "What is it,
Buf?"

The blond slayer stopped next to her friend and smiled.  "Got some free
time?  We're about to go for lunch on the hill.  Want to join us?  Oh, and
you can bring the bleached wonder with you."

"Sure.  I'll get him.  Wait for us."  She turned toward the empty field in
front her.  Pieces of metal were pilled everywhere.  A cimetary of machines.
  She grinned at the carcasses lying around.  "I warned you.  Think you got
the message now?"

She turned around and walked to the ship to fetch Spike.  The matrix was
behind them now.  What better way to celebrate than a picnic on a day devoid
of sun?

THE END

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