Spike wrestled weakly, trying to pull his hand from Angel’s grip. His sire had just cut his palm, cut a demon’s palm and clamped them together and Spike wasn’t happy about that at all. Something was making him dizzy and it had started with the blood mixing. “Angel, what the hell are you trying to do?” he growled, leaning away. “This thing stinks.”

“Just hold still.” Angel gripped the front of Spike’s shirt and hauled him upright, pinning him with his leg to keep him from struggling free. “Trust me, it's going to be okay.”

“I’ve heard that before and it usually precedes you screwing something up.” Spike stared at the blood that was dripping from the demon’s hand and recoiled again, heaving slightly.

The others had followed Angel down the corridor and were watching with a mixture of shock and curiosity, whispering amongst themselves. Angel ignored them, gazing intently at Spike. He couldn’t remember how long it had taken for the Marah demon to make him human when he came into contact with it, but he was willing to wait as long as he needed to. The Marah demon grunted, trying to yank away, but it was no use, Angel was stronger than both of the dying demons put together.

Suddenly, Spike’s eyes rolled back and he clutched his throat with his free hand, clawing at his flesh as his body came to life. He choked in mouthfuls of air, struggling to remember how to do it for life instead of habit, and then slumped forward, wheezing as his lungs expanded and deflated under steady human breathing.

Willow was the first to kneel down beside the two vampires. She heard the blond’s breathing and looked at Angel in shock. “What did you do?”

Giles moved closer to the demon that was chained on the wall and whispered,

“It’s a Marah demon.” “We established that.” Riley pointed out, staring at the vampire on the ground. “What we haven’t established is what just happened.”

Giles moved closer, studying the demon that was chained to the wall. “A Marah demon is considered by many to grant humanity to demons who were once human. Since it wants to be a superior species, it possesses the power to rid other creatures of that which makes them a demon. It’s supposedly untrue, something that can’t be done.” He ran his hand through his hair and looked back down at Spike, who was breathing steadily. “Has it been done, Angel?”

Angel brushed his hand over the back of Spike’s head, feeling the warmth of his flesh and he smiled, letting his own demon slip away. “He’s human.”

Spike coughed a couple of times and sat up, looking at Angel from a face rich with color. He had finally gotten a handle on the breathing and now he was coming to terms with the fact that he had lost his heightened sense. “What did you do to me?”

“I saved your life.” Angel stood and held his hand out. “I did what was asked of me.”

“I don’t recall telling you once that I wanted to be human.” Spike didn’t take the offered hand. He got to his feet by himself; surprised at how strong he felt and stunned when he had an urge he hadn’t felt in decades. “Bloody hell! I have to piss!”

Willow reached forward tentatively, and placed a hand on Spike’s neck, checking his pulse. She felt the steady beating and backed away, shaking her head. “Oh my god. Is this really happening?”

Spike turned away from everyone, staring back down the tunnel. This was insane. How dare Angel just assume that he wanted to be alive, a fucking human. He felt a rage begin to boil deep inside and spun again, glaring at his sire. “I’m going to rip your heart out.”

Everyone gasped and Angel took several steps back, staring at Spike like he was suddenly deformed. Spike watched their faces and forgot about mangling Angel. “What? What is it?”

“Y-your face.” Willow said, pointing at him.

Spike ran a hand over his face and his eyes widened. The familiar ridges on his forehead were there, but he was missing the fangs that usually accompanied the change. He stuck his thumb into his mouth, feeling his teeth and looked back at Angel. “You defanged me!”

“Something’s not right.” Angel looked at the demon on the wall and back at Spike. “It was supposed to make you a complete human.”

Without thinking, Spike reached through the crowd and grabbed the nearest weapon, a crucifix that Anya was holding tightly against her chest. He smacked Angel on the head with it and shouted, “You fucking defanged me!”

“Spike!” Willow pointed at the cross in his hand.

Spike glanced down and tossed it quickly, clutching his hand to his chest. “Ahh! Ahhh. Wait a minute.” He raised his hand and looked at it closely. “I’ m not burning up. I’m not smoking.” Squatting down, he gingerly lifted the cross with his thumb and finger and held it up to Willow. “Press it to my forehead.”

“I don’t want to.” Willow shook her head quickly.

“I do.” Xander shoved his way to the front and held out his hand.

“If it burns me and I yell, then you better get off me.” Spike growled.

Nodding, Xander clutched the cross and pressed it onto Spike’s forehead. Nothing happened and Xander shrugged. “I don’t get it.”

“I don’t want to get it.” Spike growled, snatching the crucifix again and throwing it at Angel. “What have you done to me? I could grow fangs before you did this and now I’m breathing and-“ He suddenly grabbed his crotch and bounced on his toes. “And my God, I still have to piss.”

Xander rolled his eyes and pointed down the tunnel. “So go.”

“Vampires don’t piss. I haven’t pissed in over one hundred years.” Spike groaned as he felt his bladder swelling more. “I’m going to explode.”

“Do you need someone to hold it for you?” Anya stepped forward and held out her hand. “I will.”

“The hell you will.” Xander gripped her arm and took her back to the opening of the tunnel.

Willow looked at Giles and asked, “What are you thinking, Giles?”

“Does anyone have a mirror?” Glancing at everyone, he saw Joyce digging through her purse and moved toward her, taking the mirror she held up. Turning back toward Spike, he held up the compact. “What do you see?”

Spike snatched the mirror and stared into it. The hateful glare that had been there softened a bit and he brought his hand to his face. “Is that me?”

“You see yourself?” Angel moved behind him and looked over his shoulder, squinting a little. He nodded and looked back at Giles. “He’s got a reflection, but it’s transparent. I can see the wall through him.”

“You’re all going to drown in urine.” Spike snapped the mirror closed and handed it to Willow. “I’m almost crippled now from the pain. Dying felt better than this.”

Giles stepped forward and motioned for Spike to follow him down the corridor and Willow blushed, quickly returning the mirror to Joyce and turning away.

Angel turned his attention to the two men with guns and snapped, “You two work for this organization?”

Riley nodded slightly and exhaled loudly, unable to comprehend the things he had seen and heard in the past two hours. “We do.”

“Can you explain to me what’s happening?” Angel craned his head, listening to the string of profanity coming from Spike as he drained his bladder.

“I don’t know anything about what just happened with the demon and the blood. The chip in his head, the implant, doesn’t harm human beings though. If he's human at all, he looks really fucked up.” Riley shrugged a little and glanced back at Spike, who was walking up the tunnel with Giles. He looked him over and shook his head, unable to see what Buffy saw in him. “We need to split up into teams and try to find Buffy. Forest will lead one team and I’ll lead the other. It’s best that we lead because we know the man who has her.”

Forest cleared his throat and nodded. “His name is Michael. His father was killed in the explosion at Sunnydale High last year. Apparently he blames Riley for that and knows that Riley is in lo- likes Buffy, so he threatened to take Buffy away from Riley as punishment.”

“Why didn’t you tell her that? Prepare her?” Giles demanded, staring at the tall blond boy in shock.

“I did tell her.” Riley replied angrily. “God, do you think I would keep something like that from her? I made her promise me that she wouldn’t go out and would stay away from him. So much for her word. Now we need to-”

“I’m not taking orders from you.” Xander piped up. “I don’t even know if we can trust you and time is running out.”

“Do you have a better plan?” Riley crossed his arms and stared at the young man, recognizing him as the boy that Buffy had left a party with once. “Because I really would love to hear it.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Joyce spoke up suddenly, her voice harsh. She moved to the middle of the group and stomped her foot angrily. “This is my child we’ re talking about. Talking isn’t going to get her back. Now, if we need to separate, then let’s do it and go. Riley, tell us what you want us to do and if any of you have any arguments with his plan, then you take it up with me.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Riley glanced at the people who were joined together by a desire to see that Buffy was safe and spoke quickly. “Willow, Xander, Anya, Giles, Mrs. Summers, you go with Forest.” He clenched his jaw a little tighter and looked at the two vampires. There was no way he would allow them to go search alone. He needed to be there when Buffy was found and make her talk to him. “These two are with me. Forest, you take your people and go to Michael’s house. Go through everything there and see if you can figure out where he has taken her. He could have her there, hidden somewhere, so be prepared to use force and I want you to stay in constant contact with me on channel fourteen.”

“Where are we going?” Angel asked, eyeing the others as they started to walk away. He smirked a little when he heard Xander’s familiar grumblings and Giles’ urgings for him to ‘do be quiet’.

“We’re going down into the sewers.” Riley dug through his bag, pulled out another gun, and handed it to Angel. He gave Spike a hand held device and said, “You watch that screen and you tell me if you see a small green dot.”

Spike stared at the device in his hand and rolled his eyes. “Why does Angel get the gun? He’s a vampire! I can piss now, I’m human.”

“I don’t know what you are, but it damn sure isn’t human.” Riley stared at the ridges on his head. “Besides, that is a heat seeker and we’re looking for Buffy’s body heat so you have a really important job.”

The three men moved further down the tunnel and paused as Riley pulled a grate open and stepped into the sewer. He slid his night vision goggles on and scanned left and right. Angel pulled his demon forth and asked, “Which way?”

“I think he would lead her away from Base. We’ll go left.” Riley set the pace, walking briskly.

Spike looked at Angel, whose eyes were glowing yellow and at Riley, who had goggles on and promptly tripped over a pile of debris. “I can’t see a thing.” He growled, getting back to his feet. Staring at Angel pointedly, he added, “I used to be able to see in the dark. I used to be able to do a lot of things, like have fangs, hear things that humans couldn't and walk and not trip.”

“Spike, I did what I had to do.” Angel brushed past him and caught up with Riley, who had continued walking.

“Had to do, my ass.” Spike mimicked his sire, prissing down the tunnel behind him. “I’m going to have to kick your ass.”

When he caught up with the other two, they were discussing Buffy’s slayer strengths and fighting skills. Riley took a deep breath and stopped walking. “You both should know that there is something down here. Something that kills for the sake of killing and not because it needs to eat.”

“What is it?” Angel looked behind them in the tunnel and yanked Spike closer to him, instinctively protecting him.

“Don’t touch me.” Spike pulled his arm out of Angel’s grip and glanced behind him as well. “Forget –what- it is, how –big- is it?”

“Big enough.” Riley scratched the side of his face and closed his eyes. “It’ s my father.”

“You’re a bloody demon?” Spike shouted, his voice echoing through the darkness.

“Do I look like a demon to you?” Holding up his arms, Riley stood still for several seconds.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact you do.” Taking a step forward, Spike glared at him. “And I’m going to-“

“That’s enough.” Angel stepped between the two and rolled his eyes. “Both of you are ruining the chances of finding Buffy and I’m sick of it. Now, if she is down here someplace, the best way to find her is to keep walking.” He turned his attention to Riley and added, “And I’d suggest you keep talking if you value your ability to walk. What do mean it’s your father?”

Riley repositioned his bag and started down the tunnel again. “My dad is – was a human being. I was only thirteen when it happened and I don’t remember everything, but he supposedly uncovered some things that were happening here and my mo- uhm- people inside the Initiative took care of him. They turned him into some kind of thing.”

“And you let Buffy get involved in that?” Spike asked, balling his hand into a fist and getting ready to strike.

Angel caught his arm and moved between the two again, urging them to keep walking. “Why did you get involved with it, Riley?”

“I had no choice.” Riley kept his eyes straight ahead and admitted the truth, something that he had never done to anyone outside of the organization. “My mother runs the ship. She would have had the same thing done to me if I gave her any trouble.”

“And he’s a mama’s boy to boot.” Spike chuckled a little and shook his head. “What exactly did she do to your father?”

Riley glared at the blond and shrugged. “I don’t know. All I remember is seeing them lead him into this room and then they led him out a few days and he wasn’t a man anymore. Sort of like you, Spike. Only uglier.”

Spike’s eyes widened and he leaped toward the boy, only to find the business end of the boy’s gun aimed at his chest. “Oh, that’s perfect. You let your mouth overload your ass and then you shoot me?”

Angel aimed his gun at Riley and said, “Looks like I’m the only one here with a set of priorities. Buffy is in danger. I will shoot you both if you keep this up.”

“What do you care?” Riley asked the dark vampire. “She’s a slayer. What do you have in common with her anyway?”

Spike laughed loudly and then pointed at his sire. “Buffy didn’t tell you about him? This is the great poof, the love of her little life. The man who took her virginity and then left her all alone.”

Angel suddenly found himself the target of Riley’s gun and didn’t make a move. Calmly, he spoke to the man. “Buffy and I are friends. She trusted me enough to come down here alone with her and if I have to maim you to get her back ... I will.”

Spike moved quickly, yanking Riley’s gun from his arms and turning it on him. “A-ha! How did you like that?”

Riley looked stunned and glanced down at his empty hands. Angel nudged Spike with the barrel of his own gun and nodded his head at Riley. “Give it back to him, Spike.”

“No way. He’s-“

“NOW!” Angel shouted, his voice as feral as his face.

Spike shoved the gun at Riley and pointed down the tunnel. “Let’s go.”

They moved as one, silently making their way out of town. Each man was lost in his own thoughts and each man’s thoughts were of the same woman. Angel was wondering if she would be okay with so much blood loss, Riley was wondering if she would ever look the same to him again and Spike was trying to figure out what to say to her when he saw her. Confessing his feelings for her seemed like the only logical thing to do.

~ Feelings? ~ Spike stopped walking and felt his forehead. The ridges were gone and he was suddenly overcome with a rush of emotion. He had killed people in this very same sewer. Clamping his hands over his ears, he tried to silence the memory of their cries for mercy.

Angel looked back at Spike and whispered, “Spike, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry that I was mean to you before. I wouldn’t have decapitated you even if I had been able too.” He swallowed hard and ran a hand over the back of his head, before looking at Riley. “And you don’t look like a demon, but you are still a mama’s boy.”

“What the hell is he doing now?” Riley asked Angel.

“It’s my guess that he’s feeling guilt for the first time in one hundred and twenty-six years.” Angel moved down the tunnel and laid his hand on Spike’s shoulder. “I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to suddenly have this rush of—“

“Hunger.” Spike looked up at Angel and patted his stomach. “Now I’m hungry. And OW!” He cupped his mouth quickly and felt his teeth. “My fangs are back.”

“But your ridges are gone.” Angel ran his hand over his own face and felt the way his flesh rippled over his brow. “I don’t know what happened.”

“You fucking broke me.” Spike shrugged, no longer emotional or worried about hurting Angel's feelings. "Prick."

Angel watched him walk away and shook his head, trying to rationalize why Spike was suffering Jeckyll and Hyde syndrome. When he was angry, the ridges came across his forehead. When he was hungry, the fangs grew, but the ridges vanished. When he was normal, he had emotions and what appeared to be a soul. ~ It’s going to a long night. Assuming we all survive. ~

<><><><><>

Buffy winced as Hal sat her on a pile of cardboard and paper in one corner of a tiny room. She could still feel the bite mark on her stomach, even though she still had no feeling below her hips. They had gone through the sewers for what felt like hours, but a quick glance at her watch told her it had been less than thirty minutes. “Where are we?”

“Old breakroom for the sewer workers. It’s not on any maps.” The demon/man was busy opening several small boxes and when he turned, he had a syringe in his hand.

With wide eyes, Buffy watched him put the needle into his arm and draw out a small amount of blood. He started toward her and she scooted away, using her hands to move as fast as possible. Hal squatted in front of her and held the needle out. “My blood is an antidote. It will counteract whatever it was that Michael injected you with.”

“Or make me a demon. No thanks.” Buffy replied, staring at the needle. “Besides, I’m scared of needles.”

“I can promise you that it won’t make you a demon.” Hal moved closer and held out his hand. “Just give me your arm and within minutes, you will be okay.”

“Okay, first of all, sharing needles is unsanitary. There’s this thing called HIV that you may or may not be aware of and second-“

“Buffy, I am immune to all diseases and infection. As a matter of fact, I don’t even have to eat to survive. My body takes care of itself by keeping my blood pumped with enough vitamins and minerals to sustains my life. I give you my word that you will be healed and much stronger for it if you will allow me to help you.”

She weighed her options and asked, “How long before the paralysis goes away on its own?”

“Depending on the dosage, I would say twelve hours. Considering that you are a Slayer, and probably have quicker healing agents, it could be six hours.” Hal raised a clawed hand to scratch behind his ear and whined out a little. “But we don’t have six hours. If code blue is in effect -right now- then we need to move -right now-.”

“What is code blue?” Gripping one leg at a time, Buffy pulled herself into a semi-upright position and slumped forward, swearing under her breath.

Hal pushed her up gently. “Code blue is when the computer tells itself that it has to self-destruct. It will blow up the entire compound and anything in it’s way.”

Buffy immediately thought of Spike and Angel and the rest of the gang. “We have to do something now.”

Hal held the needle up to the small light that hung from an exposed set of wires, letting her see the small amount of purplish liquid. “And now is what I can give you.”

Taking a deep breath, she held her arm out and squeezed her eyes tightly closed. “Don’t hurt me.”

Hal smiled a little and turned her arm over, exposing the vein. As he slid the needle into her skin, he asked, “How is it that a Slayer finds herself scared of needles?”

“Long story.” Buffy said in a shaky voice. “Are you going to do it?”

“I’m done.” Hal patted her on the hand and let go, standing again.

“What?” She eyed the small drop of blood on her arm and said, “How did you do that without making me feel it?”

“I told you. My blood is an antidote. All I had to do was rub a little on the area before I inserted the needle and you didn’t feel a thing.”

“Can I keep you during flu shot season?” Buffy smiled and wiggled her feet a little. “I can move!”

Hal reached down, lifted her under the arms, and put her on her feet. “Stretch out the muscles some while I look for the tools we will need.”

“Need for what?” Buffy squatted and stood several times, feeling her lower extremities come back to life completely.

“You and me, sweetheart. We are going to put a stop to this madness once and for all.” Turning, Hal held up a security pass and a bag full of disks and wires. “And make sure that you still have a college to go to while we are at it.”

“Do we really have to save the college? I’d be willing to let that be a casualty.” She smiled a little and took the pass from him as he shoved a few more items into a bag.

Hal laughed a little and then stood up tall, staring down at her. “I’ve been waiting a very long time for this. If I can get inside and get my programs running, I can be cured.”

“Why didn’t you do it before now?” She followed him out of the small room and back through the sewers.

“Because now is when a Slayer happened to grace me with her presence and gave me a reminder of my son.” Hal splashed through the water quickly and then paused, looking back at Buffy. “You feel okay?”

Taking a deep breath, she nodded happily. “I feel like I’m stronger than I’ ve ever been. I almost feel … invincible.”

“You are.” He motioned for the security pass she was carrying and handed her a large knife. “For the time being, until your blood flushes mine away, nothing can harm you.”

“Why do I feel a ‘but’ coming?” Buffy took the knife and eyed it with apprehension.

“But, when it wears off, there will be a time span of about ten minutes that you will be weak; weaker than you can imagine, as your human body overcomes the change.”

“Change?” She tightened her ponytail holder and pointed a finger at him. "If I turn into something, I am going to kill you."

“I’ve given you a gift, not a curse. It's only going to aid you for a small amount of time. I didn’t give you enough of it for it to last indefinately.”

“How will I know when it’s wearing off?”

“When you can’t hold that knife in your hand, it’s basically wearing off.”

“And what happens if I happen to be holding this knife to fight off a really large demon of some kind?” Buffy’s anger was evident in her tone. Sure, she was able to walk and felt stronger than she ever had, but the price tag for it could be her life.

“I suggest you yell loudly for me if that situation arises. Don't worry. We will be in and out before that could happen.” Hal winked one glowing red eye and moved on down the tunnel.

“You know, I specifically asked you if this would make me a demon.”

“And I specifically told you that it wouldn’t. You are not a demon.”

“I’d have to be.” Buffy replied, brushing past him and stomping ahead. “Because only demons could entertain the thoughts I’m having and not feel guilty about it.”

Hal followed her, his salvation, through the tunnels and glanced upward, praying that she would forgive him enough to listen to him when the time came for them to make their move. Their lives depended on her ability to listen and do everything he told her to. Glancing at his deformed hands, he knew that the future was out of his hands and completely in hers. She would have to be the one who worked the program, crawled into the gut of the structure and cut the wires to the explosives.

The weight of the world was on her shoulders.

And she seemed to be standing up just fine.

Joyce Summers followed the others up the stairs to Michael’s apartment and prayed that she would find her daughter unharmed on the other side of the door. She watched as Forest knocked and stared with wide eyes as he pulled a key from his pocket and let himself in, explaining that the Initiative had master keys to every complex on campus and most of the stores in town.

She was the last to enter the apartment and it took several seconds for her eyes to adjust when Willow found the light switch. The apartment was sparsely furnished; a chair, a table and a thirteen-inch television sat in the living room. What she could see of the floor, through the trash that was scattered all over, was filthy and she shook her head in disgust. Looking across the small area, she saw a bar that divided the kitchen from the living room and it was littered with dirty dishes and papers. Joyce saw the others go into the kitchen and begin rifling through the cabinets and drawers and she moved down a hallway to the right.

The first door was a bathroom and she stepped inside, pulling back the shower curtain just in case something was back there. She cursed herself silently when she realized that she had been expecting to find Buffy’s body curled up there; blood splashing against the white tub and tile like a bad dream. Shaking her head in disgust, Joyce left the bathroom and tried the next door.

Something coppery and rancid assaulted her nostrils the second she pushed the door open. Fumbling for a light switch, her hand connected with something slick and she flipped it on, gasping at what she saw. Bloody handprints littered the walls, some flat and perfect and others runny and splotched. She would have vomited, her stomach already tight and ready, if it were not for the tufts of blond hair she saw sticking out from behind a blanket in the corner. Everything titlted at once and she brought a hand to her mouth, silently praying.

Willing her legs to support her long enough to see if it was her daughter, Joyce pushed away from the wall she had been leaning against and made her way into the room. Her shoes sank into wet spots on the thick beige carpet, but she didn’t care about anything other than getting to the body. Gingerly, she kneeled in front of the blanket and peeled the corner back. The scream erupted from the pit of her soul and shot forth, echoing through the confines of the room.

To the people who were digging around Michael’s belongings in the other room, it was a cry of a tormented mother, but to Joyce, it was a cry of relief and compassion for some other mother who had lost a little girl. Xander arrived first and pulled Joyce away from the body, covering her face by pulling her to his chest to lead her out of the room. Anya and Forest were right behind him and Anya took one look and fled, bumping into Willow, who stumbled into the bedroom.

“What is it? Is it Buffy?” Willow stared at the room, at the blood and gore and began to cry. “No, Buffy can’t die this way. This is a human being. She fights demons, right? Right?”

Forest, still squatting beside the victim, shook his head and cleared his throat. “It’s not Buffy. It’s a little kid.”

“Why?” Willow sobbed now, having had a clear view of the tiny body. “Why would someone do that?”

Forest covered the tiny face quickly and stood, gathering Willow in his arms as he led her toward the door. “I don’t know.”

Willow wiped the tears away and stopped short, staring at a book beside the bed. Forest watched her lift in and raised an eyebrow, “What’s that?”

“It’s his journal.” She started to sit on the bed, saw the blood, and thought better of it. Taking the journal into the hallway, she flipped to the most recent entry and read it aloud. “Today is when the good guy finishes first for a change. Hearing Buffy admit that she was the one who blew up that damn school was the missing piece. That bitch is going down. Riley will be devastated when he discovers that his demon daddy has killed her and I’ll get the satisfaction of watching him go after Hal Walsh and kill him. I will be the one that tells Riley that Hal couldn’t hurt a fly if he had to. I will be the one who tells Riley that I did it all, the dead animals in the sewer, the dead bodies in the sewer, all of it. I’ll be the one to tell him that he murdered his harmless father with his own bare hands the same way Buffy murdered mine with hers. And just when he digests every bit of that and realizes what he has done, I will finish what I started and kill him.” She stopped reading and closed the book quickly. “We have to go back down there and warn Riley.”

Forest shook his head and flipped his walkie-talkie onto channel fourteen. “This is Agent Gates, come in Agent Finn, over?”

Loud static crackled over the small black device and Forest turned several knobs, trying to find a clear signal. He repeated the request several times and then sighed. “Looks like you’re right. I have to go down there.”

“No. *We* have to go.” Willow stated, matter of factly. “Safety in numbers.”

“Someone has to stay here and call the cops.” Forest looked back into the bedroom and closed the door slowly. “I can’t believe he did that. That’s the fourth girl in the paper. Two blondes and two brunettes were missing. Buffy found the two brunettes and one little blond was dead in the sewer. He took the other. God, Willow, I know him. I- he’s been there since the beginning for me.”

“Sometimes you don’t know a person at all.” Willow offered, squeezing his hand lightly. “And even when you do know someone, you only know what they let you know. Everyone has secrets.” She glanced back at the closed door and shuddered slightly. “But not all secrets are homicidal maniac secrets.”

"It doesn't feel real."

"I know." Willow hugged him lightly and added, "But it is real and we're real and the threat that he is posing to Buffy and Riley is real. Later, we can try to figure out why he would do it, but for now, we have to stop him from doing more and we *can*."

“Thank you, Willow.” Forest smiled slightly and looked at their locked hands, one dark and one milky white, that fit together perfectly. "You're amazing."

Anya walked from the bathroom carrying a wet cloth and Willow and Forest followed her back into the living room. Anya handed the cloth to Joyce and kneeled beside her, patting her on the leg. Willow’s heart broke for the woman, who had obviously thought it was Buffy. She cleared her throat softly and said, “Someone needs to stay here and call the police while the others go down into the sewer to warn Riley.” She held up the journal and reread the entry out loud. “Riley is bound to walk straight into the trap.”

"All he sees is Buffy. If he thinks that Hal Walsh did something to her then he'll kill him." Forest shoved the journal into a backpack and waited for someone to volunteer to stay.

Joyce blotted her face and said, “I’ll stay here. You kids go on and help Buffy.”

Anya watched Joyce closely, wishing she could remember what it felt like to have a mother’s love. Xander’s mother didn’t pay her much attention and could usually be found drinking something straight from a bottle and smoking cigarettes. Joyce was the only thing that came close to being a mother to any of the people she knew and she liked that. “I’ll stay here with Buffy’s mother. Xander, you go and help those two find Buffy and we’ll take care of things here.”

Xander’s eyes widened and he smiled a little, not used to seeing her be so helpful or concerned for anything other than her sex life. “Anya, that’s very sweet of you.”

“Well, reward me with an orgasm later.” Anya shrugged a little and turned her attention back toward Joyce. “Can I get you anything?”

Willow and Forest headed for the door and exited quickly. Xander paused and looked back at Anya, who was still tending to Joyce, and smiled. She had said ‘orgasm’ and that wasn’t slang.

But she was the most desirable woman he had ever seen right then.

<><><><><>

Angel scanned the tunnel and sniffed the air again. He had picked up the scent of human blood a few minutes before and it was stronger now. “I smell blood. Human blood.”

“I used to be able to smell blood.” Spike announced loudly, directing his attention to Riley when he spoke. “I guess it’s a good thing that we brought our trusty hound along, huh, Soldier Boy? I like to call the old dog Peaches, but if you want to call him Angel, you can.”

Angel glared at Spike for several seconds and shook his head. “You know, you didn’t just become part human, you regressed to a child.”

“That’s what happens when half-wit poofs like you try to play mad scientist. You don’t know how to make something human so it’s all your fault. Therefore, you deserve every single thing that I-“ He paused and sniffed the air as well. “smell dinner.”

“You can smell the blood?” Angel asked.

“No, I smell … “ Spike sniffed deeply and then spotted the McDonald’s bag that was lying directly under a sewer vent. “Fries!”

Angel stopped him from snatching the bag and pushed him away. “That’s disgusting. You are not eating sewer food.”

“You ate sewer rats, didn’t you?” Spike’s stomach growled deeply and he groaned. “I’m going to faint from starvation.”

Riley sighed loudly and continued down the tunnel, wishing that he had sent the two vampires with Forest. Because of their incessant ramblings, he had not been able to think enough about what Buffy had done to him. She used him and that was as obvious as the nose on his face. She had pretended to be interested in him just so she could get inside the Initiative and get Spike out. Willow had indicated that they had been able to access the Initiative’s files for quite some time, so Buffy probably knew all along who he was and what they were doing. What hurt the most though, was the fact that she had gone out anyway, putting herself in mortal danger after he had begged her not to.

“Are you listening, man?” Spike punched Riley on the arm. “Angel says the blood smell is stronger here.”

Angel nodded in agreement and said, “I think that whoever it is that is bleeding is right around that corner.”

“Is it Buffy?” Spike asked, watching his sire’s face closely.

“No.” Shaking his head, Angel stood straighter. “I smelled her blood just a little back there, but this person’s is different.”

Riley stopped walking completely and turned. “How can you tell Buffy’s blood from any other human’s blood?”

“It’s richer, sweeter.” Angel shrugged a little and brushed past him, not wanting to let him know that it tasted the same way it smelled. It wasn't something that he was likely to ever forget and the guilt of how much he enjoyed it caused the demon inside of him to subside and his features became normal again.

“He thinks he’s a fucking connoisseur.” Spike said dryly and began to speak with a French accent, holding up his hands to show that he was imitating wine tasters. “This blood is circa eighteen years. Aged to legal, but just sweet enough to give you the feeling that she’s still a minor. We call it Slayer and you can’t afford it because it’s priceless.”

“Can you shut up?” Riley shouted. “Just for five minutes could you not talk?”

“Am I annoying you?” Spike asked seriously.

“Very much.”

“Then no, I can’t be quiet. Being an annoyance to you is the only thing that is keeping me going right now, soldier boy. Sort of like the way you and your friends annoyed me non stop for the past few days. And while we are on the topic of annoying, let me be the first to tell you how annoying it is to get a pain through your head everytime you try to eat something. Let me tell you how annoying it is to be shot with some kind of laser and while I'm still on a theme, let me tell you how annoying it is to be chained to a wall when you are dying.”

"Are you finished?" Riley asked.

"I'm sure I can think of more." Spike began walking when he realized that Angel had ignored them and was several feet ahead of them. "But I'll tell you those later."

Angel was the first to make it around the corner and he squinted, staring at the figure that was lying against the wall. As he watched, one of the person ’s arms shot out and he heard a slight groan. He glanced behind him and said, “Whoever it is, they’re alive.”

Riley broke into a run and arrived in time to see Michael pulling the pin on a grenade. Riley wrestled it free and shoved the pin back into place, then slammed his sneaker into Michael’s side. He cringed when his foot was met with no resistance and the broken ribs gave under the pressure, sinking inward. “Where is Buffy?”

“You know where she is.” Michael rasped, clutching his side while he coughed up blood. “What do you think did this to me?”

“Buffy whipped your ass, huh?” Spike smiled and kicked the boy in the groin. “I guess your private party turned out to be a real pain.”

Wheezing and gagging, Michael gripped his testicles and rolled away. Angel shook his head when Riley and Spike both started to kick again. “He’s almost dead. You want answers, you let me handle it.”

Spike looked at Riley and said, “Angel has to be the hero. He always has to be the hero.”

Angel gripped Michael by the front of the shirt and propped him against the wall. The boy looked at him through glassy eyes and sneered, “I’m not telling you a fucking thing.”

Angel’s face morphed and he saw the way that the boy recoiled, terror replacing the hatred that had laced his features. Smiling and baring his fangs, Angel said, “You will tell me what I want to know. See, there is this code among vampires and basically, it means that when I sire you, you do what I say, when I say. You’ll be a vampire, but you’ll tell me everything I want to know before I stake you.” He gripped the boy’s hair and tilted his head to one side, whispering, “I hope you won’t miss your reflection too much.”

“No!” Michael screamed, struggling against the vampire. “I’ll talk.”

Angel sat back on his heel, but kept his fingers in the boy’s hair, indicating that he would strike as soon as the boy said the wrong thing. “Go on.”

“I brought her here. She woke up right here and started asking me why she couldn’t walk and I explained that I had given her a shot that would paralyze her.” He heard the vampire begin to growl and began to speak quicker. “But it would have worn off. I wasn’t going to hurt her. I wanted to scare her, scare Riley. I was just going to keep her here for a couple of hours, but she wasn’t supposed to wake up and see me. I- I was mad at him.” He lifted a weak hand and pointed at Riley. “It wasn’t supposed to get her hurt.”

“Where is she?” Angel demanded, yanking the handful of hair and slamming the boy’s head against the wall.

Michael yelped loudly. “We were sitting here talking and she seemed okay with it, y’know? She was telling me that Riley would probably treat her like a queen when we went back up top and that she would probably thank me for it later. Then, then-“ He forced himself to get emotional, hoping that they would buy his story. “Then she screamed and I looked behind me and Hal Walsh was standing there, slobbering at the mouth and growling, and oozing pus and goo. I didn’t have time to help her. I didn’t have time to do anything because he grabbed me around the throat and threw me here. I got knocked out and when I woke up, she was gone.”

Angel studied the man’s face and smiled a little. “That was a chilling account of what happened. So chilling, in fact, that you forgot one small detail.”

Spike chuckled and stared over Angel’s shoulder at the boy. “You forgot the part where she saw you before you shot her; the part where you called her a bitch in heat and threatened her. If she wasn’t supposed to know it was you, then why’d you do that?”

Michael looked from one to the other and swallowed hard. They were going to kill him and the emotion that bubbled forth at the moment was not forced, the tears that were streaming were real. “I-I figured that she wouldn’t remember that.”

“He’s lying.” Riley said, shaking his head. “He knows that the targets are fully aware of being shot and what happens to them for at least a few seconds afterwards.”

Angel nodded at Riley and turned back to the man who had harmed Buffy. “So, I listened to you and now you get to listen to me. I’m going to tell you what I think happened. You don’t like Riley. From what I’ve been told, you have a grudge against him for something he had no control over. Riley likes Buffy so you decide to make a play for her and considering that she has taste, she rejected you. Am I getting warm?” He paused and smiled when Michael moved his gaze away. “Yes, I’m very warm. You can’t take rejection, can you?”

“You go to hell.” Michael said quietly. "The whole Initiative will be going to hell in a few more hours."

Angel was recalling everything that Riley had told them about Michael. He hated Riley because his father had been blown up in the Sunnydale High explosion. Playing the trump card, the boy’s father, Angel cleared his throat. “I bet your father rejected you. I bet you couldn’t do anything like Riley could. I bet your father compared you to Riley, telling you that Hal Walsh was lucky to have a son like Riley.” The boy tugged back, trying to get away from Angel. “Oh, I’m getting very hot now. You grew up being compared to Riley and the only thing you had that he didn’t, was you father and your father liked him more. Then one day, BANG, your father is gone and then here comes Riley with something else you don’t have; a beautiful girlfriend and you try to get her away, but she’s not having it. She rejects you just like your father. I’m so hot, I’m burning you.”

Michael looked past Angel and glared at Riley. “You always had to be the best. I scored the highest on the rock climbing and you practiced for weeks and slammed me. You got to lead team one and go aboveground and live a life and I got stuck down here leading my team in the sewers. Everything you do sets the standard and we are expected to live up to it just because you were Hal’s son. Well, Hal’s gone, little man. And he’s got your lover.”

“Lover?” Spike narrowed his eyes and glanced at the boy. “You don’t know that they were lovers.”

“Bullshit. They took showers together and would sneak into the empty rooms for half an hour. Don’t tell me that they were just talking.” Michael smiled and lowered his voice. “And the locker room talk that our man Finn here was providing was more than enough. Seems Buffy got around to Parker and him. So, now you see why I thought I had a chance. She’s not famous for her taste in men.”

Riley pushed Angel out of the way and slapped Michael across the face. “You don’t talk about her.”

“It sure sounds like you did.” Spike shouted, shoving Riley as hard as he could and laughing when he fell onto his side.

Michael beamed, satisfied that he had caused as much trouble as he could have. Angel saw the smile and pointed at him. “Knock it off, you two. Stop giving him what he wants.”

Riley got back to his feet and said, “What do we do now? If my – if this thing does have her then there is a chance she isn’t even alive now.”

“You think we should just give up?” Angel asked, shaking his head in response.

"I don't know what to do, okay?" Riley snapped.

"It won't matter soon. The Initiative is going to be blown to smitherenes." Michael chuckled and grinned with contentment.

"You did this?" Kneeling beside the boy, Riley glared at Michael. "You started Code Blue?"

"That's the one thing I can do that you can't do better or stop." Michael spit at him, his blood and saliva covering Riley's face.

"Can I hurt him now?" Spike asked, trying to be inconspicuous as he stepped on Michael’s hand and twisted his boot around, snapping the boy’s fingers.

Michael screamed and Angel slammed his head back again, knocking him unconscious. “How do we kill this thing that has Buffy?”

“There is no we.” Riley looked at the bag beside Michael, the standard gear that was issued to the commandos, and picked it up, wiping his face as he did. “This thing is mine.”

<><><><><>

Buffy figured that she must have become a fool in the past few hours. Hal had led her out of the sewer and into a makeshift system that he had carved through the earth himself. He had explained that in ten years, he was able to create his own underground network by burrowing through the soil. Apparently, his system followed the Initiative’s system and he had access to different areas that had been left open for future renovations. With a lot of coaxing, she had followed him, sliding on her stomach through the mud down the narrow paths he had created.

Buffy grimaced when her hand sunk into yet another slimy crevice and said, “What was so wrong about going the way I came in?”

Hal was a few feet ahead of her and he paused, glancing back at her. “Do you want to get caught or do you want to get in and get it done?”

“I don’t think we’re going to get in, Hal. We’re in dirt. We’re surrounded by dirt that could very easily cave in on us and smother us both.” She inched slowly upward and stopped then her head bumped against his backside. “And could you warn me when you’re stopping? You may be able to see in the dark, but I can’t.”

“Do you always talk so much?” Hal began crawling and smiled a little.

“Yes. Why?” Buffy felt him move again and followed. Every so often, she would catch a glimpse of his red eyes when he looked back to check on her, and every time, she would look away. It was so hard to fathom that this man, who, in the complete darkness was no different than any other man, was so deformed and demonic in the light. “I talk all the time, but I listen too.”

“Riley’s very lucky to have someone who talks to him.”

“Everyone talks to him.”

“No, he’s never had a woman who really talks to him. His mother, for the thirteen years that I was in his life, never had much time to say anything to him. She was actually pretty mean to him.” Hal’s eyes glowed brighter and he locked in on the entrance that he had exposed a few years before. “We’re almost there.”

Buffy breathed a small sigh of relief and pulled herself along, ignoring how gooey the earth was as she slid behind him, “So, why does he stay with Maggie? Why doesn’t he go back to Iowa?”

“I’d imagine she has used all her famous techniques to get him to stay. Guilt, threats, tears, you name it. He loved her back then and I’m sure he loves her now, but the life she has given him isn’t what he has chosen. He was never given the option to choose.” He paused and leaned to one side so he could look back at Buffy. “I’d also be willing to bet that he wasn’t remotely happy until you came along.”

Buffy blushed a little, feeling his eyes on her. Riley had definitely seemed happy with her and that made it even more complicated. “I guess. So, are we going to just stay here until we run out of oxygen and I die or are we there yet.”

“We’re there.” He kept his eyes on her and spoke quickly. “When I open this doorway, we are going to jump straight down and immediately break to the right. There will be lights on and we’re going to go into the first door on the left and clean up some. There will be supplies in that room.”

“How do you know?” Buffy asked skeptically.

“I designed this facility from the floor up. I’ve made it my mission to spend countless hours sitting in these tunnels listening for them to alter anything. They haven’t. I’ve heard them changing things further up, but I still hear the same squeaky door opening and shutting in the room we’re going to.”

“And what if you’re wrong?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Buffy sighed. “You know, I’m all for putting my ass on the line to save the world, but these people are pretty famous for mutating other people and I went through this once. I killed this thing, got an aspect of it, and went around for days worrying that I would grow a tail or horns. I’m not itching to piss them off and, no offense, have them give me a rash that a dermatologist can’t cure.”

“Listen, Buffy.” Hal reached down and gripped her hand with his. “I know that you’re scared. I understand that completely, but I will not let one thing happen to you. Do you trust me?”

“Yeah.” She replied weakly, but honestly.

“Then I want you to keep that in mind, no matter what you see me do, I want you to keep in mind that *you* trust me and *I* trust you and I won’t do anything to hurt *you*.”

“Is this your way of telling me that you might hurt someone else?”

“Yes.” Hal squeezed her hand gently and pulled away, turning the handle on the doorway. “In ten years, my grudge has only gotten stronger. And so have I.”