Learning Curve
by rebelrsr
Chapter Six
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers, etc.: I altered the timeline of "The Yoko Factor," "Primeval," and AtS "Sanctuary" with reckless abandon. It's mostly AU from here.
A/N: Character thoughts are enclosed by **. Thanks to Desirata41 for the beta and encouragement! Thanks to Zigpal and Zenithar for the continuing support and suggestions. I couldn't do it without you.
Archiving: By permission only.
Tara watched as Willow and Xander left the apartment before turning back to Giles. The ex-Watcher was furiously pulling books off the bookcase behind his chair and mumbling to himself. Finally, he seemed to find the one he was looking for. "I knew I had it." He handed the book to Tara. "It's an incantation the council has used to channel the spirit of the First Slayer."
Tara began translating the text, her eyebrows climbing higher as she read. "Um, Mr. Giles, h-have you really looked at this?"
"Well, no. Is it not the right spell?"
"Oh, it's the right one, I think. B-But did you look at all of the warnings written next to the incantation?" Seeing the older man just look more confused, Tara sighed. "Mr. Giles, what exactly do you think this spell will do?"
Giles looked surprised at the question. "The Council hasn't used this particular spell in quite some time. However, it is reputed to infuse the current Slayer with the spirit of the First Slayer." When Tara looked like she was waiting for a more detailed explanation, he haltingly continued. "I thought we could use it to augment Buffy's Slayer strength to defeat Adam."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Giles, used to being the voice of reason and instruction, began to understand that this time, he was the student. "It's not that simple, Mr. Giles. This spell calls on the First Slayer, but it infuses the vessel with three other beings as well."
"What other beings? I don't remember anything like that from the Council records."
Tara shrugged. "Maybe they never spoke with the Slayer who was the vessel. From what Willow's told me, they don't seem very interested in listening to their girl soldiers." Giles winced. "To do this spell correctly, you need four people. Buffy, the Slayer, to act as the Hand of the First Slayer. In other words, the living vessel. The vessel, through the incantation, has access to the knowledge and strength of the entire Slayer line. That's not all, Mr. Giles," Tara said, noticing his elation. "Along with the strength, the vessel would be able to tap into the magical abilities of the witch casting the spell and the essences of the other two anchors."
"How is that a bad thing, my dear?"
"It might be easier to explain if you told me who you planned to use as the anchors."
"Well," Giles stalled. He took off his glasses and began to clean them. "I suppose you or Willow would cast the spell and Xander and I would complete the other components."
Tara gave a short laugh. "If we do that, Mr. Giles, we need to make our funeral arrangements before we go find Adam.
***
Buffy paused outside the cave entrance, hooking her handbag over her shoulder and getting a more comfortable grip on the taser rifle. She started slowly forward, senses stretched to the limit. Using the nose of the rifle to move the undergrowth, Buffy crept into the cave, allowing her eyes to adjust to the change in light. The cave was empty — too empty. Despite the heavy overgrowth at the mouth, the interior of the cave was clean. Drag and sweep marks indicated movement of people and objects. Buffy continued to move forward, weapon ready. Her Slayer senses began to tingle. She waited.
A familiar black leather duster topped by bleached blonde hair emerged from one of the cave's chambers. Spike looked surprised to see her, but recovered quickly. "So, I guess you decided to come get the information yourself, then, Slayer."
The Slayer nodded, hoping Spike missed her confusion. *What information? And what does he mean come and get it myself? Who knows about this?* "What have you got for me, Spike? And what do you want in exchange?" Buffy wanted to wipe her sweating palms on her jeans.
"Well, now," Spike smirked, "I told Rupert the price yesterday. Don't tell me he's been withholding information from you, luv?"
*Damn! Why didn't Giles call me?* She took a deep breath. "Look, Spike, you don't really think I'm going to do this without a little negotiation? I don't even know if your information is worth it." Buffy felt proud of her bluffing when Spike nodded in agreement. "So, you show me yours, and then we can talk price."
The vampire reached into a pocket and retrieved four computer disks. He held them out to Buffy. "These are files I found in the Initiative. I think they may have more information on Adam."
"You think? You mean you don't really know what's on them?"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot to check them on the computer in my crypt. I thought your hacker could get the information off them."
"Sorry, Spike." Buffy reached for the disks, and placed them in her bag. "What do you think is a reasonable exchange for the information?"
"There will be no need to discuss payment options," a deep voice interrupted. Buffy clutched the rifle tighter as Adam appeared behind Spike. He placed a hand on the vampire's shoulder. "You have fulfilled your part of the deal, vampire. You said you would separate the Slayer from her friends and bring her to me." The construct's head tilted slightly. "I will have to move up the completion of the final phase."
Spike looked uncomfortable. "Well, now, Mr. Chips, glad to see you realize my contributions. What's say we talk about moving up the date of my chipectomy, too?"
Adam turned Spike to face him. "I think not. You are no longer of use to me." Buffy watched in horror as the monster gripped the vampire's hair in his left hand and pulled, removing Spike's head with no apparent strain. Seconds later, he was standing in a pile of dust. "Now, Slayer, it is time to complete Mother's vision."
The Slayer wasted no time talking. Raising the taser rifle, she fired a blast at Adam. The electrical pulse wrapped around the metal portions of the demon-man. Rather than stopping him, the pulses seemed to boost his power. Buffy dropped the rifle and launched an unarmed offensive. She could feel the bones in her hand break when her first blow landed, but there was no time to feel the accompanying pain. Adam casually swung his arm, knocking her several feet backward into the cave wall. Her vision wavered, but the Slayer wasn't giving up so easily. Staggering erect, she tried to land a spinning kick and found herself back against the wall.
"Do not fight me, human. Killing you is not part of Mother's plan."
"Yeah, well, your mother was a power hungry ego maniac. Are you sure she knew what she was doing?" Buffy taunted.
Adam paused. "Ah, you are attempting to make me angry. Perhaps you think I will attack in anger, without thought? Interesting."
Buffy tried to stem the fear that drained her strength. She moved a few steps from the wall, and took a fighting stance. It took most of her strength just to hold the pose. Her left leg felt numb, and her arms were heavy. She blocked a few of Adam's blows. Experience told her she wouldn't manage that for long. It was time to get out of the cave. She threw a desperate roundhouse at the monster's head. He moved easily out of the way, but her momentum twisted her out of position. She couldn't block the return blow or the kick that propelled her several feet in the air. By the time she landed on the ground, Buffy realized this was probably her last fight. The thought didn't scare her; it brought a strange kind of detachment. Slowly, she got to her feet. She was going to make this bastard work to kill her. The pain receded into the background as Buffy launched another attack.
She landed two solid blows to Adam's head and was just starting a third when Adam reached out. His left arm retracted and in its place was a long metal spike. All Buffy could do was scream when he thrust the attachment into her side. The spike was the only thing holding her upright, and the Slayer waited for the final blow.
Adam stopped moving, head cocked to one side as if listening. "I had hoped you would prove useful during the final phase, but I do not wish to lose potential siblings by fighting Mother's soldiers here." He retracted the spike, turned, and left the chamber without looking back.
Buffy collapsed to her knees. She couldn't seem to get her legs to work and resorted to crawling toward the exit. As she crawled, she kept one thought in mind: she had to get those disks to Willow.
***
Willow and Xander raced from the school. "Xan, do you know what caves they were talking about?"
"I think there are some out by Hillcrest Cemetery."
"We don't have time to try finding them." They reached the van and clambered in. "Give me a minute." She fought to slow her breathing and regain her focus. When she felt centered enough, she chanted quietly, reaching out to the energy around her. A green mist coalesced around her, slowly taking shape as a collection of bright green, pulsing lights. Willow opened her eyes and watched the twinkling lights flow out of the van and down the street. "Follow those lights, Xan. They'll take us to Buffy."
For once, Xander had nothing funny to say. He started the engine and roared off in the wake of the floating lights. It took almost an hour to reach the caves. They had to backtrack in the van since their guides hadn't always followed the streets, and the final leg of the journey was taken on foot. Caution finally overrode his need to reach Buffy as they ran through the wood. "Will, wait. We can't just go charging in there. The Initiative may still be lurking around — or worse, Adam," he panted. He noticed Willow wasn't slowing down, so he grabbed her arm and stopped running. "Let's not make this worse by just going in blind" He held up the radio. "Let me see if anyone is still here." Turning it on and keying the mike, Xander let his soldier memories take over. "Team Two, status report," he barked. There was no response, just the hiss of static. "Someone give me a status report on Sector 4!"
"Sir, this is Base HQ. Sector 4 has been cleared."
"Cleared?" Xander needed to know if Buffy was still by the caves. "Why wasn't I informed? What about that civilian? Was she evac'd with Team Two?"
The voice on the radio was clearly confused. "No, sir. Team Two was ordered to Base HQ to assist with containment."
Before his informant started asking questions, Xander turned off the radio. "Come on, Will. The coast is clear." They started chasing the bobbing green lights again, and found Buffy ten minutes later. The Slayer was lying at the bottom of a small incline, blood pooling beneath her.
***
Four years as a Scooby hadn't made the hospital waiting room easier to bear. Willow shifted in the hard plastic chair and looked at the four small disks in her hand. Buffy had given them to her on the harrowing ride to Sunnydale General, managing to whisper they contained information on Adam. It was the last time she had been conscious. She needed to take a look at what was on the disks, but that would mean leaving the hospital.
"Will, is there anything you want to drink?"
She focused on Xander and shook her head. He turned and started to leave. "Hey, Xan. Do you think Giles would give you the keys to his place? My laptop is there." She waved the disks. "Maybe I can get the information while we wait." The redhead watched the young man stop and talk to Giles. Both men moved from a spot by the nurses' station and then walked back over to Willow and Tara.
"Perhaps we should find someplace quieter to talk about how we to proceed," Giles said.
Willow just shrugged, but Tara stated, "There's a chapel just down the hall. Take Willow and Xander. I'll let the nurses and Mrs. Summers know where we are." She left the others to make their slow, silent progression to the chapel. Inside, it was softly lit, with candles burning on small tables lining the wall. A dozen folding chairs were grouped in a semi-circle in front of a long, wooden table that was covered with a wide green runner. Both hacker and ex-Watcher chose chairs and sat without speaking. Xander leaned against the table.
Tara entered with Mrs. Summers a few minutes later. Seeing the expectant looks, Joyce Summers wearily shook her head. "They don't have any more news, but I got them to promise to find me if that changes." She and Tara joined the two already seated. "This is the first time I think we've visited here in the daylight." Joyce looked at Giles. "So I am assuming this wasn't a vampire attack."
Giles opened his mouth to reply, but sat back with a sigh when Tara took over the burden. "No, Mrs. Summers. It was Adam." Joyce nodded, but didn't say anything further. "We — Mr. Giles and I — we think we've found a spell to use against Adam." As quickly as possible, she outlined the enjoining spell.
"How are we going to get past that whole "no man" problem?" Willow asked.
"Well, I was thinking that you and I would be two parts." Here she hesitated and looked down at the hands in her lap. "And m-maybe Mrs. Sum-Summers would be the other."
"I think it would be best if we spoke to Buffy about this," Giles suggested. "It would be unwise to begin formulating a plan that requires using her mother without her consent."
Joyce stood up and began to pace. "Rupert, what Buffy wants isn't really an issue. She obviously can't defeat this thing on her own. If making me a part of some spell will give her a fighting chance, then I'm in." She looked at Tara. "What else can we do?"
"Willow needs to look at the disks Spike gave Buffy. We don't really know what Adam's plans are or even where to find him. I can't use a locator spell because of all the different demon parts." She looked at each of them in turn, getting a feel for their emotions. "And we need to come up with Plan B."
Willow looked at the older witch. "I thought you said the spell would work?"
"Oh, it'll work. But it takes three anchors and the vessel. The vessel has to be a Slayer. Depending on how long we have and Buffy's injuries, we don't have a Slayer." She met the redhead's eyes. "The only other Slayer disappeared. We either need a different plan, or we need to find Faith and bring her back to Sunnydale."