Simple Choices
by rebelrsr
Chapter 2
[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: I borrow heavily from "The I in Team" for this chapter. Big alterations ahead for the remainder of S5.
A/N: Thanks to the best beta crew: Zigpal and Zenithar. There would be no writing without you guys.
A/N2: Thoughts enclosed by **. Flashbacks enclosed by //.
The blonde witch smiled and stepped back, letting the other girl into the room. "Thanks, Tara," Willow said. "I know it's late, but I was sure you'd be able to help."
"What's wr-wrong?" Tara asked, frowning.
"Well, nothing's wrong, wrong. I mean, I don't think it is anyway. Buffy's just...well, she's involved with this new guy, and she's been acting really un-Buffy like for a while." She paused finally, blushing at the indulgent smile the older girl wore. "Sorry. Willowbabble. I'll try to slow down."
Taking her hand, Tara led them both to the bed. "Why don't you tell me the whole story?"
Willow laughed nervously. "See, that's part of the problem. I need to tell you everything, but you're probably going to think I'm crazy." Picking some stray lint off the bedspread, she forced herself to go on. "You remember how I'm always telling you to be careful when you go out after dark?"
A blonde head bobbed in response. "It wasn't just something you say...In Sunnydale, it's not a good idea to go out after the sun goes down. That's when the," she looked directly into blue eyes, "vampires and demons come out."
"Oh, you know about demons?" the older girl seemed surprised.
"Yeah. You mean you know about them, too?"
"Sure. My mom taught me about them a long time ago." Tara seemed to shrink a little at the memory. "I d-don't know mu-much really. Just that they exist."
Relaxing slightly, Willow grinned. "OK. The story got shortened by a lot. Well, Sunnydale was built right on top of an active Hellmouth." The blonde witch's eyes widened. "Yeah. Makes for lots of creepies in town. The PTB," the red head waved a hand at the heavens, "sent Buffy here to balance things out. She's the Slayer," Willow finished proudly.
"The Slayer?" Tara inquired. "What's that?"
"Well, if Giles were here, he'd give you this really long lecture. But Slayers were created a long time ago to help fight vampires and demons. Buffy doesn't have super powers, exactly, but she's way stronger and faster than other people."
To Willow's horror, her friend paled. "Tara? Please don't wig on me. I mean, if this isn't something you want to talk about, I'll just go." She bounced off the bed, fighting tears.
"No! Please, stay." The blonde's voice shook slightly. "Willow, come back and sit down."
Hesitantly, the red head perched on the bed. "Maybe I should go, Tara. Giles is going to be plenty pissed when he finds out I talked to you. And," she added, "I don't want to lose your friendship because of the whole unbelievable tale."
"I w-w-want to help. Just, Buffy — the Slayer — it was a shock. We've never met, but I've seen her on campus. She's so tiny," the blonde explained. "I'm sorry. You came to me for help. Why are you worried about Buffy's new boyfriend?"
Willow stretched out across the bed. "Riley's an OK guy, I guess. See, he's part of this Top Secret military group called the Initiative. He got Buffy to join and now she's acting really weird. Tonight, she showed up late for our Scooby night and then she ran off a few minutes later because Professor Walsh paged her."
"But if she's part of this group now, doesn't she have to go?" Tara didn't understand.
"Yes. But, I'm afraid she's in over her head. We don't know anything about the Initiative, really." Willow closed her eyes tiredly. "Riley kinda told Buffy some of their plans. They capture demons and do research on them. I just get the feeling that wasn't the whole truth." She shook off the exhaustion and sat upright. "What if they're experimenting on the demons, or they want to try to create their own Slayer?"
The older girl looked shocked. "You really think they would do something like that?"
Willow nodded. "Oh, yeah. Their leader is Professor Walsh. She teaches psych here. She's freaky weird. I know she'd do something like that."
"OK. Maybe be you're right. What can we do about it?" Tara asked.
Getting back to the reason for her visit, the younger witch smiled. "I'm going to try hacking into the Initiative computers. I thought, maybe, you could do a spell to give us a better idea what kinds of demons they're holding." She paused, thinking. "Hey! If I can get us some access codes, do you think you could put a glamour on us so we could take a look inside the base?"
***
Buffy stuffed her hands deeper into her coat pockets. Riley walked beside her, peering around like he expected the Polgara demon to leap out of the bushes. About a dozen gun-toting Marines fanned out around them. "Hey, Ry?"
"Yeah, Buffy?" The young man smiled down at her.
"I guess she hates me now," the blonde lamented.
"What?" Riley frowned, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Professor Walsh," the Slayer explained. "You know...questions, an Initiative faux pas, yes?"
Buffy could tell her boyfriend didn't see the importance of her problem. He shrugged and went back to examining the area. Extending her senses, the Slayer knew the demon was nowhere around. Other than her and Riley, no one spoke. Stealth modes were fully engaged. Briefly, she considered telling the group the demon didn't need to hear them to know they were there, but she discarded the idea quickly.
Having decided things were safe for the moment, Riley relaxed enough to continue the conversation. "Professor Walsh is very by the book. We normally sit through the briefing, gear up, and go capture the demon." He smiled a little. "You did add a bit of change to the mix."
"Change is sometimes of the good," the blonde commented. "Still, I had some other questions I didn't get a chance to ask."
"Like what?" the tall man inquired.
"Well, if we capture this thing, what's going to happen to it? Do you check its vitals and then release it back into the wild with a homing band on its leg?" The Slayer wracked her brain, trying to recall all the things Willow said to her at the Bronze. "Are you going to experiment on it to see what makes it tick?"
The questions upset the Marine. "Buffy, does it really matter what happens to them? I mean, c'mon, they're not human." He turned to her, looking serious. "Can we talk about this later? There's a dangerous Hostile out here, and, well, since I don't have your reflexes, I kind of need to focus."
Sensing he was more concerned with evading the questions than preparing for a surprise attack, the blonde wanted to push for answers. However, a late night outing with the troops might be a bad time for information gathering. "Sure. Sure, Ry. Sorry." *This is more fun with Will. I miss all those patrol-time gossip sessions.*
They walked in uncomfortable silence for several minutes. Buffy jumped when Riley's walkie talkie blared static. "Alpha T..." the young Marine cursed and started pacing in circles, looking for better reception. He hit a better spot and froze, nearly shouting into the hand-held unit. "This is Alpha. You're breaking up. Repeat, please." Nothing but static answered his order.
The Slayer could tell he was getting frustrated. She watched as Riley continued moving around the small clearing in an effort to get in touch with the other group. A tingle ran along her spine. "Riley!" she said urgently.
"Not now, Buffy," he said. "Beta Team? Forrest, what's your situation?"
Buffy shrugged. "OK, Ry. But you should probably know the Polgara demons about to jump out of the bushes behind you."
"What?" her boyfriend asked.
With a roar, the demon pounced on the young man's back. Riley collapsed to the ground from the attack and the Polgara demon moved toward the Slayer.
Pulling her hand from her pockets and stepping forward, the blonde smiled. "Hi. Funny, us meeting here like this." Getting a snarl in response, Buffy nodded. "Yeah. It does seem a bit staged."
She lashed out with a foot, hitting the demon in the chest. She followed as it flew a few feet away from the team of Marines. Her backup watched the Slayer trade blows with the demon. Since Buffy didn't want to kill it, she had to pull her punches. The Polgara was able to hold its own with the handicapped warrior. Help finally arrived.
Buffy managed to topple her opponent with a leg sweep just as tazer fire erupted around the downed demon. Despite the voltage pumped into it, the demon staggered to its feet. Not giving it enough time to stand fully upright, the blonde sent it crashing back to the ground with a blow to the head.
"You, alright there, Ry?" Buffy asked, peering at their prize.
Wincing as he probed his ribs, her boyfriend nodded. "Just a little bruised, I think. Let's get this thing back base.
"We can do that, but I need to ask," she glared at the group of Marines, "what's with the standing around watching me work? I thought this was the new and improved Slaying gig. If you guys are just here to spectate, I'm all for going old school."
Riley glanced at his men. "Buffy, it was a surprise attack."
He stopped there, and the blonde waited a moment for him to continue. He didn't. "I hate to break it to you, Ry. Demons kinda specialize in surprise attacks. If I hadn't been here to save your collective asses, what would you have done?"
"Well,-" one Marine started. Riley cut him off with a waved hand.
"You don't have to answer that," he said.
Buffy nodded her agreement. "True. He doesn't. You need to — later. So, what do you want to do now?"
Gesturing to a couple of his men, Riley answered, "We need to get the demon back to the base and debrief with Professor Walsh. She always wants us to report on the fight and how the latest HST used its particular abilities." He grasped he hand, and they followed the group carrying the unconscious body of their prey. "You know, she's going to be interested in how you knew the demon was behind me, too."