Simple Choices
by rebelrsr
Chapter 37
[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: General spoilers for S5, starting with "The I in Team." Eh, who am I kidding? This is really AU now.
A/N: Thanks to Ivy for pre-reading and Zigpal, Lilly, and KK for the beta. There would be no writing without you guys.
The Slayer charged past Tara, ignoring Faith's attempts to stop and check on the still-down witch. This wasn't about holding Tara and nursing her back to health. This was about staking a claim and destroying the threat.
With her altered vision, Faith could see the power surrounding Adam. The Slayer noted it as well. The headlong rush slowed. Instinct yielded to strategy. Pausing a few feet in front of Tara, Faith eyed Adam. He was huge, human skin and demon flesh knitted together in a macabre pattern.
There was still no concrete plan when Adam reached Faith's position.
Sparing only a second to worry about the lack of crossbow bolts in the air, her eyes met Adam's. "Think you better stop right there, Tin Man." She tried for confident. As her voice wavered, Faith knew she hadn't even managed her usual bravado.
Adam knew it, too. He smiled, the expression terrifying and cold. "You did not say please. Mother always stressed politeness."
Faith never saw his arm move until his fist was inches from her head. She had just enough time to tense and try to duck.
***
Tara slowly regained awareness of the Meadow. If she'd had the time — and the energy — she might have cursed their stupidity. They had grossly underestimated Adam's strength and intelligence. He'd been waiting for them to move. The second she'd sent the Fairies to spy, he'd captured one of the tiny beings and traced its path back to her.
She barely managed to keep him out of her mind. The effort had drained her.
A howl and something streaking past her position caught her attention. Forcing her head up, Tara peered into the dark field. In the starlight, she made out Faith's tiny form confronting the far more massive Adam.
When his hand shot out, Tara didn't even stop to think. Using the last dregs of energy from her personal reservoir, Tara raised her hand and erected a wall of pure energy between Adam and Faith.
***
Head turned away from the blow, Faith waited...and waited. Risking a glance at the huge monster, her eyes widened. The air in front of her had thickened and moved. It wrapped around Adam's fist, holding it mere millimeters from her face.
The Slayer danced with glee. Once again, Faith found herself moving without conscious thought. Stepping closer and ducking under the immobile hand, she drove her own fist into Adam's stomach.
A sickening crunch announced the impact.
Adam laughed at Faith's choked cry of pain, and the air around them shifted again. His hand was free. Stepping away from Faith, he held his newly released hand up. A gouge appeared at his wrist — and then the hand bent backward until the knuckles touched his arm.
Frozen by the scene, Faith could only watch as a spike shot out of the gaping maw of Adam's arm.
She only regained her senses when that spike swung in her direction. Throwing herself to the ground, Faith rolled into Adam. He was too massive to go down when she hit his legs. However, Faith didn't let that deter her. From her prone position, she planted her shoulders against the grass and kicked out with both booted feet.
Adam arched into the air, landing several feet away.
Faith was after him instantly.
She was too slow. By the time Faith reached his position, Adam was on his feet and waiting for her. Faith blocked his first punch, rocking from the force. Her right hand was useless from her previous attempts to strike him. She'd learned a valuable lesson. Faith didn't try that again. Instead, she concentrated on blocking and ducking and staying alive until Buffy joined her.
***
"Is Tara doing anything?" Buffy whispered to Willow. After the initial power surge, nothing had happened.
The head pressed into her side nodded. "Oh, yeah. She's got the Fairies on their way. I can see their trails from here." Willow sighed. "She's really strong, Buffy. I couldn't do that without a lot of props and a big spell book."
Smiling slightly, Buffy looked down at Willow. "Hmmm, that's something I haven't heard in a while. Old Willow." She leaned on one arm and used her free hand to brush some hair away from Willow's face. "You know, I really liked her." Her finger dropped to Willow's lips. "New Willow is hot, though. I bet if she asked, Tara would show her how to do more than float a pencil."
The lips under her finger twitched into a smile. "Yeah, I know she would. We had already started a little when someone got us all tangled up in a big, secret government conspiracy."
"Rub it in, Will. Rub it in." Buffy dropped back to her original position. "I'm the Slayer. I can take whatever you dish out." She broke off to scan the Meadow. "Damn! I can't sense anything. Tara's magic is blocking my Slayer senses. Can you pick up anything? Adam could be right here, and I wouldn't know."
"Not Adam," Riley's voice announced behind them.
Responding instantly, Buffy pushed Willow deeper into the bushes and fought her way to her feet. "I always knew you were a tool, Ry. I just didn't know that was literal." She stared at him, noticing the blank look in his eyes. This wasn't the gentle, easy-going man she'd dated.
"You don't understand, Buffy. You never did." Riley smiled, the expression chilling. "I volunteered for this mission. Mother made me the first of her new soldiers."
Buffy needed to know just what that meant. She launched herself at Riley with no warning.
She missed, but just barely.
Landing on the ground a few feet behind him, Buffy spun and dropped into a crouch. "Looks like you may be new, but you aren't improved. Adam is way better than you," she taunted.
"Adam was a mistake," Riley snapped. He turned and faced her, hands balled into fists. "Mother never should have created him. She found that out the hard way. He has stopped following her plan, and he will not follow orders."
Was that jealousy in Riley's voice? Buffy hoped so. It might be an edge in the fight.
Sliding to the left a step, Buffy shifted her weight to her right leg and pivoted. Using her momentum, she lashed out at Riley with her left foot.
His head snapped to the side, and he staggered.
Buffy pushed. "Maybe orders aren't important, Ry. I hit Adam with everything I had and he never moved." She opted for complete honesty. "In fact, he kicked my ass. If I remember right, you've never even laid a hand on me."
With a roar of rage, Riley charged.
Dropping to the ground, Buffy swept at his legs. As enraged as Riley was, he still avoided her sweep with a well-timed jump.
"I'll do more than just lay a hand on you this time, Buffy." Riley's eyes were huge, the pupils dilated to tiny pinpricks even in the gloom.
This wasn't going to be a sparring match. Staring intently at Riley, Buffy felt tears burn her eyes. There was no way out of this, no way to talk her ex-boyfriend down. "Then let's get to the 'more,' Ry. I've got other things to do tonight, too."
***
Faith staggered, going down to one knee when Adam caught her in the stomach with his still human left arm.
She was losing. She knew it — and so did Adam. There was a feral light in his eyes as he moved in for the kill.
Sucking in gasping breaths, Faith shoved to her feet. This wasn't over yet. No way. She launched herself at Adam, Both feet made solid contact with his chest, and they crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
For a second, Faith believed she'd turned the tide. He was down. She was on top. Her internal celebration lasted only seconds.
Adam twitched beneath her. Nothing happened...
Then Faith felt it. Cold and hard and edged in searing pain, she saw his spike protruding from her stomach. Her scream echoed through the clearing.
***
The sound galvanized Tara. Stumbling to her feet, she searched the clearing for some sign of Willow or Buffy. It was too dark. She couldn't penetrate the gloom.
There was no time to keep looking. Faith needed help now. She was down, Adam poised over her.
Disregarding all her mother's teaching on magical safety, Tara 'reached' for the closest ley line. Raw power burned her mental hand and seared her channels. Disregarding the agony, she dove deeper into the pool of power. White-hot energy suffused her. Ignoring the burn, Tara continued to siphon magic from the power source.
The Meadow lit up as she began to glow.