CHAPTER SIXTEEN
 
“I was already me by then. You were in no danger. I was just playing it out the way I knew it should go.”
 
“Well, I didn’t know that, did I?” she muttered. “You were pretty convincing…Wait! Does that mean you don’t have a chip in your head? That’s why Riley doesn’t know you? Because you were never in those labs?”
 
“Was in them. Too bloody long,” Spike said with a growl. “Know just as much about them as anybody here, including what a chip can do to me.”
 
“Remember, Willow, we’ve been through all this. Spike spent a long time in those labs the first time we were here. Until he saw that I wasn’t the me he expected to find, he thought he’d have to do everything the same as before.  But there was no reason to let himself be captured and experimented on again when he knew how to avoid it.”
 
“Technically, pet, I probably should have. Who knows what that has changed for us already?”
 
“Too dangerous,” Buffy said emphatically. “They might have killed you this time, or you might not have been able to escape. You did the smart thing.” She frowned. “If you think about it, we probably both should have kept pretending to the be the us from this time, but then we couldn’t have… and Giles would have… and Willow—”
 
“Willow is standing right here,” she said stamping her foot. “So do you have a chip or not?” she demanded, bringing the conversation back to her original question.
 
He cocked his head at her. “Why do I think if my answer was no, I’d find myself with one anyway?” 
 
Buffy and Winston stared at Willow with carefully blank expressions on their faces, but wary curiosity behind their eyes. Buffy exchanged a quick look with Spike, wondering if the Gem could protect him from getting another chip, or by being hurt by it. She could see he was wondering the same thing.
 
More oblivious to the suspicions of the three people watching her than she should have been, Willow just shrugged, saying, “It really doesn’t matter what you say. You’re right. I can just say you have a chip and you will.”  She frowned. “Although I don’t know why you wouldn’t – if you were chipped the first time you were here, you’d still have it. Unless by killing Adam I’ve changed your timeline to where you never got one in the first place…. Wow. This time travel stuff is trickier than I thought!”
 
“Maybe now you can understand why we’re trying to be so careful? We don’t know what might change just from something little that we do here.  And eliminating Adam before he could start killing wasn’t a little thing. It was big. Huge, even.”
 
“It was, wasn’t it? I don’t know why you aren’t being nicer to me. I did you a big favor.”
 
“I never said you didn’t, Willow. We just want you to be careful and… and maybe consult us, or Giles, or Winston?” Buffy gave him a quick glance and got a nod in return. “Before you do anything on your own. You don’t want to find yourself addicted to dark magic, do you?”
 
“What a weird thing to say! Don’t tell me you believe this guy about channeling the hellmouth?  This is my power. I’m not getting help from anywhere – evil or good. And I’m certainly not addicted to anything.”
 
“So, if you were to be cut off from the influence of the hellmouth, you believe you would still be as powerful?”  Winston kept his face carefully neutral as he asked his question.
 
“Of course I would!”
 
“Then surely you won’t object to learning more about using earth magic? There is no way it could harm you. You could even accompany me back to England for training if you wanted to.”
 
“I certainly do object! What would I want to do that for?  I’m doing fine on my own here.” She waved her arms around. “You guys are getting on my nerves. I’m going to leave now before I start saying things you’ll all regret.”  She whirled and began to stomp away, freezing in mid-stride when Winston waved his hand at her.
 
“Whoa!”
 
“Bloody hell!”
 
“I really didn’t want to do that,” Winston said with a sigh.
 
“What did you do?”
 
“How did you do it?”
 
“I may have been a bit disingenuous about myself. I believe you were told I am the child of a council member?” When they nodded, he sighed again. “I am actually a member of the coven I’d hoped to introduce Willow to. I am a trained…. I suppose sorcerer is the word you’d use. I can sense the power she has, and she is obviously capable of being a force for good. However, what she doesn’t realize is that she is pulling much of that power from the hellmouth. And it is feeding her sense of pride and arrogance.”
 
“You can’t leave her standing there,” Buffy said. “What are you going to do? Willow is my friend, I’m not going to let you take her anywhere she doesn’t want to go.”
 
“I’m hoping that won’t be necessary,” he said looking momentarily sad. He took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Buffy. “Please tell her this missive… from several years from now… is for her. From someone who wants very much for things to go differently now.”
 
“Somebody I know? Somebody from the future Slayers and Watcher Council?”
 
“Yes… and no,” he replied. “Willow’s abuse of her power so early on this time had some… consequences… in the way the future plays out.”  He smiled at Buffy. “Please don’t think you’ve done anything wrong. You’ve saved many lives by destroying Adam and bringing the Initiative to light. But it was a change, and if she remains this convinced she’s in the right, it may make her less able to be of use to you in the near future… and more vulnerable to evil influences. Our hope is that I can help her understand that she is not only calling upon the hellmouth’s extra power, but allowing it to influence her behavior.”
 
“Who is this “our” that’s hoping?”
 
“The coven, as it exists now, er, the future now. The letter is from one of our members… one who has personal knowledge of how easy it is to come to depend upon the hellmouth’s magical boost.”
 
“Why’d they send you. Shouldn’t it be somebody… older? And more experienced?”
 
He smiled again. “I’m older than I appear,” he said, sliding his eyes toward Spike. “Much like your partner, I do not age as quickly as most humans.”
 
“And you’re stronger than Willow.” Spike’s comment was not a question, but Winston nodded his answer anyway.
 
“I am,” he said simply. “With luck, I will not have to demonstrate that in front of her, although I was prepared to do so if she tried to harm you.”
 
“’Preciate that, mate. Don’t fancy getting that chip put back in my head just so she can make it kill me.”
 
“Nor do I want the Willow I know to have to live with the knowledge that she did so. Please give her the letter when you get a chance,” he said to Buffy just as Riley came out of Lowell House.  “I’m hoping that will be all it takes, and she will allow me to provide her with some mentorship.”
 
He waved his hand again, and Willow stumbled a little before turning back to stare at them suspiciously.  When they just stared back at her, she tossed her head again and walked off without looking back.
 
Buffy looked over at Riley who was frowning but waiting for her to notice him.
 
“Do you need me?”
 
He sighed. “It seems we need you and… Spike. We need someone to look at the hosti—sub-terrestrials we still have and tell us which ones can safely be allowed to go….” He shrugged. “Wherever they would go.”
 
“Home,” Buffy said. “They would want to go home.”
 
Riley looked uncomfortable at the idea that creatures he still wanted to refer to as “hostiles” could have homes to return to, but he nodded and held the door open.
 
“Are you coming too?” Buffy asked Winston, who shook his head.
 
“I’m going to have a chat with your Mr. Giles so we are all on the same page with Willow.  I have a missive for him also.”
 
Buffy narrowed her eyes at him. “Are these letters from their future selves?”
 
He smiled again. “You are every bit as astute and clever as I’ve been told.”
 
“Do you have letters for us?” Spike asked.
 
He blinked in surprise. “Why, no. You are not there. Either of you. You are here. You won’t be there for several more years.”
 
“You’re not there either,” Buffy pointed out.
 
“Indeed, I am not. I may have to wait out my time here just as you will, and then hope I will arrive at a place that seems familiar.”
 
Buffy shuddered at the reminder that they had no idea what changes they were making in the future from which they came.
 
“Buffy!”  Riley interrupted impatiently. “I have a full colonel down there waiting for me to bring you to him.”
 
“Sorry! We’re coming.”  She began moving toward the door, leaving Spike to say good-bye to Winston.
 
“I guess we’ll see you later, mate,” he said as he followed Buffy. Winston just nodded again and raised a hand in farewell.
 
XXXXXXXX
 
As they followed Riley into the elevator and down into the Initiative office and lab areas, Buffy could feel Spike growing tense beside her. She put a soothing hand on his arm and tried to send calming vibes.  He exhaled a deep breath and relaxed his tightened muscles. “I’m okay, pet,” he said softly.
 
Riley gave him a curious glance, but then was busy opening the door and ushering them out into the containment area. 

“Ah, Miss—Buffy and, William is it? Thank you for waiting around. It appears that your expertise is needed to help us determine which of the remaining captives… some of them sentient beings I understand….” He sent Riley a glare.  “Which of them are not inclined to be harmful to humans and can safely be allowed to go free.”

“Uh, sure. Spike’s probably going to be more useful than me… I don’t pay much attention to harmless demons. They stay out of my way, and I don’t slay them.”

Colonel Smith gave her an incredulous look, but didn’t comment except to Spike. “So shall we begin? This is a terrible situation and I’d like to make it right as best I can.”

Buffy and Spike began to walk down the line of cages, pointing out which of the hopeful inmates could be released and which ones probably shouldn’t be.

“Oh my God, is that Clem?”

“No, but it is his younger brother.” He leaned down to whisper to Buffy. “In our time, he died in these cages.” In front of the disbelieving eyes of the humans present, Spike walked up and waited for Riley to open the cage.  “Bert! You little rascal. Your mum is worried about you. Best get your wrinkled arse home before she tans it for you.”

The young demon, who did look much like Clem, sidled out, keeping one eye on Buffy and one on the soldiers. “What’s going on, Spike? And why are you with the Slayer?”

“Explanations later. Tell Clem I said hi and we’ll hit a poker game together next week some time. Just get out of here.”

“I’m gone!  And thanks, Spike… and Slayer…”

“You’re welcome,” Buffy said. “Say hi to Clem for me… or wait. I guess he doesn’t know me yet. Never mind.”

Riley’s narrowed eyes and the Colonel’s somewhat less suspicious, but equally puzzled expression made Spike clear his throat and nudge Buffy. She quickly realized her mistake and smiled brilliantly at the colonel.

“Wow! This is quite a setup, isn’t it? It’s too bad they were scooping up harmless demons along with the ones Mag—Professor Walsh was using in her… whatever experiments she was doing. I’m just going to be quiet now and let Spike tell you who’s who and what’s what.”

Spike had already moved on to a cage holding a clearly drugged Fyral demon that was minus his horns and appeared to have no claws. Shooting Riley a murderous look, he said, “This one’s too done for to be dangerous, but the kind thing would be to put him down now that you’ve mutilated and crippled him.”

Riley looked embarrassed, even more so when the senior officer stepped up beside them.

“Is this creature also sentient?” he asked Spike, who shrugged.

“In a sense, he is. They have a language and can do simple jobs that involve brute strength and bad attitudes. But they’re loners and vicious by nature. Nothing like humans and can’t be reasoned with. You won’t be doin’ anyone a favor turning him loose – not even him. His own kind will kill him now that he’s helpless.”

The Colonel nodded and moved on. As they went down the row, which really didn’t contain many healthy demons, they found more and more with body parts missing. Most were sitting in drug or pain-induced stupors, barely noticing the humans going by. Spike shook his head at most of them, only stopping once to point to a very human-seeming woman. Only her pointed ears and the tail training behind her indicated her non-human status.

“She can go. Never harmed anyone in her life… and I think she has a family – kids – looking for her.” He tapped on the glass. “M’rna? Do you want to go home?”

She blinked up at them, focusing on Spike and frowning. “Did they catch you too?”

“Not this time,” he growled, glaring at Riley. “C’mon, luv. Let’s get you out of here and home again.”

She came out slowly, hesitating when she saw Buffy. “It’s all right,” Buffy said. “We’re here to get you out.”

M’rna looked at Spike for verification and at his nod, she smiled hesitantly. “Thank you. And thank you, Spike. I’ll tell K’vn about this. If you ever need anything….”

“Just go,” Spike said. “Run home to your family.”

It took very little time to finish the tour of the remaining cages. So many of the stronger or newly captured demons had escaped when the lab blew up, that most of those left were too crippled to run. Spike pointed out two more harmless demons that were quickly released and sent to an exit, then turned to Buffy to say in her ear, “’Bout had all I can take of this place, love. I’ll meet you outside.”

He ignored Riley, nodded at the military men, and headed for the elevator saying, “I need some fresh air. Don't think you need me anymore.”

“Is he all right?” The colonel frowned after Spike as he disappeared into the elevator car.

“Spike is a little… claustrophobic….” Buffy said weakly. “I think he’s had all the being underground he can take for a while.” She looked around at the cages and said, “We’re done here, aren’t we?  Did you need me for anything else?”

“I think not,” Colonel George said. “There will be clean up to do, and records to go over, and then we will be shutting this base down except for a small group of men familiar with the area who may be left here for a short time. Thank you for your assistance, Miss Summers. And please thank… Spike… for me.”

“No problem.” Buffy smiled again, then looked at Riley who seemed about to say something. “We can talk later,” she said to him, hoping that was noncommittal enough that he wouldn’t accuse her of lying when she refused to answer the questions she knew he wanted to ask. He gave a curt nod and turned away.