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Overcome by flibble
 
Chapter Sixteen
 
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Chapter Sixteen

When Buffy opened her eyes the first thing she saw was Riley’s face hovering above her.

“Great,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong Buffy?” he asked sarcastically. “Not happy to see me?”

Buffy rolled her eyes as she got to her feet. “Gee what gave it away? The face that you had to tranquilise me to get me here?”

He shrugged, not quite able to meet her gaze. “I did what I had to do.”

“You’d really let them experiment on me?”

Riley’s eyes flickered back to hers. “I’ve been assured no harm will come to you Buffy. The government just wants to know more about the slayer. They want to know what you can do.”

“Do you really still believe that?” Buffy cried incredulously. “Has finding out about Adam taught you nothing?”

“This has nothing to do with Adam!”

Buffy threw up her hands in frustration. “He’s cutting up creatures all over town to find out about where he came from. You know his search will bring him back here.”

“Good.” Riley’s calm self-assurance was back. “When he shows up we’ll take him down. And then…”

Riley’s next words were drowned out by the sound of dozens of doors sliding open. As Buffy and Riley looked around in confusion a demon walked into view in front of Buffy’s cell. Catching site of Riley’s uniform it roared in fury and attacked. Swiftly pulling a tranquiliser gun from the back of his pants Riley shot the demon in the chest. It fell to the ground with a grunt and Buffy and Riley hurried past it into the hallway that ran between the cells.

Demons were emerging from cells the entire length of the hallway. Most had begun fighting amongst themselves. Some, however, were heading straight for the door to the rest of the complex. The door Buffy and Riley were currently standing right in front of.

Swearing softly Riley grabbed for his key card and opened the door, pulling Buffy through behind him before slamming it shut again. They were just in time. Already several demons could be heard pounding on the door from the other side.

“That oughta hold them for a while,”Riley muttered.

“Riley what the hell is going on?”

He looked at her sharply and she could see the fear and confusion in his eyes. “That’s what I’m about to find out.” Grasping his walkie-talkie he barked into in. “Graham! Can you give me any information on the current situation?”

“It’s Adam!” They could just make out Graham’s voice through the crackly reception. “He’s shut down all the exits and freed all the demons in here. He said something about needing pieces for his new race. What the hell is he talking about man?”

Riley and Buffy looked at each other in shock. “He wants to recreate himself,” she whispered.

Without a word Riley began to sprint toward the central hub of the complex, with Buffy hot on his heels.

**********

“What’s that noise?” Spike paused in his trek down the elevator shaft to look at Willow.

She frowned as she, too, paused to listen. “I’m not sure,” she whispered after a moment, “but it sounds like fighting.”

“Something’s wrong,” Spike said, his concern for Buffy hitting a new high. “Something’s very very wrong.” No longer caring whether he made any noise Spike rushed down the shaft, his hands blurring as he increased speed.

Watching him go Willow looked up to where Giles and Xander were descending just above her. “Somehow,” she told them, “I think it might all be over by the time we get there.”

When Spike reached the bottom of the shaft he pried open the doors in front of him. The cacophony of battle sounds coming through from the other side was enough to assure him that no one would even notice his arrival let alone put up a protest. Taking a moment, he attempted to make sense of the sight in front of him. Chaos reigned as humans and demons fought across the entire main hub of the complex. He was willing to bet the rest of the complex was no better. How the hell am I supposed to find Buffy in this mess? he wondered.

Sighing heavily Spike took off into the fray. If he knew Buffy, she would be right in the thick of it. Moving fast he skirted the area, his gaze constantly moving, searching for any sign of Buffy. A flash of golden hair to the right of the room drew his attention. She and Riley were back to back, fighting off the demons that were surrounding them.

Seeing the size of the demon Buffy was facing Spike hurried toward them. Grabbing the small hand axe he’d tucked into the back of his pants he drove it deep into the demons back, pulling it free again as the demon sunk to the floor.

“Spike!” Buffy exclaimed in surprise. “How did you get in here?”

“I came to rescue you,” he replied with a shrug.

“Well you picked a good time for it. We need all the help we can get.” Buffy grabbed Spike’s axe and used it to kill the demon Riley had been fighting. “Riley, we have to find Adam.”

Riley nodded. “I saw him heading for the control room a few minutes ago. Come on, it’s this way.”

**********

When the three of them arrived at the control room it was to find Adam calming watching the battle on over a dozen security monitors. “My new race is about to be born,” he announced. “Something greater than human, greater than demon. A new world is dawning and all of you will be a part of it.” He turned to look at them then, his face revealing nothing of what he was feeling. If in fact he could feel anything at all.

“Riley you should get out of here,” Buffy whispered. “You need to get as many of your men out of here as possible.

“No way–”

“This is no time to argue. He’s too strong for you. Spike and I will deal with this.”

Spike smiled smugly at Riley, delighted by Buffy’s words. “Yeah, why don’t you just run along. This is a job for the big guns.”

Cutting off Riley’s no doubt scathing reply Buffy reminded him, “Your men are dying out there by the dozen. What are you going to do about it?”

Riley nodded abruptly. “You’re right. Good luck Buffy.” He left without so much as glancing at Spike.

Buffy turned to face Adam once again. “Let’s do this.” With that she launched a full frontal attack against Adam. Her every blow was precise and backed with all her strength. She moved lightly on her feet, dodging Adam’s punches. Still, he seemed unaffected by her assault.

Realising this was going to take more than sheer force Spike edged his way around the combatants. With any lucky he’d be able to blindside Adam without the enormous creature seeing it coming. He was just about out of Adam’s peripheral vision when an arm shot out sideways to grip him by the neck. Adam lifted Spike off the ground and tossed him onto the control board that housed the monitors. Then he returned his attention to Buffy as if he’d done no more than swat at a fly.

Spike smiled evilly. Adam shouldn’t have dismissed him so easily. He wasn’t knocked unconscious as easily as the slayer. And now he was at the creature’s back. Figuring speed was his best bet Spike pulled his axe from his pants once more. He had only one chance at this; he had to get it right. Aiming quickly he threw the axe, not even waiting to make sure that it imbedded in Adam’s back before he leap forward. In one smooth motion he yanked the axe from Adam’s flesh and pounded his fist into the wound. With a satisfying crunch he felt the core that powered Adam’s body push forward. “Buffy, the core!” he shouted.

At his words Buffy instinctively rammed her fist into Adam’s chest. To her surprise the uranium core was just beneath his skin and she was able to grasp it easily. Pulling hard she ripped the material from his body. Adam continued to fight for a few moments before he began to slow, eventually dropping lifelessly to the floor.

Buffy stared at the bloody lump in her hand before she threw it on the floor in disgust.

“You okay love?”

“Yeah.” Crossing the room Buffy pulled Spike into a tight hug. “Thanks for coming to the rescue.”

“Anytime. There might still be some rescuing to do though.”

Buffy pulled back with a questioning look.

“Scoobies. They’re in here somewhere. Probably helping dickhead get people out by now.”

Immediately Buffy slid into slayer mode, concern for her friends overriding all else. “Let’s go find them. Make sure everyone is okay."

Spike nodded and they headed back to the main hub, Adam's body lying forgotten behind them on the floor.
 
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