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Buffy had almost reached a small utility door inside the shaft when she heard voices in the elevator below her. She made a lunge for the door as the elevator sprang to life. Swearing under her breath, she let go of the cable just in time to softly step on top of the elevator and crouched down low as it began an upward ascent, taking her back over ground she had already covered. Looking upward, she realized that she would be flattened if she wasn't careful, and quickly lay on her back, pressing her palms flat. With no time to spare, she watched the roof quickly approaching and closed her eyes.



She was about to be crushed. In the few seconds it took for her to realize it, various images flashed through her head. Spike, Angel, Giles, her mother, the gang. Her funeral. She held her breath, thinking what a shame it was to die this way instead of in battle, then wondered if anyone would ever know what she had intended to do. If Spike would know. Would he miss her? Would he realize that she had been crushed trying to exact revenge for what Maggie Walsh had caused both of them?



The elevator stopped with a jerk, and Buffy, with her nose pressed to the ceiling, opened her eyes. She was alive! But she was also in quite a predicament. The narrow amount of space prevented her from moving at all, and the ceiling was literally pressing against her breasts, toes, and nose. It was like being buried alive, only worse. There was nothing she could do except wait for someone to take an elevator ride down again. And who knew when that would happen? She could hear the men inside the elevator exiting, and heard several other people laughing and making fun of the vampire they had captured.



It didn't take her long to realize that the air was thin inside the dusty shaft and she was having trouble getting enough of it. Her lungs felt like they were full of dust, her face grew sticky and she could feel sweat gathering on her back. Unable to be sure of how much time had passed, she squeezed her eyes closed again and tried not to think about how easily she could die. Her chest was leaden, it rose and fell with effort and she had to struggle not to cough. If she could hear the Initiative boys, then they would hear her.



Somewhere in the distance, she could hear a radio playing. Popular top forty music reverberated through the metal tomb and she attempted to concentrate on that. She failed miserably. With effort, she turned her palms up and pressed against the ceiling, hoping it would open, or at the very least, crack just enough to let in some fresh air. However, it was sealed tight and the only reward for her efforts was a cramp in her elbow. Breathing became more difficult after that, since her movements had kicked up even more dust. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks, and her mouth was so dry she found herself wishing they were rolling over her lips instead of down into her ears.



She was close to screaming for help, to putting herself at the mercy of Maggie and her men, when she finally heard the doors open and the elevator shook as it began its descent. Almost sobbing in relief, Buffy sat up and stretched her arms over her head, trying to work out the cramp in her elbow. Looking at her watch, she realized that she had been trapped for almost forty minutes. If she didn't act fast, the Watcher's Council could thwart her plans and everything she had just endured would have been for nothing. A cool breeze blew against her face and she savored it, standing on shaking legs to latch onto the cable again when the utility door came into view. She hooked her leg around it and hoisted herself up, turning the handle on the door. It was locked.



"Son of a bitch!" she whispered as she pulled even harder. It was no use. The door was locked from the inside and looked as thick as a bank vault door. She was in the process of weighing her options when the elevator began to climb upward again. "Oh no!"



Yanking her bag around so she could dig through it, she pulled out an ax and used the blade to pry open the small trapdoor in the top of the elevator. She was amazed to see that the compartment was empty, quickly counted her blessings, and dropped down into it just in time. When the door opened to reveal two men in uniform waiting, she quickly grabbed the one closest to her, put the blade to his throat, and looked at the other one. "Get in."



The man made a move for his gun, but Buffy pressed the knife against her captive's neck even harder. "Get in before things get really bloody and your friend's neck is gone."



"Do it!" gasped the man in her arms.



The other man stepped into the elevator, sizing Buffy up. She gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm small. But don't be stupid enough to think that matters. Press the button that'll take us straight to Maggie Walsh." The man pressed one of several buttons. Buffy nodded. "Now, slowly put your gun on the ground."



As the man pulled his gun free, gingerly holding it between his thumb and finger, Buffy flipped the ax and brought the blunt end down on the back of his head. He collapsed forward as the man who had been her hostage tried to spin around and face her. She punched him in the ribs before he got halfway, and he dropped to his knees, gasping for air. Gripping his head, she brought his face down onto her knee and he too collapsed. Buffy gathered up their guns, stored one in her bag and held the other in her hand, then waited patiently for the elevator to open.



When it did, she cautiously glanced around, then ripped open the control panel and buried her ax in all the cords, chopping several in the process. She wrenched it free, yanking out several more cords and wires, and stepped out. She was inside a small office. Moving slowly, she stepped onto the plush carpet and walked toward the desk. A small placard that said 'Maggie A. Walsh' sat facing outward.



Buffy smiled.



She was in the Dragon's lair.



A weapon's cabinet stood in one corner and Buffy twisted the lock off, helping herself to a 'Rambo' style bandolier full of tranquilizer darts. She hefted the gun that they fit into and then proceeded to put a stun gun into her waistband. These weren't demons she was dealing with, they were people, and as far as she was concerned, the only person on her hit list was Maggie Walsh. And the pistol would take care of her. The rest would just sleep for a while.



Almost as an afterthought, she decided to shoot both men in the elevator with the tranquilizer gun to ensure they wouldn't wake up and alert anyone up top to their intruder. She studied the firing mechanism, noted the fact that each cartridge held 14 darts, and shot each man once. The gun was silent as it fired and she smiled again. She could get used to weapons like that. As soon as she was finished, she made her way to the door, cracked it an inch, and peered out into the compound. She saw three men making small talk next to a jeep. Hmm, she thought, so there are other entryways into this place. That's not good. She watched for several minutes, but no one else passed.



Gathering her bearings, she took a deep breath, yanked the door open and fired one shot at each man. The darts struck their marks, and whatever was inside was so fast, that none of the men had a chance to pull the needles from their skin before they fell straight forward and lay still. She stayed close to the walls, crouching low and peeking over boxes and around filing cabinets. Finally, something clattered in the distance and she slowly crabwalked, keeping her eyes open, across a small catwalk that looked down into a pit.



Ensconced in a padded area that looked like wall to wall aluminum foil with dentist chairs, were Maggie and four men. They were strapping the vampire that had been captured to one of the chairs. She could hear the growls and protests of the demon, but couldn't make out what the men were saying. She glanced behind her, making sure the coast was still clear, and lifted the gun, resting it on the railing as she pointed at her first target.







On the other side of the compound, Spike and Isobel had made it through the air conditioning unit undetected. Isobel led the way to a small room, where she twisted the door handle off, flicked a light switch, and motioned him into a chair. Spike had no choice but to comply, as he was out of his element and basically at her mercy. He took the proffered seat and watched the female vampire type in several codes on a computer screen. Different windows popped up, then vanished as she went through the various motions. Spike's gut felt like it was in knots as he watched her. This was it. The chip would be coming out.



"Hostile Seventeen, right?" Isobel asked quietly.



"Yes, I suppose." Spike nodded and glanced around the room. He remembered all too clearly what it had been like to wake up inside one of the observation rooms in this hell hole.



"I can't take the chip out," Isobel announced suddenly. "It's embedded into a part of your brain that would render you immobile if it was removed." She saw the look on his face and quickly added, "But I can deactivate it right now."



"Deactivate? It wouldn't shock me anymore?" Spike leaned forward, looking at the computer screen. There was an illustration of something that he imagined was the make and model of his chip. "Do what you have to do. I want it stopped."



Isobel nodded, typed in a few more numbers, and opened one of the desk drawers. She pulled out what looked like a hand held metal detector, save for long tubes running the length of it, and ran it around Spike's head. It began to beep near his right ear. She pressed several numbers on the side of the device and moved it back over his head, carefully inserting one of the tubes inside his ear. Spike could feel intense heat radiating from the gadget, or possibly from his head, and he gripped the arms of his chair. "Ow!"



"We have to burn it up," Isobel said. "Your specific chip will malfunction if the heat rises beyond a certain degree."



"I'll bloody well malfunction if I rise beyond a certain degree too! And it fucking hurts!" he growled.



"Do you want five minutes of pain or an eternity of pain every time you try to act on impulse?" Isobel pressed a few more buttons, watching on the screen as the diagram of Spike's chip began to turn red. They were halfway there.



"You're going to burn me bald!" Spike shouted, trying to push her hand away. "Stop it!"



"Two more minutes," Isobel blocked him. "Two minutes until you're free."



"God, when I get this chip out of my brain, I'm going to kill everything with a heartbeat."



"That spares my daughter. She has nothing where she should have had a heart."



"How did that old bag get so evil, anyway?" Spike asked her, trying not to notice the smell of burning hair. "You don't seem the abusive type."



"My daughter was spoiled by her father, and never taught right from wrong. Everything I tried to do with her was thwarted, and so she became a willful child and even worse adult." Isobel kept her eyes on the screen. "She was always determined to be a Slayer and when she failed, she decided to use science and technology to undermine all that the Council had worked toward."



The Slayer. Spike's mind wondered to Buffy and he went numb all over. Would he be able to kill her? Did he want to? How would she react to the old Spike?



Isobel moved away, announcing that the chip had been 'burned' completely, and Spike gingerly touched the side of his head.



He didn't feel any different.



And he didn't feel any better.







When the last soldier hit the floor, Buffy stood up and made her presence known to Maggie Walsh, dropping the tranquilizer gun and raising the pistol. The Slayer locked eyes on her foe, and to her credit, Maggie didn't falter. As a matter of fact, she smiled. "Well, well, well," the woman said, eyeing the gun in the Slayer's hands. "I'm guessing you aren't going to use that on me or I'd be a dead woman right now."



"You got the dead part right. You could never be called a woman." Buffy returned the smile and lowered the gun. "I've had an awful long time to just sit and think about payback. It occurred to me that a good old fashioned ass whipping might be just what you need." The Slayer leaped down into the pit and stood a few inches away from Maggie. "Then I'm going to kill you."



Walsh had a long metal rod, which she swung at Buffy's head, but the younger woman had anticipated the move and ducked. As the momentum swung Maggie around, Buffy tackled her, causing the rod to clatter out of the way. Neither noticed the vampire free himself from the chair and run.







Giles, Angel, and the Councilmen gained access through the cargo bays in the Initiative. There were several army jeeps, several holding pens and one guard, whom they drugged with a hypodermic needle. Jones, one of the security experts from the Council, had tinkered with the alarm system, then announced that it had already been shut down. The men, around fifteen in all, couldn't be bothered with determining the cause. Instead, they sprang into action, each one performing the task they had been assigned before they entered the compound.



Angel stood ready at the doorway, a long metal pole in his hand, waiting patiently for Jones to swipe his fake clearance down the security box. When he did, and the door opened, Angel wasn't prepared for the vampire who flew into him, fangs bared, nails scraping wildly. He watched as one of the Councilmen produced a stake and tossed the vampire off of him, toward the man.



"Wait!" the vampire shouted. "Angelus, right? You don't want to go down there, man. The Slayer's down there and she's pissed."



Giles' eyes locked on Angel's and both men stepped toward the vampire. Angel spoke first. "Are you sure?"



"Yeah, man. Cute, blond, tiny and toting an arsenal of weapons. She's attacking some human woman and I bailed. I didn't want to-" The stake was plunged into his back courtesy of Malachai.



Wasting no time, Angel and Giles turned as one and headed through the open doorway.



The stakes had just been upped.



Literally.







Maggie was stronger than Buffy had anticipated. Blood pooled from a gash in her forehead and as Maggie charged at her, she was momentarily blinded by the sticky liquid. She raised a hand to wipe it away and the other woman slammed into her, knocking her onto her back. Her head connected with the metal base of one of the chairs and stars exploded behind her eyelids. Nevertheless, she gripped the chair and tugged herself upright.



Maggie chuckled as she watched the girl crawl to her feet. "And they said you were the best."



"I'm just letting you get in a few good licks so your death won't be so depressing for you," Buffy said with a shrug.



The smile on Maggie's face faltered and she balled up her fist, swinging wide at Buffy's jaw. The Slayer caught her arm and backhanded her, sending Walsh staggering backwards. Maggie ran her hand under her nose, saw the blood on her fingertips, and charged again. Ducking low, Buffy caught the woman around the knees and then stood, sending her flying over her head and into the wall of the pit. Even the Slayer cringed at the bone crunching smack that sounded as she impacted.



Wasting no time, Buffy stepped forward and gripped her head and chin. "Breaking your neck is going to be the most satisfying thing I've ever done."



She was about to twist when someone shouted behind her. "Buffy, no!"



Turning her head, she saw Angel leap down into the pit and start toward her. In her shock at seeing Angel there, she let Maggie go, and the woman staggered to her feet, raising a knife that had been in her boot over her head.



"Look out!" Angel cried.



Buffy turned in time to see the blade come streaking toward her, but another person leaped into the pit, tackling Maggie. "Giles!" Buffy cried, realizing who had saved her.



She made a move to help the ex-Watcher, but suddenly, commandos were dropping into the pit left and right. She pivoted, seeing for herself that Angel was occupied with two soldiers, and several men in suits were fighting hand to hand with even more. Turning on her heel, she made a move for her weapon bag, only to have it kicked out of her reach.



Looking up, she vaguely recognized the young commando who stood facing her. "Riley?"



"Buffy?" the young man asked. "Buffy Summers? From psych class? What- what are you?"



"Don't take this the wrong way," Buffy told him sweetly, as she punched him as hard as she could. "But what I am is none of your business. And you gave me a C when I should have had an A." He landed in a heap on the ground and she stared down at him. "I hold a grudge."



"Mmph," he replied, then went out like a light.



Giles wrestled the knife away from Maggie and tossed it in Buffy's direction. It clattered to the ground behind her and Angel intercepted it. Buffy had given her attention to two commandos who were coming her way. Giles looked at Maggie and smiled. "You always did have trouble holding onto your weapons. I guess that's why you never made it as a Slayer."



Maggie's nostrils flared. "Ripper Giles! How pleasant to see you again."



"You won't feel that way for very long," Giles slowly removed his jacket and let it fall to the floor behind him. "Let's have a go, for old times sake, shall we?"



Her acceptance of the challenge came in the form of a well aimed kick as his head, which he ducked under. Maggie's leg fell to the ground like lead and Giles aimed a blow to her ribs. She coughed and sputtered, doubling over in pain. Giles was gripped from behind by one of the errant commandos, who held him in place as Maggie righted herself and lifted the metal pole she had tried to hit the Slayer with. "Let's see how I hold onto this."



She drew it back, took aim, and then was tackled from behind by something strong. Something stronger than a human. At first, she thought it was the Slayer again, but the hands around her throat were cold. She gripped them, prying them away and turning her head to look.



She met a pair of eyes that were almost identical to her own. Isobel Walsh lifted her daughter to her feet and growled, "Call them off."



Maggie thrashed wildly, trying to ram her elbow into the vampire's chest, but it was no use. She looked around, searching for anyone to help her, but the commandos, the few who were still standing, were engaged in combat with the Council. She watched in horror as the Slayer knocked two of their heads together, bringing them to their knees, and then the remaining few were targeted and downed.



"Isobel. " Malachai stepped forward, gazing at the vampiric visage that was hiding the woman he had known for years. "My god, Isobel, we thought you were simply ill."



"I am ill," Isobel said in a near whisper. "Why don't we let Maggie explain to you why that is."



Malachai glanced at Maggie and shook his head. "No. Maggie, no! Tell me you didn't do this."



Maggie wriggled, trying to slip out of her mother's grip. "What are you people doing!? You've ruined my research facility, you attacked my men, and you- you talk to this vampire as if you feel sorry for her! She's an animal! A monster!"



"Silence!" Malachai held up a hand and reached into his breast pocket, pulling out a document. "Maggie Walsh, you are hereby stripped of your title as a Council Operative. You are ordered to return to England as our prisoner, where you will be properly punished."



Maggie started to speak, but Isobel tightened her grip, glaring at the Elder Watcher. "She won't be making that trip, Malachai. It ends tonight."



There was a collective gasp as Isobel sank her fangs into Maggie's neck. As one, the Councilmen stepped forward, each bound to protect their own, but each torn between justice for Isobel and their duty. Suddenly, the female vampire wrenched her mouth free and howled in agony. Tears, crimson and thick, ran down her cheeks. "I can't do it! Do you see what she created!? Do you see what she's done?"



"She can't do it, but I can," Spike spoke suddenly, leaping into the pit. With lightning speed, he gripped Maggie's head, twisting hard and then letting her drop when her neck snapped. Before Maggie hit the ground, he pulled a stake from his pocket, drove it into Isobel's chest, and turned to look at Buffy, who was staring, mouth agape.



"Spike-" she whispered.



He could tell by her face that she realized the truth, the chip was gone. And he was a fool. Armed with nothing but a stake, facing down several Councilmen, Giles **and** Angel who was slowly skulking toward him.



Spike stared silently at her for a moment, his eyes dark and unreadable, then, as quickly as he had jumped into the pit, he leaped out of it and retreated, leaving Buffy too stunned to speak at all.





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