Ch. 25

What greeted us on the other side was a bunch of taser guns and a full unit of military personnel. All of which didn't look pleased to see us one bit. Buffy spoke clearly. "Don't resist, we're not here to fight them."

Sighing I held up my hands innocently and they took us to their operations room. Buffy pleaded and tried to tell them that Adam was in the facility. This only caused more problems as they not only didn't believe her they arrogantly said. "There isn't a part of this facility we don't know about."

I snorted finally fed up with their shit. "Like how you didn't know Dr.Walsh was feeding her people steroids and chemicals to enhance their performance. And how you obviously didn't know she intended Adam to be the first of many cyber I handed demon warriors made here. Clearly you know where she intended to make such warriors in bulk as well?"

My words stopped him in his tracks before he told the sergeant. "Do a sweep of the facility. Find any hidden rooms."

Turning his attention back to us he bit out. "There, we're doing a sweep, now as for you anarchists, you'll be confined to a cell until the brass-"

Alarms started going off from all over. Buffy told them. "That's Adam, he's making his move, you need to let us stop him!"

The commander sneered. "I don't need to let you do anything, we have a way to deal with the rouge experiment. We'll shoot him with multiple taser blasts and when he's down we will tranq him. Then all of this nonsense ends here."

That's when he got the news. "All containment cells have been unlocked and the escapes have been sealed shut. We're locked out of the system sir."

Buffy made her move. "We'll deal with Adam, you organize your people and Ryan here will help contain and destroy the demons."

The commander grumbled but then asked. "How's one man supposed to contain and destroy so many HST's?"

I snorted. "Like this!"

My eyes turned green and the roots I'd been growing through the ground while we waited burst through the concrete. They moved past the commander and speared a vampire, coming through the door, to dust.

The commander gave the order and we began the fighting. Faith and Alice danced around killing demons left and right while I saved as many of the soldiers as possible. The researchers were screwed though as they were the first ones the demons went after with a vengeance.

Roots burst out of the concrete and walls all over, ripping apart demons in their wake. Unfortunately I underestimated the sheer amount of demons the initiative had been containing.

They were like a never ending wave of thousands. I could fight a few hundred at a time with plants and vines but the amount of concentration it took to control and strengthen so many would be my very limits.

Vampires were the easiest to kill as the roots were essentially wood while the demons had to be beheaded or ripped apart and some of those still didn't stay down. I had to go into a meditative trance with Faith and Alice protecting me just to fight with so many roots.

The commander order the soldiers I saved to form ranks around us and keep the gun fire focused on the demons leaving the plants alone. It was a long and tiring fight as I had to clear a path for the soldiers to retreat after we'd saved all the living ones.

I had to release my control of most of the roots to do so with my own eyes so as to not accidentally kill the soldiers. They made it to the elevator shaft and I was forced to focus on the horde of demons determined to kill them. Faith and Alice were having their own fights all around us when the scoobies arrived.

When Buffy told us. "Adams dead, we're leaving."

I shook my head and opened up the path again. "Go, I'll end them. There's a spell I know that'll destroy this place. Once you're out I'll use it and cut off their escape routes. We don't want any of these getting out with how bloodthirsty they are."

Giles asked. "How do you intend to leave then?"

I chuckled. "My plants will protect me and make a way out through the soil. Now go!"

They made it to the elevator shaft and once they were inside I closed the doors, twisting and bending the metal with my hands to ensure they won't open again.

Turning to face the angry demons I smiled. "Kali, Hera, Kronos, Thonic.

Air like nectar, thick as onyx.

Cassiel, by your second star,

Hold mine victims as in tar."

When they were all thoroughly trapped I felt a massive strain on my magic so I continued quickly. "Excudo incendere Maximas!"

I'd taken two very different spells and combined them through the force of my will. A concussive blast with nearly all of my magic expanded outwards killing and incinerating all the demons down here and almost everything else in site as the second part of the spell rippled and blasted the walls blocking all exits and collapse if it all in on us.

Plants and roots converged around me as I partially shifted and tore through the cement and dirt in the ceiling. The plants did most of the digging till my magic ran dangerously low. Then I had to finish by hand or claw, as I was still shifted.

It was slower going from there but with everything collapsed behind me there really was no going back. When I smelled a change in the soil I knew I was getting close to the surface. With one giant push I broke through as my body shifted back from tired and weakness I was feeling. Lack of oxygen really is a thing for me I guess.

When my hand broke the surface I felt another take it and pull me out as I passed out. I came to several hours later and found out that it had been Riley and the soldiers that pulled me out. They'd been combing the area to make sure nothing else got out and looking for signs of me thanks to the scoobies.

I woke up at Buffy's mother's home so I can only assume they turned me over to Buffy and the gang. I was still a bit groggy but that was mostly from the lack of magic in my system. I began pulling it in through the necklace that was magically bound to me. The Devon coven had definitely put some thought into it and I'd copied their work to do the same for my Gem of Amara.

When I sat up feeling refreshed and full of magic Giles asked. "What spell was it that you used? It shook the whole elevator shaft and nearly sent us tumbling to the bottom again."

I sighed. "It was a combination of two spells really. A basic fire spell and an advanced blasting spell. I used a darker spell to hold the demons in place before using the combination spell to destroy and kill them all."

"The blast was bigger than I expected though as it broke everything else with it and caved it all in. I barely made it out and even using my natural plant magic became a chore. I ran out of magic so I had to dig my way up and out with claws and eventually hands. Air became a problem half way up but as it turns out, I can survive with barely any oxygen so yay me. Even then oxygen still became an immediate issue as the very little soon turned to none. Hence the passing out."

Giles muttered. "Reckless."

I chuckled weakly. "I agree, but I was desperate and it wasn't nearly as reckless as you guys playing patty cake inside Buffy's head. Odds are the slayer line will retaliate. Messing with those old ass magic's tends to bite back hard. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a nightmarish visit tonight."

Giles grimaced and Willow asked. "What is that supposed to mean? It won't harm us will it?"

I shrugged. "I doubt it has the power to physically harm you but it will probably give a very serious warning not to play with those primal powers again. The slayer line is tied to the planet. So long as the planet lives the slayer line will go on, but pissing off something that primal and dark will mean retaliation either way."

Buffy asked. "Dark?"

I nodded. "Believe it or not Buffy, the only thing those shamans could think of that was strong enough to combat the old ones and win was a demon. They bound and stuffed a demon into the first slayer. They tied it to the earth to ensure that if the demons and old ones ever returned there would always be a slayer to protect their descendants. The process turned a helpless innocent girl into a cold blooded killer. A hunter of demons in every sense of the word."

I took Faith's hand continuing. "While your power is steeped in darkness, you yourself don't have to choose darkness. It is a fact of life for slayers that they carry demon essence inside them but they themselves are not demons. They can be good and fun with all the happiness of an innocent child. They just have a dark power to draw on when times get tough and demons appear to fight them."

The group went silent and I chuckled. "No need to get all quiet and solemn. We just won a major battle and slaughtered literally thousands of demons. The world is safe and theirs no robot demons killing people any more. I could use a shower and about five hundred pounds of rare steak. Anyone else hungry?"

Buffy perked up. "Cheese."

I chuckled and nodded. "I'll pick some up. Xander, next door there's a master grill, bring it over. Let's have a cook out and enjoy our victory."

I went to the store and loaded up on beer, steak and cheese. I bought a bunch of side dishes for the humans and stopped by the butcher shop on the way back. Xander has brought the grill over while I was gone and Alice was telling them about the house we bought and our plans for the coming future.

I unloaded the car and started up the grill while Xander passed the beers around. Later on that night while everyone was full and tired we gathered around for a movie night. One by one we fell asleep, or rather, they did.

I watched in amusement as they each reacted to the slayer dreams. When Faith fell asleep joining them I reacted and entered her mind with my claws. It was blurry at first until the dreams took over.

I felt the essence of the slayer watching me to see if I'd interfere. I kept still and continued watching it hunt down and maim the group. When Faith joined Buffy in the desert dream scape I revealed myself to them. The essence was already present and circling us.

Faith asked. "What is it?"

Buffy answered her. "It's the first of us."

I chuckled. "Not really. It's the essence of the slayer, the demon essence. It's reacting to what you did to defeat Adam. You woke it up and pissed it off. It's just reacting like any cranky demon would."

They had their little tumbling fight with it until Buffy did her speech about it not being the source of her. She went and laid down and Faith turned to me. I sighed. "Go, I wish to have a word with it."

She laid down as well and I turned to face the first slayers form. Sighing deeply I asked. "What am I? You've faced many beings throughout all the lives of the females you inhabit. You've seen and killed many things, what am I?"

Tara, who'd been used as her mouth peace answered. "You are like me, us, we are children old ones. Demon but not, human but not, magic but not, we are eternal."

I shook my head. "I can die like any creature out there."

Dream Tara shook her head. "You are incomplete still broken, unfinished. You must complete your transition, consume your demons like I have. Your essence, your spirit, will be tied to eternity itself. To the magic that makes up all life. Like us your body may fail in time, but it will be remade in time. You are our balance, our partner, equal to us in every way. Our mate, promised by magic itself for our sacrifice."

The first slayer's form touched my face and stroked my chest before shoving her hand inside and pulling out my heart. She spoke now. "Our heart."

I woke up and removed my claws from Faith's neck while Alice healed her. I turned to look at the group before saying. "I need a drink. Beers not going to cut it this time."

Alice spoke up. "There's a blood bag in the cooler."

I nodded and headed to the kitchen while they got up and sat at the dining room table. In my head I was praying to Gaia for guidance with every step I took. When they got around to talking about it Faith asked. "Why'd she seem so pissed at you guys? It's not like you hurt her."

I chuckled and sat down. "No, she wasn't pissed. She was trying to teach a lesson. Or her ways as it were. She had no watcher, no friends nor family. Once they made her she was death and destruction incarnate. The demon essence basically fused with the slayers soul, making them more than they were. Physically stronger and faster. Able to fight demons the size of skyscrapers and win."

That got them all looking at me as I continued. "The demons essence had its effects on the innocent girl, but the purity of her soul tempered the demon essence as well, creating a force of nature in and of itself. The demon inside was changed, no longer a demon, no longer a human, no longer a magic spell. A fusion of all of it, creating a new existence entirely primal and completely without remorse."

Giles asked. "What is it then?"

I turned to look at Buffy then at Faith. "A force of nature incarnate is only ever referred to by one name when it has sentient consciousness."

Alice spoke up answering their unasked thoughts. "A goddess."

I nodded solemnly and told them. "For everything in nature there must be balance. The shamans created a goddess by their blithering idiotic actions and so Mother Nature acted, giving birth to its counterpart. I haven't told many people this but a long long time ago, in another reality where humans had advanced beyond religion and the basic sciences of this planet."

"They'd ventured into the stars and traveled galaxies beyond still. All except one silly little man who prayed to the last alter the humans hadn't destroyed. Earth, he prayed to the mother goddess, Gaia. And upon his death met her and another being of immense power who would take over as the only being of any power in that reality."

"The other gods and goddesses had left long before. But as there was one last soul that prayed to the goddess she couldn't quite leave yet. In return for his faith the goddess gave him rebirth in a world where she was the prime power. Nature, survival of the fittest, kill or be killed and hunt to survive. The other being beside her blessed and cursed the soul as his death had been amusing to it. He would later find out long after his rebirth that they'd done more than simple blessings to him. They'd made him into a child of nature and demons."

A plant grew out of the table and my hand shifted into a clawed form. I plucked the flower before continuing. "My death was unique in more ways than one and my rebirth has been very enlightening. I spoke with the first slayer and asked what I really was. I've been feeling something calling to me for a while now and I got my answer."

Xander asked impatiently. "And? What is it?"

I smirked. "First a question. Why would a child of nature sired by the essence and bodies of two old ones be limited in its power? How powerful should he be? What are his real limits? What am I if not a demon or a human? If not magic or mortal?"

Giles caught on rather quickly and his eyes shot open. Alice looked worried herself now. Willow seemed to catch on as well. When Buffy said. "A god?"

I nodded slowly. "Almost, i'm not yet there yet. A bound god. Like the slayer line I'm bound. Weakened and vulnerable. Yet eternal and everlasting. If I'm killed, like a slayer I will be reborn in a new body. Only it can be any body in an infinite number of dimensions out there. I am not bound to the earth as the slayer line is, but to magic and nature, where my power lay."

Faith asked. "Is that it? That's all she told you?"

I hesitated before saying. "That's all that matters."

Alice gave me a knowing look and I sighed when Joyce, Buffy's mother, walked in. Xander had a word jumble when she talked to him and asked him to help carry the hot chocolate to the dining room. I chuckled and told the group. "He probably had a perverted dream about your mom Buffy. Hence the word fumble."

Buffy scrunched up her face saying. "Eww. Men are perverts."

I shrugged. "Not like women who never think of sex or nudity."

Willow started to fidget and I laughed harder now while Faith asked her. "So, who was it and how naked were they?"

Willow blushed before answering. "Tara and I'm not answering the rest."

I smiled. "Well at least you have your priorities straight. Poor Xander was thinking of Joyce, Anya and both you and Tara together."

Willow fidgeted less saying. "And all it took was for me to turn gay to get him to think of me like that."

I snorted and Faith laughed while Buffy and Giles let out their own laughs now. When they finished Willow asked. "How did you know what we were dreaming anyway?"

I sighed. "When Faith went under with you I connected myself to her mind with my claws. I had questions of my own to ask the first slayer's essence. It has been around for a very long time and has fought many things both in her first life and throughout every life afterwards. It is a constant you see. When I entered her mind, I found myself on the outside of a cluster of minds dreaming simultaneously."

I waved a hand and told them. "I could peer into your dreams while they were connected through the slayers essence you all invoked."

Buffy frowned. "Why was Faith even connected? She wasn't apart of the spell."

Giles explained. "Faith is a slayer and when we invoked the power of the slayers line we brought her into it whether we meant to or not. Odds are every potential out there was connected as well."

I shook my head. "Not so. Potentials are connected sure, but the power doesn't flow through them all at the same time. They aren't slayers yet, so they wouldn't have felt it. Faith however is a slayer and has her power so she was dragged into it."

Faith muttered. "Good going B, got me dreaming about a goddess of death and some cheese man, what was up with that anyway?"

They all stilled and looked to me. I shrugged. "Wasn't me. I don't even eat the stuff. Processed cow extract sounds disgusting to me. I'm a meat and blood eater."

Giles shrugged when they turned on him. "Aspect of the goddess maybe? I'm not entirely sure."

Xander and Joyce came back in with hot cocoa for everyone. I poured blood into mine and Alice's. She wouldn't have been able to taste much of the chocolate if I hadn't and I enjoy blood and chocolate. It tastes rather nice to me, like it belongs with sex and whips.

After they joined us Faith commented dryly to me. "Is that why you're so good in bed? God sex?"

I snorted while Xander choked. "What?"

Alice proclaimed proudly. "No, actually he and I had a lot of practice not to mention he's a natural woman pleaser. That thing he does with his tongue-"

Faith smirked. "You taught him that? Damn girl, you're a great teacher."

I snorted and Alice shook her head. "That's actually all him. I did teach him the thing he does with his hands and the magic channeling."

Faith grinned and grabbed my lap under the table making me jump a little. Xander looked far to interested in their conversation for my taste so I hissed. "Enough."

She removed her hand before saying. "Suit yourself. I'm gonna hit the hay. I'm beat. B, keep you cheese man out of my dreams, dudes major league creepy."

She took Alice's hand and dragged her away next door. After a minute I told the scoobies and Giles. "I'll see you tomorrow, I've a slayer to spank and yeah, bye."

I left in a hurry and followed them home to keep my words. We crashed in the house next door as none of us felt like driving to the frat house. Over the course of the next few days we filled out our class schedules for next semester and dealt with the soldier guys in Riley's case.

They left town while he received a honorable discharge. After that I spent the next two months doing extra summer classes and courses to speed up my way to my masters degree in psychology, mechanical engineering and computer science. I'd switched out my last course work to do that instead.

Faith was right there with me and Alice as we completed our course work. In between that I carved runes and diamond ward stones while practicing my magic control and strengthening. By the time the semester was about to start I'd offered Willow, Tara and Buffy a room at the frat house.

Buffy readily agreed as it meant moving into the same room Riley was staying in. I'd noticed immediately when Faith started sneaking out to hunt down demons late at night. She was no longer just satisfied with patrolling but felt an urge to hunt.

Each night she came back she became needy for release and I happily obliged. What I hadn't realized was the fact that Buffy was doing the same hunting wise. They'd actually been coordinating unconsciously and covering the entire town each night.

Alice brought it to my attention one evening after I'd made my latest breakthrough in magic power. I told her to leave it be as they'd tell us when they were ready. I had other concerns as the farther down the path of magic I traveled the harder it became to progress. It took me all summer to reach seven hundred feet deep with my well of magic.

In my studies I'd reached a different sort of plateau as I needed to gather more spell books on dark magic and various branches of magic like voodoo and hoodoo. I'd reached the very pentacle of healing and protection magic's as far as I was aware.

I could defend myself from many different things from curses to physical damage with little effort while healing others was harder and more complicated i was still up there with the best of them. I couldn't cure cancer or death, but then that's a different sort of problem. Cancer is the bodies own cells attacking itself while healing the dead is resurrection and necromancy, something I wasn't well versed in.

I had Giles using all his contacts to acquire rare and unique magic books on the various branches out there I had yet to explore. In the meantime I'd begun prepping the second house to protect us from all but the strongest of foes.

I'd even incorporated the enochian runes in the warding so it was untraceable even by magic and technology. That added with the protective warding made it a nearly perfect safe house. Besides, location, location, location.

Over the summer Giles had begun making plans to move back to England and informed me of his plans so that I would be prepared to hire a replacement manager. I'd done just that on his recommendation and hired a avid customer named Mr.Bogarty. He'd been in on several occasions and was an magic practitioner who dabbled on occasion.

I had yet to have him start working with his new duties as Giles had only begun his manager training. I hadn't even begun preparing myself to absorb the old ones inside me to strengthen my own power as just attempting it could very well kill me.

Their presence alone gave me pause because I'd have to overcome their minds with sheer force of will. The memory of being nearly destroyed was enough to give me pause alone, much less the daunting task of absorbing them and not being corrupted by their very essence.

Ideally I'd have perfected some mental defenses and offensive practice before I attempted it. Not to mention help from the Devon coven to to subdue them just in case I failed.

On a lighter note I've begun practicing alchemy along with my other aspects of magic. Alice had joined Tara and Willow with their witchcraft training leaving me to practice the darker stuff by myself as she'd put it. "Studying the darker stuff tends to scare me a little. Each time I try to read through those old tomes I feel dizzy and weak."

I didn't really understand the feeling but I knew I was different as I had far stronger mental shields than she did. Towards the end of the summer we went to the beach to make one last good memory before school started.

I myself was manning the grill as Xander and Alice were the only other ones willing to do so and while Alice was a good cook I wasn't about to let her make the food without being able to eat it herself.

A quick fire spell later the burgers and hot dogs were cooking on the beach grill that someone had made long before we'd ever arrived. It was by no means new or even sanitary, not that it would effect me much, but the others might've protested if I hadn't cleaned and put aluminum foil on it.

Buffy, Riley, Faith and Alice were down next to the water playing teams of catch with each other. When the food was done I whistled to get their attention and they came running. While I was handing out food a storm approached us and tried to rain on our fun.

I did a powerful intense spell to shift it further down the coast, leaving us to eat and talk enjoying the ocean side cookout. Willow and Tara were a bit startled by my blatantly powerful spell. The rest, other than Alice and Anya hadn't even sensed it as I hadn't used a flashy spell only a strong repulsive spell that left no outer signs the non magically gifted could detect.

The next day the new college semester began. After classes I got a call from Giles saying he'd told Willow of his plans to move. That night everyone was out in force patrolling when Dracula, the Dracula, revealed himself Buffy and Faith.

I grew annoyed when he started talking to them about the dark power they possessed and nearly enthralled them right then and there. With a deep growl I partially shifted and struck me from behind, sending him several yards away and colliding with a tomb stone.

He hissed as he stood up. "Who dares-"

I was on him in less than a heartbeat, roaring inches from his face, scaring flocks of birds and small creatures fleeing from the nearby woods just outside the cemetery. With my roar both slayers seemed to catch themselves and started trying to attack him as well.

He kept mutating into mist and fog before finally giving up after a particularly brutal three way impalement. I'd shoved my claws through his throat and out of the back of his neck while Buffy and Faith both struck his heart from the front and back simultaneously.

When he faded and turned to dust I snorted and shifted back to my human form. Luckily Alice had reminded me to wear the sweat pants for patrols. We continued our patrol before heading to Giles's apartment to report back.

The next few days were hectic as my magic spells on the house went off in intervals letting me know that someone was trying to breach the wards. Since Buffy was staying at her mothers house until her stuff could be moved into the frat house, I had a feeling the count would be making his way there so I called her up and warned her.

She said she'd take care of it if he was dumb enough to show up at her house. As he couldn't get to Faith, he's bound to settle on the slayer he could get to. The next day, after classes, we'd settled down at the Magic Box to read and do research on the count.

While I was combing through the mythology books on Dracula I noticed Xander acting strangely. He was fidgeting and looked around several times with confusion written on his face. With a dreadful thought I walked over to him and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look into my eyes as I clawed the back of his neck.

Inside his mind was a jumbled mess that had clearly been twisted and broken into. After a long while I was able to help him fend off and destroy the compulsions on him before withdrawing from his mind.

As I removed my claws he flinched and grabbed the back of his neck. "What the heck man? At least warn a guy before you go stabbing him with those things."

I snorted and told him out loud so the whole group could hear. "You were under Dracula's compulsion. Had I warned you it would've influenced you to avoid and resist fixing your mind. You were clearly being mind controlled."

Buffy asked. "I thought you said we couldn't be mind controlled after you helped us build our mind palace or whatever?"

I shook my head and sighed. "What I said was that you would be able to fight it off if and only if you'd continued to reinforce your minds defenses. Xander here hasn't even tried to build on what I showed him to do."

"Odds are Dracula exploited that weakness and broke through his meager defenses. He was resisting on his own for a while though. That's how I knew he was being compelled, he was showing signs of distress and fidgeting like he was fighting himself not to act out."