Apparently, Buffy and I were under some sort of test by the Initiative. 

Buffy and I were in hiding well from the commandos until we wanted to be found, after dark in the woods.

Four of them were looking for us right now, stalking closer with taser rifles in low crouches.

The lead commando silently gestured them forward.

Two of them walked toward where I was hiding.

Two of them walked toward where Buffy was hiding.

I kicked Commando 1 out into the open, making him soar back a yard before falling to the ground. I jumped out into the open, facing Commando 2, kicking him in the face twice, making him fall.

Buffy faced off with two commandos, spinning to kick Commando 3 with a roadhouse kick. Commando 3 tried to punch her. Buffy ducked, punching him in the face.

Commando 2 stood, trying to punch me twice. I raised either arm to block the move, punching him in the face, grabbing his shoulders, kneeing him in the stomach, making him fall.

Buffy grabbed Commando 3's arm, using him as a shield for the taser rifle that Commando 4 tried to shoot her with, letting him fall.

"Lights," Walsh told us. The lights on the nearby military vehicle turned on. Walsh and Riley walked closer.Walsh looked at Buffy and me, stoic. "Took the patrol team 42 minutes to track you. And you neutralized them in 28 seconds."

"We were just lucky," Buffy told them.

"I see," Walsh told us. Riley started to smile. "Well, still, very impressive."

Walsh turned around.

Riley stopped smiling.

Walsh walked toward the military Humvee.

I watched her go, wincing slightly.

Riley stepped closer to Buffy.

"I was just being modest with the whole 'lucky' thing," Buffy told him. "You got that, right?"

Riley smiled. "I got it."

The rest of the commandos were standing, taking their masks off. Two of them were Graham Miller and Forrest Gates.

Forrest didn't look impressed, a hand on his back, stopping for a moment to look at Buffy and me from over his shoulder. "Pfft."

Forrest walked away, leaving.

Riley put an arm around Buffy's shoulders, leading her after the others.

I wasn't as comfortable with this as the others, sighing, looking around, walking with Graham.

"Something wrong?" Graham asked.

"Not exactly wrong," I answered. "Just... kinda weird."

Graham nodded. "Mm. For us, too. See, we all thought Slayers were myths."

"Well, you were myth-taken," I told him. Graham smirked. "No, it's just... I'm used to working in small groups. Not... all this."

"Well, that was awesome, Zoey," Graham told me. "And believe it or not, you're hits. Everybody loves you."

"Oh, really?"  I asked.

Graham nodded. "See, even Forrest didn't think you were too bad."

"You call that a good reaction to a first impression?" I asked.

"It is when you're him," Graham told me.

We walked on, smiling small smiles.

  ~~~~     

Willow, Buffy and I were sitting in the college dining hall.

"And then Professor Walsh said we were just as amazing as Riley had said," Buffy told her. "And later, he told me that she couldn't stop talking about this move I made where I used one of the commandos as a shield to block a taser blast. It was, like, 12,000 volts. It took the guy almost two hours to recover."

"So, Will, how was your night?" I asked.

"Like a normal person's," Willow answered. "Light on the action-packed. Hope tonight's not too much of a letdown for you excitement-wise. You do remember about tonight, right?"

"Bronze," I answered. "The gang. Are you kidding? I wouldn't be anywhere else. I miss you guys. We haven't been able to spend that much time together lately."

Willow nodded. "You've been busy, fighting armies and stuff." She looked at Buffy. "Not to mention other distractions of a more romantic..."

Buffy smiled, looking behind us. "Riley just walked in." She looked at me teasingly. "And he's with Graham."

Willow and I followed her gaze to Riley, Forrest and Graham getting their food.

I looked at Buffy. "Do not even start." Buffy smirked. "Do you wanna let him know you're here?"

"No," Buffy answered. "Just enjoying a good stare."

I nodded awkwardly, looking at Willow. "So, this guy, Graham. Not much for talk or anything, but we've talked a few times. Hung out since Walsh asked him to help us get... situated with the whole Initiative thing."

"Really?" Willow asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

"But Walsh asked you to join almost two weeks ago," Willow told us. "You've been hanging out that long."

"Yeah," I answered.

"See?" Buffy asked. "Told you that getting involved in the Initiative might be a little good for you, too."

I chuckled, looking at Willow. "Not really sure I wanna get too involved with anything yet, but I do wanna have some fun."

"Fun is good," Willow told me.

"Tell me about your night," I told her.

"Well, spent most of it at Xander's teaching Anya to play poker," Willow answered.

"That sounds like fun," I told her.

Willow nodded. "Yeah. Except the Anya part and the poker part."

"Oh, come on," I told her. "Anya's not that bad, and I happen to like poker. Besides, I think you better get used--"

Buffy was still watching Riley. "A twinkie? That's his lunch? Oh, he is so gonna be punished."

"Everyone's getting spanked but me," Willow told us.

I chuckled in confusion. "What?"

Willow smiled a small smile, shaking her head. "Nothing."

I looked at Willow in amusement.

Willow smiled.

  ~~~~     

I walked into the Lowell House, looking around. 

Graham walked down the stairs, noticing, slightly amused. "You lost or something?"

I turned to face him. "No. Supposed to meet up with someone to take me down." Graham raised his eyebrows. I closed my eyes, shaking my head. "That didn't come out as planned." I looked up. "Neither did that."

Graham smirked. "I know what you mean. Come on." He led me down the hallway. "They're actually waiting for you."

"Yeah, I was with a... friend," I told him. Graham stopped in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror in the wall. "This is it?"

Graham nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Graham opened a tiny hidden panel beside the mirror, pushing a button.

A horizontal green light came from the mirror, sliding down over us.

There was a female computer voice. "New retinal scan recorded. Francis, Zoey."

The mirror slid to one side to reveal a very white interior of the elevator.

Graham stepped inside.

I slowly followed, turning to watch the elevator door close again.

We took the elevator down to the Initiative headquarters.

The elevator door opened, letting us off.

We walked out onto a catwalk overlooking the main chamber.

There was a jumbo hangar size complex. In the middle of the floor was a lower section where men and women in surgical scrubs and white lab coats were performing tests and operations on several types of demons, strapped to strange looking tables and chairs.

I was in shock. "Oh, my God. You guys said it was big. You told me, but you never said it was huge."

Graham shrugged offhandedly. "'Commandos' don't like to brag."

I looked at Graham.

Graham smirked.

I looked around. "This is incredible. But not that I thought it was some fly-by-night operation. Unless it is. I mean, can you guys fly? At night? With those jet-pack things? Do you have those?"

Graham played coy. "I can't really talk about it."

"This is unreal," I told him.

Graham smirked at the reaction, looking down the metal staircase. "There they are."

Graham led me downstairs toward Buffy, Riley and Walsh.

Walsh looked at me. "So, you like our little operation?'

"Yeah," I answered. "Yes. It's very... clean."

Walsh handed me a small plastic clip-on badge. "Your visitor's pass." Buffy already had another visitor's pass clipped to her jacket. Walsh took a few papers from her clipboard. "And I've assembled some reading material to bring you two up to speed."

I clipped the pass to my leather jacket, taking the papers from Walsh.

Buffy frowned, doing the same. "Oh. And I thought I was never gonna get homework from you again."

"You can't take that home," Walsh told us. "That's classified material. Highly sensitive. When you're through reading those pages, you'll have to eat them."

I looked down, raising my eyebrows slightly in amusement.

Buffy looked at Walsh speechlessly, looking up at Riley.

Riley smiled. "She's joking."

"Don't worry," Walsh told us. "It doesn't happen very often. Shall we?" We walked along. Walsh led us toward the open center of the complex, stopping at the metal railing to look down. "Much of our hands-on research with the HST's is performed here. We call this 'The Pit'."

I saw a air of green squid-faced demons laying on two tables, while scrub-clad techs worked on them. "And what do you call those?"

"Tough," Graham answered. "It took eight of us to bring those two down."

"They'll be under out control soon enough," Walsh told us. She called down into the pit. "Doctor Angleman!" Dr. Angleman was in a lab coat, looking up toward us, waving. "Head of our science team. He's a leader in the field of xenomorphic behavior modification."

"Behavior modification?" Buffy repeated.

"We've made significant advances in reconditioning the sub-terrestrials," Walsh told us. "Bringing them to a point where they no longer pose a threat."

I looked at Buffy, whispering. "So we've seen."

Buffy and I nodded to ourselves.

Buffy pointed across the complex. "What's over there?"

We walked casually in that direction.

Graham, Riley and Walsh followed.

Walsh took the lead again, leading us to an area closed off by a chain-link fence.

Inside were large caches of guns and equipment of all types.

There was one commando on duty inside.

"The armory," Walsh answered. "You'll have to be cleared for use on each of these weapons." Buffy walked  toward a table behind them, seeing a small looking device laying in an open case, lifting it up. An image on the monitor behind her also moved, showing a close up of Buffy's eye as she held the device close to her face. I tried not to show a reaction. "The more advance arsenal can be complicated, but I'm certain, in time, you'll pick that up." Walsh looked over her shoulder to see what Buffy was doing. "Don't pick that up."

Walsh walked toward Buffy, quickly taking the device away from her.

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"About 20,000 dollars," Walsh answered.

"It's a prototype for a com-cam," Riley explained, pointing to the monitor behind Buffy. "Communications camera. Soon to be standard issue. Gives us a direct comlink to control when we're out in the field."

"Also monitors the heart rate of the wearer," Walsh told us. "A valuable tool for research in stress in combat condition. If you'll follow me, I'll show you the HST containment area."

Walsh walked off.

We followed.

  ~~~~     

The tour was coming to an end.

Walsh stopped to face us. "We have a few more things to give you two."

I pointed toward a metal security door. "What's in there?"

A lab coat scientist used an ID card to open the door, walking inside, closing the door behind him.

"Research area," Walsh answered. "Very restricted for security reasons. Here is your security cards and your pagers."

Walsh handed us each one of each.

"Been thinking about getting one of these," I told them.

"We're the only ones with the number and it stays that way," Walsh told us.

I nodded, looking away. "Right."

"Lose either of them, and there's hell to pay and down here, we mean that literally," Walsh told us, offering her hand, shaking our hands, smiling. "Again, welcome to the team."

  ~~~~     

Buffy, Riley, Graham, Forrest, Kevin and Jay, and I walked into the Bronze, toward Willow, Xander and Anya at their table.

"Hi, all," I told them. "Sorry about the late-itude."

"Late?" Xander asked. "Really? Huh. Hadn't noticed."

"Hope you don't mind us tagging along," Riley told them.

"No, no, of course not," Willow answered. "The more, the... more."

"This is Graham, this is Forrest," Riley told them. "That's Kevin, and that's Jay in the back. We're gonna go grab some drinks. Anybody wanting?"

"Coke, please," Buffy told him.

"Uh, Pepsi," I answered.

"I'm good," Willow told us.

Xander shook his head. "No."

Anya looked at Xander. "We're going away to dance. Over there."

Anya stood, walking toward Xander.

"We are?" Xander asked.

Anya led Xander toward the dance floor.

The commandos walked toward the bar.

Buffy and I sat at the table next to Willow.

"Anya seems a bit on edge," Buffy told us.

"She's a little antsy around commando types," Willow explained. "Ex-demon issues."

I nodded in understanding.

"Oh, you know, this was my idea, and I didn't think that you would mind," Buffy told her. "Uh, Riley and the guys were throwing a little impromptu celebration in Zoey's and my honor. And it made it, like, impossible not to invite them."

"Oh, that's neat about the celebrating," Willow told us. "I just thought this was supposed to be, you know, us. Just the Scooby corps, you know? I could've invited somebody else if I knew it was an open free-for-all."

 "I'm sorry," Buffy told her. "I had no idea. My total bad."

"So, who did you want to invite?" I asked.

"What?" Willow asked.

"You said you wanted to invite someone," I told her.

"No, not--" Willow started. "No one. I mean, I meant a hypothetical someone, which is to say no one. What are we celebrating?"

"We're in," I answered. "The Initiative. Professor Walsh gave us the grand tour, and we're talking grand as in canyon. You'd never believe the size of it."

Willow nodded. "That's really... again, I say neat. So, what do you mean, exactly? You've joined them?"

"No, not exactly," I answered. "It just means that when we patrol, we'll have a heavily armed team backing us up."

Willow nodded in understanding. "So what happened with Sunday in the vampires might never happen again."

"Exactly," I told them.

"Plus, boyfriend going to work with me, big extra perk," Buffy told us.  She looked at me. "And so many guys for you to choose to move on with. Oh, let's say... Graham?"

"Hardly," I told them.

"Oh, come on," Buffy told me. "You two've been 'talking' for about almost two weeks now, ever since Maggie told him and Riley to help us get used to the idea of being apart of the Initiative. You know, showing us around, being super nice."

"I already said I don't want anything serious," I told them.

"But you also said you wanted some fun," Buffy replied. "You know how long I knew Parker before having some 'fun'?"

"About a week," I answered. "And look how that turned out."

"Hey, I already did the homework on this guy," Buffy told me. "He seems nice."

"You mean you asked Riley," I told him.

Buffy hesitated. "And some other people."

I tilted my head at her.

"Guys, do you really think this is a good idea?" Willow asked. "I mean, don't you think you're rushing things a little?" 

"I thought you liked Riley," Buffy told her. "And Graham's not that bad."

"Not with the guys," Willow told us. "With the Initiative. There's a bunch of stuff about them we still don't know."

"I know that," I told them.

"Like what?" Buffy asked.

"Well, what's their ultimate agenda?" Willow asked. "I mean, okay, yeah, they neuter vampires and demons. But then what? Are they gonna reintegrate them into society? Get them jobs as bag boys at Wal-Mart?"

"Does Wal-Mart have bag boys?" Buffy asked.

"Plus, don't forget that 314 thing that Ethan told Giles about," Willow told us.

"Well, a man that worships chaos and tries to kill you is a man you can trust," Buffy told us sarcastically.

"Well, bad info or not, I just think there's certain questions you should ask before you go off and enlist," Willow told us.

"Will, why do you think I agreed to go in?" I asked. "I mean, you know me. I have some very bad trust issues and paranoia."

Willow realized. "Inside men."

"Exactly," I answered. "So, unless you want to keep grasping at straws in the dark when we have a way inside..."

Willow nodded barely.

Buffy didn't seem happy.

Our beeps started to go off, including the guys' at the bar.

"That's us," Riley told them. "Let's go."

"When did you two get pagers?" Willow asked. "What's going on?"

Riley walked toward us. "That's our cue. Mother wants us."

Buffy and I stood.

I looked at Willow. "Will..."

Willow nodded. "I know. Talk later."

Buffy, the commandos and I walked out, leaving.

  ~~~~     

Walsh was pacing between a large picture of a demon and the commandos, with me and Buffy. 

"So, what's the big emergency?" I asked.

"This is your objective," Walsh told us. "Sub-T-67119. Demon class, Polgara species. Though visual confirmation has not yet been made, we're confident of the target's approximate position as it leaves behind a distinct protein marker. Dr. Angleman will brief you on its defenses."

Walsh gave Angleman the floor, walking away.

Angleman paced in front of us. "When threatened... bone skewers jut from the creature's forearms during battle. It's imperative when ensnaring it not to damage its arms. That's all you really need to know."

I raised my hand. "Question."

Angleman looked at Walsh.

Walsh stood. "Zoey?"

I lowered my arm. "Why exactly can't we damage this polka thing's arms? I mean, not that I want to. It's just, in my experience, when fighting for your life, body parts get damaged, and better its bits than mine." I looked at Buffy. "Or ours."

Buffy nodded.

"We wish to study the physiology of every sub-terrestrial's natural defenses," Angleman answered. "Part of the research we do here." Buffy raised her hand. "Yes?"

Buffy lowered her arm. "What do they want?"

"Want?" Angleman repeated.

"Why are they here?" Buffy asked. "Sacrifices, treasure, or are they just getting rampagey? I find it's easier to predict their responses if I know--"

"They're not sentient, just destructive, I believe," Angleman told us.

"They do have keen eyesight, however," Walsh told us. "You might wanna be suited up for this."

I looked around the guys in their uniforms.

"Oh, you mean the camo and stuff?" Buffy asked. "I thought about it, but on me, it's gonna look all private Benjamin." The boys chuckled. "Don't worry. I've patrolled in this halter many times."

There were more chuckles.

Riley had to bow his head and set his jaw to keep from laughing.

"Why don't we give our attention to Dr. Angleman..." Walsh trailed off. Buffy raised her hand. "And save all questions until the end?"

Buffy lowered her arm.

"Actually, I'm finished," Angleman told us.

Walsh nodded. "Oh." She looked at Riley. "Uh, well, Agent Finn, deploy the team."

Riley stepped forward. "Okay, listen up. We'll be going in a 4-squad setup. Team leaders: Gates, Taggart, Stavros. Alpha team, you're with me."

"Report to TLs for assignments and weapon requisitions," Walsh told us. "Reminder. This is a zap and trap, people. Capture, not a kill. Any questions?" Buffy raised her hand. Walsh seemed annoyed. "Buffy."

  ~~~~     

The alpha team was Riley, Graham, Buffy and me.

"So, I guess she hates me now," Buffy told us.

"What?" I asked.

"Professor Walsh," Buffy answered. "Questions. The Initiative faux pas, yes?"

"It's... a little unusual," Riley told her. "She's just not used to it. Maybe 'cause you barely ever opened your mouth in her classroom. But I know she likes you. In fact, she liked you before I did."

"Really?" Buffy asked.

"Told me so herself," Riley told her.

"Well, maybe I should get her a present or something," Buffy told us.

"Buffy, can we talk about this later?" Riley asked. "There's a dangerous hostile out here. Since I don't have your reflexes, I kind of need to focus."

Buffy nodded. "Right. Right." We walked on. "What do you mean, she liked me before you did? You didn't like me?"

I sighed in annoyance.

  ~~~~     

We were still looking.

Graham's walkie talkie was buzzing. He walked closer. "Riley, Forrest's on the talkie for you." He handed it to Riley. "Reception's not too good."

Riley took the call. "This is alpha team. Go ahead." He stepped away to try to get a better signal. I noticed Graham looking at me. "Say again, beta team. You're breaking up."

The demon we were hunting ran toward Riley.

"Riley!" Buffy told him.

The demon pushed Riley away, running toward us. I kicked the demon in the side, spinning to roundhouse kick him in the face, making him back away.

Graham took out a stun gun, hitting the demon with it repeatedly. The demon backhand punched him in the face, making him fall to the ground.

Buffy kicked the demon in the head, punching him in the face repeatedly.

Riley stood, hitting the demon with a baton. The demon punched him in the head, making him fall to the ground.

I punched the demon in the face repeatedly. The demon's skewers protruded from his wrists, slashing toward me. I ducked, spinning around him. The demon slashed toward me. I caught his arm. He slashed toward me with the other arm. I backed away enough to make him miss.

Riley and Graham knelt to the ground, taser rifles in hand, aiming at the demon, waiting for a clear shot.

The demon turned to face Buffy, slashing toward her. Buffy ducked, raising both feet to kick the demon in the chest, making  him back away.

"Now!" Riley told us. 

Buffy and I ducked out of the way.

Riley and Graham shot the demon in the chest with the taser rifles, stunning him.

Buffy and I managed to get the security net over the demon, trapping him.

I kicked the demon in the face, making him fall onto his back within the nets trapping him, backing away. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

  ~~~~     

Buffy and Riley had gone back to Riley's room in the Lowell House to... well... I didn't wanna know.

Graham and I were sitting at a table in the Bronze.

"So, all you commando types," I told him. "Quite the regimental soldiers.'

"We are how they trained us," Graham told me.

"They?" I repeated. "Who they?"

"You know, the government," Graham answered. "Plucked me out of special op training for this."

"What did they tell you it was for?" I asked.

"They didn't," Graham answered. "In the military, you learn to follow orders. Not ask questions."

I shook my head. "I don't understand. Aren't you curious about all the science and research stuff they're doing?"

Graham shrugged. "I know all I need to know. We're doing good here. Protecting the public. Removing the sub-terrestrial threats. It's work worth doing."

We listened to the music for a moment.

I became serious. "What's 314?"

Graham seemed confused. "I'm sorry. What?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Just, uh, a code I heard one time. Or, at least, I thought I did." Graham still seemed confused. I changed the subject. "So, isn't the whole point of military, like you were saying, fighting the good fight, surviving one day at a time... It's kind of like, you know, living for now."

"Yeah, I guess," Graham answered. "Yeah, I don't put stuff off anymore. And everybody says they get it. 'Oh, man. Me, too. Live for today.' But what they really want is a reason to goof off. Not study for finals."

"Also a valid life choice," I told him. "You know, most Slayers I've ever heard of never make it past 24. So, yeah, I get it. So, Graham Miller. When you go to sleep tonight, what are you going to regret not doing today?"

"I'm going to regret... being too nervous to kiss the girl," Graham answered.

I smiled. "Well, lucky for you, I don't get nervous easily."

I leaned closer to kiss Graham slowly for a moment, pulling away, taking a deep breath.

Graham took a moment to speak. "How about a dance?"

I smirked. "I thought you'd never ask."

  ~~~~     

The next morning, I was sitting in the dorm room, at the computer.

Buffy walked in.

"Hello," I told her in a light tone.

Buffy turned to face me. "You seem... slightly cheery."

"Not much," I admitted, turning my chair to face Buffy. 

Willow walked in, closing the door behind her. "Oh, hi."

"Hey," I told them. "So, you two were out all night."

"Yeah," Willow agreed, walking toward her dresser.

"Sorry about bailing on you guys at the Bronze," I told her. "Graham and I went back, but you were already gone."

"Yeah," Willow agreed.

I sighed, standing. "So, I asked him about the Initiative."

"And?" Willow asked.

"Uh, the commando guys aren't that real big on question-asking, so they don't know anymore than we do," I answered.

Willow frowned in confusion. "That's stupid."

Buffy walked closer, looking at me. "Wait. Is that the only reason you're hanging out with Graham? To get information on the Initiative?"

"It's not the only reason," I answered. Buffy and Willow gave me looks to go on. "But it might have a big part in it." I sighed. "I feel bad about it, but we need to know." Buffy and Willow nodded in agreement. "And, uh, main reason I'm feeling bad is 'cause we kissed last night. So, uh, there's that."

Buffy smiled. "I knew it."

Willow chuckled. 

I looked at Willow. "What about you? What were you up to at all hours of the night last night?"

Willow opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, our pagers went off.

Buffy pulled out her pager.

I sighed in annoyance, rolling my eyes, walking toward the desk, picking up my pager.

"Wow," Willow told us. "They really keep you two hopping, don't they?"

"Yeah," Buffy answered. "We got to go. See you."

Buffy walked out, leaving.

I turned to Willow. "I'm serious. Once all this gets settled down..."

"Yeah, I'll tell you everything," Willow told me. "Promise."

I smiled a small smile. "Okay. Oh, and Giles called. He told me to tell you to call when you got back."

"Okay," Willow told me. "Go on. You don't wanna be late."

I smiled a small, sympathetic smile, walking out, leaving.

  ~~~~     

In the Initiative headquarters, Buffy, Walsh and I were walking along.

"It's a small job," Walsh told us. "Reconnaissance. Probably a waste of Slayer abilities, but my boys are on an assignment, so I--"

"No," I told her. "It's okay. We're up for some action."

"I doubt you'll get any on this one," Walsh told us. We reached a table. Walsh pointed to a map. "We have a reading of a class three sub-terrestrial moving through the sewer tunnels just on the edge of town."

"Class three?" Buffy repeated.

"It's a low-level threat," Walsh told us. "Minimal aggression. Meager defenses."

A commando walked closer with two taser rifles. "Professor Walsh."

Walsh took the taser rifles. "They barely show up on the scanner, and occasionally turn out to be raccoons."

Walsh handed Buffy and me each a taser rifle.

Buffy examined hers. "Wow. You're not crazy about raccoons, huh?"

"We always take precautions," Walsh told us, picking up the com-cams from the table. "All we need you two to do is get a visual on this thing. These will feed me back images and I can advise you from there. I don't want to put either of you in any unnecessary danger."

Walsh handed the com-cams to us.

"Oh, that's okay," I told her. "Danger's a birthright." The barrel of my rifle pointed toward Walsh. Walsh casually diverted it away with her hand. "Sorry. Um, Professor Walsh. There's, uh, there's still some stuff about all this that I'm not clear on."

Walsh took a moment to respond. "Well, when you get back, we can have a talk."

"Good," I told her. "Okay. When we get back."

I started to walk away.

"Are we supposed to salute you?" Buffy asked.

"No," Walsh answered.

"Okay," Buffy told her.

Buffy and I walked away, leaving.

  ~~~~     

Buffy and I walked along the tunnels under the town, taser rifles in hand.

"So, how was it?" Buffy asked.

"How was what?" I asked.

"Don't play dumb," Buffy told me.

"Buffy," I told her, gesturing to the com-cams we were wearing as headsets, silently telling her I didn't want it to get back to headquarters.

"Just tell me if it was good," Buffy told me. I didn't answer, continuing on. Buffy smiled. "That means a yes."

We heard a snarling sound coming from deep in the chamber.

I spoke into the mic. "Professor Walsh, are you getting this? Possible HST. Make it a definite." We saw a green quid-faced demon step out, wearing ragged robes, carrying a long battle ax. A second demon stepped out with it, also armed with a battle ax. "And he's brought along a friend. They seem..." I remembered. "Buffy, we've seen them before."

"When?" Buffy asked.

"During the tour in the Initiative," I answered.  "The two demons being worked on in 'the pit'."

Buffy remembered.

We set up the taser rifles, aiming at the demons, firing. The weapons short-circuited with bursts of sparks, making us drop them.

"Come on," Buffy told me.

We turned to run out the way we had come.

A barred gate was dropping in place, blocking our escape into the tunnel.

Buffy and I turned to face the demons.

  ~~~~     

The demons stepped closer.

Buffy and I exchanged a look, nodding, running toward the demons, doing the same backward flip kick move, making the demons fall to the ground, landing in crotches, standing.

The demons stood.

Demon 1 slashed toward Buffy with his battle ax. Buffy side-stepped, kicking him in the back of the knee, making him fall to his knees.

I spun to kick Demon 2 with a roundhouse kick. Demon 2 punched me in the face, smashing the ax handle into my chin, making me turn away.

Demon 1 swung his ax at Buffy. Buffy caught the handle with both hands, pushing it back against his throat, pushing him into the wall.

Demon 2 slashed toward me. I ducked, spinning around him, turning to face him. Demon 2 turned to face me, slashing toward me. I caught the ax by its handle with both hands.

Demon 1 pushed Buffy away from him, using the handle of the ax to slam into Buffy's stomach, making her back away. He tried to overhead slash into her skull. Buffy rolled out of the way.

Buffy's com-cam fell off in the process.

I pushed Demon 2 away from me by the handle of the ax, taking the com-cam off, throwing it down.

  ~~~~     

Demon 1 ran toward Buffy. Buffy deflected the ax, pushing him into the wall, pinning it.

Demon 2 stepped toward me. I kicked the ax out of his hands with a crescent in-to-out, making the ax fall to the ground, punching the demon in the stomach, making it double over, kneeing him in the face, making him stand straight. 

Demon 1 stood behind me. I punched Demon 1 in the face, able to grab the handle of its ax as it push me back against the opposite wall, wrestling with it. Demon 1 pushed the handle against my throat, suffocating me.

Buffy grabbed Demon 2's ax from the ground, slashing into Demon 1's back, into his heart, killing him.

I pushed the body to the ground. 

Buffy turned to face Demon 2, slashing toward him. Demon 2 ducked, grabbing the other ax from the ground, swinging toward Buffy. Buffy used her ax to block his move, diverting the blade away, making it fall out of his grasp, slashing toward him. Demon 2 raised an arm to block the move, the blade getting stuck in his arm. He pulled it out, tossing it away, gripping Buffy by her throat, lifting her up.

I grabbed the ax from the ground, stabbing Demon 2 in the back with it, taking it out, raising the ax over his head, swinging down hard into his skull, killing him.

Buffy and Demon 2 fell to the ground.

I let the blade fall out of my hands, helping Buffy stand.

Buffy and I exchanged a look, breathing heavily, catching our breaths.

We heard Riley and Walsh's voices from the com-cams.

Riley: "Regret to report Hostile 17 is still at large. I left beta team to comb the area, but the tracer's--"

Walsh: "Riley, something's happened. I--I don't know what to say. It--it--it's about Buffy and Zoey."

Riley: "What about them?"

Walsh: "Two of our hostiles broke free and escaped into the tunnels. They... went after them on their own. They're dead, Riley."

Riley: "What?"

Walsh: "I did everything I could to stop them. I told them to wait for a backup team. They kept insisting they didn't need any team, that they always handled everything that came at them just on their own. I--I'm so, so sorry."

Riley: "I don't understand."

Buffy and I exchanged a look, walking toward the two com-cams on the floor, picking them up.

Walsh: "I know what Buffy meant to you, and I know Zoey was your friend."

Riley: "How could this happen?"

Buffy and I aimed the com-cams at ourselves.

Walsh: "I didn't understand at first. But they had something. I don't know... Maybe I could have stopped them. It's hard not to blame myself."

"You should, Professor Walsh," Buffy told her. "That simple little recon you sent us on... wasn't raccoons. Turns out it was a trap in the sewers with faulty weapons and two of your pet demons. If you think that's enough to kill us, you really don't know what a Slayer is."

"Trust me when I say you're gonna find out," I told her, standing, tossing the com-cam on the floor, stomping on it, breaking it.

Buffy looked at me.

I didn't react to the gaze, walking out, leaving.

  ~~~~     

Buffy and I walked into Giles' apartment to see everyone there. Willow, Xander, Giles, Anya, Spike.

Giles took off his glasses. "Spike, Lord knows why I'm telling you this. It's for your own good. As long as the Initiative is in operation, it's not safe for you here."

"No," I agreed. Everyone turned to face us. "It's not safe for any of us."

Willow, Giles, Spike, Xander and Anya looked at us in confusion.

And now we had to explain.