Buffy had gone to LA because of Faith, but she was back now. She was in the dorm room explaining to Riley about what happened with Angel and Faith.

Giles was in his apartment doing God knew what.

Willow and Tara were in Tara's dorm.

Xander and Anya were dropping off clothes at Spike's crypt.

I walked through the woods, patrolling for Adam, blaster in hand, coming across a cave in the middle of the woods, hearing someone walk closer from behind me, turning around, aiming the blaster.

Forrest stood behind me, aiming his blaster at me. "Don't shoot."

"Give me a reason not to," I told him.

"You're killing humans now?" Forrest asked. 

I shook my head. "Not yet." I lowered the blaster. "Beating you senseless should do just fine."

"I could have a patrol here in under a minute," Forrest told me. "So here's a plan. You go your way, I'll go mine."

I turned around, walking toward the cave, stopping when I heard Forrest starting to follow, turning to face him, making him stop. "I'm checking out that cave."

"My orders exactly," Forrest told me.

"Alone?"  I asked.

"We're spread a little thin, so yeah," Forrest answered. "Family's tearing apart."

"Family?" I repeated. "What kind of family are you, the Corleone?"

We walked into the cave.

"Weren't until the Slayers showed up," Forrest told me.

"What, no girls in the club?"  I asked.

"You think your the first girls involved with commandos?" Forrest asked. "Such a big head on that skinny little body." I stopped walking. Forrest turned to face me. "No, you're just the first ones to tear the Initiative apart from the inside out. Professor Walsh and Dr. Angleman are dead. Riley's a fugitive. Graham's in ICU because your werewolf boyfriend nearly tore him to shreds. A monster is on the loose. We all had a career. And a future, till you two came along. And, yeah, I got a problem with that."

"A future?" I repeated. "A future doing what?" I stepped closer. "Illegal experiments? Torture? Murder? I guess killing someone isn't really a problem for you."

"Less and less," Forrest told me. "And why don't you get the hell out of here before I--"

Forrest took a threatening step toward me.

I aimed the blaster at him angrily. "Touch me and you'll find out what Slayer strength is like."

"I think it's about time you showed me, then," Forrest told me.

We heard Adam's voice. "Yes." We looked back the way we had came to see Adam standing behind us. "I think that would be interesting."

              ••••       

I stepped forward, ready to fire my blaster. Adam backhand punched the weapon out of my hands. I kicked him with little damage. Adam swung toward me. I raised my arm to block the move.

Forrest ran in.

I pushed Forrest back, making him fall to the ground. "Get out of here!"

I spun around, backhand punching Adam in the face. Adam gripped my throat, throwing me into the wall, making me fall. He made the skewer appear out of his arm.

Forrest stood, readying his blaster. "Not moving."

Forrest shot Adam with the blaster.

Adam arched back, his arms wide as if accepting the charge. The rings of electricity coursed over his body, seeming to be absorbed within him. He looked at Forrest. "Thank you."

I stood, looking at Forrest. "Go! Get out!" Forrest ignored me, running toward Adam. Adam stabbed Forrest in the chest with the skewer, killing him. "No!" I ran toward them. Adam threw Forrest's body into me, making us both fall to the floor, picking up Forrest's blaster. "Oh, God."

I rolled Forrest's body off of me, standing. Adam shot me with the blaster. The charge hit me full force, sending me back to where I fell into a large boulder. I fell to my knees, gasping for pain, standing, running toward the entrance. Adam tracked me with the blaster, firing. It just barely missed me, blowing apart a huge chunk of the cave wall.

I ran outside, down the hill, looking behind me, not seeing Adam following, but I didn't stop. I looked forward, barely noticing a body on the ground that I fell over, rolling down the hill uncontrollably, rolling into a large boulder at the bottom of the hill, hitting my head hard, falling unconscious.

              ••••       

When I woke up, I had a small gash on my temple, bruised around the cut.

 I walked into the dorm room, seeing Buffy and Riley, sighing. "I'm sorry. Should I come back later?"

"You look like hell," Riley told me.

"Thanks," I told him sarcastically. "So do you."

"Well, I just got bashed by Buffy's ex-boyfriend," Riley told me. I looked at Buffy in confusion. Buffy nodded. "What's your excuse?"

I sighed. "Everybody was so busy with everything that I went through a little patrol in the woods."

"Looking for Adam?" Buffy asked.

I nodded. "I didn't think I'd find him on my own." Buffy looked at me worriedly in concern. "But I wasn't alone." I looked at Riley somberly. "Riley, I have to tell you something, and there's no easy way--"

"Just say it," Riley told me.

I hesitated, looking down. "Forrest is dead." Riley took this in, leaning his elbows on his knees, resting his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry. There was a fight. Adam killed him. I barely got away. I know that there's nothing I can say that's gonna make this better. But we will find this thing and destroy it."

Riley looked up somberly. "I have to go."

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked.

Riley stood. "I have to go now."

Riley walked toward the door, grabbing his flak jacket off Willow's chair, walking out, leaving.

Buffy looked at me. "Are you okay?"

I didn't answer, slowly lowering to my bed, laying down.

Buffy looked down, shaking her head, turning away in regret.

              ••••       

We went to Giles' apartment.

Willow was working on the laptop, trying to decrypt the files that Spike had gotten ahold off, a tad frustrated. "It's still encrypted."

Buffy, Tara and I were standing behind Willow.

"Well, Willow's working really hard on it," Tara told us.

"Okay, well, how long before you... un-crypt it?" I asked.

"Hours," Willow answered. "Days, maybe. Anyone suggesting months would not be accused of crazy talk."

Giles was in the kitchen, pouring himself a drink, inebriated. "Whatever happened to Latin? At least when that made no sense, the church approve."

"I can't just wait around, Will," Buffy told her, slightly impatient. "The disk is no good to me unless you crack it soon."

Buffy turned away, walking toward the living room area.

Willow gave her a withering look.

I frowned slightly in confusion.

Anya was sitting on the arm of the couch, her feet on the cushion.

Xander was sitting next to her, not looking entirely happy.

"Hey, we worked really hard getting that," Anya told us. "Xander delivered clothing."

"Church approved," Giles told us, closing the cork of the liquor bottle with his palm.

"Sorry, you guys, but we're on a clock here," Buffy told us. "Okay, Adam was at that cave, so maybe he was there for a reason? I--I can--I can go back, scope it out, track him if I have to."

"Right,"  I told her sarcastically. "And then maybe you'll get lucky, and he'll still be there and he can rip your arms off for you? Buffy, I went in there alone, and look what happened. You need help."

Buffy looked away.

"You two never train with me anymore," Giles told us. "It's no wonder he's kicked your asses every time you've fought so far."

"Giles," I told him.

Giles stepped out of the kitchen, drink in hand, leaning against the entrance of the hallway. "Sorry. Was it a bit honest?" He smiled drunkenly. "Terribly sorry."

Xander stood. "So, they don't go alone." He turned to face him. "Giles, weapons all around."

"You're not going, Xander," Buffy told him. Xander turned to face her, giving her a hard look. "Y--you'd get hurt."

Xander nodded, as if expecting this. "Oh. Okay. You, Zoey and Willow do the superpower thing. I'll stay behind and putt around the Batcave with crusty old Alfred here."

Xander pointed at Giles with a thumb.

"Ah ah, no," Giles told him. "I am no Alfred, sir. No, you forget. Alfred had a job."

"Willow is not going, either," Buffy told us. She looked at me. "And until you get better, there's no use in going. I'm doing it alone."

Willow stood, walking closer.

Tara walked past Giles, disappearing down the hallway.

Willow looked at Buffy sarcastically. "Oh, great. And then when you have your new 'no arms', we can all say, 'Gee, it's a good thing we weren't there getting in the way of that'."

Anya stood, following Tara down the hallway.

"Right," Xander told us. "Maybe we can help in other ways. Want some fighting pants, guys? I can get you some new fighting pants."

I put a hand to my head. "You guys, this isn't helping."

"Oh, wow," Willow told him. "We're already getting in the way. We're pretty good at this, Xander, huh?"

"Right, I'm so good at it you might have to ship me off to the army to get me out of the way," Xander told us.

"The army?" I repeated in confusion.

"You didn't think I knew about that, did you?" Xander asked. "You three talking about me behind my back."

Willow frowned in confusion.

"Us talking about you?" Buffy asked. "How about you telling Riley every last detail of my life with Angel?"

Willow gestured between Buffy, herself and me. "And besides when is there any 'us three'?" She pointed at Buffy and me. "You two are the two who are the two. I'm the other one."

"Uh-huh," Xander told us. "But maybe that all changes when I'm doing sit-ups over at Fort Dix?"

Giles almost choked on his drink. "Fort Dix?"

Giles laughed.

Willow, Xander, Buffy and I looked at him in confusion.

"Are you drunk?" I asked.

"Yes," Giles answered happily. "Quite a bit, actually.

"Well, stop it," Buffy told him. She looked at Xander, Willow and me. "This is stupid."

"Stupid?" Xander repeated. "So you finally have the guts to say it to my face?"

"I didn't say you were stupid," Buffy told him. "So... stop being an idiot and let me fix this." Xander rolled his head in exasperated, sitting down on the couch. "Okay, I need you. I need all of you. All the time. Just... not now. Adam is very dangerous."

"Wait," Willow told us. "How do you need me, really?"

"You're... good with the computer stuff," Buffy answered. Willow accepted that. "Usually." Willow glared at her. "And--and there's the witch stuff."

"Witch stuff?" Willow repeated accusingly. "What exactly do you mean by 'witch stuff'?"

"You guys, what is happening?" I asked. "This is crazy."

"Oh, no, it's not," Giles told us, walking toward his desk. "It's all finally making perfect sense, and I'm not going to miss a moment of it."

Giles set his drink down, trying to sit, his aim off, falling to the floor.

              ••••       

Xander stood, walking around the couch.

Giles stumbled toward the stairs, taking off his glasses.

Xander looked at Buffy, Willow and me. "And if I did join the army, I'd be great. You know why? 'Cause they might give me a job that couldn't be done by any well-trained border collie."

"That's it," Giles told us. "I'm going to bed."

Giles struggled to pull his sweater over his head, walking upstairs.

Willow looked at Xander. "No, you'd do wonderful in the army. Hey, do you think the umbilical cord between you and Anya could stretch that far?"

"I knew it," Xander told us. "I knew you hated her?"

Giles' sweater fell down from the balcony above, falling on Xander, covering his face.

Xander pulled the sweater off his head.

"Look, I'm not the one being judgmental here," Willow told him. "I'll leave that territory to you, Zoey and Buffy."

"Judgmental?" Buffy repeated. "If I was anymore open-minded about the choices you three make, my whole brain would fall out."

Xander looked at Willow and me. "Oh, and superior. Don't forget that." He looked at Buffy. "Just because you're better than us doesn't mean that you can be all superior."

Xander walked past us, crossing his arms, leaning against a cabinet dresser behind us.

"You guys, stop this,"  I told them. "What happened to you today?"

"It's not today," Willow told me. "Zoey, things have been wrong for a while. Don't you see that?"

"What do you mean, wrong?" I asked.

"Well, they certainly haven't been right, since Tara," Willow told us. "We have to face it. You can't handle Tara being my girlfriend."

"No," Xander told us. "It was bad before that." He stepped out in between us again. "Since you three went off to college and forgot about me. Just left me in the basement to--" He looked at Willow in shock. "Tara's your girlfriend?"

Giles called from upstairs. "Bloody hell!"

"Enough!" I told them. "All I know is you want to help, right? Be part of the team?" Willow and Xander shook their heads, grumbling incoherently. "No. No, you said you wanted to go. So, let's go. All of us. We'll walk into that cave with you us attacking each other and the funny drunk drooling all over the place. Hey. Hey, maybe that's the secret way of killing Adam."

"Zoey..." Xander trailed off.

"Is that it?" I asked. "Is that how we can fight this thing? How can we fight this thing if we're all fighting each other?" No one answered. "How about we just take a beat to calm down until we're all thinking clearly? Unless you want to get all of us killed."

No one answered. No one moved.

I shook my head, walking out, leaving, closing the door behind me.