Title: Clueless 15/20
Authors: Kim & Jen
Feedback: Oh yes, please! It's our drug of choice.
Disclaimer: We don't, never have, never will. We own our obsession with the G-man. We let them have fun and return them relatively unscathed to the Jossverse. Although, they probably have more fun with us.
Before Buffy and Giles could exit the command shed, one of the monitors in front of them changed pictures.
"They must be set on some sort of timing sequence to rotate through the locations where there are cameras," Giles surmised.
"Maybe we should watch for a minute just to check out everywhere they have cameras."
They stood silently, watching as various monitors changed displays.
"Look, there's the ballroom," Buffy pointed out.
A moment later Giles said, "And there's the attic."
"They've been able to watch everything we've done. I'm really going to kick some butt when we find these guys."
"Xander," Giles exclaimed, gesturing to a screen.
"Who is that with him? And where's Willow? I thought I told the two of them to stay together."
"He looks familiar."
"I think that's Graham," Buffy said after studying the picture for a few seconds. "Oh no! He's there with Graham, and Graham is part of the Initiative."
"Graham doesn't appear to be hurting Xander. In fact, the two appear to be chatting quite cordially."
"We have to get back there and rescue Xander and find Willow. If nothing else, I'm sure Graham would be delighted to give me some answers," Buffy said grimly.
As she turned to go, another monitor caught her eye. The ballroom was visible again, but this time it wasn't empty.
A lone figure fought four assailants. All of the fighters wore fatigues and masks. But it was clear from the action that the four were ganging up on the one. For the moment, he was holding his own.
Another monitor revealed five additional soldiers headed down the hall toward the ballroom. "Looks like he's in trouble," Giles said, stepping up to get a closer look.
Buffy studied the melee in the ballroom. "That fighting style is really familiar," she said, her head tilted to one side. "Oh my god!" She yelled suddenly. "I know who that is."
"Who?"
"I have to go. I have to warn him." With that, she turned and ran out of the building, leaving a stunned Giles behind.
Breaking free of his stasis, Giles rushed after her. "Buffy," he yelled. "Stop. You could be running into a trap."
But either she didn't hear him, or she chose to ignore him. In a burst of speed, she was gone.
Giles gave a sigh. "Bugger," he said before starting off after her.
The sprint back to the mansion gave Buffy only a small amount of time to think. `Break heads first; ask questions later.'
She burst through the back door of the mansion running full tilt toward the ballroom. She passed Xander and Graham who were staring into an empty bathroom.
"Buffy," Xander called, "Willow is missing, and look who showed up."
"No time right now," she yelled over her shoulder.
Xander and Graham looked at each other, shrugged, and took off after her.
Buffy burst into the ballroom. The solitary fighter had his back to a corner and was trying to fend off the attacks of six soldiers. He was making a good showing, as three of the original nine already lay unmoving on the ground.
In a split second, Buffy assessed the situation and jumped into the fray, fists flying. The soldier furthest back had no idea what hit him. Another turned in time to see his comrade crumple in a heap on the floor. He tried to launch an attack, but Buffy easily blocked it and sent a swift punch to his midsection followed by an uppercut to his chin that laid him flat.
Xander and Graham followed into the ballroom, but when Xander moved to join the fight, Graham stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not sure if one more person will help or hinder things." Xander stepped back, ready to jump in if Buffy needed him.
The cornered soldier took the distraction Buffy provided to send another opponent crashing into the wall. The remaining three opponents moved to regroup. Together, they rushed the two. Buffy and her partner blocked a flurry of kicks and punches.
These last three must have been the cream of the litter, Buffy thought. She sent one with the shoulder stripes of a ranking officer staggering with a roundhouse kick to the head only to spin into the attack of another. The blow across her cheek caused her to stumble back, giving the attacker a chance to press his advantage. A second blow to the face knocked her off balance, and she fell. When she hit the floor, Buffy swung her leg in a low sweep and knocked her opponent down as well. She then used the momentum of the motion to flip herself up in a graceful fluid movement. She found herself back to back with the other fighter, who was still looking for an opening against his opponent.
Both the officer she had kicked earlier and the soldier she had just knocked down regained their feet. As they advanced, Buffy wryly thought it was typical that she was the one fighting multiple opponents.
Ducking under a swing, Buffy spun and side kicked the soldier into the wall, which he slid limply down. "Even I've seen that movie with Richard Gere," she quipped as she turned and caught the officer's punch in her fist, pushing him off balance. She immediately followed it with two rapid kicks to his head, causing him to slump limply against the other. "And you might be an officer, but you're hardly a gentleman."
Looking around, Buffy realized the fight was over. The lone fighter was bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. As Buffy walked over to him, he straightened and pulled the mask off his face. As his features, followed by a shock of sandy brown hair, came into view, Buffy knew she was right.
"Riley?" she asked, amazed that he was in the dream. "What are you doing here?"
Riley closed the distance between them and swept her up into a huge hug, spinning her around, laughing. "Oh, Buffy," he cried. "It is so good to see you. I've missed you so much. I was afraid I was too late."
"Too late for what?" Buffy asked as she tried to get free, aware of her audience.
"Too late to save you," he said, and before she could get away, his mouth descended toward hers. "And too late for this," he whispered, right before he kissed her.
Giles chose that moment to burst, panting, into the room. His eyes darkened as he saw Riley and Buffy kissing. His hopes from earlier collapsed, and he turned to go.
"Riley, stop," Buffy said, as she pushed away. "What do you think you're doing? You can't just waltz in here and assume we're going to pick up where we left off." She paused for a moment. "Speaking of that, how did you waltz in here?"
"Yeah," Xander called, "and is there a way to waltz out?"
Distracted by Xander's comment, Buffy didn't see Riley's jaw clench for a second.
"Buffy, I thought you'd be glad to see me."
"I am glad to see you. At least I hope I'm glad to see you. We were beginning to think the Initiative brought us here, and, last I checked, you were part of the Initiative." As she spoke, Buffy walked over to Giles. "Besides," she said, taking Giles' hand, "I'm not exactly available for welcome back kissing at this moment."
Giles' heart leapt out of his shoes where it had sunk, and back into its proper place in his chest. Although, if he wasn't careful, it was going to pound its way out, due to the overwhelming love he felt for Buffy at that moment.
"And if we could bring the conversation back on track, or at least the track I would like to be on," Xander said, "what are you doing here, and how can we get out?"
Riley looked from Buffy to Giles then to their joined hands. "Gee, I guess I have been gone a while. But hey, can't blame a guy for trying. Congratulations, you two. I always wondered about that."
Giles chose to momentarily ignore what *Riley* was speaking about. "Were we incorrect in assuming that the Initiative is somehow behind all of this?" He inquired.
Riley, still staring at their interlocked hands, took a moment to answer. "No. You guessed right. I left the military about two months ago, but I still have contacts there," he said gesturing at Graham. "I found out that they were planning on capturing all of you to determine if they could harness or duplicate your powers."
"Because the power of the hammer and belt sander are such mysteries to secret government commando squads?" Xander asked sarcastically.
"More Buffy's powers. And Willow and Tara. Well, and Anya's whole `former demon' status. They look at it as an opportunity to use or eliminate all of you. They consider you to be quite a nuisance."
"So instead of picking up the phone and saying `Hey Buff, guess what I found out,' you decided to let them kidnap us and then try and get us out?" Buffy questioned.
"It took me until right before they executed the plan to learn all of the details. I couldn't figure out how they were going to get all of you. Then I found out that they had an accomplice."
"Ethan," Giles stated.
"Yep," Riley confirmed. "They offered him a chance out of the detention facility if he would help them capture you. Seems he has a teeny bit of a grudge, and a healthy dose of self-preservation."
"Typical." Giles squeezed Buffy's hand, then dropped it to polish his glasses.
Riley continued, "So I found a witch who could send me here, thanks to contacts I kept up. I also asked her to send someone I considered a good backup. That's where you came in," he said to Graham.
"I'm just glad to know how I got here," Graham said.
"Did your Glinda happen to slip you a return pair of ruby slippers too?" Buffy asked.
Riley chuckled in acknowledgment. "I have a way out for us."
"Good, then all we have to do is find the rest of the gang, break Ethan's arms into multiple pieces, and get the hell out of here." Buffy looked at the group. "Any questions?"