Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fan Fiction ❯ BTVS: Season Pokegirl ❯ Chapter 2 Down the Rabbit Hole ( Chapter 2 )

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Pokegirl.

 

Episode 1, Welcome to the Wildlife.

 

"DANGER! DANGER! WILL ROBINSON!"

 

Disclaimer: This is a piece of ADULT fiction. Its contents should be viewed as such and only read by people deemed legally adults by their communities. This story features violence and sexual situations and should be considered Adult material.

 

Metroanime first penned the Pokegirl Universe in his fic Wild Horses and Pokegirl's and it has since been explored by many other great authors I claim nothing. BTVS is the property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy I still claim nothing.

 

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Chapter 2, Down the Rabbit Hole.

 

1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California, USA.

 

"Mom, I'm home!" Calling as she opened the front door Buffy stood aside to let Willow and Xander enter, Buffy cast a look around but was disappointed, not seeing Giles, Tara or Anya anywhere about.

 

"Buffy you were supposed to be here hours ago!" Dawns voice floated down from upstairs, followed by the tramp of feet as Buffy's little sister came charging down.

 

"Buffy, honey we're in here." Joyce Summers called from the kitchen. "Did Xander and Willow find you?"

 

"Yes thank you Mrs. Summers, right where you said she'd be." Willow answered as she smiled at the brown haired girl racing down the stairs, the redheaded witch received an answering smile from the younger Summers sister.

 

Dawn came down the stairs in a long legged gallop and stumbled to a stop before the smiling hacker. Willow was always a bit shocked at how much Dawn liked her. It was strange for someone who'd been a nerd all her school life, to be suddenly looked up too as one of Dawns big sister's cool friends. Dawn gave Willow a hug, then the teenager's eyes darted to the side and locked onto Xander. Willow smile turned into a smirk as she followed the younger girls eyes, while she and Tara were cool, Xander was somewhere up with the Rockstars in Dawns eyes, and Dawn was his most devoted groupie.

 

"Hi Dawny, we found her, Xander had to stake a Vamp that was sneaking up on her through." Willow told the girl and grinned as Dawn's already starry-eyed look became dreamy and the brunette was suddenly at Xander's side as if teleported, demanding details of her hero's latest exploits.

 

"That wasn't very nice." Tara's giggling voice pulled Willow from her amused scrutiny of Xander's squirming under Dawns attentions.

 

Willow turned and watched Tara, as her girlfriend followed Dawn down the stairs at a more sedate pace. The two Witches slipping easily into each other's arms and a quick kiss. Willow opened her mouth to explain when the older girl was suddenly pulled from her arms, engulfed in an enthusiastic hug from the resident Slayer, a hug that nearly lifted Tara off her feet.

 

"Tara!" Buffy smiled at the shy Wicca, all but grinning, another clamp eased up a notch on Buffy's heart and for the first time in a month a few of the stress lines etched into her brow smoothed out. In the back of Buffy's mind, the part of her that was the Slayer relaxed just a little bit. The proof in her hands as she hugged Tara's soft body to her chest, that another one of her people, her pack was safe and sound and back under the Slayers protection where she belonged.

 

"Buffy, err... good to see you?" Tara was more than a bit shocked at how happy Buffy was to see her, she'd thought that the Slayer barely knew she existed and probably only ever saw her as little more than Willows girlfriend. Not as someone in her own right.

 

The blonde Witch relaxed after a second, her body that had tensed in surprise collapsed into the hug and she threw her arms around the shorter Slayer, returning the embrace. The lonely girl had been, as she saw it, clinging to the outsides of the group by her fingernails, barely acknowledged by Buffy or Xander and all but ignored by Anya, Giles and Mrs. Summers, Dawn had welcomed her wholeheartedly but she and Willow had been Tara's only real connection. Now something had changed, Tara didn't know what, but suddenly she felt like she belonged, a ache that she'd barely known she'd felt, the soul deep feeling of being an outsider faded away and Tara found herself smiling back at the beaming Slayer.

 

Willow and Xander exchanged a grin at Tara's shocked expression and Buffy's warm greeting. Both the core Scoobies had over the last few years, become Slayer and Buffy experts. They'd been waiting for this, having guessed that by now Buffy would have switched Tara from acquaintance folder to friend in her thinking. And that the Slayer lurking beneath their friends eyes would have likewise reclassified Willows girlfriend from someone to protect, just one among the thousands of Sunnydale residents in the same category, to an actual ally and companion. They'd both seen it happen with each other and Giles, then later Angel. Oz, and Jenny Calendar and a select few of their classmates like Cordelia Chase had all followed. They hadn't quite worked out how much of it was Buffy and how much was the Slayer, or if there was really any difference between the two. But Willow and Xander had watched since they met the Slayer, as people passed some line in Buffy's mind and went from just people they knew and became full-blown Scoobies.

 

Willow was practically skipping as she collected her bewildered girlfriend and linking arms, dragged the taller girl through the Summers family room and out to the kitchen. Elated that her Tara had been accepted into one of the most important, if not the most important parts of her life. Dawn and Buffy followed the two girls, the Summers sisters completely ignorant of what had just happened. Xander brought up rear, tying desperately not to think about how Willow would soon be celebrating, if it was anything like what had happened when Buffy had excepted Anya into the gang then there was going to be some seriously hot girl on girl action going on tonight.

 

In the Summers family kitchen Joyce Summers, Rupert Giles and Anya Jenkins watched as the five other Scoobies filed into the room.

 

Secret Initiative Laboratory, Hard Pass, thirty miles north of Triennia Town, Triennia Province, Mountain League, Near the border to Edo.

 

"All indications are green, first stage activation confirmed." The report was automated, the AI generating a soft mellow voice, nether male or female, speaking calmly and clearly.

 

"Begin search routine." Professor Margaret Walsh ordered.

 

"Beginning search routine, yes ma'am." The head tech answered her fingers flying over her keyboard and she carried out her orders.

 

"The search will not take long, for the purposes of this demonstration the system has been configured to locate dimensional anomalies which we calculate will make dimension penetration and Transit easier. It is very costly in terms of power usage, and later we hope to identify closer targets. But for now aiming for the big obvious bullseye, even if it's a great distance away, is more likely to succeed. Than aiming for something closer but that our sensors just aren't yet capable of picking up out of the background noise. Each I.D.H. we perform will allow us to refine our data and improve our sensors." Maggie lectured almost without realizing it, more focused on the readings scrolling across the big monitor suspended above the controls

 

"Target acquired dimension labeled Delta Alpha one nine seven. Boundary scans show green on all I.D.H. criteria." The base AI reported.

 

"The I.D.H. criteria is a simple checklist that can be confirmed or denied without actually spending the power to piece the dimensional barrier, things like the presence of human life or magic or air." Dr. Patrick Angleman picked up the commentary when Maggie seemed more interested in the figures now being displayed.

 

Maggie cast a slightly annoyed look at her assistant, but didn't really mind someone else talking to the Trauma Team representatives, it wasn't like it was something she enjoyed. Only her desire to see everything go off without a hitch had prompted her. Seeing that the man was doing an adequate job she left him to it and concentrated on running the test.

 

"Very well begin second stage power up sequence." She commanded.

 

"Yes ma'am"

 

"Second Stage is two actions in one go. We pierce the dimensional barrier and start a detailed scan looking for good prospects for I.D.H. normally this would take days, or even weeks. After all, what are the chances of a high powered individual standing close by, to where we piece the barrier? This is another benefit of locating anomalies in the dimensional barriers, such places tend to attract just the sort of targets we are hunting." Dr. Angleman smiled at the Trauma Team members pleased with how the universe could help them out now and again.

 

1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California, USA.

 

Buffy was feeling good everyone was here and getting along. Willow and Anya weren't snarking at each other, Dawn wasn't being all psycho stalkery towards Xander, and even Giles and her Mom had settled down, not continuously trying to edge away from each other. The band candy incident had really weirder their relationship out. Nope everyone was happy and Buffy was really hoping they could enjoy it for a little while before the next disaster struck.

 

That would be nice.

 

Secret Initiative Laboratory, Hard Pass, thirty miles north of Triennia Town, Triennia Province, Mountain League, Near the border to Edo.

 

Professor Margaret Walsh looked up at the AI interface set into the ceiling above the workstation. It was a simple grey box bolted in place with a red camera lens recessed in the middle, through this unit and the few others scattered about the Initiative facility the bases AI could be personally accessed. It was more for human convenience than any real use. It made humans and most Pokegirl's feel better about dealing with an apparent person if they could convince themselves that it was physically in one spot. Yes it was directly tied to the AI, but the time lag between using its own systems at an interface and using the normal networked computers would only be noticeable by a Video Girl.

 

Right now the AI was filtering through the Septillions of separate, mostly useless, pieces of data the sensors were collecting from the penetrated dimension to pinpoint the I.D.H. targets.

 

"Targets selected, 18 area's of interest."

 

"Display a run down on the main screen." Maggie told the three Techs as soon as the AI had made its report.

 

Maggie watched the information appear, quickly scanning each entry as it scrolled across.

 

"See these values here?" The Initiative leader pointed out a grouping of numbers that appeared in most of the reports. Turning to her assistant and raising an eyebrow.

 

"Yes Professor, very indicative of non-human entity's" Dr. Angleman replied taking a moment to study the results.

 

"Delete all non-humans from the list." The technicians lent over their keyboards quickly identifying the string of numbers the two scientists had pointed out and removing each target that contained them from the list.

 

A minute later the head Tech, Elizabeth Richards turned to Maggie.

 

"Ma'am that leaves three target groups, one with only a single target, one with four individuals and one with eight viable targets." She reported.

 

"Focus on the largest group, what power readings are we getting?" Professor Walsh asked.

 

"It's a pretty diverse group ma'am two level nines, an eight, two level threes and everything in between." One of the Techs, one of Richard's assistants answered excitedly.

 

"Excellent! A near perfect test group, bring stage three online and activate portal targeting." Maggie smiled and turned slightly to watch the Trauma Team observer, the Initiative leader was pleased to see that Agent Crawford looked properly impressed.

 

"Yes ma'am." With a few keystrokes the displays changed and the I.D.H. really started.

 

"Stage three fully online, portal is active and targeting, all eight targets locked."

 

"Run final system check and execute." Maggie ordered.

 

"All systems check out ma'am, we're good to go!" Elizabeth Richards told her boss excitement, overriding her professionalism for a moment. The younger woman quailed at a frown from the Initiative leader and quickly entered the final command.

 

"I.D.H. Transit extraction in THREE, TWO, ONE, TRANISIT!"

 

On the final word all three technicians entered a last command and the whining generators picked up speed. Each person in the control room human or Pokegirl felt the hairs on the backs of their necks try to stand on end. The air was charged with the tiny fraction of energy that escaped the massed shields, dampeners and sinks that fought to contain any leakage. So much power even separated by tons of rock and armor it brought a electric feel to the atmosphere. The Initiative bases huge generators fed power to the network of Energy Crystals. The Master Crystal, its presence dominating the laboratory, mounted in the main I.D.H. apparatus set in the exact center of the Lab. The meter long rough cut stone sucked in the generator's output and blazed, each faceted face radiating magic at a slightly different frequency. One matched by the dozen smaller slaved crystals built into each individual pod. A beat behind, each of the lesser crystal pulsed in answer, they're red glow throwing the assembled equipment and staff into stark relief.

 

The three technicians watched their boards closely, tensed and waiting, as one their shoulders sagged as greens appeared across the system.

 

"Extraction complete all targets acquired, Transit has been initiated, ETA four minutes twenty seconds."

 

"Good! Begin Bio-Form enhancement, be sure to keep a close eye on Matrix stability." The Techs hurried to start the Bio-Form enhancement. Maggie kept her back straight and her face a cool mask, not showing any of the relief she felt at this first success, the next stage was harder, where most of the problems would be.

 

"Engaging Bio-Form enhancement, enhancement 10 percent, 20 percent 30 percent."

 

The Command Center was silent apart from the steadily counting AI and the slowly dwindling deep, near subsonic, vibration of the generators. Through the windows down into the lab the Initiative and Trauma Team observers could see that the steady flashing of the crystals mounted on the containment pods was gaining in speed and intensity.

 

"100 percent! Bio-Form enhancement complete, Transit time remaining two minutes, thirty seconds."

 

"I still can't believe you've got a veritable fountain of youth here and it was given so little emphasize in the briefing." Keith Crawford wondered aloud, his eye on the display.

 

"As I said Agent Crawford the process has some serve limitations." Maggie told him becoming slightly annoyed at his tenacity on the subject. "Not only can it only occur inside the ether between dimensions, but it can only influence the subject Matrix so far. If the subject were a hundred years old and in poor health the Bio-Form enhancement would only be of extremely minor use. The subject would certainly be in better shape than they started; they might even regress in age slightly, but only slightly. It would work much the same on the very sick or very young. The process would be of little use and they would be unlikely to survive the reintegration at the other end of the Transit." The Initiative leader looked away from the Agent hoping now he'd realize that most of the old men on the Committee who with two pushing one hundred and fifty and the youngest one hundred and twenty would soon lose interest in the Bio-Form enhancement once its limitations were explained. "Even in this group, we will be lucky if we get above eighty percent survival."

 

"Transit in final stage fifteen seconds until I.D.H. containment 10, 9, 8,"

 

Most those present held their breath in anticipation.

 

"3, 2, 1, Transit complete, Matrix containment complete. Containment Pods 1 to 8 secure and correct."

 

"Good, good! Give me a full scan of Pods 1 to 8 if their stable transformation will begin immediately." Maggie told her audience.

 

"All Pods are green, all subjects are stable and unconscious." The excitable assistant on Richards left announced, after check his readings.

 

"Begin the process." Maggie said after a second's hesitation, this was where it all went pear-shaped in the last test.

 

"Ma'am! Pod One is online for transformation." The three technicians watched avidly, as did everyone else, as the scan results of the first pod changed from human to Pokegirl.

 

"Transformation complete."

 

"Bring up the Pokedex subprogram, lets show Agent Crawford what Trauma Team is getting for their contribution. Continue the transformation of the rest of the subjects." Maggie ordered.

 

On the big screen the view changed from schematics of a humanlike body, of a near human Pokegirl, to the big friendly scanning signal you'd expect if you pointed your Pokedex at an unknown Pokegirl.

 

DEMON-GODDESS, the Heaven or Hell Pokegirl

Type: Very Near Human

Element: Steel/Magic

Frequency: Very Rare

Diet: 1/2 Human Intake plus various amounts of sex

Role: special strike units

Libido: Low (Changes to Average after Battle Stress)

Strong Vs: Ice, Rock, Poison, Bug, Psychic, Plant, Dragon, Normal, Flying

Weak Vs: Fighting, Fire, Ghost

Attacks: Iron Punch, Ice Beam, CrossShield, Metal Sound, Quickturn, Teleport, Absorb, Imitate, Aura Barrier, Power Bolt(all others vary).

High Levels only: Hyper Beam

Enhancements: Wingless flight, photographic memory, Enhanced Strength (x3), Enhanced Senses (x5), Enhanced Endurance (x3), Enhanced Agility (x5)

Evolves: Unknown

Evolves From: mechanisms unknown but may evolve from any of the following: Megami, Demoness, or Succubus, Kamichu (if frequently alternating between somewhat kind and somewhat temperamental)

 

"There! And all the rest will be just as high powered and high evolution as well!" Professor Walsh exclaimed in triumph.

 

Alarms Screamed!

 

Every gauge and monitor went RED! Emergency sirens started to howl.

 

"Emergen..."The computer's attempt to report ended in a high pitched squeal, everyone present clapped their hands over their ears in a desperate and useless effort to block the biting sound, it rattled teeth and threatened to have blood poring out of ears before it cut off.

 

"What's happening!" Director O'Brian shouted to be heard over the alarm claxons, Maggie pushed herself forward and shoved one of the Technicians aside.

 

"One of the level three's Matrix is, ... I don't know what its doing, but its building up a feedback loop in the containment Pod." Chief Technician Richards told them. "The AI is trying to figure it out, its devoted just about all of our processing power to it. We have barely got enough free memory to run a calculator, I'm trying to override."

 

"One of the level threes? That's impossible!" Professor Walsh slipped into the vacated chair and began furiously typing in instructions. Ignoring the continued alarms screaming from all over. "It was masking itself?"

 

"You shut these damn alarms off! I think everyone gets that there's a problem." Riley Finn bellowed pointing at the other assistant Tech

 

The man quickly started turning them off one by one.

 

"This is incredible! Nothing we have can even began to measure this! I've only seen anything approaching this magnitude once before" Maggie whispered in awe, her voice carrying clearly through the command center as the last of the alarms fell silent.

 

"Yes, Yes Professor, I'm sure it's fascinating, but is it going to interfere with the project." Director O'Brian asked worriedly.

 

"No, no matter what it's doing, it's a closed system. It can not affect anything out side its Containment Pod." Maggie answered in a distractedly voice, her attention still on the scan results filling the screen infront of her.

 

"I've got the AI back online." All the monitor screens blinked out for second, then came back flashing red!

 

"Alert, Containment breach, Alert!"

 

"That's impossible! Nothing can influence the system, from inside a containment pod." Dr. Angleman argued.

 

"Containment Pods 1 to 4 are reinitializing! It's trying to reverse the I.D.H." Chief Technician Richards told the room ignoring him, the woman's voice was edging into hysterics. What she was seeing went against everything she knew.

 

"Divert all power to containment!" Professor Walsh demanded already working at her keyboard

 

"No effect! Pods 1 to 5 showing containment breach, Transit energy build up!" The technicians didn't stop desperately trying everything they could think of. It was no use they reported one failure after another, working furiously bringing up one safety system after another, only to see them make no impact on the out of control technology.

 

"Crash the system! Shut everything down now! Commander Finn get your people down to Pod 6 and stop that thing before it damages the equipment!" Professor Walsh ordered. Nothing else seemed to have any affect, they'd pull the plug and restart after they'd found the problem.

 

"I.D.H. system is shut down build up of Transit energy continues, Portal detected."

 

"Containment Pod 5 is reinitializing. We're losing geographic lock! The targets are starting to drift back to their exit point!" A technician cried franticly.

 

"Pods 6 7 and 8 are starting to show energy spikes!" Technician Richards and her assistant were all shouting at once, trying to be heard over the base AI, that was screaming its own warnings.

 

"Purge the system! Disengage the Portal linkage!" Maggie ordered roaring above the confused shouts. That was an order of magnitude more disputative than a simple shutdown, it would literally fry the controlling computer systems. It was designed as a last ditch effort, only to be used if the base was in danger of falling into League hands.

 

Elizabeth Richards typed in a command and a recessed panel slid aside in the desk infront of her workstation, revealed was a singe red button set in a small square covered in back and yellow warning signs. Richards hesitated a second and Maggie reached over and slammed her thumb down.

 

Instantly every light went out plunging the command center into darkness. For a second, the lab outside the windows was lit up by the red glow of the Crystals, but even they slowly faded out.

 

"Did it work? Are they contained?" Keith Crawford asked into the quiet.

 

"Wait a second, the backups will kick in automatically." Riley Finn said calmly.

 

"Why can't we see the Power Crystals anymore? They shouldn't be affected by a system shutdown." Dr. Angleman muttered, staring out into the darkness.

 

"What!" Maggie shouted spinning her chair and jumping to her feet, staring out the window in confusion, then a split second later her eyes clouded with fear!

 

The Crystals, each mounted on one of the dozen of Containment Pods spaced around the ground floor Lab walls, blazed to life! Maggie Walsh had a second turn and take one step, running from the suddenly vibrating windows. The Crystals light, a ferocious devouring Red filled the room, splashing everybody in color as if they'd been swimming in a sea of blood.

 

GREEN! For a second the blood red of the Energy Crystals filled the world, flooding the Humans and Pokegirl's present senses so deeply that they could all but taste it. Then the GREEN! Was there and the puny red was nothing. Maggie found herself on the ground, too battered by the power flooding around to even throw up. With dazed uncomprehending eyes the scientist watched the Pokegirl's fall, first the Samurai then the Armsmistress slumped to the ground, joining their Tamer and the others.

 

Under the Command Center the Master Crystal simmered, its raging energies swamped by the infinite GREEN!

 

Then GREEN! Was gone! The Master Crystal flared in a backlash, for a split second the meter square block of crystal rivaled a small sun in brilliance, then it couldn't hold any longer.

 

Explosions rocked the complex as all the power Crystals detonated at once, magical energies screamed through the cavern ripping everything before them apart. The hardened shock proof glass of the windows of the command center cracked and shattered, spraying shards through the metal room. A beam of ravaging light shot straight up from the wrecked Master Crystal spearing the Command Center and detonating in the solid rock of the cavern ceiling above. Torn and twisted equipment spun as the cyclone of mystic energy whirled around the main floor, reducing billions of credits worth of machinery to so much scrap. The screams of the five humans who'd tried to cower behind the blast shield rose to a shriek and where cut off, as they where picked up and dashed to pieces by the spinning storm of magic and metal. For a minute it raged throwing off bolts of multicolored lighting that grounded into the walls, floor and ceiling, blasting out huge chunks of solid stone. Chunks of stone that were themselves whipped about by the unnatural power, before being thrown back to earth causing more destruction.

 

Finally it slowed the magical force spent, un-identifiable pieces of metal, plastic and the still faintly glowing shards of crystal rained down, clattering to the floor.

 

Silence for a second, surprised somehow as if the wrecked base itself was shocked by the violence, then with a groan the steel of the supports holding the Command Center to the cavern roof gave in to the savage beating they'd received and slowly came apart. The ten meter square box simply peeled off the rock above and plummeted to the ground crushing what little remained under it. A trickle off gravel followed growing until a boulder the size of a house broke away and with a shriek of tortured metal crushed half the battered building.

 

Unknown Location. Forested Area.

 

She was hungry, not ravenous, but hunting had been hard lately the prey extra careful, so she had had to go longer between meals than she liked. But still she was fed enough that the strange had an allure.

 

So when the two figures had appeared out of thing air and flopped to the grassy banks of her stream, falling barely a meter, she didn't immediately race forward and close her powerful jaws around one and rip its flesh from bone to feed her stomach. Instead she watched, there would be time to feed later, they didn't look like they would be moving anytime soon.

 

First she'd see in they were interesting, or which one was the most interesting, then she would eat.

 

Peaks Town, Blue League

 

"I tell you there's a man up there!" The Hamtits said waving her arms around in a exaggerated way, that should have looked stupid, but came off as cute. "The wind changed for a second and I could smell him, plain as day!"

 

"What would a man be doing on top of the old Thomson Leather works store?" The Ingenue she was talking to asked doubtfully, looking up at the old three-story building.

 

"I don't know but he's up there, I caught female scent as well, but I don't know what Type weren't human through." The Hamtits whose name was Monica answered.

 

"Maybe someone should go have a look?" A deep but pleasant voice growled from behind the two Pokegirl's and with a start the both turned to see who was behind them. Eyes widening the Ingenue and the Hamtits gaze travel up and up.

 

Marry the Minotaura looked at the two smaller girls for a second, then back up to roof above their heads.

 

"Maybe he's stuck! If I get him down he's sure to tame me right?" The cow headed fighting type asked, already drooling slightly at the thought.

 

The two domestic Pokegirl's hastily agreed with the huge fighting type, yes the man was sure to tame his rescuer.

 

Secret Initiative Laboratory, Hard Pass, thirty miles north of Triennia Town, Triennia Province, Mountain League, Near the border to Edo.

 

SLAM!

 

"Mom! Xander! Dawn! Anybody! Giles! Come on!" Buffy shouted, but she couldn't hear anything from outside the metal box she'd woken up in. Stupid tough metal doors!

 

SLAM! The Slayer blasted into the blocking hatch only to bounce off, as it refused to budge. Her shoulder throbbing from the repeated blows. Buffy was seething, her last memories before this place, were of walking into the kitchen at home.

 

SLAM! Grunting in pain Buffy stopped for a second, awkwardly twisting her body in the confined space, she run her hands over the edge of the hatch to her prison, feeling for a gap or a weakness. In some places the seams didn't match up, as if the door and the doorframe had bent away from each other, but so far it still seemed solid.

 

SLAM! There was no bloody room! If she had just a few more inches, some space to get some leverage! The Slayer seethed, They'd come into her House! Where her Mom and Sister lived, all her friends had been there! If whoever was behind this had harmed a hair on their heads!

 

SLAM! Buffy bounced off the hard metal and slapped back onto the padded backrest, glaring at the door keeping her caged. The stupid thing looked like it had already taken a lot of damage. It was twisted and didn't fit squarely in its frame anymore; the large window set in it was cracked and blackened. Every time she hit it, it moved a little bit more, but it was really jammed in tight and the Slayer didn't have much room to maneuver.

 

SLAM! And Naked! What was wrong with these people! If she saw one tentacle Buffy swore the things she did would make little Vampires and Demons cringe for the next hundred years! Stupid perverted kidnapping demons, and what about the others? Had whoever had grabbed her got them too? Had they taken their clothes as well?

 

SLAM! CRACK! ow! Note to self do not try kneeing the solid metal hatch thing, it hurts. Rubbing her tender knee Buffy decided to try calling again.

 

"Dawn! Mom! Willow! Anybody out there?" Buffy shouted breathing deeply, getting her breath back for her next assault on the stubborn door or hatch or what ever it was.

 

"Buffy! I'm here." A familiar voice called from somewhere off to Buffy's left. It was faint, muffled by metal and distance, but there was no mistaking it.

 

"Willow! Are you ok, where are you!" Buffy felt a surge of relief, at not being alone, followed immediately with a wave of guilt, that once again Willow had been caught up in another one of her stupid Slayer adventures.

 

"I'm fine Buffy, a little woozy and headachy but OK, I'm inside some kind of padded box, it looks like someone left it in the microwave too long, kind melted and burnt around the edges. Is Tara with you? Is she all right? Tara! Are you OK baby!" Willows voice had started out relieved, turned to babble and taken a sharp left into panic.

 

"No sorry Wills." Buffy shouted sharply, cutting Willow off before her best bud could work herself up into a full-scale panic attack. "I'm on my own as well, stuck in a box same as you. Just give me a sec and I'll have the door open and we'll find her."

 

"I'm here Willow, I'm alright just stuck same as you and Buffy." Tara soft voice barely carried to the trapped Slayer, but Buffy could easily pick out the fear underlying her words. "I think maybe my box might be on fire though, its getting hot and I can smell smoke."

 

"Crap!" Buffy threw herself forward again and was rewarded with the cracked and twisted door moving another few centimeters. "I'll be right there Tara, just hang on a few seconds." Buffy braced herself against the padded rear wall of the distressingly coffin like box and started walking her feet up the door. With the extra space she'd made there should give her just enough room to... There! Buffy wedged herself between the back wall and the door and Pushed!!

 

"Hurry Buffy!" Willow shouted, "Tara get down on the floor away from the heat, heat and smoke rises, Oh! Smoke! Don't breath in any of the smoke! Smoke from a plastic fire is poisonous! Not that regular smoke is good for you." Willow was in full blown panicky babble mode now and Buffy found herself grinning despite the situation "Wrap a wet cloth over your mouth and nose! Tara baby, are you still there, talk to me."

 

"I'm still here Sweetie its ok. Um, I haven't got a cloth to wrap around my head, I'm kind of naked." Tara confessed.

 

"Err me too." Willow answered "Are sure your alright Tara, they didn't hurt you did they."

 

"I'm fine Willow; except for being locked inside this box, there's a window but it's all dirty and I can't see a thing through it, maybe a few lights. I didn't see any of the bad guys. One minute I was at Buffy's house, then I woke up here, dizzy with a headache. Then I heard Buffy calling."

 

Buffy ignored her two friends talking as she strained against the door. With her back and leg muscles working the Slayer could get her whole body pushing against whatever was holding the door shut. The metal started to groan as Buffy heaved

 

With a SNAP! Something broke free and the door sprang open sending Buffy tumbling to the ground. The Slayer quickly scrambled to her feet looking around.

 

She was in a big dimly lit chamber, with long curving walls. She couldn't make out the far side, but the curve in the wall looked regular, like they went all the way around making the room a big circle. A trashed circular chamber, that looked like Godzilla had used it for a practice rampage. The walls were cracked, with sections that had fallen in the whole place reeked of smoke and there were still small fires burning here and there, though they looked like most were slowly dying for lack of fuel. Broken equipment lay thrown about; long twisted pipes littered the ground leaking a glowing sickly looking red liquid. Towards the middle of the room was the remains of a large building, half of it crushed by boulders that looked ominously like they used to be part of the ceiling.

 

Buffy took it all in a glance, not seeing any immediate threat the Slayer turned to where she'd heard Tara and Willows voices. Along the wall to her left, Buffy could see a three white plastic and metal pods, like the one she'd just escaped from, set each about ten meters apart, as Willow had said they looked like someone had left them in the microwave to long. The edges were drooping slightly and they were covered in burn marks.

 

"I'm out! Talk to me Tara, which are you in." Buffy shouted, but she was already racing for the far pod, three down from hers, it had a pile of smoking junk leaning up against it, it had to be where Tara was being held. As she ran Buffy scooped up a handy length of metal, it looked relativity strong and had a nice sharp point on one end.

 

"Here Buffy!" Tara's voice shouted, coming from the pod the Slayer was targeting.

 

"Is she all right! Can you get to her!" Willow was in a pod two down from the Slayers, in the one next to Tara's prison.

 

"No worry's, I'll have you out in a second Tara, hang on Willow, be with you in just a sec." Buffy skidded to a stop by Tara's pod and started knocking pieces of smoldering wreckage away from it. It didn't look like the pod itself had caught fire, just the debris leaning up against it.

 

Buffy quickly cleared it away and paused to examine the hatch to Tara's cage. It was as warped and twisted as hers had been, maybe worse, there was a noticeable gap that looked like it would fit her improvised lever. Buffy wasted no time and set to work, on the outside with room to move it was easier and soon the Slayer had the door edging open. The molded piece of plastic and steel groaned in protest as Buffy forced it open, not snapping and flying clear like hers had. This one was more stubborn, only giving up a centimeter at a time.

 

"Nearly there Tara!" Buffy told the witchgirl, the Slayer could barely see inside the pods dark interior. Even as she forced the door open it was still too dark to see anything inside, besides Tara's pale slim arms as she pushed from her side and the dim light reflecting off of her big blue eyes. With another surge Buffy leaned into her lever causing it to start to bend, but the door came open a few more centimeters, before jarring to a stop.

 

"Darn things stuck Tara, have to do this the old fashioned way." Buffy threw the ruined makeshift crowbar aside and grabbed the edges of the hatch with both hands, bracing herself to rip it off through brute strength.

 

Tara wiggled forward into the nearly foot wide gap that Buffy had made between the hatch and the rest of the pod.

 

"I think I can squeeze through Buffy." The blonde eased her head through the gap and got her first look at the cavern outside.

 

Tara looked over Buffy's shoulder and the older girls eyes widened.

 

"Buffy! Look out!" Tara screamed, pointing behind the Slayer.

 

A few minutes earlier, inside the remains of the bases Command Centre.

 

"Sam! Wake Up!" The Samurai groaned not wanting to be awake, but knowing instantly something was wrong, pain pulsed in the small of her back and the left side of her chest was on fire. Her head ached as if someone was beating it like a drum, today sucked. Sam strained to pull herself together, but her mind refused to go at any pace besides snail.

 

"Come on Sam wake up, we are in a shit load of trouble and I cant wake up Riley, or any of the humans." The voice came back again and this time Sam was aware enough to recognize Rose, her harem sister and right hand Pokegirl.

 

The Samurai forced her eyes open and saw her Armsmistress friend leaning over her anxiously, her green eyes worried and her short-cropped spiky red hair blocking Sam's view of anything beyond the other Pokegirl.

 

"Typhonna's tits, I thought you'd never wake up!" The relieved Pokegirl grinned happily.

 

Sam pushed the Armsmistress offered helping hand aside, and painfully eased herself up into a sitting position. Wincing, as the pain as her back and chest jacked up a notch, the Samurai looked around trying to work out where they were. Last she remembered they'd been in the Control Center watching the I.D.H. test, then there'd been an explosion? Her memory got a bit foggy, there had been noise and bright flashes of an intense Green that even now remembering made her feel small somehow. The Samurai shuddered and pushed the thought away.

 

With a shock the Samurai realized that they were still in the Control Center, it had just been changed almost beyond recognition. It was a wreck, the ceiling was crushed down nearly to the floor towards the back of the room. A twisted mess blocked off half the space left to them, wires, computers, tables and chairs all packed in tight and crushed together forming a barrier from one wall to the other barely leaving half the room left.

 

Finally Sam spotted her Tamer, Riley was laid out with three other humans, one of the assistant Techs, Professor Walsh and the Trauma Team Agent Crawford. All four humans had been lined up, lying on their backs on a flat bit of the control centers steel floor, and they looked like they'd been through hell, clothes torn, bodies bloody and bruised, but they at least looked in one piece and they were all breathing. Sam reached above her head, looking for a secure grip to lever herself up with. Sam used the nearby window ledge to hoist herself up. First knocking out a single dagger like sliver, the tiny piece all that remained of the five meter long, two meter high, inch think armored glass panels that had been fitted to the Control Centers windows.

 

Kneeling down beside her Tamer the Samurai quickly went through the motions of checking Riley vitals.

 

"What happened?" Sam asked her Harem Sister.

 

"I'm pretty sure the I.D.H. program exploded Sam. But I couldn't swear to it, all I remember is green lights, being knocked around and a whole lot of pain." Rose told her Alpha, slowly following her over to their Tamer.

 

Sam's head jerked up at that last, she'd seen the Armsmistress take things that the Samurai was sure would have killed her with barely a grimace of discomfort. For Rose to casually mention how much pain she'd suffered was nothing short of mindboggling. Her attention riveted on her Harem's battle specialist, Sam saw that the six foot tall Pokegirl's right arm was hanging loosely at her side and that she was slightly hunched forward as if she found it hard to stand straight. Sam's mouth dropped open in shock Armsmistress's were TOUGH! She'd never seen Rose so messed up before.

 

"How are you doing?" Sam asked, radically upping the scale of the disaster, as she cataloged the damage to her Harem Sister.

 

"Badly busted right-arm, feels like I'm broken up inside, right legs twisted wrong, can hardly put any weight on the sucker. Eyesight's not too good a little blurry, probably means I've got a concussion, and it feels like one of my broken ribs might have punctured a lung. I'm a mess Sam, hopefully not going to die anytime soon, but unless there's a PPHU around here somewhere, I'm not battling either." Rose replied cheerfully, as if she was telling a joke, rather than listing injures that would have put most people down.

 

Sam sucked in her breath through her teeth, amazed her friend was still standing, let alone looking only mildly put out, by what on most other Pokegirl types would have been crippling injures. Before the Samurai could say anything Rose was continuing on with her report.

 

"When I came to, I found it looking like this." The Armsmistress waved at the chaos with her left arm. "I found Riley and the Professor and these other two, they don't look that badly hurt, but I couldn't wake them up. Base Coordinator O'Brian, Dr Angleman and Technician Richards are all dead, so is Richards other assistant, Miller and Gates are on the other side of that tangle." Pointing to the barricade of junk that was cutting off half the room. "Or at least I can hear two heart beats and it sounds like they're breathing patterns. I was just about to start working my way through when I found you. Oh, you may not have noticed yet but the Command Center? Not attached to the Labs ceiling anymore."

 

Sam had been listening calmly to the liturgy of dead and wounded, but at that last comment her eye's went wide and her gaze darted from Riley Finns unconscious body to stare out through the battered hole the used to be one of the Command Center's observation window. Rose was right! The Labs main floor was right outside the window, Sam stared in horror at the complete destruction of the I.D.H. equipment. Even the energy crystals, that as far as the Samurai knew were indestructible were shattered, with broken glowing pieces littering the ground strewn all over. Almost against her will Sam leaned out and looked up, it was dark but Sam had excellent night vision, she could just make out the cracked and broken hole where the Command Center used to be attached.

 

"How long ago did it happen?" Sam asked thinking through their options.

 

"According to Riley's dex it's 11.30 so three and a half hours since the I.D.H. test started." Rose told her, pulling the paperback sized PDA from one of the pouches hung from her weapons belt.

 

"Hand me the dex, I think I remember how to get it to scan humans, if I can get it to scan Riley at lest we'll know if it's safe to move him." Sam decided.

 

The Armsmistress passed the Pokedex over and Sam flipped open the display, quickly the Pokegirl began scrolling through menu's tracking down the devices settings and controls. Trying to convince the thing to scan humans rather than Pokegirl's. Finally, after a minute, she got it working and pointed at her Tamer.

 

"Subject Riley Finn exhibiting minor bruising and contusions, signs of major magical energy saturation and serve spell backlash." The small computer's voice told them.

 

"Well damn! Paula got smacked with spell backlash on a job once. I think a Damsel turned her magic back against her, she was out of it for a week and could hardly for stand days afterwards." The Armsmistress grinned at her harem sister "Looks like you and I will be taking care of each other Taming needs for a while Sam."

 

"Shut up Rose, Pokedex what's the prognosis for major magic saturation and serve spell backlash on a magical null human?" Sam asked the Tamers companion.

 

"Extreme magical disorders, in magical null humans, lead to death in eighty percent off recorded cases, unless competent care can be begun within the first ten hours of disorder developing. Recommend treatment at a magical specialist hospital ASAP " The Pokedex informed them.

 

"Oh crap!" Rose summed things up nicely.

 

Sam thought furiously, there was really only one hospital that specialized in magic that they dared use. St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies was a Trauma Team operation, doing magical experimentation as well as keeping a check on magical Pokegirl's. With almost all of the Initiative humans wanted by one League or another, it was their only option. Problem being, St. Mungo's was in Crimson League and they were stuck in a hole in the most desolate corner of the Mountain League.

 

"We need to find Gates his Mistoffeles, she can build a teleport circle. It's the only way we can get them to help in time." Sam told the other Pokegirl "We'll collect all the survivors and Evac to the Trauma Team faculties at St. Mungo's."

 

"Rightyo Sam! That's why you're the Alpha, and I just hit stuff." Rose said smiling happily.

 

Crack! Sam's head jerked around, the sound of metal breaking shattered the quite out in the darkened cavern.

 

"What was that?" Both Pokegirl's were on their feet looking out into the gloom of the ruined laboratory. The noise could have been just some of the wreckage settling, but both girl were on edge, now they strained their senses trying to see into the darkness.

 

"I'm out! Talk to me Tara, which are you in." Both the Samurai and the Armsmistress heard the voice and the two shared a look. Sam wanted to just forget about it, and get her Tamer and the other humans she was responsible for out of here. On the other had she knew exactly what her Tamer and Professors Walsh orders would be.

 

"Can you get though that to Gates and Miller by yourself Rose?" Sam asked.

 

"Yeah sure, no problem Sam, I'm banged up pretty bad, but I've still got some fight left in me." Rose told her.

 

"Right, you go grab Riley's men, let Paula out of her Pokeball and set her to building a teleport circle to St. Mungo's. I want us out of here as soon as possible. I'll make sure that the I.D.H. ...by-products don't cause any problems." The Samurai ordered drawing her masterwork Katana.

 

"Right Sam, you have fun with that!" Rose the Armsmistress grinned as she watched her Harem sister jump lightly through the ravaged window opening.

 

Turning she limped towards the mess of debris that blocked her way to her Tamers subordinates. It shouldn't take her more than a few minutes to rip through the pile of junk and set Paula, Forest Gates Mistoffeles to doing the spell, like Sam wanted. Then she could let Alison, Graham Millers Ivywhore, out of her Pokeball and get her to help Sam chase down any of the experiments that got away from the Samurai. Not that she expected her Alpha to need much help, but Rose was a professional, and liked covering as many options as possible, besides the Ivywhore was always good for a laugh.

 

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Chapter End Notes:

A/N I'd just like to point out that Buffy and all the Scoobies are completely and utterly AU. Yes they're based on the characters from TV's BTVS, but a lot of the things these characters do and think are my own invention. I have no reason to think that the Canon Scoobies would react the same in the same situations. I hope it's at least a little believable and my goal is for them to always be recognizable as Buffy and the rest of the gang. But at the end of the day these are my characters that are based on the originals not straight (Heh! double meaning ahoy!) clones.