All Matrix characters except Krys and this particular incarnation of Hoppity (the RL Hoppity, of course, is her own creation) are the creations of the Wachowski Brothers and belong to them, Village Roadshow and Warner Brothers. All Buffy characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Warner Brothers.
Part Three
The next morning came too soon for Willow, who had cherished these last few hours of relative normalcy before she released Sunnydale and those who were trapped there to the wider world. Now she stood nervously in back of the City Hall with Buffy, Angel and Neo. Trinity, Giles, Xander and Oz were at the various other entrances, preparing a diversion. Buffy had introduced Neo and Trinity as friends and allies from LA, but their unusual dress and cool demeanor had definitely thrown the others off. "What is with those guys? Is it just me, or did they get lost on the way to a death metal video shoot?" Xander asked.
"There's definitely a high synthetic fabrics factor going on there," Oz agreed. "Where did you say you met these two, Will?"
"Um, LA? But I think they're originally from somewhere back east."
"Well, then..." Xander said, his west coast sensibilities perfectly prepared to use that to explain everything. "And they're supposed to help how?"
Buffy jumped in. "They've dealt with people like the mayor before. They volunteered. We needed their experience."
"You know you mentioned that before, but I've been all through the Watcher Diaries, and I can't find anything about anyone else like the Mayor," Giles said.
"A few things have happened below the scope of the Council's radar, Giles. They're not omnipotent," Buffy said, her sarcasm possibly influenced by the events of her 18th birthday.
"Yes well, I can't argue with that, but still you think there would have been some mention. And this Neo and Trinity, they're certainly, er, em, unusual."
Willow and Buffy exchanged a look, and Willow spoke up. "Look, I know they're not what we usually get here in Sunnydale, but I know them. They're good guys."
"Do they have anything to do with why you don't smell right anymore?" Oz asked. "Cause they don't smell right either."
Willow got a pained expression on her face. "Look, Oz, I told you I can't really explain that now. Please just trust me, and by extension, them."
There was general, if somewhat disgruntled consensus, leading to the current situation. At last, there was the sound of an alarm from inside, and the pounding of feet as people ran to respond to the alert. "Okay, let's go!" Buffy signaled, and the small group snuck in. The halls were relatively empty on the first floor, but they had to duck and cover a few times as they got closer to the mayor's office.
Buffy carefully peeked through an archway. The site of a familiar petite brunette made her pull rapidly back. She and the others took a few steps away. "Okay," Buffy whispered, "Faith's right around the corner. Here's where we split up. Willow, you know the way up to the Mayor's office. Be careful!"
Willow nodded, the two friends shared one more hug, and then the two groups split up. Buffy and Angel moved forward and Buffy check again. The only people in the hall were Faith and another man, to whom Faith appeared to be giving directions of some kind. Buffy stepped around the corner.
"Well well. If it isn't the Mayor's favourite lapdog. Is he feeding you a better class of kibble these days?"
Faith spun around, her face already flushed with anger and hostility. "You're just jealous that I'm on the winning side, B. Can't handle the competition."
Buffy smiled, ignoring Faith's contemptuous use of the hated nickname. "You haven't won yet, Faith. And I still have a few tricks. And with that, Buffy launched herself at Faith and the battle was joined. Angel, as directed, hung back, not getting involved until the man Faith had been talking to, who'd run away at the first sign of trouble, came back with reinforcements.
Willow, of course, knew nothing of this. She and Neo crept quietly up the stairs, freezing at any sign of others in the building. Finally, they reached the right corridor. Willow held up her hand, and they both stopped. There didn't appear to be any sign of life, or unlife, about. Cautiously, they glided up to the Mayor's office door. Neo listened intently and after hearing some movement, nodded once at Willow, then soundlessly mouthed "1:2:3:"
The Mayor looked up with some surprise as the two rebels burst in, but not nearly enough, to Willow's mind. "My goodness, someone sure is feeling destructive today. You could have just knocked you know. Now the taxpayers are going to have to pay to fix that door." Coming around the desk, he continued, "Willow, why don't you introduce me to your most interestingly attired companion. I can tell you're certainly not from around here, Mr.:." He finished, holding out his hand for a shake.
"Just Neo," Neo said, ignoring the outstretched hand. "You may have heard of me. From the Oracle." And with that he just dove into the Mayor, who managed to look properly surprised and upset this time.
Willow couldn't believe it. It was almost disappointing. It couldn't be this easy. Not after all this time.
She was right.
Neo reappeared from the Mayor, retching and looking panicked. "He's: it's like a pit of filth. You can feel it becoming part of you."
The Mayor smiled. "You can't imagine I wouldn't have anticipated this kind of attack. I have been in here for more than a century, but I still remember what happened the last time we faced you. You are him, aren't you. The One. Well, I must say, I'm a little disappointed. The person Zi'On and all those hopeless rebels waited for so long, and you can't go up against one little virus."
"What?" The Mayor finally remembered Willow was in the room at her cry and returned his attention to her.
"Well, how did you *think* I became invincible? By eating my spinach, like that ridiculous sailor with the anatomically impossible arms? Of course not. I tied my code into the virus. And come the Ascension, it's going to be one and the same. Just one, glorious program. Our strength combined will be enough to lay waste to this entire section of the matrix and burst free into the rest of it. It'll be beautiful," he trailed off, looking a little dreamy at the thought. Then he returned to the room. "So go ahead, try and kill me. Seeing as how the best agent they could come up with could only battle the virus to a stalemate, I think I'm safe."
Willow stared at the perverted agent, and then just reached behind her and grabbed the still shaky Neo. "C'mon, we're getting out of here."
The Mayor just smiled. "An excellent choice. I'd ask you to fix the door, Neo, but I think you're probably still a little weak. Maybe later." And the two fled the office, hearing the Mayor's laughter behind them for far too long.
***
They met Buffy and Angel on the second floor, as agreed. Angel had Faith trussed up tighter than a Sunday turkey flung over one shoulder. She was out cold. Willow screeched to a halt when she saw her. "Jeepers, Buffy, what'd you hit her with?"
Buffy smiled. "Nothing that can't be repaired. She'll live. How'd it go with the Mayor?"
Willow shook her head, and then pulled Buffy aside so they could speak in private. "Not so good. He's tied himself together with the virus. He can't be destroyed as long as it's here."
Buffy nodded. "Well then, it looks we'll just have to take them out together. Two for one. Let's get the others and go back to the library. Notify the outside of the change in plan." Willow nodded and pulled out the cellphone.
They met up with the others back at the library. Oz had a lovely bruise above his right eye, and Xander was limping a little, but other than that everyone was fine. Angel threw the still unconscious Faith in the cage and the somewhat battered group assembled.
"Well, I see we got Faith, but what of the Mayor?" Giles started.
"Not such good news on that front, I'm afraid," Neo replied. "This one is different from the ones I've encountered before. He has actually tied himself back to the First, so he can't be destroyed unless the First is."
"But that's impossible," Giles protested. "This isn't some run of the mill vampire we're talking about. The First Evil has been around longer than the planet, longer than maybe even the cosmos."
"True," Trinity said. "But we have some assistance from beyond. And I mean that literally. We may actually have an advantage on it this time."
Willow had to turn her head to the side at that to hide her smile. She knew Giles would never be able to picture or believe a pale, emaciated group of rebels hunched over computers aboard a decaying ship floating through unending darkness as 'assistance from beyond.'
Giles started to argue, but Buffy put a stop to it by saying "Giles, please, I can't explain why, but they're right. They do have help we've never had before. This is going to work." Giles was so taken aback by Buffy's tone he let the matter drop.
"Okay," Buffy continued. "Here's the plan." And the group gathered together and listened.
***
Oz dropped noiselessly down the manhole opening, landing with his usual lycanthropic grace, and then turned and helped Willow down. Neo and Trinity were right behind her. Trinity pulled out her cellphone. "Hop. Yeah, we're in position. Everyone else is converging toward the source. Give us 5 minutes and then launch the antiviral." She hung up and then nodded and the four proceed quietly toward their goal, Oz leading the way. Willow hadn't wanted him to come, but he'd insisted, pointing out that his canine senses were much keener than theirs, and that since he had no intention of staying behind, they might as well make use of them. Xander, not to be outdone, insisted on coming along as well. He, Buffy, Angel and Giles were approaching from the other side.
Oz wrinkled his nose in disgust. Willow's heart went out to him. She knew with his hyperkeen sense of smell, the stench down here must be making his stomach twirl. "Are you okay?" she whispered, coming along side him and taking his hand.
He nodded. "Just takes a few minutes to get used to. I'll be okay. How about you?"
Willow nodded. "Just looking forward to getting this over with and moving on."
"To what? I mean, you still haven't told me where you keep disappearing to, or where you found the Goth Gang," he said, gesturing over his shoulder at Neo and Trinity.
Willow looked away. "Let's just get through this, and then, if you choose it, I'll show you the truth."
"What do you mean, if I choose it. Of course I choose it."
"Oz, it's not that simple. Just trust me, and wait. C'mon, you're the guy who said it would take you a few days to get used to being a werewolf. I know how keyed up you get about these things."
Oz knew himself enough to give a soft chuckle at that, and the tension was broken. They slinked along the passage a little further until Oz suddenly put his hand up. Neo came up from behind and wordlessly asked why. Oz held up 4 fingers and then pointed to his two canine teeth. They all nodded, fell back against the wall and made not a sound. As the whole point was to make it to the chamber Buffy had previously met the First in without raising any kind of alarm, they certainly didn't want to try and take on 4 vampires at once. At last Oz nodded, and they continued on even more carefully. There was one more such encounter, before there was a sudden cry and the sound of many running feet. Oz caught his breath and suddenly leaned heavily against Willow, who was able to catch him just in time. He shook his head and recovered. "Sorry, just felt a little funny for a second there. It sounds like your outside help just kicked in though. Let's go." And the four, stealth no longer as much an issue, moved rapidly down the sewer, emerging into a dark cave already swarming with chaos.
Buffy and the rest had gotten there first and were already engaging the eyeless priests and assorted vampires and demons in a pitched battle. As Willow watched, Angel smashed one with far too many tentacles and claws for her taste into a wall, spinning it around and relieving it of its head with a large knife. Oz joined in the battle, while Willow, Trinity and Neo went over to the center of the room, and their goal.
The First, stripped of its outer layers by the oh-so-resourceful Hoppity, resembled nothing so much as a beach ball, although Willow had to admit she'd never seen a beach ball glowing and crackling with energy and floating in mid-air. As they approached it, it rose up higher in the air and launched a smallish lightning bolt at them. They hastily took a step back and Neo took out his cellphone. "Hoppity, this thing has some incredible defenses. It just tried to fry me. Can you wear it down a little more? What do you mean growing back? Damn, you have any ideas? Uh, hold on, Willow's trying to say something." Neo passed the phone to the frantically signaling Willow.
"Hoppity, what's happening?"
"It's astounding. When you strip off a defense, it grows back almost immediately. Watch, tell me what you see." As Willow watched, a black spot appeared on the surface of the ball. It grew larger, spreading out from the center, revealing an underlayer, like a piece of paper burning and revealing the piece underneath. But before the whole top layer could be consumed, the newly exposed piece bulged up and into the top layer, replacing and filling in. Within seconds, it was whole again, and just as malevolent.
"Hoppity, the next layer down on the code is coming up and filling in what you undo. This isn't going to work."
"No, it's not, is it." Willow froze at that voice, and turned, dreading what she was going to find. He was standing right behind her, completely untouched by the chaos around them. "Why do you think I joined my code to it? Indestructible is indestructible, and if you think your piddling little group of pirates is going to succeed where 200 years of machines have failed, well, then, you're living in even more of a dreamworld than the people still wetwired to the matrix. Face it, you can't win."
Willow stared at him, mind working furiously. "She brought the cellphone back to her mouth and said "Hop, you said each section is coded independently of the next, right?"
"Yeah."
"Try going in the opposite direction."
"Of course! I can do that. Give me a few seconds to bring up that section of the antiviral and launch it." The call cut off abruptly and Willow returned her attention to the Mayor and his extremely unpleasant smile.
"It doesn't matter. There is nothing that can stop the First. And once this minor annoyance is done with, we can finally burst free from this miniscule little corner of the matrix and take over the whole thing."
Willow held his gaze for a moment, feeling his confusion at her lack of fear. She allowed herself one small smile, just to bait him a little more, and then spoke. "There's something we never told you. And I just want to see your face when you hear this, because it's just too perfect, and you're going to realize you've been forgetting something very important all along. This virus is the creation of Zi'On scientists. We are agents of Zi'On." She paused, knowing it was hokey, but she wanted to see if he could figure it out on his own. There was a tremor as the ball behind her began to shake. All the supernatural beings in the cave, unfortunately including Oz and Angel, cried out as if in great pain. The Mayor's face had an expression she never thought she'd see on it: stark fear.
"No, you don't. You can't:"
"That's right, Mayor Wilkins. We have the source code."
The tremors grew stronger, and everyone but the good guys and the Mayor started to flee. Oz was staggering as if he'd been hit, and Angel was curled up on the floor, Buffy at his side. The Mayor had also collapsed and was trying to get back to his feet. Giles and Xander were staring wildly in confusion. Willow turned back to the First. It was about half the size it had been and shrinking rapidly. Suddenly, a strong wind came out of nowhere and there was a shrieking of a million voices. The First dropped down to the size of a grapefruit, and then stopped, along with the wind and noise. In the sudden silence, everyone stared at each other. Willow reached out her hand, and what was left of the First dropped harmlessly into it. She pulled out the phone and hit the speed dial. "Hoppity, it worked. It's gone."
"Not quite. The kernel's still there. I can't delete it from this end. Can you see it?"
Willow looked down at the lump in her hand, still giving off a soft glow, and spoke as if through a dream "Yes. We'll take care of it." She turned to Buffy. "You do it. There's nothing left that can harm you. And it's what you're here for."
The Mayor saw what Willow and Buffy intended to do and somehow found the strength to launch himself at her, howling "No!" His progress was stopped by the sudden appearance of a black-clad leg, kicking him in the chest. Neo gave him a few more punches for good measure, and the Mayor was out for the count. Trinity came up beside Neo, who looked at her. "I really dislike this man." Trinity smiled, and the two leaned into each other.
Buffy took the kernel, her eyes unreadable. She turned to Angel, who was propped up against the wall, face even more ashen than normal, and obviously in bad condition. Her eyes filled with tears. "Angel, you know I love you more than anything in the world. So I'm going to free you now. No more vampire. No more cursed life. No more darkness." She took his hand in hers, leaned in and gently kissed him on the lip. And with her other hand, crumbled the kernel away, scattering it like so much ash across the floor of the cave. With the first squeeze, a look of wonder came over Angel's face and he pulled away and gazed at her. He barely managed to say "Buffy?" before he faded away. Buffy rocked back onto her heels and gave into her tears. Giles went to her and she abandoned herself into his embrace, looking very much the scared and lonely 18 year old girl she almost was. Willow looked at the spot where the mayor had been, and saw only a few charred cinders. A groan reminded her of Oz, and she spun around and turned to him.
"Oz! Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not. It feels like someone's ripped out my insides and put them back again in a new arran-." He paused. "Willow, oh my god, Willow. It's gone!"
"What's gone?"
"The wolf! It's not there anymore! I can't smell hardly anything and my hearing: Willow, I'm human again!" He swooped Willow up into an enthusiastic hug. "Human! I'm human! What did you do?"
Trinity stepped in. "When we destroyed the First, all the things spawned by it went with it. No more demons or monsters or vampires. Since your human half was intact, it just stripped out the wolf half and left the rest behind."
"That's why we lost Angel," Buffy added, still snuffling. "The First was keeping him alive. No First, no life."
"So no Angel," Willow said. "You knew this would happen, didn't you."
Buffy nodded.
"But you never said anything."
Buffy smiled weakly. "When you've spent your entire existence working toward a goal, you can't let a little thing like true love get in the way. Besides. I'll keep the memories." She paused for a moment, obviously lost in one of those memories. "I've stayed behind when lots of people I cared about moved on. I'll heal."
Trinity cleared her throat. "Willow, we're way over time. We really have to go."
Willow turned and gave her acknowledgement, then turned back to the others. "We have to leave now, but we'll be back. Buffy," she said, handing her the cellphone. "You know how to reach me." Buffy nodded. Willow turned to Oz. "I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise. And we'll have that talk, okay?"
Oz nodded, and the three rebels left the cave, into the suddenly untainted sunshine of the Sunnydale Simulation.
***
Three days later, Willow sat with Oz on a secluded bench in the park. They were enjoying the novelty of being outside, without weaponry, at night. Oz was basking in the light of his first unsullied full moon in a year.
"It's just amazing. It's like Sunnydale is a normal town suddenly. Willow, you are a genius, and I never should have questioned you."
Willow smiled. "That's very nice, but you're avoiding the question."
Oz sighed. "Does this have anything to do with why no one's heard from Xander since yesterday?"
Willow nodded.
"What about Buffy?"
"Unfortunately, for reasons you will discover if you so choose, Buffy can't go where I'm asking you to go."
"Okay." Oz pursed his lips and looked down at the small box Willow was holding. "So my choices are:
Red or blue."
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