Synopsis of The Initiative

Written by Bone

The story starts off with Riley talking to one of his friends, Forrest. The Forrest is noticing babes at the cafeteria. He sees Buffy and comments how much of a babe she is. During this ogling period, Buffy overflows her drink and brakes the handle on the yogurt machine. Riley says her name and Forrest thinks that "Buffy" is and adjective for a beautiful woman. Riley tells him that Buffy is her name. Forrest goads him about knowing her and wants to know Riley likes her. He says it was hard to get a handle on her. Another pal joins them. Forrest says that he thought Buffy went out with Parker for about 30 seconds. Riley agrees that she has bad taste. The other pal thinks she's Canadian. Forrest still says that the Buffster is a major league hottie and asks why Riley seems uninterested as she spills her lunch.

Spike is lying on the floor of a cell. Saying he wants to kill the Slayer. He gets up and touches the transparent wall and is shocked. He is in one cell of many that are holding all kinds of creatures that go bump in the night. The credits roll and Spike is now a regular cast member. Oz is gone from the opening credits,

Xander and Giles are at Giles' place trying to figure out who the Camouflage Commando (CC) was. Giles has drawn a sketch. He believes they are human so Buffy won't need their help. Xander wants Giles to conjure up something so she will need them. Buffy walks in and recognizes the sketch as the CC. Giles wants her to patrol. She wants to take Willow to a party to cheer her up.

Spike is still in his cell when a packet of blood falls from the ceiling. He starts to bite into it when the vamp who was captured in the first episode tells him that the blood is drugged. He tells spike he was running from the Slayer and was then captured and taken here. He says the drugged captives are taken away and experimented on. Spike is upset that the Slayer was involved. He thinks she got a grant to do these studies.

Buffy is again being klutzy in class as she is getting ink all over her notes. Class ends and Willow asks Riley why he didn't call the name Daniel Osbourne (Sp.?), Oz. He tells her he thinks he dropped out. Willow tells him (and us too?) that Oz will be back. Prof. Walsh interrupts and tells her harshly that Oz won't be back to her class. If he can't follow the rules like everyone else, he's out. Willow leaves looking very hurt. Buffy sees this exchange and is upset at the Prof. She tells her that she teaches human behavior, and should show some. The Prof. says she doesn't make exceptions for anyone as Buffy leaves. Prof. Wash says she likes Buffy. Riley says he thinks she's a bit odd.

Xander is getting out some military supplies he stole when he was GI Joe. He is having trouble opening a flare pistol. Giles does it for him. He says he has forgotten every thing except hand to hand fighting and he will be ready to take on the CC. Just then his mom calls down and says she made some punch for them. Giles wants to know if it is raspberry.

Riley is talking to Forrest about what Buffy said to the Prof. Forrest says she's got guts. Riley thinks she's crazy to talk to Prof. Walsh like that. Parker walks in (is he a CC also?). Forrest wants to know the scoop on Buffy. Parker says that she is whiney and clingy. He says the difference between a toilet set and a freshman girl is that the toilet seat doesn't follow you around after you use it. Riley clocks him. Riley and his buddies are leaving and they are concerned that Parker might report him. (To Prof. Walsh?) Riley is unconcerned because he believes he embarrassed Parker. Riley realizes what his friends already know. He has it bad for Buffy. He goes to try to see her.

Orderlies are bringing a cart to take Spike away. The packet of blood is empty and Spike is out on the floor of his cell. As they put him on the cart he awakens and grabs one by the neck. He says he's got a girl to see.

Spike starts beating up the men who came to get him as the other vamp tells him to help him escape also because he knows the way out. Alarms are going off as the tow vamps are trying to make their escape. CCs are come and doors are closing all around them. Spike throws the other vamp at the CCs and makes his escape through the door they came through.

A knock on the door and Willow says come in (a bad idea in a place where there are vampires) and it is Riley. He wants to talk to her about Buffy. Willow is not forthcoming in helping him woo Buffy. She goes into a lecture about loving and leaving and Riley feels she will be of no help and is about to leave when Willow snaps out of it and says that Buffy likes cheese (maybe from being a rat). She gives him a few more pointers as she and Buffy will be at a party at the house that Riley and his buddies are at.

Harmony is in a lair putting up a poster of a unicorn when Spike returns. She slaps him and rants about him staking her and leaving. He says he came back for her and she buys it. He says he came back to kill the Slayer. As he is looking for some thing to fight her with. Harmony wants sex. She gets sex.

Xander and Giles are patrolling for the CCs and he is going on about looking for the enemy as Giles tells him to shut up.

At the party, Willow is trying to get Riley and Buffy together. She tells him she has on her dancing shoes and he should dance with her. He can't dance. He goes to greet her and can only talk about school. He offers her cheese. He is doing very badly.

Xander and Giles have split up looking for the CCs. Xander sees vamp Harmony about to burn something. He confronts her and tells her to stay back or he will stake her she slaps him and a fight ensues. Probably the worst fight sequence ever was on an action show (but done so intentionally to show that Xander has no special fighting skills). This includes lots of slapping and hair pulling. Harmony threatens to bite him as Xander has her by the hair and legs. The agree to stop fighting (thank God!!) and she tells him Spike is back and she is burning his stuff because he went after the Slayer and men always leave as Xander leaves to warn Buffy.

Buffy is finally having a good time as Riley laments not being able to speak to her the way he wants to. He tells Willow he is usually very good at things. She tells him he failed trying to woo Buffy exceptionally well. Willow tells him to try again and to tell Buffy she was going back to the dorm. He goes to talk to her but Xander comes in and tells her there is a problem. She tells riley she has to go and his friends needle him about her leaving with another guy. They tell him they have some business to attend to. They go to a secluded hall and are scanned in front of a mirror. And elevator opens and they are take down to a level after a voice id from Riley. Graham and Forrest are still kidding him about Buffy. As they exit the elevator into a very large underground complex Riley says that what girl wants to be bothered by Joe Regular by day who is a demon hunter at night. They stroll past all kinds of experiments that are going on until they come to the leader. Riley asks for the situation and Pro. Walsh tells them a code red is on and that Hoslile17 has escaped. (She was talking to Riley in code the last episode. She knew exactly what attacked her but they don't know who the Slayer is)

Riley and boys suit up as Prof. Walsh continues to brief them. 6 more CCs arrive. Finn is in charge and splits them into 3 teams covering the sewer, campus perimeter and main campus. Riley, Forrest and Graham take the campus.

Buffy and Xander are at Giles' and they are discussing what to do about Spike. Buffy says she will confront him and kill him. She wants to do it alone. Xander gives her the flare gun and she says she's not signaling ships at sea. He wants her to use it if she need s help. She takes it and goes on the hunt.

Spike gets into the school's computer system and finds Buffy's room and dorm.

Agent Finn and crew are searching the campus. They see Buffy sitting on a bench alone. Forrest wants her to stay there as bait but Riley doesn't want her to get hurt. Forrest says he can take a hostile at 50 yards but Riley pulls rank and denies the action. He puts on civilian clothes and goes to talk to her. She tries to get him to leave and he is trying to get her to leave. She mentions something about it being Teutonic that men think women need to be protected. They both say they aren't leaving as long as the other is there. Someone screams and they head in opposite directions. Graham and Forrest are tracking Hostile17 (Spike) and they pin his location down.

Willow is wallowing in pity in her room and a knock is heard at the door. She says come in and is scared shitless when she see it is Spike. She asks if wants her to do a spell. She tries to run but he throws her back. He says he is going to kill her and she can either be dead or a vampire like him. She tries to scream and he covers her mouth and turns the music up real loud. She is struggling to get away. He throws her on the bed and Bites her neck. No one outside the room knows what is going on.

Willow is lying on the bed and Spike is sitting next to her. There is nothing wrong with her. No bite marks, no anything. Spike says this has never happened to him before. The sexually dysfunctional male parallels here are great. Spike tries to bite her again and again but gets a mind numbing pain and has to stop. (The Initiative has done some thing to him. He is tagged and has some kind of implant that stops the blood lust with pain.) He is greatly upset. Willow says doesn't this happen to all vamps and Spike says not to me. Willow says it is her and that Spike came looking for Buffy but settled for her. She feels she's not the type of girl a vamp wants to sink his teeth into. She's just the good friend or just like a sister. Spike assures her that she is very bitable. And he wanted to when he had them trapped in Lovers' Walk. She says she is still terrified. He says not to patronize him.

The CCs are on their way to the dorm. They do a thermal scan and find a room where the body temperature of someone inside is room temperature. They put on their night vision equipment and head in.

Inside Spike is lamenting that he is only 126 years old. Willow says he is being to hard on himself. She says he should try again in half an hour and while Spike has his head in his hand she breaks a lamp on his head and goes to try unlock the door.

The CCs kill the power to the dorm and come up to the room. They break down the door and come in. Willow bust through them trying to get away. Riley stops them from tranqing Willow. Spike starts fighting them and goes to bite one of the CCs and gets the brain buster. While Stunned, the Cs put a sack over Spikes head and try to take him out. One of them wants to take the civilian, Willow, because she may have been turned. Riley says no but Forrest says they can't neglect quarantine. Spike breaks loose and starts fighting the CCs again. He breaks open the fire extinguisher and hits one of the CCs with the extinguisher. Riley tries to tranq him but the projectile hits the extinguisher and CO2 is making a mist along with the darkness. Willow tries to get away but one of the CCs grab her saying she is contained. The Slayer yells, "Contain this!" and fires the flare gun. The night vision goggles are overloaded and somewhat blind the CCs. Riley tells them to remove the goggles. Buffy takes them on and starts kicking the crap out of Riley, Forrest and Graham. Spike sees his chance to escape and crashes through a window and runs off. Buffy and riley are fighting and through the blurred vision, darkness and mist I think he realizes it is Buffy he is fighting and yells abort to his team. The CCs leave and the lights come back on. Buffy gathers Willow and they go into their room.

Back at the complex, Prof. Walsh is pissed that Hostil17 escaped and believes that he has an accomplice (Buffy). Riley says everything is in his report but there is no description of the accomplice. Forrest and Graham say it was a big, strong "guy". The only good thing is that the implant Prof. Walsh devised makes Spike weaker and unable to feed off of a living thing. They are dismissed as Pro. Walsh is still seething.

Riley sees Buffy the next day walking across campus. He goes to talk to her. She apologized for trying to get rid of him last night. She said sometimes you just want to be by yourself for a night walk. He reminds her to be careful.. She says the excitement at her dorm the other night was a frat prank. He says he knew. Buffy wanted to know how he knew. He said he was talking to Willow about a project he was working on. She wanted to know how did the project go. He said he was still working on it. She asks what he wanted to say to her at the party before she left. He said it was something brilliant and she might have even been moved by it but he's for gotten and wants to know if Willow told her he likes cheese. Buffy looks at him and calls him peculiar and he smiles and says he can live with that.

THE END

I like Camouflage Commandos. Prof. Walsh was great in the short time she was on. Is Parker her son? The other commandos said Riley might get in trouble for hitting him. I hope she doesn't turn out to be evil.

I was glad Willow wasn't hurt.

-Bone

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