Disclaimer and Continuity Note: I don't own any of the characters used in
this fic, who were created by Mutant Enemy productions unless otherwise noted.
This fic is set approximately circa October 2001. It is presumed to occur
pretty soon after the S6 episode "Flooded" (marking the return of Giles),
PRIOR to the series finale of the Lone Gunmen (which had to occur pretty
soon before their blue-faced appearance on the last season of the X-Files),
and at a corresponding point early in last season's ER.
The Fallen: Chapter 2
*The Sunnydale Motel*
The Lone Gunmen are gathered around the bed, on which the Buffy-bot is being
reassembled. The bot's head is connected to a laptop on the table,
which is on in video conference mode.
Kimmy the Geek: *on the monitor* You boys don't know what you're messing
with. You shouldn't have even bothered.
Langly: Look, there's some screwy BIOS protection on this bot's motherboard.
Can you crack it, or am I going to.....
Kimmy: Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're talking to the MASTER here. So sit
back, watch and learn!
The Gunmen sit and watch as Kimmy tries to boot the Buffy bot remotely, only
to see the same access denied screen they'd been getting.
Frohike: Well, some help calling him was.....
Kimmy: *frowns* This robot has been modified by its end-user. It's
going to take a while to bypass. It would go a lot quicker if you could
track one of them down....
Langly: If we knew who built it, we wouldn't be on line with YOU, you little...
Byers: Okay, okay, enough of that. Kimmy, is there any indication who
did either?
Jimmy: Wasn't it the government? I KNEW it was the government! They're trying to replace us all with robots.....
Kimmy: Hold your horses, Bond.
Langly: Yeah, this looks a bit too improvised for a government job.....
Kimmy: Wait, I've got something here.....
As he types, an extra line decrypts on the screen: "Encrypted by RoseyWillow
99"
Byers: *shocked* RoseyWillow 99....
Kimmy: No wonder I couldn't take this down in one try.....
Jimmy: Who's RoseyWillow 99?
Frohike: No one knows for sure, but he or she is, or rather WAS the hottest
rising star amongst West Coast hackers in years.
Jimmy: Was?
Langly: Yeah, Rosey's been getting scarecer these days. Though with
a project like this it's easy to understand why. Whomever built this
robot may not be the sharpest tool in the basket, but it's good work.....
Byers: Alright, you three try to get this robot up and running. Jimmy
and I will go see if we can track down RoseyWillow and find out where it
came from.....
*Chicago*
EMT: We've got a multiple GSW inbound!
Luka: I've got another patient, or at least I will once my records show up.
Can someone else get this one?
Dr. Greene: I've got it. *Follows the crash cart in the door*
Talk to me here.....
EMT: She was sprayed in a drive-by. One round to the shoulder, two
to the abdomen, lost a lot of blood.
Dr. Greene: Prep OR 2, now!
Abby walks in from the stairs, bearing a file, and deftly dodges the crash
cart.
Abby: Luka! Got your file!
Luke: *takes the file, starts reading it as he rushes off towards the OR
with his patient* What took so long?
Abby: Well, for one it was in room three NINETEEN, not FOURTEEN! *shakes
her head*
Frank: *hollering from the desk* Hey Abby, the computer records system is
back up!
Abby: *mutters* Just in time. Right AFTER I get back from the basement.
Frank: *chuckles* Bit of a museum down there?
Abby: You COULD say that. Hey, I was wondering, do you have any idea
what's in room 0314?
Frank: No idea, records are in 0319.....
Abby: Yeah, I noticed. *notices Dr. Carter walking by towards the lounge
and follows him* Hey Carter!
Dr. Carter: Abby. What's up?
Abby: You have any idea what's in room 0314?
Dr. Carter: 0314? That'll be in the basement, right? Not much
down there but storage. Why?
Abby: I was just down there, and it's got more locks on the door than anywhere
I've seen in the hospital....
Nurse: *shouting* Dr. Greene's patient is crashing! We need three units
of AB Pos STAT!
Abby: I've got it! Later, Carter. *dashes off*
Dr. Carter: Locked up tight, huh? *stops, and looks at the duty roster,
sees Dr. Weaver walking by* Hey Dr. Weaver, do you know what's in room 0314?
Dr. Weaver: *frazzled as always* New residents don't arrive for another few
weeks, Benton took the week off to be with his family, and we've got a full
day's business. Unless there's an extra doctor in there to fill the
hole in my duty roster, I don't care. *heads to the lounge*
Dr. Carter: A locked door, huh? Well, we'll have to see about that.....
*Downtown Sunnydale*
Byers, wearing his suit, and Jimmy, clad in jeans and a leather jacket, are
following a lead.
Byers: Okay, Jimmy, this place is a bit sketchy from what my sources tell
me, and I heard about that mess in the bar with you and Skinner. Maybe
you should let me do the talking.
Jimmy: You're the boss.
Jimmy opens the door, and holds it as Byers enters.... Willy's place. Some
demons lurk in the back, while some vampires at the bar slip out of game
face, and all eyes focus on the suit-clad man walking into the bar. Byers
walks up to the bar.
Vampire: Who the hell are you?
Byers: Hey, hey, we don't want any trouble, we're just looking for some information.
Vampire: *looms over Byers, not yet in game face* Well, the last
time some out of town boys came in here, freakin' New York cops, they tricked
us into an ambush and the Slayer dusted two of my best buddies. So
we don't take kindly to folks asking for information around here.
Jimmy: *trying to get in between the two* Look, we're just journalists, looking
for a story.
Byers: *worried, mutters quietly* Jimmy, what did I tell you....
Vampire: Oh, the media, huh? Well, anything for the paper....
Jimmy: *oblivlious* Oh good. See, we're just trying to get to the bottom
of a government conspiracy to replace us all with robots.
Vampire: Robots, huh? That's pretty far out.
Biker Demon: HEY! You're not the freaks responsible for that Slayer
bot, are you? That bot and the rest of the Slayer's buddies *bleeped*
up my gang!
Vampire: *laughs* Yeah, that was pretty funny how you boys came rolling in
and got your asses handed to you.
Biker 2: You think that's funny, fang face?!
Willy: *coming back from the back room* Hey! No fighting! Take
it outside!
Vampy 2: Shut it, snitch! *stiff arms Willy* You losers couldn't
even handle a ROBOT copy of the Slayer, so how bout you shut up and get your
beaten tails OUT of my town!
Biker: That does it! Your asses are dust!
With that, the biker demons and the vampires break out into a huge brawl,
tables over-turning, glass breaking and general mayhem ensuing. Byers
grabs Jimmy and drags him out the side door. However, as he throws
the door open, it hits someone outside, knocking him over.
Voice: Hey! Watch where you're going you sodding...... *suddenly,
some mewing and scampering is heard* Bloody hell! Get back here, you
sorry furballs! *the voice trails off after the mewing kittens, only
to be interrupted by a loud klang not unlike a man walking into a garbage
can, and a loud thump* Well bugger it, don't this just take all.....
Jimmy steps out the door to help the man, who has fallen into a pile of garbage.
Jimmy: Hey man, sorry about that, there was a brawl in there, and we were
trying to get out before we got hurt.....
Spike: Sod off, you bloody wanker! You just let my stake escape! If
I don't get those back, I'm going to be in the hock to a sodding shark demon!
Byers: Well, we're sorry about your cats, sir....
Spike: Bite me. I've had enough of this sorry town. Between the
Slayer, her pathetic little friends and now dumb *bleeps* like you make me
lose my kittens and I can't even eat you.....
Byers: Lose your kittens?!
Jimmy: Wait, did you say The Slayer?
Spike: Oh, we want the bloody Slayer, do we? Sure, that'll be priceless.
Go ahead, she's probably hanging with her puppy-dog friends at the
Magic Shop.
Byers: Uh, thanks. Let's go Jimmy.... *as they leave* Good work.
Jimmy: Anything for the cause.
Spike: I need to take a vacation. Wonder what happened to my buddy
who worked in the blood bank in Chicago..... *wanders off*
*Chicago, the Ambulance Bay*
Abby is standing, having some coffee, when Carter wanders up.
Dr. Carter. Well, you’ve got me. My ID didn’t work, and I couldn’t
jimmy the lock.
Abby: *looks skeptically* You tried to break into room 0314?
Dr. Carter: What can I say? I was curious.
Abby: There could be confidential information in there for all you know.
Dr. Carter: Or it could be an evil conspiracy run by a mad scientist…..
Suddenly, a basketball hits the backboard and rolls perfectly into the basket.
Dr. Greene: You’re almost on target anyway.
Abby: You know what’s in room 0314?
Dr. Greene: Yeah, it was just before Carter here came to join us. There
was this research psychologist on staff, Maggie Walsh.
Dr. Carter: The Evil Bitch Monster of Death? Her rep precedes her.
Greene: *sighs, picks up the ball, bounces, and sinks it again in one smooth
motion* Yeah, well she was also one of the most brilliant minds any
of us ever saw. She was at the top of her field until her husband was
murdered.....
Abby: Hey, yeah, I think I heard that rumor... some doctor snapped and thought
her husband was eaten by a vampire or something?
Greene: It was a bizarre case. His body was found in an alley drained
of all blood, but there was no blood at the scene. The only visible
trauma was a pair of puncture wounds to the neck.....
Carter: *picks up the ball* You're not saying you actually believe the vampire
story, are you Mark? *shoots, but the ball bounces off the rim*
Greene: No, there was probably an explanation, but we never got a chance
to investigate. The body disappeared from the morgue, it was like it
got up and walked off. Maggie was crushed, convinced that there were
demons behind it. She begin to obsess, trying to learn what she could
about them, convinced that only by learning about them could she safeguard
the rest of the world.
Abby: That's pretty sad.... a prominent researcher who no one believes anymore....
Greene: Well, SOMEONE believed her. She picked up some big government
grant and left just a bit before Carter arrived. Packed up all her
work into that room. *bounces, and sinks another shot*
Carter: Just like that, huh? Wonder what happened to her?
Greene: No idea. Every so often, some government types would show up
with a delivery and leave it in that room. But they stopped a bit over
a year and a half ago.
Abby: I wonder what's in there.....
Greene: I don't know. She told me before I left that if anything ever
happened to her, she wanted me to have her work.
Carter: Well maybe something did happen to her. You ever try your ID
on the door to 0314? *finally sinks a basket*
Greene: No. If Maggie Walsh is dead, it's probably better that her
work rest with her.
*The Sunnydale Motel*
Frohike and Langly have successfully reassembled the entire Buffybot, but
it remains inactive, as Kimmy has yet to find a way to activate its brain.
Langly: Any luck with that, or should we go get something to eat?
Kimmy: Your puny minds could not understand my control of the force.
Frohike: *tired* Well, we patched together this hunk of junk that someone
thought was unrepairable. Try us.
Kimmy: Okay. I've been able to hack the registry from its hard drive.
This bot is supposed to be someone named Buffy Summers. Now I've
got a search checking every computer in the world for a match to the phrases
"Buffy Summers" and "robot". When I find the computer that has both
in it, I'll hack the password off it and we'll be set.
Frohike: Isn't there a possibility that someone will detect your search and
trace us back?
Kimmy: My mojo is unbeatable! Besides, who on a computer is watching
for a Buffy Summers?
Suddenly, the Buffy bot's eyes pop open.
Buffybot: Intriguing.
Langly: Whoa! It's alive! It's ALIVE!
Buffybot: *sits up, examines self* This body is a cybernetic duplication
of that of the Slayer. *swings an arm at a lamp, smashing it to pieces,
looks at the hand and sees no damage* This unit has several design
flaws, but they can be corrected. This is the perfect vessel for the
continuation of Mother's plan.
Kimmy: What's going on over there?
Frohike: Not now!
Buffybot: *whirls around to look at Frohike* You will not interfere
with Mother's designs. The human and demon races will be analyzed.
The Buffybot grabs Frohike by the throat, lifts him effortlessly and throws
him across the room, bowling over Langly. Both Gunmen lay motionless
on the floor.
Buffybot: *tilts head* Accessing, emergency scenario response. Response
located. In event of Adam unit deactivation and recovery, seek out
room 0314, County General Hospital, Chicago. This is Adam, Mother.
I am coming for you. *walks off, smashing the door of the motel
room and leaving behind the fallen Gunmen.*
Kimmy: Guys? GUYS!!!!
TO BE CONTINUED........
The Lone Gunmen
Bruce Harwood .... John Fitzgerald Byers
Tom Braidwood .... Melvin Frohike
Dean Haglund .... Richard 'Ringo' Langly
Stephen Snedden .... Jimmy Bond
Zuleikha Robinson .... Yves Adele Harlow
ER
Anthony Edwards .... Dr. Mark Greene
Noah Wyle .... Dr. John Truman Carter, III
Laura Innes .... Dr. Kerry Weaver
Alex Kingston (I) .... Dr. Elizabeth Corday
Paul McCrane .... Dr. Robert 'Rocket' Romano
Goran Visnjic .... Dr. Luka Kovac
Maura Tierney .... Nurse Abigail "Abby" Wyczenski Lockhart
Created By Michael Crichton
To Be Continued....
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