The Hotel/lobby was silent and dark, disrupted only by the odd, echoing tapping of cockroachbot feet scuttling by. It would have taken sensitive audio-reception indeed to detect the slight scrape of synthetic flesh on the brass of the door access. Information flowed silently, just on the outside of those doors, before the access was engaged and they flung open. And the cockroachbots dove for cover.
“ANGELUSBOT!!”
Buffybot ran in just in front of Wesbot, stake in hand and every active scan she could manage running at top speed. Her defensive programs were at maximum. Wesbot, holding his shotgun firmly before him, cast his own scans diligently. They both came back the same.
“There’s no one here,” Buffybot said, alert levels remaining at critical despite the all-clear her scanners were sounding, “...the Hotel seems deserted.”
“Continue scanning,” Wesbot replied, “...Angelusbot has a remarkable cache of cunning. He will have disabled his and the others’ personal identification signals almost immediately.”
Buffybot did as Wesbot suggested, but the results never varied.
“There’s no one here...the Hotel is empty. At least the lobby and the first floor, I’m sure of it. We’ll have to get closer for my scans to penetrate the upper floors, but...”
The lights activated, switched on by a signal from Wesbot, who lowered his weapon at last. “He won’t be up there,” he noted, dejection on his voice-transmissions, “...I calculate .95% probability he has vacated the Hotelspace via sewer access. We should search the upper levels nonetheless, however. He may have left a calling file.”
Buffybot nodded smartly, hoping to hide her terrible feelings by applying herself to her duties. Or, at least, hide her feelings from Wesley. From herself was another matter.
It was all her fault! If only she had been able to detect Jackie’s demon-half in time, she never would have made that dumb wish that turned everyone into robots. But she got fooled...again.
Now everyone in Los Angeles was a robot, which would have been neat and nifty except that robots don‘t have souls as a general rule. And Angel without a soul had become Angelus, which was just about as bad as it could be. Willow’s files on Angelus were pretty darn grim, to put it mildly. They described a vicious, obsessive killer with a penchant for trying to destroy the planet. Wesley’s own extensive research on Angelus (or Angelusbot, as she had to keep reminding herself was the present case) seemed to consider that diagnosis rather upbeat. And now Buffybot had unleashed that on the City.
Cordelia knew about Angelus too, it seemed, from a vision. She’d alerted Wesley straightaway, just as Buffybot was coming near the hospital. Together, they’d loaded up on weaponry at his apartment and returned here. Apparently, though, to no avail.
“I’m sorry, Wesley,” she finally said, unable to hold back the guilt from her emotion generators any longer, “...I didn’t mean for anything like this to happen.”
“Wesbot,” he corrected automatically, “...and you have nothing to upload apologies for, Buffybot. No one could have predicted Angelusbot’s sudden restoration.”
“But I made a wish! A dopey wish!” Wesbot stared oddly at Buffybot’s confession, but she continued stoically. “We have to find the demon I talked with...she may be able to undo all of this! My file on Anya...”
“Buffybot, you’re not computing,” Wesbot said, interrupting Botty’s urgent spiel, “...but we must concentrate all our processing power on tracking Angelusbot! Life functions are at stake!”
That didn’t help with Buffybot’s guilt, that was for sure, but she knew it was true. Fred and Gunn were in terrible danger right now, and who knows who else. “You’re right. Don’t worry, Wesley, we’ll rescue Fred and Gunn. I won’t let anything happen to them!”
“There’s more,” Wesbot continued, “...Angelusbot is now in possession of the Hand-artifact of Manusbot, a powerful wizard-unit of the ancient world. What scroll-files I’ve accessed referring to it indicate the extreme danger it poses. From analysis of past actions, there’s every reason to anticipate Angelusbot will attempt to wield the artifact’s power, to the detriment of group designate-robotkind.”
Oh poop. Buffybot hadn’t thought of that. This wishing business certainly was dangerous! She was glad that Anya had gotten out of that line of work and into something more productive.
“But we’ll fix it! We’ll get the Hand back, and save Fred and Gunn and Angel...everything will be fine! Don’t worry, Wesley.”
“I wish I possessed your optimism-circuitry, Buffybot. But you more than most units know how dangerous Angelusbot is. Recovering Angelbot may not be an option.”
“But we have to! This is my fault and...”
Buffybot paused, analyzing Wesbot’s statement. “What do you mean, I more than most units know how dangerous he is? How would I know that?”
“Your query is unusual, Buffybot...you faced Angelusbot yourself in Sunnydale four anno-units past. Your efforts prevented him from casting Earthspace into otherdimension/Hell via demonbot Acathla. I presume the memory files involved classify as painful, but...”
Buffybot had already found the events in her files to which Wesley was referring, but he was pretty far off-base about a major point.
“Wesley, don’t be silly. I never fought Angelus in Sunnydale...that was Buffy. I’m not Buffy.”
“No,” Wesbot replied smartly, “...you’re Buffybot. The Vampirebot Slayer. It WAS you, Buffybot, and we have no time-units for...”
“You think I’m Buffy!” Buffybot suddenly blurted, logic processors running madly. “I mean, Buffy-bot! You think I’m Buffybot!”
Wesbot looked near to a system crash. “Yes...yes I do.”
“But I’m NOT Buffybot,” Botty demanded, “...I’m...Buffybot!”
Buffybot smiled hopefully as Wesbot stared at her, likely contemplating whether or not she required a reboot. It occurred to her after a moment that she wasn’t explaining herself very well. Then again...how COULD she? Nothing was making any good kind of sense.
“I’ll check the second floor!” She suddenly announced, pointing happily towards the stairs. Wesbot shifted back to duty-mode. “Agreed. I will search environs lobby/groundfloor. Meet back her in .25 hour units.”
Buffybot nodded and turned, bolting for the stairs at top speed. Wesbot watched her go, shaking his head.
Such an odd Slayer-unit...

Buffybot slowed down as soon as she reached the second floor, making sure she had gotten safely out of Wesley’s audio scanning range. A second after that, Doyle appeared before her, looking deeply worried.
“What’s happening? Have ya found him yet? Is it all over? What’s goin’ on??”
“We haven’t found him,” Buffybot replied, “...me and Wesley are searching the hotel for clues right now. He thinks Angel probably made a getaway through the tunnels to...somewhere.”
“Square one it is, then. Any word on your Vengeance Demon?”
Botty shook her head. “Miss Markham said she’d contact me if there were problems. And I’m having an awful time trying to explain the situation to anyone else. They all think they’ve ALWAYS been robots. Such a goofy wish...”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, gal. Let’s just play the crappy hand we’ve been dealt, and hope the dealer has a sense of humour.”
“There’s something else...I was talking to Wesley a moment ago...I mean, Wesleybot, that is. And he thinks I’m Buffy! I mean, Buffybot! But Buffy-Buffybot, not just regular Buffybot.”
Doyle stared at Buffybot for a few seconds as she walked down the hall, scanning each room as she passed. “Who thinks you’re what now?”
“They think I’m Buffy,” Buffybot repeated, giving her conversational database a helping boost, “...I guess that in a robot-world, the real Buffy would actually be Buffybot. They seem unable to make the distinction now between us. It’s a little confusing.”
“Well, at least THAT hasn’t changed,” Doyle noted drily, before a cold chill gripped his ethereal form, “...waitaminnit. He thinks you’re Buffy? The real Slayer deal? Everyone does?”
“That would follow, logically speaking.” Buffybot ducked her head into another room, spinning the carbon stake still in her hand. Apparently a carbon stake to the CPU was how you killed vampbots...who knew?
“And Angel?” Doyle pressed on, anxious. “He thinks you’re Buffy too?”
“Hmm...I guess he would.” That thought made Buffybot smile momentarily, despite everything. What a funny turn, after all the trouble she’d had with Angel so far.
As she stepped up to the door to her own room, Botty caught sight of the concern on Doyle’s face. She stared quizzically, pushing the door open.
“Do you think that’s bad?”
The door creaked open and Buffybot turned on the light. The room was utterly demolished, Botty’s few possessions (mostly clothes) shredded and strewn everywhere. Across the far wall were the words, apparently written in hydraulic fluid, still dripping onto the ground:

“I’m feeling pretty good about this. Just feels right. Temporary, of course, but still, it has a certain charm. The old boy may not have had much in the way of fashion sense, but man! Could he pick an evil lair.”
Angelusbot took in his new surroundings with pleased admiration, as his newly acquired Gar Demonbot henchman busied themselves with arranging things in Goraiko’s previous HQ a little more to his liking. He wanted everything to be just right. She would be here before long.
“What do you two think?” He asked, turning from his appraisal of his dimly-lit hideaway, towards two figures in the corner. “Does it say ‘End of the World’ to you, or what?”
Gunnbot and Fredbot, bound tightly with molybdenum shackles, looked back helplessly at their former comrade. Gunnbot was helping Fredbot repair the damage to her arm as best he could, where Angelusbot had breached her superstructure to write his taunting message to Buffybot.
“Angelbot, please!” Fredbot stared at her captor with pleading in her optics. “This can’t be you...remember your core programming! You’re a championbot, I know it! You...”
“Delete that, Fredbot,” Gunnbot interrupted, throwing a steely glare of his own towards Angelusbot, “...That ain’t Angelbot. Not anymore. He’s just another power-draining vampbot now.”
Angelusbot smirked. “Now, now, Gunnbot...you don’t want to hurt my command protocols, do you? I think you’re just trying to compensate. Big, tough muscle-unit like yourself getting taken offline with one punch from ‘just another vampbot’? That’s got to sting.”
“Yeah, a sucker punch from behind. Real impressive. Won’t happen next time.”
Angelusbot continued grinning, stepping closer and dropping to a crouch before his prisoners. Fredbot shivered.
“You’re right,” he said softly, undead optics staring straight at Gunnbot, “...the next time? You’ll scan it coming. And there won’t be a thing you can do about it.”

There had to be something she could do. There just HAD to be.
Cordybot paced in what was starting to feel like an infinite loop in the waiting room of the Hospital. Wesbot had suggested she remain there for now, as the Hotel was potentially unsafe. Angelusbot wouldn’t know about Ozbot’s condition, making the Hospital as safe a location as any. Plus which, Cordybot was reluctant to leave until Ozbot had emerged from reconstruction.
But her helplessness factor was beginning to grate her personality software. Scanning Angelusbot in her PTB transmission data had chilled her to her code. And she wasn’t sure whether to engage her relief or worry circuitry over the Slayer-unit’s role in all this.
The last time Buffybot had engaged Angelusbot in battle, she had triumphed soundly, removing Angelusbot from this dimension entirely. In strict binary, that should scan as good news.
But that was before. Before she had become so close to Angelbot herself, before they had faced death-mode together time and again, side by side.
Cordybot stopped pacing. She didn’t want to lose Angelbot...she couldn’t. Not to Buffybot OR Angelusbot. But what could she do? There was a bigger program in action here than just her own pathways.
Before she even registered the action, Cordybot had started pacing again.

“Good evening, Miss Markham. How can I help you?”
The woman smiled politely up at Larabot as she entered the sparsely lit office, already preparing a file for uploading. All business. But then, that was all in a days work for Files and Records.
“I require information on a demonbot, Vengeance classification,” Larabot explained, sending the pertinent data her counterpart Chelsea had received from Buffybot across a secure transmission wavelength. “Possible alias: Jackie. Urgency is requested.”
“Of course, Miss Markham. One moment.”
Files and Records sorted through her massive database in seconds, locating what Larabot was looking for. “We have a full file,” she quickly explained, “...shall I upload to your office computer?”
Larabot smiled. “That will do nicely. Thank you.”
Files and Records continued smiling as Larabot turned and headed out the door. “Anytime, Miss Markham.” It had been, overall, an interesting day here in her quiet basement office, Files and Records mused, idly wondering why it was that everyone was suddenly a robot.
Not that she minded, of course. It seemed to her quite the improvement.

Buffybot stood motionless at a central sewer junction, casting sonar scans out in every direction, hoping to find a possible clue as to her quarry’s location. Wesbot didn’t hold out much hope for tracking Angelusbot in such a straightforward manner, but Buffybot had to try.
“I’ll bet I DO find them this way,” she said with a smile, increasing her scan range with a microwave surge, “...just you watch!”
Capable of little else in his ghostly incarnation, Doyle did just that. “Got my vapourous fingers crossed, doll. But your windup Watcher back there might be right. If Angelus don’t wanna be tracked, more as like he’s not gonna be.”
“Now Mister Doyle...negative thinking is a Slayer’s worst enemy. Everything will be all right. I’ll find Angel and fix him, and save Fred and Gunn. I promise.”
“Don’t forget gettin’ the Hand back,” Doyle reminded her, “...keep the world rightside in and all that.”
“Yes,” Botty agreed, starting a new battery of electromagnetic scans, “...that too.”

The demonbots busied themselves efficiently, adorning Angelusbot’s adopted lair with a careful arrangement of techno-mystical trappings. Fredbot watched with obsessive interest, while Gunnbot struggled with his restraints, watching for signs of Angelusbot’s return.
“What do you suppose the demonbots are doing?” she finally asked, voice in whisper-mode. Gunn continued exerting pressure on his hand-restraints, to no effect.
“My extrapolation? Preparation for some magic function. Probably involving the Hand-artifact. Nothing of the good variety, either.”
“Gunnbot, my fear-circuitry is overloading,” Fredbot finally admitted, and Gunnbot halted his escape attempts momentarily. “How can we fight Angelbot? He’s a champion-unit, and I don’t compute...how could this happen? What could have caused this?”
“I don’t know,” Gunnbot replied honestly, “...according to Wesbot, only a moment of 100% happiness could enable Angelusbot’s return to active status. You’re right, it doesn’t compute. But I promise, Fredbot...I won’t let him damage you again.”
“Big talk, Gunnbot.”
Angelusbot strode into the chamber suddenly, followed by several demonbots. Two of them were carrying an ancient steel pedestal that they set down in the center of the room. A third carried the Hand-artifact, reverentially. Angelusbot grinned ferally at his captives.
“But how do you plan to protect little Miss Fredbot from down there, shackled to the floor? I have to say, kid-units, it’s not looking too good for you from up here.”
“I’ll do what I have to do,” Gunnbot swore defiantly, straining once again for freedom-mode. Angelusbot chuckled and lay his right had upon the pedestal. The other demonbots murmured softly, closing in, and one of them handed Angelusbot a short axe in his free hand.
“Angelb...A-Angelusbot?” Fredbot asked cautiously, curiosity overcoming her fear-surges, “...what are you doing?”
Angelusbot swung the axe about into a proper grip, casting a quick glance at the Hand-artifact.
“You know the old saying,” he finally said, raising the axe high, “...you can’t make an omelette without chopping off your own hand.”
Fredbot screamed, and the axe fell hard.

Larabot waited until most of the staff on her floor had left for the night before beginning the incantation program. She regretted having to do this on her own...it would weaken her bargaining position. Even her ARV Chelsea had gone. The device was never designed for a crossover of any great length.
Still, she was still in contact via the usual method, which helped in convincing her that action needed to be taken. Odd as it sounded, she wasn’t supposed to be a robot. Apparently no-one was, except for Buffybot. Larabot didn’t quite know how to process that, but figured she’d heard weirder.
Casting a quick protection program for privacy, Larabot consulted the data forwarded to her by F&R, and accessed the incantation program, first activating the incense burner and talismanic generator on her desktop. It only took a few moments.
“Iaqista, she who heeds the heart in despair, dread angel of emptiness...come before me...I beseech thee.”
A cloud of dark smoke sprang up in the middle of Larabot’s office-unit, and a moment later, the vengeance demon Iaqista, aka Jackie, stood before her, menacing features quietly appraising her new surroundings. She looked at Larabot.
“Nice office,” she said politely, “...I like the carpeting.”
Larabot smiled back, rising to a stand. “Iaqista...greetings. My designation is Lara-Markhambot. I’m honoured by your prompt response to my summons. My most humble apologies if I have offended you with this intrusion.”
The demon waved Larabot’s fawning off. “Nah. I was between assignments. And it’s always a pleasure to do business with the Wolf, Ram and Hart. What can I do for you?”
Larabot offered Iaqista a seat, and waited for her to accept before taking one herself. “When she did, she spared a brief scan back at her files.
“Iaqista,” she began, “...demonbot, Vengeance...I apologize, I mean, Justice-classification. Operating for 650 anno-units, by our reckoning. You’re with D’Hoffrynbot, correct?”
Iaqista giggled. “Bot...that’s funny. Sorry, inside joke.”
“Not so inside,” Larabot corrected. “Your specialty as a Justice Demonbot is...loneliness, correct?”
Iaqista shrugged. “It pays the bills. Why?”
“Your last spell was at the behest of one ‘Buffybot’, not three hour-units past. The end result being the total transformation of all...humans, on Terra from flesh units to robotic sentience. Is this accurate?”
Watching her guest carefully, Larabot was glad to see she seemed surprised. “How did you know? My spell should have...”
“Wolf-Ram/Hart.org has extensive resources at it’s disposal, Iaqista. As it turns out, this spell of yours, impressive though it is, is causing interference in several ongoing projects here at the firm.”
Larabot kept a stony countenance, knowing she was stretching the truth quite liberally now. It didn’t bother her, so long as Iaqista didn’t catch on. “I’ve been instructed to negotiate a cease-conjuring.”
“Oh really?” Iaqista leaned back, stroking the dark blue jewel on her wrist. “That’s not something that’ll go well for me back at the office, Lara. And you know it. Seems to me, if Wolfram and Hart really wanted my spell decomissioned, they’d just try and take out my power source.”
Shifting, Larabot flashed a mental review of the various defense mechanisms in her office, programmed for just that task right now, through her active display. “Iaqista, I promise you, Wolf-Ram/Hart.org has the utmost respect for the work you perform, and would never...”
“That’s great,” Iaqista interrupted, smiling, “...because this isn’t my power source.”
Despite herself, Larabot flinched. “I’m sorry?”
“Oh, please! It’s safely tucked away in my own private little Hell-dimension. This is just some bauble I picked up in the Athens duty-free store last summer.”
From the look on her guest’s face, Larabot had the impression she wasn’t hiding her disappointment at that revelation as well as she’d like. Iaqista, grinning quite smugly now, leaned forward.
“After what happened to Anyanka...what kind of IDIOT would still carry their source around with them?”
Larabot leaned back, reprogramming her options. This was a setback...but she was a professional. And there was work to be done.
“All right,” she finally said, lacing her fingers together in concentration, “...let’s talk deal.”

“Yes, Lorne...I’m sorry, Lornebot. I know, it’s terribly worrisome. But don’t you fret! I’ll fix everything, lickety split.”
Buffybot listened on the telephone for a moment, Doyle waiting impatiently by her side. She smiled and giggled.
“Oh Lornebot, you’re such a silly! You take care now! Bye bye!”
Buffybot disengaged the telephone, still giggling quietly to herself. “Hee. ‘My little surge protector’. That’s funny.”
“Okay, the troops have been called, all well and good,” Doyle at last said, growing more anxious by the minute, “...but ain’t it time for some action over here? Evil Angel, magic hand, friends in need, and the sewers were a bust...”
“We’re working hard, Mister Doyle,” Buffybot replied, picking up a stack of datadiscs that Wesbot had sent her to read. “We’re researching the Hand of Manus, to see if we can find any clues as to where Angelus would go with it. Wesbot is calling some of his demon contacts...did you know that lots of robots have cellphones built right into them?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah, very convenient. So how goes the...”
“I should have that,” Buffybot noted, deciding she would write a program to extrapolate such an upgrade sometime soon.
“Terrific. But what about Angelus? Come on, girl, there’s evil afoot! Huge, big-footed evil!”
“Well, there’s not much useful information in Wesley’s Scroll-discs here,” Buffybot noted, setting them down, “...though it IS neat that I can read them without even accessing them physically. In this robot-world? I can read them just by scanning them! Isn’t that neat?”
Doyle stared at Buffybot in a panic. “I’m pretty sure neat isn’t the word for anything that’s happening right now, doll. I mean seriously, is something wrong? You’re acting all...I don’t know...perkier, than usual.”
Buffybot creased her brow. “What’s wrong with perky?”
“Hey, perkolation is AOK with me! Don’t get me...it’s just that we’ve got a situation here. You’ve got friends in danger and a crazed vamp who just might be obsessed with YOU and, I’m sorry, but you just don’t seem to be taking this too seriously!”
“I am,” Buffybot countered with a peppy grin, “...and I told you, I’ll fix everything. Don’t worry! I’m just being optimistic is all. If you wear a smile, evil gets tired of hanging around!”
Before Doyle could even try to argue, Buffybot’s smile doubled in size, and he couldn’t help but feel his resistance melt a little. No fair, trying to argue with someone with eyes like that. This was exactly why Cordy always got the better of him, he decided.
“I’m going to go see what Wesley’s discovered,” Buffybot announced, “...I’ll bet he’s got this all figured out already!”
Keeping her smile firmly in place, Buffybot turned and headed for the stairs, continuing to send reinforcing bursts of power to her emotional buffers and optimism generators. It wasn’t all that easy anymore...not like it used to be. But she was resolved. Being negative was what had landed everyone in this rotten mess in the first place. HER negativity, to be specific. Darned if she was going to let it keep on getting in the way.
A positive attitude, that was the key. At the very least it would keep the situation from getting any worse. That made sense.

“Okay...THAT stung.”
Angelusbot grimaced, flexing the five extremely ancient fingers on his newly attached appendage as his demonbot hench-units stood and stared in awe. For a moment he reeled, taking in the power afforded by the hand of Manusbot as it coursed through his circuits. It wouldn’t be long now.
“There’s just something about replacing one of your own limbs with a Neolithic relic that gets me all...tingly.”
Angelusbot grinned at his captives, still helpless on the nearby ground, before a slightly annoyed look crossed his face.
“Though I have to admit, it’ll take some getting used to...not matching any more, I mean.”
Holding both hands up to demonstrate, Angelusbot quickly flung his arms wide with a laugh. “Ah, the things you do for love. Am I right, Charliebot?”
“Engage your laugh-function while you can, Stumpy. Once Buffybot tracks you down...”
“Oh, now, THAT is disappointing!”
Crouching down again, Angelusbot sneered at Gunnbot. “That’s your big plan? Wait for some skinny, white girl-unit to save you? Tsk.” Shaking his head, Angelusbot motioned towards Fredbot. “You’re never gonna impress her THAT way.”
“He impresses me just fine, you creep-unit!” Fredbot said defiantly, feeling a surge in her outrage protocols. Angelusbot turned to her with a leer.
“Well, well...I think someone’s got jungle virus.” Smiling crudely, Angelusbot glanced down at Fredbot’s shirt. “Is it cold in here?”
“Get AWAY from her!”
Gunnbot threw himself forward, straining loudly against his restraints, rage filling his processors. Angelusbot laughed.
“If I weren’t in these chains...”
“You’d what?”
Gunnbot glared forward, Angelusbot staring fervently back only inches away. “I’d tear that Hand off and shove it up your waste-disposal orifice for starters!”
As Gunnbot seethed, Angelusbot smiled calmly, backing off and standing. He folded his arms, looking down.
“All right.”
Turning to his demonbots, Angelusbot motioned them towards Gunnbot. “Let him go,” he shouted sternly, “...and then back off. No one touches him but me. Understood?”
Gunnbot and Fredbot exchanged glances, as the demonbots obeyed unquestioningly, unlocking Gunnbot’s restraints, then removing themselves from the chamber. Gunnbot rubbed his wrists, then stared cautiously over at Angelusbot, who had backed up to the opposite end of the room.
“What’s the matter, Gunnbot? Don’t tell me this isn’t what you’ve always wanted...the chance to take me down.”
As Gunnbot slowly stood, readjusting to normal motor functioning again, Fredbot ran several hundred thousand virtual scenarios through her cortex. Most of them were unpleasant.
“Gunnbot, don’t...I-It’s a trick!”
“No trick,” Angelusbot growled, clenching and unclenching his mismatching fists, “...just you and me, Gunnbot. Your chance to finally be something other than the flunky, or the muscle-unit. Prove what a hero you really are. Get the girl,”
Angelusbot glanced at Fredbot, who was starting to overload with worry. Gunnbot powered his attack computer.
“...What do you say, boy?”
Gunnbot stepped closer. “I say don’t call me ‘boy’, vampbot.”
Angelusbot grinned, reaching towards a hollow in the wall behind him. He pulled something out and tossed it towards Gunnbot, who caught it with unconcealed surprise.
It was a stake.
“Make me.”

Still smiling, Buffybot bounded into the lobby, where Wesbot stood, apparently deep in computation. Doyle drifted along noiselessly behind, nursing a sinking feeling.
“Hello, Wesley! I called Lorne...I mean, Lornebot...like you asked. He’s going to make some inquiries, and I warned him to be extra careful. Have you discovered where Angelus has gone?”
Shaking his head, Wesbot didn’t look at Buffybot. “Negative. Tracks outside indicate the presence of Gar-classification demonbots earlier, but there’s little other data. I’ve exhausted the files at my disposal. Any files pertaining to the Hand-Artifact were inadequate for our purposes. Originals are at location-unknown.”
“Oh dear.” Buffybot paused, ignoring a worried glare from Doyle. “Maybe Mister Gregson has them! He had the Hand...”
“Negative,” Wesbot quickly answered, “...I’ve already checked with the senior Gregsonbot. Manusbot scroll-files were not in his possession. Uncertain how to proceed.”
“Terrific,” Doyle said grumpily, as Buffybot ran through possible actions.
“But...maybe there’s a clue on the Hotel security cameras! Have we checked them?”
“Yeah, and try not startin’ a sentence with ‘negative’ for a change, hey pal? Clock’s ticking!”
Not hearing Doyle’s two cents, Wesbot still looked confused at Buffybot’s suggestion. “Logic error...what security measures are you making reference to?”
That was odd, Buffybot thought with surprise...how could Wesley not know about the cameras in his own Hotel? Unless the spell somehow made him forget..?
“Uncertain how to proceed,” He repeated suddenly, “...suggested action: gather weapons and prepare for Angelusbot’s next move.”
“But...that’s not good enough!”
Doyle nodded in agreement. “Seconded. C’mon, man, I’m losin’ my Watcherly respect over here!”
Wesbot didn’t respond, and Buffybot worked hard to keep a thin smile on her face. She turned towards Doyle, deliberately violating a program she’d set up to prevent her talking to him in front of others.
“Could I have a moment alone? Please?”
“But..!”
Buffybot drooped her eyes, and Doyle gave up even before he had begun. Just weren’t fair, those eyes.
“Okay. But call me as soon as something happens, all right?”
Botty nodded prettily, and Doyle reluctantly vanished, leaving her alone with a confused Wesbot.
“Logic error,” he stammered, “...to whom were you speaking?”
“It’s not important. Wesley...”
“Wesbot,” he corrected, and Buffybot nodded.
“Wesbot. I need your help.”
“Of course. This unit will assist you in any way I can...”
“Great! But I need to know where to find Angelus. And, well, I really need to know pretty darn quick!”
“Unable to comply. Files were inadequate.”
“I know. But I need you to think...I’m not sure how to say this...PAST the files.”
Wesbot shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“Wesbot, please!” Buffybot stepped forward, wringing her hands together. Her smile was faltering. “This is all my fault, and our friends are in terrible danger, and I’m trying ever so hard to be optimistic but my emotional buffers are overloaded as it is and I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up! I KNOW how hard it is for you. You’re..and I’m so sorry to say this...you’re just a robot. That’s my fault too. But I need you to be Wesley, just for a minute!”
“I...I do not understand what you...”
“Try! Please, there’s not much time!” Buffybot was getting frustrated now, and gave an emergency boost to her emotional buffers. “I need you to trust me...take a leap of faith.”
There was an odd look in Wesbot’s visual scanners. “I am not programmed for leaps of faith,” he told her. Buffybot smiled softly.
“I know. I remember. But...”
Reaching out, Buffybot laid a hand on Wesbot’s shoulder. “I need you to be my Watcher, Wesley. You’re the only one who can help me. Please...”
“I...”
Wesbot looked into Buffybot’s pleading eyes, and felt a sudden surge activate his resolve-subroutine. “Stand by...attempting to upgrade performance levels. Boosting power to Watcherbot-programs...bypassing failsafe mechanisms...stand by...”
Wesbot stood frozen for several moments, processing furiously as Buffybot looked on with anxious hope. Suddenly his eyes went wide, head jerking to one side.
“Error! Resource shortage...unable to process...system unstable...”
“Hang on, Wesley!” Buffybot grabbed both Wes’ shoulders, holding tight. “You’re doing great!”
“Error...error...system parameters exceeded. Processor crash imminent...safety protocols disengaged! Alert!”
“You can do it, Wesley! Go, you! I’m so proud!”
Despite Buffybot’s cheerleading, Wesbot continued to twitch. “Upgrade failure imminent...System crash in 10, 9...compensating with backup drives...rerouting power to personality drives...resources almost expired...7, 6, 5”
“Please, Wesley...I need you! Fred and Gunn need you! Angel needs...”
“Goraiko!”
Wesbot snapped out of Buffybot’s grip, his motor functions returning to their usual state. Buffybot stared at him closely, scanning his systems. “Pardon?”
Taking a moment, Wesbot let his system resources return to some semblance of normality as his processing functions stabilized. New programs, written in the last thirty seconds, started taking effect, and Wesbot straightened up. “Enemy designate: Goraiko,” he continued, accessing his freshly enhanced Watcherbot mode, “...stole the hand-artifact from senior Gregsonbot. You and Angelbot tracked him to a lair South of this location.”
Buffybot smiled hopefully. “Yes...Mister Gregson had a tracking charm in his vault that led us to the fiends. But Wesley, the charm was removed from the Hand.”
“True,” Wesbot admitted, a small smile creeping onto his facial motors, “...but my research indicates that the Hand-artifact requires a geographical component for ideal activation. And Angelbot described ED: Goraiko as a demonbot of ancient and powerful origin. He may have had access to scroll-files we did not.”
Slowly, Buffybot began to understand, her smile widening. “You think Goraiko may have chosen his lair because it was the best place to use the Hand?”
A gleam reflected in Wesbot’s optics. “And Angelusbot might have retreated to the very same lair, yes. That would be logical...not sure why I didn’t scan it earlier...”
“Wesley, you’re a genius!” Buffybot beamed, wrapping Wesbot in a grand hug. She’d wrap this caper up yet!
“I’ll leave right away,” Buffybot announced pulling away and accessing her tactical processors. Wesbot moved with her.
“WE’LL leave right away,” he corrected, prompting a mild frown from Buffybot.
“Wesley, it could be awfully dangerous. I’d hate to put anyone else in danger because of my dumb...”
“We’re wasting time-units,” Wesbot said, grabbing a stake up off the counter. He looked resolutely at Buffybot.
“I failed my Slayer-Unit once,” he said firmly, “...I won’t do so again.”
A flush of joy snuck through Botty’s emotional Buffers. But she didn’t mind. “Let’s go.”

“GO, Gunnbot! You can do it!”
Fredbot shouted from her captivity on the floor, watching as Gunnbot lunged at Angelusbot, clipping him solidly in the jaw. He swung immediately with his stake towards Angelusbot’s CPU, but the vampbot spun out of the way, returning with a kick that knocked Gunnbot back across the room.
“Come on, Gunnbot...you’re disappointing me. Show me how they do it on the streets!”
Gunnbot sneered, approaching again. “Thought the sewers were more your taste, sunshine. But hey, you want to take this up a notch? No problem here.”
Charging, Gunnbot ducked a swing from Angelusbot and ploughed him hard into the wall, continuing with an uppercut, and another blow that cracked the vampbot’s head noisily into the stone behind. Angelusbot coughed out a laugh while Gunnbot hit him again, square in the gut.
“NOW you’re getting me hot!” he shouted, driving an elbow down onto Gunnbot’s shoulder with an audible crack. Gunnbot staggered, and Angelusbot drove a knee up into his face, knocking him back off his feet. Fredbot held back a cry.
“Is this how you always pictured it, Charliebot?” Angelusbot glowered, while Gunnbot slowly got back to his feet. “Is it living up to those fantasy-files you’ve generated? Kicking my mainframe, making the world safe for you and your little tribe of thug-units?”
Gunnbot took a swing at Angelusbot, who dodge easily and drove a high booted kick into Gunnbot’s jaw, sending him reeling. “C’MON, Gunnbot! It’s just one more vampbot to file. No sweat for an urban assault unit like you, right?”
Lurching closer, Angelusbot rattled Gunnbot with a savage headbutt, and he crashed to the ground again. Panic messages started flashing in Fredbot’s HUD, as her logic processors realized that Gunnbot was being toyed with. As Angelusbot backed off, swaggering smugly, Fredbot leaned as close to Gunnbot’s form as she could manage.
“Gunnbot, engage flight-mode! Get out of here, find Buffybot! You can’t beat him alone!”
“I have to,” Gunnbot replied, shaking the glitches out of his server with a determined glare, as he stood back up. Fredbot grabbed at his leg.
“Please...run!”
Sparing a moment, Gunnbot looked down fondly at Fredbot, shaking his head. There was finality in his eyes.
“I don’t run.”
Turning away from the desperate look in Fredbot’s optics, Gunnbot returned his attention to his former colleague, glowering at him from across the chamber. As he powered up his attack computers for a final assault, he found himself unknowingly agreeing with Fredbot’s assessment of the situation. He was being played with.
That was fine, he thought with a grin. He could play.
“Don’t look so glum, Gunnbot,” Angelusbot called out, taunting. “After all, you haven’t lost YET. I give it a minute more.”
Gunnbot didn’t bristle, just flashed a cocky grin a he started moving in once again. “Least you’re not gonna keep me waitin’. Because seriously? Starting to get bored over here.”
Angelusbot took a few steps closer as well, flexing his new hand. “Don’t worry...I’ve got great programs planned. But I AM on a schedule...”
“Then let’s do it.” Gunnbot flipped the stake in his hand. “Nice knowin’ you, Angelbot.”
Angelusbot roared, face shifting to demonbot mode as he lunged forward. Gunnbot dodged barely, clipping Angelusbot on the back of his head with a quick elbow. A swinging blow quickly followed, knocking Angelusbot off-balance and careening into a wall. As he turned, Gunnbot was charging for him, stake forward. A desperate surge of power went into the thrust, and Gunnbot could see a moment of fear in Angelusbot’s optics as the stake drove towards his CPU. His gyroscopes still hadn’t reset, Gunnbot realized with sudden hope. He can’t evade!
And he couldn’t. Instead, Angelusbot fell to a crouch, dropping down at the last moment before the stake hit. It drove with a crackle of electricity into Angelsubot’s shoulder, and both he and Gunnbot screamed in fury. Gunnbot leaned hard on the stake, nearly driving it into the wall behind, shaking with tension. It took a moment before he could process the fact that, strike or not, he had missed his target. And that meant...
“Not bad.”
Angelusbot drove a fist into Gunnbot’s midsection, doubling him over, and then hammering him again while he was down. Gunnbot faltered, and Angelusbot tore the stake out of his shoulder with a scream. Shards of circuitry and hydraulic fluid spewed out, the stake clattering to the floor by Gunnbot’s feet. He tried to reroute emergency power to defensive systems when he felt the hand clamp around his throat. The hand of Manusbot.
“I mean it,” Angelusbot snarled, pulling Gunnbot up off his feet by his neck and spinning him around, slamming him into the wall. “I didn’t think you’d give this good. I’m impressed over here.”
Gunnbot struggled against the Vampirebot’s grip, growing weaker as the flow of electrons to his CPU started dwindling. Behind them, Fredbot strained against her restraints.
“Stop it!! You’re killing him! Angelbot!”
Angelusbot chuckled, putting on his best gameface to downplay the toll the fight had actually taken out of him. He gave Gunnbot’s neck another squeeze, two ancient circuitboards glowing brightly on the Hand’s back.
“Don’t worry, Fredbot,” he said, staring into Gunnbot’s failing optics. “I’m not going to kill him. That’s the good update.”
Pulling Gunnbot away from the wall momentarily, Angelusbot gave him one last savage slam, head first into the stone of the chamber, knocking Gunnbot’s processor’s offline. He tumbled to the floor as Fredbot screamed.
“The bad update?” Angelusbot continued, shifting power reserves to his healing function, and sending a signal for his demonbots to re-enter the chamber. They shuffled out of the darkness one by one, grunting and whirring with malice. Angelusbot smiled, turning towards Fredbot.
“Well...good help doesn’t come cheap. And I had to promise the boys SOMETHING.”
The demonbots cackled eagerly, closing in on Gunnbot’s form while Angelusbot walked casually towards Fredbot, crouching down before her. She seemed petrified, trying to sort out events in her head, old, erratic algorithms creeping into her processing. She stared with terrified wonder into the face of her one-time knight.
“By the way,” he began, almost offhanded, as terrible scraping and rending sounds started to fill the chamber, “...that whole ‘jungle virus’ thing? I’m not a racist-unit...I was just trying to get a rise out of him. That’s all.”
A high-pitched squeal of metal tearing filled the air, and a scream rang out. It was Gunnbot. Fredbot’s higher functions started collapsing, while Angelusbot just gazed at her passively. Almost apologetic, really.
“You get that, right?”

From a doorway adjoining the waiting room, a Doctor-unit Cordybot had seen taking Ozbot in earlier emerged, and she stopped scanning through what she estimated to be a museum worthy magazine-file. The inaction had been maddening to her, with Angelusbot on the loose. And now that Wesbot and Buffybot were moving out in pursuit, she wanted to be there with them. Once she had the all-clear from the Doctor-units...
“How is he?” She demanded, running up to the Doctor-unit in question, “...patient designate: Daniel-Osbournebot. Will he be fully functional?”
“Prognosis: uncertain,” the Doctorbot responded efficiently, “...reconstruction went smoothly. Patient-unit had surprisingly little power loss for damage of his nature.”
Cordybot vowed to thank Buffybot for that when she saw her again. “Great, great...so, why the uncertain? You said it went good?”
“Confirmed,” he continued, “...initial reconstruction phase was successful. But Patient-unit began showing negative symptoms shortly after close of reconstruction. System failures are occurring at an alarming rate. Also, some repaired systems are showing signs of instability.”
“What?? Why? I thought...Wesbot and Buffybot, they said he would be fine!”
“We have moved the Patient-unit to an observation port,” the Doctorbot continued, ignoring Cordybot’s protestations, “...he is being closely monitored. You may visit him if you like, but I should upload warning. If this complication phase persists unabated...”
Amidst her concern, a sudden surge of intuition came to Cordybot. “Your reconstruction instruments,” she asked urgently, “...your equipment. What are they made of?”
The Doctorbot registered surprise, reviewing a file-list of the materials in question. “Moybdenum, plasteel, a few diamond derivatives...”
“But silver,” Cordybot pressed, worry circuits heating up, “...is there anything silver??”
“Yes, several implements are silver,” the Doctorbot replied, “...why? Does the Patient-unit have an allergy-file..?”
Cordybot was already off and running for the observation port.

“We’re getting close now. Only a few more dozen meters.”
Buffybot and Wesbot stole along the darkened pathway, an abandoned (or secret) adjunct to the main sewer tunnels leading to what had been the lair of Goraiko the Oppressor. Buffybot led the way, a long sword slung across her back, stakes in both jacket pockets. Wesbot carried a satchel filled with various weaponry on his back, a crossbow in his hands. They moved quickly.
Turning a corner, Buffybot advanced a few feet before stopping suddenly. A sudden change in the nature of her sensor data was giving her cause for some concern.
“Wesley, my scans just went inactive,” she reported, checking her systems, “...except for my most basic audio-visual systems, I’m not receiving any data back from my scanner array.”
“I was .73% afraid of this,” Wesbot answered, his own scans coming up similarly blank. “Angelusbot has set up sensor blinds...he did something similar in Poland, anno-1865.”
Buffybot suppressed a frown. “But how do we beat it? Can I switch it off somehow?”
“Unknown,” Wesbot replied, “...but we may not want to. The system works both ways. Angelusbot and whatever demonbots he has in his employ will be equally blind. And at least we’re sure now that we’re heading for the right place.”
Those were good points, Buffybot thought. Wesbot sure was getting the hang of positive thinking!
“I’m boosting power to my A/V array,” Buffybot announced, moving forward again. They made it to the end of the corridor and turned another corner, and Buffybot froze again. Sounds were reaching her advanced ears, and she took a moment to sift them through her filters. A huge smile broke on her face at the results.
“It’s Fred!” Turning towards Wesbot, Buffybot nearly bounced with delight. “I can hear Fred up ahead! She’s all right!”
“That’s good news,” Wesbot said, relieved, “...but we must assume Angelusbot will be expecting us. And with our sensors down, we won’t be able to tell what he has waiting for us until we enter the chamber. We should calculate a plan.”
“I have a plan,” Buffybot replied smartly, pulling the sword off her back. She glanced at Wesbot, who scanned her cautiously. She gave him a sheepish smile.
“It’s a little rash, actually,” she admitted, turning down the tunnel towards the outer door of Goraiko’s chamber, “...give me two minutes.”
“Buffybot?”
Without answering, Buffybot took off at a dead run, straight for the door. Diving into a roll at the last minute, Buffybot did a somersault and kicked the door off it’s hinges, springing to her feet and dashing straight into the main chamber in one fluid motion. Wesbot stood and stared in disbelief.
“That, as a matter of fact, is a LOT rash,” he corrected, to no one in particular. Double-checking his crossbow, he slowly started moving closer to the chamber.

Buffybot took in the familiar chamber with what scans were still working, though the dim light provided by the two fire-generation pillars was of little use. She saw Fredbot immediately, however, which gave her optimism centers a much-needed boost. She seemed unhurt, although she had barely even blinked when Buffybot made her entrance.
“Fred? Are you all right?” Buffybot kept her defensive systems at maximum, looking carefully around, sword in hand. Fredbot didn’t answer. “Where’s Gunn?”
“Was here, now he’s not,” Fredbot mumbled, staring at her hands, “...left me. Left me with the robot, handsome robot, saving me from the monsterbots, but that function collapsed. Like a probability wave, vanished when you scan it too close. Now he’s gone, both gone, just Fredbot now. They all went away...”
Buffybot indulged a frown, then concentrated for a moment. The next, Doyle appeared at her side.
“Where are we?” He immediately glanced around, obviously still fretting. “Did we find him?”
“He should be near,” Buffybot told him, again violating her program to speak to Doyle in front of Fred...but she didn’t seem to be listening so well just now anyways. “But he’s set up some device that’s deadening my sensor scans. I could use a second pair of eyes, if you don’t mind.”
“On it! You can count on me, doll.” Doyle turned, peering through the darkness behind Buffybot as best he could, while she moved towards Fredbot.
“I’m going to get Fred loose. Keep watch...there’s likely trouble nearby.”
Buffybot had barely spoken the words when Doyle, staring into a darkened doorway nearby, felt himself blanch. “Nearer’n you think!”
The words, and other sudden noises reached Buffybot’s audio receptors. Noises like footsteps. Swinging about, Buffybot saw them immediately...demonbots. They swept in from an outer chamber one after another, seven of them, spreading out along the walls, surrounding her and Fredbot. Buffybot positioned herself before Fredbot, who scarcely took notice of the intrusion. The firelight grew, like someone turned up the dimmer switch. Buffybot wondered if that was how robot-fire worked just now.
“Seven of ‘em,” Doyle said needlessly, Buffybot plotting out several attack scenarios in her processor core, “...you can take seven, right? Lucky number, that?”
“I can take seven no sweat,” Buffybot said with a smile as the demonbots growled from their stations. She was about to launch into an attack pattern when a voice from the outer chamber echoed forth.
“You missed one.”
Angelusbot swaggered out, hands deep in the pockets of his overcoat, and flanked on each side by his demonbot forces. Buffybot took a tiny step back, reassessing her battle tactics. Angelusbot just stood and grinned at her, and Fredbot cringed a little smaller behind her.
“Handsome robot, handsome robot...the function collapsed! They all went away...”
“She’s been like that for hours,” Angelusbot noted casually, “...it’s actually really annoying. But hey, you’ve gotta bait the hook, right?”
He smiled, looking for all the world to Buffybot just like Angel. But he wasn’t Angel. She tried to remember that.
“Hello, love.”
“Don’t let him play you, Buffybot. Take it by the numbers.” Doyle’s voice betrayed more than a hint of dread, as for the hundredth time today he wondered why he’d agreed to take on this job. Was retirement REALLY so bad?
“Angel.” Buffybot stepped forward again, every system on highest alert status. “Return the Hand of Manus right now, please. It’s too dangerous for you to have.”
Angelusbot nodded thoughtfully. “The Hand, right. Figured you’d be wanting that. Surprised you took so long. Guess ol’ Wesbot doesn’t quite have Gilesbot’s Watcher chops, huh?”
“He’s got plenty of chops, buster,” Buffybot countered, tightening her sword grip, “...now give up the hand before I hand you some knuckle sandwiches!”
“Good one, Botty.”
Buffybot nodded politely at Doyle’s compliment, awaiting Angelusbot’s reply. At length, he shrugged in defeat.
“Anything for a lady,” he said, pulling something out of his left coat pocket, tossing it to the floor at Buffybot’s feet. She spared a quick look down at the Hand...only it wasn’t THE Hand. She recognized it, though. So did Doyle, and Fredbot.
“Aw, no...”
“Pieces, all to pieces! Can’t compute, too many variables, pieces too small to scan and then you go away again...”
Buffybot felt her optimism fade, staring intently at Angelusbot. “What have you done with Gunn?”
“Relax. He’s fine.” Angelusbot paused then, as if he were lost in thought for a moment, before glancing back at Buffybot. “Actually, on second thought..? He’s really not.”
“Answer me!”
Boosting power to her sword arm, Buffybot watched as Angelusbot feigned surprise. “Oh...did you not want THAT hand?” He laughed to himself, grinning from ear to ear. “Guess it IS a little banged up...maybe you meant this one?”
Pulling his right hand out of his coat, Angelusbot held the attached Hand of Manusbot up for Buffybot and Doyle to see, wriggling the long fingers demonstratively. Four ancient exposed circuitboards along the back of the Hand were lit up, which Buffybot’s intuition generators suggested might be a very bad thing indeed. Angelusbot sneered, shoving both hands back into his pockets.
“This one, you have to work for,” he told her, turning and heading back into the outer chamber he’d come from. As he turned, he glanced to his demonbots.
“Kill her.”

“No, no, NO! You’re just wasting my time now.”
“Oh, come on!” Larabot stared at Iaqista in frustration. “100 shares of Wolf-Ram/Hart stock is nothing to sneeze at! This is a company on the go, okay?”
“I don’t deal in ‘stocks’, okay? What kind of self-respecting Justice Demon WOULD? Put a real offer on the table or I’m teleporting right now.”
“Hold on...all right, I can...”
Larabot sighed, rubbing her temples. It was going to be a long negotiation. She looked up at Iaqista, sitting uncomfortably by now across the desk from her. “Do you want Chinese? I’m starving.”
Iaqista observed Larabot for a moment, cocking an eyebrow. “How about Szechuan?”

“Here they come..!”
“It’s okay...I’ll handle them.”
Buffybot jumped past Doyle as the Gar-demonbots charged as one, closing in from all around her. She swung her sword in a broad arc, giving several of the creatures pause, and shredding the exo-shell of at least two. They grabbed at her and Buffybot ducked, launching a backwards kick that sent one of the demonbots crashing to the floor simultaneously with a forward thrust that pierced the CPU of another. A third hammered her hard on the back, but she kept her footing, shoving him away and gathering herself together for a backflip out of their closing circle, back towards Fredbot. She was huddled in a small ball, only her back visible now.
“Don’t worry, Fred...bot. I’ll defeat these goons!”
Yeah,” Doyle shouted, trying to belay feelings of utter helplessness, “...y’ever seen the lady work? It’s a thing of beauty! I’ve seen her take out twelve beasties all on her lonesome, y’know.”
Botty smiled, swinging her sword n a powerful arc that took the head clean off one approaching demonbot. Her smile was short-lived as another leapt over the falling body of his comrade, driving a huge fist into Buffybot’s face.
“Of course, they were a lot smaller than these guys...”
The demonbot grabbed Botty’s sword-arm and started twisting viciously, striking her hard again with his other hand. Buffybot took quick calculations of their strength, which she was noticing was a little higher than Wesley had predicted. The creature clamped it’s hand now around her neck, and Buffybot was finding herself in a bit of a pickle. The others were closing in now, and her leverage was not the...
The crossbow bolt embedded in the demonbot’s skull with a satisfying crackle, and his grip melted away. Buffybot kicked his carcass outward, knocking two of the other creatures down with it. Her head flashed towards the main entrance, where Wesbot stood, weapon in hand.
“That seemed an awfully long two minutes,” he noted, aiming his reloaded crossbow at another demonbot. Buffybot grinned, leaping high at a foe of her own, as Doyle cheered from his invisible sidelines.
“Yeah! Go team! This’ more LIKE it!” His feelings of helplessness were subsiding slowly...he never WAS much of a fighter.

Wesbot’s second bolt hit the shoulder of one demonbot, while it’s companion started loping angrily towards him. Dropping the crossbow, Wesbot pulled a diamantine axe from the satchel at his feet and swung upwards, just in time to block the creature’s attack. The blade dug into the demonbot’s exo-shell just under it’s energy processor, making it howl in pain. As it reeled, Wesbot brought a shoulder up hard to the creature’s chin, knocking it back. The axe pulled free, and Wesbot swung it about skillfully for another attack. The demonbot roared at him.
Wesbot steadied himself, roaring himself as the creature finally charged again.

Legs locked, Buffybot held on tight on her demonbot’s shoulders, pounding him repeatedly in what she had by now classified as his terribly ugly face. She had gleefully done some pretty severe structural damage when another demonbot finally pulled her off from behind, throwing her to the floor. Buffybot kicked her legs, knocking the demonbot away before he could press his advantage, then flipped to a stand. She made a move for her sword, which she’d dropped to pound away on one of the beasties, when said demonbot tackled her into a wall. They hit with a loud crash, prompting Buffybot into a sigh.
“You demonbots aren’t any more polite than regular demons, are you? Weren’t you programmed with manners?”
The only response was a howling snarl, as the attacking demonbot was joined by another, both pressing in hard and clawing at Buffybot. She had to admit, it was proving a little tricky to get them off her...but she’d figure something out. She had to! Lives were at stake, after all.
One of the demonbots drove a fist hard into Buffybot’s face, crashing her skull into the wall. She reeled, kicking the beast in the shin.
“Hey! I’m trying to WORK over here!”
“Hang on, Buffybot!” The cry was Doyle, shouting from just beyond the demonbots surrounding her, “...help is on the way!”
She wondered what he meant by that. Mister Doyle was intangible and couldn’t affect things on this plane, he’d already said. So how...
The demonbot further out shrieked in agony-mode, and slowly fell away. Buffybot could see Wesbot, pulling her sword out of the creature’s back, even as she started regaining her leverage on the remaining foe.
So THAT’S what he meant!
Wesbot stepped back as Buffybot hammered her demonbot opponent hard, knocking several bits of exo-shell from his already ravaged faceplate. One of his horns tumbled to the ground.
“That’ll teach you to be programmed for evil!” She shouted, grabbing the staggered demonbot by his two remaining horns and holding tight.
“It’s monsters like YOU who give robots a bad name!”
Giving a powerful twist, Buffybot wrenched the demonbot’s head straight around, and it’s base functions collapsed. She let his shell fall to the ground harmlessly, dusting her hands off with satisfaction. “See? A bunch of dumb demonbots are no match for...”
“Uh...Buffybot?”
Doyle interrupted Botty, directing her attention across the chamber. One last demonbot, a crossbow bolt embedded in his shoulder, had Wesbot firmly in a choke-hold, standing in between Buffybot and Fredbot. It looked to Buffybot to be awfully angry.
“B-Buffybot...leave me behind...get Angel-crzzzt...Angelusbot!”
“Wesley!” Buffybot took a step forward, stopping when the demonbot throttled Wesbot again. Her sword was on the ground out of reach, and she wasn’t sure if she could curl a stake fast enough to save Wesley. But she had to think of SOMETHING. She’d promised.
The demonbot coughed out a guttural demon-laugh, taunting poor Buffybot as it enjoyed it’s moment of triumph. It stared Botty down with slitted optics, optics that suddenly went wide in surprise, and Buffybot watched with concern as the beast suddenly spasmed, nearly choking Wesley in the process. She started to move again...but it was all over.
The demonbot’s optics faded out, and it’s body went limp. It’s grip loosened, and Wesbot quickly tossed it off him, twisting away from the creature. It fell to the ground, offline. Standing behind it, shaking just a little, was Fredbot.
“Disconnected it’s power source through an access panel at the base of the spine,” she said, vocal patterns struggling to remain cohesive, “...kind of a predictable design flaw, actually.”
“Fredbot!”
Wesbot rushed to Fredbot’s side, holding her tight and wrapping a supportive arm around her. Buffybot covered the distance between them in a moment.
“Fred! You’re all right! And free! That’s great!”
Leaning into Wesbot, Fredbot forced a small smile onto her facial motors. “Hacked the lock,” she explained, “...took me longer than I’d extrapolated.”
“Just on time, I’d say,” Wesbot said proudly, giving her a hug. “Well done, Fredbot.”
“The hand-artifact,” Fredbot continued, keeping her whirling mental matrix focussed, “...Angelusbot replaced his own hand with it! We couldn’t stop him.”
“I’ll stop him,” Buffybot swore, “...don’t you worry!”
Fredbot shook her head. “There were five circuitboards on the Hand-artifact,” she explained, “...four of them were lit the last time Angelusbot was in here.”
Wesbot’s mood turned serious fast. “When all five are lit, the Hand-artifact will become active. Angelusbot will have access to the powers of Manusbot.”
Buffybot updated quickly. “What sort of powers?”
“Reality-altering protocols of the highest order,” Wesbot explained, “...the legend-files say Manusbot had the power to turn the world inside-out.”
Doyle folded his arms. “Huh. Like an evil Mary Tyler Moore.”
“Buffybot, you must remove the Hand-artifact before it activates. It’s our only chance.”
“I’m on it!” Buffybot turned, picking up her sword where it lay amidst the demonbot shells. Wesbot helped Fredbot with the remaining restraints around her ankles.
“I kind of went all cave-mode for a minute there,” she admitted guiltily, “...when I saw Angelbot like that, I just...”
“You’re performing remarkably, Fredbot.” Wesbot smiled at Fredbot as the last restraint fell away. “Do you know where Angelusbot is keeping Gunnbot?”
Buffybot turned in a flash at the question, chastising herself silently for not asking herself. Okay, so his hand had been removed, but so what? She’d had her OWN hand knocked off once, and it didn’t hurt her in the long run! Angelusbot must be stashing Gunn in some other part of the lair, no doubt to use as a bargaining chip against her, the dratted fiend...
“They ate him,” Fredbot blurted out, optics staring at the floor. She withdrew slightly at the words. “Every last circuit, every memory file...ate him up. Piece by piece. Right in front of me.”
Buffybot froze. A sudden flood from her emotional processors was impacting hard on her logic processors. It was making ordinary cerebral activity very difficult for a moment. “They..what?”
“God-unit above,” Wesbot silently swore, pulling Fredbot in close. Buffybot shook her head.
“But that...he CAN’T be! I promised...I wouldn’t let anyone else get hurt.” Gripping her sword tightly, Buffybot struggled to control the flood of emotional information in her cortex. “I PROMISED!”
“Botty,”
Doyle stepped close, staring into Buffybot’s optics with sad eyes. “Worry about the ones you can still save. That’s all you can do now.”
“But this is all my fault!!”
Wesbot broke out of his own grief-mode and turned towards Buffybot. “Buffybot, no. You’ve done your best. Just...stop him. Go. I’ll make sure Fredbot is safe, then follow.”
Buffybot faltered for a moment, all manner of thoughts running through her processors. She knew the one that she had to focus on, though, and with a surge of power she managed to do just that. Doyle eyed her with deep concern.
“Buffybot?”
Buffybot reset her emotional cortex, putting on her best resolute battle-face from her database. She raised the sword to her eyes.
“This time, I won’t need two minutes,” she swore, turning and tearing off after Angelusbot. No one else, she promised again. No one else would get hurt because of her. Not again.

“Alert! Alert! Securitybots to Observation Post 6! Securitybots...”
“Oh, shove your damn Securitybots!”
Cordybot shoved the Nursebot off of her, positioning herself in a protective stance in front of Ozbot, lying in safe mode on his bed. The Nursebot seemed to have issues with Cordybot’s removal of Ozbot’s IV cable, but her scans showed a silver trace element. The rotten stuff seemed to be everywhere! Was this a hospital or a jeweler?
“Upload this...this patient-unit has a SEVERE allergy-file on silver. It could terminate him. Silver BAD, got it?”
The Nursebot paused, checking her datafiles. “We have no record of such a file.”
“Well, you do now, okay?? Just trust me! Anything silver, keep it away from his insides! Simple, right?”
There was another pause, and the Nursebot finished updating her files. “But...silver-based solder is standard for circuit repair during reconstruction phase...”
Cordybot’s optics widened at that news, and a second later Ozbot started to convulse, thrashing violently on his bed. Cordybot spun, trying to hold him down.
“Ozbot? Ozbot, hang on!”
“Error! System failure imminent! Main processor crashing...help...”
Shoving Cordybot aside, the Nursebot stepped in and started running deep med-scans, frowning. She accessed her intercom implant.
“Cancel Securitybots to OP 6...send medicteam immediately! Emergency reboot necessitated! Emergency!”
Activating the bed’s hovermode, the Nursebot started moving Ozbot out of the Observation port and back towards the reconstruction unit. Cordybot followed along desperately.
“Hold on Ozbot, you’ll be fine! It’s gonna be ok!”
Weakly, Ozbot leaned his head towards Cordybot, just as the medicteam was arriving for intercept.
“Tell...tell Willowbot I...error, hard drive failure, cannot...”
“Ozbot?” Cordybot shook him gently, with no response. Then she shook harder. “OZBOT!”
There was no reply, only a blank stare of failing optics as the medicteam took over, hustling Cordybot off to one side and pushing forward. They burst through the doors to the reconstruction bay, leaving her alone and helpless.
The others better damn well be having better luck, Cordybot thought, trying hard to give her hope circuits a much-needed boost.

It took Buffybot fifteen seconds to tear down the dark, winding tunnel Angelusbot had retreated down before she came upon the second chamber. It was hexagonal in design, lit by several highly-placed electric candles. Buffybot was starting to miss regular old non-mechanical fire.
There was almost no decoration in the room...a few chains hanging off the walls, a couple of skullpieces, dull with dust, littering one corner. The only thing of note was Goraiko’s dark throne, which Angelusbot must have had moved in here by his demonbots. It sat regally opposite the entrance from Botty.
Sitting on the throne, staring at her with a sensuous grin, was Angelusbot.
“Wasn’t sure if you’d make it this fast,” he started, pulling one leg off of the arm of the chair and down to the floor, “...the boys get pretty strong after they’ve fed.”
Buffybot ignored the taunt, taking a close look at the Hand of Manus, tapping it’s fingers away languorously on Goraiko’s throne. Still only four circuitboards lit up. There was still time.
“I can’t believe it’s him,” Doyle remarked, watching his former partner. “Cordy told me stories once or twice, but...”
“I have to stop you, Angel,” Buffybot announced, giving extra power to her Slayer subroutines, “...that hand doesn’t belong to you. I’m sorry.”
He laughed. “All by your lonesome, sweetheart? Thought I heard Wesbot out there...guess he didn’t have the RAM for the final...showdown?”
Before Angelusbot had finished, Buffybot launched herself into a huge, arcing flip, covering the distance between her and him in moments. She landed with each foot on one of the chair’s massive armrests, looking down at Angelusbot. She immediately hammered him hard with three downward blows. Her other hand raised her sword for a strike when Angelusbot recovered, knocking her legs out from under her. She fell into his lap with a start, and he grabber her arms solidly.
“You used to LOVE pillow talk!”
Buffybot glared, and Angelusbot drove his forehead into hers, letting go of his grip as she tumbled backwards off of him. She rolled with the blow, flipping to a stand in no time. Angelusbot rose too, activating his demonic-faceplate. “...but I guess time changes us all.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Angel,” Buffybot said firmly, calculating her new attack path, “...but I’ve given override authority to my Slayer functions. I can’t let you win.”
“Still a workaholic,” he countered, stalking around her, “...don’t you ever get tired of that holier-than-thou program? I mean honestly.”
Angelusbot sneered, but Buffybot kept her focus. She readied her motors for the next assault.
“Honestly?” She replied, with only a hint of a smile, “...no. I don’t.”

“I’m coming with you!”
Gathering up his weapons satchel, Wesbot slung it over his shoulder with resignation. “Fredbot, we discussed this. You’re in no condition for another confrontation with Angelusbot. Return to the Hotel, and we’ll...”
“We’ll what? Wesbot, I’m a component of this team-unit whether you like it or not. Saved YOUR life-functions, didn’t I? I can’t just sit back and scan! Not after what he did.”
Wesbot stood mute for a moment as Fredbot strode up to him, diving a hand into his satchel and pulling out a stake. She gripped it firmly. He smiled.
“Besides...I sure can’t help if the world gets turned inside out, can I? Now let’s go! Buffybot needs us.”
Wesbot swung his axe towards the adjoining tunnel. “Lead the way.”

The sword clattered to the ground, Buffybot’s grip momentarily failing as Angelusbot wrenched her forearm hard. He smiled sadistically, driving a fist across her jaw. Buffybot responded with a punch of her own, and the two of them parried fists like that for several seconds. Doyle was exasperated. If he’d known Buffybot would end up fighting Angel so often, he never would have directed her to LA in the first place.
Plus there was the dilemma, he realized as Buffybot got the upper hand and high-kicked Angel backwards, of who to root for. Angelus or no, Angel was still in there. His old boss, and maybe his best friend in the world. It kind of put him in an awkward position, philosophically speaking...
Angelusbot drove a sharp kick into Buffybot’s midsection, driving her backwards and off her feet, and Doyle forgot all about philosophy. Never was his long suit.
“Kick his ASS, doll!! You can take him! GO!”

Buffybot rolled to a stop against a wall of the inner chamber, a few damage reports coming in from various parts of her superstructure. Angelus sure did know how to fight, she noted, and he hit pretty hard. She’d have to step up her attack if she wanted to stop him before it was too late. And despite her claims earlier, she really WAS holding back just a little.
She promised not to let anyone else get hurt because of her....but that included Angel too. It was her fault he was evil now. It just didn’t seem right to kill him! What would the real Buffy say if she did?
First things first, she told herself as Angelusbot scooped up her fallen sword and ran towards her. Get the hand and save the world. THEN worry about the big stuff.
“Starting to think your heart’s not in this, Slayerbot!” Angelusbot swung the sword in a downward lunge, prompting Buffybot to dodge and roll to the right at the last moment. Another attack came before she was on her feet, and she kept on rolling until finally popping to a stand behind Goraiko’s throne. Angelusbot stood in front of it, sword in hand, staring her down.
“Maybe I should have had the boys eat Fredbot first,” he mused aloud, “...so hard to tell which way your tastes are running these days.”
“I’m through running,” Buffybot replied, giving her arm-motors a huge energy boost, and shoving Goraiko’s throne forward with a loud groan. Angelusbot dove backwards, narrowly avoiding being crushed. Buffybot didn’t waste a moment, hurdling the fallen throne and tackling Angelusbot to the ground. She hit him hard, over and over, hoping that she was doing some good damage. Her scans were still being blocked, and...
Angelusbot drove the hilt of the sword into Buffybot’s forehead, rattling her processors for a second. Long enough for him to push her off him and clamber to a stand. He took a second of his own to shake the glitches out of his mainframe.
“Not that this isn’t great, reliving our greatest hits and all, darling...but I’ve got things to do.”
“So do I.” Swinging her leg up, Buffybot kicked the sword up and out of Angelusbot’s hand. It spun upwards for a moment while Buffybot hopped to her feet, driving a knee into Angelusbot’s gut. He doubled over and she caught the sword, grabbing Angelusbot’s right arm and yanking it over the back of the throne. She levelled the sword at the Hand of Manus and, without hesitation, swung it down hard.
The explosion caught her off guard, a powerful burst of light and energy that hurled her across the chamber, colliding hard with a wall near the doorway. In the outer tunnel, Wesbot and Fredbot were both similarly knocked off their feet by the force. It took Buffybot’s optics a fraction of a second to come back on-line, the impact was so tremendous. She sure hadn’t expected the Hand to EXPLODE when she...
Angelusbot stood by the fallen throne, intact hand raised triumphantly. He clenched it into a fist, the back of his hand facing Buffybot. All five circuitboards were lit.
“Time’s up.”

A procession of medicbots slowly filed out of the reconstruction unit, and Cordybot was on them in a flash. Her patience-resources were almost entirely exhausted.
“What happened?” Grabbing a Doctorbot, Cordybot locked optics resolutely. “How is Ozbot?”
The Doctorbot narrowed his optics. “Uploading condolence-files,” he reported flatly, “...patient-unit went terminally offline at 03:13. Cause of crash: unknown complications following reconstruction. Investigating...”
But Cordybot wasn’t listening anymore. She started wandering back towards the waiting room, not really knowing why. Her logic processors were suddenly not working at their best...
They took another hit, when she suddenly wished that Angelbot were here. Except, she reminded herself as grief-mode started to take over, there was no Angelbot anymore.
How? How had everything gone so wrong, so fast?

“Oh, crap.”
Doyle looked a little lost as he stared at Angelusbot, smiling wildly in a swirl of power as the Hand of Manusbot fully activated. As she rose to a stand, Buffybot could feel the energy emanating from it, though she couldn’t find any match for it in her files. Darn magic.
“Angel, wait!”
“Designation’s Angelusbot, little girl,” he told her, flexing the ancient fingers of Manusbot. Tendrils of eldritch energy spiralled out of it’s fingertips, swirling in the air nearby like a whirlpool. He glanced at it with a greedy smile, before looking back over at Buffybot. “And no more waiting.”
Angelusbot thrust the hand forward into the whirlpool, and it vanished from Buffybot’s sight. The ground trembled suddenly, dust falling off the walls around them as they shook, and Angelusbot plunged his arm deeper into the mystic portal. Buffybot’s intuition generators were all coming up with rather final-sounding pronouncements.
“This is IT, doll!” Doyle shouted, agreeing with Botty’s processors, “...we’ve gotta DO something!”
Buffybot agreed with that much, for sure. But what, she wasn’t sure. She’d already tried rushing Angelusbot, but the energy field generated by the Hand was keeping her immobile. She had to think..she needed time. Desperate, she shouted out.
“Angelusbot, stop! You don’t want to do this!”
“Really?” Angelusbot smiled, giving the magical center of existence a tickle with his fingers, making the world shake again, “...and why’s that?”
“Because...it’s stupid! I mean, who wants to turn the world inside-out anyways? That’s just stupid!”
Doyle had to agree with the notion, but it didn’t seem to carry much weight with Angelusbot. “Try again, sweetheart. I thought you knew me better than that.”
“I...I do!” She lied. It was, of course, Buffy who knew him best. He only THOUGHT she was the real Buffy...sort of. If only SHE were here. Maybe the real Buffy could stop him.
And then it occurred to her, popping up out of her processors like lightning. Something Doyle had told her earlier, that her existing files on Angelus corroborated. And she realized that it didn’t matter if she wasn’t the real Buffy. Just as long as he thought she was.
“You want me,” she finally said, as if it were a very simple thing indeed. Doyle gave her a surprised look, as did Angelusbot, and the Earth shook again as Buffybot made some very quick, very exceptional calculations on a sudden inspiration. Miss Markham had told her earlier that Buffybot was different than the other robots around because of her wish, and she’d been right. She had superior construction, higher emotional capacity, and something else...a power source of rather unique design, one her creator had warned her in a virtual file to never talk about. It had already caused her some trouble since arriving in LA. Now, just maybe, it could help her solve some.
“Old news,” Angelusbot countered, though Buffybot thought he was doing a poor job of concealing his interest. She stared him down.
“You don’t want some crusty old magic hand, Angelusbot,” she continued, actually able to take a step forward now...he WAS interested. “You want ME. You always have. So...take me.”
Doyle stepped closer, getting awfully worried now...what was his robotic charge thinking? Her next words didn’t give him any greater hope.
“...turn me.”
“Botty, NO!”
Doyle whisked closer to Buffybot, ignoring Angelusbot and the shock waves still pulsating regularly from his tamperings with reality. “Buffybot, there’s another way, we’ll figure it out! You don’t want...”
“It’s okay,” she whispered, turning her head ever so slightly away from Angelusbot, “...I have a plan.”
The world trembled violently, and a nervous look crossed Buffybot’s face as she lowered her head and whispered once again to Doyle.
“It’s a little rash, actually...”
“Talking to yourself, Buffybot?” Angelusbot stared curiously. “Or maybe you’re praying? You were never much of a religion-unit...”
“I never was,” Buffybot admitted, taking a step forward despite Doyle’s silent protestations. “Here’s the deal. I let you turn me into one of your kind...a vampirebot...and you spare the world. Remove the Hand.”
Angelusbot raised a wary brow, though he still continued allowing Buffybot to approach him. “What makes you think you’re worth all that?”
Buffybot smiled. “You KNOW I am.” Lowering her gaze, Buffybot pulled her coat off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. Angelusbot didn’t take his optics off her.
“Come on, Angelusbot...you and me...together. We wouldn’t NEED some skanky, disembodied paperweight to turn the world on it’s ear and you know it. We made our own magic, once...”
Buffybot walked right up to Angelusbot, his arm still vanished in the swirling mystic mists generated by the Hand of Manusbot. His fingers were still clamped around the center of the world, and it trembled ever so slightly as Buffybot stared into his dark eyes.
“Aren’t you dying for another taste?”
The whole world seemed to tilt for a second, bobbling like a drunk. And then Angelusbot tore his arm out of the dark mists, with a hissing noise like a vacuum being suddenly filled. The world steadied itself again, and he flexed his ancient fingers, glaring hungrily at Buffybot.
“Get on your knees.”

Far down the hallway, Fredbot and Wesbot staggered forward suddenly, no longer trapped like flybots in an amber-file from the power of Manusbot. Both of them barely managed to keep their footing before exchanging glances. Each had the same thought coursing through their processors.
What happened?

“This had better be one kick-ass plan, darlin’...I still say stake the bastard.”
Doyle watched with immense worry and distaste as Buffybot lowered herself down, her own sparks of doubt racing though her busy little cortex. But it was a little late for that now. Besides, she told herself, it was a GOOD plan.
Or at least, the only one she could come up with that seemed to have a chance of working. And that was something, if not a lot.
Angelusbot looked down at Buffybot, laying the Hand of Manusbot gently on one shoulder. She looked back up at him, feeling it’s potent power tingling through her plasmonic relays. It wouldn’t allow her any sudden moves. But that was fine...she didn’t need to move to win.
He lowered himself down in front of her, eyeing her neck with naked greed. Buffybot suppressed a flicker of fear, removing the last safeguard on her power relays. Angelusbot moved closer.
“What makes you think I won’t just drain you dry?” He asked, high-tensile fangs gleaming in the dim light, “...your power tasted so GOOD the last time...”
“That’s just a chance I’ll have to take,” she replied, hearing footsteps approaching from the outer hallway. It was now or never. She gave him one last look, eyes narrow.
“...my love.”
Angelusbot growled and lunged forward, and Buffybot shuddered as his fangs ruptured her Byzantium shell and sank hungrily into her power relays. The drain started almost immediately...it surprised her with it’s intensity. She was already a little weak from the constant exertion of the last day, but this...
Never mind that, she told herself. Still enough left to do what needed to be done. With a thought, Buffybot started the reaction deep in her core, hoping her microcable relays would hold...things could get a little messy if they didn’t, and they sure weren’t designed for this. Just as Fredbot and Wesbot reached the entrance to the inner chamber, Buffybot removed the barrier that Vincent, her creator, had installed deep inside of her. She felt the power rising immediately, violently.
And then she let it loose.

“Angelusbot, no! Stop!”
Wesbot shouted desperately, he and Fredbot being held at the outer reaches of the chamber by the Hand’s power still. They both looked on with dread as Angelusbot drained Buffybot, fangs driven deep into the cabling of her neck. Fredbot gripped Wesbot’s shoulder.
“He’s killing her!”
“No,” Wesbot commanded, searching his vast memory for anything that could help, “...I won’t let that happen!”
But before Wesbot could access some of the darker magick files in his protected caches, something happened. There was a tiny flash, just a fraction of a second, coming from Buffybot’s neck. A moment later Angelusbot tore himself violently away from her, leaping to his feet and stumbling back. He looked...scared.
At the same moment, Wesbot could feel the restraining power melting away, and he and Fredbot charged in, weapons in hand. They would not need them.

Angelusbot shook, unable to stabilize his motor controls. He could feel his power relays frying, one by one, his batteries shrieking out in sudden overload. He didn’t understand.
“What...what the Hell did you DO to me??”
Buffybot looked up weakly, putting a hand to the wound in her neck. She gave Angelusbot a rather fond, but stern look as Wesbot raced up behind her, Fredbot by his side.
“Do you know what Mystic Fusion is, Angel?”
Angelusbot seemed to shake his head, although by now his whole body was shaking badly. Wesbot, however, lit up in recognition.
“I do,” he said, accessing some old files, “...I read a few theoretical files on it, written by some of the more radical Alchemibots on the council.” Re-reading the file, Wesbot cast a surprised look in Buffybot’s direction. “No one was able to make it work.”
“My guy did,” Buffybot noted with a tiny smile, working to a stand. Fredbot quickly moved in to help her.
“What are you...TALKING about,” Angelusbot stammered, cracks starting to appear in his outer shell, “...you lying BITCH...”
“Mystic fusion,” Wesbot began, entering Watcher-mode again, “...two powerful spells of an opposite nature, contained together in an artificial repository. According to the theory, the energy harnessed from their interaction would be enormous.”
“It does the trick,” Buffybot noted, looking sadly at Angelusbot. “I released the dampeners on my Mystic Fusion Generator and sent it into a controlled overload, directed right at Angelusbot’s power transfer. It set up a massive power pulse inside his systems. They weren’t designed for that kind of energy wave. Angel, I’m so sorry,”
Putting a hand alongside Angelusbot’s cheek, Buffybot gave him a last look, his eyes glowing brightly now.
“I wanted to save you.”
Angelusbot screamed, and his superstructure burst into light, the power consuming his form from within. Fredbot closed her eyes, and Angelusbot burst into a million metal filings, scattering into the dusty air of the chamber.
“So...that’s it.” Doyle watched the scene with mixed emotions, his heart feeling a little heavier than usual. “Gotta say. When you make a plan, you don’t mess around.”
“Buffybot, are you all right?”
Wesbot approached Buffybot cautiously as she stared blankly at the empty space Angelusbot had occupied a moment earlier. She seemed eerily calm. “I think so.” She frowned slightly. “I didn’t keep my promise, though.”
“Buffybot, you mustn’t blame yourself. You did everything you could have...”
Fredbot scooted in suddenly, olfactory sensors giving her cause for alarm. “Is something burning?”
As soon as she said it, Wesbot noticed it too. He’d thought it was just the scent of this chamber, but it was getting stronger. He searched around, idly putting a hand on Buffybot’s arm. It was hot.
“I think,”
Buffybot started to speak, but seemed to be having trouble. A wisp of smoke escaped her mouth when she opened it. “I think I may have...done some...oh dear...”
Buffybot tumbled forward, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Wesbot and Fredbot, and an unseen Doyle, all rushed to her side.
“What’s wrong, kid?” Doyle swore he felt his ghostly heart beating a mile a minute just now. “Givin’ me a scare over here...”
“Buffybot, what’s wrong? What’s happening? My sensors are still down...”
“Couldn’t...couldn’t contain it all...” she said, struggling with her vocal processors, “...tried. But...main systems badly damaged...batteries cracked...no power...”
“Get out of the way,” Fredbot shouted, pushing Wesbot aside and lifting Buffybot’s shirt up. She yanked open her stomach access deftly, and a plume of dark smoke billowed out. She waved it away as best she could, increasing power to her optic sensors. Before long, she could see well enough.
“Oh no...”
“What? What ‘oh no’?” Doyle shouted helplessly at Fredbot, glancing from her to Buffybot. “Don’t give me ‘oh no’, darlin’ DO something! She’s...she CAN’T be...”
“It’s okay,” Buffybot managed to say, her voice growing softer, as her dwindling processor capability told her she would reach fatal power loss in less than a minute. Earlier, her tactical processors had given her about a ten percent chance of surviving the overload of her generator. She’d considered those pretty good odds...for a Slayer. And maybe it hadn’t worked out...she still forced a smile onto her face. Negativity, she reminded herself, was nobody’s friend. And she had friends.
Turning her head with tremendous effort, Buffybot looked at Fredbot, already re-entering grief mode despite herself. “At least...at least we s-saved...the girl,” Buffybot said with pride, eyes drifting towards the ceiling, “...heroes are...SUPPOSED to save the girl. I’m...I’m sure of that...”
Fredbot grabbed Wesbot in a hug and he held her tight. Beside them Doyle shook, invisible tears forming on his face.
“NO! Doll, you can’t...you’ve gotta FIGHT, right?? You can’t leave me like this...it’s too soon. It’s not your TIME! Please...”
Turning her eyes towards Doyle with the last echoes of power in her system, Buffybot was barely audible when she spoke again.
“I...I never got...to ask you...why..”
Her motor functions failed terminally then, and the question was never finished. Buffybot just kept staring towards the ceiling, past Doyle’s grieving form, slowly fading from this plane for the last time. Only Wesbot and Fredbot remained, holding one another close and wondering where, amidst all the pain and

“That’ll be $7.75.”
Buffybot nearly jumped at the words, new information flooding her scanners in a flash. Wesbot and Fredbot were gone...so was the chamber and...and she recognized this place. But everything was wrong.
Or rather, it was different, she corrected. Power levels nominal, Mystic Fusion safeguards still safely in place, same, familiar robot-body...
She was in a coffee shop, the same coffee shop she’d been in when all this began! There was the waitress, asking for her money! Only she wasn’t a robot...Buffybot could tell immediately. No sensor blinds HERE. And there was Jackie, sitting across the table, giving her a sneaky sneer, and SHE was...
Jackie?
“You’re SO lucky,” the Vengeance Demon grumbled, still wearing her full human form, and looking like someone had just stolen her last cigarette. Buffybot stood up and reached across the table, grabbing Jackie by her coat and hauling her towards her.
“You! You did all this! Fix it, you...you demon!”
Beside them, the waitress threw up her hands. “Still fightin’ over the check? I’ll come back later.” She walked away, leaving Buffybot and Jackie alone with their showdown. Jackie grinned.
“Everything IS fixed, dumbass. Check your roboclock.”
Still holding her tightly, Buffybot did indeed cast a scan to her chronometer, and it read very oddly. According to it, the time was exactly the same as when she had originally made the wish the previous day. But that didn’t make any...
“It’s a temporal fold, ‘Joan’, “ Jackie explained contemptuously, “...like I said. Lucky.”
“But why?? Why did you DO all this? What about poor Mister Gunn, and Angel, and...”
“Man, you really are a thick one, aren’t you?” Jackie shook her head, glowering. “You really should think about upgrading. And don’t you have a bullet to be jumping in front of right about now?”
Buffybot yanked Jackie closer, ready to lay some Slayer-style smackdown on her, when she realized it just might be true...what she was saying. If time really HAD been folded back...it sure wouldn’t be her first time or anything...
“Oz...”
Jackie smiled, then shoved Buffybot back hard, straightening her jacket. She gave the confused robot one last glare.
“Loser.”
Before Buffybot could admonish her for her rudeness, Jackie vanished in a cloud of dark smoke, and she was alone. She didn’t exactly know what was going on, but her intuition generators were giving her some hopeful hints.
Pulling a ten-dollar bill and leaving it on the table, Buffybot bolted from the café and ran for the location she remembered Ozbot’s shooting happening at the first time.
Maybe, she thought with growing hope, she’d keep her promise yet.

“It’s the Hand,” Fred admitted, eyeing the ancient relic with distaste back at the Hotel, “...it gives me the creeps. I wish Mister Gregson were collecting it sooner.”
Gunn smiled. “Fred, chill. The Hand’s safe as houses here. Now watch this next routine I got worked out, it’s tight.”
Before he could start, Angel appeared, tearing down the stairs. Gunn turned, immediately noting the grim look on the boss’ face.
“Angel? What’s...”
“Demons,” he replied, snatching a particularly lethal-looking axe from the cabinet, “...seven of them. Big, strong, dumb. They’ll be attacking in about fifteen seconds now.”
Fred looked stunned. “What? But..but how..”
“They followed us from Goraiko’s lair, don’t ask me how I know. Fred, grab the Hand and a crossbow and get upstairs. Pick any of them off if you get a shot. Go!”
After a moment of fumbling, Fred did as told, running for the stairs as Angel and Gunn got ready for the assault. Gunn gave Angel a wary look.
“You sure about this, man? Should we call the others?”
Angel frowned, holding his axe tightly as the first Gar demons burst in the door. “I’ve got some hostility to work out. Believe me.”

EPILOGUE 1
THE NEXT MORNING.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Lara. Though I’d prefer if Wolfram and Hart kept it’s nose out of my affairs from now on.”
Lara Markham smiled contritely, shaking Iaqista’s hand. They were at her home. “My apologies again for any inconvenience, Iaqista. Your payment will be along shortly. I trust everything went well with the folding..?”
“Smooth. The only ones who remember anything are you, me, Angel, and the robot.”
“Just as you stipulated,” Lara noted, “...I admit, I was curious about that. Why you wanted those two to remember, that is. And the other aspect you wanted carried over...that one was a little tricky...”
“Because it’ll hurt them,” Iaqasta replied quickly, with a savage grin. Lara shook her head.
“You are a vicious little bitch,” she said, pulling a business card out of her pocket and handing it over, “...if you ever need work, give me a call.”
Iaqista slipped the card into a fold in her cloak. “Ciao.”
Another puff of smoke and she was gone, leaving Lara Markham to cough for a moment, and trying to remember where her incense burner was, when her cell phone rang. Slipping it out of her pocket and glancing at the screen, Lara felt a pang of relief when she saw who it was calling. She held it up and answered the call.
“Quinn, thank God,” she breathed into the phone, “...I’ve had a Hell of a day.”

“So I’ve heard,” the man called Quinn answered back, strolling through the Renaissance exhibit of the Los Angeles Museum of Art and Antiquities, phone held to his ear. He was playing with a yo-yo in his other hand. “Did everyone turn into robots or something? What was up with THAT?”
Quinn listened for a minute, nodding thoughtfully. “Huh. No, I had to stay down a few extra hours. Getting things organized, that kind of stuff. Sorry I made you wait so long.”
Passing out of the exhibit, Quinn entered the gift shop, tucking the yo-yo back into his pocket. He started eyeing the candy bars.
“Love you too, babe. Listen, I got your message. And Yeah, I’ve got someone who’s VERY interested. Fellow collector, you might say. Very connected. Yeah, that’s the guy.”
Picking a Caramilk out of the display, Quinn eyed a small reproduction of a Monet for sale. He stifled a laugh. Small time.
“You let me take care of that, Lara,” he said, ripping the wrapper on his treat. He fumbled with the phone for a second.
“Sorry. Candy bar. Now...talk Buffybot to me.”

EPILOGUE 2
HYPERION HOTEL
“TALK to me! What happened?” Buffybot started feeling very small indeed, there in the cavernous lobby of the Hyperion, with everyone standing around her, staring expectantly. Especially Angel.
Buffybot had said goodbye to Oz an hour earlier, when he’d left to catch up to his band after thanking her profusely for tackling that ‘would-be mugger’ on the street last night. She’d kept mum about the real reasons behind it all...he didn’t seem to remember anything about the wish-event, and neither did anyone else. Only Doyle, so far, had seemed to remember, and was quite deliriously excited at the happy outcome. When Buffybot had asked how he still possessed his memories, he just muttered something about the benefits of being tied to a higher dimensional plane, and that seemed good enough for her. Everything, it seemed, was fine.
Until she got back to the Hotel this morning, and it turned out that Angel, too, remembered everything.
And HE had not kept mum.
“It was an accident,” Buffybot explained, feeling very guilty all of a sudden, “...there was a Vengeance Demon who looked like this pretty young lady, only she WASN’T a...”
“I don’t think I understand,” Fred interrupted, “...what exactly is supposed to have happened?”
“She made a wish,” Angel stated, glaring at Buffybot sternly, hands on hips, “...that changed reality. Turned everyone into robots.”
Suddenly, Fred’s confusion turned to glee. “I was a robot? Really?”
“We all were,” Angel continued, “...what I want to know is, how did it get undone? How’d you do it?”
“I...” Buffybot stammered a little, confused. Why was Angel so MAD, if ending the spell was a good thing? Why did he have to make everything so hard?
“I’m not exactly sure,” she admitted at length, “...but I talked with Miss Markham in a car, and she said...”
“You went to Wolfram and Hart?” Wesley stepped closer, concerned. Indeed, most of the stares in the room took on a very interested shade at that comment, and Buffybot fought off another assault from her emotions.
“No! She found me! She drove up and said she knew about the spell and wanted to help, and she DID! That’s good, right?”
“Wait a minute,” Cordelia added, shaking her head, “...our lady of the evil acquisition just HAPPENED to know about Penelope Pitstop and the magic wish here? Not liking THOSE odds.”
“All right, let’s ease off a minute here,” Gunn offered, stepping in, “...whatever happened, looks like everything’s cool now, and...”
“You turned me into a robot,” Angel finally yelled, “...an EVIL robot! I tried to destroy the world, Gunn got eaten by demons...”
“Whoa!” Gunn raised his hands, turning towards Angel with a start. “Hang on...I get EATEN in this scenario?”
“How come I don’t remember being a robot too?” Fred asked, somewhat insistent, “...was I all shiny?”
“...and I need more information than you’re giving me!”
“Please, stop it!” Buffybot yelled back, emotional buffers at maximum and failing, “...I didn’t MEAN anything. It was an accident!” How come no one was ever on her side anymore? It wasn’t fair...
“Ask and you shall receive,” Doyle said with a smile, appearing beside Buffybot, “...and have I mentioned how great it is to see you walkin’ around again? Cause it’s GREAT.”
“I can’t...”
Buffybot turned, reeling slightly under conflicting emotional messages. Her buffers had taken quite the pounding in the last little while, and the little robot wasn’t sure she could take it anymore. She tried so hard!
“Buff? What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this anymore! They just keep yelling, and I WANT to fit in, but it’s like they think I WANTED to goof up, but I don’t, I really don’t!”
Angel and the others closed in, curiosity starting to take hold. They exchanged nervous looks. “Buffybot?” Fred finally asked, “...who are you talking...”
“Easy doll,” Doyle cautioned, trying to reign in the situation, “...you’re a little upset, I can see that. But just give it some time...”
“But I’ve GIVEN it time!” Buffybot shouted, excess emotional data overriding certain basic command and protocol functions...such as the one that prevented her from speaking to Doyle in public, for example.
“I’ve given, and helped, and I made grilled cheese, and nothing works! They HATE me, Doyle, and they’re your friends and YOU made me come here and...”
Buffybot stopped then, as program violation alarms started sounding and a thought occurred to her, breaking through the emotional storm. Doyle noticed it too, his eyes slowly going wide in dread. He and Buffybot both turned, slowly, back towards the team. They were staring at her rather like she’d gone mad. Except for Angel and Cordelia. They had a different look in their eyes. “...Doyle?”
Cordelia glared, and Angel’s look vacillated sharply between anger and utter confusion. Buffybot offered up a rather pathetic smile in return, as Doyle shifted, quite uncomfortably, in the ether beside her.
“Now, you see,” he began, “...this is EXACTLY the sort of thing I was trying to avoid.”

TO BE CONTINUED...

NEXT EPISODE: Ghost in the Machine!

Files and Records, the bizarre and apparently robotic employee of Wolfram and Hart first and last appeared in the 3rd Season Angel episode DAD.

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