"You idiot!" This rather loud and angry declaration was punctuated with the sound of glass crunching, and a moan of pain. The body that had just decimated a whole set of Austrian glass ornaments, to say nothing of the unit they were housed in, slowly pulled itself up.

Borias had known that letting the slayer live the night before was not going to be taken well, especially since he didn't bring the required blood back with him either, but he hadn't expected to be sent flying across the room. Backhanded yes, flying ten feet, no.

"Master, I am sorry that I have displeased you. Tonight I will bring you the blood of the slayer as an apology." he offered in his most pious voice, grinding his teeth as he imagined the many ways he could kill the slayer. Preferably slowly.

"You honestly think I care about the slayer?" Jerking his head up, he stared at his master in surprise. He's not concerned about the slayer? Schooling his face back into regret, he risked another glance at his master, who was standing staring into space. From the way he was clenching and unclenching his fists, Borias could tell he was a lot more angry than he first thought. Shit.

"You let the blood talk to the charmed ones?" A spark of understanding dawned on Borias. He had heard about the charmed ones once before, many months ago. He knew that they were the only ones his master truly worried about upsetting his plans. In fact he had gone to great lengths to avoid his plans becoming public. Only, Borias was sure he would have remembered meeting them.

"The charmed ones?" He asked, hoping he would be allowed to keep his head. His master turned very slowly, fixing him with glowing red eyes that burned into him. Whenever that gaze was turned on him, he felt like his spine had been removed. This time was no different, and he wished he had not returned to report.

"The sisters. You did realise that they were witches, didn't you?" His voice was entirely to calm. Borias nodded, fearfully. The slayer flying through the air had given that away. "And you know that the charmed ones live here, don't you?" Again, he nodded, and wondered how he had been so stupid not to see it himself. Of course, his blood was up from the fight, and he had still been buzzing from his snack the hour before, he did so love feeding from the drug addicts. So much power. . .

"Master, how can I correct my mistake?" he asked, cowering. And please don't let it be with my life like that idiot child last week. He waited patiently for an answer, and would have sighed in relief if he had to breath when he was rewarded.

"Bring me one of the charmed ones tonight. The one you said was attracted to the slayer." A smile that was all teeth and death was flashed at him. He shuddered. "If you can manage to do this for me, I might consider letting you live." Borias forced a smile of gratitude, and fled the room. He felt the need to kill someone, and knew just the place to go this time of day. . .

* * *

Piper sighed, and packed the last video into her briefcase. Thankfully, no-one had noticed what it was 'the boss' was doing. Too busy cleaning up after the hectic after hours party the night before. At least one good thing had come of last night. A new band headlining their tour from P3, and all the benefits like free publicity that went with it.

Glancing around the office to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, she was startled when the phone rang, breaking the silence. Grunting in annoyance that she was so on edge, she picked up the phone, and answered sweetly.

"P3, Piper Halliwell speaking. How can I help you?" She even managed that all important smile as she said it. When she heard who it was she dropped the false cheer, and sat back on the desk. "Oh hey Phoebe. I just finished getting those tapes together."

**Thanks. No need to rush back though. Faith's asleep, and I don't want to wake her.** Piper rolled her eyes, annoyed that of all the people to get some sleep today, it was her. Of course, she did get thrown around a lot last night, she mused.

"Okay. Have you found anything about the sword?"

**Not really. I just found a picture, which confirms that it is the right sword, and a really weird passage that I was hoping Leo could make sense of.** Piper frowned, lack of progress really sucked sometimes. She glanced at the briefcase, hoping there was something useful on the tapes. It had been Prue's idea to check and see if the vampire had been frequenting the club, or if last night was a one off.

**Speaking of which, where is your husband? I haven't seen him since last night? He doesn't normally go this long without scaring the shit out of me.** Piper smiled, thinking of Leo and his habit of orbing in behind her youngest sibling and tapping her on the shoulder. One of these days one of them was going to get hurt. And as much as she loved her husband, she had a funny feeling he would be the one hurt.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him either." She shrugged, wondering what battles he was fighting today. A knock at the door broke her train of thought. Covering the phone with one hand, she called for the person to come in. The door opened to reveal the head barman holding the stock sheets. She waved for him to come in. "I'll be round as soon as I can. Bye Phoebe." Without waiting for an answer, Piper hung up the phone and got down to the business of running a bar.

* * *

By six o'clock, everyone was home from their respective jobs, and were sitting around the dinner table, talking.

"So he's been to the club four times in the last week?" Piper asked. Phoebe nodded.

"Yes. And he left each time with a different woman."

"So he'll probably turn up again tonight?"

"We think so." Faith ignored the conversation, preferring to concentrate on her food.

"Great. So when he turns up again tonight, we grab him, and find out what he's up to." Faith snorted on hearing that plan.

"Do you have a problem with the plan?" She looked up to see Prue glaring at her. Apparently she wasn't used to people disagreeing with her plans.

"How do plan on grabbing him?"

"I thought you would do that." Faith rolled her eyes.

"In case you've forgotten, he kicked my ass last time we went head to head." She smiled icily. "Why don't you fight him?"

"You're the slayer. Isn't this your job? Or are you scared he might beat you?" Prue returned.

"I'm not scared of one measly little vampire. The question is, are you?" Prue narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not scared of him." she said forcefully.

"Then why don't you fight him?" Faith asked sweetly. "You certainly have the power. Unless of course you don't think you can take someone in a straight fight." She asked innocently, knowing she really shouldn't be doing this, after all the witches were on her side. She couldn't resist though. Prue shot out of her chair, quickly followed by Faith. The other two occupants of the room watched avidly, not sure what to do.

"I could take you."

"Really. You think you could take me." Faith looked her up and down, her disdainment showing clearly on her face as she sneered. "You aren't even worth the effort." They probably would have come to blows if Leo didn't choose that moment to orb in, bearing a large bunch of flowers and a cheesy smile. It quickly faltered when he took in the scene around the kitchen table.

Everyone was staring at Faith, presumably wondering what her reaction was going to be to this somewhat unconventional interruption. As it was she barely glanced at him, more to acknowledge his presence than anything else. She was to angry to be startled. He didn't feel like a threat to her senses, and everyone else's lack of reaction told her he was a regular, so she just scowled once more at Prue.

"I'll do the fighting for you. Just make sure when you back me up, it's him you attack." With that she sat back down, and started eyeballing the new arrival. The urge to fight had left as soon as it had arrived, and now she just felt empty. She was starting to reconsider ever leaving the road. It was so much easier when you were alone.

The new arrival was looking between her and Prue, still holding the flowers. He looked over at Piper, who just smiled weakly.

"Did I come at a bad time?" He asked, finally breaking the stony silence that had descended. Piper sighed.

* * *

Phoebe tossed another pair of pants at the slayer. They were changing into more appropriate club attire, and Phoebe was taking full advantage of the moment, throwing all sorts of clothes at the slayer. She had laughed when the first thing she had suggested was a small pink summer dress, and Faith had adamantly refused, although she had refused to say why she felt so strongly about it.

Faith crowed with pleasure when she tried on the black, form fitting leather pants. From the look on her face, and the way the leather hugged the skin, Phoebe knew that they had found one part of the outfit. Watching Faith show off in front of the mirror, a lecherous grin on her face, she missed what Faith said.

"Pardon?" Faith grinned, a knowing look in her eyes as she repeated her question.

"Are you going to pass me that top in your hands or are you going to stand there drooling all night?" Phoebe blushed, but threw the top at her anyway.

"Can I help it if you stand there looking almost illegal in those pants?" she replied, turning her back when Faith stripped off the t-shirt she had been wearing. Girls not shy, she thought, occupying herself with picking out an equally sexy outfit for herself. Having armed herself with a classically elegant black dress that she knew hugged all the right curves, she turned back to face Faith.

"So is Leo going to be joining us tonight?" Faith asked, discarding the top and trying on another one.

"Not sure. He said he was going to check out that weird passage I showed him earlier. Before I could ask him anything he orbed out." Phoebe sighed as another top was thrown away. Was she ever going to settle on something to wear?

"So that's a maybe?" Phoebe nodded, and was pleasantly surprised when Faith didn't discard the top. Of course, it the tight leopard print top did look good on her, she mused looking Faith over. In fact, it looked better on the slayer than it did on her. Something to do with all the cleavage she thought to herself, then shook her head and reminded herself why they were going to the club.

"Ready to go to work?"

"Just try and stop me." Faith replied cockily. Phoebe rolled her eyes and grabbed her hand.

"You know, you have to dance with me at least once tonight." she remarked. Faith immediately protested.

"Nuh-uh. I saw you dance last night, remember?" Phoebe pouted.

"Just one dance?" Faith continued to shake her head as she was pulled down the stairs. Phoebe stopped, and pinned her to the staircase, moving in so that their bodies were nearly touching. Being that close to the slayer was intoxicating. "Please?"

Faith slowly licked her lips, and opened her mouth to reply. When nothing came out, she settled for nodding. Phoebe smiled, and immediately backed away.

"Good." Was all she said, before bouncing away and leaving a puddle of slayer in her wake. Oh yeah, tonight's gonna be fun!

* * *

Borias smiled as he saw the witches, plus one slayer enter the club. He checked to make sure he had his knife, then swung himself down to the ground. Waiting until a group of partyers approached, he slid out of the shadows and joined them. No-one even noticed, and the bouncer just waved him through.

He patted his knife again reflexively once he was through the door, and looked around the relatively quiet club. He spotted the group he was after in the corner, and shifted so that he was out of view. He smiled again as he imagined all he was going to do to the witch, and how he was going to present her head on a platter to his master. Tonight was going to be fun!

*****
Part 4:

Faith felt him as soon as he entered, just behind them, but kept up the pretence. As soon as the sisters were seated around the table, she leapt up and announced that she was going to dance. And before anyone could lecture her, she moved to the middle of the dancefloor, closed her eyes and started to move.

Caught up in the beat of the song, she felt people moving in closer, brushing up next to her. It was so easy to attract people. Just ignore them, concentrate on yourself and they'll always come, whether you want them to or not she had found. When she had a sufficient crowd around her, she opened her eyes and started looking for the vampire.

Ignoring when some guy grabbed her ass, just shoving him away and glaring pointedly, she managed to get a good look around the club. She didn't find him, but she feel him, sensed his eyes on her. Shit. Damn bastard was hiding from her. She scowled, and stormed off. She hated it when people played with her. Back at the table she grabbed her drink and downed it before speaking.

"He's here. Hiding. Damn bastards playing with us." she announced darkly, eyes focused on her surroundings. She was starting to get uneasy about the situation. Why was he hiding from them? What did he know? What was he doing here?

"How do you know he's here?" Piper asked, confused. Stupid witch. Faith waved her hand about uncertainly.

"I can feel him. He's here."

"What should we do now?" Phoebe asked. Faith shrugged.

"Wait for him to make the first move. I don't want to risk anything here. It's too crowded." Good god, what was wrong with her? She never gave a shit about that before. She was turning into Buffy. Tightening her jaw she put her shot glass down. "I'm going to get another drink." she said tersely, and moved off, eyes always hunting for her target.

* * *

Phoebe watched as Faith moved off, wondering what was wrong. She'd been watching her closely, actually if she was honest she hadn't been able to take her eyes off her. She'd missed the entire conversation that went on around her when Faith was dancing. From the looks she'd caught from both sisters out of the corners of her eyes, she was quite sure she didn't want to know either.

Making a decision, she finished her own drink, and moved after her. Catching up with slayer at the bar she touched her on the shoulder to get her attention. Faith flinched, ever so slightly, but turned and smiled at her anyway. Phoebe returned the smile, her heart melting at the sight of Faith's quirky little grin aimed at her.

"Sorry for running off like that." Faith apologised, but Phoebe shook her head.

"I just wondered when you wanted that dance?" Faith hiked an eyebrow, and paused before answering.

"How about right now?" she suggested, moving in closer and whispering in Phoebe's ear seductively. Phoebe swallowed thickly, a little surprised that the slayer had answered so quickly. Aren't I supposed to be in charge? she asked herself belatedly.

"How about after I get back from the bathroom?" Phoebe forced out. Pulling back, she saw a flicker of rejection in Faith's eyes, which she quickly felt guilty for. Grabbing her hand, she squeezed it gently. "I wont be five minutes." she said, before impulsively leaning over and kissing Faith full on the lips. A fleeting contact, just a second but still electrifying. Pulling away she registered surprise and happiness.

Walking away, she couldn't stop the grin appearing on her own face. Oh my god. I can't believe I just did that! she thought, her thoughts a mess. Catching site of two very shocked Halliwell's staring at her, mouths somewhere around their knees, she laughed giddily. Well, Prue's gonna love this, she thought, before disappearing into the surprisingly empty corridor that led to the bathrooms.

In her distracted state she missed the shadow that detached itself from the others and come gliding up behind her. She didn't miss the cold hand on her mouth, or the sharp point digging into her side that could only be a knife. A low deep voice registered, whispering promises of a painful death before the knife was taken away, and a blow to the back of her head. The world went black.

* * *

Faith turned around and indicated that she wanted another drink. The girl serving her smirked, but filled it up again for her. Ignoring the smirk, she took this drink and walked away, determined to drink it more slowly. She almost went back to the table, but seeing the looks of shock, and the added glare from Prue, she changed her mind, and moved closer to the bathrooms.

Unaware of the downright goofy grin on her face, she observed the dancefloor, allowing her mind free reign on the possible outcomes of the night. Not surprisingly, they all involved either a bed, a shower, a kitchen table, a cab? That was new. Not something she'd ever actually tried before, but thinking about it, maybe not so bad. If Phoebe kept up her act, she just might not have a choice in it.

Caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice how much time had passed until suddenly she realised that the song had changed to something faster and harder, and the drink in her hand was finished. Frowning, she looked around. At least ten minutes had passed, and Phoebe was nowhere in sight.

Had she changed her mind? Faith tossed that thought out on it's ears as soon as she had it. Phoebe was the one who started this, why back out now? Besides, she didn't seem the type to back out halfway. Faith's sense of uneasiness grew, and she realised with a start that she didn't feel the presence of the vampire anymore either.

"Oh fuck me." Knowing instinctively what had happened she started pushing her way through the crowd to find Piper and Prue. Ignoring the annoyed noises behind her she stormed up to the table.

"Phoebe's gone. So's the vamp."

* * *

Leo stared at his superior in shock. Not quite able to believe what he'd heard.

"Are you sure that's what the passage says?" He asked, then immediately winced that the look on his superiors face. Yes, that's what the passage says. Yes it sucks and yes you have to deal with it, the look seemed to say.

"Quite sure." He answered simply. Leo nodded weakly, then looked down at the translation again, reading it to make sure he'd read it correctly the first seven times.

After seven thousand years the dark one will come again
His strength will make us young once more
The blood will run deep and pure,
from the hearts of the tainted and the minds of the innocent
He shall drink deeply of this nectar
And darkness will come again
And we will have our world back
Forever

Nope, still hadn't changed. A vampire prophecy, lost for over five thousand years. And only a few days before it came true, and light lost against dark forever. He gulped, and looked back at his superior, who had a pitying look in his eyes.

"And they are the only ones who can stop this from happening?" A simple nod was his answer.

"Good luck." It was that was left to say, and with a quick nod, Leo centred himself, and made an attempt to look calm before orbing back to his wife to tell her the bad news. It was up to her and her sisters to avert another apocalypse.

*****
Part 5:

Borias smiled tightly as he dropped the unconscious witch to the floor of the warehouse. He had found it last week, and had already used it several times for 'entertaining' some guests. There was still some blood on the table from the last time. Checking that the witch was still unconscious, he slowly started preparing his equipment. His master wanted her dead, so she would die. Just not any time soon.

* * *

Faith stared into space blankly, jaw tight. Behind her she could hear the Halliwell's arguing about what to do. She could hear the fear underlying the exchange, and sympathised. She was feeling it too, along with not a little bit of anger at herself. She couldn't believe that she'd let him grab Phoebe.

"Why didn't you stop him?" Prue asked suddenly, getting in Faith's face. She met the accusing gaze evenly.

"I didn't see him." she answered coldly, resisting the urge to send her flying across the room. That wouldn't help. Course, it would make her feel better.

"So instead of grabbing him, like you were supposed to, you let him grab Phoebe." Faith growled, and barely managed to stop herself from smacking the witch. She did however take a step forward, fists clenched and what must have been a threatening look on her face, because Prue seemed to deflate in front of her, and stepped back hurriedly.

"I didn't let him do anything. And believe me, when I find him he'll wish he never had. For the five minutes I might let him live that is." she added as an afterthought. Letting out a frustrated sigh and running a hand through her hair, she forced herself to calm down. This doesn't get you anywhere! she reminded herself, before getting her emotions back under control.

"Look, this pointless arguing doesn't help Phoebe. What we have to do now is work together to find her and set her free." Piper spoke from the other side of the room in the calmest voice she possessed. Buffy would have loved this one she thought to herself, surprised that there wasn't more malice in the thought. Pointedly staring at Prue, who eventually nodded, and then at Faith, looking at her like her watcher used to. Faith nodded grimly.

"How do we find her? This is a pretty big city." she pointed out. Piper smiled.

"If I can't trace my baby sisters location I don't deserve to be a witch." she said confidently, smiling broadly for the first time since Faith had met her. Faith grinned, thinking that maybe things weren't so bad after all.

* * *

Leo orbed into the kitchen, his favourite location in the Halliwell house after his bedroom, he was much more likely to frighten someone here. He was rewarded when Prue choked on the coffee she was drinking. The young slayer Faith merely glanced at him, tipping her head slightly in a subtle greeting. He smiled, immediately picking up on the tension in the room. It was rolling off everyone in waves.

"Where's Phoebe? I have something to tell you all." he asked, glancing around for his most troublesome charge. He saw everyone tense at his question, and noticed for the first time how stressed they all looked. Piper was standing at the table, absently fiddling with her keys, Prue's jaw kept tightening, and she was shooting looks at Faith, who was standing stiffly in the corner, looking around the kitchen distractedly. It didn't take a genius to figure what had happened.

"We don't know where she is. She was kidnapped a couple hours ago?" Leo narrowed his eyes. He loved Phoebe, and really didn't want anything to happen to her.

"Who took her?"

"Vamp." Faith offered, sounding bored. Prue shot the slayer another venomous look, which she ignored.

"What happened?" he asked, eyeing Prue and Faith, slightly confused by what was going on between them. He hadn't known Prue to so intensely dislike someone so quickly before. Especially when they hadn't actually done anything wrong. Prue opened her mouth to speak, but Piper jumped in first, cutting her off.

"She went to the bathroom. It was only when she didn't come back that we realised what had happened. We never even saw the vampire." she explained hurriedly. Leo raised his eyebrow and looked at his wife, who just shrugged, and offered him a crooked smile, which he instantly returned.

"So we don't actually know that he took her?" he clarified. Faith spoke up again.

"It was him." her tone brooked no argument. Leo took the news, mind already working hard. He saw that they had the map out on the table, and knew what they were doing. He nodded towards it, speaking.

"Do you have a location yet?" Both sisters shook their head.

"Not yet." Leo frowned, usually they were quite good at this. Of course, they usually had Phoebe's help.

"Well keep trying." he said, ignoring the look they shot him, and turned his attention back to the slayer, who was now eyeing him suspiciously.

"What was it you wanted to tell them?" she asked, and he suddenly remembered the reason he came down in the first place. Clearing his throat, he organised his thoughts.

"Yes, well. The sword that Phoebe saw in her premonition," Faith winced slightly, but it went unnoticed by the other occupants of the room. " is part of a prophecy to bring forth an apocalypse."

"I've never heard of any prophecy involving a 'sword of darkness'" Piper said uncertainly.

"Yes, well you wouldn't have. It's a vampire prophecy, over seven thousand years old. It speaks of a 'dark one', who will come and restore vampires to strength." He pulled out the translation, and read it aloud for everyone. When he was finished he studied them for their reactions. Piper and Prue both exchanged worried glances, before looking back at Faith.

"Have you ever heard of this prophecy?" Piper asked. Faith shrugged.

"Book learning not really my thing, you know?" Prue snorted and muttered something under her breath. Leo couldn't hear what it was she said, but could tell it was quite rude. Faith glared at Prue venomously, and Leo realised that her hearing was better than a normal mortals, and that she probably had heard whatever it was Prue had said. Turning piercing brown eyes back onto him, she spoke.

"Do you know how to stop the prophecy?" Leo shook his head. "Any idea how to stop it from taking place?" Again, Leo had to shake his head. "Well, do you have any information for us, apart from the translation?" she asked, obviously getting more pissed off. When Leo had to answer in the negative again she swore quite colourfully.

"Do you have any ideas on how to stop the prophecy?" Piper asked, again stepping in to mediate, for which Leo was thankful.

"Stop him from getting the blood he needs to drink." Prue offered, finally breaking the thoughtful silence. Leo was just coming to the same conclusion. Faith nodded.

"Yeah. That'll stop him from getting the ritual started. If we can stop that, we can probably kill the 'dark one' real easy." she said, nodding to herself, and ignoring the incredulous looks Prue was giving her. Leo was quite amazed that Faith was agreeing with Prue, and he wasn't the only one. Shaking his head, and hiding a smile, he took charge of the situation.

"Okay, well why don't we concentrate on finding Phoebe. Prue, Piper, you continue with that, Faith, why don't you change your top onto something warmer. Who knows where Phoebe is." Faith blushed, and looked down.

"I, ah, don't have any clothes of my own." she admitted, mumbling to her own boots. Leo did a double take, then continued gently, picking up on the slayers obvious discomfort.

"I'm sure Phoebe has something you can borrow, and I know for a fact she won't mind. She likes any excuse to go shopping." he joked lightly, smiling encouragingly. He was rewarded with a tentative shrug coupled with a lazy 'whatever' before Faith moved off to change.

* * *

Phoebe woke up to the sound of a blade being sharpened. Keeping silent, trying to remember what had happened she cautiously opened one eye and glanced around. Wherever she was, it was dark. The only light came from an old hurricane lamp five feet to her left, on top of a crate.

She was chained to floor, feet manacled to a ring on the ground, and her arms chained up above her head. Looking around a little more she saw that the room she was in was really the floor of a warehouse. An empty warehouse that looked like it was about ready to collapse on itself.

Biting back a groan of pain, she tried to look for the source of the noise, but couldn't crane her head far enough round without experiencing waves of blinding pain. Slowly it came back to her. She had been in the club, heading to the bathroom for a minute to freshen up and get herself ready for a dance with Faith. It was only a dance, but her legs had been turned to jelly at the fleeting kiss, and she needed some space or she was sure her legs were going to give out.

Unable to stop herself smiling as she remembered the astonished look in Faith's eyes after the kiss, she also remembered the blow from behind that had knocked her out. She realised that unless she had pissed of someone in her psychology class again, it was probably the vampire they had been searching for. Suddenly the noise stopped, and she gulped, craning her head around again as much as she was able. A young man stepped into view, smiling warmly. He was dressed casually in black jeans and a tight black t-shirt that showed off his six pack and well developed chest admirably, and she was almost taken in, until she got a good look at his eyes. There was no emotion.

Still, she attempted to smile back, although she suspected it was rather watery. "Hi." He continued to smile warmly at her.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up. I was starting to worry that I had hit you too hard." He paused, frowning slightly. Shaking his head, he continued. "But you are awake now." He stopped again, and Phoebe unconsciously squirmed under his gaze.

When he didn't say anything for a long time, she started to get scared, well, even more scared than she already was. Eventually she broke the silence, unable to lie there any longer with him just staring at her.

"What do you want?" she asked, in a much weaker voice than she would have liked. He grinned, along his mouth to fall open and for her to see his fangs, She shivered when he spoke.

"Your pretty little head on a platter for my master." He laughed when he saw Phoebe tremble. "Don't worry. We're going to have a little fun first." He suddenly strode back out of sight. There were the sounds of chains knocking against each other, and with a jerk, Phoebe was being pulled up.

Her arms were not manacled to the floor after all, but obviously to a pulley attached to the ceiling. He stopped when she was fully standing. Thankfully there was enough slack for her to rest her weight on her feet. She had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't allow that luxury long. He was just getting started.

Twisting around to see him, she caught a glimpse of a tray winking at her. Light was reflecting off of a hundred shiny implements, and suddenly Phoebe didn't want to look anymore. She shut her eyes, and thought only of her sisters and Faith, willing herself not to cry out when the first blow landed.

*****
Epilogue:

Faith paced the floor of Phoebe's bedroom restlessly. She'd swapped the leopard print top for a long sleeve black shirt she'd found lurking at the back. Given the rest of the wardrobe, Faith would've bet good money Phoebe didn't even know she had it anymore. But fashion wasn't on her mind right now. She had a really bad feeling that if they didn't find Phoebe soon. . .

"Come on girl, get a grip." she muttered, glancing at herself in the mirror. A determined face looked back at her, undermined only by the hint of fear in her eyes. She would go to hell and back before admitting to anyone that she was scared, but she was. Not just for Phoebe, but because the prophecy didn't exactly sound like a trip to the fair either.

"Just another apocalypse huh? No biggie, you've done it before." she told herself. A shadow at the door shifted, and Leo entered the room. She wondered how long he'd been standing there, and glared menacingly.

"When was the last time you stopped an apocalypse?" he asked. Faith shrugged.

"Couple years ago I helped stop the hellmouth from opening." Boy that was one fun night. Introduce Xander to the pleasures of the flesh, and follow it up with a big scary monster that came damn close to eating her arm. Shaking her head, she shrugged. "Have you ever stopped the end of the world before?" God, this was a surreal conversation, even for her. Chatting casually about stopping the end of the world.

"Not directly. The sisters have. They stopped Armageddon." Faith's eyebrow hit her hairline.

"Armageddon? The real one? Like the four horsemen?" She tried to keep the disbelief out of her voice. She didn't succeed. Leo grinned, but a triumphant shout from downstairs stopped him from speaking. They stared at each other for a second, before heading downstairs, Faith taking them two at a time in her haste. At the bottom of the stairs Piper was pulling on her jacket. She grinned broadly.

"We have her location." she announced.

* * *

Borias hummed an old drinking song as he waited for the witch to wake up. He smiled, looking over the bruised body hanging limply in front of him. She had tried not to scream, in fact she had done quite well. It wasn't often that they managed to stay silent for so long. But just like all the others he had tortured, she had ended up howling.

He was a little disappointed that she had fainted so quickly, but was looking forward to trying out his knifes on her. He had a suspicion that her blood would taste quite nice. He smiled again, and continued to hum the bawdy tune, playing with the knife he would use first.

* * *

Faith clung to her stake grimly, silently urging the jeep faster, wishing she were the one driving instead of Prue. Although, she had to admit, she handled the jeep like a born race car driver. She smiled as Prue nearly sideswiped a Lexus, causing Piper to shriek and clutch the dashboard.

"I'll say this for you. At least you can drive." she said, chuckling as Prue just stepped on the gas a little harder. Despite her outwardly calm and relaxed attitude, inside she was nervous as a girl on her first date. Not that she'd ever been on a date, not a real one, but she imagined that she'd feel this nervous. Five minutes later Prue turned off onto a sidestreet, and they started winding their way through a decidedly seedier part of town.

"Prime vamp real estate." Faith said, frowning. That nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach wasn't getting any better. It was a long ten minutes later that they finally stopped. Leaping out of the car almost before it had stopped, Faith stood for a minute, reaching out with her senses. She heard the others leave the car, but ignored them.

"C'mon you bastard. Where are you?" she muttered, turning around. For a second her senses went nuts, and she smiled, opening her eyes. A dirty, run down factory, boarded up was in front of her. "He's in there." Glancing up, she saw a fire escape hanging down. Well there's my meal ticket, she thought to herself. "I'm going up there." she said, pointing up.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Piper asked. Faith shrugged.

"Wait five minutes, then bust in the door. I should have him distracted by then. You guys get Phoebe out." Without waiting to see if they agreed, Faith jumped up and snagged the bottom rung. Pulling herself up with grace she didn't know she possessed, it was only a minute later she was prising off a loose board from a window.

Once she had created a hole big enough, she slipped inside. What she saw made her heart freeze. Phoebe was suspended from the ceiling, moaning in pain. Her body was covered in bruises and shallow cuts. Standing not more than five feet from her, the vampire was concentrating on a tray.

Swallowing thickly, she realised that the tray was full of knifes, and other things that were commonly used for torture. She should know, she'd seen it done often enough when working for the boss. Realising that she had only a few minutes left before the sisters came in, she made her way across the walkway, planning on dropping down as soon as she was over them.

She was almost there when she saw him plunge a knife into Phoebe's leg, and Phoebe let loose with a scream.

* * *

Standing outside, arguing quietly, Prue and Piper were never the less, waiting the five minutes that Faith had asked. And Prue probably would have managed to wait that long, until a scream interrupted the conversation. Looking at each other for a second, both sisters thinking the same thing, Prue promptly turned around and forced the door open, charging in, eyes blazing. What she was made her stop short.

Her baby sister was hanging naked from a set of chains, covered in blood and bruises. A knife was sticking out of her left thigh. And Faith was kicking the vampire responsible half way across the warehouse floor. As soon as he landed, she charged him again, and proceeded to kick seven shades of hell out of him. Prue got a look at her face, and shuddered at the rage there.

"Prue, get her down." A voice broke into her trance, and she blinked, before doing as asked. As gently as possible, she lowered Phoebe to the ground. Leo ran over, closely followed by a white Piper and a shaky Prue. He cradled her head in his lap, looking over her body clinically.

"Is she going to be okay?" Prue asked fearfully. Leo nodded slowly, frowning.

"I can heal her." He said, and proceeded to do just that. Piper stripped off her jacket and wrapped it around the barely conscious form of her sister. Glancing at Faith, who was still beating the vampire, he picked Phoebe up, holding her close to him.

"You should get Faith. We need to get Phoebe home." He ordered briskly, hurrying out to the car, followed by a still shockingly pale Piper. Prue nodded, and cautiously approached the enraged slayer. She was a little leery of stopping her, after all, she wished she was doing the exact same thing, but they really did have to get out of here.

"Faith." she called out. The brunette ignored her, pounding a bashed and bloody mess of a face over and over. Louder, she tried again. "Faith." When there was still no response, Prue set her shoulders, and reached out to tap Faith on the shoulder. When she did, Faith whirled around, almost lashing out, but stopping herself when she saw who it was.

"We need to get out of here." she said, a little afraid that Faith was going to hurt her. Without saying anything, she turned around, pulled her stake out of the waistband of her jeans, and plunged it into his chest. He exploded into dust, and stood up and stalked away. Prue stared at the dust for a second, then turned and followed her.

* * *

Still shaking with rage and fear, Faith waited outside for Prue to come out. She couldn't believe what had just happened. I just fucking lost it, she thought to herself, playing Phoebe's scream over and over in her head. When she'd heard that, she had just snapped, leaping down and pulling him off before he could even remove the knife.

She had only meant to hit him once, to stun him so she could stake him with a minimum of fuss, but as soon as she had let loose with the first blow, she just carried on, hardly aware of what she was doing, just seeing Phoebe, battered in her head. It had felt good, cutting loose on him, and that was what scared her the most.

Prue followed her out, and they both climbed into the jeep, Faith in the front since Leo, Piper and Phoebe were taking up the back seat. Almost afraid to look at her, she was surprised to see that Phoebe looked fine. Baffled, she looked up at Leo, knowing instinctively he was responsible.

"How. . ." she trailed off as he smiled tiredly.

"Little skill of mine. Heal all. She's going to be fine." Faith nodded, and looked back down at Phoebe's face, taking in the tired lines that marred her sleep. Her body might be fine, but what about her mind? she thought to herself, knowing that while the physical scars might be gone, the mental ones were still there.

"I hope that's true." she whispered, reaching out a hand to stroke her cheek tenderly, suddenly not giving a damn what the sisters thought. The car was silent on the trip back to the Halliwell house, and the mood was sombre. Faith kept looking back to check on Phoebe every two minutes, just to confirm that she really was okay.

When they finally got back to the house, she jumped out from the car and opened the back door. Reaching out her arms to take Phoebe, she looked squarely at Leo.

"Let me take her." After a moment hesitation, he nodded, and passed her over. Faith held her close, cradling the sleeping witch to her chest. I hope you're okay, she thought to herself, wondering what she was dreaming about. Silently, she followed everyone inside.

"I'm going to put her to bed. Don't disturb us." she ordered. Seeing the confused looks on their faces, she explained. "I want to be there when she wakes up. She's going to need a friendly face." Slowly, they all nodded, and separated to let her pass.

Once Phoebe was tucked in, Faith kicked off her boots, and lay on top of the sheets next to her, placing a protective hand over her midsection. Slowly she drifted off the sleep, the events of the past few days catching up with her.

* * *

Sitting around the kitchen table, sipping coffee, Leo broke the uneasy silence.

"She's going to be okay."

"Of course she is." Piper said hurriedly, although she didn't sound convinced. Prue shook her head.

"She will be. Especially if Faith helps her." Leo looked at Prue, surprised. She smiled when she caught sight of his face. "I still don't like her, but there's no denying that she cares about Phoebe. And that Phoebe cares about her." She sipped her coffee slowly. "I just hope that's enough." Leo nodded, once again surprised by the reactions his favourite charges had to their situations.

He sent up a prayed that Phoebe really would be okay.

* * *

Phoebe woke up to find Faith snuggled up against her side, one arm holding her close, and her face nuzzled into her neck. She smiled, and shifted so that she was closer to Faith. The events of the past twenty four hours ran through her mind, but somehow they didn't seem so bad considering how she had woken up. Faith shifted, pulling back her head. Sleepy but concerned brown eyes peered up at her.

"Go back to sleep. I got you." she murmured. Phoebe smiled.

"Always?"

"Always." Faith confirmed, kissing her gently on the cheek, before nuzzling in again. "Now go back to sleep." And smiling, Phoebe did just that.

* * *

Somewhere in the city, an enraged warlock destroyed another table, seething quietly. As the crystal shattered, and collapsed, he promised to himself that he would have the charmed one's heads on sticks.

~fin~