| Part three - The moment I wake up She could smell the too clean hospital smell and hear the beep of the heart monitor. Willow looked around and found herself in a room she had only been in once before to give Buffy moral support as she visited the girl she had put in a coma. Faith was lying where she had before in a bed in the centre of the room. She was hooked up to an IV and dressed in a hospital gown. Her skin was very pale. When she had gone before she had expected any moment Faith�s eyes to snap open and for her to attack them. She hadn�t of course and the visit had been disturbing and unsatisfying. At the time she had been angry that Faith was giving Buffy another thing to brood about along with Angel leaving and upcoming university. Now Faith�s eyes were open. She was gradually pulling herself up and looking around. She first took in the bed she was lying in and the IV in her arm then she turned and saw Willow. Thoughts had been running through Willows mind at breakneck speed. She felt like she had made a connection to Faith and saw her completely differently from how she had. She had always known that Faith had some bad breaks but now understood it in her gut. Willow walked forward till she was right by the side of the bed. She smiled at Faith and put her hand on the slayers arm. Faith just looked confused and disoriented. �What�s going on here, Red?� Willow knew that there was no real way to avoid answering questions like that in a way that wouldn�t make Faith mad. She was acutely aware that there was nobody coming to protect her and if Faith decided she didn�t like what Willow was saying she could kill her as easily as breathing, even newly awakened from a coma. She sat down on the bed facing Faith. �You�ve been in a coma.� Faith�s eyes seemed to lose focus for a second as she took this in. �How long?� �Six months.� Willow was hoping that Faith would respond best to the open approach. She needed Faith to trust her and feel like she was a friend. �Since you�re here with me I assume the boss is dead.� �I�m afraid so. He turned into a snake at graduation but we beat him.� �Good for you.� Faith said it without anger just with a sad bleakness. Willow realised that the Mayor had been the only semblance of normality in her life. In a way he had given her life meaning. Now he was gone. Willow herself had helped kill him. Every new thought like this made Willow realise how likely it was that Faith could see her as an enemy. �Faith, do you remember any of your dreams while you were sleeping?� �In a coma.� �Yeah, in a coma. Do you?� Faith looked at her like she was crazy. �Your pal Buffy put me in a coma for six months and you�re asking me how my dreams were. Strangely enough they were about this blonde self-righteous chick gutting me repeatedly. Oh that and some stuff with a tunnel and a cigar. Do you think that might have some deep hidden meaning? Come on, you were always a big brain. Tell me, what does that mean?� Faith�s face was inches from Willows now. She wasn�t shouting but she was spitting the words out angrily. Willow replied calmly and quietly. �I think that the woman who was hurting you turned out to be you. I think that you woke up when you defeated her. I think that I was right there in your dreams when it happened.� Faith was still looking at her like she was crazy but there was doubt in her eyes too. �What do you mean you were in my dream?� �I got trapped in dreams. The only way out was to go into your dreams and help you resolve whatever was keeping you asleep. I was with you when you were chased by Kakistos, when you saw your watcher murdered, when Buffy stabbed you. I was with you all the time.� �If you were in my head and saw what I�ve done then why are you still in this room with me.� Faith seethed with anger and self-loathing and as she spoke she moved forwards until Willow was bent backwards. �Because I saw why you did them, I saw what was done to you. I used to hate you for everything that you had done and now I don�t. Now I want to help you.� Faith had an urge to run. To get out of Sunnydale, start fresh or maybe just go after B� and make her suffer but although the rage seemed to fill her up satisfying it wouldn�t make her happy. Willow wanted to help her though, make her happy. Willow thought she was worth it. Faith�s head was in turmoil, her thoughts were pandemonium but that stuck at the centre of her inner debate. Willow, who she had abused and hurt, had seen inside her. She had gotten under Faith�s skin in a way nobody had before. Faith realised that she desperately wanted someone who understood her. She had thought that Buffy could but that had never happened and now Willow did. She couldn�t walk away from that. She looked into Willow�s eyes searching for any trap or deceit, anything that might show she was being played or mocked but she couldn�t help but smile as all she saw was honesty, friendship and possibly a hint of attraction. Willow grinned back at Faith. She knew that Faith wouldn�t be redeemed overnight and there would be definite problems but the first step had been taken. * * * * * Matthew the raven waited by the cave until he saw the life drain from the dream. It was still there but it was now a discarded dream. What was left when a dreamer awakened. He took off and flew back to the castle of dream. He landed on the chair that Willow had sat in. Dream was exactly where he had been sitting in the marble chair. �Seemed like a nice kid.� Morpheus turned to look at him. �Yes. She did.� �Boss, I�ve gotta ask, why did you send her into that slayers dreams?� �Because she needed it.� �But you could have just sent her back, I�ve seen you do it.� �I could have sent Willow back to her world yes, but I wasn�t talking about her.� �You mean Faith needed it? But you put Willow in danger.� This clearly perturbed Morpheus. Matthew knew his boss was one for brooding but he wanted an answer so he waited while Morpheus considered. �Willow would have been just as much in danger when Faith awoke on her own. The slayer needed someone else to understand her. She wasn�t capable of changing on her own.� �So you think it all worked out in the end then, boss?� Morpheus waved his hand and a mirror appeared showing Faith�s hospital room. They saw the two girls hugging each other. Tears were running down Faith�s cheeks. �I believe things have resolved themselves satisfactorily for now.� Part Four - Dreaming my dreams of you Giles didn�t often drink while Buffy was there but he felt the need for something to numb his mind. He had been trapped in his own nightmares when Willow had been taken. He had came to and found Buffy sobbing and clutching onto the talisman the witch had been using. It had only taken a few choked words from Buffy to confirm his initial fears. At first he had been most concerned with comforting Buffy. It was a while before he had allowed himself the luxury of letting his own grief out. Xander had taken it badly. He had gone virtually catatonic and obviously blamed himself for not protecting her. Anya had taken him away obviously expecting him to cheer up once she got him alone. They all blamed themselves for what had happened though and there was no comfort. Now it was hours later and Buffy was sitting on his couch staring off into the distance with a stone cold cup of tea in her hands. Giles kept almost saying things to try and make things a little better but for the life of him there was nothing he could say. There was nothing he could say. Buffy was his slayer, his main responsibility but he felt responsible for all of them and he couldn�t help but take the loss hard. There was a timid knock at the door. He didn�t get up. He suspected it was Xander, tired of Anya not understanding his feelings and wanting to share his miseries. Giles heard the door swing open but he didn�t look round. �Hey, guys, miss me?� Buffy and Giles stood up and turned around in a split second. Buffy�s cold tea was dropped and splattered everywhere but was unnoticed. Willow was standing there. She was wearing the same clothes that she had been wearing and although they were ripped and dirty and she was obviously exhausted, she was alive and unhurt. Giles simply stood and stared at her in amazement but Buffy moved the instance she saw Willow. Vaulting over the couch she ran to her friend and grabbed her in a bone crunching hug. Willow made a slight noise as she fought for air and Buffy released her and stepped back. Willow opened her mouth to speak but Buffy hugged her tightly again and then moved back only a little to look at Willow. She seemed to Giles to be examining her to make sure that she was the same Willow she remembered and not some cunningly disguised demon. Willow smiled a little unsurely. �You guys really did miss me. How long was I gone for?� Giles stepped forward. �Willow, we thought you were dead. We thought that demon had taken you. It can�t have been more than five hours ago.� �Five hours? It felt much longer.� �Willow what happened? Where were you?� It was the first thing Buffy had said. The words sounded slightly choked like she was trying to hold back tears still. �Well before I answer that, there�s somebody waiting outside and I don�t want you to leap to any conclusions or do anything rash just give her a chance.� Giles paused for a moment to understand the sentence and then asked. �Who is it?� Willow walked to the door and opened it and standing in the doorway, very much awake was Faith. Giles thought perversely that awake was not a verb that would be useful in describing most people but since Faith had been in a coma for six months it was kind of important. He had visited her occasionally at first but his visits had petered out as it became increasingly likely that she would never wake up. Buffy had immediately started to move forward to attack but stopped herself as Faith glanced nervously at Willow and after an encouraging nod from the redhead had come in. The tension in the room had risen considerably and everyone moved with exaggerated caution. Buffy and Faith both seemed to be expecting the other to attack at any moment. Giles broke the tension by stepping forward to offer Faith a chair and then inquiring as to whether anyone wanted tea. Soon they were all sitting around and Willow was telling them of the Dreaming. When she got to actually entering Faith�s dream she blurred pretty much all the details and just explained how Faith had fought her inner demons and now wanted to try and redeem herself. Giles watched the three girls closely as Willow told her story. It seemed to him that it was only respect for Willow that was holding everything together calmly. Buffy was still reeling from the shocks of thinking Willow was dead and then that she was alive and Willow had helped Faith through a lot so at the moment Willow held a lot of power over both. Giles hoped that it would be enough when the fireworks started. There would be plenty of problems for Faith to face. The police and the watchers council were only human agencies to fight or avoid. The real problem was that Giles knew people didn�t change overnight. He knew from his Ripper days that it was easy to slip from the best of intentions. He truly didn�t know if Faith was strong enough. * * * * * Faith watched quietly as Xander threw himself on Willow and wrapped his arms around her. She was uncomfortably aware of another girl who had arrived with Xander and who was looking at her with suspicion. Xander released Willow and started to ask what had happened but the redhead turned to glance at Faith. Xander was quite surprised to see her there to say the least. �Faith! Faith! Buffy, why aren�t you attacking her?� Xander�s girlfriend was calmer but her suspicious glare became dark and hateful. She obviously knew who Faith was and what she had done to Xander. �Xander it�s ok, Faith�s good now.� Xander looked dubious at Willow�s words but she was definitely in earnest so he calmed down a little. �What is it with arch foes around here. Doesn�t anyone stay evil? I swear, any moment now Dracula�s going to walk through the door and say he�s found Jesus.� �Don�t be ridiculous Xander, Dracula isn�t real.� Giles said with a slightly patronising expression. �Anyway, it�s good for people to reform. It�s a validation of everything we do here.� �Yeah, well I miss black and white morality.� * * * * * �We�ve been through this, Faith. You can�t turn yourself in to the police.� �Why not? The way they were all looking at me... I just think it would be easier, that�s all.� Willow and Faith were sitting in Giles� spare room. He had offered to let Faith stay with him although it was clear to all there that he wasn�t going to allow her to go anywhere else. Faith had talked about this before. She had accepted that she had done wrong and now she was considering turning herself in to the police. �It�s too dangerous.� Willow was a hacker. A long time ago she had believed that the police of Sunnydale were fine upstanding men and women. Now she knew better. She had invaded systems and dug about in personal files when she was trying to find out what the mayor was up to and she had discovered just how corrupt the police were. She had found out how far they would go to cover up supernatural activity. She knew what they would do if the people in charge felt threatened. She had seen the photos. She had read the autopsy reports. Willow wasn�t certain but she suspected that the current mayor and his associates wouldn�t take kindly to the former top killer of the previous mayor turning herself in because of guilt. The might feel that Faith could incriminate all sorts of people who the mayor might have mentioned. They would feel threatened and Faith would be found dead in her cell. The forensics would say suicide. Willow had gone over all this with Faith. She was half convinced that Faith wanted to be killed by the police. That might stop her guilt. Willow however was not going to let that happen. Faith gazed at Willow with dark, troubled eyes. She was certain she didn�t deserve Willow�s help but the least she could do was cooperate with her. Willow left soon after to get some well earned rest and Faith tried to get some sleep. * * * * * It was hours later. Giles was still up researching downstairs. Faith couldn�t sleep. She had slept for six months and hated the idea of going back to sleep but she was exhausted. Not physically exhausted but emotionally. She had lost everything she had. She had lost the mayor. He had been more than a boss. He hadn�t talked about his family much. She knew that he had been married and suspected that he had wanted children but never been able to have any. Probably a side effect of his immortality. Faith hadn�t missed the fact that he treated her like a daughter. It had seemed so right. Buffy had Giles and she had the Boss. She had been constantly surprised that he had never tried to get anything more from her. She would have let him but he had never tried and that meant more to her than everything else. He had been like a real father. Someone who had cared for her. Her line of thought was broken as she heard a thud from downstairs. She was instantly fully awake. She pulled on some clothes as quickly as she could and sneaked down the stairs. She peeked around the corner and saw Giles struggling with some massive demon. The demon�s muscular arm was wrapped around Giles�s throat and the watcher seemed to be ineffectually trying to pull the arm away. Faith moved without thought or hesitation. She darted forward and grabbed a knife of the wall. The demon turned and was about to speak but the knife was in the air and then sticking out of the demons neck. It gurgled and greenish blood dripped from the wounds. There was a look of shock in its eyes and then it keeled over backwards taking Giles with it. It had all happened in a fraction of a second. Faith stood almost paralysed for a second with the ease and speed of the kill. She had barely thought, it had just come so naturally to her. Could she really reform if death was so second nature? Giles kicked his feet and she hurried over to help him up. The demon�s arm seemed to be locked in position trapping him there. She pulled on it and there was a crack as the arm broke and Giles was released. Faith helped him to his feet and he smiled thankfully at her. �I must say; being, erm, inactive for so long hasn�t dulled your reflexes.� �You can say �coma.�� �Yes, well.� He looked uncomfortable and instead turned his attention to the demon. Faith didn�t recognise the species. �Friend of yours?� She asked. Giles looked round at her. �I was going to ask you the same question actually. He was here looking for you.� �Me? I�ve never seen this guy before.� �Nevertheless. He knew you were here and wanted to see you. He forced his way in when I denied you were here.� Faith looked at the demon more closely but she was certain she didn�t recognise it. Giles was searching it and pulled out a parcel from the folds of its clothes. It was addressed to Faith. Giles handed it to her without a word and then watched in curiosity as she ripped it open. Inside there was a videotape and a little decorative box. She ignored the latter for a while and concentrated on the video. She gave Giles a speculative glance and he nodded so she stuck it into his VCR. They watched the video together. Giles glanced worriedly at her several times throughout it but she barely noticed him doing it. She was watching the man who was the best father she had ever had. He was telling her that it was all over for her and she should go out with a bang. He was saying that her days were numbered. The world seemed to drift away as his words sunk in. She realised she was staring at snow on the TV screen and the video had finished. Giles was looking at her expectantly as if waiting to see her response. She could sense the tenseness in him and realised he was worried this might set her off.. She stood up and walked a little away from him. Without looking at him she said. �Do you think that Mayor really cared about me?� Without looking she knew that Giles would have taken off his glasses and started to polish them as he considered the question. �I really don�t know, I barely met him but judging from that video I would have to say no.� Faith turned and looked at him. The watcher was gazing at her intently, trying to read her reaction. She could tell he was nervous that she might react badly to his answer and truth be told it did make her angry. Not white hot rage but a slow burning aching anger in her stomach. She wanted to hurt him but she didn�t. �Why?� She didn�t trust herself to say more. She was controlling herself. �He left you a magic device to possess people. I believe that it was his intent that you use it against Buffy. Am I wrong?� Faith thought for a moment. She realised that Buffy was the only person she would have even considered using it against. She shook her head. �If he wanted you to be safe then he would have left you false passports, money, instructions as to how to go somewhere safe.� Giles said this all quite calmly as if he were explaining a philosophy problem. �He mentioned that he had made lots of friends in his life. Could it really be that none of them would be happy to have a slayer as an ally. He didn�t leave any of that, he left something you could use to take revenge upon his enemies. He knew that if he had failed it would be because Buffy had stopped him. It is my belief that he didn�t want to help you. I think that he wanted revenge.� He waited to see Faiths response. Faith herself walked around his desk and started fiddling with his paper knife. He remembered the speed at which she had killed the other demon and wondered if his death would be as quick. She looked up at him and then down at the paper knife. He realised that he must have looked frightened and tried to regain his composure. Slowly and deliberately she placed the paper knife back on the table and stepped away from it. Faith wanted to shout and scream and make him realise that the Mayor had loved her. She wanted to pound her fists into his face until he admitted that the Mayor had her best interests at heart. She heard a cracking sound and realised she had been gripping onto the back of a chair and had broken it. She knew that he was right. She knew that there were a dozen ways the Mayor could have provided for her. Money and a passport could have brought her a new life and the Mayor was smart as a rattlesnake. He would have known she would have gone after Buffy. She could have even succeeded, managed to steal Buffy�s body and gotten away but she would never have gotten away with it completely. She knew in her gut that it would have been suicide. She would have given the Mayor the revenge he wanted. She walked over to the box that held the �gizmo�, she took it out of its case and then dropped it on the floor and stamped on it. In a few stamps there was nothing but tiny shards of it. Then she went to the video recorder and ejected the tape. She snapped it in half and threw it down. She started punching it. Shard of plastic cut her knuckles but she didn�t care she just slammed her fists into the tape. She felt Giles hesitantly put his arms around her and she collapsed in tears. She wanted to keep hitting the message that was such a betrayal. The message that showed that once again a father had betrayed her so cruelly. Giles carried her back to her bed. She was sleeping soundly before he was halfway there. Exhausted, physically and emotionally. She needed the sleep. Giles felt Faith�s pain and betrayal but he couldn�t help but feel elated. He had seen her reject the dark side. He had stood and watched as she made the decision and took another step towards redemption. Now he knew she was strong enough. * * * * * Giles walked downstairs later than normal the following day. He had been up late disposing of the demon. He knew immediately that something was amiss. The welcome mat was at a slightly different angle, his coffee mug wasn�t where he had left it, there was a hint of a cigarette smell in the air and there were three burly men with hard eyes and guns sitting in his living room. The fact that he knew them, had even worked alongside them some years before did nothing to ease his apprehension. The three men were called Weatherby, Collins and Smith. Giles had never been told their first names and had never asked. They worked on what the council called delicate operations and what Giles had an annoying, in the councils eyes, tendency to call illegal and immoral acts. Murder, blackmail, kidnapping. The council was of the opinion that such things were completely acceptable in a war. Giles had his own opinions. Collins lit a cigarette and smiled at him. There was nothing of comfort or humour in the smile. �Rupert, so good to see you again.� �Collins, all of you, what a pleasant surprise.� Giles tried to calm the part of his brain telling him they were here to kill him. He had known helping Faith was dangerous but he wasn�t one to let a little thing like probable death stop him from doing the right thing. Faith was asleep upstairs. They would kill him silently and then kill her in her sleep. If she woke up then she might have a chance but they were professionals so they probably wouldn�t let her wake up. �We�re not here for pleasantries, old man. We came here as a courtesy more than anything else. I suppose you know that Faith has awakened from her little nap.� �From her six month coma, yes.� Collins ignored Giles correction and continued. �Well the council have sent us to bring her back to England. We just thought we�d pop by and let you know we were in town and of course to tell your little rogue slayer to keep out of our way.� �You�re here because of Buffy?� �Yes. She no longer works for the council so we don�t know where her loyalties lie. I just wanted you to know that if she decides her loyalties lie with Faith then the council may find that they have a brand new slayer to train.� Giles turned away. His relief at their ignorance of his helping Faith was short lived. They would find out eventually. He really hoped that Faith didn�t come down or they were both dead but now he at least had a hope that they would both live for at least this encounter. �You can�t expect to come to the slayer�s home town and make trouble and expect her to just leave you alone. We will deal with Faith on our own.� Weatherby punched Giles� desk in anger. �It was dealing with this on your own that got us into this mess. One slayer turned evil, betraying everything the council stands for, the other might as well be. She�s bloody quit.� Giles slowly turned back and stared into Weatherby�s eyes. �Buffy has done more good than the three of you have all together. She has faced and defeated threats that would have you wetting yourselves. Now get out of here before I do something I regret.� Like get my head blown off Giles added silently. He thought he might have gone over the top and half expected them to shoot him there and then. He could see the killing glare in Weatherby�s eyes but Collins shook his head and they slowly walked out. Collins stopped by Giles for a second and said almost too quietly for Giles to hear. �If you know what is good for your slayer then you will keep her out of our way and let us do our job. We�ve given you fair warning.� Then having satisfied whatever honour he thought he possessed, Collins left. Giles had faced vampires, demons and monsters without flinching but somehow the most basic human evil always left him feeling disgusted and angry. It could be that they were so righteous in their atrocities. When he had regained his composure somewhat, he went to the phone and dialled. * * * * * There was silence for a moment after Giles had explained about the Council agents. Giles could see that Buffy was seething with anger. Willow was the first to speak. �We can�t let them take Faith.� Giles nodded. �I agree. They are not exactly modern thinkers when it comes to rehabilitation.� �Yeah they would probably lock her up with only British cooking to sustain her. Nobody deserves that.� Giles arched an annoyed eyebrow at Xander�s comment. �Unfortunately, I�m not sure what we can do. They are human so we can�t really do anything to them.� �We could report them to the police. They are probably carrying weapons so that should be enough.� Buffy knew she was clutching at straws but nothing else seemed to have occurred to any of them. �I�m afraid that wouldn�t do much good Buffy. For one thing if the police didn�t arrest them then they would know who would have tipped them off and start investigating me more closely. God, I wish I knew what their plans were.� Xander put his hand up �This may seem like a simplistic solution but can�t she just hide till they go away?� Giles considered this �It�s not an ideal solution, they are nothing if not stubborn but in the absence of a better idea I say that is our only option.� �You mean �Yeah�?� Giles ignored Xanders sarcasm and continued. �Well, I�m afraid that Faith staying here is out of the question. If there is anywhere they are likely to keep under surveillance then it�s my house and possibly Buffy�s as well.� �My parents are out of town so Faith can stay at my house.� Willow seemed enthusiastic. Faith had been lost in thoughts of dungeons and stern Englishmen but she looked up at Willow�s words. �Ok.� * * * * * Things went well for about a week. Willow spent a lot of time hanging out with Faith, even if it was just doing her college work at home rather than in the library. Faith had thought that she would get cabin fever having to stay indoors but instead she relished the time. Just hanging out with Willow, chatting, watching TV. It all seemed so blissfully normal. It was just like something someone normal might do. Sometimes Buffy would come over and although there was a certain tension between her and Faith, Willow would smooth everything over. Faith wasn�t stupid and could tell that Buffy still didn�t trust her. She always had her guard up but then Faith remembered precious few times when Buffy had let her guard down with Faith. There had been that exquisitely brief time, just a few days when Buffy had started to let go and enjoy herself and enjoy being with Faith. Finch�s death had stopped that cold. Then Faith had put the wall back up and that time was lost forever. She wondered if it could ever get back to being normal between her and B�. Probably not completely but there was a good illusion of it sometimes. When B� was there she still tensed up. She couldn�t help but feel that Buffy was judging her but with Willow she was starting to feel a lot more comfortable. Willow treated her like a real person, a close friend, rather than a bomb that would go off with little provocation. She liked that feeling. * * * * * Buffy crouched on the rooftop. She was frozen in place, trying to make no sound as she extended her supernatural slayer senses. She had been patrolling as normal and the feeling had come over her that there were vampires nearby. Not about to attack but more that there was a large group of them somewhere. She tried to remember Giles lessons and hone her senses. Her eyes snapped open as she realised she could hear something. There was a low murmur of voices chanting. She stealthily made her way towards the sound. Soon she was on a rooftop overlooking a warehouse like any other in the district except that it was lighted. The windows seemed to blacked out with dirt and dust more than anything else but approaching one she found that she could see through a crack into the area beyond. The chanting was coming from a group of about fifteen vampires. They were all raptly focused on a picture of a vampire that was hung on one wall. Buffy didn�t recognise it but she recognised demon religion when she saw it. As sneakily as possible she got out of there. Giles would need to know about this. They would need a plan. * * * * * �You say they were chanting and worshipping a picture of a vampire.� Giles seemed to be almost lost in thought as he said this. �Yeah, does that ring any bells? There were a lot of them Giles. Way to many for me on my own. Even going back during the day with the whole gang may not be enough.� Giles walked over to a shelf and took down a file. He flicked through it until he found a large photo which he held up for Buffy to see. �That�s the picture that was there.� �Oh dear god.� �I�m guessing they�re not here to spread happiness and cupcakes.� �I�m afraid not. They are part of a cult which has surfaced in recent years. I received a report in them just before the council fired me. A vampire who turns weak willed and impressionable humans. They follow him blindly and do what he says without any hesitation of qualms. Recently he has taken sending a large amount of them to a city or town, they take a couple of days to work themselves into a frenzy chanting and then they go on a rampage. They continue to kill as many people as possible until they themselves are killed by mobs or the sun. They cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be intimidated or scared away.� �So in other words they are a bunch of highly dangerous losers?� �I suppose that�s one way of putting it.� �On the plus side they will be relatively young vampires.� �On the minus side there are too many of them and they are fanatics.� �There is something else. There have been a few deaths in that area already so they have probably been there for a couple of days.� �So they could be ready to rampage any time.� �We have to contain them Buffy. If we wait then they will cut a swathe through the town.� �Call the gang.� * * * * * The bat signal was lit. The avengers were assembled and Faith somehow found herself among the ranks. Willow was looking through spell books to try and find something suitable to help. Xander was picking out weapons and Giles was looking at a map of the area and trying to work out some tactics. Buffy took Faith aside. �Look, Faith, normally I wouldn�t ask this so early of you but this is a big threat. I�m not sure that we can handle them on our own. A second slayer could make all the difference.� Buffy wasn�t really hiding the fact that she was saying this against her better judgment. �B�, I am not sure that this is really a good idea. I could put you all in more danger than you would be.� �I know but the alternative is letting people die. This is it, Faith. Are you willing to fight for what�s right or not?� �I can see it in your eyes B� you don�t want me there.� �No I don�t. I don�t trust you...yet. I don�t think that you are ready for battle but I don�t have a choice. Now are you coming or not?� Faith looked over at Willow. She imagined how she would feel if the redhead were hurt and nodded her consent to Buffy. Walking over to the weapons cabinet she picked up a stake and tucked it into her belt. Buffy and Giles exchanged a glance of apprehension. * * * * * The plan was simple. There were two entrances. Giles, Willow and Xander would go to one. There they would douse the ground with gasoline and then open the doors. According to Giles the vampire cultists would rush to attack anyone who disturbed their worship. They would let as many as possible rush towards them and then set them on fire. They would then use crossbows on the ones who rushed through the fire. Buffy and Faith would attack from the other entrance. They would rush in and hopefully the element of surprise would let them even the odds a little more. It was a rushed plan but they didn�t have time to come up with anything else. Buffy and Faith waited. They would know when to act because the vampires would scream. Faith couldn�t help but watch Buffy. She was like a cat waiting to pounce. Utterly focused on her task. Faith was nervous as hell and more than half convinced she would screw everything up. She remembered telling Buffy once that she loved the feeling before a fight when she knew that she was going to win and they were going to lose. She had been lying then. Cranking up the bravado to hide her true fear in the face of Kakistos. Now she wished she even had the bravado. They both heard the whoosh of the flame and the screams of the vampires and as one they kicked at the door. The combined strength of the slayers knocked the door off its hinges and they rushed in. They saw the crowd of vampires around the other entrance but they turned to see the slayers rushing at them and with growls of anger they rushed to meet them. Buffy was carrying a massive axe and swung it with abandon, taking out vampires left and right. At another time Faith might have just stopped to admire her skill but she was surrounded too. She had the stake in one hand but her real love was for using her feet and fists. She lashed out. A kick pushed one vamp into the fire where he was engulfed. A punch almost took off a vampires head. She was like a wild thing. Dust erupted around her as her stake slammed into vampires chests and despatched them. She felt alive again, on fire again. She realised that there were hardly any opponents left. She had really made a difference. Buffy was still fighting though. She had lost the axe and was using her fists. Two vampires were circling her. With a back kick she knocked one vampire back towards Faith. It slammed into the wall and fell to the ground. Faith moved to stake it but then the memories hit her. She saw Finch lying against the wall just like that. She felt the stake slide into him. The solid wet feeling that you didn�t get with vampires. The blood spurting out over her hand. For a moment she was completely at the mercy of the past. Long enough for the vampire�s foot to connect with her face. She was stunned and collapsed back. The vampire was past her in an instance. He ignored her and instead leapt for Buffy. Buffy had staked the other vampire and was caught off guard. The vampire was against her and trying to ram his knife into her and bite her at the same time. Faith saw all this as she struggled to regain her senses and her balance. She staggered forward but could see that she would be too late. The vampire�s teeth were on Buffy�s throat. There was a thud and suddenly a crossbow bolt was sticking out of the vampires back. Faith turned to see Willow through the flames holding a crossbow. The vampire collapsed to dust and Buffy sank to her knees. Faith�s eyes were fixed on the knife imbedded in her chest. Buffy pulled it out with a grunt and then clapped her hand to the wound to try and stem the blood flow. In a few moments Giles, Xander and Willow were around her. Faith slipped out of the shattered door and ran off into the night. Part five - Anything for a good nghts sleep |