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#36
Xander's safehouse in the harbour area, LA:


"I don't like it," Harmony hissed, as Xander came to
finish his report. "It's a trap."

"I doubt it," Xander said in high spirits. "Anyway, you
want to miss your chance to deliver some nasty blow to
the good old Council of Watchers?"

"I would like to!" Faith volunteered. She still had the
memory of the tweed folks and their goons taking her
away in chains. And she also remembered whose hunters
had fucked up her plans every now and then again. Yeah,
payback sounded great. Especially with the assassins out
there. "Let's rip the sickos apart and see what they are
up to for real."

"And aside from that?" Harmony wodnered. "Last I heard
we were going to New York."

"Change of plans, then," Xander shrugged, smiling while
he crossed his feet on the couch. "We get us some nice
new boltholes somewhere around here...we did that a
while before."

"And what about the blood?"

"We will get it and test it. But it's nothing, what we
DO need is Cordelia," Xander said soberly. "Or does
anyone else think we better get so much blood anywhere
without attracting attention?"

"No," Faith nodded. "Unless we capture another Immortal
again..."

"What use can that bitch be, anyway?" Harmony scowled.

"A lot, Harm, a lot. She can walk where she wants to,
and on the day, remember this little tidbit?" Faith
sniped at the blonde. "And I remember who was first to
offer certain services to her lower bodyparts..." Not
that she couldn't understand it, seeing the brunette
before her again. One simply got to the point where one
wanted her, after getting used to her bad mouth and her
attitutde. Someday one might even get to like her.
And with her Immortality they could play so very well!
Faith had dreams of them doing it. She also just knew
that Cordelia would come to them. Reluctantly and very
much annoyed and pissed, possibly kicking and screaming
all the way. But come she would!
Creating an issue for her.
Xander would train her and the old friendship would come
back again over the course of weeks. A slow seduction of
the bitch would get him, Faith just knew.
Cordelia got to her, why not to him as well?
Until their swordplay turned into the same sensual dance
only she had shared with Xander so far. She didn't mind
Cordelia entering her grounds like that.
Faith hated it. A lot.
And she also loved it. A lot.
She wasn't sure which way she should swing, in the end.
She looked at her lover and exchanged a look with him, a
very knowing look. The same look he gave her when she
told him what she did as she visited Cordelia Chase.
The mark was still there.
The claim it represented as well.
And he had seen it.
It wasn't the first time they shared lovers (usually on
her impulse) or played debauched. But Faith never had
considered these bodies to be anything but nice flesh.
Sometimes just food waiting to be eaten.
When they were in the mood...probably that was going to
be over. Faith was a little bit sorry for loosing this
freedom but she could do without killing humans. Not so
much fun anyway as it was so easy.
She closed her eyes and leant back, focused on her own
inner world. Her memories. And reached a decision.
She would make Cordelia Chase hers if she was going to
hang out with them. She would, somehow. She had no
other way to stand Cordelia claiming space inside of her
lover's heart. she was certain, if he liked to admit it
or not, a part of Xander still wanted her.
Despite their history.
Despite her betraying him far worse than he did.
Despite all the loathing she held for them now.
Faith wondered what it might take to make Cordelia walk
over her back with high heels...she was the cruel kind,
that bitch. The notion made her smile ferally.
"Cordelia can be a lot of fun."

"If you get off on humiliation!" Harmony groaned. "Which
I for once do not...anymore."

"Ah, don't we all?" Xander sighed. "Let's wait how long
it takes her to come here. If Angel makes it, that is."

He would, Faith thought. Cordelia would come to them.

"Right. And what will we do in the meantime?"

"Prepare houses, make plans. I need a few ways to stay
in contact with Angel...and then we need...," Xander
stated, beginning to make details for his plan. It was
about safehouses, weapons, contacts and moves.
Faith liked the general direction.
Details were rather his part in their little club. She
was better at hitting things than planning assaults or
making plans on how to mess with someone's head. She
still liked to hang around while he hatched his schemes.
It all ran down to them needing some representative
that could walk the daylight.
As well as taking a Watcher captive.
Faith knew this was going to be another torture deal
with her. Maybe this time she even might get into it
again? Okay, probably not.
But hearing the asshole spill his secrets was good.
If he was as hung on the bottles as Harmony thought as
she had met him in some bar, he might be about to talk
for just some other shot of scotch.
That sounded so great.


#37
The Summers House, Sunnydale:


"As far as I can tell we're clean in here," Graham
assured Buffy while they walked out of the house into
the night patrol. "But I have no idea what magical
listening devices they have. So...?"
The idea of magic irked him a lot, especially since he
was not able to discount it as superstition anymore.
What Willow and Tara did with their spells was nothing
short of shocking and Graham wondered what Maggie Walsh
might have done with that sort of power. There were too
many ideas to choose from, but she certainly would have
found things right out of his worst nightmares.
Even the witches scared the crap out of him.
How did one defend himself against magic spells?
They could hit him anytime, anywhere.
Maybe he wouldn't even be aware of it.
Geez, man, he was getting paranoid...!

"They probably don't bother," Buffy answered, herself
not entirely convinced of this. "So we better don't
talk too much in any place where we are expected to be
more often."

"Right," Graham nodded. At least magic was a lot harder
to handle than your usual tech stuff. Unfortunately
when tech fucked up, things weren't half as likely to
get catching up to you as when magic was involved. "Your
trip to LA was a success?"

"Sort of. We got confirmation on the words," Buffy said
acerbicly. Looking around as they went on their patrol
she discovered no vampires or other nasty creatures
coming at her. "At least there is some truth to it."

"Damn," Graham croaked out. Oh damn. "What?"

"The undying ones. A race of humans who're pretty hard
to kill, they call themselves Immortals," Buffy said
soberly. "Xander was one of them so he kept his soul
when Faith turned him. He wasn't taking our actions at
this time so well."

"What did you do?"

"Tried to stake him, after our cursing rite failed,"
Buffy admitted. She didn't want to say how stupid they
had behaved. She guessed with the pounding she gave him
on the lawn before his house she had destroyed one of
her best friendships forever. She certainly had driven
him to joining up with Faith...and now she also was
pushing Cordelia Chase in the same direction. She had
a bad feeling how that would make Cordy change. But that
was the prize she had to pay. She certainly did not want
to die. "As for the rest...we got some outside help set
up. Will take a while until they can effect something."

"But it will be of use?"

"If they are, and I think so," Buffy nodded, "we will be
going to transfer our things to them...I hate it but I
think Willow and Tara can't be burdened with it after I
pass away." How cold she sounded when she spoke of her
own death. She didn't even feel much and she cringed at
the realization she already had accepted that she would
die at some time in the near future. Maybe not today or
next week but in a few months, in a year. Something was
going to happen and take her out. Something! Even if
it was not Giles. "With all these folks informed on
their identities they'll be sitting ducks, targets! We
can't rely on them being...available."
She kept herself from saying trustworthy with an effort.
But there she was - she did not trust Willow to do what
had Buffy thought had to be done. She just did not.

A lot like himself, Graham thought. Glad that his own
habits included keepin a cleanly white trail. The
government might have spilled them out after their
disaster at the Initiative and pretended nothing at
all had happened, but they hardly would have killed
the cover they all had gotten before their transfers.
Officially they didn't exist anymore. So even these
Watchers would have a hard time to track them.
"It disturbs you to plan ahead and know you'll be dead,
that your friends probably will face the same shortly
later, does it?"

"I don't show it that bad, uh god, do I?" she said
in the stunned girl manner. So beautiful at this. So,
hm, innocent was the best word for it! "And too many
of them already are six feet under."

"No," Graham chuckled. Understanging more and more how
his old CO could have fallen in love with this girl.
"It's something every good CO does, Buffy. We all have
to deal with the possibility of something taking us out.
And then someone else has to step in for us. We just
have to go on, especially for the dead. Otherwise, what
use was their sacrifice?"

"Oh. Yeah. Mhm...that's...sort of great," Buffy said.
She wasn't meaning it, of course. It irked her, as
anyone sane ought to be. Noone liked to treat herself as
utterly expendable. Or be treated that way by others.
"Anyway, if we go down our contacts will give it back to
the enemy. With interest."

"Sounds comforting but I'd settle for doing it myself,"
Graham grinned. "I got some information on them. As you
wanted I stayed away and prepared whatever fallback we
have...and if you want to know, I'd wish we never had to
rely on this stuff!"

"If our contacts prove themselves they will soon have
some inside info on them," Buffy answered as she paused
before a corner. Frowned and stared into the darkness
there, then raised her crossbow. She fired a bolt and
then there was a scream and some red-scaled sturdy
looking demon appeared. She quickly dealt with the
creature and Graham could only stare in awe. He'd never
get used to people being able to match demons in any
one on one battle by anything else than witts. Buffy
being stronger, faster and a lot more deadly than them
and being such a little girl was something else. She
didn't even look threatening. "Though I got no idea how
they want to do that."

The only way was to abduct one of the other side and
beat the truth out of him. Graham didn't say so. It
wasn't the kind of act he would have thought this
woman capable. She was a delicate flower, so fragile
beyond her hidden strength. A person one could fall
for...somehow he imagined she was like vanilla ice.
Sweet and pure and nice all the way. Maybe with little
chips of choccolate strawed in, but still nice. "We will
wait and observe."

"That's the hardest part of the job, the waiting. Not
being able to do anything," Buffy answered in a dark
mood. Darker than it looked good on her. "But I don't
want to bet my life on that contact...we have to get
our own move under way."

"Which would be?" Graham said. "They know half of the
people working with us better than we do and the rest
isn't that far away, either." He sighed. "We can't do
much more than observe and wait without them learning
we know."

"I think we can," Buffy whispered awkwardly. It just
meant she had to get ready to play by their rules.
Right, with the Council sickos able to make her mom sick
and them knowing their names and families...oh brother!
"I read something about, uh, cellular organization a
while ago. Could we implement something like that?"

"How?" Graham wondered. With the Watchers peeping at
them half the day and Willow blabbering to the tweed
folks like she did, they could hardly get away with
anything without them noticing. "All we could get are
some additional eyes and ears, nothing to work with."

"Maybe...," Buffy drawled that out. "We could get a
secret bolthole set up undergrounds, could we?"

"There is an unused firebase of the Initiative left,"
Graham admitted. One where the first waves of observers
had been staying in before they got the big base set up
and then gave it away. "We could repair that. Set up
communications and computers and that...it's fit to hold
about five to ten men."

"Make that ready," Buffy said. "Just in case we gotta go
underground." She had the distinct feeling that it was
not enough to hide her for long, of course. "And Graham?
If the worst comes true we'll have to break contact with
the old network...no matter how much it hurts."

"You're out of your mind," Graham told her firmly. "That
sort of move means giving up on all we ever accomplished
in this town, Buffy!"

"Would you rather see it end?" Buffy countered, in her
mind she saw the Watchers come for them. Without much
warning, if any. They would come and things would be
over quickly and there was no way to guard her friends
from that. None but allowing the Watchers to think they
had won...she even told him about it.
The great deception scheme.
But how much of it would be deception?
And what were the Watchers after exactly? It didn't add
up in her mind. Giles had had so many chances to kill
her yet he never had done so. Why?


Chapter five - Lovers and Enemies
#38
Xander's NEW safehouse, LA:


I must be mad, Cordelia Chase thought. Utterly as well
as irredeemably mad. To even go back to the monsters.
Souled or not, they still were vampires and as such not
exactly people whom to hang with was healthy.
She looked at the reflection her body caused in the
mirror. She saw a woman that had not changed much in
there.
Cordelia gave it a tired and sorry sigh. From what she
knew she never would change a lot anymore. Holy hell,
she was going to live forever...just like Angel. She
never would have a man and kids or an acting career,
never would afford to be so high profile ever again.
And here she thought she was in troubles for taking that
secretary job with Angel. Great. What a sick irony of
history, Angel and Doyle turned out more human than she
herself was...one a former human and the other at least
half-human. She wasn't even sure what she was, what her
race was. Oh hell.
Cordelia studied the mirror image and knew she was a
very beautiful creature. Attractive and nice and so
much in the need for a major therapy session with a few
expert shrinks.
She touched the remains of the scar on her shoulder and
she bit her lips, close to moaning and shivered as she
almost felt faith on her body again.
She had dreams, lots of them - and memories. Of them
biting her, about their faces, their fangs. The
sensation upon fangs breaching her skin, tearing into a
jugular and them sucking out her red juice. Pain and
nothing else.
Dreams that made her afraid and sweaty and angsty. As
well as they made her feel a sick kind of eagerness.
A sick and twisted part of her started to get off on
being drained by them.
Still better than the dreams about the werewolf who
tore her apart. Damn Oz for it, no, damn Spike...he
had killed her. Oz was just another victim.

"You coming, C?" Faith said as she entered the room
and stopped dead. Cordelia turned and groaned, she so
wished she could lock the door. "Nice body you got."

"Like I told you, I'm not falling for you. Ever,"
Cordelia said pissed. Furious. "How long does it take
until you get that message?"

"Maybe it would take routs if you weren't getting wet
by seeing me," Faith answered swiftly, never lacking
for a comeback. She did not leave. Instead she shut the
door and came closer, almost touching her. "You got it
so bad, Cordelia..."

"Stay away from me," Cordelia said. Less forceful than
when she had come here. Before Xander began his training
by making her work out until she just wanted to die. He
hurt her, again and again, even while he taught her how
to stay alive. Cordelia figured she was getting better
if it took him more than half a minute to take her down.
Of course, he played the human opponent - meaning he
might have been much worse. "Please."

"How?" Faith asked, resigned. "He dreams of you, C. He
moans your name when he's asleep, sometimes. Comes from
watching you all this time."

Not to mention him touching her, not caring much where
and how, Cordelia thought. She wished she could have
said it was a one sided thing. She hated it, him, her,
them all. She was going mad if she wanted them. "Why
don't you go and play with Harmony?"

Faith laughed. Not giving in to the mean retort. "Why
don't we both go to her?" Faith proposed. "I'm told it
is quite the rapture to get drained during a hot..."

"God, you're a slut!" Cordelia croaked and wished she
had something to wear. First thing Xander did was to
make her walk around naked, and once he came after her
with a sword she also had learnt quickly to forget
about her shame and offenses and focused on her skills.
His methods were nothing but brutal and she put up with
all of them. She never really gave up, just complained.
Besides, they didn't have the money to waste on so many
new clothes since they tended not to react so good to
being sliced apart and drenched in blood. And she also
knew how bad it was, the hunger that such bloodsoaked
clothes awoke inside of a vampire. Soul or not.

"And you smell delivious," Faith answered, shrugging.
"I want you, Cordelia. So bad it tears me apart."

"But I don't want YOU!" Cordelia screamed unnerved,
ready to attack her. She knew she wouldn't get anywhere
with that - but...far enough. "Listen, F, once I get my
basic swordplay done I'm outa here. For good. So go and
get a cold shower but don't harass me."

"Why?" Faith said, soberly. Distanced. "You are not so
different from us, Cordelia Chase. Your body betrays
you."

"I'm not just my body," Cordelia answered angrily. They
had abducted her, hurt her, killed her. And worse. They
were monsters, killers. And she was training to become
one herself - maybe in order to avoid it but rather in
order to survive the coming challenges. "Get that?"

"Yes."

"Then get out of here."

"No."

Cordelia sighed wearily. She knew Faith was stronger and
could take her down any day, even when she was armed. It
was a long way until she would be up to that threat. But
she would be, Cordelia was sure. "I hate you."

"You think I'm mooning over you so bad? Devil help me,
C, I actually start to," Faith answered softly, reaching
out for her. Cordelia could not evade. For a moment she
expected the brunette ex-Slayer to start raping her but
all Faith did was to touch her hair, move a hand just
over her skin. Her still wet skin from the shower. Not
an actual touch but close enough to fool her senses.
The touch was like an electircal shock. And when she
took a strain of hair and pulled it around her finger
the Immortal found herself breathing so much harder.
"How does Angel stand it, C? You hanging around all the
time..."

"He doesn't want me."

"The fuck he does," Faith shook her head. "You're a bad
girl, Cordelia Chase. Can't change that, not really."

"I'm not," Cordelia said. At least no more. She had been
in highschool but she wasn't, now. Not really. She did
not even want to consider getting together with Doyle
right now. Hell, they really were getting to her! "I am
nothing like you two, Faith."

"Is that so?" Faith smiled, so sure of herself. So...so
strong. Cordelia had to look away, she wasn't sure what
would have happened if she didn't do so. "Cordelia, your
mere presence starts to drive me mad. All of us."

"I thought you already were," Cordelia sniped while she
steadied her breathing. In and out again, in and out
again, think of something killing the mood...like, hm,
principal snyder naked? Eeewg! "What do you want? I
turned your offer down. Get lost." Before I start to
give in.

Faith let go over Cordy's hair and stood there, she was
a dead corpse in leather pants and a tank top and she
looked so alive Cordelia could have sworn she breathed.
She felt faith stand there, so close.
So fucking hot.
She remembered something similiar. A little scene with
Harmony in junior high, in the showers. After they had
had dancing lessons and their tension just spiked.
Cordelia did so not want a repeat of this.
"You know your training comes along horribly?" Faith
said sourly. "Unless we speed things up you're gonna
be here for months. Years. And I can't stand another
week!"

"We will have to."

"No," Faith told her decisively. "Either you release it
or you get out. I won't have it."

"Release what?" Cordelia complained, feigning ignorance.
She sighed as she caught the killing glare that Faith
shot at her. "I could go and...say, what about a guy?"

"Are you crazy? Smelling a stranger on you would just
make it worse!" Faith croaked, abhorred. "Besides, I'd
get all jealous...mhm. You got any idea how Xander is
when I do him while he dreams, when he thinks I'm you?"
Cordelia did not. Faith seemed to enjoy it, though.
"Comes from your parading your wares before his eyes
any day, shit, OUR eyes! You know I start to dream of
you as well? Now that I can't just kill you."

"Comeon. You two aren't exactly against getting a lay
in the side," Cordelia accused Faith.

"They're nobodies. You are an issue. And, if we don't
do it, Harmony might kill the lucky guy anyway! In my
sleep I certainly will."

"I didn't knew you slept at all," Cordelia sourly told
Faith and her nails dug into her palm. "And you're very
wrong about Harm. She would rather kill me."

"Not really," Faith sighed as she informed Cordelia of
what Harmony's demon did. Torturing her with dreams,
subconscious memories and hints. "She hates you because
you are inside of her head, C."

"Like Angelus?"

"Pretty much. Harmony always wanted to be like you,"
Faith sneered. "You either screw her or all of us or we
will get you out of here."

"Would love to," Cordelia moaned. She really would. It
was no fun to get beaten again and again. Sometimes she
wondered how Buffy had learnt to fight...certainly not
like this. "But I can't!"

"There is a way," Faith said. "You take a quickening.
you take some old guy's head and all he can do is in
you. You'd just need a few days and then you would have
all the abilities you need."

"Isn't that against the rules?"

"Either this or screwing," Faith shrugged, grinning.
She was so mean and she knew exactly how Cordelia would
decide. "Knew you'd see the wisdom."

"What about Xander? He'll get pissed. Says there has
to be this one on one thing and no interference!"

"Damn, fuck Xander...well, you know what I mean," Faith
chuckled. "He's gonna be busy anyway for today. We got
just a couple of hours...!"

"Good. But Faith? If you start to call me girlfriend,
Faith, I swear I will kill you...whatever it takes,"
Cordelia said, cold as ice. She was talking about
becoming a real killer here. Ending a life. Being part
of a murder. And she was agreeing! Not feeling so very
guilty at all. Shit. She was losing it. "Let's get that
over with. The faster I'm outa here the better for all
of us."

"Right."


#39
abandoned train station, LA:


Faith looked up against the roof and saw the sun still
up, beams stabbed through the dusty windows of their
hideaway. She curled against the warm body of the
sleeping woman and swallowed a chuckle.
The plan had worked out very well.
Just took them half the night to get hold of some nasty
son of a bitch Immortal who tried to rape Cordelia.
Before beheading her. Faith had shot him and then they
had brought him out of the way, Faith whacked off the
head and Cordelia took the lightning storm inside once
the beheading had been done.
Everything went over perfectly.
She just hadn't listened to Xander explaining the side
effects of a Quickening before Cordelia Chase began to
display them. Confusion, extreme amounts of stored
energies and not so much self-restraint as usually
about getting their desires fulfilled. Or, rather, not
any restraints.
Cordelia had barely stood up before she had kissed
Faith roughly and then one thing led to another. Now
she laid down here, exhausted.
After half a day.
Faith felt incredible. Whoever the Immie had been, he
left her not only a number of languages (Cordelia gave
her the dirty talk in at least five languages) but also
a lot of other abilities. Which Cordelia put to very
good use. And after she gave in Cordelia quickly lost
herself in the act.
Small wonder Xander desired her, Faith would kill her
own mother to get a lay like Cordy. Come to think of it
for a bit Faith would kill mommie anyway...if she had
not been dead already. if she had an idea about who her
father was she would have killed him, too. Faith hated
her parents for her youth and the abuse she suffered.
She could forget it, though, as long as she laid with
Xander. Or Cordelia.
Faith could smell Cordelia's desires and she heard them
voiced when the bitch woke up from her dreams as well,
she did so frequently. Screaming, gasping, whispering.
Seeing her dance around naked had been no different.
Faith actually prferred things this way.

"I'm gonnas kill you for this," Cordelia whispered but
didn't move a muscle. She took another breath as she
awoke.

"You did, so many times," Faith smirked, her hand on the
other woman's back. She held ehr fast. "You never said
you got off on biting."

"Damn you!" Cordelia growled, her eyes burning with
conflicting emotions. "You knew this would happen!"

"IF I had known, C, we'd be at home now and in a real
bed...with Xander," Faith smirked. the image alone.
"Gotta do that."

"No way!" Cordelia gulped. "Never."

Faith laughed, ignoring the rant. Cordelia wanted them
as bad as they wanted her. And her talk about never
taking a head again was just bullshit, she felt much
too good from it. The conscience gig aside (and the
bitch didn't have such a big one, truth be told, she
was a selfish piece of work!) she would crave it. Like
the orgasms. Like pain. "You can beat Harm tonight."

"What makes you think that I would?"

"'cause, lover, you just want it so badly," Faith
answered tirumphant. Hugging the other brunette. "Or
you could beat me...again."

"I'd rather stake you," Cordelia muttered depressed,
starting to cry. "Oh god...you made me..."

"And you never felt better, right? If I could just take
that power...oh fuck!" Faith muttered, eyes half closed,
shaking. The Quickening was a destructive force but it
was a major one. Xander proved it held...true power.
Faith wished she knew how it felt. Her demon certainly
got greedy just by being near it. "Small wonder the
Immortals go after each other."

"That thing fucking HURT!" Cordelia defended herself but
she didn't sound so convincingly. "It wasn't pleasure
thart made me scream, damnit, I got fucking fried alive
out there..."

"Just half of it and let's not forget your reactions
afterwards!" Faith gloated. Hours and more hours of this
glorious fucking, with a Cordelia who was so charged she
knew no exhaustion and no more enough anymore. Cordelia
Chase unbound. Wow. Faith had never been so animalistic
ever but with Xander, when they let the demons reign. If
she ever got this Cordelia to share with them...her
demon almost made her moan from the mere imagination of
such an experience. "I thought you wanted to skip the
screwing part, but I'm all for that change of heart."

"My ass you are, you just wanted to get me to...to...!"
Cordelia hissed, her white teeth hitting each other
hard. With an audible crunch. "You whore set me up and
used me."

"As I recall it was you who jumped me," Faith pointed
out smugly. And so very pleased. It was so good for she
was just honest and nothing was worse than plain and
utter and ugly truth. "You were..."

"A damn shitty perv!" Cordelia shouted, disgusted by
her own behavior. "Not acting in my right mind." A close
look at herself and then a decisive nod. "Definitely not
in any sane state of mind."

"Incredibly," Faith corrected her lover before she
caught her again with a hard kiss. A kiss that, after a
moment of hesitation, was returned by Cordelia. "Is it
so hard to like yourself?"

Cordelia licked her lips, lost in her own thoughts and
she rolled away. Sat up. Nodded with conviction. "Never
again, Faith. I...I...if I do that again I might..."

Like it? Faith thought, grinning from ear to ear with
satisfaction. First time was always the hardest. Hers
had been an accident but who gave a damn anymore. She
would need to give Cordelia another treatment or two,
then the former cheerleader would accept what she was.
Problem solved, sort of. At least she now would climb in
their beds and they could do away the sexual tension in
the nicest manner.
No way she would let her new pet ever get away.

"I don't like the way you're grinning at me," Cordelia
concluded and Faith giggled. "Tell me."

"I just never saw a woman so stubbornly deny her own
happyness, that's all," Faith sweetly said and scored a
direct hit. Yeah. "Comeon, C. You LIKE me. And Xander.
And Harmony."

"God help me if I ever do," Cordelia groaned, teeth
clenched. "I'm nothing like you. I'm no...no..."

"Monster? Killer?" Faith snorted, amused. Killing was
killing and just a part of her. Always had been. Buffy
might deny it but she got as much gone on it as Faith
ever did and more so. It wasn't sex but it was sensual
pleasure. A statement of self. "Remember what I said
when we met in your place, C?"

"You told me off," Cordelia roughly answered and started
looking for her clothes. Or what was left of them. "And
rightly so. I do not want you. Or Xander. Or that crazy
slut Harmony!"

"Liar," Faith smiled, not bothering to get up and look
for scraps of torn clothes. They had not been thinking
of later much when they tore them off.

"Am not. It...isn't right."

"Why?" Faith asked, sitting up and enjoying the view.
Why was it that naked people weren't half as arousing a
sight as those in very scanty clothing? Her demon was
already up for the next round. Damn insatiable little
bugger.

"Because I'm one of the good guys and YOU are just
definitely not," Cordelia hissed. "I never should Angel
let me talk into taking Xander's offer...or let you get
me here and...and...damnit, Faith! I can't live like
that, I just can't...!" She sobbed, this close to tears
as her knees gave way under her. Cordelia fell and Faith
moved and caught her. Held the sobbing woman tight.
"I must not live like this."

"For Angel?" Faith softly asked, holding back a sigh.
"He'll never care for you as anything but a friend."

"For you sex is everythying, yeah? Get your head out of
the gutters, I don't lust after Angel! And I truly hate
his demon half, thanks a lot...!" Cordelia sniffed. She
sighed. Calmed down a bit. "I want to be good, Faith."

Faith groaned. She hated people telling her she was
evil. Or supposed to be good. Couldn't she be herself?
Make her own decisions? All that crap her Watcher gave
her on that matter. She hated it. And it obviously had
caught up with Cordy as well.
She wasn't going to argue the point right now. Instead
she was hungry. So she turned the Immortal around and
kissed her neck, driving her teeth in slowly. Cordelia
moaned an affirmation, excited. Another death ahead for
the bitch.
When it was done and she slept Faith licked her lips
clean, reveling in the taste of Cordy's blood. Cordelia
had foregone the warning Faith gave her and now she was
caught in the web. Entangled.
"Your ass is gonna be mine, C," Faith whispered into
the empty space of her hiding place. Noone there to
listen but she wasn't talking to anyone either. "And if
I have to dragg you into our bed I will...even if it
means knocking him out and get him there as well, need
be in chains! Not that that wouldn't be fun, yeah. I
will have my family!"
Yes, a real family. Not the kind of trashy thing she had
grown up with. And however twisted it would be, this
time it would work out!
She would damn well make it work.


#40
The magic shop / Giles' bookstore, Sunnydale


"Buffy?" Rupert Giles asked, as the smashed Slayer came
into his shop. He allowed himself the luxury of a pang
of regret.
She was a kid grown up in the night, and although her
attitude made it easy to forget she also wasn't so very
lucky in her private life. Which also was a part of the
problem.
"Everything okay?"

"No," Buffy dryly rasped. "My mother...is sick. Doctor
said...it might be...might be cancer." She sobbed but
did not break into tears as she sat down. "Other than
that? Things are well, whatever that means. Oh, and I
got that nest of demon near the opera killed."

"A nest of demons?" Giles asked, acting surprised. "I
did not know there was one...near the opera, I mean."

"Ooops. I thought you told me to check the place out?"
Buffy guiltily shrugged and smiled. "At least I feel
better now, after letting everything out at them. They
are all dead, not so much of a challenge."

Poor demons, Giles concluded, poor dead demons. And yet
another plot to take out the Slayer spoiled. Damnit,
they should have awakened a mid-level demon warrior
that could have been a serious opponent for Buffy. For
a couple of weeks.
He was certain her scouts told her about it. Probably
Willow just forgot to inform him, with her depression
lately she was slacking. Which was rather good if not
for Graham and their observation network. They were
making too good a job out of this, for once in a while.
Now there was Joyce, who would be down with terminal
cancer within another two months and maybe a dozen or
two dumb demon thughs to attack the Slayer.
Maybe she would finally crack.
Yeah, right, as if he'd be so lucky!
He wished it could be different.
"Good," Giles said, "you should not feel so bad. You
are doing great, Buffy." Unfortunately. Too great.
But she also got vulnerable. Willow was the only one
left of her old friends now and maybe he could do
something that made the witch leave Sunnydale.
Giles rued that he had to hurt Willow.
Technically he didn't even want Buffy hurt, either.
Yet duty came first - and she HAD to die. Soon. He did
not want to think about what would happen to him if he
was forced to execute Traver's orders.

"Then why does all my life look like I'm going to be
flushed down the toilet?" Buffy said, noticing her true
situation.

"That's just an impression. Take a few days off a-and
work on your life, we can still call you when there
i-is a c-crisis," Giles told her in his best paternal
Watcher tone. He wondered how easy it was to lie to
her. All the time, though. Was it his fault if she was
oblivious to reality? There never was a future for her,
certainly not the one she envisioned. "You will see.
Everything will be fine."

She gave him a glance he could not figure out but then
she nodded. "Maybe I ought to do that."

Giles began to look for a couple of books. And while
he said she should spend time with her mother as well
he thought about what next step to take. They needed a
lot of enemies for her.
Damn the fact that Xander and Faith failed to get here
and take her out. He would have to ask for special
operatives...not that they would do the job but she
might get worn out by them. And the Council would be
finally rid of these burdens.
They had tracked down Anaeira, a former white which
turned vampire that was crazy enough to trade looney
tunes with Drucilla. She would arrive in another month
and cause a bit of trouble for Buffy.
Too bad it turned out Mr. Coverton had escaped his crypt
in the sixties and was caught by rumanian authorities.
The Council could trace him to a mental asylum in the
general area. Where they buried the man-eating bastard
as yet another deranged human being and just forgot
about him.
Too bad he was taken out of this hole a couple of years
ago and then showed up as a corpse in Bordeaux. Interpol
confirmed it was him, decapacitated. Somebody must have
been damn lucky that day. Coverton was a very old man,
even by the standards of his race. He might have been
ideally suited to take care of Xander for them.
Giles released the friendly face he showed the Slayer
and went to get a drink. He needed one. This was the
part of the job he plainly hated.
But it was either Buffy or the world.
As it always had been, since the beginning.
"Death is just a feather but duty's heavier than a
mountain," he whispered as he drained his glass. And
coughed a bit afterwards. He really was getting old.


#41
Xander's safehouse, LA:


It wasn't the professional dungeon he had had under his
club but it would do. The man who was chained on the
old bed had no way of breaking free and he knew it.
Xander wished he could have left this to Faith. She was
torture girl after all!
Except he had sent Faith away in anger, over what she
had done with Cordelia. Bad enough they slept together.
Worse was that Cordelia liked it so much, craved it so
bad. Like Faith had foretold.
Damn prescient Slayers! He liked Cordelia, despite all
their history. Maybe because of it. But he did not want
her in their bed. He did not want another woman who
made love to both of them and got off on being fed on.
Although it certainly was a nice alternative to bags
and hunting.
Even worse was how Cordelia behaved. She certainly was
disgusted by herself but she lied when she said she had
not liked it at all. And she lied so terribly that she
was even aware of it.
Great. She wasn't just turning into slut girl again. It
hurt enough to know she had been like this when they
were together...and that she had cautioned him in their
utility closet activities. Real piece of work, Cordelia.
Okay, she never had directly lied and said she was an
innocent virgin. But still, it would have been nice to
know she fucked around and made a joke out of him.
Even better to learn that most of the Cordettes treated
him like the last scum on earth out of jealousy - most
of all Harmony Kendall.
Who now was his minion.
And a willing accomplice to Faith's plan.
Faith had promised her to turn Cordelia into their pet
and Harm jumped at the chance. What was that again about
her desiring nothing more than to torture the shit out
of her former girlfriend? Maybe now it was to get the
same old treatment.
Xander closed his eyes, felt his demon coming out to him
again. How did Angel stand it? Experience, probably. The
demon talked to him in his dreams, wanted to make him
act in the worst way his mind could project...in short,
wanted to make him the same evil vampire as every other.
He sighed and wished it were so simple.
The demon had tried that and failed for the most. As
Xander resisted it got somehow more sentient and more
refined. Sometimes the demon had made him act in a very
questionable manner.
It wasn't just the consciousness thing and the vampire
instincts for killing, hunting or fucking that caused
him troubles nowadays. The demon seemed to get kicks out
of taking out nasties as much as he did from draining a
human. Or taking a lover.
And ever since he took his first head he was different
again. He was recuperating from it. Xander knew he would
not do that in another hundred years, it very nearly had
destroyed him.
The physical effects were bad enough. He had not told
Faith he still could eat small portions of solid food.
It helped to speed up his recovery a lot. Unfortunately
it didn't mean he could get by without blood...that was
as bad as ever.
He was up to his old levels now and he even started to
transcend them. The tricks he had pulled before were
becoming easier with experience and power. Power that
came from energy gathered throughout time.
If he slept now, and he still needed sleep, the demon
made him dream and relive memories of dead people.
Dozens of Immortals laFollet had taken and the man
himself, him being almost alive in the back of his head.
The memories were still not his but they began to blend
in as did the skills he gained.
Xander could see the same happen in Cordelia. Her not
very adept swordfighting had increased a lot. Now she
would not need much more than a couple of weeks and a
lot of workouts to become able to hold her own.
Truth be told, she was a terrible swordswoman. Not that
this stopped her from being a great fighter after she
got rid of her moral ballast, like not wishing to hit
anyone. She never had so many of those.
He cursed the laFollet-voice in his mind that commented
about Cordelia and her strenghts and weaknesses. As much
as he cursed his own thoughts about the girl.
Faith had known and he had been wrong.
Cordelia Chase had wormed her way into his mind again.
The naked thing he made her do wasn't so much of a help
either...just gave his demon plenty of material to have
dreams about. Some of them even came true.
He would have liked to watch her and Faith do it after
Cordelia was overwhelmed by the Quickening. She would
be in that state for days to come, even weeks. All part
of the assimilation process. Moods, actions she wouldn't
quite have considered, small details changing.
The worst was that Cordelia had taken a head.
Xander had a demon to occupy him, so many things. All
Cordelia had was a dim memory of the most incredible
sensation she could make. That memory, hate and now she
also had Faith.
They would be back from the little trip Faith wanted to
make and then Cordelia probably would have another head.
He really had to make her stop that. Too much Quickening
in too short a timespan could destroy her sanity.
The little of it that was left anyway.
The demon aksed him what the hell was his problem. He had
two women ready to shagg with him, woman who looked like
they could get along now that Faith had claimed her space
in Cordelia's heart.
Spare me the vampire social life, Xander thought. They
certainly were not monogamous. Even if they knew love and
kinship...in a demonically twisted way.
What did you expect? They are demons.
Human minds ruled by demons.
He rubbed his throbbing temples.
Whom do I love? Xander asked himself uncertainly. Faith.
He certainly loved Faith. Not much affection left for
Willow, a little bit for Buffy...his demon came up with
dreams about her forever. Getting staked by her as much
as getting to kill her. With a few about how it would be
to fuck her (those he had had since meeting her) and a
few novel ones about turning her.
And now there was Cordelia again.
Who could live forever with him and Faith. Offering all
sorts of possibilities. Except that Faith still was a
major mayhem character and Cordelia began to show all
the signs of becoming a headhunter.
He almost grimaced when he noticed Wesley was awake and
talking to him for a while. Making the usual hot air of
him not telling anything and such stuff.
"Shutup," Xander said angrily. "I have a number of big
questions for you, Wesman. Now, we do know how you make
a breakdown under torture...why do we have to bother
with the pretense? Just give me what I want and you get
outa here and back to your dump."
And to the syringe stored in there. Wesley was not
just going for drinks anymore but also drugs. Her was
on the road to selfdestruction and he probably couldn't
give a damn. He was a failure, a waste...all his life
was a mess. One beyond repair, probably. He had said
something about his family disowning him and casting him
out. Very funny.

"What do you want to know?"

"The Slayer. Buffy," Xander said softly, glad he could
do something productive for a change. "Tell me why the
Watchers want her dead."

"I...I can't."

"Do we have to get physical? I don't think I would...or
not. No, I think I WOULD love to start...!" Xander
sang out, remembering whose girlfriend Wesley had been
interested in before. EXgirlfriend. Never forget it.
But she had such a great...way to make her remembered.
Better not to think too much of her.

"Shit!" Wesley croaked, in panic. "I can't tell you. It
is not that I would not want to, I just can't! They gave
me that...that...spell of silence. Can't even remember
myself what they are after. If I ever knew!"

"What?" Xander frowned, surprised.

"They deemed me a failure because of Faith turning into
a vampire. They cast me out and took all my memories
away, all the knowledge," Wesley spat angrily, his face
scrawny and dirty. And showing utter despair. "All of my
life I worked...was loyal...and then...then they just...
fuck, they took it all away!"

"You still remember what happened."

"Yeah, tidbits. But nothing more. I can't even look at a
book anymore without getting a god-awful headache!" the
former Watcher confessed. He whined for close to half an
hour about what sort of judgement was passed on him. It
was not fair. A curse taking away his ability to read
books in any language, to take most of the magical and
mystical knowledge he assembled...it was just a blank.
The worst was they did it after he was relieved of his
duty for Faith. AFTER he had had any ability to get a
spin on events.
Wesley Windham-Pryce was a sacrifical lamb for the sort
of power politics played in the Watchers' Council. Some
surprise.
He was placed on the hot seat before he first arrived,
being told how to treat Faith...nice surprise. He even
admitted to this.
Giles was the man on the spot, the boss. He had to make
an asshole out of himself so the gang trusted him more.
Not that Wesley had to do much in the asshole sort of
behavior, Xander thought, but still. He began to really
hate Rupert Giles for pulling at his strings like that.
"And then?"

"I have no idea. Faith was...when she snapped I wanted
her taken back for reeducation and evaluation," Wesley
whispered. "But she got away and then...then she went
to the mayor."

"What about Giles? What did he say?"

"He was actually pleased, after an outburst. I think he
knew Faith was going to be the downfall of the mayor,"
Wesley whispered. Nice of him to cooperate. "Don't ask
me how."

Xander found he had an idea or two. Vague ones but still
ideas worth to be checked out. he got a few more details
out of Wesley before the wimp was just a waste anymore.
"Will you let me go now?" Wesley finally asked, for a
change he was not being dense. "Or will I be killed?"
He was reaching a point where life meant nothing to him
anymore. Just a continuation of his suffering thanks to
this curse.

"I think I have an idea how to get more out of you,"
Xander answered as he vamped out. Wesley began to scream
and struggle but of course it was a doomed attempt. He
got drained within a few seconds and his blood just was
as rotten as Xander had expected it would be. He forced
the man's mouth open, used a finger turned into a claw
to slash a wound into his other arm and made Wesley
drink from the dark blood pouring out of the wound.
"Don't worry so much, Wesman. Be useless to me and I'll
just dust you. Besides, huh, something gives me just the
idea this was the way you'd end up anyway..."
Xander laughed, Wesley was dead and could not listen.
He did not care.
And turned his mind back to other matters.
Like what to do about the Cordelia situation.
Should he take what he was offered? What Faith said was
going to happen? Or should he be an upright man about
it and get her back to Angel before it was too late? If
that had not already happened.
He could not decide on anything when Wesley rose again,
hours later. A soulless vampire ready to do as much
damage as he could do in his unlife.
He would have to see about the souling curse later. For
now Wesleyw as his childe and Xander easily controled
the new vampire. A few pints of blood. An offer of a
cherry old time.
Which his demon actually considered.
Faith had make him experiment but he never had felt much
about it. Wesley, well, he was different. A childe he
made. There was a bond there that he needed to express.
Besides, he'd rather do Wesley than Harmony.
Buddy, Xander mused, you're loosing your humanity way
too fast there! But how much humanity had he had?
In the end it was the image of Cordelia and Faith and
what they would do after Cordelia was charged with a
new Quickening. That decided it for him.
Xander got amused by the idea of Larry seeing him like
this. Maybe he had a gay side to himself, though he did
prefer women - like he had told Larry after forcing the
quarterback's coming out as a fag instead of confessing
to being the werewolf Xander had expected him to be.
Would be entertaining to see Willow and Buffy while they
did learnt of this new development. Maybe he should get
into an orgy and send them a tape.
At least now he knew why Angelus had never been after
them so often. Vampires were so busy between hunting and
doing each other or whatever.
Best thing was - Wesley broke his curse. He was ready to
tell all he knew. Ready, ha, the fledgeling was eager!
Too bad he never knew that much.
He still was a trained Watcher.
Surprisingly he could be actually useful.


#42
Buffy's room, Sunnydale UC:


"Willow, I...please, I just...?" Buffy stammered, lost
for words. "Nothing of this was your fault."

"Damnit, Buffy!" Willow shouted, soundly enraged. She
tried to talk to her best girlfriend for days and weeks
and always Buffy evaded her. Buffy dreaded this talk.
Maybe because she knew what it was going to be about.
"I do not blame ME for anything."

"But...I thought...?" Buffy gasped, now listening. She
sighed, shook her head and looked down guiltily. "What
did I miss, Wills?"

"I blame you," Willow answered flatly. "Is it that hard
to understand? You were convinced we could trust Spike."
Buffy swallowed, hard. Didn't get out a word.
Thus Willow needed to do the talking. Say she did not
hate her for making a mistake, she had been with her on
the Spike issue after all. She had agreed with her in so
many ways and aspects and maybe she was wrong because of
this. Usually she was supporto gal.
Buffy needed someone to offer a contrary view and after
Xander was gone...damn, it wasn't as if they listened to
him that much before.

"What are we talking about here?" Buffy whispered,
paling. "I thought we were talking about you and your
problems."

"Forget them," Willow replied. What did she have lost?
Oz? They were more or less over, because of him. The big
bad shock she had dealt with already. And she was with
Tara right now. "We're talking about yours."

"I know I have not been exactly...?" Buffy tried to get
a way out of this but Willow refused to let her. She
shook her head.
Buffy had a sick mom with terminal cancer, problems at
school and too many bad memories. Xander, Faith. Riley.
Spike and Oz. The entire initiative affair and what
they were trying to do right now. Looking at it this way
her entire life considered of taking one blow after the
other. So far she dealt with them but now...now that was
no more sure.

Willow was not blind. Or not as much as Buffy and Graham
seemed to think. For they were working on something,
hiding money and some resources, and Willow was not told
which went against the procedures they agreed upon.
Noone was told about it. Which made her wonder what else
she did not hear. Or what did surprise her.
Buffy taking Graham for a boyfriend? Please. Sure, they
gave the impressions and behaved like theyw ere getting
closer. But she was acting, not loving him.
Buffy changed and Willow could not do anything about it
but to notice how the Slayer shut her out. Her, Giles,
Tara...everyone.
"You are walking a tightrope, Buffy," Willow told the
lithe blonde sitting unhappily on the bed adjoining her
own. "The same Faith did, keeping just your own counsel
anymore. Shutting everybody out. Buffy, what's up with
you? I am your friend, you should...you...?"

"You are my friend. The best."

"Then do you trust me!" Willow glared, already knowing
the answer when Buffy turned her gaze away. She saw a
flicker of pain in that pair of jade green eyes the
slayer sported. "Thought so."

"It's not so easy anymore, Willow," Buffy tried again.
"All this...it is tearing me apart. I do not have all
the answers and idea and...and I...can't loose another
friend."

"Just like with the master," Willow concluded annoyed.
She had come back from her summer vacation and plaid
the bitch. Driving everyone away with her acts. Because
she didn't want them to be hurt. "Didn't we have that
debate settled long ago?"

"And did you ever ask yourself after what persons the
vampires go these days?" Buffy dryly answered, her voice
dead and flat. "Willow, they go after you. Anybody who
is a friend to me is a target now that this Anaeira is
taking over the townies."

"She's just another creep," Willow scowled. They had
faced worse. "Don't play that card again, Buffy! What
you need the most are friends right now...people whom
you can trust."

"Hard to come by, these people," Buffy grimaced and
looked around suspiciously. "You never know."

"Oh please!" Willow complained. She was getting too
paranoid after the initiative and Spike. Behaving like
a burnt little girl. "That is so bad that I can't even
start to..."

The phone rang. Right on a cue and Buffy jumped to take
the call. Turned it it was Graham and he had really bad
news. She went white and almost let the phone drop on
the floor, tears began to flow from her eyes. In a voice
Willow had not heard ever but after the Angelus problems
Buffy whispered denials. Begged for it.
She didn't get it.

"What is it?" Willow demanded, bracing for bad news.

Buffy looked at her and her features hardened. Slid
behind a mask that she tried to give her emotions as
well. "Bad news," she croaked. "My mother was just
abducted by the vampires...our spotter and her backup
are dead. So for six other people in the hospital."

"Oh no!" Willow whispered. "You...but how?"

"They came in from the basement, killed and went away,"
Buffy replied with an unstable voice. "Anaeira is going
after us, Wills. Personally. You still think I'm just
acting paranoid?"

Willow looked down. "What will you do?"

"What we have to," Buffy replied. "Get out all the guns
I can take and go after her place...kill everything that
comes in the way and get my mom back."

"Buffy - they will kill her at the first signs of...!"

"You think I can let that stop me? She's dead one way or
the other, maybe worse!" Buffy snarled, now with the
fire of cold determination and rage in voice and posure.
"If that fucking bitch turns her I will dump her into a
pool of holy water inch by inch...!"

Willow was still trying to cope with this when Buffy got
up and stormed out of the room. Leaving her behind. She
vaguely notived Buffy telling her to hold the fort and
prepare an orb of Tessulah. Just in case.
All she noticed was the door slamming shut and Buffy
being gone to war. Her stomach told her this could not
have a good end, not good at all.
"Giles," she decided, "I got to get Giles...he has to
know a way out of this."