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#43
Former initiative hideout, Sunnydale:


"I can't believe he did that," Graham rasped, looking up
from his cot. He could not believe a number of things.
Like that Buffy Summers just walked up to him and had
ordred him to get rid of his pants, she wanted a man.
Damn, he felt sorry for touching her - in his mind she
still was Riley's girlfriend. But Riley was dead. Like
before it made him depressed to even remember that.
Tell what you want, siree, but she's a girl! Graham
thought as he caught sight of the woman coming out of
the improvised showers.
A girl that was deeply wounded and changed after she had
taken too many close calls over the last weeks.
A girl who watched her own mother die right now. And she
could not do a thing against the man who was responsible
and only might be able to cure her again - a man whom
she had to treat as a close friend and ally.
She trusted him, and noone else anymore. Or she used him
which summed up the same, enough for his taste.
Used...did he feel used? Not really.
He felt rather surprised she came here and wanted to do
him so frantically she seemed to think it was the last
time. Not what he had in mind if he were in her shoes.
He'd go after Giles and make him free Joyce Summers. He
certainly would not dream about taking a load of arms
and go after the bad guys all alone. Or in a manner that
fairly screamed failure.
"And I can't beliebe you act so dumb."

"What shall I do?" Buffy replied depressed, bitter. "If
I get her out alive she'll just waste away. I have seen
what it is like and I would not want to die like that."
She sighed. "And Giles can always try again. If this one
vamp doesn't make the kill the enxt will...and then it
will be you and Willow, your friends and families...? I
just can't allow it."

"So you walk into a deathtrap and expect to die," Graham
constated. He felt anger. He did not want to loose her.
Even if she did not love him, or he did not love her.
She was just too important too lose. Besides being one
great girl after light's out. "Sounds stupid to me."

"You can't always choose the way," Buffy shrugged. "Did
that before, you know? At least, this time there won't
be a a prophecy telling I had to die." She grinned. A
dark and dangerous smirk that made the hairs on his neck
raise. "I still am here and the other guy isn't!"

"But...without any backup you will...?"

"I don't plan on dying, Graham, at least not ME dying!"
Buffy informed him sharply as she took a towel. If she
only believed that herself he would have been less
concerned. "Still got a date to keep."

"I'll come along."

"You will do no such thing," Buffy barked and before he
could do anything she was there and hit him. Knocked him
down with one solid punch. He was so dizzy he could not
have fought back even if he'd tried to. "I can't let you
die tonight, Graham. You still have the other mission
ahead of you! Sorry it has to be this way, though."
Her fist connected to his skull and all went blank, he
fell unto the cot and was out.


#44
Xander's safehouse, LA:


Harmony took Wesley hunting. She began to dote on the
former watcher the instant she laid eyes on him, which
was the day he was made and when Xander was in bed with
Wesley. Which she said led to things...how much of it
was just Harm boasting?
Cordelia felt surprised she wasn't utterly shocked.
Xander and a guy? Bad image. Worse was that she was
still after him, now in conjuncture with Faith.
She even let Harmony get her in the showers...and this
morning the blonde vampiress had asked if she would
consider a party with her and Wesley.
And some young dumb thing to feed on.
Cordelia was stunned that she considered taking up her
former friend's offer. Even if it involved killing an
innocent.
Did Xander know they hunted? Or care!
And who was she to lay blame, she had just cut off the
head of a woman with her sword. And she was falling in
love with a psychotic Slayer turned vampire, not to
mention the prospects about her former guy...she was
seriously sick. Awfully perverted. Out of her mind. Out
of control.
And it felt wonderful. She knew and still couldn't
really bring herself to give a damn. Not true, she got
off on the vampires feeding from her.
How had it happened? Gradually. And with Faith. Fucking
Faith! Well, she had and would do so again. Gladly.
Cordelia groaned as she walked into the room where
Xander waited for her, sword in hand. Face hard. And
entirely not approving of her. Why should he?
"I don't want to hear it," Cordelia said as she sat
down on a bench. "And you're a great one to talk about
it anyway, after turning Wesley!"
Wesley, of all people. She had chased him during the
latter part of her senior year in highschool. Not that
she had wanted him, really, it was just...he looked
good, was older and it annoyed her ex like hell.
Bugger, if she'd been back there she wouldn't mind his
apology. Or watching him and Willow do more than just a
kiss before death.

"Some days I wonder if we all go mad slowly," Xander
said softly, placing the sword on the side of the room
and coming over to sit besides her. "Faith got you,
did she?"

"Or I got her, not so sure there," Cordelia nodded. She
leant back and gloated, staring at the dirty ceiling.
"Wish we could do it and send Willow a video. Thanking
her for starting it."

"You're turning into a seriously sickening slut," he
told her firmly. "Do you knwo that, Cordelia Chase?"

"And doesn't it give you the hots, fangboy?" Cordelia
asked in return. It was mean. But she was in the mood
for it. "Why fight it? We could be great together. Not a
thing in the world to stop us." Not even a Slayer. She
knew it for a fact.

"Already starting to yearn for ruling the world?" he
muttered, disappointed in her. "You got a soul, damnit!"

"And you don't?" Cordelia deadpanned, laughing. "I'm
going mad, Xander."

"You don't have to."

"Ah, but I want to...will do so if I don't get another
prospect," Cordelia threatened him. Blackmail. She was
sure it would work. "You know how it is..."

"I happen to know," Xander barked grumpily. "Keep this
up and it will burn your snaity away, Cordy. And then
you don't even care whose head will roll."

"Then give me something else to live for!" she cried and
meant it. "Give me something else than a sword to live
with, something else than a psychotic Slayer who fell in
love with you...give me that something, yourself. Or I
will take Harmony's offer..."

"And end up being a killer," he muttered.

"Already am," she snorted. "What does it matter! We all
are." Now she truly was one of them. Maybe no vampire
but the rest she had. She didn't do it for the killing,
though. She just wanted them so bad she changed her own
moral code. One didn't learn every day one was not a
human but immortal and made to cut off the heads of all
those like her...or to die trying. It was just so sick.
She had to laugh. "Do you like your creation, master?"

He was this close to stirking out against her. Or run
away. And then he camped out. "You don't like pain!"
he said. "Not really."

"Don't you?" she dared him, baring her neck. "Comeon.
Get it over with...!" And be mine, mine the moment
you feel my blood fill your mouth, she thought. Mine.
"Show me what you like, Xander."

A growl. And then he let go and was on her and fangs
rippedthrough skin. Cordelia barely paid attention to
her clothes getting shredded - again. Nor the other
sensations. She was too busy to laugh. Always had
known she'd get him, whenever she wanted.


#45
Xander's safehouse, LA:


Faith walked into their bedroom and found her man in
their bed, the sheets a chaos. And he laid there with
another woman who was keeping the sobbing boy he
would always look like in her embrace. Gentle hands
curled his hair, a gentle voice told him everything
would be well again.
Faith was very pleased. More or less for she knew it
wouldn't be that easy. Things were happening. Many
things. Some she decisively didn't like.
"Sorry to disturb you," she said.

"No disturbance," Cordelia sweetly answered, "never
with you, Faith. Why don't you join us for a bit?"

"Bitch," Xander muttered halfwards intelligable.

"Which means? I always was a bad girl," a very sated
Cordelia grinned, reveling in her position. "And now
I'm a very happy girl."

"As long as you just stop to go headhunting," Xander
sighed, sitting up. "At least not before you're doing
it all on your own, Cordy."

As if Faith would ever let these darn rules hinder her
with ensuring her family's safety! But if he kept them
occupied she could accept it. For a while.
cordelia was about to grant his request as Faith cut
them short. She so hated to break their rest and put an
end to certain activities. But she just got another
vision. Buffy was in trouble. Usual state of things in
Sunnydale but this time was worse.

"Why?" Cordelia asked. "She has got her amry goons and
the Watchers and...oh, yeah."

"Yeah. she's on her own and facing off against an army
of very pissed vampires," Faith brutally informed them
about the content of her vision. "I just saw how she got
taken down. They're torturing her right now. Most of the
army dudes are dead, by the way." She shrugged. "She is
stuck in the deep shit this time. they will kill her by
the end of the week but up to then she's the feeding
tray for a big bad vampiress. And their torture object."

"Buffy," Cordelia muttered. Uncertainly. "Why do we want
to help her again? It's not like she'd help us...right?"

"Nice change of attitude," Xander commented as he began
to get up. "We will help Buffy. She's a friend. Despite
everything."

"A friend who will try to make me leave you, stake you
and be generally all the world's troubles?" Cordelia
countered, grimacing. "She's not going to be very happy
for seeing you."

"Right now she would accept help from the late master
himself," Faith clarified. Buffy was learning pain. She
never had gotten that lection before. "I have some idea
about Buffy, though."

"Oh, you do?" Xander grimaced. "Like gutting her this
time."

"No gutting. Wesley knows a spell," Faith answered her
lover smugly. she saw the shock in their faces. "I want
to turn her."

"BUFFY?"

"Buffy," Faith nodded.

"Comeone, she'd rather die than...!" Cordelia gulped,
looking at Faith. "And we got a Slayer already. Why take
another in? She'd just stake you at the first..."

"I rather thought about sending her to Angel," Faith cut
the Immortal short, looking at Xander. "Wouldn't that be
the kind of revenge we've been looking for?"

"Ha! She would hunt us to the end of the world," Xander
coughed out, his hazel eyes sparkling with delight
despite his tone. "She would be so pissed."

"She will not," Faith assured them. Buffy would maybe
not exactly be a great fan but no mortal enemy either.
"Don't get me wrong here but why go to such lenghts to
keep our most lovely Slayer breathing? Unlive's alive in
my book. And then we got no more commandos from the
not so friendly Watchers' Council."

"At least nothing so bad," Xander mused. "I still would
want to hear Giles explain himself before you start to
turn anybody."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Faith grinned. She was
thrilled with the idea. Buffy would pay for gutting her
and she would even have to thank Faith for this! "Let's
go...can't stand this rathole anymore anyway."

"And where will we go afterwards?" Cordelia said. "Doubt
Angel will let us stay here."

"We got a whole world to chose from," Xander meant while
he looked for his jeans. "Must say this looks promising.
Never thought of this."

"We do take Wesley along, do we?" Cordelia asked.

"Him and Harmony, sure," Faith declared. She grinned
her nicest insane grin. "Wouldn't want to get bored,
would we? Besides, we'd do good to keep some older face
in our midst."
She had a regular family. Even if they were vampires.
And they would take in others as well. Faith knew they
would. For the place, she always had wanted to go to
New York...do the club thing again. This time they even
had a daytime person with them. And they had demons and
vampires enough to offer more than enough challenges.
She would love to see B's face when she woke up and
found herself vamped.
Payback's a bitch, B! she thought. Not to mention she
would just have to wait until Buffy let the past be the
past.

"Don't I get a say in this as well?"

"Lemme think...no," Cordelia shook her head, "not if you
don't want to sleep alone for a very long time."

"That's right," Faith smirked.

"Blackmail! And conspiracy?" Xander gulped, threw up his
hands and surrendered. "Okay, we take them with us. They
can get our stuff loaded and brought over with a truck.
While we go and break Buffy out of her situation and
then we get to play questions and answers with Giles. I
am tired of being kept in the dark."


#46
Anaeira's lair, Sunnydale


Buffy screamed. For real. The brown haired vampiress, a
fat old thing of warts and hideous ridges, so ugly to
make the master look good (and fashionable!), laughed.
And pressed her fingers on the broken bones again.
"Doesn't that hurt so nice, wormie?" she asked, speaking
to the demon thing that was on her shoulder. An actual
worm with the size of a snake. And a lot of sharp teeth
under the mouth...it sure as hell wasn't eating dirt
like any other worm. "The bad Slayer girl suffers. That
makes me feel so good, wormie. You'll get her remains
once I'm done with her. She's so tasty, that Slayer..."

Buffy would have made a crack comment if she had enough
energy for it left. And a mouth to speak with, right now
hers was gagged. Her eyes teared as the vampiress once
again bit into her flesh and sucked blood.
Great - a god ugly looney tun, Drucilla meets master.
Not to mention half a hundred vampires in the lair and
two dozen other demons waiting for her inside. Buffy had
killed half of them before they took her down. She would
have blown the place up after she learnt her mother was
not here nor would she ever be.
She would - if the bomb had not refused to explode. She
had looked awfully stupid holding the detonator for the
packs of dynamite she threw around before. Holding that
little remote in her hand, pressing the button and then
nothing happened...certainly no fiery explosion that
would have allowed her to run away.
But instead her weapons went out of ammo and she had no
time to reload the crossbow...the many bad guys had not
hesitated to press their advantage, she had not given in
easily but in the end she went down. Even Slayers had a
limit as to how much damage they could take and continue
to function. And how many baddies she could take on at
one time.
Really wrong way to learn she wasn't Supergirl.

All she could do now was to endure and wait for the
inevitable end. Giles would get his wish, she would die.
"Sssssomeday one of ussss will get zzzooouuuu!" she
muttered through the gag as the vampire queen left the
dungeon she had thrown Buffy into. She never showed she
had even noticed Buffy speaking.
Beyong that there was not much she could say. Or do. She
cursed her own stupidity and frustration. Willow had
been so right with her words, she ahd cut herself off
again. For she knew she had to die if it meant either
her life or the world.
Whatever little life was left by now.
She just hoped Xander would make them pay. Big hope,
trusting a vampire...she never got anything good out of
that one. she would have laughed but her broken ribs
hurt.
Buffy tasted blood inside of her mouth.
At least she hoped it was blood.
She hoped none of her people were dumb enough to make a
rescue attempt but she doubted it. Graham was just so
stupid. They wouldn't get far - mad as she might be,
the vampiress had a smart distribution of her guards.
She couldn't speak, she couldn't move, she could not
even drop unconscious and forget her pains.
And now she was seeing things, too.
Memories haunting her in a half-sleep state.
Giles, Willow, her mom and dad, Kendra, Xander...and
then Faith. She was even somehow talking to her, in
whispers Buffy could not make much sense out of.
Guess you won in the end, F, Buffy thought and tried to
show an apologetic grin. You'd be happy to see me like
this, wouldn't you? Or would it be jealous because it
could not be your handywork?
Whatever, she was dead meat now.
She wished she had dared to go after Giles before she
stormed into this place. Or at least made

#47
the magic shop, Sunnydale


Rupert Giles sighed relieved as the clock told him it
was nine and he could close down his shop. Like most
of the time he had next to no customers but that wasn't
the idea, now was it?
He smiled, adjusted his glasses and suppressed a yawn.
Another long day gone by and maybe...maybe it was over.
No more Watcher, no more risks and troubles. He could
go home...in a while, of course. And get his reward for
five years of loyal service to the Council.
A wonderful prospect.
For a moment he empathized with Buffy Summers but then
he remembered. For the greater good there had to be some
sacrifices made - like the girls housing the Slayer. Too
bad they died so young. On the other hand they also were
a horrible risk.
He just wished it would have been less messy. A quick and
clean kill and then be rid of Buffy. He was somewhat
disappointed, too. He had not expected she would be taken
out by Anaeira.
He had just finished to lock the door and cleaned up a bit
when behind him there was a sign. Giles turned around,
surprised. Could this be a simpel thief? Or...?
And then his eyes went wide as he recognized the young
man and the woman standing casually at the door. Xander
had exchanged his slack outfit for a dark trenchcoat and
jeans and Faith wore a rather modest jacket...neither had
any arms in their hands. They didn't need them.
"How did you get in here?" Giles gulped, reaching for his
cross. "I did not invite anybody in here."

"Did you?" Faith gloated. "Mhm. A mystery to me, ain't
it, lover?"

"A mystery indeed," Xander said unmoved. He looked
around and chuckled. "Not much changed in here, G-man."

"What do you want?" Giles spat. "Buffy isn't here!"

"Actually I just want one answer, Giles," Xander declared
as he took up a book from a shelf and weighed it in his
hand. "Why must Buffy die?"

"What?"

"No excuses, asshole. You're the Watcher. You're there
to keep her safe and alive - not the other way around,"
Xander hissed. "No tell me!"

Giles had his mouth open and felt dizzy, his vision was
swimming. He noticed the sign. He was getting whammied,
at least one of the two vampires used hypnotic powers.
He raised his cross, shut his eyes and retreated into a
corner. If he could get at the spraycan with the holy
water he kpet there he would have a chance...but he
never had any.
Xander threw the book and hit the back of his hand and
gone was the cross. Broken was a bone, too. Giles opened
his mouth and screamed and then Faith was on him. The
vamped Vampire Slayer grabbed him at his shirt and took
him away like a bag of potates, threw him around.
Less than a minute later he sat on a chair at the back
of his shop, the phone cord was ripped out of the wall
and they used gummed tape to bind him to the chair. The
stuff was far cheaper and as reliable as chains, if it
was properly applied.
Faith took out a small recording device, holding the
microphone so it would catch every word Giles said.
"You," Xander commanded now, with a strangely sothing
voice and a sidewards glance at Faith, "will tell me why
you try to kill Buffy."

Giles tried what he could. Had they opted for physical
torture he might have held out, he had faced everythying
Angelus had had to offer and he had not broken. Which
was good and great but of no use right now. Against
their hypnotic powers he had no real chance. He still
fought but he knew he had lost before the battle began.
Giles felt himself get sleepy after a while and then he
floated in a warm place and there was Jenny again. And
his father.
They wanted to hear what made the Slayer Buffy so damn
dangerous...and he wanted them to be happy with him. He
told them of the prophecy and the decisive battle that
would come soon. It would need two fully trained Slayers
to face the nightfolk when they came to be born. And if
they failed to eradicate the new breed they would spread
to conquer the world from the shadows.
The Council could not afford a dangerous renegade Slayer
out there at this crucial time. Buffy was not just too
unpredictable, she also was suspected of treason.

"Why that?"

"Some verses of the prophecies hint that the nightfolk
will be aided by the Slayers, trying with each new one to
turn them into agents furthering their evil," Giles
answered smugly. He had figured that part out over many
years os reading scrolls and translating old texts, while
working with the legendary Watcher Merrick to spot the
signs that heralded the new age - namely the Slayer to
defy death, which turned out to be Buffy. "Buffy should
have done several things she never did. She should have
killed the son of hell, the child king of the undead.
She should have detected and stopped the servant of the
hellmouth, which was the mayor. She should have found a
man with a pure heart to love and not the soul-cursed
vampire Angelus. But she truly is the sign, the herald.
Faith was malleable, the first Slayer to switch sides in
recorded history."
Giles giggled a bit and found he was drooling and the
pressure in his head grew. It hurt. He spoke more and
faster and less well pronounced.
About the temptations the Slayer would be shown by the
new lords of the night and the reign of terror they
would bring. About the queen of the night that was said
to have been a former Slayer, a very amlleable one.
He also spoke about the neitherwar - when the nightfolk
would help the demons to bring back the First One, the
original vampire. Which would lead to an incredible
destruction and great suffering. And then they would
sire a new, even more powerful breed of vampires.
The prophecies were vague and conlicting, noone knew
which was going to happen and which was just sprung from
a failed translation or an outright lie spread by evil.
Nothing seemed certain except that the Powers That Be
were involved quite heavily - and the Powers were not
exactly acting in the best interest of humanity, like
the Watchers' Council.
Giles could have said some more but they stopped him
and asked where Buffy was, who held her and why.
Of course he told them of Anaeira, the white which who
was tortured to insanity and mutilated by a master of
old times before she was turned. She was a very powerful
vampiress with magical powers but she also was rather
easy to contact through her psychical gift, much like
Drucilla. So she could be manipulated by the Council,
to a minor degree controled.

"How did she catch Buffy?"

"I had some vampire mercenaries abduct her mother,"
Giles said. "She thought Anaeira was behind it. Anaeira
had her demon allies and more vampires hidden in her
lair and when Buffy came in alone to rescue her mother
she was finally overwhelmed by their numbers." He
chuckled. "I had Buffy's aides make a rescue attempt but
that failed. Now these people will be no more danger."

"Where is the lair?"

He told them. And then the throbbing in his head was so
bad he began to loose conscience. He moaned in pain.
"Did I make you proud?" he whsipered. "I lo-love..."
And things went blank. Totally.
Giles began to sleep, deep and dreamless.


#48
Anaeira's lair, Sunnydale


Faith staked a vampire and watched pleased as Xander
used his sword to whack off the arms from a green
scaled demon, moving so fast he seemed a blur for a
few moments.
She ducked under a punch and returned with a kick to
the crutch of her huge assailant. Some other football
player turned by a vampire, they never got any smarter.
She had little to none troubles with killing them, she
did not even need any weapon beyond her stake.
Much less would she have needed the backup by Wesley
and Harmony and Cordelia who carried crossbows and a
squirt gun loaded with holy water as well as her sword.
Showoff, Faith thought as Xander beheaded a vampire
and used his hand to rip the heart out of antoher the
next instant. Crushing the organ in his hand while it
turned to dust, as well as the owner's body, he still
was smeared with fresh blood.
His laughter certainly had a devastating effect against
the vampires and demons who were gathered in here, the
ruins of the derelict old police station. They still
could house a vamp or two. Or fifty when they took the
basement into the euqetation. It even had an improvied
sewer access tunnel - which a lot fo the enemies used to
run away through.
Very dramatic, really.
The just showed up and walked in, as the house wasn't
inhabited by any human being they could do so. Now they
killed anyone they saw and caused mass panic.
And as the place was emptied out there just was the
cell with Buffy left. She and the big boss lady herself
were in there. The utterly stomach-turning sight of the
master vampiress herself was made worse by the demon
worm she carried around on her shoulders when she came
out of the dungeon.
Faith was reminded of Kakaistos instantly. though this
one looked less demonic than miserbale. It was a rotten
and decayed creature to mean to die with any hint of
grace. This was a really old and powerful monster.
But also one lacking much presence of mind.
Xander never hesitated but attacked immidiately, his
sword flashed in the damp light available as he whacked
off first a hand and then an arm at the elbow joint.
Blood splashed and the master vampiress howled.
She still began to counterattack at once and Xander was
driven back by a fury of kicks and one-handed swings.
Not very graceful fighting style but fast and powerful.
Faith threw a stake that stuck in the body, it never
managed to get deep enough to dust the creepy thing.
Neither did the crossbow bolts but since they were
tipped in holy water they caused additional damage.
Xander took away the other arm and the vampiress was
staring at him with two bleeding armstumps. The worm
on her shoulders rose, opened the mouth and spat out
yellow acid into Xander's general direction. It hissed
and steamed where the spit fell to the ground but he
jumped out of the way.
Faith got another stake out, howled a warcray and threw
herself against the older vampiress. Doing a summersault
in midair her feet touched the ground right in front of
the monster. The armless woman tried to shove her away
but failed and then Faith rammed her stake home...the
worm suddenly fell down as the vampires became a set of
dust and withered bones. Faith barely avoided being
covered with yellow demonspit herself and screamed in
pain at the few drops that touched her. They were just
as bad as holy water.
The worm trashed around wildly, trying to get at them
but it was moving so slow they easily evaded. A crossbow
bolt stuck into a flank suddenly, breached the thick
hide of the beast...and began to dissolve as the worm
crawled forward. It wasn't damaged at all.
It had no eyes or ears or anything Faith could name a
sense but it knew where they were. And it moved in on
them. Xander was this close to hacking at the thing with
his sword when he decided against it. Instead he had
Harmony go and get some gasoline from their car on the
outside. And then they would flame the worm.
Until she came back they just danced around and evaded
the spitting thing. Neither bolts nor holy water nor a
good kick could achieve anything in the meantime.
Then it was covered with petrol and roasted alive. The
high pitched screams emitted as the creature died hurt
Faith's ears almost as much as the acerbic spit had hurt
her body.
It wasn't much for a fight at all.
"How did you know it would be so easy?" Faith asked.

"Because Giles said this creep was a big wheel for the
Council. They just hire assholes," Xander laughed as he
began to rip open the door to Buffy's dungeon. "Truth
be told, he said Buffy hit them pretty hard. Thought so
they did not expect another attack."

"I see," Faith coarsely admitted and followed him into
the dark dungeon. Inside Buffy was chained to a table
move into a sixty degree position. She was beaten and
bruised and dirty, covered in blood and rags of her
clothing. "Shit, what did that monster do to her?"

"Whatever it is - she's unconscious," Xander stated.
"Better move her out of here. This looks like she's
hanging by just a thread. Let's get her to Giles' place
on the double."

"Why not levae her here?" Harmony wondered.

"Because Giles has a fully equipped stash of ingredients
for doing magic," Wesley chrirped. "Master, do you think
we shouldn't just drain her? Or better yet, leave her
without a soul?"

"Do as I say!" Xander snapped back and Wesley backed
down. "Good. Now, F? Help me move her outa here...and
once we have her we will do healing spells. You can get
her to heal, can you, Wes?"

"Get me some blood and a number of sacrifices and I can
heal her," Wesley promised. "But it will take some time
for the healing to take effect."

"She has to survive!" Xander declared, and Faith saw
how much it meant to him. Yet looking at Buffy she had
her doubts. "She's a fighter. Won't die so fast. She
will make it."

Wishful thinking, Faith decided, carrying her side of
the table with the unconscious Buffy on it outside. She
doubted Buffy would make it...they still acted as if she
would and continued with the original plan.


#49
the magic shop, Sunnydale


Buffy awoke with a thirst she had not known, a craving.
She didn't know for what at first but as her mind began
to process her sensations she knew...her fangs ripped
through the palstic of the bloodbag a friendly hand
dangled in front of her gameface.
She drank even before the truth registered with her.
Then she began to shiver and tremble and was close to
scream.
She was a vampire...her one worst nightmare!
The ultimate humiliation for her, the Slayer.
And she knew from the person who sat with her who had
done that.
"Long time no see, F," she muttered with a broken voice.
Buffy had to clear her throat. And to force down the
wish to throw up and spill all the blood over Faith. Who
wore her usual dark leathers, revealing a lot of skin in
between of her tight pants and the top...and the fromer
Slayer seemed genuinely healthy. Aside from being a bit
more pale than usally she was the same. "You happy now?"

"Yeah, B," Faith answered, speaking her mind. She
cracked a grin. "Nice face you have."

Buffy growled. It was the tiger growl she heard so often
from the vampires she slew. She gritted her teeth. "How
do I get this away?"

"Just calm down and will it away," Faith answered, who
seemed to be in an almost gentle mood. Entirely unlike
the Faith Buffy had known. "And the answer is yes."

"For what question?"

"Am I soulgirl now," another, even more familiar voice
cracked besides her. Buffy turned her head and found
Cordelia sitting in a chair. A changed Cordy, though.
She wore a long coat, had her hair tied back into a long
braid...and her clothes were strikingly similiar to
Faith's wardrobe. Meaning she wore thight pants, a top
and had a free belly. Not to mention the glee in her
piercing eyes. "Welcome back among the living. Or, to be
technically correct, the unliving."

"Gee, thanks for that one," Buffy sniffed and moved up.
She only now realized she was stark naked and flinched.
"Whose idea was that?"

"Mine," Cordelia said without menace. "Don't mind the
sight but you needed a full body cleaning. After what
this ugly psychovamp did with you...and what we had to
do for the healing spells to work...? Ah, clothing would
just have been in the way."

Buffy remembered. And growled even more. She felt very
much okay again, ready for round two. More than ready.
"Where is that bitch again?"

"Dust," Faith said happily. "We killed her. Wished we
had taken more time doing it after I saw what she did
with you." She shrugged. "We got so much fixed with the
healing spells and your own recuperative power but you
still would need a wheelchair and a year in traction. So
I boosted your regeneration."

"You couldn't have asked first, could you?" Buffy
grumbled, wincing as she felt the demon. Soul or not, it
was in there and screamed for the sire. And it had to be
Faith, oh yeah, it had to be HER...and she so wished to
strangle her. Certainly not to get her into the same
state of nakedness she had and start doing...something
else than strangling her. "I would have preferred to
bide my time."

"Yeah, sure, and Giles would have let you live beyond
the first week," Cordelia snorted disdainful. "You got
pretty damn careless, walking into that trap with no
backup whatsoever."

"I had a damn bomb but it didn't go off," Buffy replied
angrily. "I could have taken out enough of them to get
away but...it didn't explode."

"You had a bomb?" Faith gaped, laughing. "Just what is
it with you and explosives...fuck you, B, you could not
have called in Angel? Or ME and Xand?"

"Didn't quite have your number," Buffy muttered. And she
would not have trusted them. She threw Faith a dagger
glare and sighed. If she had had Xander and his military
skills the bombs would have exploded. Or if she had
taken Graham with her and any damn backup. She had been
so angry, scared and stupid...and made the wrong move.
"What about my mother?"

"Gone," Cordelia said, telling the tale. giles and his
mercenary vampires, Joyce abducted and Buffy going for
the shortfusing. The vamps were gone and there was no
body...and Willow's spell failed except that a soul did
show up in the little crystal ball before.

"My mother was vamped?"

"Giles idea. He figured you'd break down and let her
kill you," Faith said uncomfortably, "and that she could
do so after you went through that battle."

Buffy almost groaned. It might have worked. Now her mom
was undead and out there and probably working on being
the worst kind of scum she could be.
The most sickening thing was that, as she thought of
mom, Faith's picture came to mind before Joyce. Faith
was the sire, the one being she ought to worship. Like
hell she would. "You let them get away?"

"They were gone when we arrived," Faith answered flatly.
"If I found them I would have staked her already."

"Why not soul her, too?"

"For what?" Faith asked, seriously. "Let that be, B. Get
a real life...you got the chance now, you know?"

Buffy just shook her head and her gaze caught Cordelia.
who was openly leering. "When exactly did you turn into
a dyke, Cordy? And what is it with that smell...?"

"Her blood," Faith answered. "If you know how biting can
be quite the turnon."

Buffy didn't say a word but her face said it all.
Cordelia just grinned, as if she enjoyed being a warped
sick bitch who played snack for the undead. Worse was
that her demon got the vibes coming from her and was
attracted. No way, Buffy thought, never ever.
Xander had a lot to answer for when she met him.
"What's the sit outside?" she asked instead, feeling
guilty she had not bothered before. "Willow? And my
other friends?"

"Graham got most of them to join the rescue party. What
remained was taken out by Council thughs...a few of them
ran and stay in LA, with Angel," Cordelia surmised. "Oh,
and don't bother looking for that rat bastard who WAS
your Watcher."

"Something happened to Giles?" Buffy asked, her first
instinct to cover him...her second was to want to tear
him apart for Joyce.

"You can say so. We whammied him to make him spill his
guts. Don't know why but he probably had some sort of
conditioning to keep secrets secret. He turned into a
tomato on legs even before we rescued you," Faith said.
"He would have recovered in a few days but after Xander
learnt of Joyce and saw what happened to you he got a
bit angry."

"What did he do?"

"Disembowled the bastard and hung him on his own guts,"
Cordelia exclaimed, wincing visibly. Not from empathy.
"Nasty way to die, that. He could still scream..."

"Oh joy," Buffy muttered, "he killed a man for ME?"

"Well, you're family now," Cordelia chuckled and as she
got an angry glare she shrugged, making her top move as
she got up. Buffy fought down a nasty thought about her
and Cordelia in the utility closet. "What, it's true!"

Faith shook her head, covered her eyes and grinned.
"You're a friend, despite everything."

"And he would kill for me?" Buffy asked. She did not
need that. or maybe she did, she had almost agreed with
Angel making his deal with Xander. "Oh joy, just what I
need...another psycho boyfriend."

"Hardly, B. He's ours," Faith told her fiercely. "But
if you wanna share...? We could work something out."

"Not in a hundred years!"

"That a date, honey?" Cordelia humored her, annoyed her.
Taunted her with flaunting their own time limts at her.
Buffy growled a warning while her demon made her see her
as a vampire queen ina hundred years, drenched in blood.
She wished she could pound that thing out of existence.
and Cordelia wasn't helping with her next action - she
got op and offered her neck. "Comeon, Buff. Jump me and
drink me...would be fun...?"

"Cordelia," Faith admonished the newly crazed woman.
"She's a little out of it, B. She'll get better."

"With you around I don't doubt she'll beat Dru," Buffy
muttered and looked for some clothing. None there. "You
got some clothes for me?"

"A few, thought you wanted a shower before."

"And an alone one," Buffy agreed, not bothering much.
If she could parade around in front of Graham and others
why was it different here? Because two pair of eyes kept
track of her body and had ideas about her she really did
not like. "Vamped or not, F, I won't go with you. By the
end of the next day I'll be in LA...hope you don't mind
if Angel does the tution honors?"

"Actually I do mind, B. Not that I would stop you,"
Faith declared with a lump in her throat. "Xander has
your belongings shipped out. You're going to LA tonight.
Angel is already informed of the situation."

"Gonna be though," Buffy muttered. Not just for him and
her to stay just friends, that never had worked out. She
might hate to admit it but alone the idea of Angel was
enough to get her primed. "Why did Xander...?"

"He knew you wouldn't want to come along," Cordelia
declared as she licked her lips and shook her head.
"I know it would be a break with the past, Buffy, but
can't you even consider...coming with us? It could be
good, just like old times. Better."

"What is good nowadays, Cor? Blood, sex and mayhem?"
Buffy sneered. She was still a Slayer. A defender of the
unaware people against...well, the evil things. Which
might include herself now. And the other two for sure.
But she could not stop them and never would, she just
knew. Like Cordelia had said...they were family. As long
as they didn't go for armaggedon she would never move.
Part of her could picture herself as one of them. She
did not like the impression the picture left behind.
"Sorry, but my life does not revolve around that alone."

"Really? If you ever change your mind, don't feel sorry
for growing up," Cordelia smiled. "Just remember, the
offer still stands."

"Thanks but no and never," Buffy told them off. Knowing
it would not be over so easily. "What else is up with
you?"

"Oh, now that the Council won't be looking for you so
bad anymore we're gonna move to a new town, start over.
I liked the club we had before, maybe we get another
one," Faith answered casually. "Better watch out, these
Watchers tend to be persistent and annoying."

"You don't go after them."

"Nope," Cordelia confirmed that. Which was kind of a
relief. "But we will take the library with us. Might
come in handy. We'll send it to Angel once we copied
it."

"Gee, how magnanimously!" Buffy muttered.

"Better say that to Xander. It was his idea to give
Angel that spell to anchor his soul," Faith said icily.
Making Buffy turn on her heels and gape. "Right. Tall,
dark and broody got no happyness clause anymore. Wish
you much fun."

"What do you mean?"

"We found a book among Giles private resort. He knew how
to cure Angel from day one but he never said a word,"
Faith informed her darkly. "Never trust a Watcher, B.
Promise me."

Buffy just nodded and this was a promise she intended to
keep. What had the world come to, when she could trust
vampires and monsters more than a Slayer could trust in
her Watcher? And what would it become, with Xander and
his people in it? And was Xander still a friend or just
messing with her head?
She wasn't sure anymore.
Not of anything.
There was not much after that. Cordelia left and she
was in Giles' place with Faith. Uncertain what to speak
about anymore. And unwilling to try smalltalk with the
other Slayer.
No, the other Turned Slayer!
She never saw Xander, which was somewhat sad but not
such a surprise. She probably owed him for the staking
attempt. In the end she got clothes and the keys for a
car parked in front of the shop.
And then they were gone.
Buffy just had to drive to LA.