Fanfiction: A Tale of Slayers : Part 5-8
CHAPTER FIVE
Despite its small size, Sunnydale did support a very productive harbor. The traffic was light but the docks serviced both commercial and private shipping, and at any given time there were always barges, freighters, tugs, and luxury yachts stationed there. Buffy only had the occasion to come down here just a few times, mostly on business, none of them really fond memories. The most prominent being the time she had accompanied Angel down here on her birthday, who was planning to stow away on one of the outbound ships to take away the Judge’s severed arm to a far corner of the Earth; in an attempt to keep Spike and Drusilla from assembling the powerful demon.
She had been filled with great sadness at the prospect of Angel being away from her for several months, perhaps half a year, or so, while he found a remote place to bury the demon limb. But they had been ambushed by some of Spike’s minions and had lost the piece of the Judge, thus postponing Angel’s journey; much to Buffy’s relief. Although the assembly of the Judge would have spelled doom for, perhaps, the entire world.
Fate had played its cruel hand, anyway, later that night, after she and Angel escaped from Spike and Dru, as well as the newly assembled clutches of the Judge. They had been tired and wet from the rain when they reached Angel’s apartment. Buffy had been in the process of removing her soaked clothes when Angel moved in close to examine a small cut she had suffered on her back.
Buffy could still recall every moment of that night. Everything that had followed. Making love to the only man, the only soul, she had truly loved with all her heart. Thankfully, the dream spared her the events that occurred after that cherished night. Instead of replaying Angel losing his soul, becoming evil and terrorizing her and her friends, she was suddenly walking along a bright sunny beach shore, holding the vampire’s hand. She didn’t question the impossibility of it all, she just enjoyed it and smiled back at him when he smiled at her.
“Buffy,” he said.
“Angel.”
“Buffy.” She felt someone shake her shoulder lightly. She opened her eyes and looked at Angel. He was behind the wheel of the Citroen; at Giles’ suggestion, actually, Buffy reflected. But then, Angel had been around when automobiles had been invented. About the time this car was invented.
“Hey,” she smiled at him.
He returned her smile and she saw they were parked just short of the docks.
“Buffy,” Giles said behind her. He was holding a stake out to her. She accepted it and hid it inside her jacket. She was now armed with three stakes. Giles was still digging into the large leather bag with the weapons they had raided from the library. He handed her a small, but deadly, silver knife in a sheath, and she stuffed it in the back of her waistband. Next, he handed a couple of stakes to Angel, who accepted with a nod.
“We should split up to cover more ground. It’ll be dawn in just over two hours, so we best hurry,” Giles said, as they climbed out, shouldering his bag.
“I’ll head south, toward the beach,” Angel suggested.
“Very well.” Giles turned to Buffy. “Buffy, you take to the north and I’ll—”
“You’ll be with me,” she said.
Giles was about to protest, but the stern look he received from his Slayer made him sigh softly. “Very well.”
“We’ll meet back here in an hour and a half,” she said to Angel.
“Be careful.”
“You too.”
They moved off in opposite directions, the vampire seeming to melt into the darkness.
“Buffy, I don’t want to slow you down. You and Angel can move much quickly on your own,” Giles said. “Besides, someone should make a sweep of the docks.”
“Don’t forget, Giles, you’re the one that said those creeps at the motel were waiting for you. They wanted to take me alive, but what if they want you dead?” He didn’t reply to that. “I just feel a lot better if you’re where I can keep an eye on you.”
“I’m the one who is supposed to look after you. I am your Watcher, after all.”
“And you’re doing a great job. I just want you to still be able to do it. So, please, just indulge your Slayer.”
“Anything for my Slayer,” he said with a small smile.
“We’ll take a quick look around the docks when we meet back up with Angel.”
Giles seemed satisfied with this and they lapsed into silence as they walked on the elevated ground, with the docks not far below them. Buffy couldn’t explain to herself why she was feeling so protective of Giles. Sure, she worried about him and did not want anything to happen to him, but never to the extent where she was afraid to leave him by himself. She figured it was due to Faith’s disappearance and that she may very well be dead. But if she was, there was no way Buffy could protect Giles against that kind of pain. Which was why this had become very personal to her.
They continued in silence, the half-moon providing Buffy with enough light to let her night vision search the area without hindrance. Giles, even with the spare pair of glasses he’d retrieved when they had made the stop at the library, could not contribute much more without a flashlight, but he still made the effort.
After a long time, Buffy said, “Giles.”
“Hm?”
“Back at the mansion, you said you didn’t know how the Council found the next Slayer, but they knew I was going to be a Slayer years before, didn’t they?”
“The Council knew you were a candidate to become a Slayer, but until you were actually `activated’ we didn’t know for sure.”
“A `candidate?’ You mean like running for president?”
“Not necessarily. At any given time there are a handful of candidates around the world with the potential of being chosen as the Slayer.”
“Well, what decides it?”
“I would imagine fate?” When Buffy didn’t respond to that, he continued. “No one knows why one is chosen, Buffy, just that there must always be a Slayer.”
“This is where that `every generation there is a Chosen One…’ comes in, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“I guess you have to change that mission statement. I pretty much mucked that up when I died. From now on there’s always going to be two Slayers, right?”
“It would appear so.”
“Who do you think she is?” she asked.
“The new Slayer?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know. It is always imperative to keep a Slayer’s, or Slayer candidate’s identity secret.”
“Do you think she already knows she’s the Slayer?”
Giles mulled it over for a second. “If she didn’t know before, she will more than likely be informed very soon.”
Buffy could tell that the topic of conversation was beginning to make him a little uncomfortable, but she couldn’t stop. This was something she needed to hear, needed to get out of the way.
“Why didn’t the Watchers contact me before I became the Slayer?”
A small smile appeared on Giles’ face. “Can you imagine explaining to your parents why a fourteen year old girl would be gone for hours late at night, and missing a lot of school, or not being seen by your friends.”
“That didn’t stop you all from calling me just a year later.”
“Circumstances had changed. A Slayer was needed.”
“Oh,” was all Buffy could say. Somewhere back there she had forgotten that another girl had died for her to become the Slayer. She finally said, “Still, I sure could’ve used the early training.”
“Yes. I’m sure it would have been very helpful, but again, yours was a delicate case.”
She frowned at him. “Again with my case.' What's so special about mycase?’”
“Buffy, your `case’ is not as uncommon as you may think. The Council can usually locate a Slayer candidate when they are very young. It is, however, very rare when a Watcher is allowed the opportunity to actually start a Slayer’s training before she even becomes the Slayer.” He saw that she was really listening to him and continued. “Kendra and Faith were unique situations. Faith was —is— an orphan, and where Kendra was from, family honor provided the opportunity.”
“Kendra did say her family gave her to her Watcher when she was young. How young would she have been?”
At first, she thought Giles wasn’t going to answer. But then he cleared his throat and said, “I would imagine she would have been very young.”
“So her Watcher would have raised her. Like a daughter?” she asked, but before he could begin to answer, she went on. “No. Not like a daughter. Like a Slayer! You saw how Kendra was! She could give lessons to The Terminator on stoicism. She died with no family and no friends.”
Surprised by the anger coming from his Slayer, he said, tentatively, “Buffy, we were her friends.”
This did nothing to calm her down, however. “And what did we really know about her, Giles? As her friends shouldn’t we have known some of the things normal friends should know? Like what her favorite color was?” In a softer voice, she said, “She had never even kissed a boy.”
“She was dedicated to the cause,” the Watcher offered.
“But was it her cause? Did she have any more say in the matter than I did? Maybe she didn’t fight against her destiny as much because they got to her while she was practically a baby? When she didn’t have a normal life to leave behind.”
“Buffy, `they’ would include me.”
She knew she may have just hurt his feelings, but she couldn’t stop herself. “And right from the start, you couldn’t wait to put the stake in my hand!”
Giles was taken aback by this. “I’m sorry, Buffy. If I came on a little too enthusiastically, it was only because being posted as your Watcher was my first real field assignment. I was somewhat … nervous.”
This did make her stop. “You? Nervous?”
He nodded. “Yes. Being assigned to a Slayer is a tremendous responsibility. And I was following in the footsteps of the best Watcher of our time.”
“Merrick.”
“Yes.”
Buffy’s thoughts drifted to her first Watcher. Without anger, she said, “How many Slayers had he trained?”
“He never—?”
“No. I don’t think he wanted to talk about it. But then, we really didn’t have much time together. I hardly knew him.” She let her gaze drop.
“But you cared about him.” Giles made it a statement.
Buffy seemed to double her effort searching for cave entrances. She said, “He died saving my life.”
Giles walked by her side, letting the silence settle between them. Then he said, “You were his second Slayer.”
Buffy looked at him. “I was only number two for him? And he was considered the `best?’”
Giles seemed a bit irritated, when he said, “Buffy, Merrick is the only Watcher to be assigned to a second Slayer.”
“But he was such —a grandpa man. He wasn’t much taller than me! What was he doing out there with monsters?”
“He was doing what needed to be done.”
“But as old as he was, you’d think he would have trained more Slayers.” She looked at Giles. “Did he train the Slayer before me?”
“No. Merrick was assigned to his first Slayer in 1972. The young lady had just turned 16. He was about my age at the time.”
“How did she die?” Buffy quickly shook her head. “No. I don’t need to know. But when did she die?”
Giles paused for just a moment. “She was killed in 1982.”
Buffy stopped walking and stared at him with a stunned expression. Finally finding her voice, she said, “But the life expectancy of a Slayer—” She trailed off.
“Now you know why he was considered the best,” Giles told her.
He started to walk again, and Buffy followed. “If he was so good, why didn’t he train the next one?”
“After his Slayer died, he was assigned to the next Slayer, but he requested a leave of absence instead. Under the circumstances, he was granted leave of the Watchers.”
Buffy considered this for a while. “Did he love her?”
The question didn’t seemed to take Giles off guard. “He cared very deeply for her.”
“You know what I mean, Giles.”
“I couldn’t say for sur —” he stopped and looked at her. He said. “Yes. Near the end, I believe he did.”
Buffy said, “Do you think she and Merrick were ever … together?”
“No. Never,” Giles said, with a certainty Buffy rarely heard from him. With prophecies, demons, and monsters, there were never any certainties. “As I said, Merrick was the best.”
“Did she know?”
“I suspect she did.”
Buffy looked away. The silence stretched once more.
What Giles said next did take her off guard.
“You’re angry with him.”
Exasperated, she said, “What? Why would I be—?”
“Because he died.”
Buffy averted her eyes again. “I couldn’t save him. It’s my job to protect others.”
“And he did what was expected of him. He looked after his Slayer.”
“He did his duty,” Buffy said softly. “As you said, he was the best.”
“Yes, he was. But when he saved you, I don’t think he was doing it out of any sense of duty. He just knew he wasn’t going to lose another Slayer under his watch.”
Silence once more. It occurred to Giles that Buffy had never really mourned the death of her first Watcher. That would definitely explain her behavior toward him of late. Was she really that frightened of losing him as well? he wondered. From past experiences, that he reflected on with shame, he knew, that aside from losing a friend, the prospect of having to fight against the monsters by herself truly terrified her. That business with Ethan Rayne and the Mark of Eyghon over a year ago, had lead Giles to drink and try to hide his past from his Slayer, not only straining their relationship but scaring her by acting so out of character. Then again, a few months later, when he had gone after Angel by himself, for killing Jenny. Angel would have killed him had Buffy not arrived in time. To remind himself of his responsibility, he still replayed the scene, after she had dragged him out of the burning factory, over in his head. He had pushed her away yelling at her that it was not her fight. She, in turn, had laid him out flat with a single punch, and had yelled back at him.
Are you trying to get yourself killed?' she had shouted. He was on his hands and knees sobbing. Then Buffy had crumbled next to him, shedding her own tears, hugging him.You can’t leave me! I can’t do this alone.’
That moment had sobered him completely, and not from drinking. From that point on, he had vowed that he would never put her through that kind of pain ever again.
And seeing the tears in his Slayer’s eyes, he wanted to take that pain away more than anything. “Buffy—”
She shook her head. “We really need to be quiet.” She managed to give him a smile to alleviate some of his worry. “Having a `7th Heaven’ moment is not the way to sneak up on the bad guys.”
Giles nodded and they continued the searched. After a moment, Buffy pointed down the grassy bluff. “Let’s try down there.” she said, and they made their way to lower ground.
They had almost left the docks behind them and were approaching the north part of the beach. Not long `til sunrise, it seemed there wasn’t a soul anywhere in sight, and Giles hoped not, especially with the demons and vampires that were supposed to be close by.
“I think I see something,” Buffy said softly. She pointed to the side of the bluff but Giles could not make anything out clearly. He followed her and when they were ten feet away, he saw a jagged opening, about five feet wide, almost perfectly hidden by the shadows. “Now it’s time for a flashlight.”
“I have something better.” Giles searched his bag and pulled out a small oil lantern.
“Watcher credo: always be prepared,” she said, with a smile. “Or did you guys steal that from the Boy Scouts?”
Giles smiled and dug a lighter from his tweed jacket when he felt, more than saw, Buffy stiffen. She had an intense look in her eye she got when her Slayer sense went on alert. Despite her casual attitude toward honing such skills, he had come to trust them when she did indeed use them.
“What is it?” he whispered.
“Something’s close by.”
“In there?” He nodded toward the cave.
“No.” The Slayer’s expression was very serious now. “Above us.” Giles saw she was suddenly holding a stake. Following her lead they inched slowly backwards away from the side of the hill, keeping their attention on any attack from above. They had backed away nearly thirty feet and still saw nothing at the top of the bluff.
“I don’t see anything,” he said.
“Trust me, it’s up there.”
“A vampire?”
“I don’t know. I think so.”
“You’re not sure?” It wasn’t an accusation, or lack of confidence in her, he was just asking for more details. His Slayer didn’t disappoint him.
“It feels like a vampire, but then it doesn’t. I can’t describe it. I’ve never sensed anything like this before. The vibes I got from Oranstine weren’t this strong. But it’s very powerful and … it knows we’re here.”
“Then why doesn’t it show itself?”
“I’ll ask if I get the chance before I stake it.”
Then they fell silent when they saw a silhouette step into sight. It was a slender figure, almost five and a half feet tall, and her long hair blew slightly with the light breeze.
“Faith?” Giles whispered. Buffy didn’t say anything to contradict what he said, so maybe she was wondering the same thing. But before she could say anything, the figure reached the edge of the bluff and sprung into the air.
At first, it looked as if she were flying as her trajectory took her high over them, but then she came down quickly and her feet sank into the sand when she landed. She turned to face them as she stood up straight.
“Not Faith,” Buffy said and stepped in front of her Watcher.
“Buffy,” he said, but was suddenly aware there wasn’t anything he could advise her on. “Be careful.”
She grinned over her shoulder at him. “It’ll take just a minute.”
“I hope so,” he said, as she closed the distance between herself and the creature.
Buffy was close enough to see the creature clearly, in the light of the half moon. She looked about a year or two younger, but to demons and vampires age was a relative term. Buffy prepared herself for attack at any moment, but the creature still made no move against her. Okay, she thought, this could get really serious. She hadn’t know many vampires who would waste time sizing up their opponent. Spike hadn’t attacked her the first time they had met, just gave her a death threat after he had watched her take down another vampire. Angel had been even worse, when his soul had been taken away, thriving on the psychological torment he caused her.
“This is usually the time where one of us would start making witty banter,” she said. “And since it doesn’t seem like you’re the talkative type I guess it’s going to have to be me.”
“I know you,” the creature said. God, she even sounded younger than me, Buffy thought.
“You do?”
“Yes. You’re the other Slayer.”
Buffy’s blood chilled. “What have— Where’s Faith?”
The creature just smiled at the Slayer. “The Master wanted me to avoid you. Said I wasn’t strong enough to face you yet. But I wasn’t allowed to feed on the other Slayer, and Slayer blood is just so sweet. I can’t leave without at least a taste.”
“I think you should try to take it,” Buffy hissed at her, stake ready.
The vampire glanced at the weapon. “Ah, the weapon of choice for any fine Slayer.” The vampire took a small step forward just to put her body at an angle toward Buffy, offering a smaller target.
This vamp has had some training, she thought. Then something else occurred to her. “If you weren’t allowed to feed on the Slayer, how would you know what Slayer blood taste like?”
“Because I’ve had a sip.” The vampire raised a fist close to its face. Then, eyes locked on Buffy, opened her mouth to reveal elegantly long fangs and sank them into her wrist.
Buffy could only stand there, stake held up, in shock. Behind her, she thought she heard Giles gasp, but she wasn’t sure.
The vamp pulled its wrist away, fangs tinted red, and smiled at the Slayer’s expression. “Of course, my blood isn’t as pure as yours any more.”
Buffy suddenly felt nauseous and her mind reeled with the reality of the situation. But then she forced those distracting thoughts away. She could deal with that later, right now, her more immediate concern was slaying this creature.
Buffy reinforced her fighting stance but the vamp just stood there, body angled, looking at her from under narrowed eyebrows. Still very human looking eyebrows. Whatever part of this creature was Slayer did not give her a demon’s appearance when she vamped out, she thought.
Something sliced through the air just to Buffy’s left and the vampire’s hand shot up and she was suddenly holding a crossbow bolt in her closed fist, just poised inches away from her heart. Buffy looked over her shoulder and saw Giles holding a crossbow, momentarily shocked at what he just saw, then recovered and began to reload. The vampire growled, the first real vamp noise she heard from it, then cocked the bolt back to throw it at her Watcher.
“No!” Buffy screamed. She was too far away to reach her in time, so she hurled the stake at the vamp. It was a clumsy throw but her aim was true, and the blunt end of the stake connected with the side of the creature’s head as she released the arrow.
Giles grunted and she heard him hit the ground. She turned to see him on his backside and looking at the tear in the arm of his tweed sleeve, but he was all right. Buffy breathed in relief, then spun around to face her enemy again.
Who was charging her with incredible speed. No time to dodge, Buffy took the charge head on and smoothly flipped the vamp over her hip and, with the help of her Slayer strength, sent her several feet through the air where she landed in a tumble. However, the vampire used the tumble to spring back to her feet.
The vampire smiled at her again, flashing her fangs. It wigged Buffy to see a vamp with just fangs, like all the vampires in the movies with their fake teeth, but somehow, in real life, it was just a little scarier.
Buffy pulled out her second stake from the sleeve of her jacket as the creature approached again.
“Let’s see just how well your Watcher trained you,” it sneered.
“Gladly,” Buffy replied, and launched her attack.
She came in with lightning round kicks, the first one aimed at the vamp’s midsection, then she brought the leg up to its face. It blocked them both, to Buffy’s irritation, with ease. She followed through with a stake strike. The vampire diverted the attack with a wave of its forearm, side-stepping, and slammed a spinning elbow into Buffy’s back. The Slayer fell forward, but she tucked and rolled, putting distance between her and her opponent. Quickly, she was on her feet, and rotated her shoulders against the pain she was feeling between her shoulder blades. The vampire was walking calmly towards her again and Buffy prepared herself, stake ready.
“Let’s do that again, shall we?” it hissed.
“Please,” Buffy sneered back.
Buffy braced herself to take the offensive again, but suddenly threw her stake straight up in the air. The vampire was distracted, but only slightly, as it managed to block the barrage of punches Buffy unleashed. It retaliated with a punch at the Slayer’s head, which she ducked and finally snuck a backhand fist across the vamp’s face. It hardly staggered the creature, but Buffy used that moment to grab it by the shoulders and slam her knee as hard as she could into its middle. As the creature bent forward, Buffy snatched the falling stake from the air and shoved it into the vampire’s back.
The vampire roared in pain and reeled back with a backhand that connected with Buffy’s face. The next thing she knew was that the world was spinning around her and, a moment later, the ground came up to hit her.
“Buffy,” she thought she heard someone calling her. Damn, she thought, she had just gone to sleep. It couldn’t be time to wake up already. She opened her eyes, at least, they felt like they were open, but she still couldn’t see anything. And there was blood in her mouth. With disgust, she spat it out but there was more. Her jaw and the side of her mouth ached.
“Buffy, get up!” she heard Giles say. He sounded right next to her.
She tried to pull herself to a sitting position and felt Giles help her. “Relax, Giles. I’m all right. Just a bit oogy. That was some parting shot she had.”
“I’m afraid it wasn’t as parting as we would’ve hoped.”
She tried opening her eyes again and her vision slowly returned. “What are you talking about? She’s dust. That stake was right through her heart. Actually, I think that was Mr. Pointy. Oh, God, I hope it didn’t turn to dust with her, that was Kendra’s favorite stake.”
“You needn’t worry about, uh, Mr. Pointy. He seems to be fine.”
Buffy frown and looked up at him and saw he was looking off toward the beach. She turned her head and saw the vampire, still roaring in pain, on its hands and knees, reaching for the stake protruding from her back.
“Oh, bite me!” she cursed. “Giles, why isn’t she turning into dust?”
He tilted his head, narrowed his eyebrows, pursed his lips, took a deep breath, then said, “I don’t know.”
“And I’m wondering why the Watchers never give you a raise.” Under different circumstances she was sure Giles would have given her that British glare he had when he was miffed. “Help me up.”
Buffy got to her feet and Giles had to hold her steady when her knees started to buckle. She shook her head, trying to clear it, then spat more blood onto the sand.
“Buffy, we have to get out of here.”
“We wouldn’t get far. She’s fast. Much faster than me.”
“Then you have to—”
She grabbed his jacket, angrily. “No! Don’t you even say it! I am not leaving you here, so shut up!”
But Giles met her glare. “You can’t kill it. I can try to hold it while you make a run for the car.”
“No. The plan is: you run for it while I hold it off. We both know I’ll last longer. You find Angel. He’s fast. I promise, I’ll still be alive when he gets here.”
Giles looked like he wanted to argue. Another inhuman roar made them look at the vampire again. She had managed to grab Mr. Pointy and, with a spout of blood, pulled the stake out. She tossed the piece of wood away and looked at her prey.
“Dammit, Giles, you know I’m right. Now go!”
Giles looked into her eyes for a moment. Then stepped away. “You just remember your promise.”
Buffy gave him a smile. “Don’t worry, I will.” She reached behind, under her jacket, and pulled out the silver knife. “I’m curious to see how well she’ll do without a head.”
With one last look at his Slayer, conflict reflected in his eyes, he finally turned and started to run as fast as Buffy had ever seen him run before. She breathed a little easier. No matter whether Angel got here in time or not, at least, she knew Giles would be safe.
She turned to the vampire again and saw it was standing. She was watching Giles disappear over the bluff. She looked at Buffy. “Don’t worry. I’ll catch up with him soon enough.”
“Over my dead body!” Buffy snapped.
The vamp smiled at her. “I’m glad we both agree.”
CHAPTER SIX
It had been over an hour and Angel still hadn’t found anything. He’d only come across two small cave entrances but detected no scent of vampire nor demon inside, so had proceeded on. He would explore those caves further on his way back, which he would have to do very soon now. It was about an hour till dawn and the beach was the least ideal place for a vampire to be caught when the sun rose.
He honestly wished he could say he was searching for the missing Slayer for Faith’s sake, but he knew that he was out here because of Buffy. As well, as for Giles. He owed them both more than anyone, who was still living that is. Even though he hadn’t actually been there when Angelus had done all those heinous acts, with his soul the dominant presence in his body again, he retained all the demon’s memories as if he had done them himself.
The joy he experienced when he —no, when Angelus— had snapped Jenny Calendar’s neck. The pleasures he felt as he tormented Buffy for all those months. Until she had been forced to send him to hell. It had been right after his soul had been returned to him and, for those few moments, he had no recollection of his actions as Angelus. And when Buffy had ran him through with the sword Angel had felt betrayed. Then Acathla’s vortex had claimed him, sending him to hell, where he had centuries; in that timeless dimension, to remember everything that had been done in his soul’s absence. Then, he could not lay blame on Buffy for doing what she had to do.
Thankfully, however, he hadn’t spent his whole time there reliving those horrors, for to survive the torture being reaped upon him, he had to retreat within himself once more. Unfortunately, he couldn’t recall his demon to experience the torment in his place.
But before eternity, for some reason, he was expelled from the demon dimension and had spent the next few days wandering the night as another ravenous animal in the woods of Sunnydale. But his own memories of being in the real world had not begun until his consciousness had resurfaced to find himself in some kind of supply room in Sunnydale High, where he had just killed a monster; which had been a student; that had been trying to kill Buffy. At that time, he had forgotten everything once more, and the first thing he did remember was Buffy.
The next few weeks, as he recovered himself, Buffy had taken care of him, helping him regain his strength. During that time he had the occasion to meet the new Slayer, after Kendra’s death, so he being a vampire had automatically got them started on the wrong foot. That foot being Faith trying to kill him. Even at full strength Kendra had thrashed him about pretty thoroughly, so he had hardly been a match for the new Slayer in his weakened condition. Luckily, Buffy, with her usual sense of timing working for her, came in with the last second save.
Since then, he and Faith had crossed paths a few times, though under more peaceful conditions, usually during those late night patrols. They rarely spoke to each other and what little that was spoken was colored by a few choice words from Faith. Basically, a “don’t bother me and I won’t bother you” treaty.
Had he known about Faith’s abduction before Buffy and Giles, his first action would have been to inform them about it. And if he couldn’t find them, Angel would have started to search for the Slayer himself. Not because he actually cared much for Faith; though he didn’t dislike her, but because it would have been the right thing to do.
A scream cut through the night, as well as Angel’s thoughts, and he ran in the direction it came from just before it was cut short. From the sound he knew someone had just died.
When he reached the spot, he saw three vampires feeding on a fisherman. Poor guy, he thought, trying to make a first catch before morning and got more than he bargained for. The vamps looked up from their meal at his approach.
They must have figured him for a vampire for one of them said, “Move along, pal. This one’s ours.” The others growled in agreement.
“Oh, I beg your pardon,” Angel replied as he slid into his own `game’ face. “But I’m afraid I must insist.”
The trio dropped their food and formed a rank to face him. “Is it really worth going up against us for just a few drops left?”
“Hey, I’m not a finicky eater. I take what I can get.” He noticed that they dressed similar to each other, dark clothes, black jackets, and they definitely were not local. “Besides, I really do hate it when outsiders trespass on my feeding grounds.”
“Are you some kind of honcho in these parts?” vamp number two asked.
“Let’s just say I’m known in this town.”
“Well, if we’re going to do this we better get started,” said vamp one.
“I agree,” Angel said. “You can almost smell the sunrise, now.”
They started to form a circle around him. Angel stood his ground and focused more on the sounds they made while they moved, then try to keep them in sight.
Just before they were about to attack, he said, “Where’s the Slayer?”
This stopped them for a moment. “What?” vamp one asked.
“C’mon, guys, we’re all vamps here. When the Slayer disappears you think the local demon populace wouldn’t notice?”
“What’s it to you?” This from vamp two, behind him. “I’d figure you’d be happy to be rid of the Slayer?”
“Happiness has nothing to do with it. The Slayer is ours to deal with, we don’t appreciate outsiders invading our territory and trying to show us up.”
Vamp one laughed. “`We’ who? You look alone to me, friend.”
Vamp three spoke up for the first time. “Wait. I know who this is. He’s the Traitor. The Slayer is his friend.”
“So, this is the infamous Angelus, huh?” vamp one chuckled. “The Master will reward us for bringing your fangs as trophies.”
Angel smiled, flashing said fangs. “Then come and get `em, boys.”
Buffy came down hard on her back, the wind getting knocked out of her, but she didn’t lose her knife. The vamp was closing in on her and she kicked herself to her feet to meet its attack. She blocked a fast round kick, followed by a spinning heel-kick, and hopped over a spinning leg sweep. As soon as her feet hit the sand, she was lunging forward with the knife aiming for the vamp’s neck. The creature parried the knife hand and blocked Buffy’s front kick to its midsection. Then the Slayer was on the defensive again.
Buffy had lost track of how much time had already past. Not more than a few minutes, she was sure, but for the moment it seemed they were evenly match. Which was untrue, for every hit she had scored on the vamp, the creature had replied three-fold, and Buffy could feel herself slowing down.
Then a side kick got through her defenses and slammed into her stomach, lifting her feet off the ground. The vamp followed through with a left hook that spun Buffy in place. Buffy used the spin to lash out with the knife, but the vampire captured her wrist, twisted her arm, forcing her to bend forward, and kneed her in the face. It snatched the knife away from her, tossing it to the sand, and pushed her away to deliver a jumping spin kick to Buffy’s face. The Slayer almost left the ground again as she spun around a couple of times before dropping to the sand.
Pushing herself up, Buffy saw a steady flow of blood dripping from her mouth to the sand between her hands. But she didn’t get the chance to recuperate. A strong hand grabbed her leather jacket at her shoulder and started to yank her back up. As she was pulled to her feet, Buffy wrapped her arm around the vamp’s, trapping its elbow, and drove her other fist into the creature’s sternum. Then twice more. The Slayer took satisfaction out of hearing it grunt with the pain the blows were causing, and slammed the heel of her palm into its face. Buffy was going to hit her again when the side of a boot came up to her face and disengaged her from her opponent. Both combatants fell to the sand away from each other.
Buffy was on her hands and knees again and saw the vamp just a few feet away. It was dazed but it was recovering faster than she was. She needed to move. If she was still on the ground when it got to its feet, she was done for.
And she was still on one knee when the vamp came for her again. Buffy slipped her hand inside her jacket and used her other arm to block the round kick it launched at her. Her hand came out with her last stake and she plunged it into the vamp’s thigh. The creature screamed in pain and fell to her knees in front of the Slayer.
Buffy smiled at her. “Hi.” Then unleashed a vicious uppercut that almost lifted the vamp off the ground as it flew back, the momentum of the swing making Buffy fall as well.
Like a wounded animal, the vampire scrambled back to its knees and clutched the stake sticking out of its thigh. If she had been able to, Buffy would have taken advantage of the situation. As it was, she could only struggle to catch her breath and her arms were trembling as she pushed herself off the sand. She watched the vampire pull the stake from its leg with another scream. It looked at the wooden weapon then glared at her.
“Damn cheater.”
“Ueber-cheater,” Buffy replied. “It certainly sucks to be you, doesn’t it?”
“Not anymore,” it said, on its feet again. It kicked sand in Buffy’s eyes.
The Slayer tried frantically to wipe the sand from her eyes. “Son of a—”
A hard kick to the face stopped her and she rolled back, flopping flat on her stomach. Blinded, she began to push herself up again. She was grabbed from behind and jerked to her feet. She swung blindly in that direction and hit nothing, the momentum causing her to stagger. She swung with the other arm and continued the beating against the innocent air around her. She maintained a labored fighting stance and closed her mouth to silence her loud breathing. She could do this, she told herself. She was blind, and in a fight to the death with a creature stronger and faster than she was. She’d faced worse odds. Although, she was unable to recall them just now. Suddenly, she was wishing she had taken Giles’ sessions of training her to fight blindfolded more seriously, but no, she had to showoff like she usually did to end training she didn’t want to do early.
Well, now’s the time to prove I wasn’t just showing off, she thought. Put my allowance where my mouth is. She concentrated on the sounds around her. Not far away she detected the surf flowing gently on the beach, the breeze swaying the brush a little farther inland, and soft footfalls on sand behind her left shoulder.
Aiming her kick head-level to the sound, Buffy spun 360 degrees as fast as she could and felt the heel of her foot connect solidly against, what she hoped was, the side of the vampire’s head. As she staggered from the spin, she heard the creature’s grunt of pain and something hitting the ground hard, and quickly rubbed the sand from her eyes. Blinking, her sight returning, she saw the vamp starting to scramble to its knees. She scanned the area around her for any of her weapons and saw one of her stakes several yards to her right. She made a dash for it and her legs wobbled slightly under her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the vampire jumping to its feet and charging after her. It would be on her in a second. At the last instant, Buffy dove for the stake, hitting the sand in a rolling tumble, snatching up the weapon, and had it ready when she bobbed back to her feet.
The vampire came at her wielding the stake Buffy had stuck in its thigh, and the Slayer parried the strike with her free forearm, then retaliated with her own stake. But the vampire was suddenly standing somewhere else, moving faster than her eyes were able to keep up. Or she was just slowing down to the point she was losing sense of her surroundings. Buffy quickly reversed her stake in a backhand swing at the creature’s head but it was blocked and she felt something slash her ribs under that arm. Tucking her arm against the pain, she tried to back-pedal away but could not escape the front kick to the face that snapped her head back. At that time her legs finally decided that they had had enough, and, after taking a couple of shaky steps back, her knees buckled and Buffy landed on her rear. She sat there for a dazed moment before her eyes rolled up and she slumped back on the sand.
Giles’ lungs were on fire by the time he made it back to the car and he knew he would not be able to go much farther without slowing down. His adrenaline and desperate need to save Buffy was all that had kept him going, but his body would soon start to fail him. He had never been in prime physical condition, even though he hadn’t exactly been a slouch when he was younger, but he was feeling his age catching up to him. So as soon as he was back to the Citroen, he dove behind the wheel, tossing the weapon bag in the passenger seat, and burned as much rubber as the old vehicle allowed him to.
Speeding south on the elevated road looking down over the beach he had a clear view all the way to the water, but he hoped Angel was not exploring a cave now or he would drive past him. But after a few minutes he did see several figures out on the sand in a flurry of motion. Pulling to the side, he jumped out and saw that it was a battle and Angel was in the middle of it, dealing with three opponents.
Having retrieved his bag, Giles started his way down to the beach to help the vampire anyway he could. He knew, first hand, that Angel was as skilled a fighter as Buffy in many ways and was perfectly capable of handling most situations. And, indeed, as he drew nearer, it appeared he was holding his own against; Giles realized, other vampires. Angel did have a stake in his hand, but every time he found an opening on one of his foes, one of the other two would pull his focus away, but he would eventually prevail. Only problem was, it was taking too long.
Giles drew as close as he could without drawing the attention of any of the vampires, but it looked as if they were completely absorbed in their battle with Angel. He set the bag down and pulled his crossbow out again.
Vamp one was charging Angel from behind, while he was delivering a side kick to vamp three in front of him, but Angel was aware of this and had a backhand fist waiting for him. The power of the blow sent vamp one’s feet out from under him and he flipped over as he flew under Angel’s arm, landing hard on his chest. Angel took a chance to try to finish the down vampire with the stake, but was grabbed from behind by vamp two, pinning his arms back. Angel struggled against the hold and vamp three was coming at him again. He lashed out with a high kick to the creature’s face, staggering it, then slammed his head back against vamp two’s nose, and the hold lessened. Angel sent another kick into vamp three’s face, sending him to the sand, then freed himself and smashed a hard elbow into vamp two’s already shattered nose. He brought the stake up, poised to plunge it into the vampire’s heart, but vamp one was up again and would have stopped him had Giles not sent a crossbow bolt through its heart from behind. Vamp one turned to ashes just as Angel staked vamp two’s heart.
Angel spun around and saw Giles standing there, already reloading the crossbow. Their eyes met, then they turned their attention to the remaining vampire who was getting to his feet. Finding himself suddenly alone and out numbered, the vampire quickly came to the wise decision to make like a vamp out of hell, and did his best to disappear into the night.
Before Angel could say anything, Giles shouted, “Angel, hurry! Buffy’s in trouble and she needs your help!”
Angel did not waste time saying anything and they ran back to the car.
Faith felt the rush of water against her face and opened her eyes to a world dark and out of focus behind a watery blur. Blinking her vision clear, she raised her head, and threw herself onto her side as she coughed up sea water. A great deal of sea water. She was still heaving well after all the water was expelled from her lungs. She tried to take a deep breath but started to cough again, her tortured lungs a sharp pain against her chest.
She concentrated on breathing for a few moments and took in her surroundings. She was outside. The bright half-moon and stars confirmed this and she was laying on a beach as the surf flowed around her. Not very far in the distance to her right she saw the docks of Sunnydale.
Whatever had happened to her, Faith figured, she must have fell into some sort of underground river that dumped her out in the sea where she washed up on shore. Good thing the river was heading out and not down to the center of the Earth. Faith would bet money no other Slayer had died that way, but all things considered, she was glad she didn’t turn out to be the first. Still, she was surprised she hadn’t drowned during the escape. Especially with all the water that had been in her lungs. Chalk up another one for Slayer resiliency.
Gathering what strength she knew she did not have, she pushed herself up and managed to sit up on her knees. She was still wearing her confiscated jacket, but it weighed a ton soaked so she pulled it off. She let it drop behind her and the tide grabbed it and it slipped away. Next, she pulled her hair out of her face, slicking it back for the moment. She began to shiver.
First, she needed to get the hell away from here, then she could worry about catching pneumonia. With any luck, maybe the undead squad thought she had died, but she wasn’t about to rely on being that lucky. Her legs felt dead but they supported her weight without buckling. Good girl, she thought. Now to try walking. One step. Two step. After the third step, Faith tried taking two, one right after the other. Since she didn’t fall, she picked up the pace just a bit without pausing and headed inland angling toward the docks. She needed to call Giles to pick her up, and bring her a couple hundred blankets.
That was when she became aware of the noise coming from up ahead. She could not mistake it for anything else than a fight. A nasty one by the sound of it. There was a small sand dune in front of her, so she wasn’t able to see it, but the sounds grew louder as she approached on unsteady legs. Then she heard an inhuman roar of, what sounded like, pain. Someone had just gotten seriously hurt, and it wasn’t a human, and unless the monster was fighting another monster, there was only one person who could have inflicted that much pain on such a creature.
“Buffy,” she tried to say, but her voice was severely hoarse.
Recognition suddenly hit Faith, with dread, as she realized she knew the sound of that roar. It belonged to the Slayer Vampire. And if Buffy was fighting it…
She forced herself to go faster but her legs were just not moving as fast as she wanted them to, and she was almost over the dune. When she crested the rise the battle came into sight, and what she saw chilled her worse than the cold air.
Even from this distance, she could tell her fellow Slayer was in bad shape, just by the way she was moving. She was staggering but still determined to keep fighting. Buffy could never be accused of not having guts, but right now she was in danger of losing them. The Slayer Vampire blocked a stake strike aimed at its head and used its own stake to slash Buffy in the side. The young Slayer cried out in pain, trying to back off, but the vampire snapped a front kick to her face, and Buffy took two wobbly steps back before dropping to the sand.
Faith almost stumbled and fell, but kept her feet under her and actually got them to move a little faster, thanks to a sudden adrenaline surge. But she was still too far away. She could only watch as the creature knelt down next to Buffy and lifted her head by the back of her hair. She turned the Slayer’s head to the side, exposing her jugular, and opened its mouth revealing its cruel fangs.
“Buffy!” Faith tried to shout, but it was still weak. “Buffy!” she tried again. This time; thanks to her ragged throat, it came out almost as a growl and the vampire noticed her for the first time.
Its head turned to Faith, it didn’t notice Buffy’s eyes open and the Slayer swung her arm up at the creature. She was still holding her stake, but in her weakened condition, managed to drive just an inch of the tip into the vamp’s throat. The monster reeled back in pain, but not without smashing a hard fist into Buffy’s face and she flopped limply to the sand again.
“Buffy!” Faith shouted with more urgency.
Clutching its neck, blood coursing over its hands, the Slayer Vampire got to its feet and backed away from the prone Slayer and glared at the second Slayer charging her. Faith wondered if it had known how weak she really was would it have stuck around. But the Slayer accepted, without complaint, the choice the creature made to retreat and it was already out of sight by the time Faith reached Buffy’s body.
She dropped weakly beside the teenager and put a hand to her chin. “Buffy! Buffy! Wake up!” She didn’t get any response. There was a lot of blood on her face. She pulled her into her lap. “C’mon, B! Don’t do this! C’mon, girlfriend, show me a sign here. You don’t want to die again, all right? It’s so overrated!”
Faith felt tears burning her eyes. She shut her eyes against them. “Dammit, bitch! Don’t you dare die on me! You die, I swear to God I’ll kill myself just so I can kick your ass all over Slayer Heaven!”
Faith felt a shudder go through Buffy and her eyes opened slightly. Her green eyes looked at her for a few seconds before coming into focus. “Faith,” she said, weakly. “If you’re here, I must be dead.”
Blinking away unshed tears, Faith smiled down at her. “No, girlfriend. I’m not dead yet. Would they let me into heaven looking like this?” Her long brown hair, made stringy by the salt water, was in her face again.
Buffy tried to nod in agreement. “Yeah, you do look like shi…”
Faith chuckled. “Trust me, B, you look even worse.” Buffy managed a small smile. “C’mon, we got to get you out of here before she decides that she’s hungry enough to try again. And I’m in no shape to go even an exhibition round with that toothy bitch.”
“You know what that was then?” Buffy asked as Faith lifted her to her feet.
“That, girlfriend, was a Slayer Vampire.” Faith wrapped an arm around her waist as she draped Buffy’s arm across her shoulders.
“A Slayer Vampire?”
“I know it sounds freaky, but that’s what it is. We met earlier tonight, if this still is the same night.”
“But how?”
“I’m not sure. There was this demon guy, gave new meaning to the word `plastic surgery.’ He —it— is some kind of master. It has some sort of control over this creature. My guess, this girl was supposed to be the next Slayer, but these creeps got to her and turned her into a vampire. And this demon leader must have done something to me to make it seem like I was dead.” Faith did not tell her about the great Darkness she had felt after waking in the caves for the first time. It didn’t matter, she told herself, my death was somehow faked, how else could I still be alive? They hadn’t wanted me dead, why else would the Demon Leader stop the Slayer Vampire from killing me for real?
“How could it fake your death?” asked Buffy.
Faith recapped her escape attempt, in the caves. How she had run into the Demon Leader and the Slayer Vampire, and how the demon was able to stop her heart from beating. It made sense; Faith was even starting to believe it, that if this creature could stop her heart for a long period, it could somehow fool nature into thinking she had died and activate the next Slayer.
Even in her current condition, Buffy seemed to accept this.
“Are you going to be okay, B?” she asked, changing the subject.
With her free arm, Buffy was holding the side of her ribs that had been slashed. She was in obvious pain, but she nodded. “I don’t think any permanent damage was done. Slayer healing: cure for everything.”
“Let’s hope so. That was a pretty cool move with that stake.”
Buffy looked at the hand that was clutching her ribs and saw she was still holding her stake. “Mr. Pointy!”
Faith frowned. “Who?”
“This is Mr. Pointy.” Buffy was smiling. “I’m getting this little guy bronzed.”
Thinking that Buffy may be suffering from a concussion, she said, “Oookay. But, you know Giles is going to flip when he sees you. What are you doing down here, anyway?”
“Oh, the Watcher’s Council had called Giles, last night, and told him about the next Slayer being called. We thought you were dead. We checked your room and saw that someone had been in there.”
“Yeah, I was jumped buy these gung-ho types. I don’t remember exactly what happened.”
“The Order of Taraka. Demon bounty hunters and assassins. Although, some of them are human. We figured that was how they were able to get in your room before you knew they were there. Me and the gang had to deal with them last year. Real nasty guys.”
“I’ll say.”
“Anyway,” Buffy went on. “We got a lead that there was a lot of paranormal activity down here.”
“So you wanted to recover my body?” Faith asked.
“We wanted to find you. You think I was about to take the Council’s word for it that you were dead?”
Faith tried to shrug. “Well, they were right about the next Slayer being called.”
“But how did the demon do it without killing you?”
“Like I said, he must have somehow faked my death. They didn’t want me to stay dead, or I’m thinking they would have just slit my throat.”
“This is definitely something we need to talk about with —Giles!” They saw a car screeching to a halt up on the road.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the new Slayer being called?” Angel asked.
Giles had quickly relayed everything he had left out at the mansion. “I did not think that Faith’s abduction would be connected to the activation of the next Slayer. Least of all, that new Slayer being here in Sunnydale.”
“So, whoever is behind the Taraka contract needed Faith—”
“Or Buffy,” Giles added.
“—or Buffy, to activated this Slayer they could turn into a vampire.” He looked at Giles. “How would they know this girl would be the next Slayer?”
“That is a question I myself would be very interested in finding out the answer to.”
“And it can’t be killed?”
“Buffy had already staked its heart.” Giles tried to keep the worry from his voice, but was not succeeding. “But she is very resourceful. I’m sure she’ll find a way to keep it at bay until we get there.”
“Giles, stop the car!” Angel shouted.
“What?!” the Watcher exclaimed, but brought the car to a halt.
“That’s Buffy!” Angel pointed toward the beach below. He turned and saw two small figures walking together. It looked as if one was half carrying the other.
“It must be taking Buffy to its lair.” Giles grabbed up his crossbow and he and Angel jumped out of the car. The vampire flew down the bluff and he was hard pressed to keep up. Angel slowed as they came nearer. Giles stopped next to him and brought the crossbow up to bear at the figure supporting his Slayer.
“No, Giles,” Angel said, putting a hand on the weapon, diverting his aim.
Giles focused his gaze as they got closer. He started to make out Buffy’s condition. “Buffy!” he exclaimed. Then he realized who was helping her. “Faith! Thank God!”
He dropped the crossbow and was running to his Slayers. “My God!” he said, as he saw Buffy, taking her other arm. He looked at Faith. “Faith, what happened?”
The brunette Slayer said, “She got the crap beat out of her.”
“Oh, yes. But I meant, what happened to you?”
Buffy spoke up, voice still weak. “Oh, that’s a long story, Giles.”
“I died,” Faith said.
“Apparently not that long,” Buffy said, wishing everyone would stop giving one-sentence summaries.
“We can debrief later,” Faith said, glancing at Angel, who was hovering close to Buffy, but kept his distance from the other Slayer. Smart for a vampire, she thought. “Right now, we gotta book before she comes back with some of her friends.”
Giles regarded his younger Slayer, with a sense of pride. She may not be aware, he thought, but Faith was acting a lot like Buffy just now. Taking charge. Now if only she continues like this… But Giles had to focus on what’s at hand. “Quite right. Angel?”
Giles eased Buffy from Faith, seeing how she wasn’t looking all too well herself, and the vampire easily took Buffy into his arms. Giles took Faith’s arm and draped it across his shoulder.
“I’m all right, G,” she protested. “I can make it on my own.”
“Of course,” he said. “Then perhaps you wouldn’t mind helping me back to the car? I, uh, seemed to have, uh, twisted my ankle a bit on the way down here. Yes.”
He thought he saw a faint smile on her face. “Sure. You’re the Watcher. Whatever you think’s best.” With that, she leaned into him a little more, letting him take most of her weight off her feet.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Despite his concern for Buffy, Angel could not help the feeling of great relief when Giles finally pulled into the parking lot of Sunnydale High. The glow of the sun just below the horizon had not yet peeked out, but the vampire could smell it was just minutes away. He was in the back, Buffy’s head resting on his lap while she was stretched out across the seat; her five foot three inch frame serving her well for a change in the cramped space. He tried to make her as comfortable as possible without letting her fall asleep. Giles was very adamant about that, treating his Slayer as you would anyone who had suffered a concussion. And Angel agreed with his judgment, even though he was sure Buffy would be fine if she were allowed to sleep a little, but he wasn’t about to take any unnecessary chances with her than Giles was prepared to.
With Giles’ small field first aid kit, he had cleaned and dressed the gash; that was already healing, in Buffy’s side as best he could on the go, but the temporary bandage would have to be changed as soon as they reached their center of operations. It was theirs, which no longer included him. Before he had lost his soul to Angelus the second time, the library had become a welcome setting for the vampire as he would often be there when Buffy, Giles, and the other Slayerettes would devise and plan their strategy against the forces of darkness that were threatening the world.
Angel knew better than most living beings that time was the greatest healing power, but then he’d gone through nearly a century of healing before he finally took back any semblance of life. And that was also with the help of an annoying fashion-challenged demon who had literally taken him off the dirty Manhattan streets. The humans in this tight circle of friends did not have the luxury to brood for several decades to heal the pain of the rift he had caused them during the last year. But in a way, despite being mortal; or perhaps because of it, they were stronger than he was, and he envied the strong will he never had even before he was turned into a vampire. If he had been half the person anyone of them were, he may very well not be a vampire even now.
In the end, only time would tell.
He had kept whispering to Buffy throughout the whole ride, keeping her eyes from closing all the way. At the same time, he cleaned the blood off her face and tried to keep the worry from his with each new bruise and cut he discovered. Because of her weakened condition, he knew she wasn’t healing as fast as she usually did. They had treated each others wounds often enough to be familiar with their own healing prowess, and she was still healing faster than any normal human. But that did little to ease his concern.
Faith, on the other hand, seemed to come through her whole ordeal without so much as a scratch. A little ragged and tired, and in need of a change in attire, she was almost perfect. At least visibly, he thought. Her flippant remark that she had “died,” to explain what had happened to her, held more meaning than she was willing to reveal. Angel had thought he had his barriers well guarded, but, in Faith, he found someone far superior in that department. Angel’s brooding skills had come from his dealing with his cursed soul and the consequences his demon had wrought on others for over a hundred years; but that had ended when he had met a small sixteen year old Slayer. Faith’s came from the pain she had suffered far too young, inflicted upon her by others; Angel recognized this in the younger Slayer. This didn’t exactly make them kindred spirits, but it did say they had much more in common than either one of them would ever admit to each other.
Giles seemed to realize this also and had only asked her a few questions before he lapsed into silence and Faith had laid her head back, eyes closed, and pretended to sleep. Angel knew she was pretending because her heart rhythm had not slowed.
Saturday morning found the school parking lot deserted and Giles pulled up to the front of the side entrance. Faith carried Giles’ weapon bag as she padded barefoot up the steps to the door and used the keys her Watcher had handed her to unlock it. Giles was helping Angel slide Buffy out of the car and he stayed near as the vampire carried her into the school, where Faith held the door open for them. Walking ahead of him; likewise, the school was deserted as well, she and Giles opened the double doors to the library for them. The Watcher directed him to his office and Angel gently set Buffy down on the leather sofa, her leather jacket being used as a small blanket.
He saw that her eyes were closed. “Buffy,” he said. “C’mon, now. Don’t go to sleep.” He put a hand to the side of her cheek less bruised and felt the warmth of her skin. True he wasn’t very qualified to gauge temperature, but she did feel hotter than she usually did. “Buffy?” A little worried, he called over his shoulder. “Giles. I think Buffy’s starting to burn up.”
Faith preceded Giles into the office. “Faith, please sit down.” She obviously didn’t need to be told twice and she slumped behind his desk. He pulled out another bag from a closet cabinet and Angel made room for him as he knelt beside Buffy.
“Is she going to be okay?” Angel asked.
“Her healing attributes are being taxed right now, due to her many injuries, which would explain the fever.” He gently lifted her eyelids to examine her eyes. “No abnormal dilation, so I don’t believe she’s suffered a concussion. I believe it’s safe to let her start resting. She’s going to need all her strength to heal herself, especially with so little time.”
“What do you mean?” the vampire asked, fearing he already knew the answer.
“He means she needs to be in top form for when we face the Slayer Vampire again, tonight.”
Angel turned to see the younger Slayer with her head propped up on the palm of her hand, her elbow on the desk. She looked tired but she had been paying attention. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a bit of concern in her eyes.
Angel glanced at Giles. “You can’t be serious?”
“I’m afraid so.” Giles didn’t look at him as he searched for something in the bag.
“There’s no way Buffy will be ready to face that thing again. Nowhere near a hundred percent.”
This time Giles did look at him. “Well, we really don’t have a choice now, do we? Not only are we dealing with the Order of Taraka again, but with a new powerful demon; whose origins we haven’t a clue about, as well as a newly turned Slayer. I certainly have no plans of going after them when the sun sets tonight, but I fear they will be hunting us.” He had pulled out a small syringe wrapped in plastic and a small vial of liquid. “And you know as well as I do, Angel, that there are many day-walkers in the Taraka Order. They don’t need to wait for nightfall.”
Angel was forced to agree, even if he didn’t like it. He nodded at the syringe. “What’s that?”
“Something to ease the pain.”
He watched as Giles swathed a small spot on Buffy’s arm and gave her the injection. He put the syringe and vial away and turned his attention to the bandage on her side. Angel had ripped the shirt along the seam to tend to the wound. The gash itself was a few inches long, starting from the middle of her side to just under her breast. Taking care to keep as much of his Slayer’s lingerie covered as possible, the Watcher removed the blooded gauze and conducted the examination with a doctor’s manner.
“Hmm,” he commented. “It will need a few stitches. I’m going to need Willow here. Faith, can you give her a call?”
“What’s the number?” she asked.
“I’ll do it.” Angel stood up. But instead of using the phone on the desk next to the younger Slayer, he opted to use the one out on the check-out counter. Faith watched him leave until she could not see him without turning her head, then returned her gaze to the Slayer on the sofa. Giles wondered if there would ever be a stable atmosphere with her and Angel in the same room. Considering how seriously Faith took her Slayer duties, he truly doubted it.
Angel found it strange to be calling Willow. Not only because he would usually just stop by during the night rather than call someone, but this would also be the first time he would speak to her in depth since before his soul was taken away. True, one of the first things he did during their brief reunion, a couple of months ago, was save her life from a horrible death, he doubted that alone would alleviate the discomfort she and the others still felt towards him. Not that he could ever blame them. When he had first met Buffy, they had always been known to him as “Buffy’s friends,” but sometime during that first year, he realized they had become his friends as well. Even Xander … sort of. He had come to treasure that friendship and had kept it within him, along with Buffy’s love, even when his soul was banished, and later, when he was sucked into the demon dimension. Which was why he had acted on pure instinct, when he had regained consciousness to find Willow in danger, and had pulled her away just in time.
She answered on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Willow.”
“Yes? This is she—” There was a pause for a few seconds. “Angel?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you— I mean— That is— Yes?”
Angel smiled sadly into the phone. “I’m sorry to wake you so early.”
“Oh, no. That’s no problem. Just a little surprise— hey, it’s bedtime for you anyway, I mean the sun is up. Not that you have a curfew, but—” It sounded as if she covered the mouthpiece but he was able to hear her mumble something to herself, and when she came back her voice was steadier. “What can I do for you, Angel?”
“It’s Buffy. She’s been hurt.” He heard Willow gasp but she didn’t say anything, even though he knew she wanted to. “We’re here at the library. Giles is taking care of her, but he said he needs you’re help. Faith is here too.”
“I’ll be right there.” There was no hesitation in her voice anymore. “I’ll stop by to pick up Xander on the way, too.”
“Good. I’m sure we can use all the help we can get. There’s something big going down and we don’t have a lot of time. We’ll fill you in as soon as you get here.”
“Okay. She’s going to be all right, isn’t she?”
“Giles seems to think so. That’s usually good enough.”
“Yeah. But I won’t feel better until I see her myself. Well, I better get moving.”
“And be careful,” he told her, sincerely.
“We will. And Angel.” She paused for just a moment. “Thanks. And for calling.”
“Sure.” With that, they hung up.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Not more than twenty minutes later, the two Slayerettes rushed into the library.
“Giles!” they called out as they hurried around the counter. Even though they made record time, they still looked presentable. Willow’s shoulder length red hair was neat and hers and Xander’s loose fitting clothes were as adequate as usual.
Angel stepped out of the office to meet them. He didn’t venture much farther from the doorway or he would risk getting caught in the sunlight coming from the high windows and skylight of the library. Giles had found a folded cardboard box to place on the sill of the window in the office, to keep the sunlight out.
“She’s inside,” he said, stepping aside to let them enter.
“How is she?” they both asked in unison.
Giles look up from his task. “Thank you, for coming. She should be fine. You’re just in time, Willow. I am about ready to start the sutures and I’d appreciate your help.”
Willow only stood there for a few seconds looking at her best friend laying, on the couch, looking so— helpless. She had never seen Buffy like this before. Well, there was that one time last year when she had been put in the hospital, after almost dying, she thought. But then she had still recovered fairly quickly and even managed to slay an invisible demon who had been terrorizing the children’s ward. But as serious as that time was, she looked three times worse here.
“Oh, Buffy,” she whispered.
“Willow,” Giles said, gently.
She snapped herself out of it and moved over to his side to lend him a hand.
“Oh, man,” Xander finally said. Then his anger flared. “Why didn’t you take her to the hospital? What’s she doing here?”
Giles didn’t react to the young man’s anger but said, “The hospital would not be able to do any more for her than we can. And, for our purposes, the library is a more secure location.”
“How so?” Xander demanded.
“It’s easier to guard. And we have a Slayer and a vampire as our first line of defense.”
“As long as the bad guys don’t stand in the sunlight, that is.” He shot a glare at the vampire in question, not succeeding in getting a reaction. Then Xander looked at Faith and noted she was resting her head on the desk top, her eyes closed. “And the Slayer.” Eyes still closed, Faith raised a hand and gave a tiny wave. Xander turned back to Giles. “This does not really instill confidence in me, you know.” He missed Faith’s wave turning into the bird behind his back. Angel was the only one who caught it and could not fight the grin that appeared on his face.
Just growing a little impatient, Giles looked at the young man. “Xander, I feel your concerns, but trust me. If I thought for one moment —one instant— that Buffy’s life was in jeopardy, I would be the first one demanding we get her to the hospital.”
But Xander was not done pleading his case yet. “But look at her! She’s never been this bad, before. Has she Willow?”
“Well…” His long time childhood friend seemed to share his concerns, if not as vocally as him. “You have to admit, Giles. I can’t remember a time when Buffy’s looked like this. Not even when Angel put her in the hospital.” She glanced at the vampire. “I mean, not that you meant to beat her up, but it was your demon… .”
“It’s okay,” he said, even though the shame was evident in his eyes. “I remember. But Buffy was already weak from the flu. It made her easier to hurt. And she wasn’t able to heal as fast.”
Before an uncomfortable silence could settle, Giles cleared his throat. “Yes. And Buffy was at full strength last night. How ever severe her injuries, I have every confidence that she will recover. But, she will need our help to do so.”
“What about Faith?” Willow asked, noticing her haggard appearance for the first time.
The Slayer in question finally opened her eyes and lifted her head. “Hey, I’m fine. Aside from needing a shower and breakfast in bed, I’m five-by-five.”
Giles was working on the first suture but spared her a glance. “But you said so yourself, Faith, that you had died.”
“Died?” Xander exclaimed.
“Died?” Willow echoed.
“I was being dramatic, Giles,” Faith said, trying to sound matter-of-factly. “We Slayer’s do tend to do that every once in a while. It’s all parcel of the whole gig. And I’m not really sure what happened back there.”
“But the next Slayer was called,” Giles said.
“Whoa! `Next Slayer?’” offered Xander.
“All I know is that this demon-sorcerer guy has the ability to stop someone’s heart.”
“And he just raised a hand to you? He didn’t chant a spell or say anything?”
Faith shrugged. “Nothing. He took me down without batting an eyelash. If he had any.” The image of the demon must have entered her thoughts for she almost shuddered. This was really starting to freak Xander out, if something could freak out Faith this way, and do this to Buffy.
“Did you get a good look at it?” Giles asked, concentrating on his other Slayer.
“Yeah. Too good. I’m trying not to remember.”
“Well, we can research the demon later.”
Willow and Xander were looking expectantly at the others in the room, waiting for the “Cliff Notes” update that usually followed such an exchange. But, when it seemed that one would have to be prompted, Xander finally raised his hand.
“Hey, I hate coming into the middle of the movie as much as the next person, and I know no one is eager to be assigned the recap, but me and Will or still in need of flashbacks here.”
Giles only glanced up quickly. “Yes. Sorry. I guess I’ll go first, then.”
“Yeah,” Faith agreed, once more resting her head on the desk but positioned to listen. “I missed this part myself.”
Giles gave a descriptive, if abridged version, of what happened through the night starting with the phone call he received from the Watcher’s Council. The activation of the new Slayer, Angel’s demon visitor, and discovering that the new Slayer was here in Sunnydale and a vampire. Throughout the retelling, Faith had supplied her parts in what she guessed were the appropriate places. Needless to say, Willow and Xander’s jaws dropped several times.
Ironically, they finished the story just as Giles snipped the end of the last suture in Buffy’s side. Willow silently praised the Watcher for his skills. The stitches were small and set neatly along the wound. She doubted there would even be a scar left, but then again, with Buffy’s healing ability there probably wouldn’t be a scar either way.
“Angel did say something `big’ was happening,” she finally said.
“And is anybody else thinking he should win the award for `Best Understatement of the Year?’” Xander quipped. This got a severe look from Angel and a chuckle from Faith. Although the teenager wasn’t as adamant about his dislike of the vampire as he used to be, he still couldn’t resist taking verbal jabs at him. But then, he realized, he was like that with all of his friends. Xander would have shook his head, had he been alone, for having the words “friend” and “Angel” in the same thought. And it occurred to him that Faith was the person in the room who liked the vampire the least, probably on general Slayer principals alone; but that was something he never would have thought possible just a couple of months ago.
“And we must start devising our strategy against attack from all fronts,” Giles said.
Willow was applying a thin bandage over the stitches. “The bad guys do have an impressive offense: the Order of Taraka; this demon-sorcerer that stopped Faith’s heart, with a platoon of vampires; which includes a vampiric Slayer. Our own defensive line-up consists of one vampire and two Slayers; granted a formidable fighting team, but with one Slayer in a near coma and the other having her heart stopped at least twice in one night, I’m suddenly thinking `sudden death.’”
She looked up to find everyone in the office staring at her. Heat suddenly rushed into her cheeks. “What?”
“Come clean, Will,” Xander said. “You’re a closet ESPN viewer.”
Willow opened her mouth but couldn’t think of anything to say. Giles removed his glasses and wiped them with a handkerchief. He winced, noticing the pain in his bruised hand for the first time in hours. “Very intriguing. Faith how are you feeling? Are you sure you’re all right?”
The younger Slayer was suddenly the focus of attention, which she really didn’t want to be, but the concern she saw in the Watcher’s eyes did fill her with a certain warmth. Her previous Watcher had fussed over her as well, but she never had the emotional display this Watcher showed so readily. Although it probably wasn’t as evident to the people in this room, who saw him as a stuffy Brit most of the time, but Giles seemed to go against the mold for Watchers, based on her own experiences with her first Watcher as well as her short time with Gwendolyn Post; who did turn out to be evil in the end.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just tired.”
It seemed that Giles wanted to say more, but Faith was grateful when he put his glasses back on and didn’t push. “Then you best get cleaned up and put on some dry clothes. No need to push your luck.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She stood up. “But I don’t have anything else to wear.”
Xander’s head snapped up, but he quickly looked away when she glanced at him, suddenly growing an interest in a book he pulled off a shelf.
“Buffy keeps some clothes stashed here,” Willow said, getting up and opening the closet cabinet. “You are a little taller than she is but then Buffy usually doesn’t have clothes as tight as yours.” She quickly added, “Not that that’s a bad thing, or to imply that Buffy isn’t as—”
“Slutty?” Faith offered.
“No! No, I wasn’t thinking that at all! I—”
Faith smiled at her. “Just joking Willow.”
“Oh.” She laughed nervously. “Either way, I’m going to stop talking for a little while.”
“Uh, Faith,” Giles spoke up. “If you can help Willow take Buffy with you to the girls’ locker room you can get her cleaned up as well.”
“Are you sure we should move her?” Angel asked.
“Right now, she needs to get as much rest as possible. We should make her as comfortable as we can. And besides, they can check to see if there are any further injuries we, uh, may have missed.”
“Sure. No problem.” Faith moved over to the blonde Slayer. “C’mon, private Buffy, time to hit the showers.” She started to ease her off the sofa.
Buffy stirred and her eyes opened slightly. “Shower?”
“Yeah, Willow and I are going to make sure you don’t drop the soap.”
“I know how to take a shower by myself,” she said, dazedly. “I’ve been taking showers since I turned twenty-one.”
Xander frowned. “Man, Buffy really can’t handle her drugs, can she?”
Willow looked at him. “You don’t know, Xander. Maybe Buffy’s the kind of girl who takes the time to enjoy a nice long bath— Oh, supplied naughty image. Sorry, I forgot. Not supposed to be talking right now.”
“Uh, Willow,” Giles said.
She nodded and grabbed more of Buffy’s clothes. Faith had Buffy on her feet now, but it looked like she wasn’t going to be doing any walking. Angel stepped forward.
“I can take her.”
Faith shot him a look. “You wish. Don’t worry `long-tooth,’ I’m just as macho as you are.” With that she lifted the drowsy slayer into her arms but exaggerated a grunt. “Man, B! You really need to lay off the stakes.”
With everyone standing now, the office had suddenly become a little crowded. Angel and Xander walked out first so the girls could leave and they headed out of the library. As they passed Angel Buffy looked up.
“Angel!” She reached out and grabbed the lapel of his coat, causing Faith to stop.
He wrapped his hand around hers. “You’re going to be okay, Buffy. I promise.”
“Oh, I know, Angel,” she said, dazedly. “You always say that. You’re my guardian Angel! Just… only a vampire.”
Faith said, “Yeah, well, where we’re going, boys —even boys over a two-hundred years old— are not allowed.”
“Maybe someone should be there to stand guard,” he suggested. This got him a look from Faith and Willow. “I mean outside the door.” Faith and Willow continued to give him the look. “Outside the locker room door.”
Xander chuckled lightly and rescued him by putting a hand on Angel’s shoulder and pulling him away. He removed his hand as they watched the girls disappear through the double doors.
“You’re probably thinking the same thing I am?” Xander asked.
“How vulnerable they’re going to be in the shower?” he said, seriously.
Xander nodded. “So you are thinking the same thing I am.” Angel shot him a look. “Don’t worry, Faith has had plenty of experience fighting monsters in the nude.”