Into The Void
by Electra
Rating: R
The three robed figures watched Faith as she anxiously looked around, breathing heavily and bordering on a state of panic.
She blinked her eyes hard trying to take in her surroundings. She didn’t seem too awed by the massive gray marble columns that towered along the perimeter of the circular room, nor by the meticulous bronze and jade carvings that lined the walls. In fact, she seemed to look right through them all as if she were searching for something.
The robed figures knew exactly what she was looking for . . . her coven and her warrior. But, they couldn’t let her see them . . . not yet.
As a part of the process, the figures had used a cloaking spell so that the “Hollow One” (Faith) would not be able to see or interact with her coven and warrior, and vice versa. They all happened to be in the same room, but they were only able to see and hear what the tribunal members wanted them to.
The middle figure, and aged man with a short gray beard and white eyes, stood up to get Faith’s attention.
“Hollowed One, come forward.” His deep voice boomed in a powerful but gentle manner.
Faith hesitated, her eyes darting between him and various points in the room.
“Child, do not fear. Your coven is safe, as is your warrior.” Faith immediately focused her gaze on the man, and he continued. “It is not time for them yet. They are here, but they do not see us, and you cannot see them. Not yet.”
“Wait . . . what do you mean, ‘my coven’?” Faith asked.
The man chuckled. “Your coven, child. Surely your coven was responsible for powering the gateway. Only strong sources of cosmic power could fulfill such a requirement. Who else could take on such a task?” He asked disbelievingly.
“Umm . . . I got some news for ya, Pops.” She pointed at herself. “I don’t have a coven cuz I’m not a witch.”
“What?” He asked suspiciously. “That’s impossible. This tribunal is only for the descendents of Enid and her coven. Surely a descendent of Enid would be as powerful a witch as she was if not more so, especially after her visit to us.”
“Enid?” Faith asked. Then, a realization hit her. “OH! You mean that Witch-princess chick? Nahh, I ain’t her descendent. I may act like a real ‘witch’ sometimes, and I’ve been called a ‘Royal-Pain-in-the-Ass’, but a Witch Princess I’m not.”
The man paused, taking in what she had just explained.
“If you are not a descendent of Enid nor of her coven, then I am afraid that we cannot help you, child. Our powers are too great to be used on a mere mortal.”
“She is not just a mere mortal.” One of the other robed figures, a middle-aged female, spoke up. “I can smell her power. Not a witch, not a demon . . . not a mere mortal. Child . . . what are you?” She asked with a gentle smile, standing up to join the bearded man.
“I’m a Slayer, and I have a name so you can lay off with the ‘child’ bit. It’s Faith.”
The third remaining figure, a strong young man, stood up and engaged Faith. “Faith? Such a strong name for a girl with such a lack of it.” He said bitterly, then turned to his fellow brethren. “This is a waste of our time. She is trivial, barely worthy of our presence, let alone out efforts. Let her rot.” He said angrily before turning around and heading back towards his seat.
“Balthazor, hold your tongue!” The female yelled out, instantly getting his attention. “You do not speak for the remaining factions of this tribunal. You will wait for OUR judgment before you decide to condemn this girl!”
“Ilaya, do you not see that this cause is not worthy of our efforts?” He spit back at the female, his voice full of venom. “She is a Slayer. Another will be called to replace her. I sense NO great loss of power here, nor do I foresee a shift in the balance of good and evil without her.” He turned towards the aged man. “Magnus, surely you must agree with me."
The aged man thought about if for a moment.
“I’m sorry, but I do not. We cannot simply dismiss this child due to her lack of a so-called higher status. She is a Slayer; a defender of good. True, another can be called. But, read her, Balthazor. Look deep into her. She is an innocent in this. She deserves a chance.”
“I . . . SEE . . . NOTHING!” Balthazor answered, seething with anger.
“Look harder.” Magnus answered. “She was robbed of her free will and used as a tool for evil. She lacks part of her soul not because of her own doing, but because of the doing of a dark being.”
“I already know all of this.” Balthazor cut in. “Perhaps you are the one who should be looking deeper into her, Magnus. Do you not sense the curse? Do you not see that it is not in our hands?”
“That’s rubbish. Both you and I know that we can work around a measly mortal curse. Our powers are greater than that, brother. It is our purpose for being.” Magnus replied.
Faith watched the exchange between the three figures in awe and confusion. She got the basic gist of their conversation: Magnus and Ilaya were willing to at least listen to her and possibly help; Balthazor was being a real bastard about the situation, and he wanted to simply discard her. She remained silent, not wanting to further upset the situation.
Balthazor sighed, knowing that his fellow brethren were correct. Still, he was not going to give up that easily.
“I’ll entertain your thoughts for a moment, Magnus. Suppose we want to help this girl. We cannot do it out of the so-called ‘goodness’ of our hearts. That’s not the way this works; not in the past, and not now. A sacrifice must be made; something must be lost in order for something to be gained.”
“Whoa whoa whoa.” Faith cut in, not liking what she was hearing. “A sacrifice? I don’t think so. In case you guys haven’t heard, I gave up the killin’ a long time ago. Nothin’ but good deeds left in me these days.”
Ilaya stepped forward. “That is not the type of sacrifice that we speak of, child. As all things in life, nothing comes free. Something must be forfeited or surrendered in return. Love, innocence, power, soul, emotion . . . something must be exchanged.”
Faith thought about it.
“Well . . . soul: I already seem to be lacking part of mine. Emotion: I’ve never been a real emotional gal as it is. Power: it’s not mine to give, it’s the essence of the slayer, not of ‘Faith’. Innocence . . . well, I lost my innocence a long time ago. And as for love . . . I only just found it. I’m not willing to give it away. Not for anything. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“See!” Balthazor spat. “She can save herself with a small sacrifice, and yet she will not do it. As I said . . . she is not worth out time.”
Faith couldn’t help it. Before she could stop herself, her hand was in the air, waving her middle-finger at the young man.
“If this child will not help herself, then we cannot help her either.” Balthazor added while shooting daggers at Faith, who was giving him the cockiest grin she could muster.
Ilaya stifled a laugh that was trying to escape after witnessing the interaction between the two.
“Perhaps she doesn’t have to make the sacrifice herself.” Ilaya stated to her brethren, then turned her attention to Faith. “I believe it’s time that we call on your friends.”
She raised up her arms then lowered them, seemingly lowering the cloaking spell that had been placed.
In a flash, Faith saw Buffy and the others appear in the same room, all looking rather frantic. The group looked shocked as Faith and the robed figures appeared suddenly as if out of thin air.
“Faith!” Buffy shouted, instantly running over to the brunette and throwing her arms around her in a tight embrace. “Oh my god . . . we thought something bad happened . . . you were gone for so long.” She said into Faith’s shoulder as she buried her face into the younger girl.
Faith instantly responded to the blonde, wrapping her arms around the obviously frightened girl.
“It’s okay, B. I’ve been right here the whole time.” She pointed at the robed figures. “These guys made a cloaking spell so we couldn’t see each other or somethin’. Said I couldn’t see you guys ‘til it was time. I guess it must be that time right about now.”
Buffy made no move to even look at the tribunal members. Instead, she pulled back from Faith just enough to look into her deep brown eyes, ignoring the presence of everyone else in the room with her. She gave Faith a tender smile and studied her face over, making sure that she was unharmed. She froze just a little when she saw small remnants of a blood trail coming from the brunette’s nose. Faith picked up on her fright right away.
“It’s nothin’, B. I feel fine. I AM fine. Much better now that you’re here.” She gave Buffy a small grin and moved her hand to brush the blonde’s hair out of her face.
Their moment was broken when they heard a scoff.
“You must be fooling!” Balthazor yelled, his voice once again angry. “You’re in love with your warrior?!? This has gone from sad to ridiculous. This is enough for me!” He turned to face his brethren. “Magnus, Ilaya. This does not deserve our attention. I will not become the object of ridicule amongst our peers for helping this waste of a person. I REFUSE TO HELP HER.” He turned his back away from Faith and her friends, thus shutting them out.
Faith’s eyes shot down toward the ground, obviously feeling completely defeated. She hated the young man who wanted so badly to condemn her. She thought that if she had to continue looking at him, she would do something stupid.
Buffy noticed Faith’s look of defeat, and she finally decided to stand up for her and to do what was right. She had let the girl down in her past by not helping her the first time she was in trouble. She wasn’t going to stand by and watch her slip away again.
Through clenched teeth she began to speak, looking up defiantly at Balthazor.
“YES, YOU WILL HELP HER.”
The words had caught the three figures’ attention, causing them all to look her way. Buffy continued.
“You will help her, because she deserves it. Because she came here in good faith to ask for help; something that was never easy for her to ask for. Because you have the power to. And because if you don’t? . . . things are going to get a LOT worse than simply dealing with the loss of a Slayer.”
“Really?” Balthazor asked, amused at the defiance of the small blonde before him. “And pray tell, how exactly do you mean, little girl?”
“Because you won’t be dealing with the loss of one Slayer. You’ll be dealing with the loss of two.” She said very matter-of-factly, staring at the figures in front of her.
“You’re a Slayer as well?” Ilaya asked.
“The original.”
“So you will end your life if we do not help this girl?” Magnus asked, slightly confused.
“No, I won’t kill myself. I don’t believe in that. But . . . turning away from slaying? THAT I would do.”
“You would simply turn your back on your calling?” Magnus asked. “Turn your back on what you’re meant to do?”
“In a heartbeat.” Buffy quickly replied. “I’ve always said that I’d love to live the life of a ‘normal girl’. This would just give me the perfect opportunity to finally take that option. And besides . . . you don’t seem like one to talk. Isn’t it you guys right now that are turning your backs on your calling? Seems to me like you made that decision just as easily.”
The entire gang just sat there, wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Buffy’s little act of defiance. They knew that she was a tough girl . . . but her ‘act’ was almost beginning to convince even them.
“We are not turning on our calling, Slayer.” Ilaya answered. “We are simply evaluating the situation from a higher standpoint. We must take into the consideration the balance of good and evil. If we . . .”
“Sister, stop this.” Balthazor cut in. “We do not have to explain ourselves to these mortals. We are higher beings! Acts of defiance such as this should be punished, not rewarded! Even still, the loss of two Slayers is not enough to tip the balance. Another Slayer will be called. The world can do without these two.”
He glared at his brethren, trying to make them understand his point. However, not much time was given to ponder his explanation as another voice cut in.
“Yeah, maybe the world can withstand the loss of two Slayers. But can it withstand the loss of the vampire with a soul?” Angel asked, stepping forward from the background.
Immediately, the three robed figures turned their heads to meet the source of the voice.
“Angelus.” Magnus murmured.
“Actually, it’s Angel now. But I’m glad that you’ve heard of me. That means that you’ve heard of the prophecies regarding me. That I’ll be a key player in avoiding numerous apocalypses, that the balance in the fight against good and evil may lay in my very capable hands.”
The three figures remained speechless, obviously knowing the importance of Angel in the affairs of the world. He continued.
“You refuse to help Faith? I refuse to fight another day. I retire, and let the world pass me by while I sit on my Lazy-Boy and watch TV. If anyone deserves a second chance, it’s Faith.”
Balthazor scoffed.
“If you think you can intimidate us into helping this girl, you are sorely mistaken, we . . .”
“Oh, we’re not done yet, nancy-boy.” Spike said, stepping forward. “You ever hear of William the Bloody? The Scourge of Europe?”
The almost-frightened stares of the robed figures confirmed Spike’s question.
“Yeah? Well, that’s me. See, I’ve been a nice lil’ boy lately on account of this chip in my head. But that doesn’t mean I’m good.” He pointed at Faith. “I’ve known lots of people that deserved death, and I gladly bestowed it upon them. But this bird doesn’t. I might not be able to hurt a fly, but I can gather an army of vamps and demons alike that would bow before a master vampire of the Order of Aurelius. You don’t help her? I gladly get my naughty on. An army like that under my control would have a bleedin’ good time altering the balance of good and evil.”
“You’re bluffing.” Balthazor said defiantly, not wanting to appear powerless in the situation.
“Try me.” Spike said with a smirk, crossing his arms across his chest.
“Try us too.” Willow stepped forward, dragging a nervous-looking Xander with her. “Do you want to cross the path of a warlock and a witch scorned? Giles always told me I couldn’t play with the dark magicks, but I’ve just been itching to give them a try.” Willow stated, trying to sound as confident and cocky as possible.
“I can sense your power, witch.” Ilaya stated gently, then looked skeptically at Xander. “But I sense no power from him.”
“It’s a cloaking spell!” Xander blurted out in true Xander-fashion. “The best way beat your enemy is not to let them know that you have power. Oh, I’ve got power, alright. I’m just keeping it hidden. It’s the ace up my sleeve.” He wasn’t sure his little ruse was going to work, but he didn’t think that they would call his bluff.
“That’s a nice move, Warlock.” Ilaya stated with admiration, obviously falling for his scam.
Xander smiled nervously.
“Oh, and let’s not forget the vision-girl here.” Cordelia stated, casually walking up behind Faith and slinging her arm across the girl's shoulder. “Seems that your cousins, ‘The Powers that Be’, like to give me visions so that I can help the helpless. To me, Faith is a helpless. If you can just turn your back on her and not feel bad about it, then I figure I can do the same thing. I’ll get some Extra-Strength Tylenol to block the headaches, and I’ll learn to tune to a different channel. Thinks of all the innocents lost . . .” She trailed off, pretending to deeply think about it.
Buffy chuckled, growing even bolder at the assistance offered by her friends.
“So, it seems that you have a little bit more to consider now, don’t ya? Let’s recap. If you don’t help Faith, you: lose two perfectly broken-in Slayers, one highly prophesized Vampire with a Soul, and one link to ‘The Powers that Be’. You also get a new and improved Big Bad master vampire, and a witch and a warlock that like to dabble in the black magicks. I think that you may begin to see a biiiiiiggggg shift in that balance of good and evil. Plus, we’ve got more troops at home. Another powerful wicca, an ex-Vengeance demon with lots of connections, and worse of all: a whiny teenager with a penchant for nagging and getting under your skin. This could be the easiest . . . or hardest decision you could ever make.”
The three robed figures remained silent, completely blown away by the display that had just happened before them. They stood there under the defiant glare of the group before them.
After a few moments passed, Magnus finally stepped forward.
“I have made my judgment, and I am prepared to announce my decision to my brethren of this tribunal.”
Buffy tightened her grasp on Faith’s hand. Cordelia, on the other side of Faith, did the same thing.
“It is my belief that the balance between good and evil would be monumentally thrown off if our help is not given. Therefore, my contribution to this tribunal is that we shall help this child.” He smiled warmly at Faith.
“I concur.” Ilaya stated, smiling just as sweetly.
Balthazor scoffed.
“You give in too easily, brothers.” He paused. “Fine, I concur as well. BUT . . . there is still the issue of sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice?” Buffy asked, sounding nervous.
“Yes, sacrifice. Something must be surrendered for something to be gained.”
“So it’s not a blood thing then. We just have to . . . give something up, right? Kinda like Lent, and giving up chocolate or something?”
“Or something.” Balthazor stated. “Love, innocence, power, soul, emotion, humor, hope . . . it must be something meaningful. AND . . . this is a special matter. A forfeit shall be required from each of the sources, to be given up ‘in general’. The warrior, on the other hand, must surrender something to the Hollow One; a gift that cannot be returned or refused.”
He looked towards his brethren, waiting for their approval.
“Yes, I must agree. This is a special case, and special measures must be taken.” Magnus stated, and Ilaya nodded in agreement. He turned towards the group. “Are you prepared to give something up for this child?” He indicated Faith.
After a moment or two of thought, the entire gang slowly nodded in agreement.
“Are you willing to accept that though it is not certain, your forfeit may be permanent, and you may never have it back again?” Magnus asked.
A few scared looks were exchanged, but again, the group nodded affirmatively.
“Excellent.” He said with a gentle, knowing smile. It was almost as if he were hiding something. Ilaya smiled in the same manner. Balthazor simply looked on in contempt.
As if on cue, Ilaya stepped behind a large marble alter and pulled something out from behind it. When she walked forward, the gang saw that she was holding a large crystal orb.
“Please come forward one at a time. State what you will surrender, then place your hand on the orb.”
Cordelia stepped forward.
“I give my power.” She stepped forward and placed her hand on the orb. A large blue light was pulled from her body and now lay swirling within the orb.
Xander stepped forward.
“I gave my first ‘innocence’ in a sense to Faith a long time ago, so I will gladly give it up again.” He placed his hand on the orb and a white light was pulled from his body, intermingling with the blue in the orb.
Willow stepped forward.
“I give my power.” She placed her hand on the orb, and a similar blue light escaped from her as it had with Cordelia.
Spike stepped forward.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this soddin’ thing. Alright . . . I give up my immortality.” He shot a smile at Faith before placing his hand on the orb. A huge red burst of light flew from him and into the orb.
Faith gasped . . . she couldn’t believe that he had done that for her. She knew that they shared some things in common . . . but she didn’t realize that he had felt so closely bonded to her.
Finally, Angel stepped forward.
Quietly, he stated, “I give the permanence of my soul.”
Before he could put his hand on the orb, Faith shouted out. “Angel, no! I can’t let you do that. It’s finally yours, for good. Pick something else, please.” She pleaded with him.
He gently smiled at her.
“Consider it a gift.” He stated as he quickly placed his hand on the orb before Faith or anyone else could stop him. A brilliant green light emitted from his body and crossed into the orb.
Ilaya smiled and walked with the orb towards a short marble column. She placed it down gently then returned to stand next to her brethren.
Suddenly, all eyes focused on Buffy.
The blonde slayer turned towards Faith and took both of her hands into her own. She looked down at their enjoined hands, then back up into the brunette’s deep brown eyes.
“Faith . . . I don’t know what I can give that will mean anything to you. But I’m going to give you something that means something to me. I think it’s been yours for longer than I realized, so I guess it’s only appropriate that I give it to you formally.”
She paused, giving Faith a gentle, loving smile.
“Faith . . . I give you my heart.”
Several wide-eyed, open mouthed people stood watching the two Slayers.
They were already confused by the fact that as a group, they were so openly and unselfishly willing to give up a part of themselves for Faith. They didn’t question why they did it . . . they just knew that they were there to help, they wanted to help, and that it just felt like the right thing to do. The only thing to do.
But Buffy’s little ‘contribution’ to Faith had completely shocked them all. Actually, it wasn’t really ‘shock’ as much as ‘surprise’. Willow had known about Faith’s ‘heart thing’ for Buffy, but she wasn’t aware that the blonde was feeling the exact same thing. Angel and Cordelia had heard Faith’s confession of love in the car, and it wasn’t hard to see over the course of the last few days that Buffy and some sort of feelings as well. After Spike’s discussion with Faith, he knew that she loved the older Slayer, and he could also feel the sense of need and caring in Buffy towards the dark Slayer.
Xander, on the other hand, was completely in the dark. He had never been Mr. Perceptive, so he hadn’t the vaguest idea of the extent of Buffy and Faith’s feelings for one another. He stood there now in his own clueless little world, wondering what Buffy’s offering meant exactly.
Faith, for her part, stood there holding both of Buffy’s soft hands in her own, trying to contain her emotions. Part of her was ecstatic that the other girl might be feeling the same ‘heart thing’ that she was feeling. The other part of her was scared at what the implications of Buffy’s surrender of her heart might be. She’d love nothing more than to have the love of the other girl, but not because she ‘had’ to give something, and not at the cost of the other girl having to lose something in the meanwhile.
Still, despite her reservations and conflicting thoughts, she couldn’t help the small smile that escaped her. She nervously began to swing their interlaced hands, rubbing her thumb across the top of the older girl's hands.
The gang watched as she opened her mouth to say something to Buffy. However, no sound came out. She shook her head a little to regain her senses and tried again, only to have the same results.
Suddenly, she gasped aloud as her body went rigid and began to shake. Buffy caught the girl just as she was about to fall backward, cradling her in her arms as they hit the ground together.
“WHAT’S HAPPENING?!?” Buffy yelled up at Balthazor, Ilaya, and Magnus as her friends came running over to assist her.
The three robed figures looked at one another in confusion.
“This is not our doing.” Magnus explained in an almost scared tone, looking to his brethren.
After a realization, Ilaya spoke up. “It is the curse: it has been broken. An act of love has been displayed here. Several acts of love, in fact. This must be part of the devolution or revocation of the dark magic.”
The gang watched nervously as Faith lay there shaking, far from consciousness, but whimpering in pain nonetheless.
“This is wrong . . .” Buffy muttered as she stared intently at the dark Slayer, gently stroking her hair. “Something isn’t right here.”
As if on cue, a slight trickle of blood ran out of Faith’s nose and eyes, leaving trails as they streamed down her face.
“Oh God!” Buffy exclaimed, beginning to sob. “Something’s REALLY wrong here. She’s dying!” She lifted her gaze from Faith to the robed figures. “You have to help her! We – I can’t lose her again!”
The three figures looked back and forth between one another, pained expressions on their faces.
“Child . . . the process has already begun.” Ilaya stated sadly. “There is still a void in here where she lacks the part of her soul. The curse must have had some sort of unwritten clause or loophole . . . it looks as if it were meant to self-destruct all along. I’m afraid there is nothing we can do at this point.”
Buffy exhaled sharply, tears now falling freely down her face. She looked to her group of friends, expecting them to have some sort of an answer.
Angel understood her look, and he instantly tuned towards the three figures.
“There has to be something we can do. Nothing is ever definite . . . we can stop this. Can’t we?”
Magnus stepped forward, a contemplative look on his face. “There may be one solution, but as you said, nothing is definite. Anything could happen. We can try to put something into the void; try to ‘short-circuit’ the curse before it self-destructs. But we don’t have much time. Take advantage while you still can.”
“Therein lays a problem.” Balthazor stepped forward, suddenly seeming concerned. “Though our powers are great, they take time to work. We won’t be able to conjure up a soul in such a short amount of time.”
Buffy sighed. She quieted her sobs, then stopped them altogether, a determined look on her face. She calmly lifted her head and looked towards the figures.
“So take a part of mine. I can live with half a soul, Faith can’t.” She looked down at Faith and a loving smile appeared on her face. “Take mine.”
“No Buffy, you can’t.” Willow stated nervously, putting a comforting hand on Buffy’s shoulder.
“I have to do this, Will. I have to.” Buffy replied, laying her hand on top of Willow’s.
Willow paused and stared intently at Buffy. It looked as if she were working something out in her head. Suddenly, she burst out, “No, Buff. You can’t. It’s too risky. We need to find another way.”
A moment of silence passed. Xander timidly raised his hand.
“I have a really bad idea.” He stated, and all eyes fell on him. “Why don’t we all give up a little piece of our soul? Except for Spike, because he doesn’t have one. Oh, and except for Angel, because he gave up the whole permanence thing and Angelus is all we need right now to make this day perfect. But, the rest of us: we give a little. It’s like putting together a recipe: mix ¼ Xander, ¼ Cordy, ¼ Willow, and ¼ Buffy, mix vigorously and gently pour into Faith. Could that work?”
Everyone turned to face the three robed figures, anxiously awaiting a reply to the semi-crazy idea.
“It could.” Magnus answered, intrigued. “Would you all be willing to make that sacrifice for her, knowing that it could very well be a lost cause?”
There was an awkward pause.
“Is it gonna hurt?” Cordelia asked.
Magnus chuckled. “Not if we do it right.”
The four Scoobies involved made eye contact and came upon a silent agreement, nodding their heads affirmatively.
“Fine then, let’s do it. Just get it right!” Cordelia stated flatly.
Ilaya stepped down from the marble platform and neared the group.
“Quickly. Those who are involved, gather around Faith. Lay your hands on her and close your eyes. Make sure they remained shut until we say . . . the magic we use is strong, and your entire soul may try to escape if given the opportunity.”
Xander, Willow, Cordelia, and Buffy all took a step closer to Faith and lay their hands on her, closing their eyes. Spike and Angel stepped back, observing from a safe distance.
“Any last remnants of doubt?” Ilaya asked. No one responded, so she inferred that they were ready to being.
Balthazor and Magnus joined their sister among the others. The three of them joined hands and began to chant, focusing all of their energies upon the group before them. After about a minute or so of chanting, a bright golden light began to emit from within Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia. They gasped slightly as the light escaped from their mouths and hovered just in front of them. They didn’t need to open their eyes to see it . . . the brilliance of the color could be felt through closed eyes.
The three figures began a new chant as the four golden light sources hovered in the air. Suddenly, the four lights converged into one and it began to erratically fly around the room. Angel and Spike ducked at it charged at them, narrowly avoiding being hit by it.
“Bloody hell!” Spike yelled, trying to regain his bearings. He watched the golden light fly around the room and he yelled at it, “Not me you sodding poor excuse for a light bulb! The girl! Go into the girl!”
Just as the light began to head back in Faith’s direction, it made a quick turn and crashed into Spike, going directly through him before taking off in yet another direction. It jolted him enough so that he stumbled forward, losing his balance.
Angel tried to stop Spike’s fall, but it was too late. The blonde vampire crashed into the small marble pillar, knocking it over along with the glass orb that held their surrenders. He reached out to grab to orb before it hit the ground, but he wasn’t quick enough. The glass orb shattered into a million pieces, scattering the multi-colored array of lights into the surrounding air.
“Oh bollocks.” Spike muttered, not moving to get up from his place on the ground. The three figures looked at him annoyed, but continued their chanting.
In a weird twist of events, the colored lights from the orb suddenly began to merge with the golden ‘soul’ light. The newly combined light began to whip around the room even more erratically, whipping through each and every person before finally slamming into Faith.
The three figures ceased their chanting, and calm returned to the room.
“You may open your eyes.” Ilaya stated.
The four Scoobies opened their eyes and anxiously looked down at Faith. She lay their limp, no longer whimpering nor doing much of anything.
“Did . . . did it work?” Buffy asked timidly, not taking her eyes off of Faith.
“That is yet to be revealed, child.” Magnus stated coyly. “We know not of what will happen once you return to your time and place.”
Spike stood up awkwardly. “Uh, yeah. Sorry 'bout the orb-y thing. But you should’ve bleedin’ warned me about that!” He said, trying to defend himself.
Magnus chuckled. “Yes, I suppose we should have. Of course, there may be some unexpected consequences now. Only time will reveal. On that, our work is done here. We have done all that we can do for you.” He, along with Ilaya and Balthazor, mounted the marble throne one last time. “This tribunal is therefore concluded. Go in peace, and take care of one another, for your destinies are now tied together.”
Magnus and Ilaya gave warm smiles and Balthazor just looked on indifferently before they faded out into nothing.
The group of friends sat there only for a moment before being tugged out of the marble hall and back into the Summers’ living room.
Buffy sat up with a start. She immediately looked down to see that she and Faith were still holding hands. The simple gesture brought a smile to her face. She noticed that everyone was slowly beginning to get up from their spots along the circle, still a little dazed, but fine nonetheless.
However, her smile faded when she looked down to greet Faith and found that the girl was not waking from the ritual. Her eyes remained closed; blood-red stains on her cheeks and under her nose.
“Faith?” Buffy asked, placing her free hand on the brunette’s shoulder and giving her a little shake.
No response.
“Faith?” She asked a little louder, shaking Faith’s shoulder more vigorously.
Again, no response.
Buffy immediately looked up towards Giles and those who had stayed behind as anchors.
“Did anything happen to her while we were ‘gone’? Has she been like this, so unresponsive, the whole time?” She asked nervously.
Giles frowned, choosing his words. “The entire lot of you were unresponsive. However, as you all remained motionless, she started taking ragged breaths and whimpered a bit. We thought the worse when we say the blood from her eyes and nose again. Just before you all returned, her breathing became shallow and she quieted. There was nothing we could do . . . we had to stay where we—”
“It’s okay, Giles, I know.” Buffy stated understandingly. She turned back towards Faith, and the room fell incredibly silent.
Buffy re-positioned herself so that she was kneeling next to the brunette, slightly hovering over her. In a gentle and loving gesture, she took Faith’s hand in her own again and began to run her other free hand through the girl's dark tresses. She began to speak in a tone just above a whisper.
“Faith? Faith, baby? Listen to my voice. Don’t give up. You can’t. You’re so close to coming home.” A tear fell from her eyes and ran down her face. “They fixed you, Faith. We fixed you. It was a close call, but we came together and we fought. For you. We did it for you, Faith. So you need to wake up, and you need to open your eyes.”
The brunette lay there, motionless.
Buffy seemed to lose her cool just a little. Her emotions began to run over, beginning to cry just a little harder.
“Dammit, Faith, wake up! Open your eyes!” Her words were louder and somewhat strangled as she choked back the sobs that were trying to break forth. “You can’t die! I – we gave up pieces of ourselves for you. I know you’re not dead yet, because if you were, I would feel that little piece of me die too. And trust me . . . if you die, a part of me will die to. You can’t leave me, Faith. We finally just found each other.”
The others in the room remained completely silent. Willow turned into Tara’s embrace, silent tears running down her face. Angel held Cordelia, who had also begun to shed tears at witnessing the exchange between the two Slayers. A few others sniffled, definitely feeling the pain that Buffy was going through.
Buffy paused for a moment, waiting to see if her words were having any response on the girl. Still, nothing. She made a noise; sort of a half-chuckle, half-sob.
“God, Faith. I know you’re still in there somewhere. Just open your eyes. There is no more void; there is no more places for the darkness to trap you. Let me be your light. Just . . . open your eyes and see me. You have to get through this, because if you don’t, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through this. This moment. This day. This year. This life.”
She paused, trying to figure out what to say that the girl in front of her needed to hear. Suddenly, it became perfectly clear to her. It was all becoming clear to her. She smiled through her tears and moved her hands to cup Faith’s face.
“I need you, Faith.” She leaned in so that she was just an inch away from the girl's face, and she whispered, “I love you.” She smiled whole-heartedly before closing the remaining distance and placing a loving kiss on the girl's lips.
It was all clear to her now. She didn’t care what her friends thought. She didn’t care what anyone thought. She had always felt inexplicably close to Faith, but she never understood why. Now, she knew. They were two sides of the same coin. Their Slayer-bond made them cosmic soul-mates, and now, Buffy’s ‘soul’ contribution made them actual soul-mates. And she loved her. It was that simple.
The entire group watched on in amazement. They thought that they should have felt shock or surprise or even anger at Buffy’s admission. But they didn’t. They only felt the warmth and love that Buffy was pouring into the other girl, and that was enough to stave off any other feeling in the room.
Suddenly, the group gasped collectively as they saw Faith’s eyelids begin to flutter.
Buffy immediately sat back, watching intently as the brunette finally began to open her eyes. Upon seeing the chocolate-brown eyes gazing up at her, she finally let her emotion get the best of her.
She began to cry for joy with a big smile on her face. She leaned in and gave Faith a long, passionate kiss, so overwhelmed by her emotions and feelings for the other girl.
When she finally pulled back, she saw a smirking Faith looking back at her.
“Mmm. That was kinda nice, B. I wake up and you’re goin’ all ‘Romeo’ on me, and with an audience no less.” Faith joked, her voice a little hoarse.
Buffy laughed, but suddenly stopped and put on her best version of Willow’s ‘resolve face’.
“Don’t you EVER do anything like that to me again! I thought you were dead! I thought you left me again!” Buffy said in her best stern voice, but she couldn’t contain the smile that was itching to get out.
Faith’s smirk turned into a genuine loving smile. She laid her hands on Buffy’s, which were still cupping her face. “Nahh, B. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll never leave ya . . . that is, unless you want me to.”
Buffy scoffed. “I don’t think so. I’m not letting you out of my sight any time soon! Besides . . . you owe me. And Willow. And Cordy. And Xander. Oh! And let’s not forget Spike and Angel. It seems that you’ve got a little of all of us in you now. Entangled destinies, according to the tribunal. Guess that means you’re stuck with us for good.” She stated with a smile.
Faith beamed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She pulled Buffy down to her for another passionate kiss, the two girls completely ignoring the cheering and whooping from within the room.
“I love you.” Faith whispered against Buffy’s mouth, just barely loud enough for the other girl to her.
Buffy smiled into the kiss. “I love you, too.” She said just as softly.
After about an hour, the buzz in the room had slowly began to die down.
Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia were already planning on leaving for LA a little later that evening. They figured that things needed to get back to normal around Sunnydale, and that they were needed in LA.
The entire group now lay sluggishly around the living room, enjoying the last of one another’s company.
Those that had gone before the tribunal began to talk about what they had given up and about the events that had gone on there in general.
“I can’t believe I gave up my power for you.” Willow said jokingly to Faith.
Faith laughed. “Yeah, well, I can’t believe you did either, Red.” She playfully tossed a pillow at the red-head. The entire gang jumped back in shock when Willow put out her hand to block the pillow and it stopped dead in mid-air.
“What the hell?” Faith asked, quickly sitting forward to examine the situation. “I thought you said you gave up your power, Red. You holdin’ back on us?”
Willow looked confused.
“No . . . I DID give up my powers. What . . . what’s going on?” She responded blankly.
Tara sat forward and looked intently at Willow as if she were trying to read her. Then she turned and looked among the other ‘5 sources’ who had also given up something. A smile appeared on her face.
“D-did something happen to the container that held your surrenders?” Tara asked shyly.
Spiked shifted uncomfortably. “Yeh . . . well, the bleedin’ thing shattered, but it wasn’t my fault! There was a golden light-ball chasing after me, and I tripped and fell. It just tipped right on over.”
Tara giggled at the realization.
“You guys didn’t lose your surrenders. They returned to you, but . . . new and improved. They had intermingled with one another, so, you got back what you surrendered, along with a little bit of what everyone else surrendered.”
The five sources all looked on a little excitedly, happy that they perhaps didn’t lose any part of themselves.
Giles stood up.
“Might I ask what you all chose to forfeit?”
Willow answered for the group.
“Well, me and Cordy gave up our power, Xander gave up his innocence, Spike gave up his immortality, and Angel gave up the permanence of his soul.”
“Sweet merciful Zeus!” Xander yelled. “Does that mean that we’re all immortal now?” He asked excitedly.
“I rather think not.” Giles answered. “We’ll have to look further into it. Did anything else interesting happen?”
Spike answered. “Yeh, well, the golden ‘soul’ light mixed with our surrenders, and they zinged through all of us before jumpin’ into the rogue over there.” He pointed towards Faith.
Tara’s eyes got wide, and she smiled. “Wait . . . are you saying that the ‘soul’ light passed through each and every one of you?”
Spike nodded mockingly.
Tara laughed. “Well, that w-would make you all soul-mates, then.”
Spike scoffed. “’Cept for me, love. Can’t be a soul-mate without a soul. No soul here, case dismissed.” A triumphant look came across his face.
Tara smiled sweetly at the blonde vampire. “No, you’re wrong, Spike.”
“Hey, Glenda, I think I know what I’m talking ‘bout here. No soul equals no soul-mate. It’s not that hard to figure out. ‘Sides . . . there’s no way that I’d ever be Peaches’ soul-mate.” He cast a disgruntled glance towards Angel, earning one in return.
Tara smiled again. “No, Spike, you’re right about that part.”
“Then what are you bloody goin’ on about, pet?” He asked impatiently.
Now, it was Tara’s turn to put on the triumphant face.
“Case not dismissed. You have a soul, Spike. Or, at least you do now.” She said matter-of-factly.
Spike blinked hard, paused, then scoffed. “What? That’s bloody ridiculous, I . . . it’s not . . . I . . .” he paused again, cocking his head to the side as he drew in and held a deep breath, finally conceding, “Oh, bloody hell.”
The entire gang huddled around the still unconscious Spike minutes after he had passed out from the shock of the ‘soul’ revelation.
“Maybe someone should slap him, see if he’ll wake up.” Xander said cheerily.
“Don’t even think about it.” Faith replied, hiding her smile. “Spike’s my bud now. He helped me when he didn’t have to, and besides, you shouldn’t talk about your soul-mate that way, Xan.”
Xander pouted and mumbled under his breath, “He is so not my soul-mate.”
As if on cue, Spike began to come around. Faith stepped next to him and sat him up. He shook his head to regain some clarity.
“Whoa . . . I had the strangest bloody dream.” He looked up at the faces staring down at him. “You were there . . . and you were there . . . and you . . .” he looked up to see the grinning face of Angel, “. . . oh, bloody hell, it wasn’t a dream, was it?”
“Welcome to the World of Broodyness, Population: 2.” Angel said with a toothy grin.
“I – I can’t breathe . . .” Spike said, gasping.
“Well, it’s probably a good thing that you don’t have to breathe then, isn’t it?” Buffy asked, looping her arm through his and helping him to his feet. “All you need is some room to move and some fresh air. In fact, I think we can all use some. Come on everyone, let’s take a short trip outside.”
The entire group excitedly made their way towards the back door with the exception of Angel, who grabbed Faith’s arm and asked her to speak with him in private.
After everyone else had vacated the house, Faith turned to Angel and gave him a big smile. He held out his arms to her and she walked into them, joining him in a warm embrace.
“Angel . . . I have so much to thank you for.” She said with her face against his chest. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably be six feet under by now. No one in my life ever thought I was worth helping, including myself. But even when I tried to push ya away, ya kept getting’ right up in my face, and I really appreciate that now.”
Angel smiled, pulling her closer while lightly stroking her hair.
“You’re worth it, Faith. Don’t let anyone else tell you differently. I always saw something special in you, even when you were ‘bad’. Now, you’re pretty much a whole new person, and a whole new path lies before you.” He paused. “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.” He said with a bit of apprehension in his voice.
Faith noticed the change in his tone and immediately looked up to meet his gaze.
“What’s up?” She asked, stepping away form him and plopping down onto the couch.
Angel began to speak in a gentle manner. “Faith . . . you have a whole new life ahead of you now. You’re not the same person that you were two years ago. You’re not even the same person that you were yesterday. You’re still Faith, but you’ve got a little of the rest of us in you now, and that alone is enough to change your destiny. As a Slayer, that may have some big implications for you down the road.”
Faith nodded. “Yeah, I realize that. But, what can I do about it? Everything’s an unknown right now. I don’t know anyone who can tell me what my destiny is, Angel.”
“I do.” He stated plainly.
“So . . . what exactly do ya want me to do?” Faith asked as she sat forward, bracing herself for the answer.
“I think you should come back to LA with me.”
“No fuckin way.” Faith answered quickly. “I told B I wasn’t runnin’ away this time and I’m not gonna. Just ‘cuz the future is uncertain doesn’t mean that I’m gonna take off, big guy.”
Angel sighed. “It’s not running, Faith, and it’s not permanent either. There’s this guy back in LA, the Host. He can look into people and read their destinies. I think it would be a good thing for you to meet with him, maybe get a heads up as to where your path is going to lead.”
Faith slumped back onto the couch.
“Man, I hate it when you’re right, Soul-Boy. It’s not a totally bad idea, I’ll give ya that much. But how . . . what am I gonna say to Buffy? She’s gonna think that I’m runnin’ scared again, and I just had this big-ass breakthrough with her. I don’t wanna mess it up.” She said sadly.
Angel squatted down next to her and put a comforting hand on her knee.
“I think she’s past the whole ‘hating you’ thing, Faith. We all heard it plain and clear: the girl loves you. I’ll talk to her . . . explain why I think you need to go and that it’s only for a few days, maybe a week at most. If you leave with us tonight, you can be back by weeks end.”
Faith sighed, defeated. “Guess I should go pack then.” She got up and headed towards the staircase.
“Guess so. And Faith . . . I have this weird feeling that everything’s going to work out fine; that things are gonna start looking up for the two of us.”
Faith smiled weakly. “I hope you’re right, Angel. I really do.”
At that point, the rest of the gang began to slowly filter back into the back door.
“How’s little Spikey?” Angel asked as Dawn came bounding back into the room and plopped down on the couch.
“He’s totally freaking out. I told him that he should calm down before he bursts a blood vessel or something. I think that he headed off to Willy’s to get tanked.”
Angel smiled. “Is your sister still outside?”
Dawn looked at him and raised and eyebrow. “Yeah, she is. But if you’re going out there to ‘rekindle the flame’, I’d give it up. Faith will so kick you in the head.”
Angel laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Dawnie.” He mussed up her hair as he headed out onto the back porch where he found Buffy sitting alone, a slight smile on her face.
“Hey.” He said, taking a seat next to her on the porch step.
“Hey.” She smiled, leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder.
“What’s with the dreamy smiles?” He asked, poking her in the ribs a few times, finally settling his hand on her lower back and rubbing small circles on it.
“I’m just . . . happy.” Buffy replied, her smile getting even bigger. “I felt so empty for so long, even with my friends and family here. Faith and me being Slayers at the same time is an anomaly. I think that we’re meant to be together because our beings basically share the same essence. Now she’s here, and she’s staying, and I just feel . . . warm. Happy. Complete.” She paused and lowered her voice just a tad. “When my mom died, I thought things were never going to look up again. But I’m starting to think differently about that right now.”
Angel’s hand that was on Buffy’s back stopped moving as he tensed up, knowing that he was about to deliver some upsetting news to her.
“Listen, Buffy . . . there’s something I need to tell you. You’re not gonna like it, but I think it’s for the best.”
Buffy slowly lifted her head off of his shoulder and turned to face him, a questioning look on her face. “What?” She asked, a hint of dread in her voice.
“I . . . I asked Faith to come back to LA with me, and she agreed.”
Buffy immediately stood up, stepping away from Angel as if he had scorched her.
“What?!?” She asked through clenched teeth, tears forming in her eyes.
“Faith is going to come back with us tonight to LA, and she’s going to . . .”
“NO!” Buffy interrupted, stepping dangerously close to him. “She’s staying right here, with me. She’s still weak, and I can protect her.”
“It’s for her own good, Buffy. With all that happened today, her destiny has to have changed. As a Slayer, she needs to know what direction her path is leading her in.” He watched as Buffy seemed to calm down a little at his explanation, and he continued. “There’s a demon in LA that can read peoples destinies. She’ll only be gone a few days, I promise.”
Buffy rolled the words around in her head, taking in everything that Angel had explained.
“Fine. But I’m coming too.” She tried to walk past Angel to the door, but he grabbed onto her arm and stopped her.
“No, you’re not.” He stated flatly.
“Yes, I am.” She stated with force, getting up in his face.
Angel sighed. “Come on, Buffy, don’t do this. You can’t leave too, the Hellmouth needs you.”
“Faith needs me.” Buffy answered quickly, instantly making Angel upset.
“Dammit, Buffy, you need to stop acting like a child. You’re just afraid that you need Faith more than she needs you.” He looked down at the angry blonde with an annoyed look on his face.
Buffy’s anger subsided and was replaced by a look of defeat, like she was about to cry again.
Angel sighed again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” He took a step towards her, but she stepped back.
She looked up at him through teary eyes and began to speak quietly.
“You’re right. Maybe I do need her more than she needs me.” She paused for a few moments. “Okay, Angel. You win. Take her to LA. Just make sure she gets back to me safe and sound.”
She began to walk towards the door but stopped when she heard Angel’s voice again.
“Everything gonna be fine, Buffy. Give her a few days to do this and then . . . you have the rest of your life to spend with her.”
Buffy nodded, shooting him a half-smile before walking into the house and closing the door behind her.
She walked past her friends who immediately quieted down and stared as they watched her somberly cross the room and head up the stairs towards her bedroom. She didn’t need to ask where Faith was . . . she could feel her pain from a mile away.
Buffy stood at the open door to her room, quietly observing Faith shove random articles of clothing into a small duffel bag. It reminded her all too much of the night she had found Faith frantically packing after finding out that Kakistos was in Sunnydale.
“I think we’ve already deja’d this vu.” Buffy said quietly, brown and green eyes meeting suddenly from across the room.
Neither girl knew quite what to say or do. Faith sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to her, indicating it to Buffy. The blonde crossed the room, sat down next to Faith and faced the girl, their hands instantly intertwining.
“I’m not runnin’, B.” Faith said with a scared look on her face.
Buffy weakly smiled, bringing one of her hands up to cup Faith’s face. “I know. I just . . . I hate the fact that I finally got the real you back, and now you have to leave.” She broke eye contact with Faith and looked down into her own lap, hesitating for a moment. “Angel said that I’m afraid that I need you more than you need me, and I think he’s right.”
“No,” Faith jumped right in, placing a finger under Buffy’s chin and making her look up, “that’s not true, B. I’ve always needed you. After these last few days of being so close, I don’t know how I’m gonna last the next week without ya. I’ll always need you, Buffy. More so than you’ll ever know.”
Buffy relaxed a little, and a small grin snuck up on her face. “You need me? Are we talking about a sex thing, Faithy?” Buffy teased, recalling her similar words from the night before.
Faith grinned. “Well, I’m definitely not gonna rule it out.” She leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the blonde’s lips before pulling back. “Listen, I think we got a hella lot to talk about and work out when I get back. I promise ya, I’m gonna be back as quick as lightnin’. It’s strictly a business trip, no sightseeing involved. So . . .”
“So . . .” Buffy repeated.
They smiled at one another.
“So . . . I guess I better be goin’ than.” Faith finished, standing up from the bed.
“I guess so.” Buffy said sadly. “But before you go, let me just remind you of the surrender that I gave to you: my heart. I just want you to know that a piece of me will be missing as long as you’re away from me. I’ll only be whole when you’re back in Sunnydale, in this house, in my arms . . . when you’re home."
Faith loved the way that sounded . . . home. She hadn’t known the feeling for so long. She wanted to tell Buffy how happy she was and all that she was feeling, but she couldn’t find the right words.
“Umm, B . . . Buffy, there’s something I wanna say, but I’m not really ‘Word Girl’. I’m really more of an ‘Action Girl’, so I’m just gonna get right down to it.”
“Okayyyyyy.” Buffy replied, eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Before she knew what was happening, she felt Faith’s mouth on hers and she instantly parted her lips, granting her tongue entry. They kissed deeply, both wanting to burn the feeling of their ‘last kiss’ into their memories.
After a minute or so had passed the two Slayers finally broke apart panting, foreheads pressed together.
“I have to say,” Buffy said breathlessly, “I like the way you said that.” She giggled.
Faith smiled. “Love ya, B."
Buffy pulled her close and planted another quick kiss on her lips before relaxing into the brunette’s embrace. “Love ya too, ‘F’.”
Faith picked up her small duffle bag and the two girls made their way downstairs to say their goodbyes with the rest of the group.
After a few tears and many more laughs, The ‘LA Gang’ and Faith headed off to LA. While Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley were anxious to get there so they could get back to their own lives and normal routines, Faith was anxious to get there so she could get her business done and head back to Sunnydale to start her whole new life.
That very thought put a smile on her face. Never in her past would she have ever considered Sunnydale, Buffy, and the Scoobies to be a part of her happy future, but there they were, and she was unbelievably happy. She was almost waiting for the bottom to fall out at any time, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind, choosing to focus on the goof in her life for once.
After about a two-hour drive, the four friends arrived at Angel Investigations in LA.
Angel had a lot of work to catch up on, so he immediately shut himself up in his office to get to work. Wesley headed home, yearning for his own bed after the few exciting days that they had spent together. Cordelia decided to putter around the office for a while, randomly filing papers and writing messages on sticky-notes.
Faith had decided to go up to bed but found that she was too excited to sleep. She couldn’t stop thinking about getting back to Sunnydale and starting her new life.
She wandered out of her room and down to the lobby of the hotel, plopping down on the chair behind the counter. She thumbed through some of the documents that lay scattered around, amusing herself in any way that she could.
“Hey!” Cordelia yelled, causing Faith to jump. “If you’re sitting in my chair and looking through my paperwork, then you better plan on doing some work, missy.”
Faith laughed. “No way, Cor. I’m on vacation.” She smiled sweetly, showing off her dimples.
“Fine, fine. I see how it is. I give you a piece of my soul and you won’t even do a little bit of menial office work for me. That’s okay, I see how I rank to you.” She said in a playful tone.
“Aww, C. You know ya mean more than that to me. Of course I’ll help, just tell me what ya want me to do.” Faith replied, putting on her business face.
Cordelia laughed. “I’m only joking, Faith, take a pill or something. But . . . I do like the fact that I can hold that whole ‘soul’ thing over your head now whenever I need something.”
Faith shrugged, getting serious. “Yeah, but ya earned that right, Cor, so it’s all five by five. You went above and beyond, and I really appreciate that. You had no reason to trust me . . . but ya did. I owe ya a lot more than a little bit of slave labor. You name it, I’ll do it.”
A mischievous look crept up of Cordelia’s face. “Okay, Faith, I have a request.”
Faith smiled. “Name it, C.”
“Fill me in on the big enigma. What the hell is ‘five by five’?”
“That’s what you want from me?” Faith asked with a smirk and Cordelia nodded anxiously. “Okay, I’ll fill ya in on the mystery. It’s a code that radio operators use, like Paramedics and EMT’s and people like that. It’s a scale of 1 through 5 based on volume and clarity. If everything is loud and clear, you say ‘5 by 5’. If it’s quiet and crackly, you say ‘1 by 3’ or ‘2 by 2’ or whatever. So when I say that I’m ‘five by five’, I mean that I’m all good.”
She stood up and grabbed her leather jacket, stopping for a moment to put it on.
Cordelia stared at her with her mouth wide open.
“That’s it?” She asked incredulously. “That’s what I’ve been waiting almost three years to hear? I’m highly disappointed, Faith. I’m gonna need something else. Come on, give it up, sister.”
Faith laughed. “Alright . . . umm . . . I sleep naked, so stay outta my room tonight unless you want an eyeful.” She walked towards the door, about to make her way outside.
“Wait . . . where are you going, Miss Impatient? Buffy’s gonna kick your ass and possibly mine too if you get hurt.” Cordelia yelled from behind the desk.
“My ass can handle it. Besides, it’s midnight, Cor. The Slayer in me is itchin’ to come out and play. Tell Angel I’ll catch up with him later.”
“Faaaaaaaaith . . . what are you up to? You’re up to something, your left eyebrow just twitched.”
Faith stopped her motion out of the door and turned around slightly to stick her head back in. She shot Cordelia big smile and blew her a kiss before heading out the door once again.
Cordelia went back to her work, mumbling under her breath, “That girl’s definitely up to something. She’s crazy if you ask me. And what’s with the over-share about sleeping naked? I definitely need to find some new female friends around here.”
About three or four hours had passed and Cordelia was still at the office. She also felt like she had too much energy to sleep, plus she didn’t want to disturb Angel for a ride home, so she decided to get some much needed work done at the office. If she got tired, she could just wander upstairs and pick one of many rooms to crash in for the remainder of the night.
About an hour before dawn, Angel made his way out of his office, surprised to see Cordelia still at the office.
“Hey Cordy, what are you still doing here?” He asked with a smile.
“Collecting over-time.” She said sarcastically. “I was kinda wired, plus, I didn’t want to bother you for a ride and I didn’t want to walk alone.”
Angel frowned slightly. “Cordy, I would’ve given you a ride. That, or Faith could’ve walked you. She can handle herself.”
“Yeah, well, little Miss Faith left for patrol and hasn’t come back yet. Guess it must’ve been a busy patrol.” She said nonchalantly.
Angel furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s not like Faith to go without telling me. Oh well.” He shrugged. “Come on, I’ll take you home while it’s still dark. You can have the day off, catch up on your sleep and your housework.”
Cordelia smiled cheerfully.
Angel walked across the office and walked to the counter, moving the papers around as if looking for something.
“Hey, Cordy, have you seen my car keys?” He asked, rummaging through the papers.
“They’re on the coun . . .” she trailed off as she turned to face him, realization hitting her, “ . . .ter. Angel, I don’t think you’re gonna find your car keys there.” Cordelia said, trying to hide her smile.
Angel turned to face her, a questioning look on his face. “Well . . . would you mind telling me where they might be, Cordy?”
She laughed. “Probably in Faith’s back pocket. She asked me to tell you that she’ll ‘catch up with you later’.”
Angel furrowed his eyebrows, trying to figure out what was going on. Then, it finally hit him. He smiled. “We’re so blind.”
Cordelia laughed. “Let me guess . . . you probably told her where to find the Host, but said we could go another day, right?” Angel nodded, and Cordelia laughed again. “Yep. Completely and utterly blind.”
Back in Sunnydale later that morning . . .
Buffy lay in bed awake, having not been able to sleep much that night. She had spent the prior few nights nestled up against her sister-Slayer, and now she just felt cold lying in her bed alone all night.
She had seriously considered getting in her car and driving to LA to be with Faith, but she knew that would draw a negative reaction from mostly everyone around her.
Just as she was about to give up on sleeping and get up out of bed, her bedside phone rang. She glanced at her alarm clock.
‘6:30? Who would be calling here at 6:30?’
She leaned over and picked up her phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, B. Miss me yet?”
“Faith?” She asked excitedly. “Of course I miss you. I missed you the minute you stepped out of this house.”
“That’s nice to hear, B. I’m glad you answered. Ya don’t sound like you were sleepin’.”
“No, I wasn’t. Guess I kinda got used to having you next to me. Couldn’t really fall asleep last night, so here I lay. What about you . . . why are you up so early?”
“I never went to bed yet.”
“What? Why not? Are you okay? You don’t have to be afraid of the nightmares anymore, you’re all better now, baby.”
“Aww . . . I’m your baby, B?”
“Yeah, you are.” Buffy smiled.
“Good to know. So, yeah, I couldn’t sleep, had lots of things on my mind. Decided to take care of some things. I went out to patrol . . .”
Faith continued talking, but Buffy couldn’t hear the words because an ambulance with its loud siren on passed by her house, blocking out the words.
“Faith, I can’t hear you, there’s an ambulance . . .” Buffy’s voice trailed off.
Even through the sound of the siren, she could still pick up a distinctive sound on the other end of the phone. She heard the sound of a siren echoing by.
Buffy immediately sprang up from her bed and ran to the window. She looked down into her front yard and dropped the phone when she saw Faith staring up at her with a huge grin on her face, a cellular phone in one hand and a single red rose in the other.
Without another word, Buffy ran across her room and went bounding down the stairs, bursting out of the door and into Faith’s waiting arms.
Faith lifted Buffy off of the ground and spun her around a few times, both girls laughing the entire time. Finally, Faith stopped spinning and let Buffy’s feet hit the ground. They instantly began to kiss one another, happy to be in one another’s arms again.
They laughed and kissed for a few minutes before being interrupted by someone clearing their throat. They looked up to see Dawn hanging out of her bedroom window and Willow and Tara hanging out of another window, all smiling.
“Yeesh. Get a room.” Dawn said with a big smile before pulling her window back down. Willow and Tara just smiled down at the two Slayers before following suit.
Faith looked down at Buffy.
“So . . . about that room . . .” She said, waggling her eyebrows.
Buffy smacked her upper arm.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can’t believe you’re here. You have to tell me everything that happened, and . . .” she looked over Faith’s shoulder and saw Angel’s car there but no Angel, “. . . does Angel know that you have his car?”
Faith smirked. “It’s kinda a long story. Let’s go inside, baby.”
Buffy smiled a 1000-watt smile. “Okay, baby.”
Buffy and Faith stood in a tight embrace in the kitchen, both enjoying the slight tingling sensation that they were feeling from their Slayer bond. They had been like that for about ten minutes, just holding on to one another in complete silence.
Finally, Buffy decided to break the silence.
“So . . . fill me in on the missing details. You got in Angel’s car yesterday and headed back to LA with them. Then . . . your turn.” Buffy said, still tight in Faith’s embrace with her head against her shoulder.
“Then . . .” Faith began, “I realized how much I missed bein’ here and that I wanted to get things done there as fast as possible. I asked Angel if we could go see the Host right away, but he shot me down . . . he said it was kinda late, and I said that was kinda bullshit, but he won out . . . just not before he told me the name of the Host’s club.”
“Wait . . . the Host’s club?” Buffy interrupted. “What kind of club?” She asked, pulling back from Faith just enough to give her a questioning look.
Faith smiled, her cheeks blushing just a bit.
“Umm . . . it’s a karaoke club. The only way the Host can read you is when you open up your soul, and that just happens to be when you’re singin’.”
Buffy tried to hide her smile. “Did Faith sing a little song?” Buffy asked teasingly.
Faith lowered her hand and smacked Buffy’s butt, making the blonde jump.
“Yeah, I did, and we’re never gonna bring it up again, ‘kay?”
Buffy smiled. “’Kay. So . . . you sang a little tune, then what?”
“Then . . .” Faith’s smile faded just a little bit, “. . . then he pulled me over and filled me in on the what and the when.”
Buffy noticed Faith’s smile fade and could tell right away that the news probably wasn’t the best. She laid her head back on the brunette’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around the girl, offering her as much comfort as she could.
“What did he tell you?” She asked quietly.
Instantly, Faith’s mind began to get flashes of everything that the Host had told her: how they would be hunted by a Demon-God in search of a Mystical Key, that key being Dawn; how Buffy would perish in the battle; how her friends would bring her back into the dark world from a much happier place; and how a big bad evil would try to open the Hellmouth and unleash hell on Earth once again.
But then the Host had told Faith something else: he told her that she herself was the key to stopping all of that from happening. When the group had performed the ritual to save Faith, they had no idea that they had saved themselves as well, for when they gave up pieces of themselves, the pieces were absorbed by Faith as well as by each other.
She now held the heart of a warrior, the power of a witch and the power of a link to the Powers-that-Be, the innocence of an ordinary man, the strength of soul. The Host had also told her that she didn’t gain immortality from Spike’s surrender, but she had gained another gift from that very same surrender that she would find out later down the road.
Point and fact: she was bigger and badder than any Slayer before her. A power lay within her that she couldn’t yet comprehend.
She also learned that those who served as the five sources had also absorbed small amounts of one another’s surrenders, and that they would be able to harness their new-found powers in their upcoming battles.
The Host had informed Faith that the path that lay in front of her was sure to be rocky and treacherous, but that if she stayed true to her calling and to her heart, the world might live to see a brighter day.
Faith’s mind sorted through all of the information that he had given her, trying to put together bits and pieces that she could tell to Buffy without scaring or upsetting the girl. She decided to use the vague approach.
“Well, B, he told me that things are gonna be fine, I just have to keep workin’ hard at stayin’ on the right path. There’s gonna be some tough times in the future, but I’ve got a good ‘heads-up’ on the what and the when, so I think I’ll be able to make things better.” ‘Or at least I hope I can’ she thought.
“Anything I should be concerned about?” Buffy asked nervously.
Faith squeezed her harder, deeply breathing in her scent.
“Not at this moment, not on this day. Right now, all we have to worry about is getting our lives back on track after the last few days, and possibly about what you’re gonna make me for breakfast.”
Buffy chuckled against her.
“You want to eat ‘Buffy’ food? You are aware that I can’t cook to save my life, right?”
Faith laughed. “Nahh, I didn’t know that B. Thanks for the warnin’. Guess I got lots to get to know about ya.”
“Well, we’ve got nothing but time to do that now, right?” Buffy asked cheerfully.
Faith tried to copy Buffy’s cheer, but the Host’s words that ‘Buffy will perish’ kept ringing through her head and she couldn’t help but think that they didn’t have much time to be happy before things started getting bad.
“Yeah, lots of time.” Faith said flatly, trying to sound cheerful but failing. “Hey, speaking of time, I better call Angel and apologize. He probably still thinks I’m out patrolling or something.”
With that, she placed a kiss on Buffy’s forehead and walked across the room to use the telephone.
Just as she was about to pick the phone up to dial, it rang. She glanced over at Buffy with her eyebrows raised, and the blonde just nodded at her. Casually, she picked up the phone while Buffy stood nearby and listened on.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Faith. How’s Buffy? Oh, and how’s the weather in Sunnydale?”
The sarcastic voice of Cordelia rang across from the other end, instantly making Faith smile.
“Good on both of those counts, Cor. Umm . . . sorry I took off like that. I never was one for sittin’ and waitin’. Is Angel pissed?”
“He got over the car thing, but when he found out that you went to see the Host and Warden Drake without him in the middle of the night, he was kinda . . . grrr and argh.”
“Shit. How’d he find out?”
“Through his enhanced vampire hearing. The phone rang, he heard it, answered it, and had a lovely little conversation with Warden Drake who filled him in on your little midnight rendezvous.”
“Ha-ha, Cor. So . . . is he there? Can I talk to him?”
“Yeah, hang on . . . . ANGEL!!!!”
“Hello?”
“Hey, Angel. So . . . are ya gonna try to kick my ass next time I see ya?”
“I’ll let it go this time. I shouldn’t have made you wait, I know how impatient you are. I should’ve seen it coming. So, you talked to the Host?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not gonna ask you what he said, Faith, because it’s meant for you. You can tell me only if you want to.”
“Thanks. Maybe another time, yeah?” She didn’t want to get into the details with Buffy so close by. “Umm, I talked to Drake too. I still had some questions after the Host read me, so I figured that Drake might’ve been able to fill me in on the blanks.”
“And did he?”
“Yeah. As far as what he’s been able to get outta his friends on the higher plane, I’m all better, 100%. No chances for a relapse or for the darkness to try and get back inside.”
“That’s great, Faith. Anything else interesting?”
“Yeah. He said that when we did the ritual, everything that we gave up is now shared between us. So, you’ve still got the permanence and strength of you soul, but so do me and Willow and the rest of them. The mortals didn’t get ‘immortality’ like Spike surrendered, but there is some kind of perk we got from it, we’ll just have to wait to find out what.”
“And what about the whole ‘soul’ thing?”
“Well, mine is complete now and stronger than ever, yours is still permanent, and as far as the soul-mates thing goes, it’s all true. We all share a little of each others’ soul, so we’re all cosmically tied together now. Even Spike; he doesn’t have his own soul, but he’s got a little of all of ours.”
“Hah. That’s gotta be killing him. But hey . . . at least we won’t have to worry about him trying to kill any of us anytime soon.”
“Guess not. So, anyways, I’ll try and get your car back to ya sometime this week . . . maybe B and I can take a drive down there this weekend or somethin.”
“No need to rush, Faith. You know that you’re always welcome here, right?”
Faith smiled. “Yeah, I know, big guy. I’ll be in touch. Bye, Angel.”
“Bye, Faith. Behave.”
“Sorry, but that word’s not in my vocabulary.”
And with that, Faith hung up the phone. She turned to face a smiling Buffy.
“What?” She asked the blonde who was giving her a devilish grin.
“So . . .” Buffy began, slowly creeping up to the brunette, “. . . I hear that soul of yours is permanent. No worries, right?”
“Riiiiight.” Faith answered, taking a step back as the blonde got even closer, eventually backing right up into the wall.
Buffy was now right up against her, looking up at her through her eyelashes while wearing a feral smile.
“So . . . how about getting that room?” Buffy asked huskily, causing Faith to smirk and instantly forget about the slightly glum news she had got the night before.
“How ‘bout it?” Faith answered cockily, having no time to say anything more as she felt herself being tugged up the stairs by the petite blonde.
A smile crept up on her face.
‘Now THIS is home’ she thought as she was pulled into Buffy’s bedroom, the door slamming closed behind her.
EPILOGUE
Faith’s POV
So it’s been about two weeks since I came back to Sunnydale. Things have been pretty good . . . Buffy’s been a fuckin doll, tryin’ to take care of me and make me happy. It’s like she’s tryin’ to make up for all of the bad times in our past and for all of the time we spent apart.
I’ve gotta tell ya: it definitely doesn’t suck.
As for the Scoobies, they’ve been pretty cool too. Things were kinda awkward at first, but I don’t think it’s because of our shaky past. I think it’s more because I’m with Buffy now.
Yunno. With with.
Sure, Red’s with Tara, so it’s not really the girl-girl thing that shocks them. I think it’s the fact that it’s Buffy and Me, both of us who had only ever been with guys.
I’m sure that if none of this woulda happened, Buffy woulda ended up with some guy, and I probably would ended up with some guy too. But . . . there’s something that we share . . . call it the Slayer bond or whatever the fuck else you want. Whatever it is, I can’t stand the thought of bein’ away from her for more than a few minutes at a time, and she feels the same way.
Anyhow, the entire gang is slowly dealing. Willow and Tara moved in the house and are stayin’ in Joyce’s old room. We figure that no one can take Joyce’s place, but that it can’t hurt to have more loving and caring people in the house.
Plus, it makes Dawnie happy to have us all around. She needs a sense of family, and we all wanna give her that. She’s so young, she needs it. After all, look at me: I had no real family when I was her age, and I think it fucked me up for a while.
Thanks god I’m on the right track now. *smirk*
So, like I said, things are goin’ pretty good. Just yesterday, we finally got our first taste of that Glory bitch, the hell-God that supposedly takes my B from me.
Yeah, notice that I said supposedly, cuz I ain’t lettin’ that bad-home-permed fashion-challenged piece of shit excuse for a God take anyone from me.
Truth be told, it was kinda weird when we met her for the first time. She was all big talk and bravado, but then she took a look at me. A good hard look.
And ya know what?
She looked scared.
Looks like the new and improved Faithy has got a little something extra up her sleeve. Hah. Maybe little-ol’-me can give her a run for her money.
Either way, I’m not as scared now as I was two weeks ago when I found out the things that lay ahead of me. I feel confident . . . and I haven’t been able to say that about myself since, well, ever.
So we’re getting’ prepared. The Scoobies are in full research mode, B and I have been trainin’ like mad between researchin’, and we’re takin’ things one day at a time.
When the shit goes down, we’re gonna be ready.
And as long as I have my friends (yes, my friends) and B by my side? I think we can take whatever the world has to throw at us.
“I love the way I feel today
But how I know the sun will fade
Darker days seem to be
What will always live in me
It's hard to walk this path alone
Hard to know which way to go
Will I ever save this day?
Will it ever change?”
-- Alter Bridge – “Open Your Eyes"