The Choices We Make
by Nikita
Rating: R
Disclaimer: The Characters belong to the great and powerful Joss.
Spoilers: All to end of S5.
Author's Notes: <dream>
Feedback: Please!
PROLOGUE
Buffy was conscious. That is, her mind was alive, even if her body had long since been committed to the earth. She watched them all, her friends, enemies and the ones inbetween, surprised that she was still the centre of so many lives, surprised that they would not let her go. She had been ready to die. She welcomed death as most welcome sleep, an end to the constant fight and pain that had ruled her life. In death, she thought she would find peace.
She was wrong.
"You're not supposed to mess with this stuff, honey." Tara said for the fifteenth time that day, watching Willow get ready to perform the spell.
Willow shrugged. "I need to do this."
"Giles won't be happy."
"Giles is stupid. In a smart way, but stupid." She continued to set out books and candles in the middle of the floor. "Anyway, you heard what he said about that dream. Sounded like a prophesy to me. Hold this."
Tara frowned, taking the amulet from her girlfriend. "Buffy chose to die." She said softly.
Willow almost snarled at her, causing Tara to jump. "She did that to save Dawn. What if this dream comes true, huh? We're talking about the end of the world."
"I know, but these things can go wrong...."
Willow laughed. "I can handle this."
"Willow, I know you miss her, but-"
"This isn't for me! What about Dawnie? Her mother, then her sister, Giles can't look after her for ever."
Tara shook her head. "I don't think this is right, OK. I just want you to know that."
Willow slinked closer to her. "What's wrong? Scared of me?" She asked, her eyes flashing.
Tara shook her head slowly. "No. I'm scared for you."
Willow shook herself and leaned in and kissed her gently. "You don't have to be. I can handle this. Resolve face, see?"
Tara smiled slightly. Never able to resist her girl anything, she nodded.
"Now." Willow said. "Are you going to help me, or not?"
Buffy knew what was going to happen. She didn't know if it was right or not, but she was ready. There was a reason she was still here, and she wanted to know why.
So as she felt Willow and Tara calling her out of the dark, she obeyed. They were her friends, after all, and she would be there if they needed her.
"Miles to go before we sleep...." She remembered from somewhere long ago as the light surrounded her momentarily, before fading quickly to black.
Buffy's breath caught in her throat as she realised where she was. Trying not to panic, she closed her eyes and thought of open fields and clean air, anything but the black, confined wooden space surrounding her. After what seemed like an eternity, she heard the sound of voices and shovels digging through the hard earth. Pushing up, the lid of her coffin began to give, and she broke out of the earth, reaching towards the night sky.
"Buffy!" Willow yelled, helping the slayer up. "Are you OK?"
Buffy stood and smoothed down her clothes. "Yeah." She smiled. "How's my hair?"
The Scooby gang sat in stunned silence as Willow told them what had happened.
"I can't say I'm not angry." Giles said, wiping his glasses clean. "But I am so happy to see you Buffy." She said, breaking out into a smile.
"Well. I feel great." Buffy shrugged. "Just like I've been asleep."
Giles nodded, looking at Dawn, asleep in her sister's lap. "Maybe we should call this a night?"
Willow stood up. "What about the prophesy?"
Buffy shook her head. "Can we do this another time? It's not the main thing on my mind right now, I mean, I've been alive for what? An hour?"
Giles smiled. "OK. Tomorrow."
She looked out at the full moon through the barred window in her cell. A tear of relief fell down her pale cheek as she hugged her knees close to her chest. Lying down in her cold bunk she closed her eyes and made a silent thank you to whoever was responsible.
"Welcome back, Buffy." Faith whispered.
The dark haired man walked slowly through Sunnydale's streets, keeping to the shadows. He made his way to the burned down school that no one had bothered to rebuild, and picked his way carefully through the rubble and pieces of fried snake. When he reached the place where the library had once been, he sat and wrestled with his conscience. He trailed his hand over the scar on his forehead and sighed. He was just a man. A man who had sided with demons, and was ready to betray his own people for the sake of survival. He was just a man who would end the world.
Buffy tried to sleep. She lay in bed and closed her eyes, trying to keep her mind blank. It was an impossible task. Being dead once was enough to mess someone up, but twice? Both times she had gone into the darkness with her eyes open, ready for fate to do with her what it liked. Both times she had been returned to this world by the power of her friend's love. Both times she had been willing to come back, and yet, both times she had been angry and confused.
Giving up on sleep for the moment, Buffy reached for her phone. She dialled the number calmly, waiting for the voice on the other end of the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi Angel." She whispered. "I'm back."
Angel hung up the phone a few hours later, his mind a mixture of fear and happiness. He remembered what it was like to be thrust back into the world, the confusion, the pain. Of course, he was sure that his experience would far outweigh Buffy's on the pain side, she wouldn't have been in Hell at least. The vampire got up and poured himself a glass of blood, looking out at the night sky. One hundred years ago, he would have been out there hunting. Now, here he was, helping the helpless, keeping blood in his refrigerator. Angel was aware of the beast inside him that constantly fought with his humanity. He sighed a breath he didn't have and drained his glass. He would never be free of his past, he thought. The demon made that impossible. One slip and he would be a monster again. After Buffy had died, he had almost longed for it, the release from the pain of loss.
As the sun began to rise, he made his way upstairs, praying for sleep.
Giles awoke with a start the next morning, as he had been doing for weeks. He had been having the familiar dream again, and the same face kept coming to him at the end. The face of evil. Reaching for his glasses and a pen, he wrote down the still clear words from his dream before they had a chance to fade. He wanted to tell them all today.
He got up and began to get washed and dressed. He was still angry, and a little worried about Willow. The forces she had disrupted could be very dangerous, and although she was becoming one of the most powerful witches he had ever known, he still wasn't sure that she wasn't taking things on too fast. She was still a young girl after all.
Throwing a cup of coffee down his throat, he walked into the sun and got into his car. As angry as he may have been, he was infinitely glad that Buffy was back. He had felt her loss keenly, more like losing a daughter than a slayer. But that was over with now.
Now they had to deal with this dream.
The man with the scar had been having a nightmare of his own. His master had come to him in his dream, like he had come to Giles. Sweat poured down his face as he remembered the face that haunted him. He felt no love form his master, only power. Still, he reasoned, better to be evil's right hand than dead.
And so the battle had begun. He washed the cold sweat away from his face and looked at his reflection. He had a place in the world. He would be counted. He would stop their prophesy so his could come to pass.
Giles was welcomed cheerily by Anya in the magic shop. The others were there already, and surprised, he greeted them all.
"Bit early for all of you isn't it?" He asked, looking at them.
"Yes." Xander yawned. Giles looked around questioningly.
Spike lit a cigarette. "Bit late for me, actually. Wouldn't even be here if I hadn't taken a nap earlier."
"This dream you had," Buffy interrupted. "You remember it?"
Giles nodded and turned out his pocket to find the paper he had written it on. "Here it is, I wrote it down." He said, putting his glasses on. "I wrote it down...."
Buffy took the paper from him. "It's the same one." She said. This was definitely starting to sound like a prophesy. She was so not in the mood to deal with this.
"What?"
Buffy sat down again. "We all had this dream last night."
Willow nodded. "Cordelia called. Her, Angel, Wesley and Gunn had it too."
"Do you know what this means?" Tara asked quietly. "I mean, you've been having this dream for weeks."
Giles took of his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "The night Buffy returns, we all have it. I suppose this has some significance." He said, taking the paper off Buffy, he read it out loud.
"Slayer will die And loss shall be overcome As the battle draws near Darkness shall turn to light And those imprisoned are set free The youth learns wisdom As love and hate join Vengeance overcome by trust And the blind shall see Energy will come from all As thirteen become seven And those who choose right Shall stop the evil rising sea."
"I think we should-"
"Research?" Xander sighed.
In LA, Wesley was doing the same thing. His books were open and covering the entire floor. Gunn walked carefully over to him.
"You're gonna have to fill me in later." He said, thinking there wasn't going to be any progress soon.
Wesley looked up. "Why?"
"I gotta see my crew." He said, walking to the door.
Wesley sighed. "I thought you'd gotten over the blind loyalty? You're part of what looks to be an apocalyptic prophesy."
"I'll be back later, Wes. Don't worry."
Wesley shook his head as Gunn left. He was aware that the young man had some difficult choices to make, but sometimes he couldn't help but feel a little let down. He glanced over his books again and then he saw something. "Angel!" He called.
"Huh?" The vampire said, walking sleepily in. "Find it?"
Wesley nodded. "Here." He said, handing Angel the book. "We were right, it is an apocalypse prophesy, but this is how we can stop it."
Angel nodded. "Call Giles, let's see what he has to say."
"Yes, that's what we found too." Giles said to Wesley. "Uh huh.... I thought so..... Thirteen turn to seven..... that's right..... I'll ask Buffy....OK, we'll be in touch."
"Ask me what?" Buffy said, looking up.
"We think there are supposed to be thirteen of us." Giles said.
"But it's only twelve!" Anya exclaimed, counting on her fingers. "Me, Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Tara, Willow, Spike, Wesley, Angel, Cordelia and Gunn."
"Yes, so who's missing?" Xander asked, looking at Buffy, who had gone suddenly pale.
"You don't think it's Riley?" Willow asked gently.
Buffy shook her head. "Faith." She said, sitting down.
"Faith?" Tara asked softly. "Why do you think it's her?" She searched for Willow's hand, noticing how tense she had suddenly become.
Buffy leant her head on her hands. "I just do. She was always more connected to me than Riley."
Xander's eyebrows shot up.
"Not in THAT way." Buffy said hastily. "I just mean, all the shared dreams and stuff." Buffy wasn't really sure why she thought Faith was the thirteenth, the idea just felt right. She breathed deeply, silently hoping that she wouldn't have to deal with the other slayer.
"Well," Giles frowned, noticing that the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped a few degrees with the mention of Faith's name. "There's only one way to find out."
Buffy nodded. "I'll call Angel."
Angel approached the prison as soon as the sun had gone down. He had already been sure that Faith was involved before Buffy had called him, but he was glad he hadn't been the one to mention it first. He was relieved. This would perhaps help to make amends between the two slayers, giving them a chance to start their friendship over.
Sitting down, he waited for Faith. He wasn't sure how this was going to work out. She still had months to go on her sentence, and he didn't think a jail break would be possible, even with their combined vampire and slayer strength.
"Hey, dead boy." Faith smiled.
He nodded at her. "How are you?"
"Five by five. You're here because of the dream, right?" She asked.
Angel smiled guiltily. "I know I haven't been around much-"
Faith shook her head. "S'OK." She grinned. "I'm right?"
Angel nodded again. "You're the thirteenth. It's an apocalypse."
Faith grinned. "Great, I could use some action. Wicked scary face, huh?"
The vampire smiled. He had seen the face from the dream before and he knew better than anyone how scary it was. "We need to get you out of here." He whispered.
"Uh huh. How we gonna do that?"
Angel shook his head and sat back. "I don't know, but we need you now."
"I'm not busting out, Angel." She said. "No way am I gonna risk any lives."
He nodded, already knowing that would be how she felt.
"Wolfram and Hart?"
Angel laughed. "We can't trust them! For all we know, they could be in on it."
Faith leaned in closer. "I know they're wicked evil, but they're lawyers right?" She said. Angel nodded, waiting for her to get past the obvious. "Evil lawyers, sure, but what do they love more than anything?"
He smirked. "Money?"
Faith grinned. "That's right."
"Faith, you know how much money we'd need to persuade them?" Angel shook his head. "I know I've been around for a while, but I'm not rich."
"I am."
"Huh?" Angel's eyes flashed up to her's. "You're rich?" He asked, not believing her. Faith nodded. "If you're rich, why the hell were you robbing people before you landed in here?"
Faith looked at the floor. "I was fucked up, Angel." She said quietly. "I wanted to be on my own, didn't want to take handouts."
He shook his head. "OK." He said. "Where did you get this cash?"
"Mayor."
"Of course. Evil money."
"Evil money, evil lawyers." Faith grinned at him. "Hell, it's for a good cause."
As Angel walked towards Kate's home, he realised that the firm was the only shot they had. The cash Faith had was probably just enough to persuade them for help, as long as they weren't in on it.
The ex-detective didn't seem too surprised to see him.
"What do you need?"
"Am I that obvious?" He asked, more to himself than her. He explained the situation quickly, and Kate took it all on, hardly blinking an eye.
"I owe you a favour." She said. "But this is it, Angel. I mean it."
He nodded, grateful for not having to face the lawyers again. "Oh, Kate?"
"Yeah?"
"Try and not mention my name." He said, as she motioned him to the door.
"So." Xander said, after much pondering. "It says there are thirteen of us. We've got that, but becoming seven? Does that mean five of us are going to die?"
"Six!" Anya called cheerfully from the back of the shop.
"Uh, right. Six." Xander said, looking sheepish.
Giles shook his head. "I don't know." He said honestly. "But prophesies are funny things. We've seen lots of them, and thwarted many."
"Kind of scary though, I mean some of this has passed already."
"It has?" Giles said. "We have thirteen, but-"
"Also...." Xander said, getting the paper with the dream written on it. "Look, `Slayer will die, Loss shall be overcome.' That's Buffy, right? And the battle drawing near is the apocalyptic fight."
Giles nodded. "Yes, you're right."
"We want this to come true anyway, don't we?"
"Not if it means six of us dying." Buffy said. "Nothing is worth that."
"I'm sure it won't come to that." Giles said. "I think we've done enough for today. I'll call Angel and see what happened with Faith, you should all get some sleep."
Buffy nodded. "I'm going to patrol. Xander, can you take Dawn tonight?"
"Sure. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Watch your back." Willow called after the slayer.
"Is everything ready?" The scarred man asked one of the hooded demons.
"Any day now." He answered.
"Good." The man smiled. His master would be pleased that a mere mortal could be the catalyst for so much destruction. Those who had harmed him would pay, he thought, as he ran his fingers over his scar, the scar he that had been there for as long as he could remember.
He would be weak no more.
Buffy slammed a vampire against a wall, punching him until she felt the crunching of bones. Her stake thudded into his chest and he exploded into dust with a whimper.
She set out to find more, feeling more invincible than she ever had. The blonde slayer was thinking not so much about the end of the world at that moment, but about Faith. She was still puzzled about why she knew the dark slayer was connected to this prophesy, especially since she hadn't laid eyes on her in almost two years. Buffy sighed. If Faith was going to come here, she didn't know what she was going to do. She wasn't scared of her, or of what she could do anymore, that wasn't even an issue anymore. What Buffy was feeling more than anything else, was nervous.
What the Hell was she going to say to her?
She came across another vampire and lunged, kicking him until he passed out.
In her cell, Faith's rumbling stomach woke her up with a start. Well that, and the slight dampness between her legs.
<"What do you want?" The blonde slayer stood with her arms folded, glaring out of the window.
"Me?" Faith asked her, walking over. "I think you'll find that this is your head."
"Yes, it is." Buffy said, turning towards her. "And I want you to stay the Hell out of it."
Faith grinned, sitting on the familiar bed. "That's what you called me here for? To tell me to stay away?"
Buffy nodded. "Ten out of ten, genius."
"No need to get personal, B." She smiled. "If you want me to stay away, don't think about me so hard when you're slaying."
Buffy frowned at her. "I wasn't."
The dark slayer laughed. "Right, B. Hell, I even woke up hungry and horny. Of course," she said, pulling the blonde towards her, "That could of just been me dreaming about you." She grinned.>
Buffy woke with a start, feeling a little flushed. "No no no." She mumbled to herself as she got out of bed. No way was she thawing this easily.
"It's definitely Faith." Giles confirmed to the gang that afternoon.
Willow groaned. "How come psycho girl gets to be in the club?"
Buffy shrugged. "We'll just have to put up with it, I guess."
"Yes," Tara said quietly. "Maybe it's time she got another chance-"
"NO!" Buffy, Willow and Anya replied in unison. "She's had enough chances." Willow continued. "She is EVIL." The witch said firmly.
"I don't think it's that simple." Giles frowned. "These things never are."
"What part of EVIL did you not understand?" Willow asked.
"That's enough!" Giles shouted. "I know you have issues with Faith, we all do. But this is more important. Get over it."
Xander nodded. "She hurt us all, Will. But there's nothing we can do about it. We're going to have to work together."
"What's with you?!" The red head exclaimed. "Was she that good a fuck?"
"Willow!" Giles shouted. "I said THAT'S ENOUGH!"
"Was she?" Anya turned to Xander. "Is that it?"
Xander threw his hands up. "For God's sake, I'm just trying to be rational guy here, OK?"
Buffy stood up and looked at the gang. "Fine. We'll work together. We'll see this through. Then we'll put her where she belongs."
"You have to come with us, Gunn." Cordelia said, following him towards the door. "You're part of this."
He turned to her, shaking his head. "I can't, Cordy. I gotta look out for my crew. There's a new nest of vamps and I can't let them go alone."
Cordelia shook her head. "What the Hell is wrong with you? If you don't come with us, there won't be a crew for you to look out for."
Gunn shrugged. "Prophesies are stupid. They're just some mindless rants by insane people."
"What?! We've all had the same dream, Gunn"
"Yeah. A dream." He emphasised the last word.
"You're so blind!" Cordelia shouted after him.
Wesley sighed. "We better get moving, Cordy." He said, picking up their bags. "He'll see it eventually.
"Well that went smoothly." Faith grinned, walking outside with Kate and Lilah.
The lawyer turned to her, scowling. "Just keep out of our way, Faith." She shook her head. "If the senior partners had any sense-"
"Woah!" Faith put her finger to her lips mockingly. "Don't want them to hear you talking like that, do you?" Lilah made a sound like a growl and turned away. Faith slapped her ass. "Good luck, doll face." She called after her.
"Finished?" Kate asked impatiently.
Faith nodded and grinned. "For now."
"Nice place." The dark slayer said as she looked around the hotel.
Angel nodded. "You can see it properly later. Right now we have to get to Sunnydale."
Faith looked slightly uncomfortable. "Already?"
"It'll be OK." He reassured her. "Cordy and Wes have gone there already." He frowned. "A slight problem with Gunn, apparently, but I'm sure he won't let us down."
Faith smiled slightly. "So we're going to get the reunions with everyone out of the way at once, huh?"
"I thought it would be easier."
"Five by five."
Angel smiled at her. "Cordy said hi."
Faith brightened a bit. "Really? What about Wes?" At Angel's silence she nodded. "Can't expect anything, I guess. I just hope B-"
"It'll be OK." Angel said again. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
Faith smiled and followed him out the door, deciding not to tell him that she knew if Buffy wanted to hurt her, the blonde wouldn't be using her fists.
They travelled in silence, the journey too long and too short for Faith's liking. Nervous was an understatement. Jibbering wreak was more like how she was feeling. She didn't show it though. Angel kept one eye on the dark slayer the whole ride to Sunnydale, half expecting her to run at every stop sign. He shook himself at the thought. He had seen the changes she had gone through, and he knew that Faith wouldn't back away from the demons. In her head or otherwise.
As they came to the street with the magic shop, Faith closed her eyes, concentrating on calming her nerves.
"You can do this." Angel turned to her after parking his car. "And you're not alone."
She smiled at him. "Thanks, deadboy. Let's do it."
"Come in." Giles said, as he saw Angel standing on the threshold.
"Thanks. Hey everyone." He said, looking around for Buffy. As his eyes rested on her, he smiled. "Buffy."
She smiled back at him. "Hey."
"Where's Faith?" Xander asked.
"Here." Angel said, stepping aside to reveal the dark slayer half hiding behind him and half out the door.
She gazed around the room at the Scoobies looking at her with varying degrees of hostility. Finally, her eyes fell on the blonde slayer. "Hi."
Buffy nodded coldly, trying not to show any emotion.
"So!" Willow said. "How's freedom working out for ya? Not too well I hope."
Giles frowned at her. Faith looked ready to shoot a comment back, but stopped herself as she noticed Buffy staring at her.
"Okay...." Cordelia said. "Tension not good for the skin, so can we do what we came here to do?"
"Wait a minute." Buffy said, as she continued to look at Faith. "Do you have ANYTHING to say?"
Faith nodded slowly. "Yeah, I might get the crap beaten out of me for this, but I'm sorry..." She said, turning to each of the Scoobies. "For everything."
"And you think that's good enough?" Willow asked.
At that moment Anya walked forward. "It's not, you know. You hurt Xander. And now I'm going to hurt you." She stepped forward and looked about to attack Faith, but Xander, who had been watching the slayer with interest since she had entered the room, caught his girlfriend from behind.
"Honey, it's OK." He said softly.
"No it's not!" Anya shouted. "She deserves to be hurt!"
"Anya, stop." Xander turned her until he was looking into her eyes. "She's not going to hurt me. She's not going to hurt anyone."
"You can't know that!"
Xander looked at Faith for a moment. "Yes I do." He said, and smiled. "I trust her." He nodded to Faith, who smiled back at him. Xander looked at a slightly more calm Anya. "It's in the past." He said, surprising himself. Before he had seen Faith, he wouldn't have imagined that he could have forgiven her so easily, but seeing her now, it just felt right.
The moment was broken as the door flew open, revealing a panting Gunn. Cordelia rushed over to him, catching him in a hug. "I knew you wouldn't let me down!" She grinned.
"What can I say?" He asked, catching his breath. "I saw the light."
The scarred man watched the proceedings with a slight air of panic. Two slayers back on the same side was not a good thing for him, and as their prophesy was coming true, he was running out of time. There was still something he needed, and he had searched the cemetery high and low.
This was not looking good.
Then, through the glass, he saw a figure that made his blood run cold.
"Angelus...." He breathed.
"We need to concentrate." Giles said. "There can't be much time left."
Wesley nodded. "I suggest we meet early tomorrow. Get a good night's sleep, everyone."
"Uh," Gunn spoke up. "Where?"
I have a spare room." Giles said. "Wesley, we can look through my books at my place."
Cordelia and Gunn can stay with us at Xander's!" Anya said enthusiastically. "We can talk about Xander!" Xander groaned.
"You know," Cordelia smiled. "That could be fun!"
"Faith, you're with me." Buffy said firmly, and was met with questioning looks. "I want to keep an eye on her." She explained hastily.
Faith shrugged. "Five by five."
Angel looked at Buffy hopefully.
"I don't think it would be a good idea...." She said, looking around.
Spike nodded. "He can stay with me."
"OK then." Giles said. "Tomorrow. Tomorrow we figure this out."
“Sleep well, Dawnie.” Buffy hugged her sister.
“Buffy....” She whined. “I’m not tired....”
“Goodnight, Dawn.” Buffy said firmly.
“Yeah, yeah. Night.” The youngest Summers replied.
Faith grinned. “Just like I remember her.”
“Huh?” Buffy was surprised. “Oh, yeah, of course.”
Faith looked puzzled.
“Never mind.” Buffy pulled some clothes out of her drawer.
Faith watched the blonde slayer for a second and then shrugged and got up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said as she walked towards the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Uh, couch?”
Buffy chuckled. “No way. You’re sleeping with me tonight.”
“Huh?” It was Faith’s turn to be surprised. She didn’t just say that.....? She thought to herself.
“I said I wanted to keep an eye on you. You can sleep on a mattress.”
“Right.” Faith said, a little disappointed. “Of course.” Buffy pointed under her bed and Faith got down and pulled her spare out. “You sure it’s secure enough? You could tie me to the bed, you know.”
“Ha.” Buffy replied, combing her hair.
“Who said I was joking?” Faith grinned.
Buffy slammed her comb down. “Faith! Will you shut the Hell up?”
Faith jumped back a step. “OK, OK.”
Buffy shook her head and left the room. Faith took the opportunity to strip to her underwear and get into bed. Damn, this was not going well, she said to herself. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.
Buffy returned a few minutes later and stood, looking at Faith for a moment, who returned her gaze. “I’m sorry.” Buffy said. “This is all a bit much.”
“Yeah.” Faith nodded. “’S OK.”
Buffy crawled into bed and scooted to the edge, facing the dark slayer. Buffy looked at her carefully. The brunette had changed, that was obvious. Sure, she still had that tough edge that made her so uniquely Faith, but there was more. Regret? That had been there for a long time now, Buffy just hadn’t wanted to see it. No, it was more like determination. Almost hopeful. That was something she hadn’t seen in Faith’s eyes for a long time.
“Buffy,” Faith said quietly. “I’m not gonna hurt you. I promise. You don’t have to watch me every second.”
Buffy continued to gaze at her. “I know.”
Faith looked up, surprised. “You do? I mean, I really am sorry.”
Buffy nodded. “So am I.” She flicked the lamp off, and rolled onto her back.
The two slayers lay in silence for a while, both lost in thought. Faith was bursting with things she wanted to say, but didn’t know how. She just wanted things to be right again.
Buffy was thinking much the same thing. Angry as she was, she liked the dark slayer, always had, and more than ever she felt the need to be close to someone who could understand her.
“Buffy?” Faith asked softly.
“Yeah?”
“I know I don’t have a right to ask you anything-”
“No, you don’t.” Buffy replied coldly. She glanced at Faith and saw the hurt expression on her face. “No, what?” She asked, giving in.
“I just wanted to make sure, well.... that you’re OK, I guess.”
Buffy rolled over to face her again. Rationally, she told herself not to trust her. Her mind kept screaming that Faith had no right to be here, to expect anything. But she wanted to talk. Seeing her again.... she hadn’t expected it to feel so right.
She also knew that Faith would understand.
“After you went to jail....” She began.
The two vampires sat in Spike’s crypt drinking whiskey. They were getting on well, surprisingly. They had found they had more in common now than ever.
“You're in love with her?” Angel asked, slightly shocked.
Spike nodded. “So are you, am I right?”
“Always have been.” Angel replied. “But it’s over. We both know that.” He paused. “I think you have more competition now, too.”
“Oh yeah? Who?”
“Faith.” Angel replied.
Spike burst out laughing. “The hot brunette? You’re kidding!” He stopped abruptly. “Buffy doesn’t feel anything though?”
Angel sighed. “I don’t know. The last time they saw each other, Buffy was ready to kill her.” He smiled. “But now? I don’t know.”
Spike whistled. “Well, if it’s going to be anyone but me.... maybe they’d let me watch....” He grinned. He was met with a frown. “What?” He asked innocently. Spike threw Angel the bottle. “I heard you went a bit nuts a few weeks back.” He continued. “Soul getting you down?”
“Something like that.” Angel rubbed his hands over his head, trying to figure out how to say it. “The soul thing, it’s hard, you know?”
Spike nodded. “You should try having a chip in your head. At least you’re free.”
Angel chuckled and shook his head. “Free? I wouldn’t give it up, I couldn’t be that beast again, but free?”
“You really don’t get it, do you?” Spike asked, catching the bottle and taking a gulp. “You're more free than any other demon there is.”
“Why? Because I have this fight inside me? I’m not human, and I’m not demon. I’m trapped.”
Spike shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking mate. You think having a soul makes you one of the good guys? You know as well as I do that there are plenty of very evil humans out there.” He sat back in his chair again. “The point is, we demons are a slave to our hunger. You, mate, have a choice. You choose humanity. You don’t let the demon win. THAT makes you free.”
“And you’re not?”
“Hello, chip in brain.” Spike said, pointing at his head.
Angel nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. I can still kill demons though.” He looked up, grinning. “Want to go pick a fight?”
“Angelus....” The scarred man kept muttering to himself. This would be the ultimate revenge.... “Check that one!” He shouted at the hooded demon, pointing to an unopened tomb. He sat and waited for them to break the door open.
Perhaps his master would let him keep the vampire as a pet....
Willow was fuming. “How can she be part of this?” She kept asking.
Tara sighed, wanting to sleep. “You heard what Buffy said, we have to deal with that later.”
“But how?!” Willow shrieked as she began pacing the room.
“Honey.... come to bed....”
Willow threw her hands up in exasperation. “This is ridiculous.”
“That’s the word I was looking for....” Tara mumbled. She thought Willow was being unfair. Sure, she hadn’t been there when Faith had been at her most psychotic, but she had been hurt by her too. She couldn’t understand why Willow was so angry.
“What did you say?” Willow asked, walking over to the bed.
“Nothing.” Tara replied, looking up at her. “I just wish you’d calm down.”
“Calm down?!” Willow shouted, and was back to pacing. Tara groaned.
“It just felt right.” Xander shrugged, as he sat talking with Anya, Gunn and Cordelia. “I can’t explain it.”
Cordelia nodded. “I see it too, the change in her.” It had taken Cordelia only a few seconds to see that Xander had been right to forgive Faith. The difference in her was obvious to anyone who wanted to see it. But then, Cordelia had always had a knack for seeing straight through people.
“If you think it’s OK, then I agree.” Anya said, looking at Xander, who smiled. “I won’t kill her then.” She added, smiling back.
“Well I think you’re all crazy people.” Gunn shrugged. “At least Buffy’s keeping an eye on her. She looks like she can think straight.”
“And then Willow brought me back.” Buffy said, concluding her story.
Faith nodded. “But you wish you weren’t?”
Buffy shook her head. “It’s not that, it just feels like they brought me back to stop this apocalypse, and that’s it.” Buffy sighed.
Faith smiled. “You can’t think like that, B. You’re the centre of so many people’s lives, how can you not see that?” Faith paused, looking for the right words. “You’re loved by so many people. Everyone who meets you.” She grinned.
Buffy looked at her for a moment. “Not you, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t love me. You hated me.”
Faith was surprised, she never knew the blonde had given it any thought. “Buffy, I always loved you. I still do.” She whispered, hardly believing that she had said it.
Buffy was surprised herself, so surprised that she didn’t say anything.
“It’s OK.” Faith said. “I don’t deserve your love in any form.” She smiled weakly. “I don’t deserve anything from you.”
Buffy wasn’t sure why she did it, but she was glad that she did. She reached out and took Faith’s hand. Faith let herself be pulled up, slightly confused. She questioned Buffy with her eyes. The blonde slayer just smiled and pulled her towards the bed.
Faith hesitated. “What.....?”
“It’s OK.” Buffy said. “I need you to be near me.” She smiled, making a space for her. Faith got in, and lay looking somewhat terrified on her back. “I want to make things right.” Buffy said softly, as she rolled onto her side and pulled Faith’s arm around her. For some reason, that was all she could think about at that moment. Faith, and being close to her.
Faith wasn’t really sure what was going on. An hour ago, Buffy had looked ready to kill her. But if this was what she wanted.... “Me too.” Faith whispered, briefly wondering how she was supposed to get any sleep tonight at all as she listened to the blonde’s breathing.
Giles and Wesley arrived at the magic shop early the next morning. Both men were tired, having spent most of the night searching through books and trying to work out the prophesy. Wesley was still thinking about the conversation he and Giles had had the night before.
"You still feel guilty, don't you?" Giles asked, as he noticed the frown on Wesley's face.
He nodded. "If I had tried to talk to her-"
Giles clapped his hand on the other man's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. You were young and impulsive. You were only doing what you thought was right." Giles smiled inwardly, as he remembered what a pompous git the young man had been when they had first met.
"I was stupid."
"Maybe." Giles replied. "But it's worked out, and you're not the same person now. You've grown up." He smiled.
Wesley smiled back and nodded. "Finally rubbed some of your wisdom off on me, hmm?"
"We can hope." Giles said, as he reached for the kettle.
"Gold lies in the dirt
Death that grows from life"
The scarred man was beating his hands against his head. He still hadn't worked out the final piece of the puzzle, and he needed it tonight. He rubbed his eyes, exhausted. He hadn't slept for days, too afraid to face his master in his dreams. He had been searching the cemeteries, hoping that he would stumble on his final thing that he needed. Time was short, he needed it tonight.
Sleep seemed to have been lost to a lot of people that night. Faith had laid awake, listening to Buffy's breathing, feeling her every movement. As the sun rose, she shook the blonde slayer gently.
"Buffy." She whispered into her ear. "We have to get up."
The blonde stirred. "Mmrrrrrrr." She groaned.
Faith smiled. "Come on."
Buffy rolled over and stretched, and Faith pulled her eyes away and got out of bed.
"Faith....?" Buffy said quietly.
"Yeah?"
Buffy looked at the dark slayer for a moment, still unsure of what she felt. She had slept peacefully that night, feeling safe in Faith's arms. It made no sense to her, she was still angry, resentful, full of hate for the other slayer, and yet....
Buffy shook her head. "Nothing."
"B, are we OK?"
Buffy laughed. "No. We're a long way from OK."
Faith nodded. That's what she had thought. "I still want to make things right."
"Yeah, so do I." Buffy said, getting up. "But it's going to take a long time. We've got a lot to work through."
"I'm sorry, B." Faith said, asking herself how many times she could say it before it became meaningless.
Buffy shook her head. "I know. We're both sorry." She sighed. "We can keep saying it, but it's only words, Faith."
The two slayers gazed at each other, both wondering if things were ever going to be right between them again.
Angel and Spike were the last to arrive at the magic shop. They burst in the door, laughing like school boys.
"We did good last night!" Angel grinned.
"Oh yes?" Giles asked.
"Ran into some demons with little hoody things in a cemetary last night." Spike said. "They were like, `we're not scared of leather wearing nancy boys!'" He giggled, taking up a stance of mock bravado.
"And then I go `oh yeah? What about if we do this?'" Angel said, and both vamps went into game face.
"So they go `ooohhhh.' And I went with the old `grr, argh.' And they start to run!" Spike continued, putting his hands up threateningly.
"So we chased them, and we were like `you're not scared huh?'" Angel laughed.
"EXCUSE ME!" Giles interrupted. "This is all very interesting, but did you actually find out anything useful?"
"Uh, right." Spike said, his face returning to normal. "Yeah, there's all these demons in some underground place over the other side of town."
"Some guy is in charge, but he needs something to open the Hellmouth with."
"Ugh." Xander said. "Hellmouth."
Angel nodded. "The demon wouldn't say when, but I get the feeling that it's going to be soon. They were out in force last night."
"Lucky it was us two bad boys out there!" Spike grinned. "Got to kick some ass!" He and Angel did a high five.
"I'm glad you're finding the fun in the lead up to an APOCALYPSE." Wesley said sarcastically. "But at least that gives us something to work on." He looked around. "Tara, where's Willow?"
The blonde witch looked at him nervously. "She wouldn't come. Said she had something important to do."
Buffy frowned. "That's not like Will. She didn't say what?"
"No." Willow had still been in a rage about Faith that morning. Tara was worried, she didn't know what her girlfriend was going to do, but whatever it was, Willow was acting strangely.
"Maybe I should go find her." Buffy said, getting up.
Tara shook her head. "She's not at the dorms. I'm sure she'll get here soon."
The Scooby gang spent the day looking through books, and Buffy and Faith, restless from lack of slaying, decided to train in the back room.
"Do you think we'll make it?" Faith asked.
Buffy wasn't sure if she was talking about them, or the apocalypse. She looked at Faith questioningly, wondering if the dark slayer meant there to be a double meaning in her words. She usually did. "The apocalypse?" Buffy asked, hoping for the safe answer.
Faith shrugged, taking up a fighting position.
"Yeah. Got be positive, right?"
Faith nodded, blocking one of Buffy's punches. They picked up the pace, throwing punches, and kicks, words no longer an option. Faith was impressed, Buffy had improved a lot since their last fight.
The dark slayer was soon breathing heavily, even though she could tell Buffy was holding back.
"C'mon, B." She panted. "That all you've got?"
Buffy grinned in spite of her self and swept Faith legs from under her. She pinned the dark slayer to the mat.
Faith made no attempt to struggle.
"What's up?" Buffy smirked. "Too much for you?"
Faith smiled weakly. "Do you think we'll make it?" She asked quietly, leaving Buffy with no doubt about what her question meant.
The two slayers stared at each other, Buffy's grip loosening. She opened her mouth to reply.
And then Giles burst through the door. "We found it, the calender, references." He gasped. "It's tonight."
The scarred man stood up suddenly.
"Of course!" He yelled, causing the demon next to him to jump. "Gold! Dirt! We were so close, so stupid." He shook his head. "The slayer's grave...."
"That's great." Buffy said, wiping her face with a towel. "Tonight."
Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose, thoughtfully. "What have we got?" He asked Wesley.
"OK." He said, reaching for his notepad. "We're going to have to split up. We need people at the place where all these demons are and at the Hellmouth. This man the demon mentioned needs something to open the Hellmouth with and doesn't have it yet. We need to get to him."
"We also need to figure this out." Xander said, holding up the piece of paper with the dream on it. "This is supposed to be how we stop the whole thing."
Buffy nodded. "Here's what we're going to do. Spike and Angel, you go to this demon place. That's where they'll be doing the rituals. Wesley, Dawn, Anya and Xander, you three stay here and figure this out. If Willow decides to show up, tell her to get to the Hellmouth. That's where Cordelia, Gunn, Tara and Faith will be. Me and Giles are on the hunt for this guy." Buffy looked at them all. "Be careful."
They each nodded at her. "If the apocalypse comes, call me." Angel said, holding up his cell phone.
"Hey!" Buffy frowned. "That's my line."
"Where are we going?" Giles asked, as they ran along Sunnydale's darkened streets.
"Cemetery, I guess." Buffy said, following her instincts. "That's usually the place to find these `end of the world guys'."
Giles nodded, trying to keep up with the slayer. "Vampire!" He shouted, as one ran towards them.
Buffy jabbed her stake in him as they ran past. "They're getting too easy." She said. "Facing down a God really puts things in perspective."
Faith, Tara, Cordelia and Gunn stood outside Sunnydale High school's ruins.
"This brings back memories." Cordelia sighed. "Demons, monsters, zombies. I really learned skills I could use in my career of choice."
"You talking about acting?" Gunn grinned.
"Maybe we should go in?" Tara asked, looking at Faith, who nodded.
"Yeah, I guess."
The four of them peered inside the darkened building. "You think you can find the library?" Faith asked Cordelia.
"I was there often enough." She sighed. "That's really sad." They picked their way through the rubble, Gunn in front with Cordelia pointing the way, Tara following, and Faith walking behind.
Memories, all right. Faith thought to herself as she walked carefully along the corridor. She looked around her at the ruins. She couldn't help but feel like it was her fault. Not just the destruction of the school, but also of many of the kids that used to come here.
She looked at the floor, seeing a few remains of the man she had thought of as a father.
She took care to stamp on them as she passed.
"There's one!" Giles called to Buffy as they approached the cemetery. Buffy ran after the hooded figure and grabbed him by the throat.
"Right." She growled at him."Where is he?" The demon cowered in her grip, shaking his head. "I said WHERE?" Buffy punched him. "Do you want to die?"
The demon carried on shaking his head.
"I don't just slay vampires, you know." Buffy said, pulling out a stake and holding the demon off the ground with one hand. "Answer me."
"The slayer...." The demon gasped.
"Yup. I slay. I'll slay you." She hissed, smacking the stake across his face.
The demon raised a shaking hand and pointed into the graveyard. "Your grave..." He panted.
Buffy rammed the stake into his chest. "Thanks!" She said brightly.
"Shall we?" Giles asked.
The scarred man watched as the demons opened the slayer's coffin.
"There!" He said. "Give it to me."
One of the demons reached in and pulled out a few strands of Buffy's hair.
The man smiled. "Don't you just love prophesies?" He asked no one in particular. "They're just so obvious."
"Is that right?" Buffy said as she walked towards him. "Want to tell me about ours?"
The man jumped back. "Slayer! How nice of you to join us." He motioned the demons over to him. "Kill her, please."
Six of them rushed towards Buffy and Giles as the man started to run.
"See you in Hell!" He called back.
"Where the Hell is this place?" Angel complained.
"It's around here somewhere." Spike said. "I'm just not sure- umph!" His foot fell through the earth. "Found it!" He exclaimed, pulling his foot out again.
Angel grinned and peered down the hole. "There's quite a few...." He said. "They look like they're waiting for something."
"Guess we should get down there quick then." Spike replied. "Shall we look for a door?"
Angel shook his head and grinned again. "And waste all that time?" He stood up and walked over to a large boulder. Spike nodded and helped him pick it up. "Think we can hit any with this?" Angel asked.
"Worth a shot." Spike said, as they dropped the boulder through the ground.
Buffy broke the last demon's neck with a twist of her wrist.
"You OK?" She took Giles' hand and helped him up.
The watcher nodded. "I think I'm getting too old for this." He sighed walking after his slayer.
Buffy shook her head. "But you've got all that old guy wisdom now. Isn't it worth a few grey hairs?" She smiled at him.
"Quite." Giles smiled back. "I suppose we better get to the school."
Buffy nodded. "I hope Angel and Spike get to the ritual before he does.
"Are we just supposed to wait around?" Cordelia asked.
"Are you really that impatient for monsters?" Gunn grinned at her. "I'm pretty happy to have the quiet time right now."
Faith was pacing nervously.
"You OK?" Tara asked gently.
Faith shrugged. "Big fight coming up."
Tara smiled at her. "And that's it?"
Faith smiled back. "Worried about what's going to happen after, I guess."
"It'll be OK, Faith." Tara put a hand on her shoulder. "I can see you're sorry. These things just take time."
Cordelia walked towards them. "She's right. I saw it as soon as you got here, the other's will too."
"No we won't."
The four of them turned to see Willow standing in the doorway, her black eyes flashing.
"Willow..." Faith gasped, taking a step back.
The witch floated a few inches above the ground. "They might not see it, but I do." She hissed at Faith.
Tara ran towards her lover, stopping as her eyes flashed at her. "Honey, please don't...."
Willow ignored her, turning back towards Faith. "You know the best way to fight evil?" She grinned. "Evil."
"What the Hell are you doing?" Cordelia shouted. "We're on the same side!"
"Shut up." The witch said simply, raising her hand. "This is between us."
Faith shook her head. "I know you hate me. That's five by five, but can't we deal with this later?" The dark slayer said desperately, suddenly afraid.
Willow chuckled. "What's wrong? You scared of little me? Not feeling so safe now you don't have a knife at my throat?"
"How many times do I have to say it? I'M SORRY!" Faith shouted. "What do you want me to do?"
"Die."
"Not gonna happen." Faith struggled to control herself. "Willow, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you, and B, and everyone. Hell, I'm sorry you were a nerd, I'm sorry I came between you and B." Her voice was getting louder as she struggled to contain her anger. "I'm sorry you're not a slayer. I'm sorry you were never strong enough!"
"Yeah?" Willow said, raising her hands. "Well I'm strong enough now."
Willow threw her hands forward, and a piece of wood that had been leaning against the wall fired towards Faith. The dark slayer ducked, anticipating the blow, but the wood rebounded off an invisible barrier and was hurled back towards Willow, grazing her face. The witch looked around surprised as a little blood rolled from her lip.
"Don't do it, honey." Tara said quietly, as her eyes flashed a brilliant white.
Spike flipped a demon over his back. "You OK?" He called to Angel who nodded.
The two vampires struggled to get to the fire in the corner, where four demons were chanting. The demons weren't strong, but the sheer numbers were making the fight hard. Angel snapped a demons neck, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man running towards the fire.
"There!" He shouted. Spike leapt into the sir, and the two demons running at him collided. He ran through the crowd as the man thrust the slayer's golden hair into the hands of a waiting demon.
"You're too late!" He laughed, as the demon dropped the hair into the fire. "Now the Hell mouth shall open!" He yelled triumphantly.
"Maybe." Spike said, grabbing him. "But we still need to talk."
Buffy and Giles ran into the school as the ground began to rumble, stopping short as they saw the scene in the library.
Willow and Tara floated a few feet apart, their eyes locked.
"What's going on?!" Buffy shouted.
"Don't do it." Tara was repeating. "I won't let you."
Willow was shaking with anger, amazed at what her girlfriend was saying.
"This isn't your fight." Willow said. "Get out of the way."
The blonde witch shook her head. "You're going to have to come through me."
Willow darted to the side and fired another shot at Faith, who leapt out of the way, landing at Buffy's feet. The blonde slayer stood in front of her. "And me." She said, realising what was happening.
Willow rose higher in the air. "If that's the way you want it." Her rage growing. She raised her hands again.
"Don't..." Tara pleaded, tears forming.
Willow hesitated as she moved in front of the two slayers. "Move...."
Tara took control of herself. "Honey, she hurt us-"
"I know!"
"Please," she continued. "If you do this, you'll hurt us more."
Willow paused, reluctant to strike with two of the people she loved most in the way. "I couldn't hurt you like she did."
Tara shook her head. "You'd hurt us more." She moved slowly towards her girlfriend. "Because we love you. I love you Willow."
The red head looked at her, and then at Buffy. "She'll take you away...."
Buffy shook her head. "No one could, Will."
Tara placed her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "It's OK." She whispered. "You're my always."
Willow's hands dropped to her sides and a tear ran down her cheek. Tara hugged her. "Ssh...."
They turned towards the Hellmouth to see the first waves of demons rise.
The two vampires pulled the man out of the hole after them.
The man laughed. "Too late Angelus!" He cried. "Revenge is sweet."
"Angelus?" Spike said, confused. "He's just Angel now. He has a soul."
"He was Angelus when he gave me this scar." He replied, pointing at his forehead.
"I know you...." Angel said, remembering. "But that was-"
"150 years ago. Yes." The man nodded. "You forced me to watch as you killed my parents. Left me with more than one scar."
"You're a demon?" Spike asked.
The man shook his head. "I killed vampires as soon as I got old enough, waiting for my chance to kill you." He said, turning to Angel. "But there were too many. Evil is so much stronger than good. Eventually I joined the other side, and my master suspended my aging so I could bring about the apocalypse." He laughed. "But now you have a soul. You can't kill me, you're trapped by humanity."
Angel shook his head. "I'm not trapped, but I'm not going to kill you."
Spike looked at him. "You're not?"
Angel smiled at Spike. "You are."
The blonde vampire looked puzzled. "I can't. He's human. I don't have a choice."
Angel clapped him on the shoulder. "We always have a choice. It's gonna hurt, but your reward will be your freedom."
Spike looked doubtful, but nodded. Lunging at the scarred man, a wave of pain rushed over him. "OW!"
"You can do it." Angel reassured him.
Spike nodded again and took a deep breath of air he didn't need. He lunged, catching the man's head between his hands. Through the blinding pain, he felt the man's neck snap, and then.... nothing.
"It's gone!" He exclaimed. "The chip is broken...." He fell to his knees gasping. "Oh God...." He whispered as his soul re-entered his body.
"We have to get to the Hellmouth." Wesley said, as the four of them ran towards the door.
The floor gave a huge rumble, and Anya fell, cutting her head on a shelf.
"Xander...." She groaned.
He pulled her up and ran on. "It's OK." He said, pushing her in front of him. "We'll be OK."
They ran outside and two vampires lunged them.
"Dawn, stay back." Wesley said, grabbing a stake and kicking one of the vampires. Xander punched the other, grazing his hand. Throwing him to the floor, Wesley ran over and plunged the stake into his chest. The other vampire was up and running at them, Anya dodged out of his way and he ran into the wall, turning to dust as the stake entered his body.
"Xander!" Anya exclaimed, grabbing his hand. "Are you OK?"
Xander smiled. "What about you?" He brushed her hair away with the back of his hand.
As they touched, Dawn felt a burst of power flow through her.
"What was that?" Wesley asked, looking at Dawn's eyes which had suddenly become a little brighter than usual.
"It just happened when....." Dawn looked at Xander and Anya.
Xander gasped. "I'm having a thought...." He said slowly. "Yes, now it's an idea...." He pulled the paper with the dream on it out of his pocket. "I know how to stop this. It's the people, the words! See?" He held the paper up. Pointing at himself, he babbled on. "Trust. Anya is vengeance." He said, staring to run. "I'll explain on the way."
Faith smacked a demon over the head with an axe, "There's too many...." She gasped, losing hope.
Buffy shook her head. "Must... keep.... going...." She panted, sliding her sword into one. "Must.... fight....."
Angel and Spike ran in. "We have to fight the good fight!" The blonde vampire yelled.
Willow turned to him surprised. A demon leapt at her, knocking her to the floor. She struggled underneath it until it went limp and Faith pulled her up, their eyes locking. Willow nodded to her.
Tara flung a demon into the air using the strength of her mind, and it was sliced in half by a waiting Giles. "Where the Hell are the others?" He gasped.
"Right here!" Dawn yelled from behind. "We can stop it!"
Xander and Anya ran towards them. "The prophesy, we all represent something!"
Pulling back, the gang took up defensive positions. "I'm trust, I stopped Anya from taking vengeance." He gasped. "Look." He put up his hand with the blood on it and pointed to Anya's cut. Placing his hand over it, Dawn's eyes glowed and the huge demon at the Hellmouth wailed. We thirteen become seven, not because we die, but because we join together." The Scoobies looked at each other, suddenly understanding.
Tara bit down on her lip and grabbed Willow, kissing her, meshing their blood. "Darkness and light." She said. Dawn began to glow.
"Of course...." Giles shook his head, kicking a demon out of the way. He cut his hand with a sword edge, and Wesley did the same. "Youth and wisdom." They clapped their hands together.
Angel and Spike went game face and bit their forearms. Placing them together, they nodded. "Freedom and imprisonment."
Cordelia rushed towards Gunn, who cut himself and held his axe for her to do the same. "Blindness and sight."
The two slayers stared at each other. "Love and hate...." Buffy whispered, running a knife across her palm and offering it to Faith.
The dark slayer shook her head. "You do it." She said to Buffy.
The blonde nodded, reaching for Faith's hand.
"No." Faith said, lifting up her shirt to reveal a thin scar. "Here."
Buffy recoiled. "I can't." She whispered.
"Yes you can." Faith took her hand and guided it to her stomach. "Do it. We'll heal it properly this time."
The two slayers stared into each other's eyes. Buffy nodded and slowly cut into Faith's skin. She placed her bleeding hand to it.
Dawn rose into the air, glowing with power, she pointed at the Hellmouth. "Energy shall come from all!" She shouted as pure light shot from her fingertips, and the demon screamed, falling back into the darkness.
The gang issued a collective sigh of relief. Looking around at each other, they broke into grins.
"Why does that always feel like an anti-climax?" Cordelia compained. "Hello, we saved the world! Where's the reward?" She turned to Gunn, who smiled, taking her hand. Cordelia blushed. "Oh, OK then."
"Bronze?" Xander asked.
The gang nodded and turned to go.
"Buffy? Faith?" Tara said as the gang looked at the two slayers who were still standing lost in each other's eyes, Buffy's hand stroking Faith's stomach.
"Maybe we should leave them to it." Giles said smiling.
They all nodded, creeping out of the library.
The two slayers stood staring at each other, lost in each other's eyes. Neither wanted to move or speak, afraid that their connection would be broken.
There was so much to talk about, but there were no words that seemed enough. Buffy had no idea what to do, no idea what to say. She just stood and ran her hand gently over the dark slayer's scar, hoping to brush away the past for good.
"Are we gonna talk about it?" Willow whispered in her girlfriend's ear as they danced slowly.
Tara nodded. "OK."
Willow rested her head on the blonde witch's shoulder. "I can't believe I did that." She said.
"You had every right to be angry." Tara said gently.
"But I could have hurt you." The red head whispered.
Tara smiled. "Could you?" She pulled away slightly, so she was looking straight at her. "I don't think you could have."
Willow sighed. "I was holding back." She murmured. "I have this power, and I don't know if I can control it anymore."
Tara pushed her hair out of her face. "But you did." She pulled Willow closer to her. "You're more powerful than I am." She said. "You had the power to hurt us all, but you didn't."
"I was close."
"You didn't do it, honey." Tara smiled. "And I don't believe you ever will. I trust you."
Willow looked at her, tears forming in her eyes. "I love you." She whispered.
"So do I." Tara replied, resting Willow's head back on her shoulder. "So do I."
"Buffy." Faith whispered eventually. "What now?"
Buffy shook herself and pulled away. "I don't know." She said.
Faith looked at the ground. "I want it to be OK." She said, in a moment of honesty.
Buffy nodded. "I know." She started to walk towards the door. "Come on, let's go back to mine."
Faith nodded and followed her out, trying to find the words to express what she had always meant to say.
"Are you OK?" Angel smiled at Spike, who was staring at the ceiling.
"It hurts." He whispered. "All those people....."
Angel nodded. "You have another chance." He said. "You'll be fine."
"How did you know?" Spike asked him. "About my soul?"
Angel sat back. "It was a chance really, I wasn't sure. You said I was free because I had a soul, and you didn't and that made you trapped." He explained. "The prophesy was all about choice, and it said `those imprisoned are set free.' I kind of put it together." He shrugged. "Seemed right."
Spike nodded. "I don't know if I can take it."
Angel smiled. "Yes you can. And I'll help you."
Spike nodded gratefully. "Thanks mate."
Angel clapped him on the shoulder. "No problem."
The two slayers walked back to the Summers' house in silence. They both had the feeling that if they didn't say what they wanted to tonight, the chance would be gone forever.
Buffy reached for the phone and called Angel to see where Dawn was. Faith walked up stairs and got undressed before she realised that she didn't know where she was going to sleep. The idea of sleeping anywhere but in Buffy's arms that night filled her with a sense of panic, but the dark slayer didn't want to push her. She felt like one wrong move would shatter the fragile trust they had built up in the last two days. Deciding on the middle ground, Faith chose the spare bed they had made up on the floor and waited for Buffy to come in.
Buffy hung up the phone after telling Angel to warn Xander not to let Dawn stay up all night. She went to the bathroom and got changed. Buffy stared at her reflection, trying to decide how she felt about the slayer in the next room. She was confused. So much had changed in the last couple of days, she felt so close to the brunette and so happy to be near her, yet there was so much work to do. There were so many unresolved issues between them that Buffy wasn't sure if things would ever be right between them again. She would leave with Angel tomorrow, Buffy thought. Perhaps they needed time apart, get some perspective on things.
Buffy sighed and walked into her bedroom.
She felt a pang of disappointment as she saw that Faith was lying in the spare bed. Buffy shook her head slightly. Stupid. She thought to herself, that she could have imagined the dark slayer had wanted to be with her.
"Night." Buffy said, getting into bed and turning over, feeling slightly angry.
"Yeah.... night." Faith replied, cursing herself for not knowing how to say more.
The Scoobies arrived in the magic shop early the next morning to exchange goodbyes.
"Spike is coming with us." Angel said.
Giles nodded, smiling. "Good luck." He said.
Angel walked over to Buffy and hugged her. "Keep in touch." He murmured.
Buffy nodded, and followed the six of them to the door. Cordelia and Gunn ran to Angel's car and put up the hood and then got into their own with Wesley. Spike and Angel got into the car, throwing off their blankets and waited for Faith.
Faith and Buffy looked at each other.
"Well, bye." Buffy said.
Faith nodded. "Yeah, bye." They looked at each other for a second before Faith turned and walked to the car.
Buffy tried to stop her legs from giving out as Faith got in. Cordelia and Gunn waved at everyone, momentarily letting each other's hands go before they clasped them together again and drove away.
Faith refused to look at the blonde slayer as Angel started the engine. Buffy tried not to cry. It's not forever, she whispered to herself.
Angel pulled the car away, driving slowly, and Faith risked a look back. Buffy broke.
"Wait!" She cried and the car came to a halt. Faith got out and the two slayers ran towards each other. Buffy embraced her tightly. "Don't go...." She whispered. "I can't lose you again."
Faith smiled at her. "Sure?"
Buffy nodded and looked into her eyes. "Don't leave me." She pleaded.
Faith turned to look at Angel. The vampire nodded and smiled briefly. "Keep in touch." He said as the car left.
Buffy and Faith held each other tightly. "What now?" Faith asked gently.
Buffy smiled and kissed her softly. "This." She whispered to the dark slayer. "Forever."
...continued in The Things We Have Done...