Somewhere In Between
by tainted_blood_chylde
Rating: PG
Willow woke suddenly in the garden. Disoriented. She sat upright and got to her feet.
"You've been laying there for a while" Kennedy smiled. Willow looked at her suspiciously as she slid off the summer table. "I tried to wake you, but I guess you couldn't hear me, and I can't touch you. Or anything for that matter.." she said as she waved her hand through the table. "I know" she said as Willow frowned, "I was able to sit on it. Most of it still doesn't make sense to me either" she smiled weakly.
"How..?? Where are we?" Willow asked.
"I don't know. But from what I can tell, according to the real world we're dead" she said as she walked towards the kitchen door. "At first I thought it was some kind of coma, I only remembered being with Faith in the Living room. Then it all blacked out. But as you'll soon find, the sun never sets here. It's like permanent happy times. I thought it was heaven, but then I realised apart from the occasional blips back in the real world I keep getting, I was pretty much alone here" Kennedy said as her and WIllow walked into the house again.
"I don't understand" Willow repeated.
"Think of it like this, the First needs our energies to take our form, it carved a symbol on the back of my neck" Kennedy said as she revealed the mark. "Stole my ability to have physical shape, but when it came down to it... it couldn't have me around trying to take control of my body. So it tucked me away here. I think something similar happened to Spike and Dawn. I saw them earlier but they couldn't hear me. None of them can" Kennedy said as she walked into the house and showed her the recent vision of Xander crying alone in the kitchen.
Faith slumped into the chair, this couldn't be happening, the bodies were gone! Buffy's body was missing. Faith had been too busy examining the house for wooden objects and anything that could be used to make weapons that she hadn't noticed that the bodies were gone. She sobbed violently. This couldn't be happening.
The cd player flicked on, she turned her attention to the door and saw Catherine standing there. She wiped away a few of her tears. Catherine slowly walked over to the older girl, wrapping her arms around her. Faith was taller than her by about an inch or so. Her dark hair was short and she had piercing cat-like eyes. Her frame was slender and petite but it eminated a raw energy. She was almost feral, like Faith herself used to be, and in many ways still was. She wanted to strike out, to force their connection in sweat and blood. But somehow it didn't seem necessary.
The music played and it traveled down the hall.
"I never seen this kind of love, the kind that won't wash away, and leave you in the dark. I would die for you..."
Catherine slowly raised her head to Faith's.
"I would die for you, I would die, for you.. I never kissed a sweeter mouth. I've never been swept away, it's what dreams are made about..." the music played as Faith slowly bowed her head and the girls embraced in a passionate kiss.
"Don't you know I could not survive, without you in my life? I would die... for you."
"Oh god!" Dawn said as she watched Faith kissing the other slayer passionately. Poor Buffy.
"I know, never figured the new one would be the same way inclined, honestly it's the spice girls, this whole girl power thing is going right to the bed" Spike grumbled as he sat down on the chair.
"Pathetic really if you ask me" the First said as it took Kennedy's form and walked over to them. "I'm really in a hurry, do you think there's any possible way I could possibly send you to the Nip without you causing a scene?" the First said as it raised its hand and flashed a light at them. Suddenly Spike and Dawn were hurled across the kitchen.
"Bye now" it smiled as it left them with Kennedy and Willow helping them to their feet.
Willow's Diary
I still don't know what's happening, things dont make any sense. I feel different, I mean, I can touch stuff, but it doesn't fit.. Why can't Spike? One things for sure, something big is happening. I can't believe Buffy was gay all this time. I'm going to kill Faith for when I get out of here. How could she kiss Catherine? Is she that big a fool??
"I still don't understand, where are the elders?" Whistler demanded as Arden gave his report.
"No one knows, there was an invasion in the twelveth realm" Rais replied.
"This can't be happening" Whistler said as he stood back in shock. Most of their allies were already missing, now their main defense was under attack as well. It seemed it wasn't only the human world underfire. The First Evil was going right for the Powers themselves. If it managed the reach the Sphereal, they were all doomed.
"Well it is, and we need a plan" Arden informed him bluntly. Whistler looked at the smaller demon, his almond eyes burned with conviction. Arden's race had almost been wiped out by the Vories, he had lost a mate and six daughters, such large family numbers were common and The Mireji were known to breed like rabbits, mostly messengers for the powers that be to the other realms that they helped to protect. Now there were less than four dozen remaining, including Kitto, Arden's only remaining child, his son.
Whistler buried his hands beneath his hat and rubbed at Pyi, a small crystal-like mound on the top of his head. His connection to the powers. He looked at Arden and nodded, the small goblin-like creature was right, they needed to act fast. The Sacntur wouldn't keep them hidden forever. He looked at Rais who was staring back at him expectantly. Rais looked more human, but still stood out due to the lizard-like appearance of his eyes and his pale blue skin.
"What are the Syrins up to?" he asked finally.
"They are making their way to the Ports to wait for instructions, but understand, they are also under attack from the various sea-demons and water dwellers on Earth. The Mermaids and Selkies are doing their best to help but the job of locating each of them in time is almost impossible" Arden answered.
"Then we need the Orrico" he said quietly. "I don't like to admit this gentlemen, but until we can find better ways of safely gathering and sending information between our forces, the slayers are on their own" he said gravely as he looked out over the Cloud-Vision and saw the cities of Earth burning.
"How can we just sit here?" Willow said as she paced the room angrily.
"We don't have much of a choice" Kennedy replied solemnly.
"Like hell we don't!" she snapped before kicking a chair in the kitchen, much to her and everyone else's surprise it skidded across the room with suprising force.
Spike stood up and stared at the red haired witch with renewed interest.
"How did you do that?" Dawn asked in amazement.
"I don't know" she said.
"Maybe the First is weakening" Spike suggested.
"I don't think so" Kennedy said as she looked at Mary walking into the kitchen. "It still looks like hell outside in their world" Kennedy said.
"Damn this daylight!" Spike angrily as he looked out the window, the daylight here didn't hurt him, but it was like a curtain thrown around the house so they couldn't see what was really happening outside in the real world.
"If only I could find someway to break this spell, you know? Reach them somehow" Willow said as she stared in at the Potential picking up the chair.
"Did you see that?!!" Dawn said in astonishment. "She picked up the chair you kicked over" Dawn exclaimed.
"Yeah, maybe anger is a trigger or something" Spike suggested.
"Or maybe it's because she isn't marked" Kennedy replied. The others looked at her in question. "Look at Dawn, she's got these marks all over her body, or at least she had until it ran away. She still has symbols carved in her arm. I've got one in the back of my neck, and Spike had one written in Blood place on his chest during that ritual. Willow wasn't marked. Maybe the First needs us for something else.." Kennedy suggested.
"To take form maybe, all I know is it said that Buffy's essence was split to create me, and that it needed to take what I had back" Dawn declared.
"YES!" Willow said excitedly. "It killed Kennedy to take what it needed to be able to absorb the power, she was probably already dead before she tied Buffy up in the basement" she continued as Spike frowned. "The First wouldn't have the ability to take slayer power directly from Buffy, it needed to steal it from someone else. I'm guessing that's what a Potential's Power is. The ability to absorb slayer power, Giles himself suggested that maybe it was the slayer with the highest power of absorbtion that got called as a slayer."
"I still don't understand, why Buffy?" he said quickly.
"Because she was the missing link" Dawn replied. "To kill Faith and take it from her would only activate another slayer."
"No it wouldn't, Catherine's already here" Spike said.
"Yeah but the First didn't know about her" Kennedy agreed.
"It must have thought Buffy was a greater threat and took the Key ability from Dawn to access heaven" Whistler interrupted.
"Whistler!" Dawn exclaimed before running over and hugging her friend. He remained solemn.
"What's going on?" Willow said quickly.
"We're trying to free you, Buffy is still very much alive. I know this is confusing for you all but understand this. Once the First is made a ghost again it's all over and you get your bodies back" he said simply.
"Great so how do we do that?" Spike said.
"By getting stronger" Whistler started as he explained the nature of everything that was going on and how the First managed to break into the upper realms and attack the powers and how it would be okay again if they could only destroy the First's ability to steal physical form. Spike felt a pang of hope and Willow visibly brightened. Buffy wasn't dead. She felt a sudden pinch as she looked into the living room at the grieving friends.
"Can't you contact them?" Willow said sadly.
"I'm afraid not, the First has sent an army of Demons to attack my own world. I'm afraid it's more complicated, I can't contact them until I have a stronger army. I can only ask you guys to keep practising and try to get stronger, I'm running out of time.. just remember what I--" he said before he disappeared.
"You heard the man" Kennedy said sternly. "Let's get angry" she said before she put a fist through the kitchen wall.
Kennedy's Diary
I can't believe it, I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THE BITCH! I did everything for her! She could have at least pretended not to be so obvious, but noooooo her and her fucking Buffy! As long as Buffy's okay, no worries about little old Kennedy. She can think what she likes, but I DID try to Kill Buffy, Willow is MINE! But all she can think about is HER. I could live under Tara's shadow, but not that whore's. Now all she wants is to get back to earth to see her! HELLO!!! I'M STILL HERE!!! She didn't even hide her jealousy over Faith. There is no doubt in my mind now, I saw the same look in her eyes that I saw in Spike's, the hope of getting back to a lover. I won't let that happen, I'm going to Kill her first. I'd rather see Willow die before I lose her to that bitch!
Willow's Journal
Things finally look like they have hope. With Buffy we still have a chance. I don't know what is wrong with Kennedy right now, I guess she's just eager to get back. I wonder how many other realities the First has like this? Is Buffy in one of them? Is she okay? Does she miss me? What am I going to say to her when I let her know I know about her and Faith? What's going to happen between her and Faith? God everything is so muddled. I have to keep trying, I have to break free. We have a battle to win. I need to get back to her.
Catherine's Journal
I never expected her to return my advances, I always thought that she would push me away or slap me. Worse.. try and gut me. Everything is falling apart around me. I just needed to have her close to me, needed someone who understands to be there. I don't even know her, I'm not even sure it's possible, but I'm starting to fall in love with Faith.
Faith's Journal
Oh God I can't believe I did that! I love Buffy, I do but how if I love B did I..? Oh GOd I'm sooooo confused. I like Catherine, she's been the only thing to keep me going this far, but B, she's what I've wanted for the last four years.. I can't believe I defiled her memory like that. Oh God Buffy, please forgive me.. I'm just sooo alone here.. I didn't mean to betray your memory or anything.. I'm soo sorry. Just please come back to me.
Nikki shifted through the tunnels uneasily, Buffy was in a bad mood, had been for days. She still didn't know what the problem was. She had already rescued six survivors that week alone, she thought she would be pleased.
She looked at the older girl as she helped the rest of the group carve stakes and build other weapons. She seemed harder now, she barely smiled at all, constantly acting like there was some great burden on her shoulders. Nikki wished she knew what was on her mind. She wanted help with this, she didn't know how to cope with being the slayer.
Stewy had been great, Nikki thought, he actually seemed thrilled to have another "saviour" on his hands. She picked up the soup cantine and took it into the med cart. The Train they had erected was perfect for moving from town to town. She looked over her shoulder one last time and looked at Buffy, she didn't seem to notice she was being watched. But Nikki suspected that it was more of a case that Buffy, simply had lost the will to care.
"Catherine pacing about isn't helping" Xander said.
"I KNOW! We should be out there doing something!" She snapped.
"It's senseless to drag them all out there now, you said these things have to hide at dawn, and they certainly can't come in here now" Officer Brady reasoned with her. "The most sensible thing to me seems that we wait" he said quietly.
"He's right" Yu Mi, a young potential said in Chinese.
"I know that, but I can't stay in here and listen to those screams" Catherine replied back in Chinese.
"Hey, mind keeping the language English here?" Faith said as she walked in. "I mean really, it's no good taking your frustrations out on the house" Faith said as she handed her a coffee.
"What do you mean?" Catherine replied.
"The big hole in the wall in the kitchen" Faith explained.
Catherine raised her eyebrows and frowned. "I didn't punch the wall in the kitchen" she looked at all the others in the room. None of them seemed to be any less surprised than she was. Looking at Faith she ran with the older girl into the kitchen. Someone was in the house with them.
Both girls stopped at the door in horror. A knife was floating in mid- air, no one was holding it. Slowly it moved to the cupboard door, it began to carve something in the wood..
O...p.. e... and half of an N before it dropped out to the cooker top. Faith opened the cupboard to find Andrew's body stuffed inside, his lifeless eyes reaching out into the nothingness, begging for a reason. Faith staggered back and closed the door. She shifted Buffy's body and lifted a hammer and some nails.
"I won't let the girls see this" she said to Catherine before she began to nail the door shut.
"Where the hell is it?" Catherine demanded.
"Where's what?" Faith said as she looked to her.
"Dawn.." she replied as she looked into the corner. Faith stopped hammering and looked into the corner and saw that her body was missing.
"How..??? wha??" Faith murmured.
"How long has it been gone?" she demanded. "Surely someone would have noticed SUMTHING!!" catherine said as she looked at the empty spot beside Kennedy's body.
"I don't know.." Faith said. "Someone must have taken it"
"Well I know that sherlock, I mean it didn't just get up and walk out here by itself.." Catherine said as the others came into the room and looked at the empty spot.
"I still can't get over how easy this has been" The First/Xander said as it looked at Anya who was tied up and gagged. "I mean at first I thought it would be a little harder, everything seemed sooo much like attacking Rome or something. Were you around then?? Probably, I've seen so much of human history, it's hard to keep track of it all. In their own ways, humans are actually quite evil. Especially to themselves, and particularly to those who try and save them" it said as it played with the knife Dawn's body had given it. It smiled up at her with his adorable friendly smile and her heart began to scream out in Pain. This really was torment.
She pulled a little harder on her restraints. "I was always quite proud of you, you had a certain flare for cruelty and your imagination was quite what I admired about myself. You have no idea how hard it was to choose between you, Willow and Faith. I mean, Faith was my first, so to some degree, I'll always love her more than you. Willow was always my secret sweetheart. You can't hope to compare with what we had.. but you.." he said as he walked over and placed a hand on her face. "You were my bitter tormented, hateful wife that would bend over backwards for me, so you were my obvious choice" he smiled before taking the knife and holding it to her throat.
"You have powers that the other don't have, you're tainted by evil in ways that they don't understand. A lot comes with being a demon. I'm gonna take my final piece of the puzzle from you, the immortality of a vengence demon, the powers of wishes. Understand, it's really something very personal, you good guys just piss me off" he smiled before stabbing her in the throat and morphing into Spike to drink it all. Rona shut her eyes and sobbed pitifully into the gag.
"We need to talk" Nikki snapped as she bolted into Buffy's compartment.
"I'm tired, it's been a long night" Buffy said as she took the arrow out of her shoulder. She winced. Grabbing the cloth from the chair Nikki applied pressure to the wound. Wince. A little too much pressure.
"What is going on with you?" she demanded.
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked defensively.
"I mean! YOU! The way that you've been acting lately. It's like.. you've given up or something. I don't know, at first it was like you were frantically looking for something, but now.. ever since I told you I'd been called. It's like you stopped searching, not only that B, you've stopped caring" she said as she grabbed the bandages.
"Have I? WHAT DO YOU KNOW?" Buffy said as she snatched the bandages out of Nikki's hand.
"I know that that world's in a lot of trouble and that part of it is YOUR fault!" Nikki spat back. "Why can't you just TALK TO ME SUMMERS!!?!!"
Buffy remained silent and just looked at the other girl with angry eyes.
"I mean GOD! We are in the same boat together. You aren't doing this alone! I'm here too. HELLO!! And I am really fucking scared. I need you to get a grip, I need you to help me!" she screamed.
"I'm doing the best I can!" Buffy snapped. "But I'm not a watcher, it's not MY job to train you" she shouted.
"I get that! But I'm never gonna have a watcher, and you NEVER talk about yours, you never mention anything other than what town we're going to next, what the next plan is. I don't even know if you had a family for christ's sake. Half the time you walk around here, you don't even act human. Hell, YOU DON'T EVEN TRY!" Nikki snapped. The others started to pick up and take notice of the two slayers. Stewy walked into the room and stepped in between them.
"What's going on in here?" he asked calmly.
"The same that always happens in here with her.. absolutely nothing" Nikki said before storming off down the train to the Food Cart.
Nikki's Journal
God I just get so angry some times. I don't know what's going to happen next most of the time. I didn't mean to lay my shit on B like that, it's just some times she gets me soooooo angry. Why can't she just talk to me? I mean JESUS!! I need her help, I've only been a slayer for a little over six weeks. I don't know what's happening. She's been wigging out ever since the first evil gave her a visit. I still don't know the entire back story. B ain't exactly big on the whole let's share concept. I just want to understand her better. I just want her to lighten up and relax and see for once THAT I'M ON HER SIDE!
"This isn't happening" Catherine said as she looked at the bodies.
"It is" Faith contradicted.
"We need to seal the house again" Xander said.
"Yeah well how do we do that Einstein? The witches are dead remember?" August said sarcastically. Just as soon as the words were finished a book was hurled across the room.
"You think they'll take the hint?" Kennedy asked Willow.
"I hope so" she replied.
"Well you Scoobies were never really ones to miss the signs, they'll figure it out" Spike said.
"I just wish we had enough energy left between us to show them the exact page. Or yell or write them a note or something" Dawn said quietly.
Faith walked over to the book and picked it up. "I dont think they're gone" Faith said in amazement.
"What?" Xander asked.
"Ghosts, I think we got a few ghosts on our hands" Catherine said as they looked around the house.
"What are they saying?" Willow asked.
"I don't know, they're a little harder to hear, Damn that blasted noise" Spike cursed as he looked outside at the First playing, last wish, on the violin.
"Try harder" Dawn pleaded.
"If anyone's here give me a sign" Faith called.
Willow knocked a vase over.
Xander smiled.
"Okay.. now we need to know how many" Catherine called as well.
Dawn concentrated really hard and used all the angry in her body she could muster to throw their pictures from the scrap book at Faith's feet.
"Where's Anya?" Xander called.
Silence.
...continued in part 51...