Slayers Journeys III: Jolly Roger saw You
by Vincent
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Joss, ME, Fox and UPN. Just borrowing.
Spoilers: The events occur in the beginning to Season 7. Willow has just come back from England.
Note: This the third story of The Slayers Journeys Saga that will have 5 different parts. Hope you'll like it.
Feedback: Yes, please.
“BUFFYYYY!”
Faith woke up suddenly, her heart was freezing, sending icy winds in her veins. She was completely oblivious of her surroundings, the multiple sounds that were resounding around her. All her senses were focused on the sensations brought by an image, an image that she couldn’t erase from her mind. An image that made her heart bleed, the image of Buffy Summers hit by two lethal arrows.
Tears were falling from her eyes, she could feel the sensations but it was as if her brain hadn’t really registered the image already, only her heart, her body…She stayed in this stunned state for a minute, her eyes empty…
Then, while Magda, her cellmate, was trying to figure out what was happening, Faith jumped out of her bunk and literally threw herself to the bars of her cell, screaming as she was possessed, her voice croaked because of the emotion that was overwhelming her, an emotion that was visible by the tears that were still falling on her cheeks. It couldn’t be possible, it couldn’t be real. Buffy had to be alive.
“Guards! Guards! Please!”
She hit the bars without hearing the complaints of the other prisoners who weren’t pleased by this early awakening. She hit the bars, without thinking about her Slayer powers and, under the pressure of her hits, the bars were slowly bending. Finally, alerted by the screams, two guards appeared in front of her cell, surprised by Faith’s behaviour, she who was considered as a model prisoner. The guard to her left signed her to step back but she didn’t even notice it. All she could do was asking them:
“Please, I need to give a phone call, please, please!”
Usually, the guards didn’t even pay attention to such requests, they just ignored it but this time, it was different. Was it Faith’s pleading tone, so far from the confident tone she ordinarily had? Was it the tears that were watering her face again and again? Was it the fact that, as she was supposed to get out of jail the next day, they agreed to give her this favour? They couldn’t tell it but, after a quick exchange of looks, the guard to her left, a woman Faith knew as Becky, handed her own mobile phone to the brunette who grabbed it.
Faith looked at the mobile phone, her hands were shaking and her heart was pounding in her chest as it had never before. This phone call was so important to her. She was half in a hurry to make it, half scared of it. What if Buffy was really gone?
She shook her head then began to dial a number she knew by heart. Her fingers were trembling and she thought she would faint because of the emotion. Once she had dialled the last number, she put the mobile to her ear and waited for the first ring with an anxiety that was increasing exponentially second after second.
In the kitchen of casa Summers, Willow was sipping her tea. It was a habit she had developed in England. She was sitting on a chair and lost in her thoughts. The previous night, she had had another nightmare, a full review of what she had done when she had turned all Darth Vader.
The witches at the Covenant had told her that nightmares were normal and a good sign too as it was the proof that her mind was condemning her deeds. Still, the nightmares were an every day event now and she knew that there would accompany her for a while. Such memories didn’t disappear and she had to live with them.
The witch sighed heavily before looking at the clock. Dawn and Buffy would wake up soon then, after a quick breakfast and a shower, they would leave for the High School and she would go to the University. It was their daily routine and Willow liked it, it was a normal life routine and all things related to normality were good for her, were part of her “therapy”.
Then, her thoughts flew to Buffy and the strange un-Buffy like behaviour she had had the day before. Once she had come back from work, she had directly gone to the room where they stocked the occult books, examining some of them. She hadn’t given them any explanation and had barely eaten. Willow hadn’t wanted to question her friend then, she knew her too well and she had quickly noticed that it would be fruitless. Today was different though, today she would ask her about it.
The ringing of the phone drove her back to the present time. She was intrigued. Who could call them that early? She stood up and grabbed it.
“Hello?”
“Red?…is Buffy alright?”
Willow froze. She knew that voice really well, like holding a knife on her throat well. Faith, the rogue Slayer. But wasn’t she in jail? And what did she want to Buffy?
“Red?…is Buffy alright?” the voice repeated pleadingly.
“Erm” Willow didn’t know what to reply. It wasn’t only the phone call that was surprising her, it was the tone in Faith’s voice too. Emotional! Completely out of character or at least, completely out of character for the Faith she had known three years before.
“Red? Please…is she…?”
Willow could hear Faith sobbing at the other side of the line. What was happening? She didn’t have the time to analyse the situation further as a blond storm rushed at her side and snatched the phone out of her hand.
Once she had the phone in her hand, Buffy didn’t pay attention to Willow anymore and directly put the receiver end of the tool to her right ear saying:
“I’m fine!”
A long silence followed Buffy’s statement then, she could hear Faith releasing her breath before hearing the brunette’s voice.
“A…Are you sure?”
Buffy couldn’t miss the concern in her friend’s voice and it humbled her. It was another proof of the trust Faith had put into their new friendship, in this relationship they were slowly building, and Buffy wouldn’t betray this trust, ever.
“Yeah! It took a while to register that I wasn’t in deadland and I checked my body like three times looking for holes but, except a lifelong trauma, I’m five by five.”
Faith chuckled to the use of her trademark retort then added: “God! You got me so scared. I couldn’t stop seeing you hit by the bastard’s arrows.”
Buffy smiled. “I know! I…I kinda felt it!”
“Really? Like in Carcassone?”
“Exactly! And somehow, I knew it was you on the line too. Weird!”
“As you say, girlfriend!”
Buffy was about to reply when she heard another voice, talking to Faith who told her then:
“B? I gotta go now. Calls aren’t allowed this early normally. Guess I freaked them out so bad they decided to give me a special treatment.”
“Too bad! Do you think we’d see each other tonight?”
“Sure! We still have to know what this mess is about. It’ll be a long day, though!”
“Oh yeah!” Buffy said sighing.
“See you tonight, B!”
“See you tonight, F!”
Buffy heard the line go dead and switched her phone off too. She stared at it for a couple of seconds, enjoying the thought of Faith caring enough about her to call here. Then, she heard a cough behind her. She slowly turned around to see resolve face Willow looking at her and even Dawn, arms crossed on her chest with a questioning look in her eyes.
“Erm…Hi girls! How are you doing this morning?”
Neither Willow, nor Dawn answered and, while her sister’s face showed just her interrogation, Resolve face Willow’s remained fix like a stone. Understanding that the redhead wouldn’t drop the subject before, well an eternal time plus a day, Buffy said shyly:
“I…I suppose you want some explanation…”
“Well, duh! Since when are you best buds with your arch-nemesis?” was Willow harsh reply.
Buffy didn’t like the way Willow was taking it and felt a little point of anger start boiling into her stomach. She, more than anybody else, had to understand what Faith had gone through. She, more than anybody else, should understand the importance of a second chance. Faith had changed, the blond slayer had noticed it so many times during the weeks / days she had spent with the brunette recently. Thinking about the last weeks calmed Buffy a little and made her realise also that Willow hadn’t had the chance to meet this new Faith. she managed to extinguish the anger and said:
“Willow, Dawn, it’s a very long story and…”
“And what? You’re going to say you don’t have the time to discuss about it and hope we’ll forget the whole story?”
“NO! I mean, you’re partly right about the “Us not having the time now”. But I was also about to say, before you rudely interrupt me, that we’ll talk about it at noon, the three of us. Sounds good for you, Will? Dawn?”
Dawn nodded, glad that she would be part of the conversation. The two sisters turned their heads towards Willow who, finally, reluctantly, agreed. Then, they took a very quick breakfast before splitting up to their respective rooms. They were all already late for school.
“So, Faithy, you had a bad dream this night? You needed some help from Becky and the other bitch?”
Faith put her fork on her half-full plate and raised her eyes to meet Sharon’s. They were in the middle of the cantina and the other inmates were quickly moving away from the two girls.
Sharon had always hated Faith. Before the brunette’s arrival, she had been the boss of the place, literally terrorising the other prisoners. Everything had changed when Faith had arrived from another prison. Sure, Sharon had tried to subject her to her rules as she had done with the others then, had tried to eliminate her but her attempts had always failed, her minions had always ended in the infirmary and Sharon, herself, had spent time there after a fight with the dark Slayer, losing the face in favour of Faith who had installed new rules that had made the place safer and more enjoyable for everyone…except Sharon of course. Now that the brunette would soon be released, it was as if Sharon had decided to recapture her place at the top.
Faith didn’t say a word, locked her eyes in Sharon’s and waited. A few years before, she would have assaulted the girl and beaten the shit out of her. She wouldn’t do the same now, both because she wasn’t like that anymore and because she wouldn’t compromise her release by getting involved in a fight.
“Cat ate your tongue, girl?”
Normally, when someone lost some teeth and had a few bones broken effortless by a girl, this someone tended to prevent pissing this girl off again! Especially if she had witnessed this same girl lifting the charges Faith had lifted the previous day. Call it being sensible, instinct of survival of whatever but everyone with a brain would act like that. Well, it seemed that there had been a serious lack of brain cells when Sharon came to take hers cause she still came for trouble over and over again.
“I’m talking to you, bitch!”
A last point about Sharon was that she belonged to the really impatient type of girls’ caste and had absolutely no control of her nerves.
“And I don’t listen to you, Shar! Now, get away from me and stop these annoying shrill sounds that come from your mouth, you know, those you’re the only one calling words?”
Faith grinned when she saw Sharon’s rage take form on the girl’s face. She gave a quick glance to Magda and another inmate who quickly understood what she was meaning and moved to hide them from the guards. Sharon wanted a fight and nothing the dark Slayer could do could prevent it. Besides, there was one thing she had to do before leaving the building. Now, she just had to wait for Sharon to move.
She didn’t wait long and easily dodged her opponent fist. She grabbed it and pinned the girl on the table, hear head connecting with her plate half full of meat and vegetables. She then maintained Sharon’s head where it was with her hand and planted her fork only two inches from it before whispering in the terrorised girl’s ear.
“I might be gone tomorrow but I’ll still have ears in this place. Behave or you’ll regret it! Got it?”
Sharon didn’t respond so Faith pushed her head a little more in her plate before repeating calmly: “Got it?”
“Y…yes!”
Satisfied, Faith released the girl and pushed her away. She saw the guards coming to them, they had probably heard something. She slowly took her paper napkin and handed it to Sharon who didn’t take it. The guards finally arrived and asked if everything was alright.
“No big deal, chaps. Sharon just slipped and put some food on her face.” She then looked into Sharon’s eyes and added: “Here, take my napkin and don’t thank me! It was my pleasure.”
Sharon took the napkin, fire in her eyes, hearing the giggles, smirked and chuckles of the other inmates around her. Faith had once again ridiculed her. She saw the brunette stand up and leave the cantina, followed by her supporters.
“And you don’t know why you…time looped?”
“No, Will! We’ve done it twice and still have no idea about it!”
Buffy studied the faces of the two girls sitting in front of her. The were in the Expresso Pump and she had just explained the whole story to them and was now waiting for the shooting questions time that she had expected to follow her tale but, surprisingly, the other girls remained silent for quite a while, a silence that made Buffy a little uncomfortable as she couldn’t guess what her sister and her best friend were thinking. Finally, Willow broke this silence.
“Buffy! Are you really sure they weren’t dreams? I mean I know you still have regrets about the whole stabbing Faith thing and maybe your mind is…”
“Yes, Will, I’m sure they weren’t dreams!” The blonde said cutting Willow. She wasn’t in the mood for a long babbling mode speech her friend was so fond of. “There is no doubt that Faith was there with me as confirmed by her morning call.”
“It’s not the first time you dreamt the same things.” The witch replied still unconvinced, an attitude that irritated Buffy who decided to impress her friend with a irrefutable proof.
“Et mon nouveau niveau de français, il vient d’où? Inspiration divine?”
Dawn and Willow remained speechless. Both were quite good in French and had understood what Buffy had just told them: Where did they think her new level in French came from? She even teasingly suggested that it might have come from divine inspiration. Both knew that Buffy had never been good in French, far from it but, she had just spoken it fluently, effortlessly, without any trace of accent.
Noticing the puzzled looks she was receiving, Buffy continued: “I can tell you something in Old Babylonian too if you want.”
Then, Dawn gave her a huge grin, her famous “That’s so cool” grin while Willow still seemed to digest the information. Finally, the redhead recovered her ability to speak.
“Wow, that was impressive! Is this…”
“A side effect, yeah! At this rate, I’d soon be Earth number one translator gal.”
“And soon, you’ll be the one to give me lessons!”
Buffy shook her head and replied: “Don’t think so, I might have the knowledge but I don’t trust my teaching skills. So, do you believe me now?”
The witch nodded.
“Good! So, I have a favour to ask you. You don’t have classes this afternoon, right?”
Guessing what the blond Slayer would ask her, Willow said: “You want me to check the books and gather as much data as possible about this time loop thing while you’re at school. Right?”
“Yeah but I would have added a “Pretty Please” and a “Thank you, Will, you’re the best” among the sentences. So…you’re in?” Buffy replied sheepishly.
The witch smiled and replied: “Of course, I’m in. That’s what friends are for, help each other!”
Buffy took her friend’s hand in hers, squeezed it before saying: “Thank you!”
“And I’ll help too!”
Buffy turned her head to look at her sister who had just spoken. “I know you will, Dawnie! And I appreciate it.”
The two sisters hugged before being interrupted by Willow’s next sentence.
“Erm, Buffy? We haven’t spoken about…Faith yet and…”
The smile on Buffy’s face disappeared quickly replaced by a determinate expression. “Faith has changed! We made up, she is my friend now and I trust her! End of discussion!”
“Buffy! Be sensible! You’ve only spent two time looping night with her and…”
“Two time looping night that were actually weeks where we were! I’ve had enough time to notice the changes, Will!” Once again, Buffy noticed that her tone was becoming harsher and harsher with each word that left her mouth. Part of her regretted talking to her friend like this but another part wanted to defend Faith at all costs. Willow noticed it and bit her lips, a bit shocked by Buffy’s tone. Without looking at the blonde, she stood up and said: “OK, as you wish, Buff! I hope you’re right! I’m going on research mode. See you later!”
Buffy looked at the retreating redhead, arms crossed on her chest. She debated the idea of calling her back, of apologizing to her but didn’t do it. She wasn’t in the mood and knew that she could easily hurt Willow with her words if they argued again.
“That was rude!” Was Dawn’s retort.
“I know!”
“She is just worried about you!”
Buffy sighed and replied: “I know, Dawnie but I…she…it’s hard to explain and we have to go back to school so, we don’t have the time now. “ Buffy stood up and moved towards the exit to pay for their meals. Dawn stayed on her chair a little bit longer, thinking. The current situation was reminding her the time when Faith had first showed up. She and Willow had never been close, far from it. It was as if they were both competing to spend some time with Buffy…And now Buffy seemed to care about Faith even more than back then which seemed to bother Willow like a lot. She didn’t appreciate this déjà vu feeling at all. The younger Summers sighed and stood up, hoping that things wouldn’t turn as bad as they had turned three years before.
Faith was laying on her bunk, looking at the sunset through the barred window, a satisfied smile on her lips. Finally, the night was coming. She had waited for this moment for hours, the afternoon had just been a long, boring and long Calvary. Seconds seemed to last minutes, minutes seemed to last hours and hours…the brunette had thought that she was becoming mad for waiting, even physical exercises didn’t help her. She wanted to go travel wherever the next time loop would lead her and find Buffy there.
The thought of the blonde brought a smile on her lips, questions too. Questions about her true feelings for her friend. There had been a lots of flirting in Carcassone, both from Buffy and her and this flirting was way different from those they had done in the past, in Sunnydale. This flirting wasn’t meant to tease, their feelings were really on the verge of leaving the friendship border to go to the more than friends one. Or she thought so. After all, she sure wasn’t the most experimented one when feelings were concerned. It had always been “Get done, get gone” with her. But this time, if things went the way she wished they went, it would be different and she was both enjoying and fearing it.
Magda coming into their cell drove her out of her thoughts. She looked at her cellmate who just winked at her then laid on her own bunk. Faith liked the thief. She had been her cellmate for 11 months now and they were getting along very well. Like her, Magda had a strong will and didn’t like to be messing with. She had also a kind of sense of honour that the brunette sometimes envied her. She didn’t feel guilty about her past as a robber, always saying that it was a just a job. It was probably because she had never hurt someone during her activities.
“It was very cool what you did with Sharon earlier. No blood, no bruise, not really a fight but she sure like hell peed in her pants.”
Faith smirked then said: “Intimidation is a strong weapon, Magda! If you just fight and try to impose your views with your strength only, they would fear you but not respect you. You have to use your brain too. Fear and respect are the keys in this hell. Never forget that!”
“I don’t think anyone would have mind if you had beaten her to pulp.”
“She is considered as a loser now, Magda. No one will follow her anymore. if I had beaten her to pulp as you said, it would have meant that I considered her as a real danger and would have given her some credit. Now, she has nothing. And besides, the others will see her everyday and remember what I did to her. It might seems fucking presumptuous but I think my shadow will stick here for a while. I don’t think someone will try to change the rules very soon.”
“Why would you care? You’ll be out!”
“I don’t, mostly. I tried to do my best while I was between these ugly walls. Once out, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. But there are a few people in here I don’t want to get hurt and you’re one of them, Magda. You’ve only four months left so, promise me you’ll be careful!”
“I will, don’t worry! And, I’ll miss you too, Faith.”
“Who said I’ll miss you?” Faith answered jokingly before giving her a paper.
“What is it?”
“The phone number and the address of a friend. If you need anything…”
The thief smiled, folded the paper and put it in her pocket but didn’t thank her, knowing that Faith wouldn’t like this open display of emotion. She just winked at her before hearing the brunette say:
“Now, if you don’t mind, I want to try to get an early sleep.”
“More sleep, less time to think and a quick jump to tomorrow?”
“Not really. I don’t think the jump would be quick but I have a date with someone.”
“Huh?”
Ignoring the curious stare she was having from Magda, Faith closed her eyes and wished the girl a good night.
When Buffy and Dawn went back home, they found Willow completely hidden behind books. The petite Slayer had a bit apprehended to see the witch again. The events of the Pump were still present in her mind. The witch saluted them with a smile and, after taking a cold drink in the fridge, the two Summers joined their friend who asked them:
“No news from Xander?”
Buffy was the one to reply: “I saw him around 1PM, at the building site. He said that he’d be happy to help but his bosses asked him to attend a late meeting and he doubted he could come.”
“Too bad! Another pair of eyes would be helpful!”
“Found something?"
“Yes! I’ve checked the names you gave me. You know your past identities and Faith’s.”
“And?” The question came from the two sisters at the same time.
“According to the Watcher files, there was indeed a Slayer called Nazra in Babylon. She was described as undisciplined by her first watcher, a guy named Sirius. She had three different watchers by the way: Sirius, Sidouf and the last one was a woman, Rana, I think you know her too.”
“Flesh and spirit!”
“Madeleine Baulieu lived indeed in Carcassone and was indeed found dead in 1355, right after the English attack of the city.”
“See? That confirms that I’ve time looped two nights in a row.”
“I agree and that’s what worried me, Buffy! Times loops are tricky things, it can be really dangerous.”
“Dangerous how? I mean I died in Carcassone and woke up in my own XXIst century bed, safe, with some white hair but safe.”
“That’s the point, Buffy! I don’t think you “died” in Carcassone.”
“Well, I sure saw the arrows coming mach 10 speed on me.”
“But you didn’t feel their impact?”
“No, but…”
“Buffy! Don’t you think you would have remembered the pain, especially if it was the last thing Madeleine felt?”
“I…don’t know!”
“Buffy, what I will ask you now will bring back hard memories but…when you sacrificed yourself to close the portal, when we…resurrected you, did you remember the pain of the fall?” Willow felt the tears coming to her eyes and saw them coming to Buffy’s and even Dawn’s. These were memories that none of them wanted to remember but this time, it was important. She could see the blonde struggling with her thoughts before nodding, her cheeks watering because of the tears.
“That’s what I thought. The books I’ve read mentioned that should the traveller die in his/her host body, his/her spirit would die too. The host would die and the only thing that would remain from the traveller would be his/her body, alive in a vegetable kind of way.”
Succeeding in controlling her emotion, an intrigued Buffy asked: “But…what happened in Carcassone, then? You said that Madeleine did die that day and Faith, she saw me/her die.”
“I think your spirit travelled back to your body right before the impact, saving you in the process. And, yes, I think Faith really saw Madeleine die! She just travelled back a few seconds after you. As this demon, Gerro, said to you, the forces that are sending you to these periods need lots of energy to perform it. I don’t think they are powerful enough to make you travel at the exact same time.”
“And who or what is playing time yoyo game with Buffy and Faith? Have you any idea, Will?” Dawn asked.
“No! Time loops are both rare and unexplainable. Sorry! There is a reason for these time loops, Buffy. And, I’m afraid that the only way to find it out is…”
“To play the yoyo time game as Dawn said when she was mimicking Xander.”
“Hey, I was not mimicking him. It was a 100% Dawn Summers joke.”
“And now, I’m getting very worried about you!” Buffy replied with a malicious look in her eyes.
The sisters shared a smile then, Buffy checked her watch and said: “OK, time to eat something. I’ll cook something while…” Seeing the panicked looks she was receiving from the two other girls, she quickly changed her mind and said: “I’ll order pizza, OK?”
Dawn and Willow agreed, relieved before Buffy continued: “Then I’ll go make a quick patrol before my next “journey.”
“Our next journey!”
Buffy turned her head towards the witch who had just spoken: “What do you mean by our?” The blonde asked, already knowing the answer she’d receive.
“I’m coming with you tonight. I can't stop the time loop thing but I sure found a spell to join you.”
“Look, Willow, I really appreciate but…”
“NO, Buffy! This could be really dangerous and I’m not gonna let you land in another period on your own.”
“Hello! I’ve already done it twice and I won’t be on my own! Faith will be there too.”
“And is it supposed to make me feel better?”
Buffy’s eyes went wide when she realised the implications of what Willow had just told her. “That’s what it is all about! God, Will, I thought I made myself clear: Faith is my friend and I trust her!”
“And I’m not! I know what it is to choose the dark path, I know how hard it is to come back, I fight its whispered temptations every day and…”
“I know all of that! But Faith has changed. You haven’t even seen her and are already condemning her. YOU! You more than anyone should know the importance of a second chance. You, more than anyone has no right to judge her.”
“I…I…”
“You…you what?”
The two friends were now only inches apart and all Dawn could do was to stare at them. She had never witnessed such a verbal fight between the two friends with the exception of the time when Willow had lost her mind and it scared her because she knew that if she didn’t intervene, things would go bad.
“ENOUGH!”
The two best friends looked at Dawn, then, realised how far both of them had gone, they moved away, unable to look at each other, feeling guilty and hurt at the same time.
“I’m supposed to be the teenager here but today, hell, I feel much older than both of you! Look at you! You, Buffy, reviving things Willow regrets with all her soul and using it to hurt her. And you, Willow, falling back to your own jealousy about Faith and refusing to even let her a chance. You know Buffy, know she wouldn’t say that Faith has changed without believing in it. So, why don’t you just trust her and wait to see the changes by yourself?”
The two women remained still, lost in their thoughts. They could still feel their anger inside of them and knew that they weren’t ready to talk to each other yet. Buffy knew that she had gone too far but also that she was right about Faith. Still, she wanted to make the first step, not willing to damage the relationship she had with this woman she considered as her sister.
“You can come with me, Will! And you’ll see that Faith has changed.” She then turned her head towards Dawn. “I’m going on patrol. Order the pizza, I’ll eat it when I’ll be back.” She then made her way towards the exit and whispered a “Thank You” to her sister when she passed in front of her. She moved towards the hall but stopped just before leaving the living room to say: “I’m sorry, Will! I shouldn’t have said the things I spat on you!” Then, she left.
The redhead looked at her friend leaving the room then heard the front door being slammed roughly. She had wanted to apologise too but the words didn’t come out of her mouth. She wiped her tears from her cheeks, looked at Dawn before going to her room. She had things to prepare for the spell.
Usually, Magda had no problem to fall asleep. She just had to close her eyes and Bam that was done. This night was different though, it was the last night in jail for Faith! The next day, she would leave the place and Magda would be all alone. Alone in this place where one existence depended on who this one is friend with. Being buddies with Faith had been mostly fun for Magda who really liked the brunette. But she wasn’t blind either and knew that belonging to Faith’s circle had helped her avoid problems too and now that Faith was about to leave, Magda wondered if she would be able to avoid them again. She had played it tough with Faith earlier, telling her that she would be OK without her, she didn’t want to spoil Faith’s joy of being release especially now that she seemed happy, happier than Magda had ever seen her. No, she would be strong for her, even if she was a bit scared about the future.
Magda looked a last time to Faith. The dark Slayer was asleep now and she was smiling. Magda didn’t remember having ever noticed Faith smiling in her dreams. She had to be in the middle of a good dream, maybe she was dreaming about this date she had talked about before closing her eyes. Wishing Faith sweet dreams even if it was a bit too late, Magda tried again to get some sleep.
Dawn was looking at her sister and Willow, laying on the Slayer’s bed, apparently sleeping, thinking about the last events and especially the verbal fight between the two friends. When Buffy had come back from patrol, Willow had just finished preparing the ingredients for the spell. At that moment, Dawn had hoped that the two women would have talked, or that Willow would have excused herself as Buffy had done. Instead, the two of them had just spoken about the spell and what would happen after. Just a professional conversation. Then, once everything had been checked, they had climbed the stairs, gone in Buffy’s room where Willow had linked her spirit with Buffy’s before closing their eyes.
Dawn had tried to convince them to take her with them but they had both refused. It might have been the only time they had really agreed on something. Their explanations had been convincing though. They hadn’t said that it was because it was very dangerous or because she was too young and Dawn was grateful for that. No, they had just said that they needed someone to keep an eye on them. They needed someone awake in the house in case something turned bad. And, as Xander wouldn’t be here before a few hours, as Willow was the only one capable of creating the spiritual bond with Buffy, she was the only one present to fulfill this role.
So, now, she was sitting on a chair, watching the two sleeping beauties and worrying. Worrying because who knew what kind of dangers they would face but also hoping. Hoping that they would break the uneasiness that they had built around them and talk about their issues. Hoping that their friendship wouldn’t suffer because of this mess.
When Buffy woke up, she was completely covered by sheets that wasn’t hers. She smiled, knowing that she would see Faith soon. Then, she noticed a presence in the bed with her and, still half asleep, she called for the person she thought was there with a happy tone in her voice. “Faith?”
As soon as she had said it, she knew that it wasn’t the brunette that was laying next to her, she could feel it. It was another thing the Slayers had discovered during their journeys: they could feel each other’s presence and use this feeling as a signal to call or find the other. Buffy could indeed sense Faith…close but not here. So, she slowly put her head out of the sheets to stare at her “roommate”. It was Willow, fully awaken and looking at her with a puzzled look on her face. Immobile, Buffy waited for a retort about her calling for Faith as soon as she was awake but didn’t receive any. Grateful for that, Buffy decided to change the subject.
“Hey Will! Feel well?”
The witch looked around her and replied: “Strangely, I felt relaxed when I opened my eyes. Then, I remembered the whole time loop thing and the fact that I don’t know where or when I was kinda ruined the mood. Oh, and I forgot the who I was which was really the total ruining mood thingy.”
“You were the one who wanted to tag along!”
Willow sighed and nodded. “I know but theory seemed much more fun that practice.”
“Can’t say you’re wrong but you’ll see, the adaptation is quite quick.”
“So, what’s next?”
“Step one, have a look outside through the window. It would probably help us figure the period out!”
They stood up and walked to the huge and only window of the room and analysed the surroundings of the building they were in. There was an harbour in the background where a dozen of ships were anchored. Smaller boats seemed to transport men from the ships to the ground and vice versa. Between their “house” and the harbour, there was a small city with narrow streets. Palm trees were visible everywhere.
“XVIth or XVIIth century!” Willow said.
“Huh? How do…”
“Well, the palm trees are proofs that were aren’t in Europe or Asia. We aren’t in Africa either cause it’s not African style buildings, no matter the period. So, my guess is that we are in North, Centre America or Caribbean islands.”
“I knew that but why the XVIth or the XVIIth century?”
“Well, the ships correspond to the ones used right after the colonial times, when English, French, Spanish or even Dutch were fighting for colonies. The houses are made of bricks and not wood like in the beginnings of the colonial times. So, it’s post XVth century. So, my bet is that we are in the XVIth or the XVIIth century.”
Buffy looked at her friend quite impressed. “Wow! I never would have found it so quickly. Good job, Will!”
“See having me around when you’re stuck in a place you have no idea about can be useful!”
Willow regretted having said that as soon as the words had left her mouth. She knew that it would remind Buffy about their fight and knew that she hadn’t apologised about it yet like Buffy. She saw the blonde tensed a bit before replying with a weak smile.
“Yeah!”
“Buffy! I…I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t want to…it’s just that I’m worried and want to help you.”
“I know Will! And I appreciate!” Buffy seemed lost in her thought then and Willow was about to ask what she was thinking about when Buffy spoke again.
“I know you don’t trust Faith, Will! I do and, well, before we continue investigate this place, I want you to promise me to let her a chance to convince you she has changed. Promise me, Will! Please!"
The redhead looked at her friend and nodded. She had thought about it while preparing the stuffs for the spell and had made her decision. Buffy had been right! Who was she to judge Faith? What she had done recently proved that she wasn’t really a better person than the rogue Slayer. She was still worried about the new influence the brunette seemed to have on Buffy but she was here with the blonde, to protect her if necessary. So, yes, she would give Faith a chance but she would keep her eyes open too.
Willow was rewarded by a bright smile, a thank you and a quick hug from Buffy before the two friends separated, checked the wardrobe for clothes before heading towards the door to leave the room. The only problem was that the door was closed and there was no key on their side of the room. They were locked! And the terrible truth came to their minds, they were prisoners in this house.
A ship! Faith had just woken up and she was on a damn ship again. There was no doubt about it! She could feel the rolling and hear the waves crushing on the bottom it. The first think that came to her mind was the serious lack of originality of whoever took pleasure in sending her in past periods with this time loop shit. Twice out of three, she had been waking up on a ship. Sure, if she had opened her eyes and found Buffy laying next to her like in Carcassone, she wouldn’t have complained, some sorts of lack of originality were way much enjoyable that others but, unfortunately, she hadn’t and now, she would have to search the cute little blonde by herself. Hell, why not? It could be fun.
She stood up and analysed her surroundings, a compulsory first step when you try to discover where, when and who you are! At least, she had slept in a real bed and not a home made one as in Babylon.
She was in a cabin, large and quite comfy. She could see some navigational maps on the desk that was on the left of the bed. Lots of paper were on the floor or on the desk itself. Apart from the bed, the papers and the desk, there wasn’t much in the cabin except a painting representing a boat (yeah, lack of originality, episode II) and a costume hanging next to a door. Looking at herself, she noticed that she had slept in the nude, something the girl she had taken the body and her had in common, well, at least when the brunette wasn’t in jail.
She went closer to the costume and grinned, remembering some pirate movies she used to watch when she had been younger. It was a silly memory, yes, but when you were a kid forced to live a life that was far from being a paradise, living on a boat to go wherever you wanted was synonym to an independence and a freedom you so wished to have. Shaking her head, she focused her attention on the costume again. It was similar to the ones the captain had worn in these movies and, like a child realising one of his dreams, she quickly dressed then looked at what she looked like in the mirror that was fixed on the door. Her grin grew wider, it was as if the costume had been tailor made for her. She looked good in it and couldn’t wait to see Buffy’s face when she would see her in this outfit.
Turning her head to the right, she spotted a window and moved towards it. She hadn’t even noticed it before because of the magnetic attraction the costume had had on her. Glancing outside, the brunette saw that she was indeed on a ship parked in the middle of other ships. She could also see an island with a harbour and a city, a city where Buffy was, she could sense her. Remembering the papers on the desk, she was about to walk to analyse them when she noticed the flags that were flapping on the tops of every ships she could see. They were all the same. The “Jolly Roger”, the pirates black flag! The coolness of this journey quickly vanished from Faith’s mind. Real pirates meant not good, not good at all.
Husa looked outside of the temple. She could see the sun high in the sky. It had always been the only thing she regretted about being a vampire, feeling the hot kiss of the sun on her face, she who had enjoyed it so much during her childhood in Babylon. But she had also been a shy, weak and abused child in Babylon, and she had no intention of getting back to this state. Being a vampire had been her only way out, her chance and she thanked fate about it every day, or rather night.
She made a U-turn and entered deeper into the temple, feeling the draughts gliding inside her dress that was her only clothes, feeling the perfectly shaped stones under her bare feet. She was in awe in front of this pyramidal structure that was her lair now. These Mayan had reached a architectural level that constantly amazed her. Too bad she couldn’t meet them anymore, she would have liked to chat with them. Intelligent people to talk to were so rare in these days. This culture intrigued her so much, their arts, their worship of blood and sacrifices, these guys had everything to make a vampire’s unlive a heaven. But they were gone now and nothing could change that!
She finally reached the central room. Clovis was there, filling her bath in with the blood it had gathered, virgin’s blood. It may sound clichéd but it was the only blood effective for the ritual. She smiled a little, the demon was doing its duty with so much zeal, so much devotion. She remembered their first meeting, when the demon was only a child, more than 400 years before. So much time had passed by, they had shared so much adventures. Her servants, her faithful demon, the only being she really trusted.
The demon should have noticed her presence as it was now looking at her, smiling too. It was her only lackey allowed to smile to her, the only one. She smiled back and listened to what it had to say.
“The bath will be ready in a few seconds milady!”
“Keep it at temperature, Clovis. It seems that our guests are a little bit earlier than expected.”
The demon stood up and asked: “You want me to hide? Just in case?”
“No, my dear! Stay at my side and keep an eye on the bath. There won’t be any problem!”
“As you wish!” The demon bowed its head and they both remained silent till their guests arrived.
They didn’t wait long, five minutes later, another of Husa’s lackeys entered the room, followed by demons, veritable shadows. Their skins were obsidian as were their clothes. Their faces were so dark that it was almost impossible to notice their features or even nostrils if these demons had such things. Even their teeth were black. The only thing that wasn’t dark with these shadows were their ocean blue eyes, otherwise nothing could distinguish a demon from another. The only exception being the one in the middle of the group, it had a golden necklace, the symbol of her leading status. Its name was Talnoc, leader of the Quarset demons. Talnoc bowed its head to salute Husa who did the same.
“It’s a pleasure to see you in my temple, lord Talnoc. Did you have a nice trip?”
“Fortunately yes! Your temple isn’t far from my own residence so, it was very quick.”
“Glad to hear it!”
Noticing the bath, Talnoc continued: “I’m sorry, we are a little bit early, I just couldn’t wait any longer.”
“Oh, it’s nothing! It can wait a little longer. It’s one of the side effect of being a vampire, I have to bath in virgin’s blood every 50 years.”
“Is it necessary?”
“Well for me, yes! You see, vampires tend to develop animal like features when they age. Usually, they don’t mind! Hell, look at Kakistos, he is younger than me and his has cloven hand. I do mind! I like my perfect body just fine, I like to see this mixture of desire and fear when I walk to my victims.”
“I don’t want you to delay your necessary virgin bath any longer, my friend. I suggest we proceed to the exchange then, I’ll leave you to your ablutions.”
“That’s very gentle of you, Lord Talnoc. Clovis!”
The yellow skinned demon nodded, disappear to another room then came back, an old manuscript in its hands.
“The Prophecies of Talgon the Leper, as promised.”
Husa could see the demon’s eyes literally glued on the book. She smiled inwardly. She didn’t need that book anymore. It had taken 4 generations of specialists but she had its translation now. The vampire saw Clovis giving the book to Talnoc who quickly check it before signing to one of its minions that had stayed in the back. The demon walked towards Clovis, a urn in its hands. Clovis took it and regained its position, at Husa’s side.
“Freshly harvested as you wished!”
Husa opened the urn, smelt the liquid contained in it, savouring its overwhelming scent. She had never tasted it but knew that it was like hydromel, a God’s drink.
“It’s always a pleasure to make business with you, Lord Talnoc.”
“I return you the compliment, Lady Husa! Maybe our paths would cross again one day…”
“Maybe!”
The demon and the vampire bowed their head, then split. Talnoc and its demons leaving the place, Husa and Clovis staying. A few minutes later, Husa’s demon was back and confirmed that their guests had left the temple. Then, Husa spoke for the first time since the end of the meeting.
“God! I hate this guy!”
She felt Clovis strong hands on her shoulders as the demon was undressing her for her bath.
“Then, why were you so gentle with it? Usually, when you hate someone, you don’t mind telling him.”
Her dress fell on the ground and Husa made her way to the bath, still feeling Clovis hands on her shoulders even if the demon had long removed them from there. She liked the demon’s hands and thought that she would probably ask him to massage her shoulders and back while she was bathing. The demon was a damn good massager.
“There aren’t many creatures older than me on Earth, Clovis! Talnoc being one of them, I’d rather keep my feelings for myself.”
She entered the bath and sat down in it while Clovis said: “But I thought, I mean, you told me that its current plans could jeopardise your own projects, milady.”
She smiled at it and answered: “Yes, it must be stopped. Would you mind massaging my shoulders, dear?”
The demon moved behind its mistress and began its task. “Do you want me to take care of this?”
Husa had closed her eyes, focusing on the relaxing feeling the combination of the bath and the massage was giving her.
“No, Talnoc isn’t an idiot. Idiots don’t live that long. You could succeed, don’t get me wrong, I know what you are capable of but you can die to and reliable and efficient servants aren’t common these days. I don’t want to lose you.”
The demon smiled with pride then spoke again.
“So, how are you planning to stop it?”
“I have a plan, dear! Never heard the adage that says that the enemy of my enemy is my friend?”
The demon was about to reply when it saw its mistress hand signing it to shut up.
“No more question, Clovis. Concentrate on your task now.”
The demon nodded and Husa let herself completely sink in the feelings brought by the massage.
Buffy massaged her sore shoulder once more. When she had realised that they were locked in the room, she had reacted on instinct and tried to smash it down, in vain. The door hadn’t even moved, hadn’t even a bump and, the more frustrating thing was that it was the regular kind of doors. It helped her discover something though. She wasn’t a Slayer in this period. And Willow probably reached the same conclusion as she asked:
“So, if you’re not the Slayer…”
“…Faith is! It has always been like this. Only one of us is the Slayer in this time loops which is normal cause there hadn’t been two Slayers at the same time before us.”
“So we’re trapped here! The question is why?”
“The question? Will, we’ve just landed here and, believe me, there will be a lot of questions that would come over and over again. It’s like a living quiz show, a much more dangerous and creepy quiz show than the usual ones.”
“So? What’s next?”
“Do you think the sheets can hold our weights?”
“Erm, Buffy, the sheets thing only work in movies!”
“OH!”
Suddenly, they heard steps coming from behind the locked door. Instinctively, they moved away from it and waited, wondering who was coming. There was the noise of a key turning in the lock then, they saw three men coming inside, wearing corsairs outfits, two of them had guns in their hands. The third one, who had a huge scar crossing his face, spoke then.
“I have bad news for you, lady Morgath! Your father refused the pay any ransom for you and your maid, here. The only thing he gave my messenger was this letter. I found the reading both funny and interesting.”
The man gave the letter to Buffy then continued: “You have to understand that I can’t continue to look after you now that I’m sure I won’t be remunerate for my efforts.”
“W…what do you mean?”
Turning his attention towards Willow who had just asked the question, the man answered: “Simple! Tonight, I’ll have two slaves to sell.” He gave a sign to one of his men who went out but quickly came back with their breakfast or what they supposed to be their breakfast. Then, without any other word, they left the room, locking the door behind them.
Willow watched her friend read the letter. The blond Slayer didn’t seem worried about the situation while Willow couldn’t think about anything else. They were at the mercy of some slave sellers wannabees, lost in a period and a place they have no idea about AND without their respective powers, and Buffy remained as calm as a lake. She should be trying to find a way out. Who cared about this stupid letter?
“Buffy! We have to get out of here!”
The petite blonde raised her head and looked at her friend. She had felt the distress in the redhead’s voice. She smiled at her and, in a comforting tone, she said: “Keep calm, Will! You’re supposed to be the sensible one here! You know that panic won’t help us.”
“Yeah but, we’re kinda in a hurry here! Future prospects don’t match with the me being a slave thing.”
“I know but look around us! What could we do now? We’re trapped in a room that is way too high for us to try jumping through the window! Have you seen the guards downstairs, there are too many of them, we wouldn’t go far without our powers.”
“So, what do you propose? Try nothing?”
Buffy put her hands on the witch shoulders and replied: “They won’t let us locked here! They would need us for the sell! Hell, we’re the products they are selling. They need us there. When they’ll come to pick us up, we’ll escape!”
“How?”
“Well, my friend, we have a whole day to build our plan. In the meantime, let’s eat, Maureen!”
“Maureen?”
Buffy smiled to the interrogative look she was receiving from her friend. She showed her the letter and said: “That’s your name, Maureen! I’m Angelique Morgath, daughter of a wealthy British noble. According to the letter, I’m not the perfect daughter he wished I were. I ran away from home and embarked in a ship to the New World to begin a new life, my faithful maid Maureen with me. Guess our ship had been assaulted by the pirates who discovered my identity and asked a ransom to my father.”
“Who didn’t take the you running away thing that well!”
“Yeah! Anyway, let’s eat. We still have a plan to find.”
Faith stormed out of her cabin and walked on the bridge, on the left of the helm. In front of her, she had a view of the whole ship but she didn’t pay any attention to it. Spotting the closest man, she ran to him. The man, seeing the brunette come to him, gulped loudly before greeting her.
“Hello, captain! Nice day, isn’t it?”
Faith didn’t reply and, in a nervous tone, asked him: “I need a boat!”
“But, captain, I thought you…”
The man didn’t have the time to end his sentence. Faith’s right hand grabbed him by the throat and she lifted him effortlessly. The man felt his feet leave the floor and his neck began to hurt like hell. Then, the dark Slayer let him go and he landed at her feet with a loud noise. On his butt, his hand massaging his throat, the man heard Faith say in a tone that brought shivers down his spin: “I said I need a boat!”
Forgetting about his pain, focusing on the fear this woman was causing in him, the man scramble to his feet and ran towards the safety boats that were hanging above the water.
“Right away, captain.”
Five minutes later, Faith sat on a boat while her crew was descending her to the ocean. Once she reached the surface, she began to row her way towards the island. She had refused the propositions of her men to come with her and row for her. She needed to row, needed to spend some energy; needed some time alone to digest the data she had just learned.
As she was approaching the land, she slowly calmed down. It should be right after noon. Damn, she had read this book the whole morning. God, she was still so anxious and her little show with the sailor wasn’t helping at all. Her mind drove her back to the book, the ship’s log of Demona Nau, captain of the “Purple Mermaid”, her ship. Yes, she was this Demona Nau, she had compared their writings and there was no doubt about it, as there was no doubt about the fact that she was the Slayer in this period, which was bad news.
Bad news indeed and she had never thought she would think that one day. At first, she had found that Demona was a cool name. Then, while reading the log, she had discovered how the name suited the girl. Demona Nau was cruel, sadistic and commanded her crew thanks to fear and her Slayer’s powers. No one dared to contradict her, even the other pirates seemed afraid of her. But assuming Demona’s identity wasn’t the worse for Faith. Normally, after a couple of pages, Faith would have stopped the readings of the horrible facts written in the log, with details that would have shocked even Hannibal Lecter. But she hadn’t been able to stop, part of her liked to read these horrors and this part wasn’t Faith’s, it was Demona’s, the brunette was sure of it and it scared her. It was as if the pirate was trying to gain her body back and Faith had all the pain in the world to keep her under control as proved by the squeezing the guy’s throat incident. If she had let “Demona” continue, she would surely have broken his neck.
Faith continued to row, trying to forget about the internal struggle that was raging inside of her and concentrate on the only thing that seemed to clear her mind recently, the image of Buffy.
A little bit later, as the sun was at its zenith above the harbour, a man, wearing black clothes walked in the streets of Tortuga. He had just disembarked from one of the boat and visited the city. It was one of the first things his tutor had taught him when he had begun his formation at the Council: always study the city you were staying in so you’ll always know where you are going to or running away from. The guy was a senior member and he, Gawain Hellword, had been lucky to have him as teacher. His lessons would be of great help from him here, in Tortuga, fatherland of all the pirates of the Caribbean.
Gawain’s knowledge about this island wasn’t big. All he knew what that it was the meeting point of the pirates of the Caribbean seas and that it had resisted all invasion’s attempts from the nations that had colonies in this part of the world. A dangerous place to live for anyone. Fortunately, his stay would be short…he hoped it would be the shortest possible.
While discussing their escape plan, Buffy and Willow quickly agreed that waiting for the night wasn’t such a bright idea after all. The pirates weren’t fools and they would probably be extra careful when they would come to pick them up. Trying something then would be suicidal and should only be tempted in the last resort. Unfortunately for them, they hadn’t been able to find any plan that could work…at least until they had heard voices in the yard below their window. Hearing it, they had listened to the conversation and saw the pirate in chief and some of his men leave the house for a quick check on his boat. The pirates seemed ready to embark for a raid the next morning.
Their kidnaper leaving the place with some of his men had completely changed the situation. There was just one guard on duty in the yard now and probably just a few in the house making an escape possible. So, they were now ready to welcome the guards who would bring them their lunch. They knew that they would come, they had heard the Buffy and Willownaper in chief order it to one of his men. Thirty minutes later, their patience was rewarded when they heard footsteps in the hall. Willow tightened her grip on the painting she had in her hands while Buffy did the same with the lamp she was holding. Their eyes were glued on the sheets and clothes they had gathered in front of the door.
They heard the steps stop, a key was inserted into the lock and soon, someone pulled the door open. Usually, doors opened by pushing them to the interior of the room. This door didn’t belong to the general standard doors catalogue as it opened by pulling it to the exterior, something Buffy and Willow had discovered while scanning the place, something that was pivotal in their plan.
They soon saw the gun the first guard had in his hand, then, they saw his eyes grow wide when he noticed that they had improvised weapons in their hands. He quickly made his way inside the room to aim the gun to them and prevent them to make any move. That was what the girls were waiting for. Too focused on them and the threat they were representing, the guard didn’t look at his feet and stumbled over the sheets and clothes, taking the second guard, the one who was bringing them the food on a plate, in his fall. The two of them tried to stand up but the girls were already on them. Buffy used the lamp to knock the first man down while Willow immobilized the second by crashing the painting around him. Surprised, the guard tried to release himself but hadn’t the time to as Buffy’s lamp connected with his head. Unconscious, he fell on the floor, next to his colleague. Buffy and Willow didn’t lose any time and, after grabbing the guns, they quickly exited the room.
Once outside, the two girls carefully and silently went downstairs. They hadn’t met any guards yet but there was still the hardest part to do: getting the hell away of the house. Spotting a door that led to the yard, they slowly approached it. There was a small glazed opening in the door so they could see the yard without opening it. As they had already seen from the bedroom, there was only one guard in the yard.
They waited a moment till the guard was out of sight then; they opened the door and moved out. They rushed to a wall that would hide them from the guard and waited for the moment he would pass next to them, a moment that soon arrived. The poor guard didn’t even heard them approaching, he was soon laying on the ground unconscious. The two girls then ran their asses off towards the exit and were soon in the streets of Tortuga. The delicious feeling of freedom made them smile to each other but, the smile quickly disappeared when they heard a voice behind them saying:
“The prisoners! They escaped!” recognizing the voice as the one of their kidnaper, the blonde and the redhead didn’t looked behind, knowing that he would chase them with his men, and ran away. Damn, he had been quick to check his ship.
After a few minutes, they still could hear the men running behind them, they even seemed closer than the minute before. Their muscles hurt and they knew that they wouldn’t be able to keep the rhythm much longer. They took a street to their left, hoping they would find some place to hide but they didn’t, instead, they found the fear of every prisoner who tried to lose followers, a dead-end! They turned around but it was too late, the pirates were already there, grinning, showing their lack of dental hygiene. The leader took some time to catch his breath then said:
“Well, well, well! That was a heck of a chase! Woo! You know you’ve been bad, ladies! You’re lucky I need you intact for tonight, otherwise…” He didn’t finish his sentence, he didn’t have to, and the girls had understood the message.
The two fugitives aimed their guns at him, a move that just made him grin.
“Ladies! Ladies! You’ve only four shots in these two guns and, if I trust my eyes, there are a dozen of us! You can’t kill us all, you can’t escape, drop your guns and I swear no one will hurt you!”
Buffy who was still analysing the possibilities said: “Maybe but, if you don’t let us go, you’ll be among the dead pirates gang!”
“And you’ll be dead before I touch the ground. My men are very skilled gunner you know? And, for your information, I don’t fear death! I fight her every time I assault a ship. I need you alive and in perfect state for tonight but, remember, if I’m not alive anymore, I won’t be able to protect you against my men’s wrath.” Without waiting for the girls answer, the pirate nodded to one of his men, a giant with so many protuberant muscles that it was nauseating. The man walked towards them and extended his hand to grab Buffy.
The blonde closed her eyes and dropped her gun, soon followed by Willow. Since the kidnaper had arrived here, she had looked for an opening but had found nothing. They had failed. She waited for the giant hand to touch her, already shivering from disgust but didn’t felt anything. Instead, she heard a yelp of pain. She opened her eyes and saw the giant holding his right hand with his left one. It was bleeding which was quite normal when you had a knife stuck in it.
It took a few seconds for everyone to register what had just happened, then, a female voice resounded in the dead-end street.
“Can I have my knife back, please? I kinda like it!”
Willow instantly recognized the voice and, if she hadn’t, the smile that had appeared on Buffy’s lips when she had heard it would have helped her. The two ex-prisoners raised their heads and saw Faith walking in the middle of the assembly of pirates. Then, their eyes moved to the kidnapers leader when he said, his voice full of hatred:
“Demona!”
“That’s my name, cheesy breath! Gosh, never heard of peppermints!” She said when she was only inches away from him, illustrating her point in moving her hand before her nose.
The guy kept his calm but the hatred in his tone was even more noticeable. “Mind you own business, Demona. These girls are mine! They are my slaves.”
“I object! These girls are friends of mine, not slaves.”
The leader smirked: “Friends? You have no friends, Demona! You don’t even know the meaning of this word.”
Faith could feel her anger grow in her body…and Demona’s. She had to fight the urge to stick her sabre in the guy’s guts and it was becoming harder and harder with every passing minute. Fortunately, a new voice irrupted them, driving her attention away from this anger. A man, in his fifties slowly made his way amongst the pirates and finally stopped in front of Faith and her “talking buddy”. The other freebooters seemed to pay a great deal of respects to the man.
“Demona! Do you hold your position and affirm that these women (he showed Buffy and Willow with his index) are your friends?”
Faith nodded.
“Well, according to the freebooting rules, No Mercy Bill earns these women.”
“You bet I am! She is just trying to steal them from me! She has just disembarked from her last raid, these girls are mine for two months. If they were really her friends, why didn’t she tried to rescue them before?”
“I was supposed to pick them up in some island next to Jamaica. As they weren’t there, I came back here, just in time it seems!” Faith said, hoping her lie would sound true enough.
“You’re lying, bitch!”
Faith clenched her teeth, trying to control the urge again. Once done, an idea came to her mind. Looking at the guy who was standing between her and No Mercy Bill, she said: “You know me, right? Am I the kind of gal who ransoms people or keeps hostages?”
The man chuckled and replied: “Not really! You never let people alive in your raids, Demona! We all know it!”
“Then, why am I here if these two aren’t my friends?”
Bill wanted to say something but was silenced by the other man.
“A point for you, Demona! And it’s the reason why I believe you! And as pirate’s friends couldn’t be slaves…” That statement calmed Faith/Demona’s anger a little but it quickly came back when she heard the end of the guy’s sentence. “However, according to our rules, Bill had rights on them too. So, the only way to solve this dilemma is a duel, I’m afraid! And, as the offended, Bill can choose the weapons.”
A smile crosses the pirate’s face when he replied: “Sabre!”
Once the choice of the weapon made, the crowd that had been silent till that point burst into cheers and screams of excitement. A duel! That would be some show for them.
Faith nodded to Bill then, made her way towards her fellow Slayer and the witch while removing her jacket and the gun that was hanging on her belt. She had felt satisfaction when the duel had been announced and, once again, it wasn’t her who was satisfied. She sighed, looked at Buffy whose worried look somewhat soothed her. She gave her jacket to the blonde, winking to her then, took her sabre and went to the middle of the street, facing Bill and his sabre, knowing that she had to be careful. If the guy had chosen the sabre as weapon, it wasn’t by chance. He probably knew how to use it.
Buffy wanted to say something to encourage Faith but the words couldn’t leave her mouth, blocked by the lump in her throat. Faith had found her and she was overjoyed by it but she could loose her right away. She didn’t trust the guy she was about to duel with. He was a pirate, who knew which tricks he could use to beat Faith, to kill Faith. Unconsciously, the grip she had on Faith’s jacket tightened as her eyes were glued on the brunette who had become so important to her.
Willow was worried too. She was worried about Faith who was, after all, fighting for their lives but also worried about Buffy. She hadn’t missed any move of her friend since Faith’s arrival, from the smile that had formed on her lips when she had first seen the brunette to the worried expression she was having now while holding Faith’s jacket, as it was her most precious possession. These were signs, signs that seemed to confirm the impression she had had when Buffy had first spoken about Faith, signs she knew very well and she wasn’t sure to like, not sure at all.
Faith’s heart was beating like crazy in her chest. It wasn’t because of the audience or because she feared the duel, after all, her life had been a long and never ending duel between her and fate. No, she just knew that to win the fight, she would have to focus entirely on it. She couldn’t let anything distract her away from it…and among the anythings, there was the keeping Demona’s bloodlust on control thing. She had no other choice and she just wished she, or rather the body she was in, wouldn’t go too far. She saw that Bill was ready for the duel, she had no way out if she wanted to help her friends, she had to fight.
Bill attacked immediately, targeting her head with a wide move of his arm. Faith bowed her head, easily avoiding the sabre. She then dodged and blocked his other assaults with her own sabre. The pirate knew how to use his weapon indeed but his fighting technique consisted in a succession of quick hits that were very exhausting for the attacker. That was a technique that was very effective against an amateur or a slow moving person but not against an experimented fighter or a Slayer. So, Faith continued to dodge and block, waiting for the moment she would notice the first signs of tiredness.
The worried expression that was on Buffy’s face disappeared as she too realised the pirate’s technique and the way Faith had chosen to handle it. A lucky strike was still possible but she was confident in Faith’s victory now, a confidence that was confirmed soon when Faith managed to disarm her opponent. The blonde was about to shout her joy when Faith’s next move sent shivers down her spine.
As soon as she had seen that her counterattack had worked and that Bill’s sabre was flying away from them, Faith felt her body continue its move, ready to behead the guy. A shiver, similar to the one Buffy was feeling at the same time was descending down her spine too, her fears seemed to be confirmed. Somehow, Demona’s anger was taking control of her body. She didn’t have the time to think much though or the guy would loose his head. He might deserve it but it wasn’t Faith’s job to kill him. She quickly jumped backwards, hoping it wasn’t too late as she could see her own wrist rotating to make the final strike.
The sabre hit Bill on the cheeks, sending him in the middle of the barrels that were stocked behind him, a huge cut on his cheek, probably another future scar that would join the first one. Faith then regained control of her body. She was breathing heavily, still half-shocked by what she, her body, had almost done but her face wasn’t showing any sign of the internal turmoil that was hers. She couldn’t let the pirates see her distress.
Willow had seen the shock on Buffy’s face when Faith had begun her last strike, a strike that was no need to be as the brunette had already disarmed her opponent. The witch could only conclude that she had been right to be doubtful about Faith. She hadn’t changed, she was still wild and unreliable. She was still dangerous, especially for Buffy.
Silence ruled the street as the whole crowd was waiting for Faith’s next move. The brunette knew that they were waiting for her to make the final and lethal strike but she wouldn’t. She put her sabre down and said: “I hope he’ll like my little souvenir, he won’t get rid of it before long.” Then, she added louder so everyone would hear her. “And every time you’ll see him and his scar, remember that I don’t like to be messed with.” Then, she walked towards their “judge” who was looking at her, smiling.
“Are they free?”
“They are! You’ve won the duel, they’re yours now!” replied the man who extended his hands to give a knife and a gun to her, the same knife she had thrown to the giant a few minutes before and the gun she had left next to Buffy. She didn’t care how the guy had taken them. She just grabbed them before nodding and moving away to join her friends.
She managed to maintain a cold face but, inside, she was a mess. Since she had decided to let her opponent live, she had felt her body’s anger and frustration decuple. She didn’t know if she would be able to keep it under control any longer. She needed to hit something, scream, anything to kick this rage out of her. She looked straight away, looked into Buffy’s eyes that were staring interrogatively at her. She knew that the blonde was wondering why she had done this to the pirate. She was only two steps away from Buffy when she felt Willow’s hand on her shoulder, the first thought that came to her mind was to tear the witch’s eyes out of their cavities.
“I think that’s close enough!”
She roughly slapped Willow’s hand away while answering her: “That’s none of your business, Red. You’re just a tourist here, a bloody nuisance that hasn’t even been invited for the ride.” It was harsh, Faith knew it but she couldn’t waste her time playing the nice girl with Willow while she was on the verge of loosing her mind. She threw a very unfriendly glance to the redhead, a glance that made her step back then, focused her attention to Buffy.
The petite Slayer didn’t know what to think anymore. It was as if the Faith she had in front of her was a completely different person, different from the one she had time looped twice with, different from her friend, different from the girl she had so deep feelings for.
“B…I…I need to talk to you, alone!” Faith was clenching her teeth, focusing on the pressure to keep her calm. She needed Buffy’s help and quickly cause she knew that she wouldn’t be able to hold much longer.
Buffy hesitated. She trusted Faith, trusted the Faith she had learned to know in Babylon and Carcassone. But she seemed so different now. Then, she looked in her friend’s chocolate eyes and her heart melt. There was so much fear in them, she seemed so lost. She needed her and Buffy wouldn’t abandon her now. Spotting a bar, she grabbed Faith’s hand and moved towards it. Showing it to Faith with her hand, she said: “Let’s talk inside this bar. I’m sure they have some room for us.”
“But Buffy!”
The blonde didn’t even look back. She just said: “Not now, Willow. Come with us in the bar, then wait for us.”
“But…” The witch replied without conviction, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to change her friend’s mind.
“No buts, Will. I trust her! Just trust me!”
Willow saw them enter the bar and had no other choice but to follow them inside.
Gawain looked at the blonde and the brunette entering the bar. He had witnessed the fight and hadn’t had any problem identifying the brunette as the Slayer. At least he wouldn’t have to search for her in the whole city.
His eyes then locked on the redhead that was following them. She seemed lost in her thoughts, putting a foot before another without noticing her surroundings. She didn’t seem dangerous and, as she had been saved by Demona, she had to get along quite well with the Slayer. Maybe, he would be able to approach Demona through her. After having heard so many horrible things about the brunette, he would prefer by far that another person ask her to grant him an audience. Yes, that was the best and safest way to do it. Taking a deep breath to give him some courage, Gawain followed the redhead in the pub.
The owner of the bar gladly agreed to show them a room where they could be alone. No one seemed to refuse anything to Demona, especially after the show she had given them. He guided them to the first floor and showed them where the room was.
“You’ll be satisfied. It’s my best room, captain, it even has a bath. It’s the small room on the left of the bed. Have a nice time.” The owner left and the Slayers entered the room.
Buffy felt a little bit embarrassed by what the owner had intended with his comments. She mechanically closed the door and turned around to face Faith. She had barely the time to begin her move that Faith was pulling her in a tight hug, a move that made her drop Faith’s jacket she had still in her hands.
“Hold me! Just hold me, please!”
Completely taken aback by Faith’s behaviour, she accepted the embrace and quickly noticed that Faith was shaking like a leaf in a storm. Tears were also falling from her eyes, she could feel them falling on her shoulder. She put her arms around the brunette’s waist and gently rocked her, trying to comfort her. She had lots of questions but knew that she would have to wait to ask them. Now, the only thing Faith needed was her presence.
They stayed in this position for a long time before Buffy felt Faith calm down. She continued to gently rock her. Then, she heard Faith take a deep breath before hearing her say: “I can barely control her, B!”
“Who?” As soon as the words had left her mouth, Buffy understood. “Demona!”
“I can feel her in me! The girl is all rage, B. She wants blood and I don’t know how long I would hold before hurting another guy or worse…ki…killing him.”
Buffy who hadn’t stopped rocking Faith, knowing that it had a calming effect on her, replied: “You’re calmer now, aren’t you? You’ve kept the bitch chained, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, but it is because you are holding me. You’re the only one who can calm me, B. You’re the only one safe with me. I don’t know how I know that but I know that I can’t hurt you, that I wouldn’t let her do any pain to you.”
“Then, you’ll control her, Faith cause I don’t plan of being away from you, ever! If you need me, I’ll be there in a sec.”
Faith slowly pushed Buffy away till the two girls were facing each other. She put her forehead on Buffy’s and time seemed to freeze for the two of them. They were so good like this. The Chosen Two, lost in each other’s eyes.
In the brown eyes of Faith, Buffy saw the worry progressively disappearing, replaced by a tenderness that completely captivated her, a tenderness she knew was also visible in her own eyes. Then, the blonde felt Faith’s hand on her right cheeks and leaned against the touch, but didn’t stop looking in Faith’s eyes, eyes she could easily drown into. The things they were sharing through their eyes, the feelings they were both experiencing at that moment were better than good, they were perfect.
A loud knock at the door broke the spell. They separated slowly but didn’t say a word, still looking at the other. The door finally opened and Willow’s head appeared. Clumsily, the witch entered the room and noticed that Faith seemed calmer now.
“Willow, I told you…” Buffy began, her irritation noticeable in her voice.
“I know! It’s not about that, Buffy! I was in the bar as you told me, kinda creepy with all these men looking at you with their lusty eyes, one tooth smiles, ugly faces and…anyway, I was drinking water when a man came to me...”
“Did he try naughty things on you, Red. Did he offered you a candy?” Faith replied. She hadn’t been able to prevent herself to tease and embarrass the redhead, a bit mad that she had been the one to interrupt the perfect moment she was sharing with Buffy. She received Buffy’s elbow on the ribs for it and automatically raised her hands as she was surrendering, looking at her fellow Slayer and clearly seeing a small smile disappear from her lips. God, she was gorgeous.
Buffy felt also a bit frustrated by Willow’s intervention and was completely understanding Faith’s reasons to tease the witch, hence the smile she had barely refrained. She couldn’t let Faith do that, no now, not to Willow who had probably already postulate for the chairman position in the “I hate Faith” club. She had to find a way to make her best friend discover how much Faith had changed, how a good person she was.
Willow stopped talking to shoot an icy glare to Faith, glad to have seen Buffy react to the brunette’s reply with the elbow in the ribs thing. Fortunately for Buffy, she hadn’t seen the quick smile that had appeared on her lips. Once Willow was sure that Faith had gotten the message, she continued:
“This man began talking abut the duel and how impressive it had been, blablabla, how strong Faith was and…”
“And what, Will?” Buffy was getting impatient.
“He then said that Faith had to be a real Slayer with a big focus on the S.”
Buffy and Faith looked at each other, nodding. Then, Buffy turned to her friend and asked: “Is he still downstairs?”
“I think so! I told him I’d be right back…”
“Let’s go see what he wants then!” Faith bent down to take her jacket, stood up and left the room followed by the other girls. The dark Slayer could feel her frustration turn into anger inside of her. Demona’s “curse” was at work again. Talking to the guy would definitely be a welcomed diversion.
Talnoc ran on its hands and feet, enjoying every minute of it. It could feel its fellow demons running next to him. After its meeting with Husa, after the disgusting civilities they had shared, the dark demon needed the primal, animalistic sensations it was feeling at this moment.
There was another feeling that warmed its heart, the one of the manuscript that was in the bag he was carrying. Its weight was a delight for Talgon, after so long, the demon had it, had the Prophecies of Talgon the Leper, the missing book, the one it was searching for ages.
Talnoc could see its ship now, the running would soon be over and that was a pity! The wild need it still felt hadn’t be satisfied yet and it had to. Talnoc stopped and let its senses scan its surroundings, looking for a prey. Keeping an equilibrium between the wild and the civilised parts of its being had always been a priority for him, a necessity for its own survival. Quarset demons were known to lose their sanity easily either by becoming brainless killing machines or pompous scholars. Talnoc hated both options. The Equilibrium was thus essential, especially now that it was closed to its goal.
Its olfactory sense suddenly caught something, a scent Talnoc knew very well, the scent of a human. Smiling, it began to run again, already feeling the delicious taste of human flesh in its mouth.
Gawain was now sitting at the table with the Slayer and her two companions, quite satisfied that his plan had worked so well…so far. Following his master’s tips, he had trusted his intuition when he had made his comment about the Slayer to the redhead girl. He had always been an intuitive man and had somehow felt that the woman knew something about the Chosen One. He had been right.
The Slayer! He was finally in front of her. She was the Council’s instrument against evil or was supposed to be in Demona’s case. He could already say that she wasn’t very talkative and it matched the reports he had read about her. She was an action girl which was a good thing for the mission he had for her.
They were in the back of the bar, in a special alcove which was designed to host private meetings of all kinds. Heavy curtains were hiding them from the rest of the place, giving them some privacy. Faith had spotted it when she had first entered the bar. It was something she had always been good at, scanning a place quickly, looking for exits or potential threats.
The brunette was also watching the guy, her back against the wall, Buffy and Willow next to her. Her years in jail had taught it to her, never leave your back exposed. It had become an habit now, a safety habit.
Suddenly, the curtains moved and the bar’s owner came in with the drinks they had ordered a few minutes before: Water for Buffy and Willow, rum for the guy and herself. As soon as her glass was on the table, Faith grabbed and emptied it, savouring the feeling of the alcohol making its way through her oesophagus. It had been instinctive, there was no thinking involved in his gesture and it alarmed Faith a bit. Another point to add to the pirate’s file, she might be alcoholic! The portrait of the girl Faith was in the skin of was becoming more and more creepy.
A touch on Faith’s left hand drove the dark Slayer back on Earth. She didn’t remove her hand though, she knew what it was, or rather who it was! Smiling, she let Buffy’s hand take hers, enjoying it, no, loving it! The blonde had probably felt her reaction towards the Demona’s loving alcohol discovery and was trying to comfort her discreetly. Giving a quick glance to her left, she saw that she was still looking at the guy, a smile on her lips, a soft blush on her cheeks. Deciding to show the girl how much she enjoyed it, Faith took the initiative of entwining their fingers, a move that made Buffy jump but was soon rewarded by a bright smile and a little more red on the blonde’s cheeks. A move that didn’t go unnoticed by a certain witch too. It was that moment the man chose to begin his talk. The two Slayers, entirely focused on each other had almost forgotten his presence.
“I…I have a mission for you, Demona! I…”
Faith didn’t let him go further and asked coldly: “Wait a minute, boy! First: Who the fuck are you?”
“Oh, sorry! I forgot my manners! My name is Gawain Hellword and I’ve heard so many tales about Slayers that it is a real pleasure to meet you.”
“Council?” Buffy asked, recognizing similarities between the man’s behaviour and the one Sidouf had had when meeting Faith for the first time in Babylon. She didn’t expect to feel Faith tense when they saw Gawain nod. She wondered what was the reason for such a sudden tension but Faith’s next sentence cleared the thing a bit…and Buffy wasn’t sure if she wanted to know this reason anymore.
“You’re either insane, suicidal or very confident…after what happened to your colleague…” The brunette said remembering one of the multiple gory passages of Demona’s log.
“Erm, yes, I’ve heard about it! But, you see, we absolutely need your help here…and we’re ready to pay for it!”
“The greedy bastards are ready to pay for my services?”
“Well, not exactly…they simply told me that the place where the…item…we want you to bring us, well, this place has lots of treasures in it. Gold, precious stones, pieces of art…and, everything will be yours.”
“And where is the catch?”
“Excuse me?”
“The Council wouldn’t ask from my help if it wasn’t important and dangerous! So, where is the catch?”
“Well, the…item we…”
“And stop the bullshit about an item, Council dog!”
“O…OK. See, there is this Quarset demon, Talnoc, very powerful, in the head of a demonic cult that worships Tlaloc, the Mayan rain god. A reliable source told us that Talnoc has just acquired a book of great value: The Prophecies of Talgon the Leper. This book is very important for the Council that is looking for him for centuries. We don’t know for how long Talnoc will keep it and we haven’t enough people in this part of the world to quickly send a team to get it.”
“But I’m here, me, the Slayer, with a crew of gold addicted pirates.”
“Yes but you won’t regret it, Demona. Talnoc is old and loves wealthy things. Its lair, in Yucatan, is reported to be full of them. And…”
“Spare your saliva, Gaw; I’m in!” Faith could see the puzzled looks she was getting from both Buffy and Willow but didn’t care for now. Since she had heard that the book she had to find was the Prophecies of Talgon the Leper, she had known that accepting the mission was the right thing to do.
“Thanks, Demona. I knew I could…”
“Yeah, yeah! Whatever! Finish your drink and get out of here! I have some things to discuss with my friends. Come to my ship tomorrow morning. We’ll discuss the details of our expeditions there.” Faith said harshly. Something about the guy and his extreme naivety was bothering her. The fact that he was a watcher didn’t make things better. Besides, she frankly doubted that the real Demona would speak to him longer than necessary.
The watcher gulped but didn’t complain. He emptied his glass then left the alcove. As soon as he was out of sight, Buffy turned to Faith.
“Why did you agree? We’ve been here for less than a day, we didn’t know enough about this place. We should investigate it first before making our luggage and moving away.”
“Chill, B! We had to accept it! Going there is one of the reasons we’ve been sent here!”
“How could you be so sure?”
“Remember Carcassone! The book Husa wanted to have, it was the Prophecies of this Leper guy!”
“Wowowo! Wait a minute! Husa? In Carcassone?”
“Oh, Sorry, B. I forgot you didn’t come with me at Gerro’s. In short terms, the Ghost was Husa, Vamp Husa and she wanted this book! See why we have to go there?”
Buffy’s eyes widened when she answered: “A link, we have finally a link!”
“HELLO! Willow here and she doesn’t speak slayer! Explanation would be good!” Willow said moving her hands in front of the Slayers faces. They had been so caught in their discussion that they hadn’t even noticed that Willow was trying to get their attentions for a while now.
Faith and Buffy looked at her, amused grins on their lips. Then, Buffy replied: “Sorry Will! Here is the story! See, when we were in Babylon…”
The cold water of the cascade was falling on Husa. Once again, the vampire was in awe in front of the Mayan architecture. An indoor cascade, the architects had succeeded in keeping the magnificence of this cascade inside of these cold walls. It was jus amazing.
She had finished her bath thirty minutes before and was now purifying her body. After such a long stay in blood, she had to take it off. Blood had frozen her features and body, they wouldn’t change for the fifty years to come but water was indispensable for their softness.
She could feel Clovis next to her, waiting for her with a towel. Her faithful boy was also holding the urn and it seemed to captivate him. Husa laughed and told him:
“She’s not gonna pop out the urn, you know!”
“Huh?”
“The mermaid! It’s just her blood, she’s dead!” The vampire answered while washing her hair.
“I know that!” Clovis replied, slightly irritated by the remark. “I was just thinking…”
“Thinking about what?”
The yellow skinned demon seemed to ponder its answer then said: “I don’t understand! You won’t need this blood before a long time! You could have got it later. Why did you give a book of the importance of “The Prophecies of Talgon the Leper” to this Quarset bastard in exchange of it?”
The vampire smiled at her servant’s naïve question. “You have to envisage things in a wider perspective, Clovis. True, I don’t need the mermaid’s blood right away! True, I gave Talnoc a very important manuscript but these are only the top of the iceberg. Think about it, my friend, the mermaid’s blood will give me a new power. It will be mine and I will be able to use it whenever I want. Why would I have to wait to really need it to use it?”
“Yes, that I can understand but why Talnoc? You could have found the blood by yourself. I would have found it for you.”
“I have no doubts you would but you’re missing the point. Talnoc is old and powerful and it is a threat for us. A frontal attack would be a bad idea as we’d probably lose lots of demonpower in the fight. So, the best way to deal with this threat is to make someone else do the job. I’ve learned that the Watcher’s Council is looking for the “Prophecies” for centuries now. So, I dropped the information that Talnoc had the book. The Watchers won’t miss their chance, believe me. In the meantime, I have exchanged the book for a powerful nectar. So, it’s a win-win situation for me!”
“If the Council kills Talnoc!”
Husa went out of the cascade and took the towel that Clovis was holding. She began to dry herself and replied: “It will!”
“How can you be so sure?”
She looked in its eyes with a machiavellian smile on her lips and said: “I just know it!” Then, Husa took the urn, winked at the demon and moved away, leaving a perplex demon behind her.
“Yes, it makes sense! Coincidences exist but statistically, the chances for this book to be the reason of our presence here are high.”
“Glad you agree with me, Red!” Faith said, enjoying the feeling of Buffy’s thumb making circles on her upper hand. The blonde had just begun to do it and the brunette wasn’t gonna complain at all. She had been a bit surprised at first but when she had looked at Buffy and saw the wicked smile on her lips, the only thing she had felt was joy and it was a wonderful feeling, a feeling the dark Slayer wasn’t really used to.
Buffy had noticed Faith’s contentment about the thumb thing. At first, she had held Faith’s hand because she had sensed a wave of fear coming from the brunette. Then, as she had noticed that Faith wasn’t having another of those waves, she had begun to enjoy it, enjoy the feeling the contact of their skins was bringing to her, to them as she was sure that Faith was feeling the same. Their earlier meeting in the room had erased her last doubts about the way their relationship was evolving. Her own doubts and insecurities had already been erased by the happiness she had experienced when Faith had called her, after Carcassone, after Madeleine’s death.
They were still in the alcove. And they had just told Willow the details of their past adventures in Babylon and Carcassone. The witch had listened to it very carefully, noticing the looks the Slayers had shared during the conversation, noticing their meaning. She had already guessed that Buffy was falling hard for Faith, her romantic side hadn’t missed it but she could see now that it was reciprocal. Faith glowed when Buffy was at her side. The redhead was a bit confused now. At first, she had feared that Faith was playing with Buffy, she had obviously been wrong. Still, after having seen the way Faith had acted during her duel, Willow was sure that the brunette’s sanity wasn’t stable at all. But on the other hand, she seemed calmer when Buffy was around. Yep, she was definitely confused. Her mind came back to the present time, which was their past actually but that wasn’t the point. There was still a question she wanted to ask Faith.
“Erm, Faith! I was wondering…”
Seeing the witch’s hesitation, Faith just said: “Shoot, Red!”
“Well, Demona she…she seems very young to be a captain, a pirate captain and you seem to know her quite well while Buffy and I don’t know very much about our current identities.”
“I’ve read her log! That’s why I know so much about her.”
“Oh! And what…”
“I don’t think it’s important, Will. She is a pirate captain. Period.” Buffy said, wishing to spare Faith. Who knew what effect Demona’s past could have on Faith? The pirate’s spirit could take advantage of it and try to take control of Faith again.
“I think it is, Buffy! As a pirate captain, she probably has many enemies. We have to know what to expect if we stay close to her.”
“She has a point, B!” Faith admitted, squeezing Buffy’s hand. “It’s OK, B! I feel good now! Besides, I have my “tranquilliser” close if I need her!” She winked at the blonde before telling Willow: “So, Red, what do you want to know?”
The two Slayers could see the puzzled look Willow had now. They easily guessed that their previous talk had raised questions in the witch’s head. Buffy decided to clarify the situation.
“Will! Do you remember the article we read about people with strong will who are capable of controlling their dreams?”
The question seemed to drive the redhead out of her reverie. She nodded, waiting for Buffy to continue.
“Demona seems to be very strong willed! Faith is fighting her spirit since she woke up here!”
The brunette sighed and pursued: “Yes, Red! Every time I feel frustrated or angry, she tried to push me over the edge. You’ve seen the duel, she almost forced me to kill someone.”
The witch was analysing the new data she had just received, her scientific side had just been awakened by Faith’s problem. “So, she seemed to have an empathic link with you through the ages, right? Probably through the bond the time loop created between the two of you! You’re right! Demona’s will should really be strong! How else could she have reached her position at her age?”
This was a question Faith had the answer for: “Daddy helped! She is the daughter of Jean David Nau a.k.a. L’Olonnais, a real gentleman! He is described as the cruellest pirate who has ever sealed the Caribbean. He was the one who gave her the ship when she turned 17! According to her log, she quickly had a reputation that equals her father’s. Her Slayer powers helped her a lot to reach her current position.”
“And what about the thing you said to Gawain! About her first encounter with the Council?”
“Well, looks like the Council had a hard time finding her. She was already 18 when one of the London’s tight asses came to her with his Chosen One tale! She listened to him, followed his lessons till he had nothing left to teach her then, the slut killed him.”
“Charming! And what about the exemplar daddy?” Buffy asked.
“Eaten by cannibals right before Demona turned 18.”
The three girls remained silent for a while. A silence Willow decided to cut.
“So, what now?”
Faith was the one to answer: “Well, I propose we go to the ship! I’ll ask the men on board to go gather the crew and enough food for a long journey. Then, we’ll wait tomorrow morning to fix the last details.”
Faith’s proposal was approved by the others. At that moment, Buffy stood up, letting Faith’s hand go, a move that made the brunette involuntary growl, a growl that brought a new smile on the blonde’s lips. She turned to her friends and said: “Sorry, girls! I just have to “powder my nose”. She emphasized on the “powder my nose” part with her hands and fingers. Then, she put her hand on the curtains, ready to push them away to leave the alcove. She didn’t had the time to push them though as Faith grabbed her other hand’s wrist.
Buffy had barely the time to turn around that she felt the dark Slayer put something on her hand, something she had no trouble in recognizing the texture of: a knife, probably the one Faith had thrown to the giant. The petite Slayer gave a puzzled look to her friend and began: “Faith, what…?”
“This isn’t fucking Disneyland, B! This is Tortuga, the place where all the scum of the Seven Seas gather and according to them, there are only three kinds of women. The ones who scare the shit out of them and, believe me, they aren’t many; the doables and the uglies. And you’re not one of the uglies, far from it. I…I just would feel better if you had something to defend yourself.”
The last sentence had been said so gently, almost shyly, Buffy couldn’t help it, she was touched. God, this girl was surprising her every minute they spent together. She let her emerald eyes wander to the brown ones of the brunette, caught by the shyness, tenderness and love she could see in them, three feelings she was the only one to see in them. Once again, they were lost into each other’s irises. Once again, they disconnected from the real world. Still looking intensely in Faith’s eyes, Buffy then said seductively:
“Well, F! You’re worrying me! Maybe I would feel safer if you come with me…if-you-bodyguard-me!”
A squeak, the noise of someone choking soon followed by hard coughs attracted their attention back to the present time. They looked at Willow who had obviously spat the water she had been drinking when she had heard Buffy’s last suggestion. A blush soon covered the cheeks of both Slayers. They waited till the moment Willow stopped coughing then, Faith mouthed to Buffy to go. After a last look to Willow and Faith, the blonde obliged. When Mother Nature called…
Buffy gone, an awkward silence ruled the alcove. Faith didn’t look at Willow who was still lost in her confusion. As the seconds went by, the two women threw a glance to each other at the exact same time. They stared at each other for a few seconds then, a grin came to Faith’s face and, soon, another grin appeared on Willow’s. Then, two smirks resounded in the alcove before the two girls burst into laughter.
They couldn’t prevent it, they so needed it after the anxiety that had been theirs during the last hours, since the arrival in Tortuga. Soon, they were gasping, breathing hard, but every time one of them seemed on her way to recover a normal breathing rhythm, the other’s laughter ruined the effort. They finally calmed down and a new moment of silence began but, it wasn’t awkward anymore, as if the laughing session had somehow broken the ice between the dark Slayer and the witch.
“I’m not gonna hurt her, Willow! I’d rather die than hurt her again!” Faith said breaking the silence.
The witch stared at her but didn’t say a word and listened to Faith’s next sentence.
“I know you’ve understood what is happening between B and I, I’ve seen it in your eyes! I know also that you have no reason to trust me. The things I did! There is no word to say how horrible they were and how sorry I am to have done them. But, what I feel for Buffy, I’ve never felt it for anyone else before. All I ask is a chance to prove you that I have changed!”
The sincerity in Faith’s voice troubled Willow. She was so different from the girl who had hidden her emotions behind the tough girl attitude three years earlier. Still, the witch’s lips seemed sealed as she was unable to say a syllable.
“See, three years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to cope with these feelings. Sure, I wouldn’t have minded to explore her hot body, but I…I was in my ‘Get done, get gone’ trip and, well, if we had…done it, I would probably have discarded her in the morning.”
“And now?”
“Just being with her satisfied me, Willow! Every time I see her smile, see these sparks in her emerald eyes, see her pout, I…I feel complete. I don’t know how to explain it! I’m addicted!”
“So, no exploration of her hot body in mind?”
“No! I mean (she blushed slightly), sure I have some naughty wicked dreams involving her, but it’s not what matters! I…” At that moment, she noticed the amused grin on the redhead witch and she understood. “You’re making fun of me!”
“Yep!” Willow replied, then regained her composure and said in a serious tone: “Listen, Faith! You’re right! I have no reason to trust you and, to be honest, I don’t know if one day I would! But, as you said, I’ve seen what’s happening between Buffy and you, I’ve seen that the feelings are genuine, not a way to get in Buffy’s pants! (Faith smirked at that remark.) I know Buffy, she is kinda stubborn and if something has to happen between you two, it would if she has decided to. As strange as it might sound, these last two days, since you came back in her life, she has seemed more alive than she had been last year! What I’m trying to say, Faith, is that even if I don’t trust you, I trust her! You have your chance, Faith! Don’t screw it up and don’t hurt her or…”
“You’d turn me into a big bug that you’d crush under your foot!”
“Something like that, yes!”
“Thanks!”
“You’re welcome!”
Then, Faith had a quick look through the curtains to see if Buffy was back. As she couldn’t see the blonde yet, she took the gun that was hanging on her belt before putting it on the table, in front of Willow who gave her a half-scared, half-intrigued look.
“What the hell…”
“Listen, Willow! I have a big favour to ask you!”
“Hey, hey! I said I’ll give you a chance, not that we are suddenly best buds! Buffy will…”
“She won’t do it, Red!”
“Do what?” Willow asked, curious.
“Shoot me in the leg if I go too far!”
“Huh?”
“This body is not entirely mine! Demona has some shares on it and she could take control on it, briefly, I agree, but who knows what it will do while I’m out! I don’t want to hurt or kill someone, Willow. I need you to promise me you’ll shoot me in the leg if I ever loose control! You promise?”
Faith looked right into Willow’s eyes. She needed an answer now and quickly, her Slayer sense had indeed just detected Buffy footsteps coming back to the alcove. They stared into each other’s eyes till Buffy opened the curtains. Just before the petite Slayer could clearly see them, Willow nodded to Faith and quickly hid the gun under her dress. The witch didn’t like it at all but, Faith had been right! Buffy wouldn’t do this! She was the only one who could!
“So, guys! What’s up?”
“Nothing, B! We were just waiting for you! Ready to go?”
The blonde nodded and they exited the alcove then the bar before taking their way to the harbour.
The panther jumped on the dark demon that barely avoided its claws. The Quarset demon was bleeding from one of the animal’s previous attack. Its back was just a bloody mess now and it knew that the next strike would be pivotal in their fight.
It could hear the cheers and boos resounding around, coming from its fellow demons. It could feel the eyes of its leader, Talnoc, on them. It was in the middle of the test it had waited its entire life to pass. It couldn’t fail! It was a question of honour. Feigning to attack from the left, it then suddenly moved to the right as soon as it had seen the beast jump. The panther landed at the exact place it would have been if it hadn’t changed its trajectory and that was exactly what it was waiting for. Mimicking the panther’s move, the Quarset demon jumped on it but, instead of landing on the animal’s back, it went through it. It didn’t have the time to register it though as the real panther’s fangs were soon on its neck, breaking it.
The demons saw their peer land on the ship’s floor, dead. They remained silent a moment, saw the panther move away from the body to join the leader that gently began to caress it. Finally, they split up, letting two of them throw what remained of the demon overboard.
Talnoc continued to caress its panther, proud of the beast victory. That demon, Tollar, had gained too much influence on the Quarset society lately. It could have become a serious rival for Talnoc. By giving it the opportunity to fight its pet, Talnoc had taken a risk. If Tollar had been victorious, its glory would have dramatically increased and the Quarset leader’s would have fallen a bit. Fortunately, the panther won…and the rival died.
Once again, the animal had impressed Talnoc by its intelligence and its ability to use the illusions as weapons. Quarset demons had always been good in building illusions. Talnoc was an illusion master and, as it had fed the panther with its own blood for centuries, the animal had also this ability now. Something its minions didn’t! It had been one of the first things Talnoc had done when it had become their leader. It had killed the ones that controlled this power and prevented the others to learn it. Now, it was the only one to control it and it gave him a considerable advantage.
The “Prophecies” were still in its lap. The manuscript was too precious for Talnoc to let it in its cabin. After so many centuries, it finally had all the pieces for its plan to be fulfilled. Now, all it had to do was waiting. A little patience till the Summer Solstice. A little patience till its day of glory. A little patience till chaos would submerge the world, a world that would fall into pieces, pieces Talnoc would gather and lead. On its left, it could see the sunset! Another day had just ended, another day would soon begin, a day that would bring Talnoc near its destiny.
Husa analysed the urn she was holding, admiring its curves, feeling the warmth of the blood it contained. It was as she had read in the books. Mermaid’s blood was probably the warmest blood on Earth, something odd if you thought about the place where these demonic creatures lived: in the depth of the seas.
The vampire was in her room, alone. She wanted to be alone for this moment. She wanted to be alone to savour each drop of this blood, to savour its divine taste because she was sure that the books she had read about this nectar were right: the most delicious bloods were the ones of the mermaids and the Slayers. She had never tasted the Slayer’s blood and didn’t want to. Not that she was afraid of facing the Slayer, after all, she had already met two of them during her unlive. No, she just thought that it wasn’t necessary to look for useless trouble. Fighting a Slayer just for her blood was frivolous. To find mermaid’s blood was also perilous. But she needed it and, most importantly, this time, she hadn’t had to hunt for it, she had bought it. God, she loved black market.
Slowly, as if she wanted to make these moments last, she opened the urn then, put it on her lips and let the liquid fall in her mouth. It was pure ecstasy, the books were right, the sensation was almost orgasmic. She emptied the urn, slowly, savouring each drop as she had promised she would. Once the last drop had been swallowed, she extinguished a twinge of regret before letting the contained fall, already feeling the first signs of her change. After pleasure came pain but she clenched her teeth, ready for it. After all, the results would be worth it.
The night had also fallen on Tortuga and the three time travellers had gained Demona’s ship. Once on the ship, Faith had guided them to her cabin but hadn’t stay. She had things to prepare for their raid on the demon’s lair. Buffy had wanted to go with her but had decided not to. She didn’t know how the other pirates would react to the new friend of their captain. So, Willow and her were now waiting for Faith to return in this tiny cabin and, the more Faith hung about, the more Buffy paced in the room and this whole pacing dance was progressively getting on the witch nerves.
“Buffy! Sit down! You’re making me dizzy!”
Buffy looked at her best friend and sighed heavily: “Sorry, Will! It’s just…rhaaa, what does it take so long!”
“Relax, Buff! She is a big girl and she knows her stuff! Remember when we went to the market, just before we came on board? It was as if she had been a captain her whole life. She knew exactly how much food and drink they would need…etc…”
“I know! That’s another side effect of this time loop mess! She speaks sailor now! I didn’t even understand half the things she said to the man back then…and I doubt that I would one day! There is no Popeye dictionary in this ship.”
“What? You’re jealous of it?”
“No! In Babylon and Carcassone, we learned the same things, it was as if we shared something that was ours only. Now, it’s different!”
“Does it affect the way you feel about her?”
“No!” Buffy replied without thinking. Then, she realised what her friend had implied and looked at her, uncomfortable. She didn’t know how Willow would react about her new feelings for Faith.
“I noticed! Hell, I would have been blind if I hadn’t! There is so much attraction between you two. It’s OK, Buffy! If it’s really what you want, I won’t interfere.”
A smile came to Buffy’s face. Willow won’t interfere! God, that was so good to hear. Still, the blonde wanted to explain her perspective to Willow. She sat next to her best friend, took a deep breath and began talking, shyly.
“I…I don’t really know when I began to feel for her more than friendly feelings. All that I know is that even before her fall to the dark side, I felt good when she was with me. At that time, I thought it was just a Slayer thing but in Babylon and even more in Carcassone, I realised how important she was to me and, it didn’t scared me, it just felt right, it just feels right, normal, perfect. And I know she feels the same, I can feel it!”
“I know she does!”
The two friends smiled at each other then Willow said to Buffy: “Why don’t you go and find her?”
“But what if she is in the middle of a sailor’s reunion?”
“Do you really think she would be mad at you?”
Buffy shook her head negatively, then, without looking behind, she exited the cabin, leaving Willow on her own before opening the door again just to say: “Thanks, Will! You’re the best!”
Faith was just on her way to her cabin when she saw Buffy came to her. The brunette grinned but didn’t ran to the blonde as she had wanted to at first. Instead, she detailed every curves of the petite Slayer, enjoying each second of her inspection. When Buffy finally arrived in front of her, the two women stared at each other for a while. They were thinking at the exact same things: how beautiful the other looked bathed by the moonlight. For Faith, Buffy looked like an angel descended on Earth. For Buffy, Faith was a wild nymph who had just come out of the ocean.
Faith was the first to move. she gently, almost shyly took the blonde’s hand and led her towards the bow of the ship. Once there, they began to stare at each other again for a short time. Faith had placed Buffy back to the end of the bow, just before the moon. With the moonlight illuminating the blonde and the stars that seemed to surround her head like a crown, the petite Slayer definitely looked Goddish and Faith could only admire her.
Buffy couldn’t move too as she was caught by the love she could see in the brunette’s eyes. The lights of Tortuga were just behind Faith, something that added one more romantic side to the situation. Lost in Faith’s chocolate irises, Buffy could only state that this shiny nymph had only eyes for her as she has only eyes for Faith.
No word had been said since Buffy had come to Faith. None were necessary! Their eyes and bodies languages were enough for them, enough to understand that the flirting was over, that none of them had any doubts left about where they wanted their relationship to evolve. It was the right thing to do, the right thing to feel and as everything that were right, normal, natural, there was no hurry, just feelings.
Still staring into each other’s eyes, they moved closer then, Faith encircled Buffy’s waist with her hands while the blonde did the same with the brunette’s neck. The brunette bowed her head towards Buffy who felt her heart skip a beat at that moment. When their lips finally met, their hearts reached a frenzied crescendo. This was what they had waited for so long.
The kiss began softly, each Slayer didn’t want to rush things but soon, their feelings overwhelmed them, the kiss became more passionate. Faith hands pulled Buffy closer to her body. Buffy’s hands moved to the back of Faith’s neck to pull her head closer, to push their lips closer, to deepen the kiss. Their tongues were now duelling, fuelling their already intense passion to a level neither of them knew it existed. When finally the lack of oxygen became an issue, they reluctantly broke the kiss, their head staying only two inches apart from each other. They were breathing heavily, their legs were shaking and their knee were so weak.
“God, Faith! Why…did we…wait so long? It was…”
“Nothing…you will…say now, B…could describe…that…kiss…”
They both smiled at that statement. It was so true!
“You’re ready for a replay, F?” Buffy asked with her most sexy-wicked-naughty voice.
“No, I’m ready improve our score, B!”
Faith wanted to add something but didn’t had the time to as Buffy pulled her lips back on hers and began another kiss that seemed to be even more passionate than the first one. She didn’t complain though. Who would when the girl of your dreams was kissing you like that? When you felt your toes curve because of it? When your teeth shattered because of the emotions that was flying form one mouth to the others before coming back in force?
Willow could only smile at the sight she had in front of her. It had been one month since their departure from Tortuga but she was sure that for the Slayers it was as if it had happened the day before. They were now laying in the bed for one of their countless making out sessions. They were so cute together.
The witch remember the night of their first kiss, when she had seen them come back, hands clasped and a goofy grin on their lips. She hadn’t had any trouble to guess what had just occurred. They didn’t spend the night in the same bed though. In fact, they hadn’t spend a night in the same bed at all since their departure. Faith had slept in a hammock, letting the bed for Buffy and herself. She had just discovered why two days before.
They were at the bow, their favourite place of the ship, probably a scary Titanic- I am the king of the world – side effect. The witch was on her way to join them and she had heard the end of a discussion concerning it. According to what she had heard, the Slayers had decided that their first time would happen when they would be back in the XXIst century. They wanted it to be the realest real possible to quote Faith. A real Faith in her real body making love to a real Buffy in her marvellous hot body, the brunette had also said. They were just cute and sappy as every lover was.
The journey wasn’t as bad as Willow had thought it would. Sure, at first, the crew had been somewhat rude with them. Half of the men weren’t really pleased to see two women take so much importance in their captain’s life. The other half had seemed too pleased to see them on board…like really too pleased. The redhead had sometimes a hard time to focus on the books that she had discovered in Demona’s cabin when one of the pirate was looking at her, drooling. But no one had tried any move on her. In fact, Faith had helped a lot in throwing a man to the sea even before they left Tortuga. The man had been very rude to Buffy, saying loudly that she was Demona’s new whore and Faith hadn’t liked it. It might seemed funny now but Willow and Buffy had been worried at that moment, when Faith was holding the man by his throat, in the air, right before sending him away for a forced bath. They had both seen a strange spark in her eyes then. Later, Faith had confirmed that she had had a hard time preventing her body to choke the bastard to death. Demona’s spirit was still present in the brunette’s body and sometimes, it scared them.
But, every time Faith felt Demona’s evil presence, Buffy was there to comfort her, hugging her when they were alone or, simply, looking at her tenderly when they were surrounded by the pirates. When Willow had asked how the blonde knew that Faith needed her, Buffy had just replied that she just knew it, felt it, that they were linked by their Slayer powers, by the love they felt for each other. And what a love they shared!
The last fears Willow had had about Faith had soon disappeared when she had seen it. The tough mask Faith usually wore completely vanished when she was with Buffy. When these two were together, every gesture, every glance, every word were done, said, with so much tenderness and love that you could just be overwhelmed and humbled by it. And, sometimes, when Willow was witnessing this happiness, sadness came to her heart with the memories of the same feeling she and Tara had shared, a while ago.
This thoughts drove her back to reality, to the making out session the two Slayers were in the middle of, completely oblivious of the witch’s presence. She decided to leave them, put her jacket as the wind was kinda cold today and exited the cabin. She liked her new clothes, not really girlish but comfortable enough. Besides, as Buffy had said, dresses weren’t really designed for sailor lives, on the opposite, the corsair outfits they were now wearing were tailor made for it.
Outside, the sailors on duty were cleaning the bridge or watching the way. She saluted the sailor who was at the helm then moved to the bow, a place the Slayers weren’t the only ones to like. She loved letting her mind wander while looking at the waves the ship was creating while gliding on the sea. Unfortunately, someone was already there, Gawain, the watcher.
Willow didn’t like the guy. Like Faith, she didn’t trust him. Firstly he was a watcher, and with the exception of Giles, she distrusted them. Secondly, the guy was too naïve to be honest. She frankly doubted that the Council would give a mission of that importance to someone who really was that gullible.
Gawain, who had probably heard her coming, saluted her and said: “Hello, lady Maureen! How are you doing this morning?”
“Not bad, thank you!”
“I can see that our dear captain and lady Angelique aren’t with you!” Sarcasm was noticeable in his voice. Willow just nodded. She didn’t want to continue this discussion, the watcher was already getting on her nerves. She just watched the sea in front of her without saying any other word. Gawain didn’t add anything and imitated Willow. They stayed like that for 15 minutes before the watcher stepped back and said: “I’m going to my cabin if the captain needs me. Did she told you when we will reach our destination tomorrow?”
“She said that if the winds don’t change, we’ll be there tomorrow morning, just before the sunrise.”
“Perfect! Thank you for this moment, lady Maureen and see you soon!”
Willow didn’t reply and just watched the man moving away. Yep, she definitely didn’t like him.
Talnoc looked at the sun that had just reached its zenith then, at the altar in front of it. The demon was in its temple, the temple it had seen the Mayan built. The temple of the rain, dedicated to its master, Tlaloc, the rain god. It could only smirk at the irony of fate. The temple of the rain had been designed to be reached by sunrays only once a year. And now, the heir of the rain, Talnoc itself, needed it to rule the world.
Once again, the Quarset demon scanned the place to see if everything was ready for the ceremony. The three books, The Prophecies of Talgon the Leper, The Visions of Dragus and The Life of Agnel were gathered in chairs, next to the altar and it could see the cages in the back of the room. The cages hidden in the darkness. The cages that contained the three pitiable volunteers, chosen among the Indians to die for Tlaloc’s glory. Yes, everything was ready for tomorrow. It had just 24 hours to wait!
The first lights of dawn were beginning to illuminate the lagoon that was their destination. The troop was silent and no one dared to say a word, no pirate would dare to disobey a direct order from Demona/Faith.
The brunette who was leading the group stopped walking and looked in her telescope. She could see only a few souls on the ship…if these demons had souls. She looked behind her and signed the others to continue their progression. She joined her friends who were a few steps behind her, winked to her girlfriend then, moved forward, soon followed by Buffy and Willow.
They had arrived an hour before and Faith had explained her plan to the crew. They all knew that it would be dangerous and that it was a demon related job. Faith and Willow had discovered that Demona had already plundered demons or other supernatural creatures in her raids. The pirates who followed her knew they existed and also knew that they are usually wealthy. As long as their pockets were full, these men didn’t ask questions.
Faith’s plan was simple and logical. The majority of the crew would approach the temple by earth then, once it would be in sight, they would split in two groups. The smaller one would assault the ship, the other would do the same with the subterranean temple that was Talnoc’s lair. So, now, they were slowly making their way through the vegetation that was surrounding the previously mentioned temple.
Gawain was walking among them, a gun in his hand. Buffy and Willow had guns in their hands too. They were gifts from Faith. She had handed them to her friends just before leaving the ship with the instruction of avoiding fights as much as possible. The watcher seemed to have his own gun already and the three time travellers had soon noticed that he surely knew how to use it. The Gawain they could see now was also different from the one they had lived with for a month. He seemed more confident, more dangerous too and Faith, Buffy and Willow could just conclude that they had probably been right not to trust him. He was definitely not a naïve watcher.
Their progression was slow and they didn’t reach the splitting point before noon. Once the split done, the bigger group began its search of an entry. According to Gawain’s source, the temple of the rain had been built in one of the numerous tunnels that crossed the Yucatan.
After 30 minutes of research, they finally found an entry and descended into the tunnels. When they entered the place, the two Slayers sighed. Why do demons always build their lairs in the depth of the Earth?
Talnoc looked at its reflection in the mirror with a satisfied grin. The golden colour of the dress of the sun fitted perfectly. The demon knew that such details were just futility but it had always liked to wear flashy clothes. After all, everybody had weaknesses.
After a last check in the mirror, its eyes wandered to the sandglass that was in the corner of its room. the satisfied grin came back on its face. In a little bit more than an hour, it had an appointment with its destiny. After a very last check in the mirror, the heir of Tlaloc left the room, ready for its fate.
They had finally found it! And it hadn’t been as hard as they had thought it would. A few minutes after having entered the tunnels, they had spotted some natives who had seemed to descend deeper in the earth. They had also spotted a black skinned demon that had been leading them in the labyrinth of tunnels that was this place. It hadn’t been difficult to guess that these people had the same destination as theirs. So, they had carefully followed them and were now discovering a temple built inside a huge cave. A cave, yes! One more cave for the Slayers. How original!
When Faith realised that they had reached their destination, she ordered two of her men to capture silently one of the natives. She insisted of taking him alive, alleging as a pretext that he might have some useful information for them. She felt Demona’s rage manifest itself inside of her body but controlled it with the help of Buffy who, once more, discreetly taken her hand at that moment. They were both used to it now.
When the guards were back with a prisoner, Faith quickly put his robe on her shoulders before running towards the temple. The demons that saw her approaching didn’t really pay attention to her, thinking that she was a native late for the ceremony. When Faith was in front of them, they just glared at her; showing their disgust for the human kind. Their glares fade away when they felt the swords Faith had in her hands enter their guts. They were dead before even touching the ground. Soon, the group joined the dark Slayer and they entered the temple.
Once inside, they heard noises coming from their left and followed the path that went that way. Soon, they could see a huge room, full of people, both natives and demons. The assembly was listening to another demon, in a golden dress that was babbling in a language no one could decipher.
“It’s Mayan!” Gawain said after a few seconds.
“And what does it say?” was Faith harsh reply.
“I don’t know! I don’t speak Mayan!”
“Splendid!” Faith was about to add an insult to the man when she felt Buffy’s hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see her girlfriend, then followed the direction she was indicating with her finger.
Her crew was looking to something to their left, something was shining in the sunlight, probably gold. Half of her men were already slowly moving towards it. It was too late to stop them without being noticed. Cursing these men, Faith quickly ordered the remaining members of her crew to not move before she said they could. There were a few complaints but a homemade Faith glare shut them up.
The dark Slayer then went back to her friends and Gawain, taking Buffy’s hand in the process in order to calm Demona who had once again made an unwelcome come back.
“They’re too far for me to stop them! Fuck! I hope they won’t ruin everything.” The brunette focused on the demon with the golden dress again. It was holding something in its hand and Faith had no trouble finding what it was. A heart! It was still beating, proof that it had just been removed from someone’s chest.
“B, remind me to refuse any dinner proposition from these guys!”
“Didn’t intend to accept it either!”
“What is it doing? What is it bathing with the heart’s bloods?”
“Books!” Willow replied. “One heart for one book! Don’t ask me why! I don’t understand! Gawain?”
The watcher seemed completely captivated by the show he was witnessing. He hadn’t even heard that Willow had spoken to him but he did felt something when Faith slapped him on the top of the head. The British barely refrained a squeak before looking at Faith.
“Do you have any idea about what’s happening, doggy watcher?”
“Erm! Well, there is this legend that says that three words written in the covers of three ancient books would lead to the secret the Gods chose to hide from humanity but we thought it was a myth!”
“Details would be nice!” Buffy said, half irritated, half curious.
“The legend says that the words can only be seen when they are bathed in fresh blood contained in three different hearts and can only work when the sun is at its peak, the day of the Summer solstice which is…”
“…today!” Willow said, finishing Gawain’s sentence.
“And this fucking secret! Have you any idea about what it is?”
“No, Demona! There are a lot of speculations but no one is sure of it!”
They looked back at Talnoc who had just dropped the last heart and was now reciting the words that had appeared on the covers of the books. When the last word escaped the demon’s lips, water began to invade the place where the gold was stocked. The sun was more present in the temple now and they could clearly see that it was indeed gold that was laying in this corner of the room. A corner that was situated in a lower level than the rest of the room. The water seemed to come from openings that had just appeared i