Lives are like Cigarettes
by Vincent
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine but belong to Joss.
Author's Notes: Sequel to Chosen.
Summary of the Prequels: After lots of trouble, Buffy and Faith are together and in
love now. They managed to prevent another apocalypse but were cursed during that time.
Faith has a "twin sister" who is a former demon called Andrea and share her slayer strength.
She lives in San Francisco with a techno witch, Eona and Laura, a keeper of balance, there
is no romantic relationship between any of them yet.
Dedication: To Broody, Jammley, Eliza Lover, Faithful Chickie, Piper, Elegy, Amy
and Sam. Thanks for your FB.
Feedback: Yes, please.
The sun was shining above Sunnydale, a brand new day had just begun but Dawn wasn’t really enjoying it. It was school day and she had to wake up early, too early for her own taste. She was walking the streets of Sunnydale as if her feet had gained 30 pounds in a night.
"Looking at your good mood, I’m pretty sure that you have no classes with the young bio stud today."
Dawn looked at Faith and blushed a little bit. Every morning Buffy, Faith or the two of them joined her for the morning walk to school to take the bread at the baker’s whose shop was based near the new Sunnydale High. Today, it was Faith as Buffy was still asleep when they had left.
"Huh…What stud?"
"Oh, come on, Double M, last Friday, you were the first up, put you ass in a pretty dress…short one…and when I left, you were in glee, tongue to the ground just by looking at him. You looked like a toon evaded from Tex Avery. Am I wrong?"
Geez, Faith and her ability to see anything related with sex and crush…sometimes it was funny…sometimes it wasn’t.
"That’s none of you business…and my tongue wasn’t on the ground."
"Oh, believe me, it was…you couldn’t see it, your eyes were too glued on his butt."
"Faith!" said a totally red Dawn now.
"You know you’re cute when I tease you on this matter…almost as cute as B."
"Almost?" and in saying it, the 'payback' nerve tilted in Dawn’s brain.
"Well, for me yes but, you know, I’m not really objective here." Faith then noticed something in the eyes of her girlfriend’s sister. A little something that she had already seen in Buffy’s eyes when she had thought of something to tease her. Seeing the same spark in Dawn’s eyes could only mean two things, trouble and embarrassment.
"Well, Double M, we’re almost there. I’ll go buy flowers for B before going to the baker’s so, bye."
"Fai-ai-aith, did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Well, when you and Buffy told me about your new relationship, two weeks ago, I was expecting you and her would play Matrix every night in Buffy’s bed. Looks like you missed the film and played Dr Jivago instead…without the sex part, of course."
"That’s none of your business, Double M." It was Faith’s turn to blush.
Dawn put her arm around Faith’s shoulder and said: "Come on, Faith. I understand the let’s go slowly attitude but you’ve spent the last three nights in Buffy’s bed…don’t tell me nothing happened…"
"You know, if you sis hears that we are talking about it, she’s gonna kill you…and me at the same time?"
"Not my problem…so? Did you do it?"
Faith sighed loudly before answering: "Not yet. It was close last night though."
"What prev…oh, right.., the demon."
"Big, ugly and with a breath that could make someone asleep for hours. Ask B if you don’t believe me."
"OK, OK, last night was a bad timing but, you had the two previous nights."
"You can’t understand, Dawn. My whole life, sex had been a way to achieve a goal or to relax myself. I needed it, then get done, get gone, I didn’t even know the names of my partners and didn’t care. With B, I want it to be different, to do it when it’ll be time, when I’ll feel it’s time."
"And when would that happen?"
"Why do you think you are going to sleep at Xander’s tonight? OH, sorry, I haven’t told you about that yet, right?"
"YOU-ARE-EVIL, you know that?"
"Yep, it’s part of my charm. Now, I’ll go buy my flowers and you go to school. Deal?"
"Deal. See you tomorrow then."
"See you, Double M."
And the two brunettes split up.
The wind was blowing inside the labyrinth, zigzagging between the stalactites and the stalagmites, trapped in this dark place with these natural pillars as only companions. It was locked in this labyrinth for more than a century now and knew that it wouldn’t see the outside before at least another 100 years. Inside, the five were feeding the Outcast, asleep as he had often be for the last millenniums but ready to strike again, fulfilling his cyclic and eternal charge.
The wind met another crossroad and let chance guide its way, the labyrinth changed every time he entered it, preventing anyone to draw a map, preventing anyone to escape before they decided that it was the right time to release the prisoner or allow the butterflies to pass.
The wind was blowing inside the labyrinth, zigzagging between the stalactites and the stalagmites but it wasn’t impatient, its time would come…sooner than expected.
Buffy woke up in her bed, a little bit stoned after last night’s fight. She was back in her room, a good sign, the demon had probably been destroyed. She quickly wondered where Faith was, missing her presence in the bed but then remembered the day and after looking at her clock, she guessed that her girlfriend had joined Dawn for her walk to school. She knew that Faith was unhurt, she could feel it.
Thinking at her girlfriend, she remembered the previous night, just before this stupid demon tried to eat half of the town. She remembered the soft and sensuous kisses they had shared, the hands that were groping their bodies, slowly taking each other’s clothes off before Willow stormed into the room causing a big embarrassment time for the three of them. Yes, yesterday, it was closed and she was really mad at this demon, she had wasted the moment, their moment but it wasn’t really the time to regret anything, today was another day. Thinking about what today could bring her, she decided it was time for breakfast.
Buffy went thus downstairs to find Willow in the kitchen. Her best friend was finishing her own breakfast and smiled at Buffy when she noticed her.
"Hey, Buffy. Did you sleep well?"
"Well, actually, yes. Who would have guessed that demons could make good soporifics?"
"Fortunately, we knew it was only temporary."
"Yes? Faith is with Dawn, isn’t she?"
"Yes, she said that we have to coddle you while she was away."
"Really? Doesn’t sound like Faith."
"Well, actually she said: Will, could you take care of B?, then she added: No groping with my girlfriend…so, I kinda understood that I have to coddle you."
"That’s more like Faith."
"B..Buffy? About yesterday…"
"Wasn’t you fault, Will."
"Yes but, I should have knocked…"
"Next time, we…well we will lock the door."
"No, you won’t."
"Huh?"
Willow smiled at the friend then said: "We had a big meeting this morning, Faith, Tara and I…Faith asked us to…well, she wanted to spend the whole day…and the whole night…alone with you in the house and asked us not to come today…so, I’ll go to Tara’s and Dawn will sleep at Xander’s."
"She did what? I can’t believe she did that."
"She wants it to be special."
"Yes she wants…"
"I can hardly imagine the two of you in the same bed without doing naughty things…How could you…you know…resist?"
Buffy’s skin was way redder when she answered.
"What can I say? It’s really important for Faith to go slowly so, we dated, went to restaurants, went to romantic and lovely walks, saw movies, spent nights in separate rooms… But when she first slept with me, I felt she was scared…her past was still there so, I didn’t push, we slept in each other’s arms the first two nights. Each night, we moved further and last night, I didn’t feel any fear coming from her...actually, I felt other feelings that I was too glad to share."
"I noticed."
"If you say another thing about yesterday night, I’m gonna give you a spanking."
"Oh, you scared me to hell."
They laughed a bit, then Buffy began to eat while Willow drank her coffee.
"Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"I’ve never seen you that happy, just wanna say it to you."
"Thanks, Will."
"And Faith, even if she still has her tough girl attitude, I can see that she is too."
"Yes, she can’t hide this kind of things. You can’t imagine how loving, caring and romantic she can be."
"Faith, romantic?"
"Yes, she is with me. I don’t know if she will drop the tough girl attitude with you or anyone in the Gang but, she is completely open with me and that’s what matters to me…she let me see the real Faith, see how wonderful she is and I love her in a way I can’t describe…she is the one, Will."
"I know."
"You know?"
"Tara analysed your auras. When you are together, she said that there is a harmony she had never seen in any couple before. You’re meant to be together, Buffy…enjoy it."
Buffy took Willow’s hand in hers and said: "Thanks, Will and I will and nothing will separate us…nothing has the strength to do it."
The wind was blowing inside the labyrinth, zigzagging between the stalactites and the stalagmites. Its surroundings were different now. There was no change in the tunnels, no changes in the pillars made of rocks, no, the changes were in the luminosity. It wasn’t dark anymore, shadows could be seen, it could see it for the first time since the 19th century and it could feel it, feel other winds that were still weak but increased in power with every inches it gained. The exit was close and it wasn’t the only one to notice it. The Outcast had moved and the wind pitied his future victims.
Buffy and Willow were still discussing in the kitchen when they heard the front door opening. The two friends exchanged a glance. It couldn’t be Faith, it was impossible for her to come back that soon, even if she was a slayer. Then, they saw Tara appear in the kitchen.
"Hi guys!" she then went down and gave Willow a quick kiss then sat on a chair.
"So, Buffy, how are you feeling this?"
"She is good, honey. A bit excited now that I have told her that she will spend the whole day with Faith."
"I can imagine."
The two witches couldn’t prevent a smile when they saw Buffy blushing again.
"Would you guys stop making fun of me? I think I achieved my blush quota of the day."
"So, what do you think, Tara? Should we stop?"
"Mmh, let me think about it…"
Fortunately for Buffy, the front door opened again and she was too pleased to run to the hall to see who it was…and she wasn’t disappointed.
"Fairy!"
"Hi, B!"
Buffy jumped into her girlfriend’s arms and they shared a long and loving kiss before pulling away. They stared at each other for long seconds before joining the two other girls in the kitchen, holding their hands.
"So, B. I suppose Will told you everything."
"Oh yeah."
"So, what are you waiting for…time is running." She pulled Buffy to her, gave her another kiss before saying: "I want this day to be unforgivable…so, you (kiss) shower (kiss), get dressed (kiss) and (kiss)…surprise."
Buffy didn’t answer, she smiled with all her teeth, then ran to the stairs, feeling Faith’s hand clapping her butt right after her first step.
Faith waited to hear Buffy slam the door before saying: "Tara, you get it?"
"Yes, it’s in the bag, near the TV."
Willow who didn’t know what they were talking about asked then: "What’s in the bag?"
"Not your business, Will. It’s a secret between Tar and me. Now, if you don’t mind…it’s not that I don’t appreciate your company. It’s just that I don’t need it now."
Willow looked at Faith who winked at her.
"Oh…oh, yes, I’m ready, Tara, you’re ready?"
"Yes, let’s go, honey."
The two witches wished Faith a good day then left the house.
Once alone, Faith sighed then smiled…a whole day just with Buffy…a whole day just for Buffy. After the events of the previous night, she had spent lot of time thinking about this day, she wanted it to be perfect and had thought at all the things that could please her girlfriend…and the first one was in the bag Tara bought at the mall today…she went to the TV, took the bag and looked at its content…it was perfect. She dived into the bag to grab it.
Willow and Tara were walking in the streets and, Tara had some trouble to keep her mouth shut against Willow’s insatiable curiosity.
"Come on, Tara! Please, tell me what’s in the bag."
"I repeat, Willow. I can’t…I promised."
"Yes, but it doesn’t count with me? I’m your girlfriend, you can’t resist me and I’m sure Faith would understand."
"No, I can’t and she wouldn’t."
"We won’t tell her, it would be our secret."
"N…no, if I tell you what’s in the bag and why Faith asked me to take it, y…she would know that you know just by looking at you."
"Why would she?"
"Be…because…it’s so not like her."
"That’s getting interesting…Tara you told me too much, you have to tell me what’s in the bag. Flowers? Jewels? It’s a gift, I’m sure of it."
"No…no…it…it’s not…really a gift, well in a way it is but…"
"Tara, please."
Tara looked at Willow and sighed, she was in "puppy dog eyes" attitude and she knew that she wouldn’t resist very long, she had never been able to resist Willow’s puppy dog eyes.
"All right…all right. There is a relation between what’s in the bag and Buffy’s new fascination and I won’t say anything else."
"That’s not a clue, we both know that Buffy is fascinated by Faith as much as Buffy is Faith’s fascination. They just can’t stay in a room without staring at each other as if there was nobody else."
"Well, yes but…rhaa, I thought Buffy told you."
"Told me what?"
Buffy looked another time at her reflection in the mirror. She wanted to be as pretty as possible. She knew that Faith had scheduled the day to be the "unforgettable" as she had said but Buffy wanted that day to be Faith’s day. So, she was wearing a white dress, the same one she had worn for their first real date. She knew that Faith liked her in that dress and it was the reason why she had chosen it. She had also put on her the vanilla perfume, the one that Faith couldn’t resist, the one that drove her crazy…she knew that it would probably arouse her girlfriend but, hell, it was the goal. She could feel that Faith and her would play with each other the whole day before going back home…the temperature would increase during the day to reach the highest degrees when the night would come.
Buffy looked a last time at her reflection, then, went out her room to go to the living room where Faith was probably waiting for her. Once downstairs, she entered the living room and was taken by surprise by the sight she had in front of her. No word could come to her lips, it was so…so unexpected…her brain was definitely on holidays because only three words could come in her mind, three words that illustrated what was in front of her:
Faith…skirt…leeeeggggggs.
Faith…skirt…leeeeggggggs.
Then, some adjectives came to her mind to complete the previous words.
Faith gorgeous…tiny leather skirt…oh my God, her leeeeeggggggs.
Faith gorgeous…tiny leather skirt…oh my God, her leeeeeggggggs.
Buffy couldn’t do anything but look at Faith who was just in front of her, sitting on the table with her legs crossed. She was wearing a black leather skirt and a ravishing top and for Buffy it was just the most magnificent sight she could imagine. She couldn’t move, couldn’t say anything, fascinated by her girlfriend who hadn’t lost the wicked smile she had had since Buffy had entered the room.
Faith looked at Buffy but didn’t move. If Buffy was in admiration with Faith, her girlfriend had noticed that the blond slayer had decided to wear the dress she had on their first real date…Faith liked Buffy in this dress, it was as if it had been create to take the exact shape of Buffy’s body…then, she couldn’t refrain the smile that had crossed her lips at the moment Buffy had noticed her own outfits…and especially her skirt.
Faith didn’t like skirts that much but since she and Buffy were a couple, the older slayer had told her again and again how she loved Faith’s legs, and Faith had noticed that every time Buffy had seen it, she couldn’t detached her gaze from it. As today was Buffy’s day, Faith had decided to give her a whole day peep on her legs and the only way to do it was to wear a skirt…a leather skirt of course, after all, she was still herself.
"Like the view, B?"
Buffy was still unable to say a word. So, she just nodded.
Faith stood up and moved to put her hands on Buffy’s cheeks.
"It’s for you, all for you…my love."
"Oh God, Fairy, you’re so beautiful…and this skirt…"
"I’m not the gorgeous one here, B. You are."
Then, they shared a long kiss that was soft and loving at first then became wilder and it was only when oxygen was missing that they split up.
Retaking her breath, Faith said: "Naughty, B…vanilla drives me crazy, you know that."
"We..we’re even thus, Fairy…your legs do the same to me. What’s next? I bet we’re not gonna stay home…at least not right now?"
"Hungry, B?"
Locking her eyes in Faith’s, the blond slayer replied: "Very! Starved!"
Oh God. Faith thought…playtime had just begun and she wasn’t sure that she would hold till the night.
"Picnic?"
If the wind could scream, it would probably express its joy. Finally, after more than a century locked into the labyrinth, it was free, free to go wherever it wanted, free to track the potential victims for the Outcast, free to release him once it had found the perfect host.
The wind was blowing under the hot and merciless heat given by the sun. Sands and dunes surrounded it, it was in a harsh desert but it knew that it was close to a town. It had always been like that. The labyrinth had only one exit that changed several times a day, trapping the poor walkers who had decided to explore it but there had always been a constant, it was never far from a high concentration of living beings and among them, the occasional victims of the Outcast. Thinking about him, he looked inside itself to find him. His spirit was fully awaken now, he was ready to strike. The five were still feeding him as they were supposed to do, as the five had always done.
A road sign crossed the wind's path, a name was written on it, the name of a town, the name of the place that would support the Outcast's curse this time. Sunnydale, a place of evil, the wind could sense it but it doubted that a soul as twisted, cruel and insane as the Outcast had ever lived there.
For what remained of the morning, they had walked and bought food and drinks for the picnic...when they weren't too busy staring to each other, groping or kissing. They were continually playing with each others by teasing each other sensuously or telling innuendoes. For the both of them, that was how life should be, enjoying the presence of the other, enjoying the teasing game that promised so much more for the last part of the day. They both knew that and, until that time, it was enough for their happiness.
They were running to their tree, the tree that had witnessed all their picnics since they had returned in Sunnydale. Buffy couldn't believe how fond Faith was of picnics now. Since Buffy's declaration of love, they had picnicked two to three times a week and Buffy enjoyed it more after each one of them. During picnics, they were together, during picnics, Faith was much more open than inside the house...even in their room, and yes, it was theirs now, Faith had never opened herself as much as during their picnic times well, until the night before. Buffy smiled while she remembered this time and even if Willow had interrupted them, she considered it as a very good memory.
Faith was running in front of her, holding her hand. Buffy could have easily run faster but she was glad to be behind her girlfriend, she could stare at her legs in this place. Yes, it had become her obsession but, damn, what legs, they were perfect. Faith was a gorgeous woman, shaped by the gods but, damn, her legs were so soft and beautiful, she could stare at them all day long and never got bored. She wanted to caress them, lick them slowly bite them and she knew she finally would...when the time would come...and it would come very soon...oh, yeah, life was good.
Buffy could see the tree now, they were close. She wondered why Faith was so in a hurry but didn't want to ask...the smiling and relaxed face of the woman she loved was all she needed...oh, yeah, life was good.
They had finally arrived at the tree. They quickly prepared everything for the picnic then, Buffy sat between Faith's legs and slowly put the back of her head on her girlfriend's shoulder, enjoying every part of this ritual. She loved being between Faith's arms that were now around her waist. It wasn't the ideal position to eat during a picnic but who cared, it was the best to feel the other and, today, Buffy had a bonus...in that position, she had the most unique view on Faith's legs...oh, yeah, life was good.
The wind was now blowing in the street of Sunnydale. It was a nice and pleasant town of the northern part of the New World or of the United States of America as it was called now. If the wind could smile, he would...it had never blown in this continent. It had seen many regions of Europe, Asia or Africa but had never crossed the Atlantic Ocean...or the Pacific one, it depended on where it had been.
Other places same modus operandi. Nothing really changed when humans were concerned. If humans had rejected evil, the Outcast would have been gone a long time ago but they hadn't. Locating twisted and Machiavellian humans had been as easy as before, all the wind had to do is to turn the corner of a street and it would find one of them. But it had already made its choice. It could feel him, could feel his selfish soul, could feel his glee when he lured his victims before taking advantage of them. He was just a beginner but the wind didn't care, the Outcast didn't care because fresh souls had always been the best ones.
Doors and windows were closed. There was no entry possible for the wind and it couldn't see anything because of closed shutters but it didn't care. He could feel him inside and patience was a quality. Soon, the Outcast would be free to follow his passion...to kill, to torture and other funny and pleasant activities. Soon, the five would be unleashed in the streets of Sunnydale. Soon, this town would bow under havoc.
They hadn’t changed their position even if the food and the drinks were gone; they were just too comfortable as they were Buffy’s head still resting in Faith’s shoulder. The brunette’s left hand was in Buffy’s right, their fingers entwined. They were just enjoying the moment with the tree, their tree as only witness.
Before, silence had always been awkward between the two slayers, now, they enjoyed it as much as everything. There were moments were no words were necessary and it was such a moment. Which word could replace the sensation of the presence of a lover in the arms of the other? Which word could replace all the sensations that the two women were experiencing at that moment, the fragrances that were just theirs, the sounds of their breaths, the incomparable feeling they shared when they kissed? Even a dictionary couldn’t content enough words to begin a description of these moments, these sensations.
Buffy had closed her eyes, enjoying all the little things that were Faith, moaning thanks to the brunette right hand that was playing with her hair, massaging her neck. Faith was so good at this. She was in heaven.
Faith enjoyed doing this to Buffy also and felt Buffy’s left hand tracing patterns on her left leg. She felt so good, Faith thanked God for her girlfriend fascination for her legs. She could wear skirts every day just to see the spark she had seen in Buffy’s eyes the same morning, just to feel Buffy’s hand massaging her legs.
Faith felt Buffy’s head move and locked her eyes in the blonde ones. She lost her breath a second just by seeing all the love these eyes contained, then she bowed her head to kiss those magnificent lips that were both sensuous and soft, answering Buffy’s silent request. Another request for which words weren’t useful.
"I wish I could stop the time right now to live these moments forever."
Faith smiled and kissed her girlfriend’s forehead before answering: "So do I, B. So do I."
Then, the younger slayer looked at her watch, they still had plenty of time but she really wanted to give her gift to Buffy now.
"B. I have something for you. A gift."
"Fairy, you shouldn’t have. I don’t need you to buy me gifts, I have you, you’re the only gift I need."
"Thanks, B but, don’t worry. This one didn’t cost a thing. Wanna see it?"
"Yes, do I have to move?" said Buffy with some regrets in her voice.
"Unfortunately, yes…but I won’t be long."
Buffy moved and Faith stood up. She gave then a quick kiss to Buffy before grabbing one of the lower boughs of the tree. She pulled and soon began to climb the tree. She had hidden her gift in it the same morning. She hadn’t hidden it very high but it took her a full minute before reaching the spot. She extended her hand and was a bit relieved to find it at the exact same place.
It was when she began to come down that she remembered something, something she hadn’t noticed when she had climbed because she was so absorbed by her gift for Buffy: she wasn’t wearing pants but a tiny skirt. It wasn’t the ideal outfits to climb…especially with your girlfriend below. She gave a quick glance to Buffy who quickly looked anywhere but at Faith when she noticed that the brunette was looking at her.
Faith felt so embarrassed. In climbing like a crazy lunatic in the tree, she had offered an unintentional show that the petite slayer had probably been too happy to watch. Faith had never been the kind of girl that was easily embarrassed but, with Buffy, it was different. This girl had softened her bad ass attitude and she liked it. As staying there wouldn’t do any good for the both of them, Faith came down.
When she reached the ground, she noticed that Buffy was still avoiding her glance. When Faith approached her, she looked down but seeing Faith’s legs again, she quickly looked up and was caught by Faith’s eyes. She had nowhere to look at, as she couldn’t prevent herself to look at her girlfriend. Both girls were blushing, red like tomatoes and seeing that the other was also embarrassed made them burst into laugh.
Buffy was the first to regain her senses.
"Sorry! I didn’t meant to…"
"Should have thought about it, B.. Besides, if someone had the right to see it, it’s you. Hope you enjoyed it."
The red that covered Buffy’s cheeks then didn’t need anymore comments.
"You also know that, as you’ve had an appetiser for tonight, you would have to find something to make us even."
"What?" Buffy rolled her eyes. "And what would I have to do?"
"Don’t know, B. Surprise me…I know you’re damn good at it."
"We’ll see…but you would have to behave."
"You’re sure you want me to behave, B?"
"Er…"
A smile crossed Faith’s lips and, since Buffy didn’t know what to do, she decided to change the subject. She grabbed Faith by the arm, pulled her to her and they shared another kiss that would certainly not be the last of the day, in fact, both slayers could spend the whole day just doing that, kissing each other.
"Mmmh Beware the mmmmh gift, B."
Buffy quickly but gently pushed Faith away. She had been so embarrassed herself that she had forgotten the gift. Fortunately, Faith had managed to preserve it from being crushed by their bodies. It was 50 to 60 centimetres long for 20 centimetres width. A red bend covered the white box.
Faith gave it to Buffy.
"This is for you, B. Open it."
Buffy took the present and carefully opened it. She began by the bend, then, slowly began to pull the above part of the box. When she had completely opened the box, she couldn’t prevent a huge shout of surprise.
Inside the box were flowers but not any flowers, roses, green roses, no, hazel ones, the roses perfectly matched Buffy’s eyes. With the flowers, a note, just a few words written by Faith.
Thanks for existing, B. Thanks for being you. Faith
"Oh God, Faith, they are beautiful. I…how did you find these, I’ve never seen…it should have cost you a fortune."
"Come, Buffy, let’s sit down? I’ll tell you everything."
Gently Faith took the flowers from Buffy’s hands, gave her a kiss, then, grabbed her girlfriend’s right hand and leaded her to the tree, then, she began to sit and pulled her to retake the position they had. Once it was done, Faith answered Buffy’s question.
"Since the end of our fight against Nefer guy, I wanted to give you something special, something that would only be for you. And I remembered a talk I had with Eona a few months ago. She was talking about another witch who had specialised herself in…in…fuck, I can’t remember the name…well, in a job in which she creates new kinds of flowers. She uses her magical skills to help her. So, I’ve sent Eona a note and a picture of you, asking her to contact Mother Nature to see if she could create roses with the colour of your eyes. I received a positive answer two days ago and I went to pick the flowers up this morning."
"So…these flowers are unique? I…I don’t know what to say except…thank you which seems so lame now…"
"Look under them, B."
Buffy quickly found a note under the flowers. It was a certificate for a new kind of flowers called "Buffy Hazel".
"You…you gave my name to…roses?"
"Well, yeah. Like roses, you’re wicked cool to look at and you have spines…"
"Spines?"
"Yeah…spines but, me, I just see a splendid woman with a damn hot body, sensuous eyes, the woman I dreamed about for so long, the woman I love."
"I might have spines but they won’t hurt you. I would never hurt you because all the things you’ve just said are valid for you too. I love you, Fairy."
"I love you too, B. Can I have a kiss now?"
"Only one kiss?"
"Hell, no. If you want to give me 100 kisses, I’m ready to go."
"100 is not enough, honey. Let’s go blow the figures."
Patience was a virtue but it was boring in the long run. The wind was fed up to blow in the same streets for hours. The sun was on its peak now and the shutters were still closed. The guy had potential but he had to learn to wake up sooner. If it was the wind's decision, it would have gone and would have looked for a new candidate long ago but the Outcast wanted him to be his host, wanted him because of his twisted soul, wanted him probably because he reminded him his former self.
The wind and the Outcast were linked together for centuries now and every time the Outcast had chosen a host, he had always done it according to several criteria's: Youth, cruelty, a total absence of remorse, Machiavellism and a strong appetite for life. This young man seemed to fulfill the criteria adequately.
Suddenly, the wind saw the shutters move, saw the curtains that were hidden behind them and, finally, could see the host. It didn't need to wait longer, it increased its speed, rushed towards the now open window and entered the room, going through the young man's body, crushing his soul and replacing it by the one of the host. Then, freed from him, it began to fade away, letting five smaller winds, barely breezes, move away. Its job was done, theirs had just begun.
The young man's body had trembled for a few minutes but the necessary adjustments had been done. The Outcast was full again, he had a body, a perfect, healthy and useful body. He had drained in his new brain the information he needed about this world, this new world, this new period, the events that had occurred during the last century...he knew everything, or everything he needed to know. He let his gaze wandering the town.
Sunnydale, California was very pleasant indeed. The progress in the new technologies and the communications would be very helpful for his passion. Before, he could have spent precious days just by looking for his victims. Now, he was damn sure that he would be able to locate them easily which meant that perhaps, this time, he would be able to solve his problem and let this community appreciate his art. This town smelt evil, this town had probably experienced evil for a long time now but they had never seen him in action. Soon, the show would begin, soon...
He then let his senses go, he smelt the air just to feel it in his lungs, he touched the outline of the window, just to feel something under his fingers then, he noticed something, a small and tickling feeling that he knew too well. It was too soon though. He had other things to do first. He slowly moved from the front of the window to the kitchen. During his move, he noticed his clothes on the floor. "His clothes," he liked the sound of it. For the last century, the only thing that had been his was the air the wind was taking away with it and the Five. He didn't miss the Five though, he never missed them, they were just tools for him, tools to remain "alive" even if he was trapped in the wind. The Five had fed him, the Five were almost dead, long live the Five. He smiled at his joke, it was an old one, older than he could remember but it was a kind of ritual, it had always been the first joke after his "resurrection".
He then felt a slight draught from the door and it reminded him of the wind, his only real companion when he was in it. It was the only regret he had. Centuries of wandering had strengthen their bond, centuries of wandering had changed their relationship. They had a kind of symbiotic relationship now. The Outcast darkness and his evil thought had tainted the once gentle and good wind. Now, he expected his new damage with almost the same joy than the Outcast himself.
He looked into the fridge - what a marvelous invention - and found a cold part of pizza that he quickly ingested. It was nothing compared to what he used to eat in London, the last time but it felt so good to be able to eat something again. He opened a can of beer and drank, savoring every sip, letting the liquid rest in his tongue. It was good to be alive again.
He quickly dropped what remained of his breakfast in the dustbin then, he gave a last glance at the kitchen, looking for something. Smiling, he opened a drawer and took a knife, a long, curved and sharp knife that had probably a use for cooking but he didn't care. He weighed the knife, appreciated the feeling of it in his hand then, went back in the bedroom.
Walking slowly, making as less noise as possible, he entered the room. His eyes were locked at the sleeping form he could see in the bed, hidden by the sheets. He could felt his hand press the knife because of his excitation.
He stopped near the woman who was still asleep and looked in the boy memory. He remembered every detail of the previous night, remembered every detail of them making love. It had been a long night and the two lovers had had lots of pleasure. This memory ravished him. Soon, he would feel this pleasure too but it wasn't the time yet.
He gently removed the sheet from the woman and admired the curves of her body. He had to admit it, the boy had a good taste, she was splendid maybe a little too thin according to the Outcast but she was beautiful. He put his hand on one of the girl's shoulder and pushed her slowly. She woke up, looked at her surroundings and began to panic.
"Shhh. Mary Ann, it's me."
"Wh...who are you? Wh...where..."
"So many questions in your head. " He gently caressed the woman's cheek before continuing. This gesture seemed to comfort Mary Ann a little bit.
"So many questions and, unfortunately, no answer."
And the woman had no time to scream because she barely had the time to notice the knife that cut her throat open. Her body convulsed a little on the bed before remaining still. The Outcast praised himself. He hadn't lost it. Now, it was time to perform his art. And, without losing his smile, he approached the knife to Mary Ann's body and began his disturbing passion.
The two slayers were still leaning against their tree. The "Buffy Hazel" were in a vase that Faith had brought with her the same morning. The dark slayer seemed to have thought about everything, she really wanted everything to be perfect and Buffy could see that her girlfriend was happy like she had never been before…and so was she.
Buffy’s hand was tracing crazy patterns on Faith’s right leg again while Faith’s left had retaken possession of the blonde’s neck. They were happy and nothing else mattered.
"So, B. What do you want to do next?"
Buffy blushed a bit at the question. The things that were coming in her mind were all related to bed and well, let’s say "clotheless."
"We can go to the Magic Box and train or…"
Buffy’s index was now on Faith’s lips and suddenly the dark slayer had trouble to remember how to breathe, how to swallow, there was so much love in the hazel eyes that were looking at her, so much…lust also.
"What I want to do is…YOU."
Was Faith blushing? Oh, yes, she was and Buffy found it the cutest thing in the world…Faith blushing because of sex, that was in complete opposition with the tough girl attitude but, hell, she had dropped it a long time ago with Buffy.
"If you can catch me, I’ll be yours for the rest of the day…you wanted us to be even. This is my way. I don’t want picnic anymore today, I don’t want anything but you. So, you catch me, we go back home and…do I have to continue?"
Faith shook her head, still unable to speak. She wanted it as much as Buffy and she knew that now, she had the same lust and love in her eyes, reflecting Buffy’s. She saw the petite slayer stood up, then saw her running. She counted till three then stood up and began the chase.
Both girls were giggling watching the other running. Buffy was still a few feet ahead but she knew that Faith would eventually catch her…even if she had to slow down…it wasn’t a chase she wanted to win…even if in that case, she would finally win. She could hear Faith’s laugh behind her and it was so good to hear. Finally, Faith had given up all her fears and doubts, and was enjoying the present moment like it should be.
Faith had glimpse of Buffy’s smile in front of her and her happiness increased with the sight. She was the one who made Buffy happy, she was the one she loved and it counted so much for the brunette. Life was worth it, since she had been with Buffy, she had discovered it and the older slayer was responsible for this discovery and Faith was so thankful for that. They were in love and nothing else mattered, they were together and they would remain together.
Finally, Faith jumped and grabbed Buffy. The slayers were on the ground now and were rolling together still giggling, still laughing and enjoying the presence of the other’s bodies on theirs.
"Now, can I take you in my arms and bring you home, B?"
"I’m all yours and you know it, Fairy."
"OH yeah but, before…"
Faith slowly put her lips on Buffy’s and they began a long and so sensuous kiss, the kind of kiss that could melt clothes just because of the increase of their bodies heat, the kind of kiss that always made them see stars, the kind of kiss both of them wanted to freeze into.
Faith was sweating but didn’t want to be the first to break the kiss. It was a contest that she wanted to win and she knew that Buffy felt the same. Then, a shiver. She wasn’t supposed to feel a shiver in her state, what did it mean? And Buffy? Why the hell had she suddenly stopped kissing her? Faith slowly removed her face from Buffy’s, locking her gaze in her girlfriend’s and immediately saw that there was a problem.
"You’ve finished?"
"Er..B…"
"OK, lady. As I can see, you’re not very talkative. So, I don’t know where we are and why you’re kissing me like that and I don’t care, was probably too drunk to remember. I don’t mind doing girl as long as I get paid. So, it’s two pennies."
"But..B, what’s wrong we you?"
The blonde pulled Faith away and continued while standing up.
"I repeat, I don’t mind to be your "bee" as long as you pay me," and saying it, she extended her hand.
"What are you talking about, B? Is it a game? I don’t think it’s funny."
"OK, lady. You don’t want to pay, I’m done with you. See you," and a shocked Faith saw her girlfriend move away.
Faith’s mind was in torment. What the hell had just happened? Why was B behaving like this? Her mind was checking the events of the previous minutes and she perfectly remembered the happiness and the kiss then…the shiver…magic, that was the only explanation. And, thinking about it, Buffy didn’t act like Buffy. It wasn’t Buffy’s way of behaving for sure but, it wasn’t her way to move, her way to speak. She had a curious accent now, a British accent, since when did Buffy speak with a British accent? And her gaze, it was so un-Buffy. Then, she ran after the thing that had just stolen her girlfriend’s body.
"B, wait!"
She didn’t have to run for long before joining the blonde. Faith noticed right away that something was wrong. The other girl seemed lost.
"B, what…"
"It’s you, isn’t it. You are the one who brought me here."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
The blonde ran again and Faith followed her, she could see distress in the other woman’s eyes, and fear. She finally caught her in a small street, grabbed her hand and forced her to listen to her.
"What did I do?"
"You…you are a sorceress…help, please help."
"What’s wrong with you?"
"Look at this place, these chariots that moved without horses, these buildings that are so high and your clothes? This isn’t London, this isn’t Britain. Where are we?"
"But…In Sunnydale, America."
"Oh, I see, so, what the colonists told us was true, you have accepted the devil’s help to gain your independence, this place is indeed a place of evil, I can smell it, all of you, you’re evil."
"B? What are you."
"And stop calling me your bee! My name is Eddowes, Catherine Eddowes. I’m not your toy…I…Oh God, I’m lost in Hell."
Faith put her hands on the blonde’s shoulders, she wanted to comfort her, or to comfort Buffy, she couldn’t prevent herself to think about her as Buffy. But the girl pulled her away and began to run shouting.
"You’re evil, you’re a sorceress, you’re the offspring of Satan. Someone help me, please…"
Faith was lost again, the blonde was running and soon would vanish in the streets. Looking around her, she noticed a dustbin with its metallic cover. She took the cover in her hand and throw it- to the blonde like a freesbee, tears in her eyes.
"Sorry, B."
The Scoobies were gathered at the Magic Box, as usual. Dawn wouldn’t be long before coming back for school but the other were there. Anya was busy with fellow and pro-American customers while Willow, Tara and Xander were sitting around the table? Xander was the most excited of all.
"Faith, in a skirt? Oh, I so want to see it."
"No…you’re not supposed to know it…W…Willow, you shouldn’t have…"
"I know, honey. You should punish me." Then, noticing the strange look in the two other’s eyes, she added. "Oh…I..I…wasn’t…It was just a joke, a metaphor or something…Nothing…Well.."
"Well, we…We should be careful. If Faith learned that we know it…"
"Big trouble for us, yes, I know and I bet Buffy wouldn’t help us."
The phone rang and Xander took it to see if his new gadget worked. He had just installed the little device that could read the caller’s number.
"It’s from House Summers. Guess the little slayers have found time to call us…Do you think they are making a break."
"Hello, Magic Box. What can we do for you? Aphrodisiacs?"
"Xander!" and the carpenter feel suddenly two elbows in his ribs. One by witch.
"Aouch!" It was at that moment that he noticed that something was wrong. There was no answer at the phone. He quickly switched the speaker on and asked:
"Buffy? Faith? Is everything alright?"
Then, they heard a tiny teary voice answering:
"I…I hit her!"
Dedication: To Broody, Jammley, Eliza Lover, Faithful Chickie, Piper, Elegy, Amy, Aly, T. Pierce, Sylvie and Shadowmage. Thanks for your FB.
The Outcast had just left the woman's apartment. He had been very careful not to be seen by anybody. He knew that the boy and his conquest hadn't been seen when they had moved in the night before. The Outcast smiled at this memory that wasn't his but was pleasant though. He was in the street now, just in front of the building he had just left. Noticing a phone box at the corner of the street, he walked in, took the phone, dialled a number and waited for an answer.
“Sunnydale Police Department. What can I do for you?”
“Hello, I...I've just heard screams coming from my neighbour's apartment....it...I don't know what to do...it was so....it was terrifying and had so much pain in it...I...”
“Keep your calm, mister. I'll send a patrol just to check. Can I have your name, please?”
“Capshaw, Reginald Capshaw. 1425 Oak Drive...it occurred in the apartment just above mine...screams and then...nothing...this silence, Oh my God, it is so stressing.”
“Don't worry, Mr Capshaw, the patrol is already on its way. Stay locked in your apartment and wait for them.”
“T...thank you, Miss...I'll do that.”
The smile on the Outcast's lips grew wider and he had a hard time not to laugh. He hung off and breathed. This world was too good to be true. He was delighted just by thinking about all the fun he would have during the upcoming days. He could already hear the sirens of the police patrol. But he didn't want to see them, he had other things to do. He took the phone once again and dialled the number for the information then, waited again for an answer.
“Hello, Information service.”
“Yes, hello, Milady. I just want to have the phone numbers of the four most important TV channels in California.”
“Certainly, Sir.”
Oh, yeah, this world would be so much fun to live in it.
Faith was pacing. She was in Buffy's room, no, their room and didn't know what to do. The Scoobies were on their way but she was so afraid of having lost Buffy, lost her love. She didn't want to stay in the living room anymore. After having knocked the blonde down with the cover, something she still had trouble dealing with, she had brought her in their house and had chained her in the living room. Then, remorse had assaulted her. Seeing the bruise on Buffy temple, seeing her marvellous face hurt had awaken bad memories in her mind, memories of a time she so wanted to erase from History. Even if she knew that she hadn’t really hurt her Buffy and that she couldn’t have done anything else to stop the shrew…she still felt miserable and guilty…and it was that bitch’s fault.
She had verified that blonde girl couldn't escape then, had come in the bedroom, the only place that the bitch hadn't tainted by her presence. It was the only place that was still Buffy. In this room, she could smell Buffy's perfume, the vanilla scents that drove her crazy every time she smelt it.
She had stayed on their bed for a long time, imagining Buffy laying in it with her. Some day, would she ever have the joy to wake up with her love? Why? Why couldn't she enjoy happiness? Why couldn’t they live happily ever after? Why Buffy? That wasn't fair! That was so unfair! Who did this? What did this? Was it the curse? Too many questions and she so needed answers. It was killing her not to have a clue about what was happening. Now, too nervous to stay in the bed, she was pacing.
She had looked at the pictures of Buffy, Buffy and Dawn, Buffy and Joyce, Buffy and the Scoobies and noticed the absence of a picture showing them together...Buffy and Faith, the Chosen Two…in love. She remembered that day, three or four days before, when Buffy asked her to remind her to buy a film to immortalize their love...she had forgotten and now regretted it with all her soul.
She went to the bathroom, washed her hands and put them wet on her face. Then, she looked at her image in the mirror that was hanging above the sink and let her mind go, remembering the events of the day, this perfect day with Buffy, her eyes when she had seen her in her skirt, the lust she had seen in them at that moment. She remembered her joy when she had seen her gift, Buffy’s gentle caresses in her legs that had aroused her so much, Buffy's "What I want to do is…YOU" comment…oh yeah, that comment.
Then, she remembered the last weeks, the best weeks of her life, the weeks with Buffy. She remembered the first time Buffy had really said that she cared about her, this day, just after they had vanquished Buffy's beast. She remembered the words as if she had just heard them:
"... and when I look at you, the only person I see is my friend, the one who makes me laugh, the one who embarrasses me so easily, the one who saved my life more than once, the one I care about, the one I need in my life...Yes, Faith...I've forgiven you and I know I need you in my life...as a friend and ...maybe more."
"Maybe more," that was what Faith wanted more than anything. This day, she had accepted her back in her life, something Faith had dreamed about so often in her cell. This day, Buffy had given her hope for the future, this day had been the first life lesson Faith had received from Buffy: Life is worth living.
And then, she remembered the declaration. It was so unexpected, so good to hear, so good to feel through their first kiss...And this sentence, this sentence that Faith had always found beautiful and so right, a real definition of what they meant for each other:
"I want to be your future as much as I want me to be yours."
So why? Why did they take her away from her? Faith couldn't stand a life without Buffy. Buffy was her future...and she was hers...she was hers...SHE WAS HERS. Her fist was on the mirror now, breaking it in pieces. Blood was dropping in the sink, her blood. A small smile crossed her lips…things were going to change. She wouldn’t let despair conquer her, not now, not ever.
Faith looked again at her broken image in what was left of the mirror. Yes, she was Buffy's future and she was it more than ever. Every time she had had trouble, her first reaction had always been brooding and running away...but that was the old Faith, the pre-Buffy Faith. It wasn't the time to whine and regret things, it was the time to act. Now, more than ever, Faith was Buffy's future.
Life, hope and love, three words that have gained so much importance for Faith the last weeks, three words that were the basis of what Buffy had taught her, no, of what Buffy had made her realize and she wasn’t gonna forget it. She would live to save Buffy, hope would never leave her and she would feed on her love for Buffy to achieve her goal…things were going to change.
She went back to the bedroom to change her clothes. She folded the skirt, paying attention not to soil it. This skirt was Buffy's...and she would wear it when she'd be back. She put her usual leather pants and then, looked in Buffy's wardrobe. She wanted to wear Buffy's leather jacket, the red one she had seen her wear once. She quickly found it, put it on her and then went downstairs.
She went directly to the kitchen, took a bowl in the cupboard, fill it in with water then moved to the living room where the blonde was still laying on the floor. She kneed in front of the chained girl then throw the water on her face. The girl jumped, taken by surprise but fully awake now. She looked at her surroundings before recognizing Faith. Terror was back on her features.
“You...what...what do you want from me?”
Faith took a mirror in a drawer then presented it in front of her prisoner.
“OK, see in the mirror. That's the face of the woman I love. I don't know how you did it but you are now squatting her body and I want her back. See, we’re on the same boat.”
“No, you're trying to play with me, you're a sorceress, one of Satan's mistresses. I know it, you play with humans, we are just tools for you. You tell us crazy things and make us believe them but eventually, you'd kill me...and who knows what other disgusting idea you have in mind.”
“Oh, let go that crap, will you...”
Then, Faith saw the woman join her hands to pray. As the first words of a prayer left the blonde's lips, Faith sighed heavily. It wasn't gonna be easy.
Dawn ran out of the car as soon as it had stopped. The other Scoobies were behind her but all she wanted was to enter the house to see what had happened. "I hit her," that was all Faith had been able to say when she had called them and Dawn wondered what the hell had forced Faith to do it. She knew how important Buffy was for Faith. She knew that Faith wouldn't do anything to hurt her sister and even if Faith had seemed so guilty on the phone, Dawn had never doubted that it had to be an explanation to this mess.
Willow and Tara were just behind Dawn. Willow's first reaction to Faith's phone call had been anger. The first thought that had crossed her mind was that Faith had hurt Buffy on purpose...then, she knew that she was wrong and felt ashamed. Faith loved Buffy and she had no doubts about it. Besides, the brunette would never have called them if she had done it intentionally. So, what could have happened...the second thought was that Buffy's beast had awaken again and that Faith had to knock it down...but it wasn't logical either...so, what could have forced Faith to hurt Buffy? She didn't know and it scared her.
Xander followed the three women. Anya had stayed at the Magic Box, still busy with customers but he knew that she also was worried. She never showed it to the others but he knew her too well to miss it. And he was worried too. If the two slayers were obliged to fight each other, it could only mean one thing, trouble and pain...Well, that was two things but that wasn't the point...
Dawn and the witches quickly entered the house. Once inside, they heard Faith's voice...she was angry and impatient, these two feelings were recognizable in her voice.
“I'm not a fucking offspring of Satan and I'm not fucking with your mind and prayers won't hurt me...so, drop the bullshit and answer me.”
The Scoobies moved in the living room to see Faith kneeing in front of Buffy who had been chained. They were ready to speak, to ask what the hell was wrong when they heard the blonde’s prayers…and they automatically noticed the accent, they automatically noticed Buffy’s strange behaviour and for a minute they didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to do except watch.
“Geez, bitch! Do you have something in this sponge you call brain? Is it so difficult to see that we are in the same shit?”
The blonde didn’t answer and continued to pray. It was at that time that Dawn found the courage to approach her sister.
“Buffy?”
The blond woman looked at the younger Summers and her eyes became wide, her fear had reached a new level just by seeing the young girl. She tried to run but couldn’t because of the chains.
“NO, LET ME GO! PROTECT ME FROM IT! NO, PLEASE…MERCY.”
Dawn made a step back, she didn’t know what to do, what was Buffy talking about? The other Scoobies were also speechless.
The blonde then turned her head towards Faith and said:
“I knew you were a liar. You were just trying to distract me while this…(pointing her index to Dawn) green glowing demon was coming. So, that was it! I’m the sacrifice…oh God, please God, help me!”
If the Scoobies had been speechless after the blonde’s first comments, this time they were completely shocked as they realized what the woman had just said…she wasn’t seeing Dawn, she was seeing the Key.
The Outcast really loved this world. He had known that it had potential when he had taken possession of the boy’s body but he hadn’t realized how much potential he had at his disposal. He was impatient to see tonight’s newsflash on TV, impatient to hear the journalists explaining how he had performed his art. Maybe they would show images of his work that would be fun, that would be an international acknowledgment. Maybe there would have groupies that would follow his lead. That could be fun.
And what about the web, this magnificent invention that facilitated life so much? His life in this case. That could be the solution, maybe he could create and design his own site to explain to the groupies how to perform, how to excel in his art.
Anyway, Internet is really the invention of the past century. All these data available to everybody, train schedules, yellow pages, yes, the yellow pages with the addresses of the town’s inhabitants, with the address of his next target…Anne.
During his previous incarnations, he had always had problems to find his victims, his tools. There weren’t any directory that gathered the town’s population, mentioned their addresses, etc…this was way easier than before. Maybe he would be able to mass-execute his art…maybe he would have time to solve his real problem this time.
He looked at the street’s name. That was it, that was the street in which his next victim was living. Suddenly, he saw police cars in the road. That was strange. He hadn’t warned them. He warned the cops after his work done, had thought lots of times to let them watch it but, had never warned them before…He smiled at his joke then approached the crowd that was gathering around a house in the street. His victim’s house.
That was something that would never change: curiosity and particularly morbid curiosity. Humans, so different and so alike at the same time.
The Outcast noticed an old lady amongst the crowd. He went to her and began the conversation:
“Hello, milady. Sorry to disturb you but what happened here?”
“Oh, a tragedy. The little Evy who lives there. A sweet and charming girl. I was her babysitter when she was a baby…She is in college now.”
OK, he was talking to the babbling type of grandma. But they were the best to have information.
“What tragedy, lady?”
“I don’t know. It was as if she had become insane. She continually shouted that she was in Hell that there were monsters, metal monsters everywhere then, she ran across the street and had been hit by a car. She is in the hospital right now. OH I hope she is safe. Do you…do you think it could be drugs?”
“I don’t know, milady. But, it is a sad story, indeed. I really hope she’ll get better. Thank you again and take care of you.”
“Thank you, boy.”
OK, this world was a little less fun now. Of course, he hadn’t had problem to adapt himself to this world, he had had the boy’s brain to help him…but the Five hadn’t the same privileges and there had been huge changes in the world in a century…Yes, it wasn’t a world for Victorian women…really not a world for Victorian women.
After Xander had reluctantly accepted to watch the blonde, Dawn, Willow, Tara and Faith had moved in the kitchen, still stunned by what the blonde had just told them. Faith’s mind was in torment, if the woman could see Dawn as the Key, it could only mean that she was insane and she couldn’t prevent herself of thinking that Buffy had been cursed and that her curse was insanity.
Dawn was sitting on a chair, sobbing. Tara was at her side and was trying to comfort her but didn’t seem to succeed in it. Faith wanted to hold Dawn in her arms but she knew, in looking in Willow’s eyes that her girlfriend’s best friend wanted answers and Faith needed to speak, even if she would never admit it.
Willow was analysing Faith’s behaviour. The girl seemed to be in control of her nerves but the red head could see that it was just a façade. Her inner torment clearly appeared in her eyes. The glances she constantly launched towards the door to the living room, the fact that she wasn’t able to remain still just confirmed that.
Faith finally spoke:
“I…I don’t know what happened.”
“Just tell us what you remember.”
Willow’s voice was calm and comforting.
“We… we were in the park, picnicking. Everything was perfect then, I chase her. It was a game, she wanted me to catch her and so, I did and then we were kissing and suddenly…Buffy wasn’t there and that bitch was in B’s body.”
“So?” Willow was the one who asked the questions, the two other girls remained speechless.
“I…I didn’t know what to do, she was running away…so…I hit her.”
The three other girls had noticed the guilt that had appeared in Faith’s voice. The dark slayer had kept a though attitude while she had been explaining the events of the beginning of the afternoon, it was the first time that her voice betrayed her even if Willow had noticed that her eyes were constantly avoiding theirs. Dawn, who had stopped sobbing moved from her chair and took Faith in her arms. The two brunettes didn’t exchanged a word, Dawn was crying again but Faith’s presence seemed to calm her. Faith had accepted the hug but didn’t express any feeling even if Willow could swear that she appreciated it.
Faith gently pulled Dawn away, giving her a quick kiss that neither witch noticed. Dawn looked into the older brunette’s eyes and smiled a little. She knew that Faith was hurt, knew that her hug had comforted her a little. If Faith and her had been alone in the kitchen, she was certain that Faith would have dropped her tough attitude but not with the witches attending the event. She wasn’t the one to show her feelings except with Buffy and her but not with the other Scoobies, not yet, maybe one day.
“Do you remember anything else?” she then asked.
“Yes, one thing…a cold wind that made me shiver…it was as if something was going through me. I don’t know how to explain but…I…I wasn’t in a situation…I shouldn’t have felt it at that moment.”
Willow cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed.
“So, you believe this wind wasn’t natural?” This time, it was Tara who was speaking.
“I believe that whatever is doing this to B…it came with the wind.”
Tara looked at Willow and said: "That makes sense, most of the transferring spells are cast with the help of powerful winds or breezes."
“Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Honey, have you checked her aura?”
"Y...yes, and it isn’t Buffy."
“Faith, this…this woman who took Buffy’s body…what do you know about her?”
“Not much. She is crazy, for sure. She asked me money to fuck with her so I figured out what her job is and…yes, she is from London she even gave me her name…Eddowes, Catherine Eddowes, I remember it cause the owner of Mum’s apartment had the same name.”
“Anything else?”
“Let me think…oh yeah, she said that we won our independence thanks to the Devil.”
“OK, that’s the beginning.”
“What are we gonna do, now?”
Willow was about to answer Dawn when she saw something change in Faith’s eyes and then, the brunette began to speak.
"Move our asses, that’s what we’re gonna do. Will, Tara and Double M, you’re gonna look in the books, I’ll tell Xander to go and pick up Chip Boy, he’s English and he knows how to read so, he’ll be helpful."
“And you, what are you gonna do?”
“Give some phone calls. The first in London, the second in LA and the third in Frisco. Then, I’ll help you.”
The night had replaced the day when The Outcast arrived at the Sunnydale Hospital. He had always liked the first minutes of the night, when the good citizen were back home, enjoying rest, when the creatures of the night began to walk the streets, looking for victims.
He had walked the whole afternoon, visiting the town. Even if he had the boy memories, he wanted to look at it by himself, the boy didn’t pay enough attention to potential hiding place and stuff like that. He had to. Now, he was entering the Hospital, went to the phone box, places he knew very well now and dialled the Hospital number.
“Hello?”
“Excuse me, lady but…I’m Miss Evy Walters’s uncle and I’ve just….I’ve just heard that she has been injured in a car crash…Is…Is she OK?”
“Let me check…Evy Walters. Oh, I’m sorry, Sir. Your niece in the coma now and…”
“Oh my God. Oh God no. Is…Do you know if…”
“I don’t know, sir. Maybe you should talk to the doctor who’s in charge of her but he is in surgery now so…”
“Yes, I…I’ll call him later….Lady? Do…do you know if I can visit her and if I can…I which room is she?”
“She is in the Emergency Department…room 14.”
“Thank you Lady, thank you so much.”
The Outcast hung off the phone. Once again, his dramatic skills had amazed him. It was so easy to play with people’s feelings and obtain what he wanted. So, now, where was the Emergency Department?
The living room was a mess, books were laying everywhere and they had found nothing useful. When the girls had entered the room after their talk in the kitchen, the blonde had screamed louder than before the witch had had to cast a spell to make her fall asleep and she was now sleeping on the sofa.
Spike was sitting on the floor, next to the sofa. When Xander had come to pick him up, he had been very mean to the man. Not that it changed anything, he didn’t like the man that much but he should have guessed that something really big had happened. Then, when Xander had told him that somebody had replaced Buffy’s soul by the one of a perfect stranger, he had run to help them…as it had always been the case since he had fallen in love with the blond slayer, as it would always been the case. He could have run away, could have crossed the oceans to avoid the girl but he couldn’t, his feelings were changing…he was beginning to develop a brotherly relationship with the Summers women and, strangely enough, it didn’t make him mad as much as he had thought it would. He couldn’t have Buffy as a lover but he would have her as a friend, it was a need that was stronger than anything, even his demonic part.
Seeing Bufy like this was hard. He had seen her right before the witches caught their spell and wasn’t ready to forget that. And what about that name, Catherine Eddowes? He was sure that he had already heard that name before but where? It was frustrating, he had the answer somewhere in his brain but couldn’t find it.
He then looked at Faith who was still reading books like himself. He wondered how she could be so calm while her love wasn’t there, while she didn’t know where she was. He decided thus to analyse the girl, tried to find something that could betray some feeling. She couldn’t really be that calm in these circumstances. And he was right. After five minutes, he had noticed the glances she launched to the sleeping form on the sofa but what was bothering him now is that the glances weren’t friendly ones, they were more like a “I so want to hit you now, bitch” kind of glance. That wasn’t good that wasn’t good at all.
“Faith?”
“Yep, found something Chip Boy?”
“No, nothing and it’s boring here now. What about some action? Evil is still lurking around in the bushes. Do you want to make a quick patrol so we can beat the crap out of them?”
Spike locked his eyes in Faith’s, showing her that he wanted to speak to her alone and the dark slayer nodded, put the leather jacket that was on a chair, Buffy’s jacket, Spike was sure of it, then, they moved out of the house.
Finding a doctor blouse hadn’t been difficult. Hospital would never change, it was still so easy to pretend to be a doctor. The Outcast was now in the Emergency department, just in front of Anne’s room…executing his art in a hospital, that would be a first. That would be fun. He entered the room and then, noticed that he wasn’t the only one to have had the idea of disguising himself as a doctor.
A vampire was on the right corner of the room, the one that wasn’t visible from the door. He had his fangs in the neck of a nurse but The Outcast could see that the woman was still alive but too weak to scream.
“OH, sorry, I didn’t want to disturb you during your lunch.”
The vampire finally noticed The Outcast and looked at him, surprised.
The Outcast made his way to the bed where Anne was laying.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Oh, please continue as if I wasn’t here.”
“Do… do you know what I am?”
The Outcast looked at him, amused.
“Yes, you’re a vampire. I knew you existed but you’re the first one I see. Now, I have work to do, please finish the nurse before she become cold.”
The vampire looked at the boy amazed. Who was this guy who seemed so sure of himself? He had something that captivated him. He saw him take a knife our of his pocket then, noticed that he was looking at him again, embarrassed.
“Excuse me, Mister the vampire but…would you mind if I borrow the gloves of your nurse. You see, I performed my art this morning with my bare hands and…they were dirty after. So, would you mind? No! Thank you.”
And, without waiting for the vampire’s answer, he took the gloves out of the nurse’s pocket.
The vampire couldn’t believe it. Who was that guy? He saw the boy returned to the bed, then, saw him turned his head towards him again.
“You know what would be fun? That you let her watch my art. I’ve never let someone watch me doing this and it would be so exciting to do so. Could you watch it with her? Of course, I don’t ask you to restrain yourself but, could you drink her slowly? I want her and you, both of you to watch it. It doesn’t bother you? Thank you, thank you so much. OK, now let’s go.”
This guy didn’t stop to amaze the vampire but he found him funny too. This could be interesting and so, while the guy was ready to begin, he sank his fangs in the woman’s neck again but drank slowly.
“Er…it’s not that I absolutely want to bother you again and again but…could you drink silently…It’s my first show in public and I’m nervous. And little noise like that could irritate me and ruin everything so, would you mind?”
Spike and Faith were walking in the street now.
“So, what do you want to speak about, Chip Boy. I don’t have that much time, I have books to read.”
“I was making you a favour, Darkie.”
“A favour. That’d be a first. You hate me, Spike. I stole B from you…not that you had her but you were taking advantage of her…I should just stake you for this but B seems to care about you and I don’t want to make her mad.”
“And I don’t want you to hurt her.”
“Do you think I would? You don’t know me, I love B and I won’t do anything to her.”
“That’s not what I saw a few minutes ago.”
“What?”
“You were looking at Blondie as if you were planning to stab her. If you had had guns in your eyes, the poor girl would have been transformed in grated cheese. There was hatred in your eyes, Faith and I don’t think it’s for Buffy…I’m more worried of what your hatred could do to Buffy’s body.”
Spike felt Faith’s hand in his throat before seeing it and find himself pinned on a wall.
“You wanna know the truth, Spike? Are you sure? You’re right. That bitch had stolen Buffy’s body, she is soiling it by her sole presence and I can’t stop thinking about it every time I see her. Sometimes, I want to open her and throw her soul away. Happy now?”
She let him go then, sat on a bench, her eyes lost in the horizon.
“I understand the feeling, Faith, and I don’t think it is something you have to be ashamed of. I think it’s a normal feeling after what had just happened. The most important thing is that you would never hurt her and I know that. You’re right on one thing, I still feel that you stole Buffy from me but I don’t hate you. I’m jealous of you, a hell lot but that’s all.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
Spike put his hand in his jacket, took his cigarettes and his lighter.
“Do you have a cig for me?”
Spike nodded and gave a cigarette to Faith who, strangely enough didn’t smoke it, she just looked at it for a long minute.
“You know…they not made to decorate, you have to smoke them, put them in your mouth and…”
“Have you noticed Spike?”
“Noticed what?”
“That cigarettes and humans have lots in common.”
“Err…Like what?” Spike was puzzled by the comment.
“I smoked a bit when I was…never mind. When I look at cigarettes and at the way they waste away, I can easily compare them to us. We are just cigarettes that the PTB, the Gods or whatever is up there suck. Some of them are hard sucker and end a life quickly, other take the time to savour it before finishing their cig, giving the human the cig represent enough time to enjoy life. And sometimes, the guys are real bastards who suck hard for a while, then let it slowly wasted away and they repeat it again and again, never really letting the time for the poor human they are messing with to enjoy life. That’s B’s case and mine.”
“Well. I…I’ve never thought about it that way but…”
“That will change!”
“What do you mean?”
"I won’t stay here, sitting in my butt, saying to myself that I can’t do anything, that it’s fate or bullshits like that. Usually, humans don’t have the knowledge or the power to change things but I have them."
She moved to Spike then continue.
“I fuck the PTB, I fuck the Gods, I fuck them all. I’m the slayer and they will see what that means. I’m gonna find B and bring her back. And if in doing so, I have to crush or kill every fucking life smokers so, I will. They’re playing with the wrong girls and they’ll regret it.”
Spike saw Faith walked away and quickly followed her. What the brunette had just told him, it was a declaration of war. A declaration against all the powers that make this Earth revolve…It was so…he grabbed her arm and make her look at him in front of a TV shop.
“Faith, Faith. how would you…”
“I don’t know, Spike. I don’t know but believe me, I will.”
Spike was in awe in front of the determination he could see in Faith’s eyes and at that moment he knew, he knew that nothing would stop the brunette. She was determined to find Buffy and she would, there was no doubt in the dark slayer’s mind anymore. Then, he saw a newsflash on the TV that was standing in the shop window and he saw images and reports about a crime that had been perpetrated in Sunnydale during the afternoon.
“Faith!”
Seeing Spike pointing his finger towards the TV, Faith watched the flash. They didn’t have the sound but the images and texts were quite explicit. The journalists were saying that there were lots of similarities between this crime and the ones Jack the Ripper had committed in London in the end of the XIX century. London, XIX century…no, it couldn’t be but…what was the link with B and the bitch?
“Spike, don’t tell me that you believe…”
“Oh, yes. I believe he is back, Darkie and I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Coincidences?”
“I told you I have already heard that name, Catherine Eddowes. I couldn’t remember where I heard it, now I remember. Catherine Eddowes, she was the Ripper’s fourth victim.”
Dedication: To Broody, FC, Jamlley, Sam, Amy, Elegy, piper, T. Pierce, Eliza Lover and Aly, thanks for your feedbacks.
Faith had left Spike finish the patrol. She had to go back home and tell the others what they had found…home, that was still something she had trouble dealing with, she had a home now, she wasn’t lonely anymore…yet, she was because she knew that as long as Buffy would be gone, she wouldn’t have a real home. A home wasn’t a place to stay, a home was where your heart belonged, near the one you loved, near the girl she loved, near Buffy.
Speaking to Spike had helped…a lot. She had said to him words she was continually repeating herself, words that had gained so much power just by escaping her mouth. Telling them out loud had given them a consistence, telling them had strengthened her determination. She was gonna bring Buffy back and no one, nothing would stop her, especially now that they had found a clue.
So, there was a link with Jack the Ripper. Spike even thought that the bastard was back. She didn’t care about who it was, she didn’t care about what it was. Human or demon, he was going to pay. There were still lots of questions unanswered. Why the fuck was a Victorian serial killer doing in Sunnydale in the XXIst century? Why the fuck was the soul of one of his victims trapped in Buffy’s body? And where the hell was her B? She missed her so much, every minute without her seems like an agony for Faith.
She tried to remember what she knew about the Ripper and it wasn’t much. She knew that he killed several prostitutes in the 19th century, earning a well-deserved nickname for what he did to them. She also knew that he suddenly disappeared and that nobody had ever heard of him since that time. But that was it, she had lots of blanks to fill in. Fortunately, the gang would help her and the Council too. These guys had books and were English.
She remembered the concerned voice Giles had had on the phone when she had spoken to him earlier this day. He had quickly said that the symptoms Buffy was suffering from could be related to several different causes. What if one of these causes was related to the Ripper? That could be of great help for them. Moreover, the nickname of Giles was Ripper too, it would have been astonishing that he had never dug a bit to gather information about his insane alter ego. And what about Wesley? He promised to help and had books too and contacts, that could be another great source of information.
Thinking about it was good, she had a clue, a strong one and with that clue, she’d find B and end this masquerade. She didn’t care about Catherine Eddowes, she could go to hell. She knew that it was a selfish way of thinking, she knew that the girl wasn’t responsible for this mess but Buffy couldn’t share her body. And if Catherine had to vanish to leave her lover’s body, Faith wasn’t gonna cry because of it. The only thing that was important to Faith was to find and bring Buffy back. Nothing else mattered. She would maybe feel guilty about Catherine but she could bear it with Buffy, she could bear everything with Buffy…she didn’t see how she could live without her.
The noise of a motorbike motor took Faith out of her thoughts. She looked at the motorbike and saw that a girl with a black helmet, a girl with leather outfits, drove it. Faith recognized who it was. She had been sure that she would come when she had left the message on the voice mail. She more than anyone understood what she was going trough. She saw Andrea remove her helmet, she had still her hair in a ponytail, she saw her put her left foot on the ground then, walked to her.
"Hey, Sis."
"Hey."
They stared to each other a little bit, no words were needed, and they knew each other so well. Then, Andrea surprised Faith. She didn’t hug her, they weren’t the hugging types of girls, well, most of the time, but she kissed her on the cheek then whispered in her ear:
"We’ll find her…together."
She then pulled Faith away, winked to her and said:
"Come on, let’s go home, sis."
Faith was unable to say a word. She had read somewhere that family members should support each other when problems came. She had never had a family…until now. She had never experienced this support…until now. And it lightened the weight she had on her shoulders a hell lot.
"Come on, sis. You have guests who are waiting for you."
"Guests?"
The Outcast and his new friend were walking out of the hospital. The vampire seemed a lot more pale than usual. When they were out of sight of anyone who could leave the place, the vampire stopped, looked down and saw spots on his shoes and pants, red spots, bloody spots.
The Outcast watched the vampire trying to clean this mess amused. A giggle escaped his lips, a giggle that was noticed directly by his companion.
"What’s so funny?"
"Sorry, Brutus. I didn’t want to be rude or disrespectful but…I didn’t know vampires could vomit."
"Well, I didn’t know either."
"I should have waited you to finish your meal. After all, the poor girl didn’t stand long…she seemed pretty though…pity."
"What you did to…this girl?"
"Yes? What? Don’t tell me it bothers you? You’re a demon, you should have enjoyed the show."
"I’m a demon, yeah but…there are things that even a demon can’t do or watch. What you did to her was…there is no word to describe it, you’re insane, man."
"Insane, crazy, lunatic, man with bats in his belfry, I’ve heard these words so many times in my lives, Brutus. You’re wrong, they all were. I’m not insane. An insane is a man who pretends to be someone else, a crazy man is someone who acts strangely without reasons."
"And that’s not what you do?"
"No, I have a purpose, Brutus. I’ve created a new form of art and as many other artists, I’d wait a long time before being recognized as such. Perhaps, I will never been recognized like so many of my peers. I’m like Nero, the Roman emperor who burned Rome just to see the beauty of his town in flames. I was there, Brutus and it was magnificent. Nero was an artist too and History describes him as an insane but one day, Brutus, they would see him as a genius, one day, Brutus, they would speak about me with pride. So, have you planned something for the rest of the night. I haven’t talked to many people for the last centuries and I’d be delighted to buy you a drink."
Brutus didn’t know why he still was with this guy. He was crazy and was proud of it. If he could shout his doings, he would do it. Yet, he fascinated him. He had a charisma and a self-confidence that were undeniable and difficult to resist. He was pure evil and it fascinated the vampire that quickly followed him.
Dawn was sitting on a chair, waiting for Faith and Andrea like everyone in the room. She had been pleased to see Andrea again. She liked the girl, it wasn’t a secret. With Andrea and Faith around, she had no doubts that her sister would be back soon. She had no doubts that the thing that had taken her sister’s place would vanish to hell soon, the place she deserved to be. She looked at the sleeping form of the usurper. They had to give her some medication to calm her down. The tranquillisers had worked, the girl had fallen in the arms of Morpheus soon after having swallowed them. Dawn sighed loudly then, look at their guests one more time.
She already knew Wesley, the former watcher and Angel’s associate. The guy seemed to have improved his confidence and had become a valuable ally in their war against darkness. There was a huge difference between the current Wesley and the one who had come in Sunnydale a few years before. Yet, she didn’t trust him entirely. He had been a watcher and Dawn didn’t like watchers, Giles being the exception. Watchers had a tendency not to care about human’s lives when it prevented them to reach their goal, whatever it was.
Her eyes left Wesley and focused now on the woman who had come with him. A watcher from England who had been discussing with Wesley about opening a chapter for the Council in the USA when Faith called the LA office. She knew that Giles was an important figure in the new council but, still, she didn’t like them, she didn’t like the girl.
Naomi Milliner was a beautiful woman, she agreed with Xander on that point. She had the grace of a British woman and some features that prove that she had some Asian blood in her body. The mix had made Xander stutter for about five minutes before recuperating his ability to speak. She seemed gentle, had been extremely polite since their arrival and had announced that they had interesting information regarding Buffy’s state. Now, they were waiting for Faith’s return to know what kind of information they had. Fortunately, Andrea had agreed to look after her sister. Patrolling in Sunnydale could take some time and Dawn didn’t know how much time she would be able to wait.
Andrea had arrived a few minutes before the watchers and had been a bit disturbed by their presence. She didn’t seem to like them also and had been too glad to go and look after her sister. For the five last minutes, Dawn had regretted not to have asked Andrea if she could come with her. She would do anything instead of waiting in this house, waiting to know what had occurred to her sister. Buffy, she could be so irritating but Dawn couldn’t stand to live without her again. The months that had followed Buffy’s death after her fight with Glory had been too atrocious, she didn’t want to support it again.
Suddenly, they heard the noise of a motorbike stopping in front of their house quickly followed by steps. The door opened and the "twins" entered the house. Finally, answers would come.
Faith rushed to the living room where the gang was gathered with the watchers. They all stood up and the British woman extended her hand to Faith.
"Hi Faith. I’m Naomi…"
"Yeah, yeah, no time for this." She quickly shook Naomi’s hand, winked to Wesley.
"Oh, yes, I understand your impatience. So, as we’re all here now, let’s talk about our case."
"Case? Is that all this is about for you…a fucking case? A damn number on a file?" Faith grabbed Naomi by the collar then continued. "Listen to me, Iceberg! This is about my girlfriend, the woman I’m planning to be with for the rest of my life! This is about Dawn’s sister! This is about their friend! This is about Buffy! The next time I hear the words case or file coming out of your fucking mouth…"
Then Faith felt Wesley’s hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, he had a small smile on his lips.
"Faith! I’m sure Ms Milliner didn’t want to hurt you. Why don’t you sit down and listen to her?"
Faith sighed then let the woman go. Strangely enough, she didn’t seem scared or angry.
"Thanks, Wesley. And…Faith…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have. We watchers are good at observing but…well observing is often linked with hiding and…let’s say that socializing isn’t a priority in our education."
Faith sat on the table then answered: "Yeah, whatever! So, Jack the Ripper is back, isn’t he?"
Faith heard some gasps coming from the Scoobies but what confirmed her suppositions were the reactions of Wesley and Naomi. They hadn’t expected them to find anything. Naomi was the first to speak.
"H…how…"
"Deduction! A murder that perfectly matches the Ripper’s has been committed in Sunnydale during the afternoon and the girl who’s squatting B’s body has the name of one of his victims."
"OK, OK. So, after the demons, the vampires and the Hellgods, we are facing the most famous serial killer of all times…God, did I tell you how I hate this place?"
Ignoring Xander’s comment, Willow asked: "But why is he here and why the soul of Catherine Eddowes has taken possession of Buffy’s body?"
Andrea was asking herself the same question and waited for Naomi’s answer. She quickly looked at the small device that allowed Eona and Laura to listen to the briefing from Frisco. Eona couldn’t leave the town because of her job while her new friend wasn’t really sure that coming back to Sunnydale would be a good idea. Too many bad memories. The device was working, she could concentrate her attention to Naomi.
"OK, you all know who the Ripper was and as Mr Harris has said, it’s probably the most famous serial killer on Earth. And it is the oldest too. You know Jack the Ripper because communication and press had reached a high level when he raged but have you ever heard of Thomas Newlin, Yao Ten Fong or Sahl ben Fonech? These serial killers lived before the Ripper and they were the banes of their regions. What is important to know is that these murders were in fact the same person, a person known as The Outcast."
"So, he is immortal?"
"Not really, Dawn! It’s more complicated than that. In fact, to be sure that you all understand the facts, I have to tell you the story of Lucius, the real identity of the Outcast."
Naomi stopped, to be certain to have everyone’s attention.
"Lucius was a Roman senator who lived during Nero’s rule. As you know, these were cruel days, personal hunger for power and insanity were common and strange deaths occurred every day. Nero himself was insane. I’m sure you all know the anecdote that says that he burned Rome just to see what it looked like in flames. Lucius was a close friend to Nero who ripped his victims who were all prostitutes."
"That seems to confirm that he is the Ripper."
"Oh, believe me, Willow, he is. The citizens of Rome were soon fed up with Nero’s rule, assaulted his palace and killed him and his supporters. Lucius locked himself in a room but quickly realized that there was no possible escape."
"So, what you’re telling us is that we are facing a ghost?"
"No, Faith, it’s not really a ghost either. You see, Lucius was also a specialist of the black arts and of the Etruscans lore. The Etruscans were the ethnic group that preceded the Romans in the region of Rome. We know little about them but one of their myths talked about the eternal winds."
"The eternal winds?" Asked a very interested Tara.
"They are winds that blow on Earth but also in other dimensions, including the land of the dead. They appeared on random places then disappeared for long period. It is said that the majority of their times are spent in the labyrinths that separate the dimensions as if they didn’t use portals to go from one dimension to another."
"OK, and what’s the link with the Lucius guy?"
"Well, Andrea, it seems that Lucius had discovered a way to save his soul in using one of these winds. The ritual he used locked his soul in the wind. His goal was to wait the next time the wind would be on Earth, steal a body and begin a new life of atrocities again. He didn’t need many ingredients to perform the ritual. Only 5 souls he had already prepared just in case. These souls belonged to his last victims."
"Why souls?" this time it was Wesley who had asked the question? Even if he knew the majority of the story, there were still some points he didn’t know anything about.
"Spending a hundred years trapped in a wind could seriously damage the soul so, he needed a protection, a shield for his own soul. As souls were the only thing that could be trapped in the wind, he used them to protect him and to feed him as his soul needed energy to come back to life. But, unfortunately for him, something went wrong."
Brutus had leaded the Outcast to a bar that accepted both demons and humans. The owner, a guy named Willie, had succeeded in creating a safe place for all the citizens of Sunnydale and it had surprised Lucius a little. They were sitting in a table and were discussing about everything and nothing. Lucius finished his glass when Brutus asked:
"What do you want from me?"
"What? But nothing, my friend. What…"
The Outcast saw in the eyes of the vampire that he wouldn’t buy his crap.
"OK, OK! I need your help. I want you to follow a girl, watch her and report her moves to me."
"You want me to play the stalker? But why?"
"She will be one of my next victims but, as I have another visit to do before meeting her, I want to know everything about her, to avoid any bad surprise. You see what I mean?"
"I see. And what’s in it for me?"
"Let’s just say that I have knowledge that could bring you power. Isn’t it something you’re looking for, power?"
"What kind of power?"
"Do you really think I’d tell you right now? And don’t tell me that’s not a good deal, with your strength, you can kill me whenever you want. Let’s just say that I always keep my word."
Brutus’s reason told him that the guy was playing with him but, this guy still fascinated him, he wanted to know what this knowledge was, he was sure that a guy with such a charisma had lots of secrets to share and these secrets could indeed bring power to Brutus. He was still a young vampire and he wasn’t patient. If he could have power thanks to Jack, he would take the risk.
"Who’s the girl?"
The Outcast took a sheet of paper out of his pocket and gave it to Brutus.
"It’s the fourth name on the list. She lives in…What’s wrong, Brutus?" The concerned look that had appeared in the vampire’s face worried Lucius.
"Are you crazy, man?" Brutus quickly noticed the dumbness of his question. Of course, the guy was crazy.
"Why?"
"Do you know who this girl is?"
"Not really, it’s just a name. For me, she is someone else: Catherine. So, what’s the problem?"
"Well, the problem is that you’re asking me to follow my most dangerous enemy. This girl, Buffy Summers, she is the slayer."
The Outcast didn’t know what to say. The slayer, the legendary defender of mankind, the terror of the forces of darkness. So, it wasn’t a myth, she was real and Catherine…That was too good! In a few seconds, Lucius had his plan. The slayer, a force of nature with a very strong body. The slayer, a legend! Yes, his mind was planing everything. The slayer! Soon, she would become his masterpiece.
“What did go wrong?”
That was the question everybody wanted the answer. What could possibly have been wrong with the ritual that had allowed Lucius to defy death thanks to the eternal wind? A grin appeared on the corner of Naomi’s mouth. She liked telling stories and keep her public waiting but a quick glance at Faith dissuaded her from prolonging the silence too long.
“You see, Faith, dealing with souls is a tricky thing. A soul has a very strong link with the body it is connected with and it’s a very big deal to replace a soul by another. Only powerful artefacts can do this.”
This remark made Faith wince, it reminded her of a period she so wanted to erase from her life. But she quickly regained her composure. The only thing that mattered now was the present time, the search of Buffy. She listened thus to Naomi, more concentrated than ever.
“When a new soul enters a body, the link between this body and its real soul remains. So, the body almost always rejected the intruder.”
“How?”
“There is a slow degradation of the physical state of the body. In a period of a few months, the body is too weak and the person dies.”
A long silence followed this statement. Everybody in the rooms understood the implications of what had just been said, Buffy’s body was inhabited by Catherine’s soul. They had to find a way to bring the real Buffy back, Faith’s resolution only grew while she was thinking about that.
“So, Lucius thought he could live another lifetime after his death but he only receive peanuts.”
“Yes, Xander. When the wind he was into came back to Earth, it was the last years of the Roman Empire, he succeeded in stealing someone’s body and began to kill prostitutes again. But he quickly noticed that he was getting weaker and weaker as time went by. As he had kept his occult library in a cavern, not far from Rome, he decided to go there, hoping no one would have found it during the time he was trapped in the wind. He was lucky and he found what went wrong with his new body but he discovered also that he couldn’t do anything to solve this problem.”
“So, how come he is still there now?”
“Because he had an unknown ally, Willow. The eternal wind itself.”
“What?”
“Eternal winds have a kind of consciousness, or it is more like a primal, instinctive way to react and adapt themselves to whatever might bother or threaten them. By spending more than a century with the Outcast’s soul in itself, a kind of symbiosis had been created between them. In simple words, the eternal wind had become dependent on Lucius. Should the soul of Lucius been destroyed, the wind would follow its new master to oblivion. When Lucius took possession of the body he had chosen, the wind understood that situation thanks to its instinct and he knew that he had to do something in order to survive. So, while Lucius was transferring himself in the body, the wind split itself in 5 parts, containing the souls of the previous victims of the madman. Just before that, it had looked into the soul of the man Lucius was expelling from the body and had chosen the memory of the 5 women who had the most impressed this man.”
“And I suppose that the five parts containing the souls found the women and switched places with them as Catherine did to B?”
“Yes, Andrea. The five parts regained the wind with 5 brand new souls while the old souls were back to a physical body.”
“But why?”
“To be sure that the Outcast would have strong souls to protect him when he would die again, Dawn. The old souls weren’t powerful enough to shield and feed The Outcast’s soul anymore. So, with new ones, Lucius would survive and so would the wind. And since that time, the process is repeating over and over again at each incarnation.”
“And he has never found a way to avoid the entrapment?”
“Excellent question, Tara. He probably has or he is still looking after it but, as a real paranoiac and megalomaniac, he has to kill the 5 women or more accurately, he has to kill their bodies.”
“Wowowo, wait a minute, Iceberg! Why should he kill them?”
Naomi smiled a little. Rupert had told her about Faith and her habit of having nicknames for everyone. She just hoped that she would eventually drop Iceberg for something a little less pejorative.
“Remember when I said that the link between a body and its soul remains even when somebody else’s soul is in the body?”
They all nodded.
“OK, because, that’s the key of The Outcast’s problem. See, he needs the souls to protect him and feed him. But the souls, even if they are trapped in the wind, keep their free will. They could thus reject Lucius and condemn him to Hell. All they have to do is to push him out of the wind from the inside. Don’t ask me how, I’ve never been there but according to the texts, it is possible, even probable.”
“I still don’t see the link with…the link.”
“Xander! Let’s imagine that you are a soul, that you are expelled from your body but keep the link with it so, you know for sure that it is still alive. What’s your reaction?”
“Well, I want to take what’s mine back, I presume.”
“Yes, so, you’re hoping to be brought back to your body. So, now imagine that The Outcast dies before your own body degenerates. When he comes back in the wind and expects you to protect and feed him for a century or more, what’s your reaction?”
“Screw him!”
“Exactly, Andrea. Now, take another approach. You are a soul, trapped in the wind and because of the link you have with your body, you learn that your body is cold, dead. What do you wish now?”
Andrea stayed silent a little, thinking before replying: “To rest in peace.”
“Yes. So, when The Outcast comes back, asks you to help him for a century, then assures you that he would let you rest in peace afterwards…what’s your reaction? You fight? Don’t forget we don’t speak about slayers or people with occult knowledge, but simple Joe Average people.”
“I suppose I would agree with him and help.”
“So, now, you know why The Outcast kills these women first.”
“…and why B is on his list…” said Faith while looking to the sleeping figure on the sofa. Catherine irritated her, she even thought that she hated her but, asleep, the dark slayer could only see the body of the woman that counted so much for her and knowing what this Outcast guy could do to her was making her sick.
“…assholes,…er…er…OK, already done this one…”
Buffy still didn’t know where she was, didn’t know why she was…well…where she was and it increased her anger. The first logical reaction for anyone in her state would have been to search for answers, to inspect the place. It hadn’t been Buffy’s first reaction! No, the first thing she had done was to yell and shout, cursing the one who had brought her there, cursing the PTB for letting it happen. How could they break the perfect moment she was having with Faith…and AT THAT MOMENT? Did they have no respect for their love? She knew that as slayers they had to face evil everyday but, all she asked was a short break for a day, a break with Faith. A love break. And these bastards ruined it.
Faith would have been proud of her though. She had cursed without interruption, without searching for curses, for three long minutes, she had even invented new curses that she was also proud of. Then, she had looked around her but all she could see was different shades of grey everywhere. She couldn’t even move because of powerful winds that raged around her. But the most disturbing thing was that even if she could see the grey, even if she could notice that she couldn’t move because she was still at the same place, she couldn’t really feel it. It was as if her feelings hadn’t come with her and it was scary. Saying that she had no feeling wouldn’t be correct, she felt things…only these things weren’t here with her but away, next to her body.
It could sound crazy but Buffy was sure that she wasn’t in her body anymore. It wasn’t the same as the experience she had had when she had been trapped in her own mind because of her beast. At that time, she had felt what her body was doing because she was still in it. Here it was completely different. The feelings were coming to her as she was seeing them on TV, yes, it was the only way she could think to describe what it looked like. The good point was that feeling it proved that her body was still “alive”, that she was still alive.
Feeling it had also another advantage. When Faith was close to her body, Buffy could feel her too and that was something that brought hope in her. She had felt her fears, her sorrow but all these feelings had changed recently, replaced by resolution. It was incredible how Faith seemed resolute to bring her back. Not that Buffy had doubted about Faith’s love a single minute, far from it. But what she found incredible was that even far from her, she could feel her resolution. Faith would do anything to find her and bring her back…Faith would find her and bring her back. Buffy had no doubts about it. All she had to do was waiting in this boring place. In the meantime, they would hear from her.
“Bastards, …”
The Outcast had left Brutus. He had given his instructions to the vampire and he was sure that his accomplice would follow them. It was amazing how his passion interested demons and other dark creatures. It fascinated them and it was a big bonus for Lucius.: you don’t break or kill the ones who fascinate you. He had seen it in Rome before his first experience with the wind and he could still see it in the eyes of Brutus. Some things never changed.
He was walking in the dark streets of Sunnydale. Two hours before the sun to go up, he still had time for his visit. He needed some help if he wished to work on his masterpiece. Yes, the slayer! He would have never thought that he would one day perform his art on such a good material. Strength, stamina and beauty, every ingredients to realize a masterpiece were gathered in the form of this young woman. Her strength would be a challenge for his skills, her stamina would prolong her life expectancy when he would cut into her. Yes, he would prolong her life, work with her while she would still be alive because he didn’t see a masterpiece being achieved with an already death material. Last but not least, her beauty would improve the dramatic atmosphere of the scene. Having the material wasn’t all, you have to create an adequate mood to build a masterpiece! Knowing Catherine, Lucius was also certain that he would see terror in her eyes…oh yes, life was good.
Lucius was now in front of the tea room Brutus had mentioned to him. He couldn’t avoid a smile, knowing who he would meet in there. It was a surprising coincidence but it was not illogical though. The Hellmouth attracted every kind of monsters, demons, curious…etc… HE should have been attracted by it too. Brutus knew that three times a week, HE spent some time in the tea room till dawn. A tea room, it was so typical of him.
The Outcast pushed the door and entered the place. He quickly spotted the guy and approached the table HE was sitting in front of. When he was only at two feet from him, he saluted and said:
“Hello, Doc. It’s been a long time.”
“OK, so there is a son of bitch out there who take pleasure in ripping woman. He has done it for centuries with the help of the souls of his past victims who take possession of the bodies of his future preys. Am I right?”
“Well, yes Faith!”
“I knew that bitch was lying. Damn, I wish I could beat her out of B’s body.”
Faith’s gaze was locked on the blonde sleeping on the sofa. Everyone could see the confused expressions that her eyes betrayed. The hatred that was in there for a few seconds, clearly directed to Catherine. Then, the gaze softened and the hatred was replaced by the most loving look someone could give. Even if she hated Catherine, Faith couldn’t prevent herself of thinking about Buffy while she was looking at her body.
“Er…Faith, she is a victim too.”
“Oh come one, Will. She is playing with us. She is waiting for her fucking boss, thinking we are fools. She is acting like a lost girl with puppy dog eyes and religious crap. Maybe she was a victim but now, she is a bitch who wants my B dead.”
Willow was surprised by Faith’s answer. No, not by the answer in itself but because the dark slayer had just used a possessive before Buffy’s nickname. Faith had never used a possessive for Buffy in front of the gang, those words were for Buffy only, the only person Faith had opened herself to, the person she loved. And now, she had said it, in front of them and wasn’t even regretting it. This was the proof that Faith was ready to love Buffy, felt ready to love her, this was the proof that all her fears and doubts, symbols of her past, didn’t count anymore. For Faith, Buffy was the one, she had no more doubt about it.
“Actually…she isn’t lying.”
“What?” Faith turned her head towards Naomi. “Have you listened to what you’ve just said, Iceberg? She is waiting for Bloody Jack to rip her!”
“No, she doesn’t remember anything about Lucius or her journey in the wind. Staying for such a long time into the wind had been very exhausting for her soul and when she had taken possession of Buffy’s body, unconsciously, she had forgotten everything about it. She just remembers her life.”
“OK! She is innocent, blablabla. Whatever! What matters is: Do you know how to expel her and bring B back?”
Wesley spoke at that moment, thinking that a new lecturer would relax Faith who seemed a bit upset with Naomi.
“The Council has indeed found a spell that could do it. The problem is that we need Lucius, or rather Lucius in his new body to perform him. We need him alive so, we will use the bond he has with his victims, both past and present to vanquish him for good.”
“Couldn’t we use this bond to track him, thanks to Bu…Catherine?”
“Unfortunately no, Willow. To track a soul, we need to know what it looks like, its aura if you want. Catherine has a mystical bond with The Outcast and his past victims not the present ones. Lucius is the only one who can lead us to Buffy.”
Then, Andrea spoke: “The bastard has already killed a girl, hasn’t he?”
They all nodded when a new voice raised in the living room.
“Two.”
They all looked at the newcomer. Spike had just entered the game.
“Saw it in a newsflash. A girl has been ripped in the hospital.”
Andrea, continuing her thought asked Willow.
“Red, could you find the names of the victims on the net?”
“Sure …”
“What’s your plan, sis?”
“Iceberg said that the wind finds the new victims thanks to the guy whose body is The Outcast’s now. So, the victims and B, they all knew him. We find who this guy is…”
“…and the bastard is ours.”
Lucius smiled at Doc. The old man, even if he wasn’t human, he couldn’t think about him in other words; hadn’t been surprised to see him, in fact, he knew that one day or another, he would see him come, as The Outcast had done in London, more than a century before. They had spoken about the good old days and now, it was time for Lucius to tell his needs to Doc.
“I heard you had some problems with the slayer. Am I wrong?”
“No, too bad. I had just found someone to bring the apocalypse to this earth and she ruined it.”
Lucius smiled. Doc, in his twisted head, wanted to observe what an apocalypse could bring to mankind? What would be the reactions of Humanity in front of it and things like that. He was a scientist…well, an artist in a way.
"Don’t you wish to avenge you. Don’t you wish to see her dead?”
“Every single day. Why? OH…is she…?”
A scientist, yes…A smart guy.
“She is! And with your help…I would show you my art. Believe me, you’ll see her beg! You’ll see her scream! You’ll see her bleed! And you’ll see her die!”
Both men smiled before turning their head to witness the sun arise.
The Scoobies were all asleep. Willow and Tara were in their room while Xander and Anya had stayed in Buffy’s. Spike had gone in his crypt, Wesley and Naomi in the Mansion, Andrea was…somewhere and Dawn was in her room too.
When they had noticed that the night was almost over, they had decided to take a little rest, they all needed it. Besides, they would have to interview people to find whose identity the Outcast had chosen and it is quite difficult to interview a happy person in 4 AM.
Faith wasn’t sleepy, she didn’t want to sleep, she was too worried for Buffy, couldn’t sleep with her away. So, instead of sleeping on the sofa as she had promised to the others, she was sitting in a chair, watching Buffy. She liked to watch Buffy asleep and, in these times, it was the only moment she could really think her girlfriend was there. With her eyes closed and the rhythm of her breath, it was the only moment Faith couldn’t think that Catherine was in there. Awake, the glares and the British accent would always highlight the fact that this body didn’t contain Buffy’s soul…but the one of a bitch Faith couldn’t prevent herself to hate. She was innocent…maybe but for Faith, she was the one who had taken Buffy’s place and it hurt too much. The pain was deep and echoed in every part of her body, the pain that had one name…loneliness.
She had never felt this lonely before, even when she was, well alone. She had never had someone to loose someone to care about and who cared about her. Now, she had Buffy, was used to breathe her scent, to admire the perfect curves of her body, to stay in awe just by looking in her girlfriend’s eyes, to taste her lips, so soft, so good, a taste that even gods couldn’t dream about. She admired her also for her courage, her dedication to her duty, her intelligence…oh, yeah, she had fallen hard for Buffy and no inch of her regretted it. It was what it had to be. Faith noticed some hair on Buffy’s forehead and, instinctively, she put them behind the blonde’s right ear.
“I miss you B. You have no idea how much I do. I…I …need you by my side…The Scoobs can’t understand. Even if they are very supportive, they can’t imagine the hole there is in my heart now. Only Dawn and Andrea do.” Her eyes were becoming teary and she noticed also that her lips were trembling. She quickly regained her composure then added: “I won’t cry though. I won’t break cause I’m going to find you, B, whenever you are, whatever the costs.”
She let herself admire Buffy’s face one more time then, she went to the kitchen to take something to drink. She opened the fridge, took a bottle of beer then heard someone talking in the garden. She opened the door and saw Andrea, sitting on the stairs, talking in her mobile phone.
“…don’t like it, L. Sure this demon has always been kind with you but…No, listen to me…you’ve changed, the situation has changed, nothing is gonna be the same…No…yes I agree but…Fuck, you know you can be very stubborn when you…yes and I appreciate that but…OK, OK right…go and see him but…be careful. Yeah, bye.”
Andrea put her mobile in her pocket then heard:
“Couldn’t sleep, huh?”
“As we could.”
Faith sat down next to her sister. They stay without saying a word for long minutes, listening to the sounds of dawn, the birds, the early traffic…
“Who’s L.?”
Andrea smiled a little.
“Should mind you own business, sis.”
“As we could.”
“She is a friend. She helps Eona and me in Frisco.”
Faith didn’t push further. She wouldn’t like it and thus knew that her sister wouldn’t either. She just wonder who was this person who seemed so important for her sister. The two girls stayed there a long while, in a silence that, strangely enough, wasn’t embarrassing. They were there for each other and that was what mattered. They knew each other so well. Andrea knew what Faith was going through and just stayed, her sole presence was enough to support her, looks and simple gestures were all that was needed when it was the time and it was good. To have someone that understood you without being forced to talk about issues.
A scream coming for the inside made them jump. They quickly came back in the living room to find Buffy/Catherine awake, tears rolling on her cheeks and her eyes betraying her fear, in front of her was Dawn. Terrorised, the blond girl was retreating towards the twins.
“Protect me, protect me for this beast, please…she is gonna ate me, please, don’t sacrifice me to her, please.”
Faith was fighting the envy she had to hit the girl. Each sound that left her mouth, her splendid mouth was like a dagger stabbed in her stomach. She had no right to be in this body. Then, she felt Andrea elbowing her. Looking at her sister, she saw her pointing something with the head. She followed the direction pointed by Andrea to see…Dawn, wearing on her face the same look of hatred she had had herself a few seconds before.
“Fuck!”
“I feel her again.”
For a few minutes, Buffy had been able to feel Faith through the body bond and it was good to feel her. Every time she was able to feel her warm presence, her strength, her conviction that her girlfriend would come for her grew. If she could sleep, she was sure that she would dream of her, would dream about the time they would be together again.
She didn’t know since when she was trapped in this place but she had discovered a few new things: She was not alone in there, even if she hadn’t managed to talk with the others. There was a voice in her head that was talking about a guy they should protect once he would be back and crap like that. If this guy really believed that she would agree with it…
They had succeeded in calming down Catherine, Faith didn’t know exactly how. For the last two hours, she had been in Buffy’s room where Naomi and Tara comforted her and tried to explain the whole situation. After the incident, they had split the tasks. As Xander’s company was rebuilding a part of the police office, Anya and him would try to collect some information in the cops’ files. After all, they might have something interesting. Interviewing the parents was out of question, it was too soon but it wasn’t the same with the class and roommates of the two victims. So, Andrea was in charge of gathering data from the friends of the first victim while Dawn and Faith would try their luck with the second one. Willow would stay in the Summers house as their link.
It was 11.30 AM and the two brunettes were walking towards the UC Sunnydale. Faith hoped to find the girl’s friends during their lunch but she needed to talk to the younger Summers first. So, they were now in the park, the park where everything had begun, the park that was so full of good memories for Faith. It was only 24 hours…24 hours before, the dark slayer had been in Heaven…
“What are we gonna do in this park? I thought we were going to the University.”
“I need to take something first, Double M.”
“What the hell are you expecting to find in this park?”
“A gift!”
Dawn remained silent for the following seconds, wondering what kind of gift Faith was talking about. She saw her knee in front of a tree, gathering something. Curious, she looked at it and saw that Faith was inspecting what remained of flowers. One of them was still intact but what really impressed the younger brunette was the colour of the flower, it matched perfectly Buffy’s eyes and Dawn knew what Faith had meant when she had talked about a gift.
“You gave them to her, didn’t you?”
“Yes... You should have seen the look in her eyes when I gave them. She was so happy …and then it happened and I forgot the flowers.”
“I’ve never seen roses with this colour before.”
“Normal, they’re unique…I asked someone to make them for B. She is unique.”
“Oh yes…” Tears were beginning to fall from Dawn’s eyes now.
“Don’t!”
“Huh?”
“If you cry or are afraid to loose her, it means that somewhere in your head, you think there is a chance that we won’t make it.”
Faith waited till she couldn’t see any other tear fall from Dawn’s eyes. Then, she hugged the young girl before pulling her, letting her hands in the other girl’s arms and locking her eyes in hers.
“We’ll find her, there shouldn’t be any other idea in your mind but this one now. Don’t think about the pain, feel it and let it strengthen your conviction. Don’t listen to defeatism or despair, we can’t allow it. Don’t let the hatred you have for this fucking squatter make you forgets it. OK?”
Faith saw a new spark in Dawn’s eyes and sighed discretely. A short smile had even appeared on Dawn’s lips.
“That’s better. We should support each other, Dawn. Deal.”
“Deal!”
“Good, now, time to go.”
Doc was sitting in his wooden chair, taking advantage of the morning sun. He usually didn’t like the sun, he was a creature of the night but today, it was different. Soon, the slayer would be dead. He smiled, enjoying this idea.
Since he had fallen for the tower, the day Glorificus had lost, he had hidden himself, kept a low profile. He had also needed some time to find his way, he had really think that Glorificus was the one who would have brought the apocalypse on this earth. Who would have thought that a mere mortal, even a slayer, would have beaten a God?
Every time he thought about it, he couldn’t prevent himself to regret the observations he would have witnessed if things had gone the way he had expected it. Sadly, it hadn’t, because of this blond slayer. Because of her, he had crawled like a rat to prevent any of the slayer’s allies to find him. Because of her, he was seriously thinking about abandoning his studies and move away. His studies, the work of his whole life. How could he think about that? Simple, the deed was done, the mood wasn’t there anymore. Sooner or later, Doc knew he would get tired of all this mess… Sooner rather than later…Sad thoughts were in his mind these days…but not this day.
The little chat he had with Lucius had changed everything. The idea he had about the slayer and the plan he had to fulfil what he called his art with her; all of it had brought joy in his heart. When Lucius would wake up, he would find every tool he needed. When Lucius would wake up, Doc knew he would see excitement in his eyes. When Lucius would wake up, he would ask for Buffy and, later this night, he would rip her and Doc would watch it, probably tape it too…good shows were so few these days.
Faith was pacing…in fact she had been pacing for the last 45 minutes and it was really getting on Dawn’s nerves.
“Faith!”
Faith looked at her and bowed her head.
“Sorry, Double M! I won’t do it again.”
“Well, you said it twice already. Ask the carpet, it’s begging you to stop.”
“OK, OK…I just don’t like this waiting thing.”
“Waiting thing? You know, you sound more and more like Buffy.”
Faith sat down on the floor then growled at Dawn.
“Stop growling, Faith! You can’t fool me. You liked it.”
Faith smirked. It was good to see her like that. The little talk they had had in the park had been good for the both of them. Had this long waiting time occurred before this talk, it would have been awkward, broody and stuff like that. Instead of that, they were slightly teasing each other; not the usual kind of teasing, there was still too much bad things in their minds. And it felt good, it lightened the weight both brunettes had on their shoulders. All of this because of the talk, all of this because Faith had convinced Dawn that only positive thoughts would bring positive results.
It was the middle of the afternoon and they hadn’t learned a single interesting thing. They had met the students who were sharing the same classes than Evy, the second victim. But no one seemed to know something that could help them. The only one they had not met yet was Evy’s roommate and best friend, Wendy, and they were now waiting for the girl in the hall of her dorm.
The others hadn’t learned anything either. The cops hadn’t a single clue but it was far from surprising and Andrea had just called, the first victim wasn’t very popular in her class and came from another state. She was on her road to meet one of her teacher who seemed to know the girl since before she moved in the town.
They heard steps approaching now, the two girls raised their heads to see a brown hair student, watching them. She seemed exhausted and her eyes showed that she had probably cried.
“May I help you?”
Faith quickly stood up, followed by Dawn.
“Wendy?”
“Yes, it’s me. Look, I don’t know what you want but...well, I’m really not in the mood to talk right now and…”
“I…I know…heard about…anyway.”
“So, what are you doing here? Morbid curiosity?”
“NO…I need your help…”
“My help?”
“My…my girlfriend has disappeared and I have fucking good reasons to think that…the bastard who…well…”
“Oh God! How do you…”
“Can we talk about it inside? Hi, I’m Dawn and this is Faith. Her girlfriend is my sister.”
Faith winked at Dawn, grateful. She wasn’t a talker, especially when she had to be careful and kind with the words she used.
“Sure (she opened the door with her key). Come in!”
They entered the room and sat down on the left bed. Wendy’s bed.
“Evy had the right side…she…I didn’t touch anything.”
“She must have been a good friend.”
“We…we knew each other since kindergarten so, yes, she was the best.”
An awkward silence followed, broken by Wendy.
“How do you know it’s the same guy?”
“Er…I…”
“That’s kinda complicated but…we knew the other victim and… well, she seemed to loose her mind just before…”
Dawn wanted to say something but decided not to do so. Faith was a bit lying but…she couldn’t tell her that the Ripper was back either. So, she didn’t want to ruin her story.
“What do you mean, loose her mind?”
“She talked as if she wasn’t herself anymore, as if she didn’t understand this world anymore…”
“Yes, I know what you mean…I was with Evy, at her parent’s house when she…well, freaked out, screaming and shouting strange things…Did…did you girlfriend?”
“Same symptoms. According to the cops, it’s a damn drug…and then, she was gone. I…I just wanna check if...if it was the same with Evy…”
“Now, you know.”
Faith shook her head, then grabbed Wendy’s arms in her hands, locking her eyes on Wendy’s.
“Wendy! This is important. We are sure that this son of a bitch knows his victims!” Then, remembering what Naomi had told her the same morning, she added: “As you can imagine, he is fucking nuts and like to play with or hurt people. Do you know someone who corresponds to this description, someone who knew Evy?”
“Well, it’s hard to tell…I…”
“Wendy, if I asked you which guy has done the worst pain on Evy, who would you mention?”
“I…well, there was this guy but it’s not new!”
“Doesn’t matter! Who’s this guy?”
“Well, he seduced her last year, then dropped her after they had…slept with each other.”
“So, he just wanna fuck her?”
“Yes!”
“What’s his name?”
“Abrams, Parker Abrams.”
Faith didn’t know this name but then, heard a gasp. She looked at Dawn and saw that she was as pale as a vampire.
Faith noticed that Dawn didn’t want to look at her. Every time, she tried to make eye contact with her, the younger brunette avoided her glance. It was pretty clear that she knew that guy, Parker Abrams that meant that there were chances that he was Lucius. Which meant also that he knew Buffy and, knowing what he had done to Evy, Faith could guess how…the bastard. Just thinking that such an asshole had held Buffy in his arms, had…had…Faith could feel her fingers pressing harder and harder against her palms. She wanted to throw her fists at his face. Teeth clenched, her nails digging on her palms, she managed to regain a little composure to speak to Wendy.
"Thanks, Wendy! I know it sounds lame but…if you need anything, here is my phone number." She grabbned a sheet of paper that was on a table and, with the pen that was on it, she note her phone number before giving it to the woman then went to the door, followed by Dawn who seemed even less at ease than previously. Just before Faith exited the room, Wendy put her hand on the brunette shoulder and said:
"I hope, you’ll find her."
"I will!"
"Bye, Wendy!"
"Bye Dawn!"
They were in the hall now and Faith hadn’t said a word since they had left Wendy. Her hands were still in fist positions and she had a hard time to open her teeth. Once they were outside, Faith finally regained her ability to speak.
"Who’s this Parker guy?"
Dawn looked at her shoes. She knew that she would have to talk about it with Faith but she was also scared because what she would say would hurt the dark slayer.
"Dawn, time is an issue…I think I figured it out but I need a confirmation…Did he touch her?" said the older girl through her teeth.
"I…er… Buffy was a freshman then…it was right after…she was fragile…emotionally and he seemed a good guy…"
"I knew it! I knew it! The rascal! And she didn’t make him pay for this? God, B, why? The guy deserved a good beating."
"Well, she kinda knocked him down with a piece of wood…Well, she was Cave Slayer back then but, she did."
Faith frowned, she hasn’t understood what Dawn had meant and didn’t want for now. The simple thought that the guy had taken advantage of Buffy was barely bearable…she could easily imagine what her girlfriend had been through…she had seen many Parker Abrams in her life, she even did the same things when she was in her "Get done, Get gone" trip. Remembering the painful look she had received from the guys she had been playing with wasn’t memories she was proud. And thinking that her B had suffered from this kind of behaviour too wasn’t something that would peace her mind about it…this rascal would pay, even if he had nothing to do with The Outcast. She swore it. Faith was lost in her thought when she heard Dawn asking:
"Faith? What are we gonna do now?"
Faith came back on Earth and answered: "Pay the guy a visit, Double M" and, saying that, she took her mobile phone and pressed the button corresponding to the Summers House.
"I give up! I can’t stand this anymore."
Willow didn’t pay attention to whatever Naomi and Wesley had to tell her. She had held out a half day but now…this situation drove her crazy. This girl was just a pain in the ass. How come she couldn’t understand that they weren’t evil? If they would be, she would have been dead by now but, no, all she could do was whining, praying and saying that they were all followers of whatever satanic cult and it was really getting on her nerves. It was even worse because her mind still needed to process the fact that it wasn’t Buffy who was in front of her but a Victorian girl lost in a place, a time and a body that weren’t hers.
She wondered how Naomi and Wesley could keep trying to explain the situation. Must be a British thing. She sighed, closed the door and went downstairs before letting herself fall on the sofa. She wished Tara were there. She had left early in the afternoon for the Magic Box where Anya and her were looking for a spell to locate The Outcast or the wind. Willow would have followed her if she hadn’t promised to stay in the house in case Andrea, Faith or Dawn found something.
She heard steps coming from upstairs. She looked to the stairs and saw Wesley coming down.
"Need a break, Wes?"
"Well, I need some fresh air, I must confess."
"She seems calmer now."
"Well, she had been a few times since this morning. I wonder when the new crisis would erupt."
"Yes, me too. She is a pretty dense woman."
"Don’t be too harsh with her Willow. She is completely lost and her mind is trying to adjust to her new environment."
"Probably but she is really getting on my nerves."
Wesley silently agreed with the red head, He had been on the verge to loose his stoicism too. He tried thus to change the subject and asked:
"I intended to make some tea. Want a cup?"
"Yes, please."
Wesley went to the kitchen and Willow relaxed a little bit on the sofa. She closed her eyes, trying to find some inner peace to calm down when the phone rang. She stood up and picked the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Will, it’s me!"
"Faith! Some news?"
"Yes! Remember Parker Abrams?"
Willow gasped when she heard the name. Could it be possible that he was the Outcast?
"I take that as a yes. Evy knew him. The fucking rabbit played with her like…whatever. Will, could you hack the files of the university and find out where he lives?"
Faith’s voice was full of anger. Willow could notice it and she easily understood why. She wouldn’t want to be in Parker’s shoes now…even if he wasn’t The Outcast, living in there wouldn’t be healthy at all.
"Sure, gimme a minute."
"OK, waiting for your call."
Willow hung off the phone and sat in front of her computer. Soon, her fingers ran on the keys. She heard Wesley coming with the tea and, without raising her head, she said:
"Faith has just called. We have a suspect. The name is Parker Abrams. I’m looking for his address right now."
"That’s very good news, Willow. How many time would it take?"
"Five, ten minutes. The files aren’t very well protected." She gave him a smile full of hope, took her mug and focused her attention on the computer screen again.
Seven minutes later, Willow had found Parker’s address. She picked up the phone and dialled Faith’s number.
"Listening, Will."
"1754 Palm Tree Road. It’s in the opposite side of Sunnydale, Faith. You’d need a car. Do you want me to ask Xander to…"
"We’ll take a cab. Ask Andrea to join us. I could use some backup."
"OK, I’ll call her."
"Ask Xander to pick up Spike. I want someone to guard the house while I’m away."
"Faith, we’re the three of us here and Tara won’t be long…witchcraft, remember?"
"Lucius also knows witchcraft, Will! I don’t want to take risks…if the bastard finds her…"
Yes, if the bastard finds her…Willow didn’t want to think about this possibility. Even if she was sure that they would be able to defend themselves if Lucius decided to come, she didn’t want to argue with Faith. It wasn’t the time for that.
"OK, I’ll ask Xander to bring Spike in."
"Good, we’ll keep in touch."
"Yes oh, Faith!"
"What?"
"Don’t beat him up too hard…if he is Lucius, we need him alive."
"I know, Will. Don’t worry! I won’t touch his pretty face..."
"I don’t ask you that much, I…"
"…instead, I’m gonna crush his fucking balls and make him eat them."
Willow grimaced but couldn’t add anything as Faith cut the line off. She hang off, picked the phone again then dialled Andrea’s number. Seeing Wesley interrogative face, she just said.
"You don’t want to know…very bad visuals there…especially for a guy."
Catherine listened to what the woman, Naomi, was telling her. She still played the little scarred girl because she knew that, if she acted like this, they would underestimate her and she was counting on it.
She had learned a lot of things since the morning. Of course, she didn’t let them noticed that she was actually listening to what they were saying.
She had been really scared at first and the little girl she had been in the periphery of London had been back, then had taken control of her acts, with her religious education and the sermons she listened to every week. To whom could she have looked for salvation except God himself?
Now, it was different though. She knew where she was, knew what happened to her in the streets of London and, even if the explanations she had received looked completely insane, she knew they were telling the truth, could feel it. It opened new perspectives for her and she didn’t want to give up this new chance. A new chance! After the total fiasco that had been her previous life, she had received a new opportunity, a second life and she didn’t want to ruin it.
Thinking of her past life revived some bad memories. From her poor childhood in a farm where no one had had enough food, where she had worn the same clothes several times a week to the death of her parents in the fire that had burned everything. From her marriage with that jerk that had been drunken 7 days a week, 24 hours a day to the end, at Whitechapel, selling her body to survive…What a life, what a mess! She swore that she wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.
Now, there was this chance, this fantastic opportunity that was offered to her. It was a pity for the poor girl she had stolen the body but, hell, life wasn’t fair. She was impatient to discover this new world and what it had to give her. But first, she had to wait here, in this safe place because the Ripper was out there, waiting for her. She would let her new "friends" deal with him and, then, when they wouldn’t pay attention to her, she would take the French leave. But first things first…she had to learn as many things as possible about this world so, she opened her ears and listened while feigning to be the stupid little whore she wasn’t anymore.
5.15 PM. Dawn would never have thought that getting to the other side of Sunnydale would have taken so long. First of all, the cab had taken way too much time to come and the younger brunette had thought that Faith would explode because of that. In fact, she had been really impatient too. They had a clue and they didn’t want to miss their chance.
The journey in the cab had been full of tension too and she had really thought that Faith would throw the driver away to take the wheel. Now, they were waiting for Andrea who was still not there…and Faith didn’t seem to calm down…didn’t seem at all.
"Damn, sis, what takes you so long? Speed limitations aren’t a problem for you."
Dawn was about to answer when they heard a motorbike coming. They expected to see Andrea and her bike but were surprised to see her driving a sidecar. She stopped next to them, smiling.
"W..what the fuck…"
Andrea stepped out the sidecar and said:
"Don’t like it, Sis?"
"Where…"
"Was speaking with the Old teacher when Red called me. See, three on a bike, it’s too much and as he had this sidecar so I thought, let’s make a deal, after all, a guy with a sidecar must enjoy the ride…so we exchanged our bikes for the day."
"Yeah, whatever. You ready?" said Faith waving her hand.
"Always!"
Without any further word, Faith entered the building, followed by the two other brunettes, took the stairs to the second floor, stopped in front of the apartment 24, looked behind her, towards Andrea who just nodded then, broke the door open.
Once the door opened, Faith rushed in the room, Andrea on her heels. Faith went straight away, Andrea turned to the left. The two "twins" were acting as if they had done it for years. Each of them, looking everywhere, expecting the big bad to come at any moment while watching the other’s back. The rapidity and the efficiency of the duet amazed Dawn, especially because she knew that neither Faith, nor Andrea were used to this. The Summers girl waited a few seconds then, seeing Andrea shaking her head, she entered the room. Lucius wasn’t there!
Faith growled then punched the wall with her right fist. The wall didn’t resist and a huge hole was visible now. She didn’t care, she needed to calm her frustration. It helped…a bit but it wouldn’t bring her B back so, she sighed heavily then said:
"OK, let’s go."
As she was waiting for her sister signal, Andrea moved to the desk to look in the drawers. Faith checked the library. The girls weren’t trying to be careful, they dropped what didn’t interest them on the floor. Dawn understood it, it wasn’t the time to be gentle, it was a time to act…besides, she didn’t want to be gentle with Parker. So, as Faith and Andrea were busy in the living room, she went to the bedroom and checked the wardrobe.
There was nothing in the desk or on it. As Faith continued to check drawers, boxes and every possible hiding place in the living room, Andrea moved to the kitchen. After checking the cupboards, she opened the fridge.
In the meantime, Faith saw Andrea moving to the kitchen. There was only one drawer she hadn’t checked in this cupboard. Then, her eye caught Andrea spilling her lunch on the floor. She moved towards her, noticing that Dawn had heard Andrea too.
"Ewwwwwwwwwww"
"What’s wrong sis?"
"No…nothing…I’m better now."
"See something in the kitchen?" and while she was saying that, Faith stretched her head to see in the room. She spotted that the fridge was open and moved to see what was in it but Andrea was quicker, she closed the fridge and remained in front of it, her back on the door.
"Faith! Believe me…you don’t want to see what’s in this."
Hearing that, Dawn’s stomach reached her throat. It didn’t need to be a seer to guess what could be in the fridge. She noticed that Faith was paler than before. She saw the dark slayer swallow before asking:
"Parts?"
"Inner…not animal, I’m sure."
"Fuck!"
Faith turned her head away of the fridge. It was at that moment that she noticed that Dawn had a book in her hand.
"What’s this, Double M?"
"Oh, found it next to his bed. It’s nothing." Dawn cursed herself. She had opened the book a few seconds before hearing Andrea and had forgotten it at that exact same time.
Faith knew that Dawn was embarrassed. She knew that there was something in this book and she wanted to discover what it was.
"Dawn, give it to me, please."
Reluctantly, the young girl handed it to her friend and watched as anger appeared on Faith’s face again.
"He marked them! The son of a bitch marked them!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Parker! The bastard marked the girls he slept with. Look at this shit!"
Andrea took the book then read out loud:
"Tamera! Boring! All she can do is raise her legs. No initiative…1/10! Geez, the…how could he…"
"Burn it!"
"Wait, it could help us to find the two remaining girls, those Lucius hasn’t found yet. If this Parker guy was so into it, the women that impressed him the most have to be in this book…they must be his best…"
Andrea didn’t have the time to finish her sentence. Faith was on her, grabbed her jacket and pinned her on the wall.
"I said BURN IT! Don’t need this fucking shit!"
Andrea didn’t understand at first why Faith was so angry about this book. She could see anger but also pain in her sister’s eyes. Then, she understood. If the guy knew Buffy…she must be…Anger raised again but this time it wasn’t in Faith…So, this rascal…
Faith was full of rage. She hadn’t wanted to hurt her sister but this book had to be destroyed…it had to. At this moment, she heard Dawn’s voice and turned her head towards her.
"Faith! Don’t let your hatred blind you."
Faith stayed a while, lost in her thought but, she knew that Dawn was right…she had said almost the same words to her in the morning…she was right, the only thing she had to think about is Buffy and bringing her back. Then, Andrea spoke to her softly.
"Faith…let me go, please. I…(it was Andrea’s turn to clench her teeth and to spoke between them)…I want this shit burned too but…we need it if we want to save B…I will burn it, I swear…as soon as we don’t need it anymore."
Faith bowed her head and let Andrea go. Andrea browsed the pages and noticed that some names were underlined in red…five names. She quickly spotted the two first victim’s names, noticed that the numbers 1 and 2 were behind these lines then, saw a number 3 next to another name: Esther Kendam…there was also a date written there…this day date. Giving the book to Faith, open on the page, she took her mobile, dialled a number then said:
"Red? I need an address." She looked at her watch…6.03…in 30 minutes, the night would come and the Ripper would probably try to find this girl.
Lucius woke up in the room Doc had led him in a few hours before. The bed was a bit small but he hadn’t backache and that was a good point. The curtains were closed and he thought about switching the light on but chose not to. He liked the dark, had always felt comfortable surrounding by it and it wasn’t gonna change.
So, he finally did it, he had accepted the proposal Doc had offered him more than a century before. At that time, he had declined it, thinking he would have found a more practical way to overcome his eternal trouble and finally enjoy a real life…but he was tired of being ripped away for a period to reappear in another one…and the wind wasn’t a very funny companion…its centre of interest were very limited.
Besides, and he hadn’t thought about it back in the 19th century, his new state had some advantages. He turned his head towards the desk that was standing on the left corner of the room. He quickly spotted the small brown box that was on it. He had felt it since he had awakened. It was strange though, so different from the feeling he had with his victims, a feeling of need and hunger. This one had nothing to do with it…it was rejection and attraction and he so understood why.
He heard soft knock on the door and waited till it opened. The thin blonde vampire Doc introduced to him the same morning entered the room.
"Awake already?"
"Don’t want to be late for the show."
"Of course! I’ve just finished. If you would like to see my work…"
"I’m coming?"
"I’m waiting for you outside."
"OK."
Lucius took a deep breath before looking at the clock. 6.28 PM. Brutus must be on his way. In a few minutes, it would be dark and he would be able to step out of the sewer and then…mmmmh, what a delicious thought.
Lucius finally stepped out of the bed and quickly went to the desk to take the box. Then, he hid it under one of the pillow. It wasn’t the best hiding place in the world but that would be enough for now.
Putting his pants, he thought about the upcoming night…if everything was OK, as the girl had said, then, he would live the most exciting night of his life…thinking about how he would begin his work on the slayer, he exited the room.
“Why are you looking at me like this, pet?” asked Spike, his eyes on Catherine.
“Spike!”
Spike turned his head towards Willow and said:
“What? She’s looking at me as if I was going to ate her.”
“And you don’t?”
“Oh, great, now the light brain enters the talk. Remember the chip? Besides, I would never hurt her and you know that. Wonder why you came to pick me up if you don’t trust me.”
“Spike, Xander enough!”
Spike grinned to Xander before sitting on a chair while the carpenter crossed his arms, looking by the window. Outside, half of the sun had vanished from the horizon, the night was coming and it had never been for the good in Sunnydale.
Seeing that the two “boys” were calm, Willow looked at Catherine who was curled up in the left corner of the sofa. When Naomi had come down with her after their talk, Willow hadn’t wanted her there but Naomi convinced her that by keeping her away, there was no chance for her to feel accepted, to see that they weren’t evil and of course, she was right. Willow winked at Tara who was standing next to the girl, comforting her when needed.
The watchers were in the kitchen now and Willow was supposed to meet them there. Naomi had insisted to speak to her alone and she wondered why. After a last smile to her girlfriend, the redhead went to the kitchen. Once inside, she spotted the British woman and began the talk:
“So, Naomi, what do you want to speak about?”
“Catherine!”
Now, Willow was worried “Oh, what’s wrong with her? Has the physical degradation begun already?”
Wesley answered her question, reassuringly.
“No, no, it’s too early! Miss Milliner thinks she’s trying to fool us.”
“Yes, I think she’s playing the scarred girl.”
“And…”
“Well, at first her behaviour was understandable according to the events and I have no doubts that it was genuine back then but, unless the girl suffers from a high level of paranoia, which would have been mentioned in her file, she had had enough time to deal with it. Or at least, she has had enough time to see that we’re the good guys and that we’re trying to protect her.”
“So, that’s the actual reason why you brought her here. So, we can keep an eye on her.”
“Yes! I don’t know what’s in her head but I don’t trust her.”
“I don’t think that one of us does either.”
“Did you tell her about the…soul-body problem?”
“No! I didn’t want to scare her.”
“I think you should!”
“Willow, she’ll freak out!”
“That’s the point. She’ll freak…and we’ll see how she will react.”
Lucius was in awe with Mary’s work. The thin vampire had managed to accomplish his wish in a so small amount of time it was amazing. Now, he couldn’t see anything that could ruin his night of glory. The smile he wore at that moment was probably the widest he had worn for ages.
“Mary?”
The vampire that was sitting on her chair smiled to him.
“You like it?”
“It’s perfect! And you said that even I could use it.”
“Yes, that’s the advantage of it. Being in the boy’s body, you’ve access to his knowledge, am I wrong?”
“Yes, I have.”
“So, you don’t need anything else.”
“Great. By the way, did Doc find appropriate tools for me?”
“Yep, they are in the nuts room.”
“The nuts room?”
“Yes, a stuffed cell. You’ll like it. I’ll show you.”
“Please do!”
The vampire led the Outcast to another room, on the same floor. She opened the door and entered, followed by his infamous companion.
The Outcast couldn’t be more pleased by the place. There were stuffed walls to prevent anyone to hear what could happen in the place. There was a huge table with chains to attach the patient and there was wheeled table with all the instrument he would need to perform his task.
“I must be in Heaven. And where is the device?”
“Above the door. Wasn’t difficult, there was one of these before, when the place was still in activity.”
Lucius looked at it, satisfied by its positioning.
“So?”
“What can I say except, I’m happily surprised by your work, Mary.”
The vampire bowed her head in a dramatic gesture when she heard the compliment. Then, she raised it just in time to see Lucius run to her. He grabbed her by her throat with only one hand then, led her to the table with chains.
“What are you doing?” She could barely talk. The grip was so strong, even her, a vampire, couldn’t do anything to free herself.
“I’m gonna thank you…And the only way to do so is to show you my art.”
He enjoyed the sight of the vampire terrorised eyes while he was chaining her. This look was like drug to him, he couldn’t live without it and the smell of fear that accompanied it.
“D...Doc won’t like it.”
“Vampires are expandable…Doc told me that a long while ago.”
“But…I … I sired you.”
Putting his vamp face, Lucius said: “Yes, and I owe you so much…unfortunately, I have to test the tools before the arrival of the material…a kind of rehearsal before the premiere…and I have no other volunteer available.”
The vampire had tears in her eyes when she replied: “No…Please…”
"OH, yes. I like when they beg like this. You’re good! I really think that we’re gonna spend fascinating minutes together."
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO! HELP!”
Lucius smiled. He had rarely felt so good, so alive even for a new undead. This was how his existence should be. He locked his eyes in the vampire’s then said:
“Stuffed walls, remember…Oh, by the way…Do you have the phone number of the cleaning service? This place would become a bit dirty soon.”
And, enjoying a new scream from his victim, The Ripper began his rehearsal.
Dawn was sitting behind Andrea in the sidecar while Faith had taken place in the car. The dark slayer was sitting here with her arms crossed, thinking. She had almost lost it in Parker’s apartment. She should only focus on finding Buffy’s soul, nothing could distract her for this goal. She had been distracted though…by this book.
Thinking about what Parker had done, marking her love like a guinea pig, evaluating her prowess in bed after having played with her…just by thinking about it, Faith could feel her teeth crashing against each other. Buffy’s honour had been ridiculed. If anybody read this book…she couldn’t let it happen…and she wouldn’t.
Dawn and Andrea were right though. This book was an important clue for them. But God, keeping a cold head in those circumstances wasn’t an easy thing. She had so much in her head, so many feeling she had to control, to lock somewhere. Finding Buffy! It’s the only thought she had to focus on. Nothing else should matter. Only positive thinking would bring her Buffy back.
She had managed to follow this principle the majority of the time but she still had some period when her insecurities rose up again…like at Parker’s. She closed her eyes, trying to find her balance again. She breathed loudly, following the exercises she had learned from her watcher so long ago. Imagining a perfect picture, a picture of Buffy and her, sitting under their tree. A picture of happiness.
And it worked! She could feel herself calm down. She expelled the doubts and focused her mind on her goal then, opened her eyes, her head was clear, her nerves were under control, her slayer abilities were in perfect condition and her timing was perfect. They were close of Esther’s…and the night had fallen on Sunnydale.
Esther, the next victim, lived in a house, very close to UC Sunnydale. According to Willow, she was living there with her sister who was one year older. The house wasn’t big but had its charm with a little garden that was obviously very well kept. Andrea stopped the motor and the three brunettes ran to the house.
Faith was the first at the door. She knocked firmly on it but no answer came.
“I don’t like it!”
“Me neither sis.”
“What are…”
Dawn didn’t have the time to finish her sentence. Faith put her hand on the door and pushed. The lock didn’t resist and the dark slayer entered the house followed by her sister.
“Never mind, girls.” Noticing that her remark hadn’t been noticed, Dawn followed her friends inside still amazed by their synchronicity.
Indeed, the younger girl was witnessing a repeat of what happened at Parker’s. the “twins” behaved exactly as they did back then. All senses scanning the floor, ready to counterattack if needed. Then they heard someone screaming upstairs.
The trio quickly found the stairs and climbed them in a few seconds. They rushed to a room with an open door and entered to find a woman on the floor, her hand on her forehead. She was bleeding but her injury seemed superficial. On the other side of the room, there was another girl…and a vampire who had her on his right shoulder. The creature of the night showed his fangs when he saw the native from Boston then growled:
“Faith!”
“Brutus!” was the only reply from Faith.
“You…you know him?” asked Dawn who had just reached the room.
It was Andrea who replied.
“Brutus was one of the Mayor’s lackeys. Seems like he has found a new mentor.”
“Yeah! His presence here is everything but a coincidence.”
While speaking, Faith and Andrea were moving towards the vampire, approaching slowly but they carefully prevented him from an escape way. If Brutus wanted to exit the room, he had to run through the slayers. And he knew it! He quickly put his hostage down, using her as a shield.
“Don’t move! I’ll kill her, I swear!”
“Relax, Brutus. We’re old buddies, aren’t we?”
The vampire snorted: “We aren’t anymore. You’re with the good guys now.”
Still moving, Andrea put a hand on her heart and replied: “Ow, Brutus. It hurts. Have you so little consideration for us?”
“I said…Don’t move.”
“He didn’t seem surprised to see you, sis. Guess he knew you existed.”
“Yes, he looks smarter now. He even succeeded in being invited in here.”
“I said…”
Brutus didn’t have the time to finish his sentence. The two sisters were now a few feet away and, taking advantage of the obvious anxiety of their opponent, they made their move. Andrea feigned an attack from the left and forced Brutus to protect himself with his hostage, letting his left side open. Faith expected that and jumped. She kicked his head with her right foot sending him on the wall. Because of the shock, he let his prey go. The girl, too happy to be freed crossed the room and stayed next to the other woman. Brutus tried to stand up but receive Andrea’s fist on his face. The hit made him loose his balance but he found himself pulled up by Faith before he touched the floor.
“OK. Bruty! Now, let’s talk. Where is The Ripper? I’ve been talked that he liked to perform solo. So why…”
Faith stopped and paled. That was true, The Outcast had always been a loner. Naomi had said that he only asked for help once, when his victim was a concubine of the Chinese Emperor. Otherwise, he remained alone…Esther was an easy prey so, why did he send Brutus to kidnap her…it was a nonsense except…except if he had better things to do…except if he had another target…a dangerous target who needed his whole attention…
Faith’s face became even paler when she realised that…"B!"
The dark slayer let Brutus go and began to run towards the exit. She vaguely heard Andrea talking to her and caught the key her sister was launching to her only by reflex. She knew that Dawn was running behind her, as worried as herself but didn’t really pay attention to it. If the Ripper put his hands on her…
Brutus had to prevent himself to laugh. He was lucky after all. He was gonna make it, survive an encounter with the dark slayer. He laughed again, thinking that human emotions equalled human weaknesses and he was glad not to feel them anymore. He stood up, ready to leave the place but suddenly felt someone grab his left arm, twist it on his back before pushing him on the wall, face first. The double…he had forgotten the double…
“OK, Future Dust Boy…no more fucking foreplay…I think we have to talk…(then Andrea whispered in his ear)…and you’d better talk fast cause I’m really pissed off.”
Catherine looked once again at the vampire. He was strange. How could a vampire help demon hunters? And what about his clothes, all dark and leathery…and what’s with the leather? Three of them were wearing them…Is it a standard fashion style now…that’s yuck…
She had made her idea of everyone in the place. On her right, the two girls, they were together for sure. They were exchanging looks that betrayed their relationship. It seemed that this period was more open-minded that the Victorian one…Couldn’t be a bad thing. She congratulated herself for such a remark. Observing the way people behave in public was always a good indication about how their society worked.
The two British were just British. Even if society evolved, there were always things that never changed.
Finally, there was the couple in front of her. They were strange. They seemed to take pleasure in little fights and the girl, she seemed to only have two subjects to discuss about: Money and Sex…Were these subjects so important in this world? If yes, hell she knew a lot about the both of them. She had always needed money and sex had no secrets for her. Yes, she definitely thought that this world was made for her…She was sure that it would become her little garden. She barely managed to hide the smile that was coming on her lips then, she saw the redhead, Willow, yes, it was her name, coming then, she knelt in front of her.
“Catherine?”
Catherine looked at her with her scarred eyes, a gaze that she had never lost since she was downstairs.
“W…what do you want.” Was her reply and she was very proud of the tone she had managed to put in it, just broken enough to fool them.
Willow retained her anger. She was sure now that Naomi was right. The girl played with them, she was a very bad actress when you had a closer look at it. Still, the witch maintained her composure and continued:
“We…I…I have something to tell you…about your situation…I know you don’t believe us (we’re no fools, bitch, she thought at that moment) but, please (yurk!) listen to me.”
Catherine nodded, waiting for the new information.
“Well, we’ve told you about your soul being transferred in another body…the problem is that the body rejects it…it’s dying, Catherine…You…You’re dying and…I’m sorry but we can’t do anything to stop it.”
Catherine was stunned by what she had just heard. It wasn’t possible…it couldn’t be possible. They are lying, they should be lying…and what about her second chance…What about her dreams? Could this be just that…dreams? It wasn’t fair, she wanted to live…wanted to enjoy this world… NO, it couldn’t be…
Tears were falling from Catherine’s eyes now. Willow could see it as she could see the new gaze that had appeared in the girl’s eyes. She had dropped her mask, right now. She wasn’t the scarred little girl anymore but a woman, with a full understanding of what she was going through. Everyone in the room could see it now and, they would watch her constantly. Whatever had been in her mind, it was doomed now. Willow wasn’t pleased though cause the girl in front of her was in her best friend’s body and, even if her head constantly told her that it wasn’t Buffy, seeing her hurt wasn’t less painful.
She stood up, turned and moved away from the blond girl who was still lost in her thoughts and didn’t hear the front door bell ringing.
Xander stood up and went to see who it was. It couldn’t be Faith, Andrea or Dawn, they had the keys so, who could it be? Willow shrugged. It wasn’t important. She doubted that the Outcast would try something and even if he did, they were strong enough to face him…weren’t they?
Andrea was waiting for an answer from Brutus but no sound came out of the vampire’s mouth. Noticing that her threat didn’t seem to impress the vampire, she hit his face against the wall again then, turned him round so he was now facing her. She grinned at him then spoke:
“Lost your tongue, Bruty? I know what you’re thinking about…I’m a good girl now, I’m not psycho and all anymore…Guess what, asshole, you’re right…”
While she was saying it, Andrea spotted the two women they had just rescued moving to the hall. The older was pushing her sister out. The sister, Esther, didn’t seem conscious of what was happening. Her face and eyes were betraying her. She was lost and Andrea couldn’t blame her…waking up in a body and a period that weren’t hers, without explanations AND being attacked by a vampire…the poor girl’s mind was probably disconnecting.
“Don’t go too far, girls. We’ll need to talk soon.”
Esther’s sister nodded. She seemed a bit worried but hell, who wouldn’t be. Still, Andrea could feel that the girl wouldn’t leave the house, she wanted to know what her sister’s problem was and she knew that Andrea had her answer. She let them leave the room, then looked back at Brutus.
“Sorry for the break Bruty. Where was I? Oh, yes, so you’re right, I’m one of the good guys now but you know…I’m pissed and worried about B…so I think I can become very very…psycho…you can call it a moment of weakness…So, where is The Outcast?”
As no answer was coming from the vampire. Andrea extended her index, put it on Brutus’ abdomen, retreated a few inches then, quickly, came back to the abdomen with such a strength that the whole index penetrated the vampire’s body. Brutus screamed because of the pain. Andrea had a hard time to hide her revulsion, she didn’t like torture and stuffs like that…this time was over but, sometimes, when loosing time wasn’t a possibility, there was no other solution. Keeping her face straight, she continued.
“See what I meant? Now, where is the Outcast?”
“Screw you!”
Andrea’s finger exited the abdomen before entering it again…only this time, the middle finger was in there too.
The pain was intolerable, Brutus looked in the dark hair girl’s eyes. She didn’t seem psycho at all, she just looked determinate and he knew that she wouldn’t stop before he agreed to tell her what she wanted.
“If…if I tell you something, you’ll stake me…”
“And if you don’t speak…it will become painful…wanna me show you?”
This time, there were four fingers that entered the abdomen. Only Andrea’s thumb hadn’t penetrated it.
“Arrrrrrrrrrrrg”
“See? So, gimme what I want and I’ll stop…otherwise, I’ll be forced to move my fingers…what do you think?”
“OK, OK…I don’t know where he is…must be in Doc’s lair but I don’t know where it is.”
“Who’s this Doc guy?”
“I don’t know…he isn’t human, I’m sure…he…ask the other slayer’s friends…they know him.”
“Mmmh…not satisfied! Do you know more or you want me to…”
“Wait! Wait! He asked me to keep the girl in my place for a few hours…he intended to pick her up later in the night.”
“So, you’ve guessed that you were the bait…your only purpose was to lead us away from B.”
His face highlighted his astonishment, then anger appeared on it…the guy wasn’t the smartest vampire in Sunnydale, far from it. Andrea moved her index, and the vampire’s mind came back to earth. He sighed then spoke:
“I’ll tell you everything…stake me if you want, I don’t care. I just want the guy to pay.”
Andrea removed her fingers, glad that the show was over but didn’t let her eyes loose Brutus.
“I’m all ears!”
The sidecar wouldn’t support this driving for long, thought Dawn who was sitting in the car. Faith drove like a rally pilot in the streets of Sunnydale. But the younger brunette didn’t care about the high speed or the turns taken with high risks. If it was possible, she even wished that Faith increased the speed…she had a very bad feeling and she knew that her companion had it too, she could see it in Faith’s behaviour. Of course, she was concentrated on the road…of course, for anyone else, she wouldn’t seem more nervous than usual…but she was and Dawn shared her concerns.
She had already lost her sister, she knew how devastating it could be and didn’t want to live it again…and she didn’t want Faith to live it…She had rarely seen a love as strong as the one that united the two slayers. It was as if an aura of happiness shined above them and touched everyone they knew. Dawn herself had felt it, by loving each other, the slayers succeeded in bringing joy in their closed ones’ hearts. And now…Dawn mentally hit herself…she had forgotten, positive thinking…that was the key but it was so difficult not to worry about Buffy in those circumstances.
Faith looked at Dawn and could read her mind. The woman she considered as her own sister was worried and, she couldn’t blame her. Since they had left Esther’s home, the dark slayer had constantly cursed herself for not being able to see that The Outcast was playing with them. He had probably forecasted that they would discover his new identity and had taken advantage of it. The trail that had led them to Esther had been far too obvious and still, she hadn’t seen it…she was such an idiot sometimes. And now, because of her dumbness, Buffy was in danger…
They had learned something though. The Outcast was working with other supernatural creatures, something he hadn’t done before…Must be a Hellmouth thing. For once, she wished the big scary fucking portal to Hell would have shut the fuck up…
Her eyes caught a move on the road 300 – 400 feet in front of her, on the left side of the street. Her slayer senses tilted, it was clearly a vamp that was pursuing a woman…the first snack of the night. Shit, bad timing, really really bad timing. She had to reach the Summers House quickly, she couldn’t afford to be late, not with B’s life threatened…but she couldn’t let this girl be killed either…She drove the sidecar to the left to cross the vamp’s path.
“Dawn! Leave the car and sit behind me!”
The younger girl obeyed without saying a word. She had also noticed the vampire and trusted Faith’s plan, whatever it was. She then saw Faith handing her a stake and took it.
“When I tell you to dust, you dust.”
“OK!”
The vampire had the woman in his grip now and would probably bite her soon. Faith was very close to him so, she controlled her trajectory then, pushed the engine and drove towards the undead. The vampire heard the motor and turned its head. Seeing the sidecar rushing to him, the vampire loosened its grip, letting the girl escape but couldn’t dodge it. Hit by the car, he fell in the empty receptacle, having a hard time to understand what was happening to him.
“Now!”
Dawn made her move and staked in the vampire in the heart, dusting him. Forgetting the previous events for a couple of seconds, the slayer’s sister enjoyed what she had just done. She had staked a vampire! Then, she remembered Buffy’s state and her joy faded away.
“Well done, Double M!”
Dawn just nodded, she wasn’t in the mood for celebrating it anymore. Faith understood and didn’t add a word. It had been quicker that she had thought and it was good. She could see the first house of Rodello Drive in the horizon. In a minute, she would reach the house.
A minute could seem short in a lifetime but for the two brunettes, it looked like eternity. It was as if time had slowed down, cars, pedestrians and even their sidecar seemed to move on replay like in a bad movie. They finally stopped in front of the house, both relieved and anxious. Their anxiety level rose when, while they were running to the front door, they saw that it was open.
Faith increased her pace, her mind in turmoil. It wasn’t a question of being careful or positive, all her senses were screaming in unison with a sadistic little voice she could hear in her head. A sadistic little voice that kept telling her that she was too late again, that once again, she had screwed everything up, too weak, too dumb to protect the love of her life.
And the voice became louder when she noticed that Xander was laying on the floor, next to the door. Without checking if he was alright, too worried to even think about it, she rushed to the living room to see that the others were also laying on the floor… but no signs of Buffy.
Still thinking that her girlfriend was in their room, she climbed the stairs, after having pushed Dawn who had just entered the place. The younger girl distressed look matched Faith’s perfectly. She could hear Faith repeating again and again like a mantra the words she was telling herself.
“Oh God, please no…no…No…Please no…”
Faith opened the door, afraid of what she would find in there…but she had to…Dawn could see her sigh for a brief second when she looked into it, Buffy wasn’t there…Buffy wasn’t there! She saw her check the two remaining rooms, saw her shake her head to confirm that Buffy wasn’t in the house anymore.
Then, the dark slayer leaned up the wall and fell to the floor, on her knees, crying. Faith was dropping her tough face? letting Dawn see her true feelings for the really first time since she had come back. Her tears, they weren’t tears of pain and sadness…Faith was crying because she had thought that the worse had occurred and now, that she had seen that it wasn’t the case, that there was still a chance for Buffy to be alive, now, her nerves were breaking…
The younger Summers felt her own tears coming and didn’t try to stop them. She joined Faith and the two brunettes hugged. They so needed to evacuate the stress.
“You did what?”
Doc couldn’t believe it. Lucius had killed Mary! He knew that the guy was sick but, damn, he would have never guessed that he could do this to him.
“Relax, Doc. You told me once that vampires were expandable. So, I didn’t think you’d miss her.”
“Miss her! I won’t miss her, Lucius. I’ll miss her talent, her skills. Do you know how many times I’ve tried to find a vampire with her knowledge?”
“You’ll find another one! Let me tell you, as soon, as I’ve finished here, I’m gonna sired one of those geniuses for you. Come on, Doc! I don’t want to begin my show knowing that we’re not pals anymore. It would ruin part of the fun.”
Doc raised his hand, shook his head and said: “Alright! But don’t touch to my people again.”
“I promise! Now, can I see her? I want to contemplate her before…”
“I asked the guys to bring her to the stuffed room. She is still asleep and won’t be awake before an hour or so.”
“Doesn’t matter, I want to see her.”
Doc saw Lucius ran upstairs. He should killed the guy, he knew it. He wasn’t careful, was blinded by his passion, wasn’t trustworthy and didn’t seem to care to be caught. Moreover, he knew Doc’s lair and the old man didn’t want to move away. If he didn’t kill him, one day, he would regret it. So, yes, he would kill him but not tonight…tonight he had work to do. Tonight, Doc would enjoy his revenge. Tonight…tonight.
Doc smiled then sighed. If Mary had been there, she would have prepared everything for him…now, he had to find someone who knew how this bloody machine worked…tonight he needed Lucius but tomorrow…
“Red! Wake up…Come on…Red wake up…FROGGGGGGGGGSS!”
Willow jumped and began to shake her clothes yelling.
“No, no frogs, get them away…frogs…”
Noticing that there were no frogs on her, she calmed down and locked her eyes in Andrea who was grinning a little.
“Knew it would work!”
“Andrea..what…Oh God...Buffy…I mean Catherine…” Willow began to panic. Where was she? Oh God, no…they couldn’t…
“She isn’t here, Will!”
Willow turned her head to see Faith coming downstairs, followed by Dawn. They both had ruined their make ups and it wasn’t difficult to guess why. The redhead looked at her feet, ashamed. She had failed Faith, had promised to keep an eye on Buffy, to protect her and had failed.
“Sorry, Faith! I…God…I”
“No time for that, Will. She isn’t there…We have to find her.”
Faith looked at her sister, then, behind Andrea and said:
“Brought some help, sis?”
The four women turned to look at the entry of the hall. Esther and her sister were there. The older one was holding Esther who didn’t seem to have reconnected with the living world because her eyes were still empty, no energy was noticeable in it, only the void, as if her mind was gone. The two women passed them to go to the living room where everyone was waking up too. Esther sat on the sofa while her sister looked at Andrea.
Andrea smiled at them before replying her sister’s question.
“I couldn’t let them there…and I needed a car to come back here!”
“Brutus?”
“Dust! After a short talk.”
“And?”
“Later, sis. First I want to know what happened here. Red?”
The Scoobies were gathering themselves around Willow who began to tell the events that had occurred before. Xander, awaken by Anya, quickly joined them.
“Well, there is not much to tell. Someone rang at the door. Xander went to open it. Then, I felt really tired, knew that it should be a magic thing then…nothing.”
“X-Man?”
“I haven’t seen who it was. When I opened the door, there was this small bag that fell on the floor. All I can say is that there was sand in it…then, nothing.”
“Lucius?” this time it was Tara who had spoken.
“Nah, Doc!” replied Andrea to everybody’s surprise.
“Doc, I thought the bookworm from apocalypse had received its ticket to Hell.” Spike was pacing now. The vampire also felt guilty for letting the Ripper kidnap the blond girl.
“Lucius and him are old chaps…and he seems pretty well at casting spells.”
Still pacing, Spike argued: “But why the hell taking Buffy away if he had plenty of time to…well you know what…Not that I wished he had…”
“Sis? Any info?”
“Yes, but I need Red’s help for this one.”
“My help?”
“Yep, your computer is still on the table?”
“Yes, why?”
“Go to the net and find the site www.jaccat.com.”
Willow nodded before moving to the living room, followed by the Scoobies and the English who had just joined the group. No one asked questions, too curious to see what all of this meant. Willow quickly found the site. There wasn’t much in it, only a home page with a dark font and blood letters. The message was quite clear though, and made everyone gasp.
Tonight will be a night of glory, a night everyone will remember with joy and glee.
Tonight, you’ll see a historical event on this site, an event everyone will be proud to witness.
This night, at midnight, I will show you my art and you will attend it through the net.
TONIGHT, I WILL KILL THE BLOND SLAYER!
Jack the Ripper, live at 0.00.
On the right corner of the screen, there was a window where they could see Catherine, attached on a table, in a stuffed cell. She was asleep in the dark. A shadow was sitting next to her, probably the Ripper himself..
“OH God! He he wants an audience!”
Faith didn’t pay attention to Willow’s words. They still had time! Still had time to save Buffy and it was all that mattered for her. She felt her resolution increase and it felt damn good. She looked at Andrea and asked:
“What time is it, sis?”
Andrea looked at her watch and answered.
“8.30!”
“OK, guys. Idea needed here. Time is running.”
Catherine woke up in complete darkness. She didn’t remember falling asleep in this place. Where was she? Where did they lock her? Wasn’t it enough to tell her she was doomed, did they have to play with her too? Was it a sick joke? She tried to move but found herself restrained by chains. She was attached, arms above heads and …someone was observing her. She could see his yellow eyes shining in the night like flames.
“W…who are you?”
“A fan!”
“A… a fan?”
“Yes, Catherine. A fan. Fan of your strong body that has so much potential.”
“You…you know my real name?”
“Oh, yes, Catherine! Destiny linked us a long time ago. You know, you have always been my favourite…with Mary Jane but that’s because I considered her my masterpiece before you showed up in the slayer’s body. But now, I don’t think, there will be any comparison between the two of you anymore. You’d be the one!”
“Oh…no…the…not you…please…”
“Oh, Catherine. You’ve always had the most pleading look I have ever seen in somebody’s eyes…even in this body…and these tears on your cheeks, that’s so dramatic. But don’t waste them! There is still time before we begin…relax a little…I’ll be right back.”
Catherine saw him move to the exit then was blinded by the artificial light. The Ripper had switched the light on before exiting the room. A room with no windows, no escape possible except the door…
And Catherine screamed.
10.00 PM. God, time was dropping like sand between their hands and they had nothing, not a single clue about where the Outcast or Catherine were. Faith didn’t know what to do. The witches and the British were still reading their books. Spike had just come back. He had found nothing, his contacts had just told him that every evil creature in Sunnydale would watch the “show” on the net. Faith swore, they would all die for it.
Speaking of sand, they had discovered what kind of spell Doc had used. It’s called the “Sand of all Dreams” and it is probably the most efficient soporific available on Earth…even vampires couldn’t resist. Well, that was something new. Faith smirked a little because of her sarcasm but the mood wasn’t really there.
Faith looked at her sister who was discussing on the phone with Eona and this mysterious L. In other circumstances, she would have asked who the hell she was but she didn’t care now. If she could help them to find Buffy, she could be a demon or the queen of darkness, anyone or anything, she would like her. But it didn’t look like. Just by looking at her sister’s face, she knew that they hadn’t find anything for now.
Her eyes fell on Dawn next. She was looking for data on the net with the help of Sally, Esther’s sister. At first the girl had remained silent but, after a while, she had asked if she could help…after all, her sister was in the same shit than B…Fortunately, Andrea had told her lots of things during their way home and it didn’t take long to explain to her what they were looking for..
Dawn! She was proud of her. She had to be as scarred and worried as herself but her mind had stayed fresh and focused on her work. Positive thinking. Buffy was still alive and they still have time to find her. Positive thinking.
OK! Back to the problem. How could they find her? They didn’t know where they were, had no idea about it. Locating Buffy seemed impossible.
They didn’t possess an identification of the Outcast’s soul either so, they couldn’t do anything more than previously. “We couldn’t track him cause we should know which soul to look after…yadda yadda yadda…it’s like in a phone call, if you don’t have the receiver’s number…gnagnagna…” Faith sighed. She knew that they were trying to help but couldn’t prevent herself to mock them, it was instinctive, a kind of protection…hell she knew how a phone call wo…w…wait a minute…Faith’s mouth curved into a smile. That was it! She knew how to find B!
11.15
Tara was still in deep concentration, her eyes closed but Willow knew that she was totally aware of her surroundings and could thus guide Xander towards the place where Catherine was prisoner. She was the bond between Elisabeth and Catherine, the bond that was guiding them towards the blond slayer’s body.
Thinking about Faith’s idea, Willow could only say that it was so obvious that neither of them had thought about it before. The watchers and the witches had been too absorbed in their research to think about something that simple…Faith hadn’t been. The fact that the dark slayer had been able to discover how to find Buffy amazed Willow. She of all of them had the right to be confused with her girlfriend’s soul away and her body kidnapped by the Ripper. Still, she managed to remain calm and efficient and Willow’s admiration for her best friend’s lover grew.
It was so easy. They had been too focused on how to find the Outcast to even see it. The Ripper’s victims were linked to him…but a link existed also between these victims. As they had one of these victims with them, Elisabeth, in Esther’s body, and as they knew what Catherine’s soul looked like, they could track Catherine thanks to Elisabeth…so easy…all they had to do is to cast a spell.
So, Tara, Anya, Spike, Esther, Sally the watchers and her were in a van that Xander had "borrowed" to his construction company. Xander was on the wheels and followed Tara’s guidance in the streets of Sunnydale. Andrea, Faith and Dawn were in the sidecar and followed them.
Willow looked quickly at her watch…11.17…and hoped that they would arrive on time…
11.30
Catherine watched as the Ripper entered the room again. Her eyes were full of fear. She knew that the guy would eventually ripped her open…and she could feel her mind slowly accepting it. It was crazy; how could she even think about accepting it…still, she wanted it to be over. She was tired. Tired of being in this world, tired of being in this body that she began to hate, tired of being constantly chased by this killer, tired of being…alive…and Lucius couldn’t ignore it.
"Ow, Catherine! Don’t tell me that you don’t wanna play anymore. I have so much for you to offer to my watchers…"
The Outcast licked his lips and approached them to Catherine’s left ear. Then, he began to lick her ear, slowly, as a lover would do. Each time he touched her, Catherine could feel disgust raise in her, and fear…this guy was good…she couldn’t let him do this. By making her feel disgust, he was reminding her of a feeling and it was something that always made you love life…even if this feeling was disgust.
Lucius moved away, locked his eyes on Catherine then moved again, a smile on his lips.
"See, it wasn’t difficult. Now, I want to introduce you to Mandy and Sandy."
The Ripper went to the table on wheels, grabbed two things on it that Catherine couldn’t seen and came back to her. He raised his right hand and showed her a small knife.
"This is Mandy. Doctors called it a scalpel. As you can see (and saying it, he cut his upper arm with the tool), it is very sharp. I’ve always tried to have the most efficient tools to perform my art and scalpels are amongst them. You’ll see it in a few minutes. Sharp instruments mean no worry about the quality of the cut which means that I can have my full concentration."
The fear increased again in Catherine’s body. This guy was the sickest individual she had ever heard about…giving a name to a scalpel and…saying that to her…what would he do to her…tears began to roll on her cheeks again. Seeing it, Lucius gave her a nod of approval before continuing.
"And…this is Sandy…medical pliers…with this instrument, I will be able to remove what is in my way or to move what I would like to see somewhere else…You like it?"
Catherine was unable to reply. The fear was in her throat now. She had believed to know what being scared meant. She was wrong. She was experiencing it now and didn’t like it at all.
11.40
His cocoa in his hand, Doc sat on his sofa. He had asked to two of his lackeys to install the computer in his living room. He didn’t want to be uncomfortable for such a show. Finally, after having been ridiculed by the slayer, he would savour the joy of payback. After having been forced to hide for so long, he would finally savour the death of his nemesis.
Of course, he could have asked Lucius if he could attend the spectacle in the stuffed room but, it would probably become messy and…dirty and Doc didn’t like dirt. He liked his comfort and cleanliness…Attending it in the room would have ruined the fun he was having right now.
He took a sip of his cup then, looked at the screen. Lucius was talking to his victim. The guy couldn’t stop talking! He should have been a parrot in one of his previous lives. Fortunately, he didn’t hear it, no sound was coming for the computer and no sound would come before midnight. Enjoying the silence that was reigning in his house, he relaxed himself and waited for midnight.
11.47
Lucius was proud of him. He had managed to keep Catherine in Fear State. Not that he had doubted he would. But, he felt more and more satisfied by the way everything was happening. This time, he was sure that he had found his masterpiece. Of course, he would continue to execute his art but he didn’t think that he would find such a material after Catherine…unless…. after all, there was another slayer in Sunnydale…maybe, he could have her too, one day or another…
Erasing the thought to focus himself of this night’s work, he put his hand of his left pocket and took a syringe in it. Seeing the questioning look of Catherine, he answered her silent question.
"This is a product of science, Catherine. A liquid that would have given me lots of pleasure if he had been invented sooner. I will inject it to you and you won’t be able to move anymore but, you’ll still be conscious and you’ll still feel what I’m gonna do to you. So, no risk for you to ruin my masterpiece by a stupid move…Oh yes, Catherine! Just continue to look at me like this, it’s perfect…10 minutes, Catherine…in ten minutes, you’ll enter History."
11.50
Sitting right behind Andrea on the sidecar, Faith glanced anxiously at the van, waiting for news. They were patrolling in the streets for an hour now and no sign of Buffy. Could she have been wrong? Even if everyone had agreed that her plan was the solution, she was beginning to think that there had been another, more efficient way to find her girlfriend and that, once again, she had screwed everything up. What if they didn’t find her on time? In less than 10 minutes now, The Ripper would begin…in less than 10 minutes, she may loose Buffy and, if she lost her, she knew she wouldn’t be able to live anymore. Buffy was the first thing she thought about in the morning, she was her life…and would always be!
She was taken out of her thoughts by the talkie she had in her pocket. Could it be news? She quickly took it in her hand.
"Will?"
"The old asylum on the left. Tara says she is in there."
A simple message but it was so good to hear it. They had still time and they will save Buffy. There were no doubts in Faith’s mind anymore. She would save Buffy. Then, she noticed that Andrea was increasing the speed, rushing to the asylum.
"Andrea?"
"No time for prudence, Sis. Dawn! Crawl in the back of the car, hands on your head (Andrea waited till Dawn obeyed then added). Fun time." And she changed gear…full speed.
11.55
Doc was beginning to feel butterflies in his stomach. In five minutes, it would begin and he was impatient. Suddenly, he heard the motor of a motorbike. In a matter of seconds, it became louder and louder and he knew that something was wrong. He quickly stood up, moved to the hall to call his lackeys but didn’t had the time as a sidecar crushed the front door.
It took him a few seconds to regain his composure, too long seconds. Once he was able to focus on the scene again, he saw the dark slayer rushing upstairs, the same dark slayer rushing towards him and a third brunette who was still sitting in the sidecar. A quick glance to the door informed him that the blond vampire was coming to the place too with other protagonists.
11.57
Faith had climbed the stairs in a few seconds. She had never run that quickly, it was as if she had wings that were carrying her on the first floor. She knew that Buffy was on this floor, she could feel her. She barely noticed the vampires that were trying to stop her, she was reacting on instinct, staking them without being slowed down, and she couldn’t waste time with them. She didn’t pay attention to the other rooms of the asylum, she didn’t have to, she would feel Buffy when she would approach the right room, this stuffed room where the bastard was waiting midnight to torture her. Too bad they needed him alive because she really wanted to kill him as soon as she would see him.
She wondered why this floor was so long but remained focused. She had just discovered the door behind which Buffy was. Taking a deep breath, Faith ran to crush the door open.
11.58
In the meantime, Doc was facing Andrea. He had heard rumours about a second dark slayer, a kind of double but hadn’t believed them at that moment. A very big mistake he was going to pay if he hadn’t a brilliant idea. Behind the brunette, he saw Spike coming. Facing the two of them would be too hard even for him…he could easily defeat Spike, he had already proved it. But facing the slayer was another task. Buffy had outclassed him on the tower. If this one was as good as she, he was in trouble.
He had an advantage though. She probably didn’t know about his tongue. If he could make her loose her balance, he would be able to run towards Spike, would dodge whatever attack the vampire would try to block him then, he would vanish forever. He was tired of this town, tired of these slayers.
He threw his tongue towards Andrea but was surprised to see her dodge the attack and grab his tongue in her bare hands. Taking advantage of Doc’s surprise, Andrea succeeded in rolling up his tongue round him. Soon, Doc was the prisoner of his own tongue and that made both Andrea and Spike grin. It was so ridiculous. Andrea moved towards her opponent.
"Your mother should have warned you. Don’t try to lick unwilling ladies…you pervert!"
"Beware, Slayer. He is a trickster. I don’t know why but he seems immortal."
"Really? We’ll test it, then. Gimme the sword that is hanging on the wall, on your left."
Spike quickly spotted the weapon and came back with it.
"Ready, Chip Boy?"
"Ready for what?"
Andrea didn’t let Spike time to think. She pulled on the tongue and watched as Doc was rotating on himself. The vampire reacted by reflex and quickly beheaded the demon.
"See, you could do it. Now, if you want to be sure that he wouldn’t come back again, you find a bag, put his head in it, go to the port and pay someone to throw it in the ocean. AND, you take his fucking rotting body and bury it in the desert. I bet you’d never heard of him again after that. Now, excuse me, I have a sister to help."
Spike watched as the woman climbed the stairs, smiling. He really liked the girl and her way of thinking. Taking the head in his hands, he found a doctor bag that was in the hall, put the head in it and followed the slayers with the other members of the gang who were moving upstairs too. The majority of them had just came in while Dawn had left the sidecar.
0.00
Faith was in the room now. Just in front of Lucius and Bu…Catherine. The Ripper was a vampire, her slayer sense couldn’t lie. It was a good point because she wouldn’t have to look for an excuse for breaking the slayer law that said: Do not slay human beings. And that was a damn good thing.
The son of a bitch had been quick though. As soon as he had heard the door crush, he had put the scalpel under Buffy’s chin, threatening to cut her throat if she made another step. She had stayed where she was and the two opponents were now staring at each other. Lucius was the first to speak.
"I wasn’t expecting you, slayer. This is …regrettable."
"Why? Did I spoil your show?"
Ignoring the sarcasm, he said: "Move away from the door and let me out with her."
"No way, sucker!"
"Think about it, slayer. I have nothing to loose. If I have to die, I won’t die alone. Is it clear?"
Faith clenched her teeth. He was right. She would never have the time to move before he would slit Buffy’s throat open. What could she do?
She could hear the others coming and doubted that Lucius had already heard them. He would probably be distracted for a second when he would. She had to act at this moment. It was her only chance. She moved her right wrist in order to let the stake that was hidden in her sleeve fall in her hand and watched.
"Lost you tongue? You know there is no other choice for you, don’t you? You love her and couldn’t do anything that might hurt her…even if your mind tell you the opposite. You…"
Lucius suddenly heard steps in the corridor. Who could it been? For a second, he looked at the door and saw Faith’s move too late. The stake flew in the air before penetrating in Lucius’ right wrist, the one that was holding the scalpel. The Ripper screamed and let the tool fall on the floor because of the pain. He had barely the time to realise that he had lost his only trump because Faith was already on him, punching him. But she didn’t punch him on the face, no, she was concentrating her hits on a lower part of his body and would have completely destroy it if Andrea hadn’t pushed her away.
"Later, sis. You’ll continue it later but now, we need him alive."
Doc’s lair had been cleaned from every demon of vampire that lived there. Lucius had had a hard time to recover from the beating but he was conscious enough for the ritual that would free the Victorian girls and bring Buffy’s soul back. Besides, no one had pity on him. In each Scooby of watcher, there was a part that regretted that Faith had to stop.
Xander and Wesley had just been back. The last victim of the wind accompanied them. She was the person whose soul had been replaced by the one of Mary Jane Kelly, the last victim of the Ripper. Her name was Alyson and she would soon be back soon. Faith didn’t know how they had convinced the parents but, the essential was that, now, everything was ready. In a few minutes, she would have her B back.
The three victims were sitting in the middle of the living room. They were forming a circle and Tara and Naomi were chanting. The Ripper was right behind them, held by Andrea. Faith knew that her sister would never let the guy go. She also knew that if she wanted to be the one to stake the bastard, she would have to be quicker that her sister and she would.
A wind came in the room. It increased in power and soon extinguished the candles that were lighting the place. According to Willow, it was the final step of the Ritual. In a few seconds, the candles would be lighted again, magically. So, she waited…and waited…Something was wrong. It wasn’t supposed to last that long. What was happening? Faith quickly asked:
"Andrea?"
"Still here with the asshole."
"Xander, switch the light on."
The young man quickly obeyed and the light came back in the room. Not paying attention to the others, Faith rushed towards Buffy and looked into her eyes. She expecting to see joy, sparks that were so Buffy but instead, she found that glare, the one she so hated…the look of Catherine.
"It…it didn’t work. Iceberg!"
Saying that Faith was upset would be the least. She locked venomous eyes on the watcher’s ones and, slowly moved towards the woman who quickly moved backwards, shaking her hands in front of her.
"I don’t know what happened, Faith. It should have worked! We have the victims, we have Lucius…It should work."
"Then, why the hell is she still there?"
"Because we haven’t Lucius!"
"What are you talking about, Will? The bastard is there!" and Faith illustrated her point with her index extended in Lucius’ direction.
"I should have thought about it, Faith. It isn’t Lucius we have here. It’s a demon in his body. It’s a vampire who likes being the Ripper as much as the real Lucius but it isn’t him."
Faith understood what Willow was saying. She remained silent for a few seconds, then, let her frustration go with a long growling scream "Rhaaaaaaaaaa!"
Lucius tried to free himself of Andrea’s grip. He wanted to run, knowing what would happen after Faith’s growl. He didn’t want to stay. For the first time, Lucius feel fear. What he had seen in the brunette’s eyes before had scared him and he knew that she would scare him even more if she locked her eyes in his again. He didn’t have the time to see them though because she was on him before.
After her growl, Faith had literally jumped on Lucius. She had never been this fast before. She was completely disconnected from the others. All that matters, all she had in her mind now was hatred, hatred for Lucius. It was as if every inch of her body felt this hatred and responded to it, increasing the speed of the hits, increasing the power of these same hits.
The other persons in the room watched, speechless. This Faith was scaring them too but on the other hand, they all understood her. They probably would have reacted like that if they had been in her shoes.
Lucius was now only pain. He had never thought that suffering from that much pain was possible. It faded away though as the vampire progressively lost consciousness. Noticing it, Faith punched a last hit that made the head of Lucius go through the wall. She saw him fall but his head prevented him for falling on the floor.
Faith took her stake and for the first time since the beginning of the fight, became aware of her surroundings…And she saw her…and she saw it. Dawn was looking at her with the same hatred she probably had showed during the last minutes. And Faith didn’t like it. She couldn’t let Dawn have this hatred in her. She couldn’t let it corrupt the younger Summers. She had to kill it right now! Her stake still in her hand, she called the young girl.
"Dawn! Come here!"
Intrigued, Dawn moved and was soon next to Faith who handed her the weapon.
"Stake him!"
"Huh?"
"Stake him!"
Dawn took Faith’s stake. Looked one last time to the unconscious body of the Ripper then, she dusted the vampire without hesitation. During that time, Faith hadn’t stopped watching Dawn and, once the vampire killed, she could see a kind of relief in Dawn’s eyes. Hatred was gone for now. She wouldn’t let it come back in these eyes. She swore it.
Killing the vampire had brought relief in her too. She could see things more clearly now. With the Outcast out of their ways, they could concentrate exclusively on bringing Buffy back…And no one would stop her. The life suckers had just won this battle. But war hadn’t begun yet…in fact it had just began. Now, they would see what a very pissed off slayer was capable of…And they would either hide or die. With a voice more determinate than ever, she spoke.
"Recreation time is over boys! We have book to open, phone calls to make and my girlfriend to find!"
Surprised by the resolution that they could spot in Faith’s voice, they all nodded and moved to oblige.
In a room of a deserted asylum of Sunnydale, there was a box, hidden bellow a pillow. In this box, there was an orb that contained the soul of the most famous serial killer of all times, a soul that had been trapped in the box after Parker/Lucius’ transformation into a vampire, a soul that was the Ripper’s last chance in his quest of immortality.
Now that the vampire Ripper was dust; the spell that maintained the soul in the orb didn’t exist anymore and the soul was free. The soul was free to cross the miles. The soul was free to find the wind and hid itself in it, protected by the five souls still trapped in it. The Outcast was dead again but his soul was still alive and would come back in a century or two and this time, it won’t loose.
"It’s coming!"
Buffy Summers mental comment had been heard by the other prisoners. During the last hours, she had understood lots of things about the wind, her prison, her janitor. Except for the brainwashing he had tried but had failed to perform, he had no power inside itself. Now, Buffy knew how to speak with the others. Thanks to the wind, she knew why and because of whom she was in there and thanks to Faith, she knew that the Outcast had failed on Earth.
She let herself think about her girlfriend for a few seconds. Her determination was still high and perceptible. Buffy knew that she would come to free her. But it wasn’t the time to focus on it. There was a war to come and they were ready.
"Esther! Alyson! Let’s go kick his ass!"
...continued in Dragons, Dolphins and Butterflies...