Disclaimer: None of its mine, all Buffy characters belong to the Great Joss, please don't sue,
yada yada yada . I had this fic posted once before but now it's been beta'd by the magic hand of
the wonderful LadyCallie. Thanks boo! You're the greatest!
______________________________________________________________________________
Faith was not going to get away again.
Of that, Buffy was certain. What she didn't know was whether or not she would come away from
it alive.
They had tracked the dark haired psychopath to Giles' apartment. Unintentionally of course, but
they had tracked her there nonetheless. After they had re-switched bodies, Faith had run from the
church in a panic. Buffy, on the other hand, had sat there for an entire day. Or at least, that is
what it had felt like. In reality, she had only sat there for a few minutes. Riley, Willow, Tara, and
Giles had come in moments later. Faith had fled the church and knocked Tara to the ground in
the process. The powerful witch was bruised, but otherwise unhurt. Willow had taken her home.
The next thing Buffy knew, she was in Riley's arms. He had held her close and she wept into the
silk of his shirt, dampening his suit coat. She did not know how long they stood there like that,
clinging desperately to each other. She had embraced Riley as tight as she dared without
aggravating his wound. He had held her close to him, kissing her forehead and smoothing her
hair. He had whispered something in her ear, but she had been too discombobulated to translate
his words. She thought they had sounded like "I'm sorry" but she could not be certain.
Giles had called Xander and Anya and asked them to pick up Willow at Tara's apartment for an
official meeting of the Scooby Gang war department. They were planning to reconvene at Giles'
apartment for a full debriefing. Giles and Riley had first taken Buffy back to her dorm to allow
her to change into different clothing, because she felt as though she were in costume, wearing the
powder blue sweater and matching skirt-even though they were her own clothes. She had, for
some reason, chosen black leather pants, high-heeled boots, and a lavender cashmere tank top
that had removable and adjustable straps. Buffy had pulled a shoulder baring matching sweater
over the shirt, and allowed it to display her bare shoulders, and the removable straps she had
chosen not to remove. She carried a stake in her boot and another in the waistband of her pants.
Her blonde hair was pulled off her face in an artfully messy bun and a determined frown marred
her otherwise flawless face.
Xander, Anya, and Willow had pulled in right behind the armored car just as it shut off its engine
outside the gated community of Spanish-style apartments where the Englishman had lived for the
past four and a half years. As they had walked down the stone steps towards his apartment, the
Scooby gang had been met with a rather unexpected surprise-Giles' door was ripped off its
hinges. Without thinking, Buffy had rushed forward, instinctually knowing who was inside.
"Buffy!" Riley called after her futilely.
"Faith, how nice to see you in your own body," the blonde Slayer sneered, surprising the dark-
haired woman. Faith whirled around and grinned.
"Hiya, B!" she said evenly, hiding all traces of fear and surprise from her face. Buffy, however,
had grown very adept at reading Faith's body language and could tell the woman was not only
surprised, but extremely caught off guard. She looked Buffy up and down, "Ya know, I saw that
outfit in your closet, but I decided against it."
Buffy frowned, "Why, didn't it show enough cleavage for you? Or was it not psychotic-looking
enough?"
"Actually," Faith jested. "I thought it would look too tacky on me. You," she smiled coldly.
"Us."
Buffy took a step closer to her, but Faith grabbed a lit candle from Giles' desk. She held it
threateningly in front of her. "I like fire," she said, almost allowing herself to become entranced
by the flickering flame. "It's so soothing, and yet so deadly."
"Oh God, don't get all philolosophery on me," Buffy groaned, rolling her eyes.
"Actually," Faith replied. "I was thinking more along the lines of psychology."
Just then, Riley and Giles, flanked by Xander, Willow, and Anya, burst into the apartment,
brandishing various weapons. Riley had a gun and Giles had a cross bow, while Willow and
Xander held shovels and Anya carried a pointy steel rake she had found in the courtyard.
"Speak of the devil," Faith said. She winked and licked her teeth at Riley, "Hi baby." She blew
out the candle.
"Stay away from him," Buffy said, assuming a fighting stance.
Riley came up beside her, aiming his gun at Faith, targeting the space between her eyes,
"Scary," Faith murmured. She pulled a knife from her waistband, "Scarier." She used it to make
an obscenely rude gesture that made Riley almost blush.
Angrily, Buffy abruptly kicked it out of her hand, "Not really." A small part of the blonde
Slayer's mind pondered the coincidence of Faith using the same words trying to kill Buffy and
Riley that Darla had used years earlier trying to kill Buffy and Angel. But that small part of
Buffy's mind was drowned out by the overwhelming desire of the rest of it to just try and stay
alive.
Faith launched herself at Buffy, taking Riley out quickly. She kicked the gun out of his hand and
punched him in the face. She got him in the stomach and sent him flying across the room. Buffy
punched her and Faith kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the floor. Giles rushed
forward, but Faith grabbed him by the wrist and snapped it, causing the British man to let go of
the crossbow and cry out in pain. Faith twisted painfully and picked him up, throwing him across
the dining table. Buffy leapt to her feet, grabbing the crossbow. She hit Faith in the face with it
and the arrow drew blood. Faith snatched the crossbow out of Buffy's hand and snapped it into
two pieces.
Xander, Anya and Willow ran into the fray. Xander and Willow tried to smack Faith with the
shovels, but she grabbed Xander's and used it against him. She bashed him in the head with the
shovel itself and used the wooden handle to jab him in the stomach. Groaning, Xander fell to the
ground. Buffy retaliated, dropping to all fours and sweeping her legs underneath Faith. Faith fell
to the ground, but not before punching Willow under the chin and sending her sprawling
backwards. Anya tried stabbing her with the pitch fork-like rake, but Faith grabbed the handle
and rammed it back into Anya's ribs. The ex vengeance demon stumbled backwards and tripped
over Xander's semi-conscious form, falling to the floor.
Riley tried to stumble to his feet, but Faith kicked him in the face. Now it was just her against
Buffy. The squared off, prepared to fight to the death.
"I was ready too kill them all, you know," Faith said.
"I would have killed you first," Buffy replied.
"Bad plan B," Faith scolded. "Then you would have been trapped in my body forever."
"You didn't let me finish," Buffy said evenly. "I would have killed you, then killed myself. I'd
rather be dead then live in that."
Angrily, Faith swung at Buffy, but the blonde Slayer ducked. Faith swung again, but Buffy
blocked the shot and responded with punches of her own. They kicked each other, expertly
blocking the other's legs. Faith finally connected and Buffy fell to the ground. Faith leapt on top
of her and began punching Buffy repeatedly in the face. Buffy turned her head to one side and
saw the knife lying five feet away. She reached for it, straining her arms to get it. Faith, however,
saw what she was doing and leapt for the knife herself. Buffy grabbed her ankles and Faith
crashed to the floor. Buffy jumped to her feet and stepped on Faith's hand.
Faith screamed in pain and wrenched her hand free. She grabbed the knife and leapt to her feet,
brandishing it at Buffy. She swung once and tore open the front of Buffy's shirt. Buffy jumped
back and muttered, "Missed me."
"Never again," Faith replied, breathing heavily. "I learn from my mistakes."
"Really?" Buffy asked. "Then what are you doing back here, waving a knife at me? The last time
we did this, you ended up in a coma."
"That's my plan, B," Faith told her. "If I'm gonna die, I plan to take you with me."
"Sorry," Buffy said sarcastically. "I wasn't planning to die today."
"Too bad," Faith said. "'Cause I was sure planning to kill you." She lashed out and cut across
Buffy's hip.
"Sorry to disappoint," Buffy said and once more launched herself at Faith. She went straight for
the knife, realizing that she might very well in fact die, right there, with Faith. With her
boyfriend and mentor and best friends lying at her feet, she might leave them all in an attempt to
rid the world of this sociopathic, homicidal Slayer.
They struggled over control of the knife. Buffy caught Faith's wrists and Faith bit Buffy's
forearm. In retaliation, Buffy let go of one of Faith's wrists and punched her in the face, landing a
good one to the girl's nose. Faith dropped the knife and Buffy kicked it underneath the couch.
"Leave Faith"' she whispered. "Leave here and don't come back."
"Why won't you kill me?" Faith asked, her chest rising and falling with each deep breath.
"Because I'm not like you," Buffy said. "I don't kill innocent people."
"I'm not innocent," Faith replied.
"But you were, once. I refuse to believe you were always a bad person."
Faith backed towards the door, stepping over unconscious and semi-conscious bodies, never
once taking her eyes off Buffy. There were tears in Faith's eyes. She wagged her finger in
hysterical fury. She was off her guard, now that Buffy had expressed concern for her. It was
always easier for her to hate.
"This isn't over, B. Know that."
"It'll never be over Faith," Buffy said sadly.
Faith blinked a few times, then spun on her heel and ran away, as though all Hell was at her
heels. She left Buffy standing alone in the middle of Giles' apartment, broken furniture and
assorted knickknacks all around her, with her friends and loved ones lying around her feet. Buffy
simply stared after Faith, expecting her to come back, expecting...something.
"Buffy?" Riley asked, pulling himself up by the couch cushions, trying his damnedest not to
wince at the numbing pain in his side. He pressed his hand to his ribs and felt something sticky
through his shirt. 'Damn,' he thought, realizing he had pulled his stitches. Looking around the
ransacked room, Riley saw that Anya and Xander were holding each other upright; both were
visibly bruised, and Xander had a good-sized gash along his left temple. On the floor to the left
sat a very dazed looking Willow. Her shirt was torn at the shoulder and she modestly tried to
cover herself. Giles was lying inert on the floor in the dining area, and Willow scrambled to her
feet, rushing to his aid. The college coed/Wicca yanked at his sweater with violent desperation in
an attempt to wake him. The man began to come to, and Riley could see the air deflate out of
Willow's lungs as she sighed with relief.
As Humpty-Buffy's men and women tried to put themselves back together again, Riley saw the
Slayer herself standing alone and detached in the middle of the room. She seemed to be
elsewhere, and Riley could not catch her gaze. He leaned on the couch as the dull ache in his side
turned into a nagging throb and took a step toward his girlfriend.
Buffy was standing in the middle of the apartment, looking dazed and confused. She lifted a
trembling hand to her face and touched it timidly, as though it was painful to touch her own skin.
Frantically, she grabbed at her long hair and pulled a few strands in front of her face. Her
shoulders fell visibly when she saw that it was blonde. It was almost as though she was trying to
reaffirm for herself that she was in the right body. Riley hoped she was relieved. Her clothes
were torn and covered with blood and grime. Her leather pants had a big rip across her hip, and
Riley saw some blood creeping to the surface. Buffy's chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her
breath. Her eyes darted about the place as though they were searching for something familiar to
focus on.
"Buffy," Riley said again, this time more quietly. Looking at her, Riley decided that Buffy must
have detached herself from the situation, denying herself the right to feel, in order to make her
job easier. She was still not fully aware that she was back in her own body. Wincing, he walked
over to her and placed a gently hand on her arm. He could feel her trembling and he pulled her
protectively to his uninjured side.
"Hey Buff?" Xander croaked as he and Anya made their way towards the shaken blonde Slayer.
They sat on the arm of the couch and Anya closed her eyes. "Not that I'm not glad to see you or
anything," Xander said, gingerly pressing a hand to the wound at his temple. He groaned slightly,
and Anya tore a piece of cloth from his sleeve and pressed it to the gash. "But," Xander
continued. "How do we know it's really you?"
"Yeah," Anya quipped. "Faith played the Buffy Game pretty convincingly." She smiled
helpfully, "Even Riley was fooled."
Riley blushed as Buffy peered up at him questioningly with her tired blue eyes. He cracked a
reassuringly half smile and she closed her eyes. Then she pulled away from him and stepped
toward Xander and Anya.
"Xand," she said kindly. "Remember all that stuff you thought about when I had my little 'Aspect
of the demon' thing?" She grinned when she saw his jaw drop and red embarrassment creep into
his face. "How would Faith know all that?"
"'Nuff said," he murmured, blushing.
Anya furrowed her brow and said, "What could your post-pubescent brain possibly have thought
about that's so embarrassing?" Xander blinked at her a few times, uncomfortably shifted his
weight, and stared at the floor. "Oh!" Anya exclaimed.
Buffy could practically see the light bulb appear over the ex-vengeance demon's head.
"Buffy read your mind when you were thinking about sex, didn't she?" Xander's girlfriend asked
innocently.
Xander groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Thank you Anya," he groaned. "For once
again filling the awkward post-battle silence with as much Xander humiliation as possible."
Riley smiled and again pulled Buffy to his side.
"Yes, thank you Anya," Giles said dryly as he leaned on Willow. He was holding his wrist above
his heart, and Buffy could see the bone bent at an odd-and obviously painful-angle. Giles had
black eyes and a cut along his left cheek. The most noticeable injury, however, was the large
bump on his head that was red and appeared to be swelling.
Riley pulled out a chair for the man and Buffy rushed forward, crouching before Giles. "God,
Giles, are you okay?"
The British man closed his eyes and prayed for the room to stop spinning. When he opened them
again, he saw three or four Slayers looming before him, every single one of them looking equally
worried. 'Oh God,' he thought. 'The spell has had some kind of unexpected side effect. She's
multiplying.'
Giles smiled, "Yes Buffy, thank you for your concern." Then, flashes of light passed before his
eyes and a peculiar ringing filled his ears. He grew a bit dizzy and began to slump forward, but
Willow, Buffy, and Riley reacted quickly, darting forward and grabbing him by the arm or
shoulders to keep him upright. Willow looked him directly in the Englishman's eyes. She
reached out and took a candle from the desk and held it in front of his eyes. He winced and she
set the candle back in its place.
"You've got a concussion Giles," she said matter-of-factly. "You need to get to the hospital and
have it looked at."
"Go doctor Rosenburg," Xander said.
"We could all probably use a trip to the ER," Riley said. "Giles has a concussion and a broken
wrist. I tore my stitches. That cut on Xander's forehead should be cleaned. Buffy, you should get
that wound on your hip looked at."
Buffy grinned, "Is that an order, soldier?"
He bent down to kiss her, "You'd better believe it." He pressed his lips to hers and felt his pulse
race. As she pressed her body against his own, he could feel her breathe. He kissed her forehead
and murmured, "I love you," in her ear. She looked up at him and blinked a few times, as though
she had not heard him correctly. He smiled and nodded. When Buffy closed her eyes in a brief
moment of contentment, Riley felt a pang of guilt and looked away.
Giles cleared his throat and was instantly regretful, because a sharp pain shot through his head.
"Yes, I agree that a visit to the doctors would be rather beneficial, I think we have a more
pressing matter at hand." He looked from person to person. "Where is Faith?"
Riley had sat down in a chair identical to Giles' and Buffy eased herself into his lap, mindful of
his ribs. She sighed, "I let her go."
"What?!" Xander exclaimed.
"Why?" Willow asked, sounding a little hurt.
"Why, Buffy?" Riley asked softly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. He nuzzled her
affectionately and she smiled, appreciating his support. She sighed again and leaned against
Riley, suddenly feeling as though she could sleep for a millennia or two. She looked around at
the astonished faces of her friends and closed her yes. "Because, I'm tired of fighting. No one is
going to win this war. I don't want to kill her." 'Not yet anyway,' her mind told her.
"Why not?" Xander asked. "Buff, I mean she tried to kill A-" Anya smacked him in his shoulder
and he stuttered, "A friend of yours. She took over your body and slept-" Anya hit him in the
shoulder again. "In your house with your mother there. And you're trying to tell me you're not
the least bit angry?" He looked around for help, "I mean, I want to kill her and all she did was
screw me over."
"Literally," Willow quipped. She offered her childhood friend an apologetic smile.
"I tried to kill her once, Xand, and remember how well that didn't work?" Buffy smiled sadly,
"I'm tired of this constant killing and hunting we do, of each other I mean. I just wanted to end
it." She felt Riley rub her back briefly and she was overwhelmed with love for him.
"Killing her would have ended it," Anya said.
"No more killing," Buffy said. "If she's feeling like I am, she's probably a little disoriented. Even
more so, maybe." She laughed in spite of herself, "I mean, it isn't every day you take the lead
role in 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.'"
Riley suppressed a chuckle.
"Yeah, and this one was the anniversary Psycho-Slayer's cut," Xander added helpfully.
Buffy looked out the broken door, "She's on the run. There's no place for her anywhere. She can't
stay around here. She can't continue to be the Slayer. And she's already seen that her vendetta
against me can't be finished." The blonde Slayer sagged, completely and utterly out of energy,
against her boyfriend gingerly and said quietly, "She's an outcast among outcasts."
"Quite right," Giles said, shutting his eyes against the pain the light was giving him.
"I feel kinda bad for her," Willow said.
Xander's eyes widened, "Will, she tried to kill you more times than Goldie Hawn's gotten
collagen injections! What could you possibly have to feel sorry for her about?"
"I know what you mean," Anya murmured, looking at Willow. "When D'Hoffryn took away my
powers, I felt lost. For a millennia and a half I was a vengeance demon. Take that away and what
was I?"
"When I found out that Professor Walsh had tried to kill Buffy," Riley said softly. "My entire
world fell to pieces. Then the withdrawal made me crazy." He paused thoughtfully, "Drug
induced depressions notwithstanding, I can see what could have turned Faith into what she is."
"No body really knows why Faith turned evil," Buffy told him. "Maybe it's because she was
unloved as a child. After all, from what she told me, and what I figured out by inhabiting her
body, her mother was one hell of a mean drunk. And look at the people who showed any care for
her." Buffy began to count them off on her fingers, "Her first Watcher was brutally murdered.
Her second Watcher turns out to be a power hungry sociopath. And the only father-figure she
knows is a hundred year old germ-phobic power hungry lizard demon."
"Sounds like she grew up with the Cleavers," Riley muttered.
Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose and for the first time realized he wasn't wearing his glasses.
His head hurt too much, however, to look around for them. He shut his eyes once more.
"There's no arguing that Faith had an extraordinarily rough childhood," he said slowly. "But
difficult up-bringings do not go hand in hand with evil. Brutality does not necessarily breed
corruption. One does not necessarily lend itself to the other, nor does one necessarily cause the
other."
"Translation," Xander stated. "Faith's just freakin' evil, no two ways about it."
"Thank you Xander for that guttural synopsis," Giles muttered angrily. The pain in his head was
becoming rather severe and the room was starting to spin fairly rapidly. He was also beginning to
feel rather nauseous and it was taking all he had not to topple over and vomit.
Buffy raised a brow in concern, "Giles, you'd better get to the hospital." She turned to Xander
and Anya, "Can you guys take him?"
They nodded.
She turned to Riley, "You too Mister. I'll not have my boyfriend bleed to death because of my
wacky identical Slay-Sister." Her voice softened when she saw indigence creep into his
handsome face. "Don't argue, Riley, please. Just go and get fixed up."
"What about you?" he asked, placing a soft hand on her hip. "That cut looks really bad."
She examined her hip and gave him a grin, "See, you forget, I'm a superhero. We heal sixty
percent faster than you non-superhero types." But she could see he wasn't convinced. "Riley, I'm
fine, really. Go with Anya and Xander and take Giles to the hospital. I'll meet you there as soon
as I can."
"What do you plan to do Buffy?" Giles asked, allowing Xander and Anya to help him to his feet.
The dizziness made his stomach flip-flop and he swallowed, denying himself the privilege of
retching.
Buffy looked at her redheaded witchy best friend, "Willow and I are going to do some clean up."
She looked at her best friend, "We're gonna do a little re-con and pick up any messes Faith might
have left behind. Hopefully we won't run into her."
"Why?" Willow asked a little to loudly, her voice betraying her fear. She blushed and shuffled
her feet, "Not that I don't think I couldn't take her, it's just that I'd rather not bruise her fist with
my face again for at least the next couple of oh, I don't know, centuries."
Buffy reached out to her, "Relax, Will. I'm not asking you to mount a major offensive. Just use
your logic and maybe your magick to help me."
She kissed Riley one last time before gently pushing him out the door after Xander, Anya, and
one British ex-librarian who looked as though he was close to throwing up everything he'd ever
eaten since that time in boarding school that he tried Shakespeare Stew. Rumor had it there was
real Shakespeare in it.
Buffy and Willow sat down at Giles' desk.
"What was it like?" Willow asked. "Being inside someone else's body, I mean. Helpless and
without people to understand you."
Buffy shrugged and hugged her knees to her chest, ignoring the burning in her hip as she
accidentally tore the newly-formed scab open. "I don't know," she said, examining her
fingernails. "It was...weird. There's no way to describe it." A shiver ran down her back and she
rubbed her arms vigorously in an effort to warm herself.
"Well, I'm just glad you're back in your own body," Willow said with a smile. She looked away,
visibly uncomfortable.
"Will, what's wrong?" Buffy asked softly.
Willow's eyes slowly drifted back to her Slayer friend, "It's just... well, when I found out that
Faith was in your body, my first thought was 'Let's kill her,' even if it meant killing you." She
frowned, "Only it wouldn't really have been you because you were in Faith's body. So we really
would have been killing her, even if she looked like you." She rubbed her temples, "Now I'm
getting a headache."
Buffy touched her friend's hand, "No, Willow, it's pretty headachy stuff." She looked away. "But
I'm glad you were prepared to kill me... her... us." She groaned and rested her head in her hands,
elbows on her knees, "Ouch."
Willow laughed and clapped her hands together, "So, a-Faith hunting we will go?"
"Hi-ho the derry-o," Buffy replied listlessly. She cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders,
hoping the tension would bleed out. Something wasn't sitting well with her. If he was still there,
Xander would probably have asked her if her Spider Senses were tingling. Giles had once called
it something along the lines of heightened perception derived from her newly acquired Slayer
powers. Her mother would call it the instinct naturally present in all decent Summers women.
What ever it was, it was giving Buffy the willies. And she realized that willies were things her
grandmother got when she was a teenager, but the Slayer had them nonetheless.
"What's wrong?" Willow asked.
Buffy shrugged, sitting up straight. She squinted, trying to make sense of all the new information
swirling around inside her head. Her experience with Faith had left her with most of the bad
Slayer's memories. On one hand, it was good, because she now had a better understanding of
what made the crazy bitch tick. But it was unsettling to have someone else's memories sharing
living space with your own. And now Faith knew how she ticked. She cracked her knuckles and
looked at her best friend, "I was just thinking about stuff we said earlier." Her mind was racing
as she tried to formulate a coherent and logical thought that would confirm what she suspected
her subconscious already knew.
"I mean, when I was in Faith's body, I was kind of sharing her brain, just like I'm guessing she
was sharing mine. She knows everything I know, and vice versa. I know what she was feeling,
and I kind of remember her memories."
Willow frowned, "I don't follow."
Buffy leaned forward, "She did all this because she thinks I ruined her life, right?" Willow
nodded. "Well, from what I could tell, I don't hold all the blame. She pretty much thinks two of
us are to blame for all her misfortune."
Willow's head snapped up, "You and Giles?"
"No," Buffy shook her head. She swallowed hard, as though what she was about to say next was
painful. "Me and... and Angel."
Willow nodded, "It makes sense. After all, she had it bad for him, and he screwed her over."
Willow clamped her mouth shut and began to stammer, "I didn't mean it that way. I meant he
played her like a violin." She frowned, "That sounded bad too. I'm gonna stop talking now."
Buffy shook her head, "It's okay Willow. I get what you're trying to say. But Faith already tried
to kill me, and she failed."
"She tried to kill everyone you love, and messed that up righteously bad too," Willow added.
"Not everyone," Buffy said quietly.
Willow's eyes snapped open, "You mean you still... well, what about Riley?"
Buffy twisted her hands together, "I care for Riley; we have a great relationship. It's three-
quarters normal, which is probably the most normalcy I'll ever have in a relationship. But Angel
and I had something very intense for a long time. We went through a lot together. We went
through a lot for each other." She cracked her knuckles again and tried not to think of the scar on
her neck. "And like it or not, I still have feelings for him." She stared at the backs of her hands,
"I think I always will." Her eyes darted to the telephone.
"Then you should warn him," Willow said knowingly, reaching for the black cordless telephone.
She handed it to her friend with a no-nonsense gaze. Buffy looked hesitant. "She's gonna try and
kill him Buffy," Willow said. "The least you can do is warn him. If she knows everything you
know, then she knows where to find him."
Buffy snatched the telephone from her friend's hand and dialed his number in LA. She saw
Willow smile when the Wicca realized she had it memorized, and the Slayer blushed and rolled
her eyes.
"Angel Investigations," Cordelia said sweetly after the tenth ring.
Buffy's breath caught and she was unable to speak.
"Hello?" Cordelia asked in exasperation.
Willow nodded supportively to her frightened friend.
"Cor-, Cordelia," Buffy said shakily.
"Buffy?" Cordelia sounded surprised.
Buffy heard a crash in the background as something fell on the floor. "I need to talk to Angel."
"Why? Have you decided you like it better being Danger Guy's girlfriend than being Regular
Joe's girlfriend? " Cordelia said.
Buffy thought wryly.
"Cordy!" she snapped. "I don't have time for this and neither do you. It's very possible you're
both in danger. I need to talk to Angel now." There was dead silence and Buffy was afraid that
Cordelia had hung up on her. Then she heard some muffled voices.
"Buffy?" Angel asked.
Again, her breath caught. Buffy was surprised he could still do that to her.
"Buffy, what's wrong? Cordelia said you think we might be in danger." The concern in Angel's
voice was palpable. His care for her, even after all this time, created a knot in Buffy's stomach
and she felt a pang of guilt.
She took a deep breath and replied, "Faith's awake. She's already wreaked havoc here and we
think she might be headed for you."
"How does she know where I am?" he asked. There was quick change in the tone of his voice. It
was no longer one of concern. He was now in business mode. Buffy's heart dropped a little, but
she scolded herself. The time for them had come and gone. All they had left now was business.
They didn't belong to each other. They never could. So what was the use in hoping that destiny
would change?
Buffy cracked her neck again and began pacing around the apartment. "The Mayor left her a
present before he died. It was a little gizmo that she used to switch bodies."
"A Draconian Spell," he replied.
"You've heard of it," she said without surprise. Why not? Schlep around the world for a couple
of centuries and you're bound to see a few things, right? Angel had been around long enough to
see almost everything twice.
He paused, "It was supposed to be a myth. It's been called the Jumping Jack, among other
things."
she thought, biting back that harsh comment. "Well, guess what. It's not. It's real, or at
least it was until I, she...whatever, destroyed it." Buffy was getting a headache and her hip was
really starting to hurt. "So, um, I just thought you should know that Hurricane Faith is coming."
"Thank you Buffy," Angel murmured, his voice gruff and quiet and full of sympathy. "Are you
all right?"
"Just a couple of bumps and bruises," she said sheepily. "Nothing a quick trip to the ER won't
fix. I'm actually on my way there now."
Angel did not reply and Buffy said, "That whole needing a trip to the ER was a joke, Angel. I'm
fine, really. I'm going because Giles has a concussion and a broken wrist and Xander's got a
pretty bad cut on his head and Riley tore his stitches." She gulped when she realized that her
babblesomeness had just led to a one-sided discussion with her ex-boyfriend about the health of
her new boyfriend.
"Oh," Angel said softly. "I hope they're all okay."
Buffy shook her head. Part of her wanted to rail on him for being so nice about everything. He
didn't have a right. After all they had done to each other and for each other, neither of them had
the right to be nice. But another part of Buffy loved him for being so nice and caring, even after
all they had done to each other and for each other. It surprised her that even after all this time,
she still wasn't over all the awkward Angel-inspired moments.
Willow caught her attention and smiled.
Buffy smiled back and mouthed *Thank you.* "Be careful," she told him with all the heartfelt
concern she had. She still cared for him, like it or not.
"I will," he said, allowing he change of subject that doubled as a polite termination of the call.
"Good bye Buffy," his voice was quiet and full of appreciation and love. And it made her want to
cry.
"Bye," she whispered, and hung up. She swallowed back the tears and lifted her hand on the
telephone. Buffy turned back to her friend with a forced smile.
Willow rested her chin on her hand, "So?"
"So what? He knows. I've done my civic duty." Buffy spied the keys to the Giles mobile on the
counter of the breakfast nook. She snatched them up in her hands and said, "Shall we?"
Willow stood and wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. "I'll drive," she said, taking the
keys from Buffy. "You look tired."
"Thanks Will."
"Besides," Willow said mischievously. "I want to get to the hospital in once piece. It's bad
enough I have to drive that death trap. If you're driving, I wouldn't wish being a passenger on my
worst enemy's dog."
Buffy looked taken aback, "Bitch."
"Slut," Willow retorted.
"Witch."
"Delinquent."
Buffy laughed, "Willow!"
"Sorry," Willow said sheepily. "Quitter."
"Geek."
"Bad seed."
"Book worm."
"Vampire Slayer."
yada yada yada . I had this fic posted once before but now it's been beta'd by the magic hand of
the wonderful LadyCallie. Thanks boo! You're the greatest!
______________________________________________________________________________
Faith was not going to get away again.
Of that, Buffy was certain. What she didn't know was whether or not she would come away from
it alive.
They had tracked the dark haired psychopath to Giles' apartment. Unintentionally of course, but
they had tracked her there nonetheless. After they had re-switched bodies, Faith had run from the
church in a panic. Buffy, on the other hand, had sat there for an entire day. Or at least, that is
what it had felt like. In reality, she had only sat there for a few minutes. Riley, Willow, Tara, and
Giles had come in moments later. Faith had fled the church and knocked Tara to the ground in
the process. The powerful witch was bruised, but otherwise unhurt. Willow had taken her home.
The next thing Buffy knew, she was in Riley's arms. He had held her close and she wept into the
silk of his shirt, dampening his suit coat. She did not know how long they stood there like that,
clinging desperately to each other. She had embraced Riley as tight as she dared without
aggravating his wound. He had held her close to him, kissing her forehead and smoothing her
hair. He had whispered something in her ear, but she had been too discombobulated to translate
his words. She thought they had sounded like "I'm sorry" but she could not be certain.
Giles had called Xander and Anya and asked them to pick up Willow at Tara's apartment for an
official meeting of the Scooby Gang war department. They were planning to reconvene at Giles'
apartment for a full debriefing. Giles and Riley had first taken Buffy back to her dorm to allow
her to change into different clothing, because she felt as though she were in costume, wearing the
powder blue sweater and matching skirt-even though they were her own clothes. She had, for
some reason, chosen black leather pants, high-heeled boots, and a lavender cashmere tank top
that had removable and adjustable straps. Buffy had pulled a shoulder baring matching sweater
over the shirt, and allowed it to display her bare shoulders, and the removable straps she had
chosen not to remove. She carried a stake in her boot and another in the waistband of her pants.
Her blonde hair was pulled off her face in an artfully messy bun and a determined frown marred
her otherwise flawless face.
Xander, Anya, and Willow had pulled in right behind the armored car just as it shut off its engine
outside the gated community of Spanish-style apartments where the Englishman had lived for the
past four and a half years. As they had walked down the stone steps towards his apartment, the
Scooby gang had been met with a rather unexpected surprise-Giles' door was ripped off its
hinges. Without thinking, Buffy had rushed forward, instinctually knowing who was inside.
"Buffy!" Riley called after her futilely.
"Faith, how nice to see you in your own body," the blonde Slayer sneered, surprising the dark-
haired woman. Faith whirled around and grinned.
"Hiya, B!" she said evenly, hiding all traces of fear and surprise from her face. Buffy, however,
had grown very adept at reading Faith's body language and could tell the woman was not only
surprised, but extremely caught off guard. She looked Buffy up and down, "Ya know, I saw that
outfit in your closet, but I decided against it."
Buffy frowned, "Why, didn't it show enough cleavage for you? Or was it not psychotic-looking
enough?"
"Actually," Faith jested. "I thought it would look too tacky on me. You," she smiled coldly.
"Us."
Buffy took a step closer to her, but Faith grabbed a lit candle from Giles' desk. She held it
threateningly in front of her. "I like fire," she said, almost allowing herself to become entranced
by the flickering flame. "It's so soothing, and yet so deadly."
"Oh God, don't get all philolosophery on me," Buffy groaned, rolling her eyes.
"Actually," Faith replied. "I was thinking more along the lines of psychology."
Just then, Riley and Giles, flanked by Xander, Willow, and Anya, burst into the apartment,
brandishing various weapons. Riley had a gun and Giles had a cross bow, while Willow and
Xander held shovels and Anya carried a pointy steel rake she had found in the courtyard.
"Speak of the devil," Faith said. She winked and licked her teeth at Riley, "Hi baby." She blew
out the candle.
"Stay away from him," Buffy said, assuming a fighting stance.
Riley came up beside her, aiming his gun at Faith, targeting the space between her eyes,
"Scary," Faith murmured. She pulled a knife from her waistband, "Scarier." She used it to make
an obscenely rude gesture that made Riley almost blush.
Angrily, Buffy abruptly kicked it out of her hand, "Not really." A small part of the blonde
Slayer's mind pondered the coincidence of Faith using the same words trying to kill Buffy and
Riley that Darla had used years earlier trying to kill Buffy and Angel. But that small part of
Buffy's mind was drowned out by the overwhelming desire of the rest of it to just try and stay
alive.
Faith launched herself at Buffy, taking Riley out quickly. She kicked the gun out of his hand and
punched him in the face. She got him in the stomach and sent him flying across the room. Buffy
punched her and Faith kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the floor. Giles rushed
forward, but Faith grabbed him by the wrist and snapped it, causing the British man to let go of
the crossbow and cry out in pain. Faith twisted painfully and picked him up, throwing him across
the dining table. Buffy leapt to her feet, grabbing the crossbow. She hit Faith in the face with it
and the arrow drew blood. Faith snatched the crossbow out of Buffy's hand and snapped it into
two pieces.
Xander, Anya and Willow ran into the fray. Xander and Willow tried to smack Faith with the
shovels, but she grabbed Xander's and used it against him. She bashed him in the head with the
shovel itself and used the wooden handle to jab him in the stomach. Groaning, Xander fell to the
ground. Buffy retaliated, dropping to all fours and sweeping her legs underneath Faith. Faith fell
to the ground, but not before punching Willow under the chin and sending her sprawling
backwards. Anya tried stabbing her with the pitch fork-like rake, but Faith grabbed the handle
and rammed it back into Anya's ribs. The ex vengeance demon stumbled backwards and tripped
over Xander's semi-conscious form, falling to the floor.
Riley tried to stumble to his feet, but Faith kicked him in the face. Now it was just her against
Buffy. The squared off, prepared to fight to the death.
"I was ready too kill them all, you know," Faith said.
"I would have killed you first," Buffy replied.
"Bad plan B," Faith scolded. "Then you would have been trapped in my body forever."
"You didn't let me finish," Buffy said evenly. "I would have killed you, then killed myself. I'd
rather be dead then live in that."
Angrily, Faith swung at Buffy, but the blonde Slayer ducked. Faith swung again, but Buffy
blocked the shot and responded with punches of her own. They kicked each other, expertly
blocking the other's legs. Faith finally connected and Buffy fell to the ground. Faith leapt on top
of her and began punching Buffy repeatedly in the face. Buffy turned her head to one side and
saw the knife lying five feet away. She reached for it, straining her arms to get it. Faith, however,
saw what she was doing and leapt for the knife herself. Buffy grabbed her ankles and Faith
crashed to the floor. Buffy jumped to her feet and stepped on Faith's hand.
Faith screamed in pain and wrenched her hand free. She grabbed the knife and leapt to her feet,
brandishing it at Buffy. She swung once and tore open the front of Buffy's shirt. Buffy jumped
back and muttered, "Missed me."
"Never again," Faith replied, breathing heavily. "I learn from my mistakes."
"Really?" Buffy asked. "Then what are you doing back here, waving a knife at me? The last time
we did this, you ended up in a coma."
"That's my plan, B," Faith told her. "If I'm gonna die, I plan to take you with me."
"Sorry," Buffy said sarcastically. "I wasn't planning to die today."
"Too bad," Faith said. "'Cause I was sure planning to kill you." She lashed out and cut across
Buffy's hip.
"Sorry to disappoint," Buffy said and once more launched herself at Faith. She went straight for
the knife, realizing that she might very well in fact die, right there, with Faith. With her
boyfriend and mentor and best friends lying at her feet, she might leave them all in an attempt to
rid the world of this sociopathic, homicidal Slayer.
They struggled over control of the knife. Buffy caught Faith's wrists and Faith bit Buffy's
forearm. In retaliation, Buffy let go of one of Faith's wrists and punched her in the face, landing a
good one to the girl's nose. Faith dropped the knife and Buffy kicked it underneath the couch.
"Leave Faith"' she whispered. "Leave here and don't come back."
"Why won't you kill me?" Faith asked, her chest rising and falling with each deep breath.
"Because I'm not like you," Buffy said. "I don't kill innocent people."
"I'm not innocent," Faith replied.
"But you were, once. I refuse to believe you were always a bad person."
Faith backed towards the door, stepping over unconscious and semi-conscious bodies, never
once taking her eyes off Buffy. There were tears in Faith's eyes. She wagged her finger in
hysterical fury. She was off her guard, now that Buffy had expressed concern for her. It was
always easier for her to hate.
"This isn't over, B. Know that."
"It'll never be over Faith," Buffy said sadly.
Faith blinked a few times, then spun on her heel and ran away, as though all Hell was at her
heels. She left Buffy standing alone in the middle of Giles' apartment, broken furniture and
assorted knickknacks all around her, with her friends and loved ones lying around her feet. Buffy
simply stared after Faith, expecting her to come back, expecting...something.
"Buffy?" Riley asked, pulling himself up by the couch cushions, trying his damnedest not to
wince at the numbing pain in his side. He pressed his hand to his ribs and felt something sticky
through his shirt. 'Damn,' he thought, realizing he had pulled his stitches. Looking around the
ransacked room, Riley saw that Anya and Xander were holding each other upright; both were
visibly bruised, and Xander had a good-sized gash along his left temple. On the floor to the left
sat a very dazed looking Willow. Her shirt was torn at the shoulder and she modestly tried to
cover herself. Giles was lying inert on the floor in the dining area, and Willow scrambled to her
feet, rushing to his aid. The college coed/Wicca yanked at his sweater with violent desperation in
an attempt to wake him. The man began to come to, and Riley could see the air deflate out of
Willow's lungs as she sighed with relief.
As Humpty-Buffy's men and women tried to put themselves back together again, Riley saw the
Slayer herself standing alone and detached in the middle of the room. She seemed to be
elsewhere, and Riley could not catch her gaze. He leaned on the couch as the dull ache in his side
turned into a nagging throb and took a step toward his girlfriend.
Buffy was standing in the middle of the apartment, looking dazed and confused. She lifted a
trembling hand to her face and touched it timidly, as though it was painful to touch her own skin.
Frantically, she grabbed at her long hair and pulled a few strands in front of her face. Her
shoulders fell visibly when she saw that it was blonde. It was almost as though she was trying to
reaffirm for herself that she was in the right body. Riley hoped she was relieved. Her clothes
were torn and covered with blood and grime. Her leather pants had a big rip across her hip, and
Riley saw some blood creeping to the surface. Buffy's chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her
breath. Her eyes darted about the place as though they were searching for something familiar to
focus on.
"Buffy," Riley said again, this time more quietly. Looking at her, Riley decided that Buffy must
have detached herself from the situation, denying herself the right to feel, in order to make her
job easier. She was still not fully aware that she was back in her own body. Wincing, he walked
over to her and placed a gently hand on her arm. He could feel her trembling and he pulled her
protectively to his uninjured side.
"Hey Buff?" Xander croaked as he and Anya made their way towards the shaken blonde Slayer.
They sat on the arm of the couch and Anya closed her eyes. "Not that I'm not glad to see you or
anything," Xander said, gingerly pressing a hand to the wound at his temple. He groaned slightly,
and Anya tore a piece of cloth from his sleeve and pressed it to the gash. "But," Xander
continued. "How do we know it's really you?"
"Yeah," Anya quipped. "Faith played the Buffy Game pretty convincingly." She smiled
helpfully, "Even Riley was fooled."
Riley blushed as Buffy peered up at him questioningly with her tired blue eyes. He cracked a
reassuringly half smile and she closed her eyes. Then she pulled away from him and stepped
toward Xander and Anya.
"Xand," she said kindly. "Remember all that stuff you thought about when I had my little 'Aspect
of the demon' thing?" She grinned when she saw his jaw drop and red embarrassment creep into
his face. "How would Faith know all that?"
"'Nuff said," he murmured, blushing.
Anya furrowed her brow and said, "What could your post-pubescent brain possibly have thought
about that's so embarrassing?" Xander blinked at her a few times, uncomfortably shifted his
weight, and stared at the floor. "Oh!" Anya exclaimed.
Buffy could practically see the light bulb appear over the ex-vengeance demon's head.
"Buffy read your mind when you were thinking about sex, didn't she?" Xander's girlfriend asked
innocently.
Xander groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Thank you Anya," he groaned. "For once
again filling the awkward post-battle silence with as much Xander humiliation as possible."
Riley smiled and again pulled Buffy to his side.
"Yes, thank you Anya," Giles said dryly as he leaned on Willow. He was holding his wrist above
his heart, and Buffy could see the bone bent at an odd-and obviously painful-angle. Giles had
black eyes and a cut along his left cheek. The most noticeable injury, however, was the large
bump on his head that was red and appeared to be swelling.
Riley pulled out a chair for the man and Buffy rushed forward, crouching before Giles. "God,
Giles, are you okay?"
The British man closed his eyes and prayed for the room to stop spinning. When he opened them
again, he saw three or four Slayers looming before him, every single one of them looking equally
worried. 'Oh God,' he thought. 'The spell has had some kind of unexpected side effect. She's
multiplying.'
Giles smiled, "Yes Buffy, thank you for your concern." Then, flashes of light passed before his
eyes and a peculiar ringing filled his ears. He grew a bit dizzy and began to slump forward, but
Willow, Buffy, and Riley reacted quickly, darting forward and grabbing him by the arm or
shoulders to keep him upright. Willow looked him directly in the Englishman's eyes. She
reached out and took a candle from the desk and held it in front of his eyes. He winced and she
set the candle back in its place.
"You've got a concussion Giles," she said matter-of-factly. "You need to get to the hospital and
have it looked at."
"Go doctor Rosenburg," Xander said.
"We could all probably use a trip to the ER," Riley said. "Giles has a concussion and a broken
wrist. I tore my stitches. That cut on Xander's forehead should be cleaned. Buffy, you should get
that wound on your hip looked at."
Buffy grinned, "Is that an order, soldier?"
He bent down to kiss her, "You'd better believe it." He pressed his lips to hers and felt his pulse
race. As she pressed her body against his own, he could feel her breathe. He kissed her forehead
and murmured, "I love you," in her ear. She looked up at him and blinked a few times, as though
she had not heard him correctly. He smiled and nodded. When Buffy closed her eyes in a brief
moment of contentment, Riley felt a pang of guilt and looked away.
Giles cleared his throat and was instantly regretful, because a sharp pain shot through his head.
"Yes, I agree that a visit to the doctors would be rather beneficial, I think we have a more
pressing matter at hand." He looked from person to person. "Where is Faith?"
Riley had sat down in a chair identical to Giles' and Buffy eased herself into his lap, mindful of
his ribs. She sighed, "I let her go."
"What?!" Xander exclaimed.
"Why?" Willow asked, sounding a little hurt.
"Why, Buffy?" Riley asked softly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. He nuzzled her
affectionately and she smiled, appreciating his support. She sighed again and leaned against
Riley, suddenly feeling as though she could sleep for a millennia or two. She looked around at
the astonished faces of her friends and closed her yes. "Because, I'm tired of fighting. No one is
going to win this war. I don't want to kill her." 'Not yet anyway,' her mind told her.
"Why not?" Xander asked. "Buff, I mean she tried to kill A-" Anya smacked him in his shoulder
and he stuttered, "A friend of yours. She took over your body and slept-" Anya hit him in the
shoulder again. "In your house with your mother there. And you're trying to tell me you're not
the least bit angry?" He looked around for help, "I mean, I want to kill her and all she did was
screw me over."
"Literally," Willow quipped. She offered her childhood friend an apologetic smile.
"I tried to kill her once, Xand, and remember how well that didn't work?" Buffy smiled sadly,
"I'm tired of this constant killing and hunting we do, of each other I mean. I just wanted to end
it." She felt Riley rub her back briefly and she was overwhelmed with love for him.
"Killing her would have ended it," Anya said.
"No more killing," Buffy said. "If she's feeling like I am, she's probably a little disoriented. Even
more so, maybe." She laughed in spite of herself, "I mean, it isn't every day you take the lead
role in 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.'"
Riley suppressed a chuckle.
"Yeah, and this one was the anniversary Psycho-Slayer's cut," Xander added helpfully.
Buffy looked out the broken door, "She's on the run. There's no place for her anywhere. She can't
stay around here. She can't continue to be the Slayer. And she's already seen that her vendetta
against me can't be finished." The blonde Slayer sagged, completely and utterly out of energy,
against her boyfriend gingerly and said quietly, "She's an outcast among outcasts."
"Quite right," Giles said, shutting his eyes against the pain the light was giving him.
"I feel kinda bad for her," Willow said.
Xander's eyes widened, "Will, she tried to kill you more times than Goldie Hawn's gotten
collagen injections! What could you possibly have to feel sorry for her about?"
"I know what you mean," Anya murmured, looking at Willow. "When D'Hoffryn took away my
powers, I felt lost. For a millennia and a half I was a vengeance demon. Take that away and what
was I?"
"When I found out that Professor Walsh had tried to kill Buffy," Riley said softly. "My entire
world fell to pieces. Then the withdrawal made me crazy." He paused thoughtfully, "Drug
induced depressions notwithstanding, I can see what could have turned Faith into what she is."
"No body really knows why Faith turned evil," Buffy told him. "Maybe it's because she was
unloved as a child. After all, from what she told me, and what I figured out by inhabiting her
body, her mother was one hell of a mean drunk. And look at the people who showed any care for
her." Buffy began to count them off on her fingers, "Her first Watcher was brutally murdered.
Her second Watcher turns out to be a power hungry sociopath. And the only father-figure she
knows is a hundred year old germ-phobic power hungry lizard demon."
"Sounds like she grew up with the Cleavers," Riley muttered.
Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose and for the first time realized he wasn't wearing his glasses.
His head hurt too much, however, to look around for them. He shut his eyes once more.
"There's no arguing that Faith had an extraordinarily rough childhood," he said slowly. "But
difficult up-bringings do not go hand in hand with evil. Brutality does not necessarily breed
corruption. One does not necessarily lend itself to the other, nor does one necessarily cause the
other."
"Translation," Xander stated. "Faith's just freakin' evil, no two ways about it."
"Thank you Xander for that guttural synopsis," Giles muttered angrily. The pain in his head was
becoming rather severe and the room was starting to spin fairly rapidly. He was also beginning to
feel rather nauseous and it was taking all he had not to topple over and vomit.
Buffy raised a brow in concern, "Giles, you'd better get to the hospital." She turned to Xander
and Anya, "Can you guys take him?"
They nodded.
She turned to Riley, "You too Mister. I'll not have my boyfriend bleed to death because of my
wacky identical Slay-Sister." Her voice softened when she saw indigence creep into his
handsome face. "Don't argue, Riley, please. Just go and get fixed up."
"What about you?" he asked, placing a soft hand on her hip. "That cut looks really bad."
She examined her hip and gave him a grin, "See, you forget, I'm a superhero. We heal sixty
percent faster than you non-superhero types." But she could see he wasn't convinced. "Riley, I'm
fine, really. Go with Anya and Xander and take Giles to the hospital. I'll meet you there as soon
as I can."
"What do you plan to do Buffy?" Giles asked, allowing Xander and Anya to help him to his feet.
The dizziness made his stomach flip-flop and he swallowed, denying himself the privilege of
retching.
Buffy looked at her redheaded witchy best friend, "Willow and I are going to do some clean up."
She looked at her best friend, "We're gonna do a little re-con and pick up any messes Faith might
have left behind. Hopefully we won't run into her."
"Why?" Willow asked a little to loudly, her voice betraying her fear. She blushed and shuffled
her feet, "Not that I don't think I couldn't take her, it's just that I'd rather not bruise her fist with
my face again for at least the next couple of oh, I don't know, centuries."
Buffy reached out to her, "Relax, Will. I'm not asking you to mount a major offensive. Just use
your logic and maybe your magick to help me."
She kissed Riley one last time before gently pushing him out the door after Xander, Anya, and
one British ex-librarian who looked as though he was close to throwing up everything he'd ever
eaten since that time in boarding school that he tried Shakespeare Stew. Rumor had it there was
real Shakespeare in it.
Buffy and Willow sat down at Giles' desk.
"What was it like?" Willow asked. "Being inside someone else's body, I mean. Helpless and
without people to understand you."
Buffy shrugged and hugged her knees to her chest, ignoring the burning in her hip as she
accidentally tore the newly-formed scab open. "I don't know," she said, examining her
fingernails. "It was...weird. There's no way to describe it." A shiver ran down her back and she
rubbed her arms vigorously in an effort to warm herself.
"Well, I'm just glad you're back in your own body," Willow said with a smile. She looked away,
visibly uncomfortable.
"Will, what's wrong?" Buffy asked softly.
Willow's eyes slowly drifted back to her Slayer friend, "It's just... well, when I found out that
Faith was in your body, my first thought was 'Let's kill her,' even if it meant killing you." She
frowned, "Only it wouldn't really have been you because you were in Faith's body. So we really
would have been killing her, even if she looked like you." She rubbed her temples, "Now I'm
getting a headache."
Buffy touched her friend's hand, "No, Willow, it's pretty headachy stuff." She looked away. "But
I'm glad you were prepared to kill me... her... us." She groaned and rested her head in her hands,
elbows on her knees, "Ouch."
Willow laughed and clapped her hands together, "So, a-Faith hunting we will go?"
"Hi-ho the derry-o," Buffy replied listlessly. She cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders,
hoping the tension would bleed out. Something wasn't sitting well with her. If he was still there,
Xander would probably have asked her if her Spider Senses were tingling. Giles had once called
it something along the lines of heightened perception derived from her newly acquired Slayer
powers. Her mother would call it the instinct naturally present in all decent Summers women.
What ever it was, it was giving Buffy the willies. And she realized that willies were things her
grandmother got when she was a teenager, but the Slayer had them nonetheless.
"What's wrong?" Willow asked.
Buffy shrugged, sitting up straight. She squinted, trying to make sense of all the new information
swirling around inside her head. Her experience with Faith had left her with most of the bad
Slayer's memories. On one hand, it was good, because she now had a better understanding of
what made the crazy bitch tick. But it was unsettling to have someone else's memories sharing
living space with your own. And now Faith knew how she ticked. She cracked her knuckles and
looked at her best friend, "I was just thinking about stuff we said earlier." Her mind was racing
as she tried to formulate a coherent and logical thought that would confirm what she suspected
her subconscious already knew.
"I mean, when I was in Faith's body, I was kind of sharing her brain, just like I'm guessing she
was sharing mine. She knows everything I know, and vice versa. I know what she was feeling,
and I kind of remember her memories."
Willow frowned, "I don't follow."
Buffy leaned forward, "She did all this because she thinks I ruined her life, right?" Willow
nodded. "Well, from what I could tell, I don't hold all the blame. She pretty much thinks two of
us are to blame for all her misfortune."
Willow's head snapped up, "You and Giles?"
"No," Buffy shook her head. She swallowed hard, as though what she was about to say next was
painful. "Me and... and Angel."
Willow nodded, "It makes sense. After all, she had it bad for him, and he screwed her over."
Willow clamped her mouth shut and began to stammer, "I didn't mean it that way. I meant he
played her like a violin." She frowned, "That sounded bad too. I'm gonna stop talking now."
Buffy shook her head, "It's okay Willow. I get what you're trying to say. But Faith already tried
to kill me, and she failed."
"She tried to kill everyone you love, and messed that up righteously bad too," Willow added.
"Not everyone," Buffy said quietly.
Willow's eyes snapped open, "You mean you still... well, what about Riley?"
Buffy twisted her hands together, "I care for Riley; we have a great relationship. It's three-
quarters normal, which is probably the most normalcy I'll ever have in a relationship. But Angel
and I had something very intense for a long time. We went through a lot together. We went
through a lot for each other." She cracked her knuckles again and tried not to think of the scar on
her neck. "And like it or not, I still have feelings for him." She stared at the backs of her hands,
"I think I always will." Her eyes darted to the telephone.
"Then you should warn him," Willow said knowingly, reaching for the black cordless telephone.
She handed it to her friend with a no-nonsense gaze. Buffy looked hesitant. "She's gonna try and
kill him Buffy," Willow said. "The least you can do is warn him. If she knows everything you
know, then she knows where to find him."
Buffy snatched the telephone from her friend's hand and dialed his number in LA. She saw
Willow smile when the Wicca realized she had it memorized, and the Slayer blushed and rolled
her eyes.
"Angel Investigations," Cordelia said sweetly after the tenth ring.
Buffy's breath caught and she was unable to speak.
"Hello?" Cordelia asked in exasperation.
Willow nodded supportively to her frightened friend.
"Cor-, Cordelia," Buffy said shakily.
"Buffy?" Cordelia sounded surprised.
Buffy heard a crash in the background as something fell on the floor. "I need to talk to Angel."
"Why? Have you decided you like it better being Danger Guy's girlfriend than being Regular
Joe's girlfriend? " Cordelia said.
Buffy thought wryly.
"Cordy!" she snapped. "I don't have time for this and neither do you. It's very possible you're
both in danger. I need to talk to Angel now." There was dead silence and Buffy was afraid that
Cordelia had hung up on her. Then she heard some muffled voices.
"Buffy?" Angel asked.
Again, her breath caught. Buffy was surprised he could still do that to her.
"Buffy, what's wrong? Cordelia said you think we might be in danger." The concern in Angel's
voice was palpable. His care for her, even after all this time, created a knot in Buffy's stomach
and she felt a pang of guilt.
She took a deep breath and replied, "Faith's awake. She's already wreaked havoc here and we
think she might be headed for you."
"How does she know where I am?" he asked. There was quick change in the tone of his voice. It
was no longer one of concern. He was now in business mode. Buffy's heart dropped a little, but
she scolded herself. The time for them had come and gone. All they had left now was business.
They didn't belong to each other. They never could. So what was the use in hoping that destiny
would change?
Buffy cracked her neck again and began pacing around the apartment. "The Mayor left her a
present before he died. It was a little gizmo that she used to switch bodies."
"A Draconian Spell," he replied.
"You've heard of it," she said without surprise. Why not? Schlep around the world for a couple
of centuries and you're bound to see a few things, right? Angel had been around long enough to
see almost everything twice.
He paused, "It was supposed to be a myth. It's been called the Jumping Jack, among other
things."
she thought, biting back that harsh comment. "Well, guess what. It's not. It's real, or at
least it was until I, she...whatever, destroyed it." Buffy was getting a headache and her hip was
really starting to hurt. "So, um, I just thought you should know that Hurricane Faith is coming."
"Thank you Buffy," Angel murmured, his voice gruff and quiet and full of sympathy. "Are you
all right?"
"Just a couple of bumps and bruises," she said sheepily. "Nothing a quick trip to the ER won't
fix. I'm actually on my way there now."
Angel did not reply and Buffy said, "That whole needing a trip to the ER was a joke, Angel. I'm
fine, really. I'm going because Giles has a concussion and a broken wrist and Xander's got a
pretty bad cut on his head and Riley tore his stitches." She gulped when she realized that her
babblesomeness had just led to a one-sided discussion with her ex-boyfriend about the health of
her new boyfriend.
"Oh," Angel said softly. "I hope they're all okay."
Buffy shook her head. Part of her wanted to rail on him for being so nice about everything. He
didn't have a right. After all they had done to each other and for each other, neither of them had
the right to be nice. But another part of Buffy loved him for being so nice and caring, even after
all they had done to each other and for each other. It surprised her that even after all this time,
she still wasn't over all the awkward Angel-inspired moments.
Willow caught her attention and smiled.
Buffy smiled back and mouthed *Thank you.* "Be careful," she told him with all the heartfelt
concern she had. She still cared for him, like it or not.
"I will," he said, allowing he change of subject that doubled as a polite termination of the call.
"Good bye Buffy," his voice was quiet and full of appreciation and love. And it made her want to
cry.
"Bye," she whispered, and hung up. She swallowed back the tears and lifted her hand on the
telephone. Buffy turned back to her friend with a forced smile.
Willow rested her chin on her hand, "So?"
"So what? He knows. I've done my civic duty." Buffy spied the keys to the Giles mobile on the
counter of the breakfast nook. She snatched them up in her hands and said, "Shall we?"
Willow stood and wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. "I'll drive," she said, taking the
keys from Buffy. "You look tired."
"Thanks Will."
"Besides," Willow said mischievously. "I want to get to the hospital in once piece. It's bad
enough I have to drive that death trap. If you're driving, I wouldn't wish being a passenger on my
worst enemy's dog."
Buffy looked taken aback, "Bitch."
"Slut," Willow retorted.
"Witch."
"Delinquent."
Buffy laughed, "Willow!"
"Sorry," Willow said sheepily. "Quitter."
"Geek."
"Bad seed."
"Book worm."
"Vampire Slayer."