Unexpected Arrival
by DaBear
This story is rated R for language and disturbing images. Includes spoilers for Graduation 1 & 2 in season 3.
These characters do not belong to me, they belong to Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, Mutant Enemy and such forth and so on... i.e. NOT ME.
An unexpected arrival changes the third season finale.
Warning Character Death!!
The two girls crash through the half-circle window and out onto the roof outside. One light, one dark. The glow from the streetlight illuminating the battle taking place. The stars seem to be the only spectators to the fight waged between these two Slayers. The fight is vicious and fast, blow after blow being thrown and blocked. Feint followed by counterstrike, a riposte leg sweep coming on the tail of a particularly nasty palm strike. Neither girl seeming to have the upper hand for a long enough period to do anything productive towards ending the fight. Buffy's speed and agility more then making up for Faith's greater height and strength. Finally able to wrest the wickedly curved blade away from Faith, Buffy gains the upper hand. Trying to avoid her own knife Faith is desperate to get away from Buffy, and makes her fatal mistake.
Faith sees the recognition of the mistake flash across her sister slayers eyes, sees the darkness blaze out at her from the blonds hazel eyes and in slow motion she watches, as the blade draws back and then begins its inevitably fatal stroke towards Faith's unprotected stomach.
It never lands. As the blond Slayers arm reaches its apex it is grabbed by a large and strong hand. Before the blond can turn around to face the new threat Buffy jerks in place, and the knife falls out of her twitching hand. The knifes clangs as it hits the cement roof is the only sound in the night. Every noise has stopped, seemingly hushed as if a large hand had dropped across the night and muffled the sound, no crickets chirped, no passing noise from automobiles, no sirens off in the night.
Faith watches as Buffy coughs gently and blood spills from her lips, leaving a dark red trail down her chin and onto her shirt. Buffy slowly collapses in on herself, sliding bonelessly to the ground. Faith now sees the hilt of a knife sticking out from in-between the third and fourth rib, the bright red stain spreading across the back of the blond slayers shirt.
Faith looks up in shock at the man that had killed Buffy. Had placed a knife in her back. Cleanly and smoothly piercing the heart and ending the life of the petite blond.
Smirking at the stunned look on Faith's face Xander Harris takes out a cellular phone and calmly says "Couldn't let her go and save Angel now could I, not after all the trouble it took me to find that damned poison in the first place, hummm?" He then dials a number into the phone and waits a second as it rings on the other end. "Hey Mayor, mission accomplished. Yup, one slayer off to the great beyond. Yes Buffy. No. She's fine. What? Hey, you've known from the beginning... Yes, of course. Right here. Yeah, sure." Handing the phone to a still confused Faith he says, "Mayor wants to talk to you." After giving Faith the phone he reaches down and pulls the knife out from Buffy's back and then calmly reaches around and slits her throat to make sure of her death.
Shrugging at Xanders actions Faith puts the phone to her ear. {Yeah Boss?}
"And how are you tonight, my dear?" comes the rich, warm tones of the Richard Wilkins III, Mayor of Sunnydale.
"Fine now that the cavelry arrived. How long you have the X-Man on the payroll Boss?" Faith asks.
"Oh, Alexander has been on board for a while now. Longer then you have in fact. Yes, that boy shows real potential. I was very happy when he reported that you two had gotten together." Faith hears the mayor sigh over the phone "He's a good boy Faith, you should give him another chance."
A crashing sound comes from where Xander is cleaning out the remaining glass from the broken window. Faith watches as Xander hops up into the apartment and goes into the kitchen to grab some garbage bags from under the sink. Wondering at what Xander is doing Faith responds to the Mayor "Well boss, if I had known we were working on the same side I may have. I really didn't want a conflict of intrests ya know?"
"That's one of the things I like about you Faith, you have a work ethic not seen much now a days."
Xander has now gotten an axe from Faiths weapon cache and sticks his head out the window to ask, "Faith, you got any duct tape?"
"Hall cabinet."
"Thanks."
From the phone Faith hears the mayor say something. "Huh, sorry Boss Xand asked me something. What'd you say?"
"I was saying that there is a change of plans Faith. I want you and Alexander there to go ahead and leave town tonight, with Miss Summers there out of the picture there really is no reason for your presence tommorow. As much as I would have loved for you to be there. Now, as a going away present to you two kids I am going to settle my remaining affairs and split them between your two accounts. I don't really need money where I am going after all. Now, make sure you take you bank card with you. Have a nice life Faith dear and tell Alexander goodbye for me." With that the Mayor-cum-demon hangs up the connection.
Flipping the phone closed Faith watches as Xander hops out the window with a box of garbage bags from her kitchen, an axe and a roll of duct tape. Xander calmly kneels down next to Buffy and raising the hand axe calmly proceeds to chop off Buffy's head, arms and legs. Wrapping the six different body parts in six seperate garbage bags and duct taping them closed, Xander then throws them over the patio railing into the trash dumpster three stories below. Grinning at Faith he strips off the pair of latex gloves she hadn't know he was wearing and he throws those into another garbage bag before stripping off his pants and shirt. Faith just leans back against the edge of the roof and leers at the young man as he throws the cloths into the garbage bag before he grabs a duffle off the floor where Faith hadn't seen it and pulls on a pair of black running pants and a black T-shirt.
Closing up the last trash bag Xander looks at Faith and says with a nod towards the dumpster. "Go ahead and pack up what you want to take, we should be out of here before Giles or Willow come looking for her."
"What the fuck just happened Xand?" Faith asks with hands on hips, refusing to move till he tell her.
"Besides my saving your shapely ass?" Xander says with a leer.
Smacking Xander upside the head, Faith asks "What the fuck Xand? When'd you switch sides, huh? I could have used some reliable backup on some of my other jobs. You know I hate working with vamps!! There too fucking stupid for their own good."
Rubbing the back of his head Xander replies, "Not my decision Faith. Mayor foots the bill, he gets to call the shots." Shrugging his shoulders he continous, "A few weeks after Angel came back I was approached by some of the mayors people, it started out real simple. I watch Angel and report his actions and I get paid a grand a week. Not bad money considering I was doing that on my own. Moved up to general handy man/contract killer from there. Now I get Angels head on a stick, my tormenting fellow students turned into monster kibble and quite a nice retirement fund. Not bad for the town loser huh? Now go grab your shit, beautiful, we need to be outta town by dawn."
Grinning at this turn in life Faith chuckles and with a bounce to her step Faith heads past Xander inside and with a wink and a smack on the ass asks, "Where we headed to stud?"
"Damn Faith, watch that." Replies Xander rubbing his rear. "Slayer strength remember. And I was thinking Vegas. How's that sound?"
"You know you like it rough boy toy," comes Faiths voice from her bedroom. "And Sin City sounds like a blast, babe."
++++
Fifteen minutes later Xander and Faith are walking arm in arm past the dumpster holding Buffy's remain and Xander asks Faith, "Hey, when we get to Vegas, you want to get married?"
"Sure. But I don't see how your going to beat the engagement gift you got me." Faith says nodding towards the dumpster.
With a maniacal grin and a glint to his eyes Xander says "Don't worry, love. I'll think up something."
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DaBear