Buffy the Slayer Vampire - A Leap of Faith
A.N This is the fifth story about Buffy being bitten and turned into a vampire. If you haven't read the first four, or don't remember what happened, here is a brief recap:
Buffy the Slayer Vampire - Buffyis bitten while on patrol. When she tries to kill Dawn, Willow uses the Thickening Spell she used on Glory to immobilize her and she is tied to her bed. Angel suspects it was Spike, but Buffy tells him it wasn't him. Using the spell Jenny Calendar found, Willow manages to re-ensoul Buffy, but at first, she still isn't trusted.
BtVS - I Think We Did It - Spike returns to Sunnydale. The vamp that sired Buffy is bragging in Willy's he killed the Slayer. They all go to Buffy's house, Spike included, to prove she's still alive. Later, back at Willy's Spike sees the vamp dragged off by two strangers. A day or two later helicopters surround Buffy's house - they are under attack.
BtVS - Solution Unsatisfactory - Commandos from the Watcher's Council attack through the upstairs windows of Buffy's house. She manages to throw them out of the windows they came in through, but she is shot with a myriad of wooden bullets. She isn't killed but passes out from the shock. Later they get a note that Giles, Spike and Angel are being held captive at the Bronze and if Buffy doesn't surrender they will be killed. They have a plan Willow - will do a Glamour to look like Buffy, but when she leaves the house she is met with a hail of wooden bullets. Magically, she turns the wood to fine sawdust powder that blows away, making it seem that "Buffy" was turned to dust.
BtVS - The Dawnster Chronicles - Dawn writes in her diary about the events after the previous story. Willow does another Glamour, this time to look like Dawn's father to talk to the school councilor. Spike and Buffy move in together down in the cellar so they could patrol together. Buffy is forced to feed on three members of the Watcher's Council who were investigating the low vampire activity in Sunnydale, so it would seem like vampires are still active on the Hellmouth. Dawn is horrified. Anya just knows she is next!
Chapter One
Not Such Good News
"What?" Buffy exclaimed into her cell phone. "What did you just say?"
For a few moments she listened, then exclaimed again, "Why? Why in the hell would you do something like that? Have you gone completely insane?"
Standing by, and waiting to find out who Buffy was talking to, and what made her so agitated, were Dawn and Willow.
Buffy was slowly shaking her head, a look of disbelief on her face as she was listening. Finally she said, "Okay. I just hope you know what you're doing . . . Oh yeah, you'll be the first to know . . . I will. 'Bye."
Buffy killed the connection then looked at Dawn and Willow. "Giles says hello."
"And?" Dawn and Willow said together.
"And, for some ungodly reason, Giles talked the Watcher's Council into sending Faith here to protect the good citizens of Sunnydale from the Hellmouth."
"Faith?" Dawn asked.
"Giles is back with the council?" Willow asked.
Buffy put up both hands to stop the inquiries. "All right, here's the sitch. Faith, believe it or not, apparently had a change of heart. And she made her way to Cleveland to do what she could to fight the evil at THAT Hellmouth. And since I'm supposed to be dust in the wind, and the Scoobies are the only thing that stands between Sunnydale and Hellmouth oblivion, Giles convinced them, somehow, to have Faith come here."
"Faith? And the Council? They're buds now?" Willow asked incredulously.
"It seems so. Evidently she was doing such a great job they decided to overlook her past indiscretions, and reinstate her as their Number One, well only, Slayer."
"So why does Giles want her to come here?" Dawn asked.
"So she can do her job. It would seem that she's quieted the Cleveland Hellmouth, for now, and Sunnydale needs her."
"Does she know that you are, were, a vampire and the Council dusted you?"
"She knows about the vamp part, but not that I'm still kicking. I guess she'll find out when she gets here."
"But if she's in the Council's pocket, aren't you worried she'll rat you out?" Dawn asked.
" 'In the Council's pocket?' 'Rat me out?' I think someone's been watching too many old detective movies on TV. But to answer your question, Giles seems to think she won't."
"But what if she does? Then what?" Willow wanted to know.
"I guess we'll have to see what happens."
"When will she get here?"
"A couple of days, I guess. Maybe a week. You know Faith she'll be here when she gets here."
The following week was particularly stressful, not knowing when Faith would appear. So when she finally arrived, it was like a terrific weight was lifted from everyone's shoulders. However, Buffy decided to remain out of sight until she could assess Faith's attitude. She would let Willow and Dawn talk to her, feel her out, and maybe even hint around that Buffy might, might, still be alive, so to speak.
Willow and Dawn were washing the supper dishes when there was a knock at the back door. It was Faith. "Hiya, girls," she said as she walked in, went straight to the refrigerator and opened it. "Got anything to chew on? I'm famished."
"I just put a bowl of spaghetti in there," Willow answered. "It should still be warm enough."
Faith took out the bowl, popped the lid off and started eating right out of it with the fork Dawn handed her. After a few mouthfuls, Faith said, "I suppose Giles told you I was coming."
"Yeah, he did. But he didn't exactly say why," Willow said. "I thought we were doing pretty good here, you know, keeping the vamp population in check."
After a few more mouthfuls, Faith nodded. "Yeah, that's what I heard. Got anything to drink?" While Dawn poured a glass of soda, Faith continued. "But now that the Cleveland Hellmouth has been tamed, for a while anyway, ol' Travers and the rest of the Council decided I ought to make an appearance here to let the vamps and demons know that the Slayer is still on the job."
"Since when do you let the Council tell you what to do?" Dawn asked. "And when did you guys become so buddy-buddy?"
"Long story, but the short version is when I heard B was vamped and the Council dusted her, I figured maybe now was my chance to be the 'good Slayer,' you know?"
"Yeah, about that whole dusting thing..." Dawn started to say, but stopped when she saw Willow shaking her head "no."
"What about it?" Faith said after as she gulped down half the glass of soda.
"It was, umm, real of traumatic, for all of us."
"I can imagine. I was kinda surprised to hear the Council had to do it, though. You guys didn't have the stones, huh?"
"Actually, I had just re-ensouled her," Willow explained. "The Council acted too quickly. She could have been good, like Angel."
"No shit? Did they know that? Did you tell them?"
"We never got a chance to. They attacked the house before we knew what was happening, and it was Buffy who saved us, saved all of us. They just never gave us a chance."
"Man, what a bitch. So she was really good?"
"Well, not at first, not until she got her soul back," Dawn told her. "But after that..."
"Did she kill anybody?"
"Not that we know of," Willow lied. "But I don t think she did. I think she came here right after she was sired."
Faith put the bowl of spaghetti back into the refrigerator and finished the soda. "Man, that's tough. B and I never got along, and I doubt if we ever could have, but, except for that one time, or maybe twice, I never really wanted her dead, even being vamped."
"Well, that's good to know," said a voice from behind Faith. She spun around and instantly went into a fighting stance when she saw Buffy standing there.
"What the hell's going on here?" she asked angrily, looking briefly at Dawn and Willow then back to Buffy. "They said they dusted you. And you're still here? Maybe I need to finish the job!"
"You don't need to do anything but listen," Buffy said calmly.
Faith softened her stance, but only slightly. "So talk."
For the next fifteen minutes Buffy, Willow and Dawn explained everything, from how Buffy was sired, to Willow re-ensouling her, to the Council commandos attacking the house, to Willow's Glamour to look like Buffy, to Buffy still patrolling the cemeteries. They only left out Spike and his and Buffy's involvement. By the time the narrative was finished, Faith was standing with her arms across her chest, and was mostly relaxed.
"So, you see," Buffy concluded, "if the Council knew I wasn't Dustville, they would came back and this time they would have no problem doing whatever they had to do to Dawn or Willow or Xander or Anya to get to me. Not to mention Giles and Angel."
For several moments Faith was silent, her eyes going from Buffy to Willow to Dawn and back to Buffy, several times.
"So?" Dawn asked. "You're not going to tell the Council are you?"
Faith shook her head. "I don't know . . . what to do. You have really put me in a helluva position," she said to Buffy. "If I don't tell Travers, and they find out about you and that I knew, then I'd be right back on their Shit List."
"But it's been months now, and they still have no clue Buffy's alive," Willow said with a slight pleading in her voice. "And with you here, there's no reason for them to find out at all."
"Does Giles know you're alive?"
"Of course he does," Buffy answered. "Which is probably why he asked the Council to send you here to keep up the charade so they won't get too suspicious that Willow and Xander and the rest are doing too good a job."
And right on cue, Spike walked through the back door. "... and Spike," Buffy added. "But they sure don't need to know Spike's in the mix."
"So, basically, it's been you and your boy doing all the slaying, and not the civilians."
"Boy?" Spike retorted.
"Whatever," Faith said in his direction without actually looking at him.
"Basically," Buffy agreed.
To Be Continued