Declaimer: No copyright infringement intent. This is just for pure fun. Enjoy. Love feedback, be it good or bad, but please be gentle =P
Thanks for my awesome beta reader, Evangelina =)
The ghostly apparition of the PTB still unsettles Faith as they look at her nonchalantly, "What brings you to our Realm Lower Being."
Faith sets down a Jade figurine as an offering and looks up towards the PTB "We are losing the fight against the First…"
"That is of no concern to us, the tide between good and evil will settle with time," says the male PTB.
Faith fights to bite down her anger and turns to look at the female PTB, who had always seemed to be more open minded, "No, we have fought battles before, we've never lost cities, never had millions of people fall into demonic slaveries, there has to be a reason why the First is gaining on us…"
"There is ever only meant to be one slayer chosen at a time, not two, and certainly not thousands. The universe was able to compensate for your calling for a short time, but the tide turned again, when your Wicca activated all potential slayers. "
"What can I do to right it?" Faith steeled herself for the answer.
"We do not mingle ourselves in your problem lower being," the male PTB states. The female PTB lays a hand on her companion to interrupt his speech. "What are you willing to do to right the balance slayer?"
"Whatever it takes," Faith says determinedly, not wanting to see any more innocents die or become enslaved.
The male PTB turns to speak to his companion, "We cannot interfere in such matters…"
"No, but this war has become much larger than that of the humans plain… we cannot stand idle any longer." The female PTB turns her gaze to Faith, "You do understand what you are asking for, giving up your life here, everything that you know will no longer be…."
Faith hides the turmoil in her eyes and responds, "Yes."
"We can't possibly trust a lower being to carry out this task," the Male PTB urged. "No, she is not a lower being. She is willing to give up every ounce of happiness to right the balance," the female PTB reasons to her companion. "We will swallow the events up to when you first met Buffy, the tide of events will turn there." She paused to let Faith comprehend what is expected of her.
"So everything that happens from between then and now will be as if it never happened?" Faith asked.
"Yes. You will be the only one who will remember the events, but you must not let them happen in the same way. The only way that you can stop the First from invading your world, is by the death of one of the chosen ones." Faith looks up sharply at that statement.
"Are you certain you are up to the task slayer? There is no turning back once it is set in motion," says the male PTB challengingly to Faith.
At Cleveland Slayer Central
Aww… I really got to stop waking up like this, Buffy thought as she opens her eyes noticing Willow sitting to her right, "Did someone get the plate number of that truck?" she groans as she attempts to sit up. O… not good… room needs to stop spinning. A hand on her shoulder gently stops her attempt to sit up, "Buffy, you shouldn't try to move yet… you've lost a lot of blood. Just lay still for a while."
"Will, what about the others? Anyone else make it?" Buffy looks to Will who's trying to put on a brave face, "Yeah, Faith, Kennedy and Vi made it out, along with a few others you tried to rescue." She answers softly.
"Few?" Buffy frowns, "as in how many?" Buffy flashes back to the rescue mission to breakout Angel's gang and a number of activated potential slayers, it had not really gone according to plan. At first it went smoothly, but the uber vamps were waiting for them at the exit once they broke their people out of their holding cells. Buffy watched helplessly when one of the vamps ruthlessly tore at Angela's throat, one of the newly activated Slayers.
"20." Breaking Buffy out of her thoughts, "You okay Buffy?" Willow knew they wanted to rescue more of their captive friends and that Buffy was beating herself up for not having been able to.
"Ah… Yeah… I just… Where is Faith?" Buffy asked tiredly, the loss of blood finally catching up to her, fighting to keep her eyes open, she looks at Willow expectantly.
"Faith? S-sh-she..ah… she is around. Probably out for a smoke and checking on how the other slayers are settling in, and you know… doing generally Faith things…" Willow says, mentally halting herself from babbling, and hoping Buffy didn't catch her nervous habit, but one look at Buffy's questioning face lets her know she failed miserably. "Will, where is Faith?" her heart rises fearing for the worst. Her thoughts are interrupted though upon hearing a soft click of the room door opening, and as the figure enters, Willow lets out a sigh of relief.
"Hey B… Red…" Buffy takes in Faith's rugged appearance, her eyes look haunted and shadowed, and she's still wearing the same cloths from the rescue mission with dirt and blood smeared on them.
"Umm… I will leave you ladies…" Willow looks nervously between Buffy and Faith and quickly makes her exit.
Hearing the second click of Buffy's room door closing, Faith takes her leather jacket off and turns her attention to Buffy. "How are you.."
"Where did you go?" Buffy interrupts Faith's question, reading her lover's tense body language and sensing the desperation Faith is trying to hide through their slayer bond. Buffy tries gazing into her lover's eyes, knowing that those brown eyes can never hide anything from her but Faith just holds her gaze for a mere second and looks away.
"Just patrolling around the perimeter, nothing big…" Faith fights the impulse to just scoop Buffy into her arms and escape this reality and forget the brief meeting she had with the PTB but knows she can't. She briefly looks at the clock sitting on the night stand, the long hand points five minutes till midnight.
Buffy's mouth opens then closes, knowing she won't be able to get anything out of Faith until she is ready to, so she just holds her hand out to Faith silently beckoning her to come closer.
Not needing a second invitation, Faith climbs into bed and takes Buffy into her arms, wanting to burn this memory into her mind before it is all undone, their mended relationship, from friends to lovers, tears are threatening to fall but Faith holds them in. "I thought I lost you when we were breaking out of Wolfram & Hart." She tries to steer the conversation well away from what Buffy wants to know and what her heart's anguish is screaming at her to tell.
Unaware of her lover's inner turmoil, Buffy lays her head on Faith's chest then shift herself slightly so she is looking into Faith's eyes, "I'm okay…" she holds onto Faith more tightly, mistaking the agony she is seeing in Faith's eyes for her near death incident.
"Close your eyes, B… Rest, I will be here when you wake up." Faith says softly as she watches Buffy fighting the urge to sleep. "You will tell me what you are planning when I wake up?" Buffy questions not knowing that in a few minutes, everything that happened these past few years will cease to exist. Faith forces herself to smile and kisses Buffy tenderly, whispering "I promise." Watching Buffy's eyes drift closed and her breathing even out. Faith risks another whisper, "I love you more then you will ever know…" then closes her eyes tightly as she feels time and reality shift.