Author's Notes: I'll admit, I never thought some people might not be too enthusiastic about a story with a plot like this, Faith not being a slayer anymore, etc. But knowing that won't stop me! Please review and let me know what your thoughts are so far :)


Chapter Two

Faith sat on the back steps of Wood's house, ignoring the chattering going on inside. It was almost dawn, she could still feel those first rays of sunlight tickling her skin before they even reached across the sky. For the longest time she'd thought that was a part of being a slayer, but then she remembered she could always feel it, just before dawn, just as she could when dusk was near. It wasn't just a slayer thing, it was a part of her. A part of her that could never be touched and it could never be taken from her.

She tensed when she heard the back door open and click shut a second later. She barely looked over at Jamie as she sat down on the step next to her. Jamie handed her a hot cup of coffee and let out a soft sigh.

"Hey," Jamie said quietly. "I'd ask how you're feeling, but-"

"That obvious, huh?"

"Does it hurt?"

"Less."

Faith looked over at her and just stared at her for a moment. Jamie looked much younger than eighteen with her long brown hair pulled back. She had that baby-face, one that made her look years younger, but there was a hardness in her brown eyes, the kind of hardness that only a slayer had after years of fighting the things that lurked beyond the shadows and haunted them in their dreams.

"They call in the Doc yet?" Faith asked her, taking a sip of her hot coffee and she raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Snuck a shot of whiskey in there, did ya?"

"Figured you would need it."

"And the Doc?"

"He'll be here soon," Jamie replied, lowering her eyes from Faith's pointed glare. "I hate them too. Doctors, you know? They think they know everything, but they don't know shit."

Faith nodded her head in agreement and took another sip of her coffee. She felt numb, numb in a way she had never felt before. The way she felt now, the things she was thinking, it scared her and she was trying not to let it show. She'd always been good at hiding the things she felt, masking it behind those walls she built up. It had always been easy just to shut everyone else out, make them see a side of her that really wasn't her. But Jamie was different. Faith knew that from that moment she found her in Miami, locked up in that cell, scared and alone. They were cut from the same cloth, hid behind similar walls and she couldn't hide from her no matter how hard she tried.

Jamie wasn't the only girl she'd found and brought back, either to Cleveland or elsewhere, but Jamie was the only one who was still very much in her life and understood her in ways not even Willow could. And there weren't a whole lot of people that came in and out of Faith's life that just got her, truly understood her.

"Looks like the Doc is here," Faith grumbled when she heard the doorbell ring.

"You want me to come with and hold your hand?" Jamie asked, all sass and attitude, but said with a friendly smile dancing over her lips. "It'll be fine, Faith. Heard the other's talking. He is just going to check you over, make sure it's nothing serious."

"Yeah, yeah."

Faith rose to her feet and headed back inside, sipping her coffee as she walked into the kitchen. Dr. Jameson had been a part of the Cleveland crew since they had got there. All Faith knew about him was that he had very close ties to the coven in England, or he did before the whole world changed. She'd seen him around plenty of times. He was their go to doctor when one of the girls seriously got hurt out on patrol and refused to go to a hospital to get stitched up.

"Alright, Doc, let's find out what's wrong with me and fix it."


Faith sat on the rooftop of the apartment building, watching the sun as it set. It'd been a long day and it had felt even longer than it'd been. She's exhausted and knows she needs to get some sleep, but she has got far too much on her mind to even think of sleeping yet.

The doctor had spent five grueling hours with her, putting her through a series of tests both traditional and non-traditional. She was poked and probed and given a complete physical in Wood's kitchen while Willow looked on. The doctor put her through a bunch of strength tests, all of which she had failed and she knew she had before he even told her. The questions he continuously asked her, she could've done without and she nearly walked out of there a few times, staying only because Willow practically pleaded with her to.

In the end, the doctor told her what she had already feared. Her slayer essence, the thing inside of her that made her a slayer, the part of her soul that she never thought would be so easily stripped from her, was gone. The only thing the doctor couldn't tell her was how or why it happened or how she could get it back. And that was the part the bugged her the most, knowing what happened to her, but not why or how it had happened. And why did it just happen to her when there were all these other slayers all over the world? What made her so damn special?

In a world without magic, something like this should've been impossible. Should've been, but it happened to her and it wasn't just another nightmare that kept her up at night. And what was killing her was thinking that if she wasn't a slayer, who was she really?

Giving up on being alone with her thoughts, she headed back inside. She found Willow sitting at the desk with her laptop open and sipping a cup of her herbal tea. Faith headed straight for the bedroom and opened up her weapon's chest. She grabbed a few stakes, sheathed one of her favorite daggers inside her left boot and placed another in the back of her belt, concealed by her jacket. She marched out of the bedroom, fully prepared and determined to go out there tonight and hunt down and kill whatever or whoever had done this to her.

"I don't think it'll be a good idea for you to go out on patrol tonight," Willow said quietly, moving to stand between Faith and the door.

"Why, cos I'm all weak and helpless now?"

"Yes."

Faith growled and stood down. A part of her knew that Willow was right, that it wasn't a good idea to go out on patrol, but it was something she had always done, day in and day out. Yet another part of her still craved the hunt, the slay. Facing that vampire had stirred something up inside of her, something that just didn't go away, slayer or not. It was who she was and nothing was going to change that fact.

"Whatever," She scoffed. "I might be weak, but I still have moves and I can use a weapon with or without slayer powers. Weaker than I used to be, that I'll admit, but I'm anything but helpless, Wil."

"Just do me one favor, Faith?. Keep a low profile, just for tonight."

"Sure, I'll just head down to the bar-"

"Faith-"

"Have a few drinks. Shoot shit with the regulars and have a few laughs-"

"Faith."

"What?"

"Just promise me you'll stay in tonight? One night in isn't going to kill you."

"Yeah, whatever, Wil."


Faith strolled through the doors of the small bar-a different bar than the night before-and walked across the floor like she owned the place. A few of the regulars greet her by name and she sat down on a stool at the far end of the bar, the one spot that gave her the best vantage point of the entire place. She tapped on the counter to get the owner's attention and he looked over at her, smiling as he wiped his hands with a rag.

"Faith, how have you been?" Felix asked her, immediately grabbing a bottle of Budweiser for her out of the fridge behind him. "Been a while since you've come around."

"Like to change the scenery once in awhile," she chuckled, taking the offered beer from him and took a swig. "Things been quiet here?"

"Very quiet. No problems."

Faith nodded and Felix walked over to another customer that sat down a few stools away from her. At the beginning of summer, Faith had cleaned Felix's bar out. It had been crawling with vampires and had been that way almost every night for a month. After she and the younger slayers raided the place that night, she'd come and check in on Felix every couple of weeks, make sure no other nasties were coming around. It wasn't just Felix's place she'd done that favor for, there were others.

Sighing, she turned her attention to the door, watching as an old man with a cane hobbled in. She'd seen him there before, always alone and he always ordered whatever finest, oldest Scotch that Felix had on hand and he'd always left once he'd finished, paying Felix twice what the drink was worth.

There wasn't anyone out of place or out of the ordinary, but she knew as well as anyone that vampires could blend in easily with the rest of the human population if they tried and we're dumb as rocks. She hated not being able to sense them before she spotted them and that new feeling reminded her-for the millionth time that day-that she was nothing more than a human. No super strength, speed and skill, absolutely no slayer healing. None of it.

Willow had gone to Wood's place to research what could have done this to Faith, what could've taken her slayer essence from her. If she hadn't left, Faith wouldn't have been able to duck out to the bar for a few cold beers. She had to get out of there. The walls were starting to feel like they were closing in on her. Besides, it wasn't like she was out there patrolling or looking for trouble. All she wanted was a few cold beers. Maybe a shot of whiskey or two.

Motioning over to Felix, she sipped her beer and looked over at the old man again. He was staring at her and for that brief second their eyes met before she looked away, he smiled at her in a way that creeped her right out. How, she just couldn't put her finger on it, but it just didn't make her feel right at all. Sure, plenty of men of all ages hit on her randomly, especially in bars like Felix's, but none of them had ever made her feel creeped out like that.

"Who is that man?" Faith asked Felix quietly. "Do you know who he is?"

"Not sure," he replied with a shrug, keeping his voice low. "Comes in every so often. In fact, I haven't seen him since the last time you were in here."

"Oh."

"Something I should be worried about?"

"No, no, I was just curious, you know me."

It hit her once Felix had walked away, what he had said about the old man having not came in there since the last time she'd been there. That was odd. Was she being stalked by a creepy old man with a cane who had a taste for strong, old Scotch and paid twice the price for one drink?

Laughing it off, she finished up her beer and Felix brought her another before she could place her bottle down. Thanking him, she turned her attention back to the other patrons in the bar, watching each of them closely and looking for signs-even just one-of something that was out of the ordinary and not quite right. Even if she did find a vampire, there was nothing she could do about it. She could try to fight it, but it was a risk, a high risk and she didn't have a death wish.

By the end of her second beer, she was already feeling the slight buzz that it used to take more than a handful of beers to feel before. Slipping out a twenty, she left it on the bar and headed for the door. The night air was brisk and cool as she stepped out into the street and she zipped up her jacket, sighing heavily as she started the walk home and silently wished she'd driven instead of walked there earlier.

Faith headed in the direction of her apartment, avoiding walking through the crowd of teenagers and college students lined up in front of a trendy dance club. She walked past every alleyway entrance quickly too, hoping that if there was anything out there that went bump in the night, she'd be able to avoid it completely that way.

"Faith?" A tiny whimper came from behind a dumpster in the alleyway she passed. She stopped and looked back. "Faith, is that you?"

Faith recognized her voice. It was Carla, one of the girls who normally patrolled with Jamie and the others at Wood's place. She walked into the alleyway and found her curled up on the ground beside the dumpster and leaning against the wall. She was covered in dirt, her clothing torn up and Faith could see the scratches on her exposed skin and the blood that slowly trickled out from each of them.

"Jesus, C, what the hell happened to you?" Faith asked softly, noticing her face was dirty and streaked with tears.

"Something happened. I was out with the girls tonight and something attacked us."

"What attacked you? A demon?"

Carla shrugged and she tried to stand up. Faith moved to help her and she could barely stand on her own two feet. Faith looked around the dark alley to make sure they were the only ones there. Aside from a stray cat that stared at them from the far end, there was nothing else there.

"I just came back tonight," Carla said and Faith nodded, remembering that she hadn't seen her at Wood's place earlier. "I-I don't understand. It came out of nowhere, Faith. I was out here with Jamie and she was telling me what had happened to you and then it-it-I don't know how it happened, but two vamps came out of nowhere and started attacking us before it hit us out of nowhere."

"What hit you?"

"It's gone," Carla murmured under her breath, shakily leaning against the wall. "You're not the only one it's happened to."

"Who else was with you other than Jamie?"

"Amelia, but she's-she collapsed when it hit us and the vamps they-they took her."

"And Jamie?" Faith asked, growing more and more worried by the second that this was a lot bigger of a situation than any of them had thought. "Where is she?"

"I-I don't know!"

"Find her and go home where it's safe-"

"But Faith-"

"Go home now, Carla."

Carla barely managed to push herself off the wall, the pain she was experiencing evident in every step that she took. Before she exited the alleyway, she turned to look back at Faith, new tears rolling down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Faith could see everything she was feeling in her eyes alone. Fear, emptiness, helplessness, anger, pain. Every emotion that Faith had felt while it happened to her and after was exactly what Carla was feeling. Carla looked younger than her sixteen years and Faith could feel her heart breaking over the sight of her. And she could feel the anger, the determination to find out what the hell was going on and fix it.

After she searched the alley where she found Carla, she found Amelia's body. Careful not to disturb the scene, she checked for her vitals, but with the multiple sets of deep puncture wounds all over her neck and the lack of blood pooled around her, she knew that she was long gone, the vampires that drained her drained her dry and left her there to rot. They normally took care of their own, even had a whole policy and set of rules when it came to a fallen fellow slayer, but the rules have changed since the game did a long time ago.

Faith cursed under her breath when she realized she'd left her cell at home. She quickly retreated out of the alley and spotted a lone pay phone just up the street. She dug through her pockets as she jogged towards it and pulled out a quarter. She knew she should be calling the cops, submitting and anonymous tip, but she couldn't do that yet. She had to call Wood and tell him what had happened to Carla, Jamie and Amelia tonight and then she'd do whatever she had to do after she had talked to him.

The phone call was brief, very little words said between the two of them. Wood ended the call, telling her to get home and stay there for the rest of the night, that it wasn't safe out there for her if three of his best slayers had been attacked so easily. Faith hung up the phone and stared at it for what felt like hours, but really was only a minute or two. She took a deep breath and continued on home, hands in her pockets and her head hung low.

A block away from her apartment, she had that feeling that she was being followed. She turned subtly to look behind her and there were just a few people walking down the street, some in the same direction, some going the other way. Then she saw him, the old man from the bar and he was headed straight for her, walking a little faster than a man with a cane should be able to. She turned and kept walking, cutting through a dark, nearly empty parking lot and headed through the construction site that was next to her building.

Faith came to a stop when she reached a chain-link fence that hadn't been there that morning. She was trapped and the old man was quickly catching up to her, the cane gone. She backed up against the fence and took a few deep breaths. Was she seriously scared of this guy? This old man who seemed to be frail and harmless?

"Hello, Faith."

"Do I know you?" Faith asked him and he chuckled, shaking his head no. "Look man, whatever it is you want-"

"Oh, I already have what I want from you," he drawled, the tone of his voice changing and sending chills down her spine. "I find it a pity that you're, how did you put it," he smirked at her as he took a step closer to her. "Weak and helpless now."

Faith gulped. The words that came out of his mouth were not in his voice, but in hers. He moved in quickly, his bony hands wrapping around her neck and he pinned her against the fence with strength that seemed to be impossible for a man his age and size.

"Whatever game you're playing at, I'm really not in the mood to be molested by an old man tonight."

"Watch yourself, Faith," he said calmly. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

"A lunatic?"

Faith sized him up and she felt the grip he had on her loosening. She thought for a moment how she could probably take him, kick his ass for getting in her personal space like that. Slayer or not, she knew she still had moves and she was still strong enough to defend herself. It could be the wrong thing to do too and she wasn't about to make a mistake that could cost her her life.

"Appearances are deceiving, aren't they, Faith?"

"How do you even know my name? I don't recall telling you it."

He laughed and took a step back and before she could make a move, he shook a finger at her and clicked his tongue. "I wouldn't if I were you," he said lowly and she tilted her head to the side, watching as he transformed from an old man into a demon right before her very eyes.

Well, things just got a helluva lot more interesting.

Faith swallowed her fear as she stared at the large demon in front of her. He pulled what was left of the shredded pieces of clothing from his body with his long, claw-like hands. The demon is nearly eight feet tall with black, scaly skin that's covered by some kind of shell armor. She can feel herself shaking as she looked up into the demon's eyes. They glowed a soft red, like the flame of a candle, and when he smiled at her-if you could call it that-he revealed a set of razor-sharp fangs, top and bottom.

"Damn, you're an ugly son of a bitch," Faith chuckled and she leaned more up against the fence as he took a step towards her. "Anyone ever tell you that?"

"No," he growled and he leaned down until they're face to face. "You truly have no idea who I am, do you, Faith?"

"I'm gonna go with ugly ass demon."

"You truly have a death wish, don't you?"

"Not anymore."

The way he laughed makes her feel sick. The sound of the demon's voice chilled her to the very core. Every inch of her body was begging her to run, but she isn't stupid enough to pull a move like that. She knew that if she tried, she wouldn't get very far, not with a demon this size this close to her. Running isn't an option and neither is staying, but she knew she didn't have much of a choice.

"I've been waiting a long time to face you and all the other slayers in this world," he drawled and he reached out with his right hand, his fingers long with sharp looking nails she didn't want get too friendly with. "Perhaps I should show you instead of telling you. Your language has been a hard one to master."

Faith closed her eyes as he pressed his palm to her forehead. In an instant she felt blinding hot pain searing through her head. She tried to push the demon away, but he was far too strong for her. Struggling, the pain started to subside and then she saw it, faint images flashing through her mind like memories that weren't hers.

She saw girls, young slayers, being attacked. Some by a group of vampires if there were more than three of them, some just by one lonely vampire. And then it happened, the same thing that had happened to her while she'd been fighting that vampire in Wood's backyard. The images flashed quickly, parts fading in and out like there were pieces missing. The more girls she saw, the angrier she was that this demon had done this to them.

She saw a lot of young slayers that she had known personally over the years, including the ones there in Cleveland. She even saw Kennedy, who was alone and in what looked like New York City and the end result had her lying face down in a ditch, dirty and writhing in pain. And then she saw herself, fighting that vampire and she could feel the pain all over again as she watched it happen. More flashes flickered by showing more girls, some of which she'd never seen before.

Everything faded to black and she could just faintly hear the sounds of the city around her. She couldn't open her eyes and the demon still had his hand pressed hard to her forehead. She felt sick as a faint blue light appeared in the blackness, wispy white smoke circling around and around a tiny orb where the light was coming from. She can hear the screams, faintly as the smoke disappeared inside the orb. She doesn't know how she knows it, but she knew that whatever that thing was, it was trapping the slayer essence of every slayer that it had been taken from.

Tears stung her eyes as she forced them open and the demon stepped back, chuckling sinisterly. She blinked and gasped for air and as her eyes became clear, what she saw in front of her was no longer the demon and it wasn't the old man who he had appeared to her at first either. Instead stood in front of her was a different man, the eyes still the same, dark with the faintest of red in their depths.

"Who are you?" Faith asked quietly. "What are you?"

"I am Azri'el, Lord Commander of the First Evil."

She laughed. "Buddy, we killed the First years ago."

"The First has lain dormant since that unfortunate incident in Sunnydale. As His Lord Commander, I've found a way to come here. It proved to be with much difficulty since your world has had the Seed destroyed."

Faith sucked in a deep breath as he stepped toward her. She stared at him, memorizing every detail of his face. He appeared to be a man, early thirties with jet black hair and striking features and perfect white teeth when he smiled. If she didn't know who and what he was, she would've thought of him as a sexy, handsome man with the perfect body and charm to go along with it. The kind of man she would've hooked up with-that was if she still did things like that.

"I am, what you may say, picking up where everything left off," he said with a grin. "My Master was not pleased to be forced back into the deepest depths of Hell after He had spent many centuries trying to escape. His wishes for the slayer line to be destroyed will very much become a reality."

"Why not just kill us all?"

"That would be entirely too easy," Azri'el chuckled and he reached out for her. He chuckled again when she flinched at the soft touch of his hand to her cheek. "This way is much more fun if I say so myself and believe me when I say this, Faith, it's been a very, very long time since I've had some fun. I'll be seeing you, Faith. You can surely run, but you will never be able to hide."

Faith watched as he disappeared into thin air right in front of her. She closed her eyes, not moving from where she stood against the chain-link fence. She had a lot of questions, ones that she knew she wasn't going to find the answers to if she stayed there. What bothered her the most was how something like that was even possible in a world without magic.

Her head was pounding, the things she'd been shown still fresh in her mind and every time she closed her eyes, she saw it all over again. The one thing she realized this time around was the fact that she had not seen Buffy at all. Had Azri'el not gone to her to strip her of her slayer essence or was Faith just mistaken and had missed seeing Buffy in the flurry of images that she'd been shown.

Faith shook her head and headed to the street where the fence ended. She headed to her apartment quickly and found the apartment empty and quiet. She walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light, her reflection in the mirror showing how distraught she looked and felt. Turning on the tap, she splashed a handful of cold water over her face and blindly reached for the towel beside her.

Now she knew she was never the brains when it came to figuring a lot of stuff out. She was a slayer and that's what she did, slayed things. Research and knowing the how's and the what's were left in Willow's hands, Wood's as well. But even she knew that was she saw tonight, the demon she met and the things she'd seen happen inside her head and out, those things just weren't possible in a world without magic.

"Faith? Are you home?" Willow called out and Faith shut the tap off, shaking her head.

"Yeah," she replied and she walked out of the bathroom, hitting the light off as she walked out. "Hey."

Willow placed her jacket down over the back of the chair in the kitchen and stared at her long and hard. Faith headed for the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

"You were out tonight," Willow said softly and Faith nodded her head. "After you promised me you'd stay in."

"What can I say? I'm a shitty liar."

"Faith-"

"I had to get outta here for a bit. The walls felt like they were closing in on me, you know?" Faith sighed and twisted the cap off the bottle and took a sip. "I'm fine, if you're worried if I'm hurt or something."

"But Amelia isn't fine, is she?"

"Nothing I could've done about that. Look, Wil, something happened to me tonight. Before you get all pissed at me for lying to you earlier, just hear me out, okay? We're in a mess, a huge fucking mess and we've got to figure out what to do to stop this."

Willow didn't say a word, just nodded her head and sat down at the kitchen table. Faith told her what had happened to her, from the old man in the bar, to finding Carla in the alleyway and to what happened when the old man came to her and changed into a demon. It all seemed to come out in one breath, like it took only seconds to tell her what had happened instead of minutes. When she stopped talking, Willow was only staring at her, her mouth open and her mind racing, no doubt.

"He told me I could run, but I couldn't hide. What the hell did he mean by that, Wil?" Faith asked her and she started pacing the kitchen floor. "Did he threaten me?"

"I think he challenged you to run from this, from him. But, I'm not so sure that's a good idea right now. It could be a test, a part of a sick game this demon is playing, not just with you but all the other slayers out there."

"The thing is," Faith sighed and she leaned up against the counter. "This demon, he was powerful. Not just strength wise, but he used magic. You and I both know that it doesn't exist in this world anymore."

"Just a sliver," Willow replied quietly. "There's just a sliver of it left, not enough to grasp, unfortunately. I've tried. Countless of times and nothing. Faith, this demon, this is a real threat to all of us. If this demon is who he claims to be, we could be in real big trouble. Bigger than big."

Faith knew they were already deep into this situation and the only thing that was left to do was figure out how to make this problem go away. It wouldn't be easy. She didn't have her strength, her power and there was no way she could fight Azri'el alone.

"I don't know where to start," Willow said after a few minutes of heavy silence. "If he is connected to the First Evil-we're in the dark. We barely even knew anything about the First when we were up against it in Sunnydale."

"Great."

"Look, I'll call the coven in England, let them know what's happening and see if they can help in some way. You get some sleep, okay? You look like-"

"Complete shit? Yeah, I know."

"Get some sleep, okay? I'll-we'll figure this out. Oh, and that orb thingy he showed you?"

"Blue, about this big," Faith replied, demonstrating with an apple she picked up out of the fruit bowl. "Smoke flowing in and becoming trapped, complete with screaming voices, mine included."

"But what did it-"

"You want me to draw it for you, cos I can try, but my drawing skills are pretty limited to stick figures and doodles."

"As I remember from the time you completely destroyed the-"

"Whatever, Wil. My mistake. Didn't realize that book was what, a thousand years old?"

"Twelve hundred years old. If Giles was-"

"But he's not."

Giles was still a sore subject between them. Rarely was he ever brought up and when one of them slipped and mentioned him, things got a little more than tense. Faith headed for her room, not even saying goodnight to Willow as she stormed out of the kitchen. Slamming her door shut behind her, she took a few deep breaths before walking over to her window and opening it wide.

She stared out the window and down at the street below, watching those few people walking down the sidewalk without a care in the world, unaware of the things that very possibly could lurk behind any corner, waiting for that right moment to strike, to grab them and kill them. Although vampires and demons hadn't been entirely active as of late, she knew they were still out there, hiding from her and the other slayers. But she knew that as soon as the word got out that the slayers were now stripped of their powers, they would be coming out in droves, causing chaos and panic all of the city in no time. It killed her just thinking about it, just knowing that if-when that happened, there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

Faith groaned loudly as she slammed her hands down on the windowsill. She was frustrated, angry, and the feeling of being helpless, worthless was hanging heavy over her head. Though similar feelings were familiar to her, feeling helpless wasn't one of them. Even in the worst of times in the darkest moments of her life, she had felt everything but helpless.

"Fuck," Faith muttered under her breath. "Can't just catch a break, can I?"

"Not always, but the chance is there to take."

"Angel?" Faith said as she turned around and smiled when she saw Angel standing by the doorway of her bedroom. "What are you doing here?"

"Got a call yesterday. Thought I better come by, check in."

"Wood called you?" Faith asked and Angel nodded. "Figured. Bet he called Buffy too."

"Called me first actually. He mentioned calling Buffy, but I told him to hold off on that until we figured out what is going on here first."

Faith laughed and shook her head. "You're really here, aren't you?"

"What, no hug?" Angel asked, a smirk curling over his lips as Faith moved in to give him a hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Not enough words-or the right ones at least-that can sum that one up."

"I know the feeling. So to speak."

Faith hadn't seen Angel since she left London, but as always he hadn't changed. He was still the same old Angel and if there was one constant in her life that she could depend on, it was him. With him being there, a surprise in itself, she had felt a sense of comfort as soon as she had heard his voice.

Faith settled on her bed while Angel leaned against her dresser. They talked, not about what had happened to her, but about what they had been doing since the last time they had seen each other. They talked as if there was nothing bad happening, that they weren't in the middle of a situation that they had no idea how to stop or fix. And just for those moments they talked, like old friends catching up, Faith forgot the pain she had felt and the emptiness that filled her inside.

But it wasn't long before the tables turned and the conversation became heavier, more serious and Angel began asking her questions about what had happened to her, the things she had felt, seen, even heard. She told him about Azri'el and he focused on that, asking her for every detail of her encounter with the shapeshifting demon. He was looking for a connection between the demon and the vampire that had been stalking her in Wood's backyard.

Everything was connected, Faith knew that much. The more she thought about the connection between the vampire she had found in Wood's backyard and the sudden loss of her slayer essence, the more she realized that this vampire had been a distraction, just as the other ones had when they hunted down and fought the other slayers during that moment that changed everything.

They had a lot of work to do and Faith was more than determined to fix this, to become what she was before, because if she wasn't a slayer, then who was she, really?