Legacy

Chapter Three: Crossroads

Faith couldn't remember the last time she'd been woken up by the smell of pancakes and bacon. Probably never. She rolled over and rubbed her eyes; sunlight was spilling into the living room. Faith wondered absently what time it was as she stretched and worked her way into the kitchen.

Xander was at the stove, flipping pancakes. The bacon was piled on a plate on the counter, and four glasses of orange juice were poured. Rachel was sitting on a stool next to Xander, watching him cook, and she turned when Faith came into the kitchen. Her face lit up.

"Hey, squirt," Faith said. She yawned as the child leapt down to give her a hug. "What time is it?"

"It's morning," Rachel chirped.

"Ten o'clock," Xander said; he then smiled at Faith's surprised expression. "Guess you needed some sleep."

"Guess so." She picked Rachel up, giving her a squeeze and a kiss. She set her down, leaned against the counter, still half asleep, and started chewing on a piece of bacon. "Where is everyone?"

"Work." Xander said, as Rachel scrambled back up on her stool to watch him. "I usually get there earlier on the weekends, but Kennedy's going to cover me until we can get there, with Rachel."

Faith frowned. "Why? Where do you work?"

Xander grinned. "Kennedy and I work at a martial arts studio in town."

Faith almost choked on her bacon. "You what?"

"Don't worry, don't worry; I'm not in charge of grown-ups yet. I'm still taking classes myself. But I teach some of the kids, and we thought…you know." He glanced down at the little girl who was staring anxiously at the pancakes. "We thought it might be the perfect environment for some people."

"Trees are part of the vioment," Rachel said, dipping a finger in the bowl of waiting pancake batter. Faith raised an eyebrow. She likes him.

"You bet they are; and for that, you get the prize," Xander said with a flourish.

"What?"

"You get to eat without waiting on the rest of us." He walked her plateful of pancakes over to the table and covered them in syrup. "Dig in."

The little slayer did, happily. For awhile, the only sounds in the kitchen were the sizzling of more breakfast foods and the percolating coffee.

Xander turned off the stove and looked at Faith. "I'm sorry."

Faith frowned. "For what?"

"For the things I said when you first arrived. I was upset, and surprised…and I was out of line. I didn't mean any of it. I know you and Buffy…that you left for a reason. It was just hard, for awhile." He sighed. "Though I can't imagine it's been easy for the two of you either."

Faith shifted uncomfortably. "Not exactly."

"Yeah. Well, I just wanted you to…I just wanted to apologize, in my own awkward way."

Faith shrugged. "It's alright. Don't worry about it."

"So we're ok?"

"Not if you don't start loadin' my plate with some food."

"Right! Sorry."

When he was done she drowned everything in syrup and set it on the table next to Rachel. The child had already eaten everything on her plate and eyed Faith's hopefully.

"Oh, no you don't," Faith said through a mouthful of food. "For once, everything on this plate is mine. Go bother Xander for more."

"Seriously though-do slayers ever actually get full? Is it possible?"

Faith shrugged and kept eating. Xander handed Rachel a muffin and a plate and said, "You know; it's Saturday. Why don't we see what cartoons are on?"

Rachel grinned and ran into the living room. Xander went to follow her.

"Xander."

He stopped. "What?"

Faith swallowed, then looked him in the eye. "I take good care of her."

"I can see that; the kid adores you."

"I'm not talking about Rachel."

Xander blinked. He stared at the floor and cleared his throat. "I know you take care of her…"

She continued to stare at him. Finally he looked up at her. "I know you do," he said firmly.

Faith nodded, content.


Buffy stepped out of the shower and looked at herself in the mirror as she ran a hand through her dark hair. Don't need to re-dye it just yet.

Buffy had colored her blonde locks a year ago, after a particularly bad confrontation with a gang of demons finally convinced the slayers that they were easy targets. Buffy still had a scar on her cheek from a six-inch claw; Faith had a few on her back and the base of her skull. It's what they'd wanted, of course-to draw the creatures of the night to them in order to keep everyone a little safer. But it had been too easy to tell them apart, to identify which slayer they needed to kill with the scythe. Now they had a split-second advantage, which for them was enough.

Buffy finished toweling off and pulled on a clean shirt Willow had left for her.

The last two years had been among the most difficult in her life, and perhaps the most rewarding. She finally realized that she'd never been as alone as the slayer as she'd thought; her friends had always been her link to humanity and her strength. She'd felt that strength waning as the motorcycle got farther and farther from the house the night she'd left with Faith.

Buffy knew then that in spite of all the other challenges she'd faced, the demons she'd bested and apocalypses she'd prevented, the true test of her strength was if she could stay on that motorcycle and do everything alone.

But she wasn't alone.

More alone than she was used to being, perhaps…but it only gave her more respect for the woman she'd chosen to follow, the dark slayer who had lived most of her life truly on her own (and hardly by choice).

Buffy put on her jeans and started making the bed.

She wasn't used to sleeping in beds anymore; funny how a lifetime of trusting certain comforts could go out the window after only a few short years.

The slayer was used to sleeping under the stars, in church steeples, boxcars, rooftops, beaches…now her sense of comfort, safety, and peace came from the woman she loved.

She hadn't slept well.


Faith poured herself a cup of coffee. She stood gazing out of the kitchen window at the backyard; it seemed like it was going to be a bright, clear day, though chilly.

Faith shivered reflexively and sipped her coffee.

She felt the other slayer's presence in the kitchen; she closed her eyes. Buffy's hands slipped around her waist. Faith placed her free hand over them and sighed deeply. She felt Buffy rest her head against her shoulders, kissing her neck softly. Faith squeezed her hands and turned around to face her.

They didn't say anything for awhile; it wasn't necessary. Finally Faith set down her coffee cup, took Buffy's face in her hands and kissed her. Buffy's hands found the small of her back and pulled her lover closer. When they broke apart, Faith caught her breath and looked down at the woman in front of her, tracing the lines of her face.

"You, ah…you want some coffee?"


They took two cars to the studio, since they didn't know where the day would take them. Rachel nervously held Faith's hand as they followed Xander through the door.

Buffy's eyes widened.

The floor space was enormous. Plenty of mats, pads, and cushions of different shapes and sizes lined the walls, along with plaques, diplomas, and other awards. A floor-to-ceiling mirror stretched the length of the back wall. Immediately in front of them was Kennedy; she was leading a class of twelve children in punching and kicking drills. But on the far side of the room, an adult class was being held.

Buffy raised an eyebrow. A very advanced class.

The woman leading them had to be a slayer-her strength and confidence radiated from her, even at a distance, and her fighting was almost effortless. Buffy's eyes touched on every member of the class; she noticed Faith's were doing the same. There's at least one other slayer in there. They could feel it.

Kennedy smiled and came to meet them as the kids in her class kept drilling. "You like?"

"We like," Faith said.

Kennedy crouched down so she was eye to eye with Rachel, who was staring open-mouthed at everything. "Do you want to come join us? I think you'll have a lot of fun."

Rachel swallowed and stayed behind Faith. Buffy motioned to the little girl; when she came to her, Buffy picked her up. "See all these kids? They're learning how to be strong and take care of each other." Rachel nodded. "Don't you want to give it a try?"

Faith shifted uncomfortably. "I dunno, Kennedy…don't you think she should…maybe go with the older kids? Since she's so…strong?"

Kennedy and Xander exchanged a look. Xander cleared his throat. "We don't think strength is the most important issue right now. The kids here are at all different levels, but they're all about the same age. We've found they do better that way; they're a team."

"That's what we stress here," Kennedy added. "Besides, there are a lot of…really advanced adults around, if you know what I mean."

"We noticed," Buffy said. Rachel started to squirm so Buffy put her down.

Xander grinned. "You want to play, don't you?"

Rachel nodded shyly.

"C'mon, then! They're just about to start using the pads; you want to help me get some?" Rachel took Xander's hand and the two of them walked over to the equipment.

Kennedy laughed at the looks on the other slayers' faces. "She's going to be fine; trust me."

The sounds of the studio changed; the adult class had ended. Kennedy waved at the woman who had been teaching; she started to walk towards them.

"This is Michaela," Kennedy said.

"Mike," the woman corrected, shaking their hands. "You must be Faith and Buffy. That Rachel?" Mike smiled at their obvious nervousness. "She's going to be fine here; relax, would you? You're wrecking the energy of the studio."

"Mike started this place years ago, before she knew she was a potential," Kennedy explained.

Mike laughed. "You could say I was 'prepared' when that news came, I guess. Didn't have to change my lifestyle much to train; the hardest part was memorizing all those demons, ceremonies…pffft," she said, waving her hand. "Give me a stake, let me fight, you know what I mean?"

Faith grinned; Buffy sighed.

"But I did learn, and I'm grateful for it. But being called at this stage in the game…" Mike shook her head. "I'm thirty-four; I thought my time had passed."

"Yeah," Kennedy said, "they're making them all ages now."

"So I hear, so I hear…" Mike stared at Buffy and Faith. "This girl of yours-she's got a history? At four?"

"Yes," said Buffy. "She…well, she…"

"She killed a guy. A couple guys," Faith said quietly. "We're not sure what she knows, though."

Mike nodded and took a deep breath. "You did the right thing, bringing her here. This place…I was supposed to have this place, I think; I was supposed to stay in this town, not be called and fight all over the world."

"We've already found two slayers," Kennedy said. "And three potentials."

Faith's brow furrowed. "So…there are still potentials, then?"

"Yes…well, it's complicated. We call them that, but we don't really know if they have weaker slayer powers they were born with that grow with them…"

"Or if they're just slightly stronger potentials now that receive their full powers at puberty," Mike finished.

"Or when needed," Buffy mused, glancing at Rachel. She was handing out pads to the class with Xander.

"I should go back to them," Kennedy said. "See you guys in a bit."

When she left, Mike said, "Why don't you stay and watch for awhile? I have to set up for the next class, but please, make yourselves at home."

"Thanks, Mike," Faith said.

When the older slayer left them, Buffy took Faith's hand and pulled her aside. "I can't just stay and watch; I want to go to Willow and see what she thinks about all of this 'potential vs. baby slayer' stuff. I want some answers."

"Fine by me, B. Let me know what you find out."

"You don't want to come?"

"Have I ever wanted to research? You guys have more patience for that than I do; I'll stay here and keep an eye on Rachel. She may like Xander and Kennedy, but I think she'd freak if we both left."

Buffy squeezed her hand. "Good call. I'll see you later?"

Faith kissed her. "You bet."


Buffy had gotten quick directions from a distracted Xander, and hoped they were accurate. Fortunately, it only took about ten minutes to get to the campus where Willow worked. Buffy parked and went to a map that was mounted on one of the buildings; she found the library. It was behind her and two buildings to the right.

Buffy pulled her jacket tighter and realized that she, Faith, and Rachel would need some warmer clothes if they were going to stay awhile. Maybe this afternoon we'll hit the stores.

When she reached the library, the slayer pulled open the large double doors and headed in.

The place was a little chaotic. Groups of students were cramming, praying, guzzling caffeine…but it was too early for finals. Midterms, maybe?

Buffy picked her way through the overly-stimulated and sleep-deprived crowds until she saw the office in the back. She knocked; Willow answered.

"Buffy?"

"Hey Will," she said, entering the office. Willow closed the door behind her. "I wanted to talk to you about…"

"You're supposed to be at the studio today."

Buffy stopped; belatedly she registered the nervous look on Willow's face. "I was…the others are still there. I wanted to talk to you about potential slayers."

"Ok, but you should go back to the studio for now."

"What? Willow, what's…"

"Please," Willow begged. "Buffy, please just go."

Buffy pursed her lips. "Ok. I'm…I'm sorry I bothered you."

"No, it's…we'll talk later."

"Ok then."

Buffy opened Willow's office door to leave.

Another student was standing there, hand raised, about to knock.

The blood drained from Buffy's face.

It was her sister.

"What is she doing here?" Dawn spat.

Buffy was reeling. "Dawn…Dawn, I…"

"She was just leaving, Dawnie."

Dawn's eyes met Willow's. "What is this? How long have you known she was here?"

"Just since yesterday. There was…an emergency, but…"

"Is this why I'm here-for an ambush?"

"No, Dawnie, I…"

"Because that's what it looks like; like you turned my appointment to discuss my paper into an ambush." She was seething.

Buffy recovered enough to defend her best friend. "Dawn, it's nothing like that. Willow didn't even know I was…"

Dawn whirled on her. "Don't you speak to me." She stepped towards Buffy. "Don't you dare speak to me."

"Dawn!" Willow was still frozen next to her desk. "There are… clearly… some things we need to talk about. Buffy was not supposed to be here. Buffy." The look the witch gave her friend was a pained one, but her voice was strong. "You need to leave now."

Buffy glanced from Willow to her sister, who had turned away from Buffy and now stood with arms crossed waiting for her to go. The slayer opened her mouth, but no words came out. She took a tentative step towards Dawn, but a warning glance from Willow stopped her cold.

Buffy suddenly felt very small.

Not trusting her voice, she nodded silently and left Willow's office. The door slammed shut behind her; she jumped, and several students looked up questioningly from their studies at the dark haired woman. Buffy blinked her eyes several times, trying to figure out what had just happened. Her feet suddenly seemed very heavy, but they carried her through the library, past the books, fliers, and review sheets, the photocopiers and computers, through the heavy double doors and out onto the main campus.

The tears didn't come until the parking lot.


"…Sorry I could not travel both, and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could, to where it bent in the undergrowth; then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear; though as for that, the passing there had worn them really about the same. And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back…"


"There's a light on."

Faith frowned and sat up straighter as Kennedy maneuvered the car down the long drive. "But I don't see our car."

Faith eyed the house warily before glancing at Rachel, asleep in the backseat. It had been hours since they'd heard from Buffy, but they had been able to hide their worry from the little girl.

Faith sighed. "I just don't understand why Willow waited so long to call us."

"It must have been important." The gravel crunched under the tires as Kennedy pulled up next to the house.

"What could possibly…"

There was a soft cry from the backseat; Faith jumped out of the car and pulled open Rachel's door. She squatted next to her. "Rachel? You awake?"

Rachel shook her head and mashed her fists into her eyes. Faith gently unbuckled her and picked her up, catching Kennedy's eye. "More bad dreams," she whispered as she rubbed Rachel's back. The slayers walked up to the house.

As they entered, Kennedy switched on a few more lights. Faith didn't move past the living room. "Kennedy."

"Don't worry, we'll…"

"Shhh."

Kennedy stared at Faith, puzzled. After a few minutes of silence she raised an eyebrow at the slayer. "Faith?"

"I'm…I'm sorry. I thought I felt…is someone here?" She held Rachel tighter.

"I don't think so." Faith remained tense, and Kennedy tried a gentler approach. "Why don't I call Willow's office again, see if Xander's picked her up yet? I'm sure she has more answers."

Faith nodded. "Ok. I'll put Rachel to bed." She turned to start up the stairs when the back door opened and a hooded figure strode in.

Faith whirled around, clutching Rachel as Kennedy threw a punch at the intruder. The punch was deflected, and Kennedy was dropped by an elbow between her shoulders.

The figure raised its head towards Faith; Rachel, oblivious, wrapped her arms around Faith's neck and sighed softly. The slayer felt tendrils of panic start to seize her heart. All she could hear was her own pulse as the figure raised its hands to her…and pulled off its hood.

Faith felt her legs turn to jelly as the relief reached her body before her mind. Deanna. It's Deanna. She slowly lowered herself to the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" the slayer-witch exclaimed as she helped an irritated Kennedy to stand. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"You were wearing a hood, and you didn't even knock." Kennedy growled.

"I was waiting for you…I went outside for awhile, but it's colder here than at the Alliance so I…I'm, I'm so sorry. Are you all right?"

Kennedy glared at her. "No worse for the wear…Faith?"

Faith was sitting with her back against the wall, holding Rachel, with silent tears on her cheeks. Kennedy shared a look with Deanna before walking over to Faith and kneeling down. "I'm going to tuck her in, ok?" Faith nodded and allowed Kennedy to take the little girl from her arms and carry her upstairs.

Deanna allowed minutes to pass before she spoke again. "Faith…are you ok?"

The dark slayer slowly stood up, wiping her tears from her face. "What are you doing here?" she said thickly.

"Willow contacted me. There are a few things we need to talk about."

Faith cleared her throat. "Not where she can hear." She pushed past Deanna, opened the back door, and went out to the porch. The slayer-witch followed. She pulled her cloak tighter once again against the chill, but Faith didn't seem to mind the temperature. She stared into the yard.

"You would have protected her if you needed to," Deanna said softly. "Somewhere inside of you, you knew I wasn't a threat."

Faith didn't say anything.

Deanna continued to watch her. "And she has full slayer powers? We have been working, of course, to determine when slayer children come into their powers since the spell was cast…but your little girl does seem to be unique, so far."

"You can't take her."

"What?" Deanna blinked.

Faith turned and stared at her. "You're not taking her out of this house. You're not going to study her. She's been through enough."

"I wasn't going to…"

"She needs a house, and a family, and to…to be a part of something that…"

Deanna stepped in front of Faith, grasping her firmly by the arms. "Look at me; do you think I would do that? Really?"

Faith stared into Deanna's understanding eyes and closed her own. Exhausted, she sat down on the wicker bench; Deanna settled next to her. "I just wanted to meet her, talk to her a little, make sure she gets settled in. Willow said she went to the studio today?"

"Yeah. She loved it."

"Figures; Mike's the best with these kids." Deanna placed a hand over Faith's. "You did the right thing, bringing her here." She stopped.

Faith glanced at her. "But?"

Deanna held her hand tighter. "But you and Buffy can't stay," she said sadly.

Faith withdrew her hand and stood up. "And why is that, exactly?"

"You know why."

Faith shoved her hands in her pockets and let out a short laugh. "I missed you too."

"Faith…"

"Did the demons found us already? Aren't there all kinds of magics around this town; hell, around this state? Shouldn't it take longer than a couple of days?"

"It will take longer…especially since you don't have the scythe."

Faith stiffened; she crossed her arms and turned slowly to face the other slayer. "And who told you that?"

Deanna stood. "We can't feel its energy anymore; neither can the demons. It will take them longer to find you because of that."

Neither one of them spoke for a long while.

"How long?" Faith asked quietly.

"About a month."

The dark slayer nodded and turned away.

Deanna stepped closer. "Where is the scythe?"

"It's safe."

Deanna sighed as the dark slayer shoved her hands back into her pockets. "There's something else, though," Faith said, changing the subject. "Deanna…we can't find Buffy."


Rachel started to whimper as Kennedy put her in bed. The slayer perched on the side of the bed and brushed the hair out of Rachel's face with a gentle hand. "What's the matter, baby girl?"

"Monsters," Rachel whispered.

Kennedy smiled gently. "No monsters in here."

Rachel looked at her doubtfully and twisted the covers in her hand.

"Sometimes dreams feel like they're real, don't they?"

Rachel nodded.

"Do you have a lot of dreams?"

"Not…yes…" She shook her head in frustration and started to tear up.

Kennedy placed a strong hand on her back. "It's ok."

Rachel kept shaking her head. "Not the store! More monsters."

Kennedy was at a loss; she was unsure of how to comfort the little girl who had witnessed such brutal vampire attacks in her own home. She hugged Rachel to her.

Rachel held the elder slayer tightly. She took broken, hiccuppy breaths. "Water."


Faith suddenly had to grab the porch railing for support. Deanna grabbed her arm.

"What is it?"

Faith looked stricken. "Buffy…Buffy, no…"


Buffy had been driving for hours. The cold mountain air kept her sober enough to stay on the road. There weren't many lights on the highway, just mile markers that she'd long lost track of as she'd driven east; little blips of bright green that reminded her she was moving farther and farther away.

Unfortunately, the cold air was finally starting to become a little too sobering. Buffy eased off the accelerator and started to look for larger signs that would tell her where she was; regret started to flood through her as she realized Faith must be worried sick about her.

I'm sorry, Faith…so sorry.

No signs.

Buffy slowed the car even further and pulled off the road. What have I done? She fell to her knees in the grass, exhausted and ashamed.

How old am I, and I'm still running away from my problems…

Problems she had created.

Did she expect her little sister, now a young woman, to run into her arms with love and forgiveness, after the way she'd left Dawn without a word? Buffy's face flushed and her eyes filled with tears at the thought of her mother.

"Promise me; I have to know that you'll take care of her. That you'll keep her safe. That you'll love her like I love you."

"I promise."

She did love her sister; she left to keep her safe! To keep all of them safe.

"You'll love her like I love you."

Buffy put a hand to her eyes as she stood up, walking away from the highway and into the woods. The idea of her mother leaving her like she'd left Dawn was ludicrous; it never would have happened. Her mother moved to Sunnydale for Buffy, so she could have a fresh start; she had lived her life for her daughter.

Buffy hadn't come close to giving that much to her sister. I broke my promise. Dawn hates me. My sister hates me, my mother is dead, and I just want to go home to my bedroom in Sunnydale and go to sleep and never wake up…

Useless thinking. Childish thinking, but there it was anyway.

Her sinking feet jolted her out of her self-pity.

The slayer blinked into the darkness; the trees were thinning out. The grass had given way to mud, which was now becoming rock. Buffy climbed over a small hill, her body grateful to be doing something physical. She gasped at the top as cold, salty air hit her senses.

The beach… She must have driven all the way to the coast.

Buffy took a deep, cleansing breath as the wind whipped up some spray.

The two slayers had been to a few beaches in their two years away; Buffy couldn't imagine herself even in the warmest weather lying out under the sun on this rocky beach. Big rocks, smaller rocks, most of them wet and covered with some type of growth, making the going slick and difficult. The water was choppy and black.

It was beautiful. Buffy climbed further down onto the beach.

The wind drove icy needles into her skin, and she pulled her light jacket tighter. She felt her mind start to quiet down.

Her sister was safe. She also seemed happy, though perhaps not with Buffy-but in life. The slayer thought back to the photograph at the house of Willow hugging Dawn. Her sister knew love.

She sighed. Slayers are supposed to be alone. Perhaps not the newer generations…but she and Faith were the last of the old. The torch had not truly been passed on. To protect it, and to ensure that the next slayers would not have to know the isolation and loneliness they lived with… the Chosen Two would have to continue their sacrifices. At least they had each other.

With a feeling of guilt, Buffy turned to go back. She wasn't sure what she would say to Faith to earn her forgiveness, but she would try.

As she gripped the slimy rocks, her foot slipped into a crevice. Buffy worked her ankle carefully, trying to free it, when she felt something tighten around the other one. Puzzled, she turned to look.

Something thick and strong had wrapped around her leg. She pulled the first ankle free, falling onto the rocks. Whatever was wrapped around her leg jerked, dragging her around to face the ocean. She grunted and tried to pull free, but she grew still as her eyes traced the dark "something" engulfing her leg across the rocks and into the waves…

…where it attached to a very large creature that was rising out of the water.