Angel sat perfectly still as the core of the Scoobies and some new faces stared back at him. Anya was fretting, "It's final, the world's going to end, no more money, no more capitalism, no more life, the
world's going to end."
Xander took what he thought was a calming breath, but it came out sounding more like a hurf, "The world is not going to end Ahn..."
She pointed at the dark haired vampire with a soul, "Oh yeah, he's here isn't he. Not back in LA with his merry men... and Cordelia. Oh, what a world."
Angel got up and laid the long box he had brought with him on the table. "It's the Xiphos Sword."
Dawn wrinkled her nose, "Really?"
Angel looked over towards the high schooler. "Yes..."
"So then..." Dawn smirked, "The makers of this sword wanted everyone to know that not only was it a sword, but a sword sword."
Only Willow laughed at this, and abruptly stopped as all gazes turned to her. "Um... they probably meant The Xiphophoros Sword, although it's not green, and not a fish. Uh..." she shook her head a little sheepishly, "But then, it's big, it's pointy, guess the name really doesn't matter huh. So, does it cut specially, extra thin. I don't like when they cut the meat extra thin, then it rips up when I try to put it on the sandwich, and yes, I'm shutting up now..."
Buffy shook her head to scatter the Willow rambling cobwebs and turned towards Angel, "Thank you. Are you... will you be staying?"
Angel looked around the room. There were various degrees of welcome in the faces. Some of the slayerettes looked as though they wanted to stake him right there, while others, well, he didn't really want to think to hard why Andrew was drooling slightly. He nodded slowly and met Buffy's eyes. He could see a small smile come to her eyes. "It has been a while since I averted an apocalypse in Sunnydale."
Xander clapped the vampire a bit to hard on the back, "Well, we'll get you settled down in the basement. Move some of the juvenile delinquents into one of the free bedrooms, oh, wait, there are no free bedrooms. I guess you'll have a couple of women roomies..."
Angel muttered quietly under his breath, only Buffy hearing him, "Good thing I sleep during the day..." Buffy smirked.
As Faith staked a vamp she tilted her head to one side. "I know you're there, but you won't be for long." Tara stepped out from behind the crypt but didn't speak. Faith raised her eyebrows, "Thought you were dead. I'm no fashion critic, but uh... the hair... if I didn't have my handy spidey sense I might think you were some punked out Vamp."
Tara took a piece of hair in her fingers and twirled it for a moment before responding, "C-call it a homage. What a-are you doing in Su-Sunnydale?"
Faith crossed her arms over her chest, "I could ask you the same thing dead girl..."
Faith took a step towards Tara and started to pull the collar of Tara's shirt down, but was stopped when Tara gripped the dark slayer's arm. "Don't..."
Faith tilted her head to one side, "So, you don't smell like a Vamp, seem to have a pulse and soul. So, how'd you escape it?" Faith didn't let Tara answer, but continued with a smirk, "By the way, like what
you've done with the whole stutter thing..."
"L-look..."
Faith held up a hand and Tara ducked, a vamp rolling over her back and landed on the ground. Faith leaned down and punched her stake into his heart, resulting in the usual shower of dust. She dusted
herself off as she stood back up, "Not bad T, we make a good team. So, what grand gesture where you going to make? C'mon already, Buffy and Red'll be coming through on their nightly visit soon." Faith
raised an eyebrow, "And I'm betting that you're not ready to... come out... to them yet. Pun fully intended... So spit it out Blondie."
Tara worked her jaw for a moment before she answered, "Are you here to hurt them?"
"Scoobs and Co.?" Tara nodded and Faith shrugged, "Nah...I'm here to do the same thing as you...save the world..."
As Tara tried to find something to say to Faith's proclamation the dark slayer started to walk away. But before she was out of hearing range Tara spoke, "Faith... don't... tell..."
"...anyone I saw you." Faith nodded, "Five by Five Blon..." Faith could practically hear Tara's teeth grinding and smirked, "Five by Five T..."
"Dawn, have you seen Willow?"
"Yes, this morning..."
"Dawwnn..."
Dawn hurfed, "I'm not her keeper Buffy. You should ask Kenn... she's got the hots for her." Dawn looked back down at her Calc homework, changed a number on the paper, and nodded to herself.
At the bottom of the stairs Buffy almost slammed into Angel. She blinked, "I'd forgotten how stealthy you are, with the whole no heart beat thing."
What could almost be called a small grin creased Angel's face. "Buffy, are you all right with my being here?"
Buffy stared up for a moment before hooking her hand around the back of Angel's head and pulling him down to her level. Their mouths met as Buffy answered his question.
A throat clearing interrupted their passion, "Can anyone join this party? And don't tell me it's never crossed your mind B."
Buffy separated her lips from Angel's and took a breath. "Actually, it never has Faith. What are you doing in my house?"
Faith closed the front door and leaned against it. "At the moment, standing."
"Why?"
Faith shrugged as Angel and Buffy turned to face her. "I heard the end of the world was comin', so I decided to swing on by. Check out the situation. But hey, you don't need another actual Slayer. I'll leave."
"We're just as much slayers as you."
Faith glanced over to the doorway to the dining room. "You must be a Slayerette."
"You're a jackass..."
Faith smirked, "And you're a spitfire."
Buffy barely got in front of Kennedy to catch the younger woman by the shoulders and stop her from ripping into Faith physically, or trying to. "No..."
Faith smirked, "So, since you didn't let shortie try and kill me. That mean I get to stay?"
Buffy regarded the dark haired slayer and nodded before she walked away, dragging Kennedy with her.
Faith pushed away from the door and inclined her head, "Angel."
Angel shook his head, "Faith."
Her smirk made its presence known, "I've always had a knack for entrances and exits. So, I thought this place was supposed to be swarming with teenagers?"
Angel shook his head, "They all went to the Bronze. Except Dawn and Kennedy." Faith raised an eyebrow, and Angel just shook his head, "Do you ever not think about sex for a few hours, minutes?"
Faith thought for a moment, "Well, when I'm Slay... well... okay, not really. Hey, there's not a lot to do in the clink. Although hey, call me GED girl..."
"Well, pin a bow on you..."
Faith smirked, "If it isn't the chip off the old block."
Dawn shook her head, "And if it isn't the convict. They let you out of your cage."
Faith kept her face schooled, "Actually, nope, decided I wasn't gonna be in jail to watch the end of the world."
"Not gonna turn evil again? Help the First blow up the school."
Faith tilted her head, "Well, I think that one back fired on me Chipper. Getting stabbed, the bad trip coma. Nope, get me a good guy pin and sign me up for the newsletter."
Faith got bumped in the butt by the door and moved to one side. Andrew came through and when he spotted Faith his eyes got very large. "D-don't k-kill me..." Andrew practically jumped into Angel's
arms. "Save me."
Angel dropped the mousy young man on the floor. "She's on our side, leave it at that." With that statement, the dark haired vampire escaped out the door.
"Isn't he dreamy?"
Faith and Dawn's eyes met and they both shook their heads in amazement.
Tara climbed the back stairs up to her apartment and opened the door. She glanced around with a frown. Janet was no where to be seen. She shrugged off her jacket and took a glance into the bedroom. Janet wasn't there, Tara finally opened the door at the end of the apartment and smiled softly. She moved into the 'mystery' room of her apartment and sat down next to Janet. Their legs hung down between the bars. It was a balcony that looked over The Expresso Pump.
Janet glanced over at Tara, "Do you come out here a lot?"
Tara nodded, "More than I should p-probably." Tara looked surprised as Willow slipped into The Pump. "Who' playing tonight? Is it an open mic night?"
Janet glanced over at the younger woman again. "I think so."
Tara glanced down, "Oh, it's Mr. Giles..."
"Good musician?"
Tara nodded, "And a friend...once..."
Willow took a table in the back and out of Giles' direct line of sight. She didn't know that he'd escaped the house also. Her previous escape had been foiled by Anya, but so far, this one seemed to have worked much better. Suggesting that the girls should go to the Bronze proved a boon. Willow just wanted to forget for a bit that the world was on the brink of ending.
Giles strummed a few notes and most people quieted down.
"I've heard there was
A secret chord
That David played, and
It pleased the Lord."
Tara closed her eyes as Giles' voice glided over the notes and soothed the hole in her soul that could only be fixed by one woman. "He's a g-good musician. Gets the audience into the piece."
Janet regarded the younger woman with an interested look. "Did you leave someone..." Janet searched for a word, "...here when you died?"
"Your faith was strong
But you needed proof
You saw her bathing
On the roof
Her beauty and the
Moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne
And she cut your hair
And from your lips
She drew the Hallelujah"
Tara didn't respond until Giles had resumed with the chorus of the song. "She watched me die... or, at least fall. I... was d-dead i- immediately. Then, I watched as sh-she..." Tara shook her head, thinking that Janet wouldn't have understood that Tara seemed to have been disengaged from her body and she had to watch as the love of her life, the woman who was more than her soulmate, went on the warpath.
Killing the man who had killed her, and trying to end the world.
"Maybe I've been here before
I know this room
I've walked this floor
I used to live alone
Before I knew you
I've seen your flag
On the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and
It's a broken Hallelujah"
Janet restrained herself from jumping as Tara spoke in a low tone, "She was so grief stricken, and was trying to..." Tara thought a moment about how to describe Willow pumping all her dark energy and
the coven's energy into the temple. "...k-kill herself. I talked to her, th-though I knew she wouldn't hear me."
As Tara trailed off Janet draped an arm around Tara, "I bet she heard you. I bet that she knew that you'd be back. Is she here?"
Tara stared down at Willow, "Th-the red head in the back."
"Ooh, a cutie..." Tara glanced up and Janet colored a little, "Sorry... I left someone when I was killed too." They lapsed into silence.
Janet's jaw dropped, "My God above, that's..." She stood and almost pitched over the railing.
Tara caught her arm, "What? Who?"
"I need to go...I'm sorry. Thank you Tara, for the clothes, the hospitality. Everything. I need...to go..."
"Maybe there's a God above
And all I ever
Learned from love
Was how to shoot
At someone
Who outdrew you
It's not a cry
You can hear at night
It's not somebody
Who's seen the light
It's a cold and
It's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah"
Tara stood there, a bit confused as Janet snagged the blue Lands End pullover that Tara had loaned her and was out the door before the song ended. She shook her head and looked back down to where Willow had also disappeared.