Author's notes: The song used in this chapter is called Rooster, by Alice In Chains. The lyrics are in Italic when your reading. Operation Slayers and Non Essentials, the Second Coming:
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
"OOKAAAYYY! So who is up for patrol?" Buffy got up and asked with a squeaky voice.
As the band of demon hunters surveyed their surroundings, all they could see was wall-to-wall evil.
"How many?" Buffy whispered to Faith.
"Fifty, minimum," Faith responded
"Die Slayer!" The demon exclaimed before he started to trust downwards.
However, before Kennedy met her end, a piece of an angel statue collided with the demon and sent it crashing towards a nearby tree.
As the Ethros demon slowly rose to its feet wincing in pain, it opened its eyes and witnessed the Slayer that previously attacked him clutching her stomach and heaving in pain while her some of her comrades came to her aid. The Ethros demon used his weapon to help it stand and chuckled as he said,
"Not what I had in mind, but it may just work."
"I am your humble servant," the Ethros demon spoke out as he raised his arms and palms like it was about to recite the 'Our Father'prayer.
Suddenly, The dark energy radiating off of the evil creature sprang forth, entered the Ehtros demon and sent its robe and hood swirling backwards with the wind. When the wind died down and the demon finally opened his bitch black eyes, he spoke to the creature.
"And I am ready to serve thee".
Chapter 4
"How is she?" Giles asked.
"Sleeping, but not completely stable."
"Urrggg!"
"Oh stop being a baby, you're a Slayer and it's just a hairline fracture. You will be fine in a few days," Olivia said to her nameless Slayer patient after setting her bones and creating a splint for the Slayer.
"I gave her enough sedatives to stop the heart of a rogue bull elephant, but it's like she is having nonstop nightmares. Rupert, she should be barely breathing with the amount of drugs I had to give her. Her affliction is definitely mystical and I saw the symbol burned into her stomach, it looks familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it." The doctor told Giles as she was checking her medical supplies.
"Well here's hoping we can decipher what she is afflicted with and cure her," Giles said aloud as he moved further into the large infirmary tent and gave his lover a swat on her hip.
As Giles entered Kennedy's area of the tent his heart sank. Kenney was lying on a single mattress while twitching and slightly trashing about. Thankfully the Latina Slayer was unable to do any damage to herself as Satsu was holding onto her right hand and Willow was hanging onto her left; all three women being surrounded by a pained Rona, Vi, Dawn and Andrew.
"Excuse me, I need to take a picture of the symbol so we can determine how to cure Kennedy." Giles told the group as he took out Andrew's digital camera from his jacket pocket.
The group parted for the patriarch and let him take pictures of the blackened symbol on Kennedy's abdomen.
"Would anybody care to help me research the demon and the mark this morn-"
Cutting Giles off, everyone except Satsu and Willow silently got up, walked towards the tents exit, and headed towards the library ruins as Andrew grabbing his digital camera back from Giles on his way out.
"Faith!" Buffy asked the open field.
Buffy frowned as she walked over a hill to see Faith beating the crap out of a very thick tree wrapped in thick rope, using every standing martial arts move she knows to let out her frustration.
"Faith," Buffy tried again but didn't get a response.
After a few seconds, waiting for an opportunity where Faith wouldn't turn and roundhouse kick Buffy in the face, Buffy put her hand on the other Slayer's shoulder and again spoke.
"Faith"
As Buffy's hand landed on her shoulder, Faith stopped instantly.
"That shoulda been me B, she stepp't in da way ta save me."
"Faith, baby, you can't blame yourself for what she did. Ken chose to-"
"STOP B!" Faith yelled.
"Just stop. You got to have your guilt trip and now it's my turn a'ight?" Faith spoke to Buffy as she sighed, her back turned and shoulders hunched over.
Buffy knew she couldn't sway her lover's mood. She also knew that Faith needed this, Faith need to feel the pain, the guilt and the hurt in order to move on and do her job as a Slayer. Buffy herself has been to that emotional place before, she knows the feeling all too well. The only thing Buffy could do is the one thing she wanted done to her when she felt responsible for the loss of her fighters. The blonde Slayer closed the distance between the two and wrapped her arms around Faith's waist, leaned her body flush onto Faith's back and rested her head on Faith's shoulder. The second Buffy hugged Faith, the taller Slayer fell right into it like a jig saw piece falling into place. Faith felt the warmth of her lover behind her, the love of Buffy around her and her un-deserved guilt slip away.
After Buffy laid a chaste and loving kiss on her lover's cheek, she spoke softly into Faith's ear, "Faith you have to hear this whether you want to or not. Kennedy put herself at risk and she chose to save you. And we all know that any one of us would have gladly done the same. What happened, happened Faith and we have to focus on healing Kennedy, training the rest of the girls and running Slayer central. Baby there's nothing you can do-"
Buffy suddenly stopped her speech as she felt Faith go ridged and knew that she was going to move, and that's exactly what Faith did. Faith turned to her lover and looked at her, just looked at her. At first Buffy thought Faith was actually going to hug her back and try to bury her emotions within Buffy's chest. However, when Faith turned and looked into Buffy's eyes, Buffy's thought completely changed. Looking back at her lover, Buffy recognized that look. The look she herself used before declaring war on every major enemy she ever faced. The look she gave her friends, family and potentials when she declared war on the First; that same look that Buffy gave the first itself when Buffy was struck down. Staring back at Buffy was an enlightened Faith, a Faith that just now, had an epiphany.
"Yes I can"
"Anything?" Dawn looked up at her team mates in the library ruins.
"Fuck all!" Rona shouted as she slammed her open Watcher's Journal shut.
"Ditto," Vi spoke out beside her ebony lover.
Andrew, having five opened charred books in front of him, indicated his similar failure by simply slamming his head down on the table.
"We can't do shit with what we have, we need the books the London council
is bringing," Rona proclaimed.
After the ebony Slayer stated the blindly obvious, Dawn gave her a look that could make a vampire explode by mere eye contact.
"AND DO FUCKING WHAT IN THE MEANTIME RON? WATCH KEN SUFFER AND DIE?"
" Oh fuck off Dawn! I just said what's on ma mind!" Rona shouted towards Dawn.
"Oh but you're just full of great ideas today Ron, you should get some recognition!" Dawn shouted back to Rona before clapping her hands.
"Watch… Your... Fucking… Mouth!" Vi warned Dawn with a death glare sent to youngest Summers woman.
"Back off! Dawns right, we don't need a reminder that were powerless until the Calvary comes," Andrew spoke out supportively behind his lover.
"Oh look on the brass ones on Andy," Rona exclaimed while staring towards the young watcher and cupping her crotch while seated.
"Fuck you Rona! If it wasn't for the brass balls on my man, we would all be dead!" Dawn screamed towards the ebony Slayer in the room.
"Dawn, why don't we find a better use for that loose mouth of yours and force feed you 'your man's' prick?" Vi mock suggested while performing air quotations.
The eyes of both watcher and Slayer widened severely after the red head's insult, both factions realizing the gloves have officially been taken off. Both factions in the room started to hoot and holler at each other for at least five minutes until a piece of wood bounced off of a far wall, making a loud pinning sound which tore everyone's attention from insulting each other, to the library entrance. All of team Kennedy fell silent as they stared at the person in the doorway.
"That evil son of a masked bitch got one of ours, I'm going out to find him and shove his dick up his ass until he fixes what he did. If anyone wants to watch, I'll be on the porch in ten minutes."
As soon as Faith turned and walked out of the library, all members of team Kennedy got up without a word to each other and made their way to the weapons tent.
"Yeah, ahahaha! We got one man! We got one of those bitches good!" a random demon excitedly shouted and slapped the claw of his friend and then downed his drink.
"YEAH BOYS! This is just the beginning! Soon, were gonna take back this land and the Hellmouth! Ahhhh baby, that feels amazing!" A random vampire shouted in the room as a blond head could be seen bobbing up and down from behind a table.
"Shots on the house and drinks half price for the next half hour boys, girls and hellspawns!" A small man behind a counter shouted over the music in the background as he started to pour whiskey shots.
'CRASSSSH!'
Without warning, the door to the bar suddenly hit the floor and 5 wounded and bloody humans stood where the door once was.
"Slayers!"
"Guy's c'mon! There's only fi…aahhhhcclluhh!" A gurgling demon was cut short as a crossbow bolt was protruding from both sides of the demons neck.
"Masked demon, looks a black robbed ballroom grim reaper, can go through transparent portals and carries a scythe. Speak or die!" Faith exclaimed to the various demons in the bar.
In response, the angry bar patrons rose from their seats and charged towards the band of demon hunters.
"KILL THEM ALL!" Faith shouted to her surrounding comrades.
Not more than 15 seconds after Faith and her party entered the demon bar, a good old fashioned bar fight broke out. However, this bar fight was more like a massacre then a fight. As soon as the demons and vampires were within striking distance, they were all chopped down within moments; bodies pilling by the front entrance.
As the first wave of evil came, Faith unsheathed her daggers and held them with a backhand grip before spilling open the bellies of all kinds of hell beasts. To her left Vi and Rona impaled and then decapitated and dismembered anything that was within a few feet in front of them. To Faith's right an incredibly pissed off Dawn was slicing and dicing better than an appliance in a Billy May's commercial. The young Summers woman was enraged and unfocused, wasting far too much energy slashing at any body part that came near and wounding anything that moved. This forced Andrew to react quickly as he was now stabbing their enemies with crossbow bolts from behind Dawn and even manually threw them after Dawn wounded their attackers
After the shouting, grunting and mutilation stopped, the band of 5 walked over the piles of bodies and body parts littering the bar entrance while the wall mounted speakers still sang their songs.
'Ewwwwwww eeeeewwww ewwwwwww…Aint found a way to killllll meeeee yettttt'
Without skipping a beat, Faith downed a shot and then yanked the hiding bartender by his hair to the top of the bar.
"Talk," Faith told the man while looking right into his eyes.
'Eyes burn with stinging sweat'
"I… I don't..ummf!" The man's speech was cut short by a right cross to the chin from Dawn.
'Seems everrrryyyy path leads meeeeee to nowherrrreeee'
"Don't feed us your bullshit half breed, we overheard your patrons. Talk or be tortured to death," Dawn then closed the gap between her and the bartender until they were eye to eye and centimetres apart before she spoke again.
'Wife and kidddssss house…hold peetttttt'
"And despite what you heard about the good guys…Mercy's for pussies. I'll rip you to shreds with my teeth if I think you're lying."
'Army green, was no safe bet'
The severely terrified man looked between his attackers and started to sing like a canary, "I only know what everyone else knows...That one of us finally laid the smack down on you Slayers and came out untouched, and with a bunch of no name lackeys to. Now please just let me go so I can clean up the mess you all made in my bar."
"Keep talkin shorty," Rona told the man.
"But that's all I know, really. I'm just a bartender, sure I hear stuff but everyone who comes here is drunk or high or both. Satan knows who's telling the truth. I already told you what I know, I swear."
'The bullets scrrrreeeaaammmmm to me from somewherreeeee'
"Not good enough," Faith retorted as she picked the man off the countertop by his collar and heaved him behind the bar in a heap of broken glass and booze.
"All of you hold an arm or a leg," Faith commanded.
'Here they come to snuff the rooooossssterrrrr, awwwww yeaaaahhh, hey yeah!'
As team Kennedy held the half demon's arms and legs in front of the bar wall, Faith went to grab a grab a clawed demon hand and then placed it on the counter top. As the half demon was starting to see clearly, he witnessed Faith slicing off demonic fingers. Faith then leaped over the bar counter with demonic fingers in hand and plunged them deep into the palms and ankles of the bartender, blood spurting from his wounds. The once rogue Slayer drove her make shift spikes so forcefully that she nailed the bartender to the damaged wall behind him.
'Yeah here come the rooooossster, yeah'
The half breed's cries fell on deaf ears as the band of 5 downed random shots that were already set up and then watched as Faith pour vodka over the bartenders head and started to smash bottles all over the bar area.
"Take whatever you want," Faith told her crew as she turned her back towards them and pulled out her lighter, a pack of matches and her smokes.
As Rona emptied out the register and broke open the cash box, Vi grabbed two bottles of Vodka while Dawn grabbed a bottle of whiskey and jack with Andrew beside her taking six bottles of random liquor in his arms.
When the band of not so good guys strode over to Faith's backside, Dawn handed the elder Slayer her favourite brew and watched as the woman took a sip and then spit over the matches. Faith quickly then lit the matches with her lighter and lit her smoke from the match pack while the terrified and pain festered bartender was screaming for mercy.
And thanks to one Faith Lehane, the former rogue Slayer, the warrior woman who sought redemption, faced and conquered her demons….the bartender got his wish. He received mercy from the sweet embrace of cleansing fire as Faith tossed the burning matches over her head and onto the alcohol soaked bartender, lighting him a blaze almost instantly as Faith and her crew walked out the doorway.
'You know he ain't gonna diiiiiiee!'
And like a scene out of a movie, from left to right, Rona, Vi, Faith, Dawn and Andrew walked along an empty street with a building on fire behind them; the only other sound other than wood cracking and burning, being the music coming from the speakers within the burning bar.
'No, no, no, ya know….he ain't gonna die..ie ie'
"Good Lord!" Giles shouted as the band of 5 arrived back at camp later that night, booze and cash split between them all and hidden.
"Faith! What the hell happened and where the hell were you all?" A pissed yet somehow sexy Buffy demanded with her hands on her hips.
"Buffy, relax were fine."
"Dawn, don't you dare answer for her! You guys didn't even tell us you left! Isn't Ken being out of action enough?"
"KEN'S EXACTLY THE REASON WE WERE OUT B! WE COULDN'T JUST SIT ON OUR ASSES AND DO FUCK ALL! WE NEEDED TA TRY TA DO SOMIN TO HELP HER!"
"Alright! Enough!" Giles shouted with his glasses in one hand and his handkerchief in the other.
"Faith, did you and Kennedy's team learn anything?" the patriarch asked his former charge.
"We learned that the evil in this place knows what happened and are all getting hard on's about it."
"Well as ineloquently as Faith put it, that's definitely not good. I'd imagine the evil in this land is no longer demoralized by our presence here and will undoubtedly become more bold," Giles spoke out to everyone around the campfire as he whipped his glasses and then put them back on.
"starting tomorrow night we should have rotational centuries to keep watch as our Slayers are out. Anything else Faith? Girls?" Giles asked once more and received blank stares in response.
"Alright, everyone gets some rest. Leftovers are wrapped near the sleeping tents fridge, goodnight."
As Giles left, an extremely fuming Buffy was still standing before the band of five while staring a fist size hole right through Faith's face. Faith and the rest of team Kennedy picked up on this and Faith decided that she wasn't in a mood to fight. The husky Slayer needed her lover to hold her and whisper sweet nothings to her tonight.
Faith stared directly into her lover's eyes, soar, tired, a bit horny and entirely emotionless. Faith then hesitated for a few seconds before lunging forwards and connected her lips with Buffy's, letting all of her emotions past through her lips into Buffy's body, letting their kiss say all the words Faith was too proud to say around the others.
Indeed something was different about this elite Slayer lip lock. Even Dawn didn't try to look away or making gagging sounds, instead Rona held Vi's hand tightly as Dawn did the same with Andrew. Buffy was also affected by the kiss. Buffy knew in one second by the way her lover was kissing her, what HER Slayer needed and began to kiss her back; very quickly setting the chaste kiss a blaze of passion beside the campfire.
The rest of team Kennedy just turned and walked away, going to get patched up, eat something and check on their fallen leader.
"How is she," Dawn asked Satsu as team Kennedy walked into the medical tent.
"No change so far, which thankfully means she isn't getting worse but Olivia has to constantly keep her sedated and were running out of sedatives fast….and her tremors aren't easy," the tired red eyed Asian slayer said with a sigh.
"Will?" Dawn asked
"I…I can't. I tried some spells to calm her, even muscle paralysis spells, but nothing worked. Whatever that mark is, its blocking any magic from being used on her".
As a sigh of frustration filled the tent, Dawn placed a hand on Satsu's shoulder.
"Satz, Will...You're both exhausted. Go get some sleep and I'll watch over her. Leftovers are on the table next door. If anything changes Andrew will light the bat signal."
After that small speech, Andrew decided that flicking his batman flashlight on and off against the tent wall seemed like a good idea. And it was as all of the tents occupants chuckled, followed by Willow and Satsu exiting the tent as they tightly held hands for support. Or at least that's what team Kennedy thought of the gesture.
As quiet settled in within the tent, all eyes focused on the delirious whispered ramblings of a semi-conscious Kennedy. Then without warning, all of team Kennedy spoke out at once.
"I'm sorry"
Suddenly, Rona and Vi looked at Dawn and Andrew.
"No Ron, Vi...Were sorry, what we did was heartless. I know you were trying to just get by as this shitty feeling keeps hitting us wave after wave. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on the both of you." Dawn apologizes as she then turned to Andrew.
"And baby I'm sorry for dragging you into that. It wasn't right of me to have the argument in the first place and you stuck by me even though it was wrong of me to attack Rona. Baby I'm sorry," Dawn spoke out to her love as she held both of his hands in hers and kissed the top of his knuckles.
Rona and Vi could only look on with smiles and fingers laced within each other's as Andrew lunged at Dawn and held her close, kissing her forehead while stroking her hair both slowly and gently. After a few seconds of Dawndrew's loving embrace, Dawn looked at the other two Slayers and opened her arms to them.
"Come here you two, snuggles!"
Both Rona and Vi smiled as they entered the warm and caring embrace of Dawndrew. While team Kennedy shared a big post argument group hug, everyone whispered how sorry they all are.
"Rona, Vi, you two go get some sleep. Andrew and I will take the first shift".
With firm and loving hand squeezes, Vi and Rona left their friends to watch over their leader. As Andrew and Dawn sat on either side of Kennedy and gripped a shaking hand, Dawn spoke to Kennedy while running her hand gently over her sweaty forehead and hair.
"Hey Ken. It's Dawnie...I…I really wish you would wake up," Dawn was now starting to tear up and softly let tears fall down her cheek and onto Kennedy's body; Andrew reaching out and clasping both Dawn's and Kennedy's hands with his own supportive digits while Dawn continued.
"Were doing everything we can think of to help get you back Ken. I miss you…I need my best friend back. Who else is gonna help me make fun of Andrew?" Both Andrew and Dawn chuckling after that remark before Dawn continued again.
"We will bring you back Ken. If we have to move heaven and earth and fight Satan himself in the 9'th circle of hell, we will bring you back. I promise".
"Oh fuck B!"
"Scream for me baby, I wanna hear you beg," Buffy taunted
"hahaha, neve…OH FUCK YES! PLEASE BABY, STOP TEASING ME AND GIVE IT TO ME!" Faith begged her lover.
Buffy quickly thrashed her head back and laughed hard after Faith's response to her lovers kneading breast pumps and nipple pinches.
"Shut up," Faith pouted as she turned to face a smiling Buffy.
The two eldest Slayers just looked upon each other and smiled, just lying in each other's arms and enjoy the radiating humming coming off of each other. After several minutes of gentle face rubbing and torso caressing, Faith looked into her lover's eyes.
"Buffy…"
"Don't Faith, never…Never will you ever need to say thank you baby. I'm always here for you, anything you want or need."
Buffy then chose that moment to squeeze and pump Faith's breasts and slowly lick her way up Faith's neck and then to her lips, sucking on them while making sloppy kissing sounds; all the while Faith's erect nipples sliding between the cracks in Buffy's fingers while being assaulted by Buffy's knuckles.
"I love you Buffy...God I love you more then I love anything in this world or the next," were the only words Faith could think of to say while meaning every word of it.
"I love you to Faith," Buffy replied as she smiled at her lover.
"Now come get some sugar"
Faith could only smile as she wrapped her arms around Buffy and pulled her close, instantly locking her lips around Buffy's as the two wrapped their tongues around each other's, slowly pulling back and enjoying the wet friction for several minutes.
"Faith, fuck me!"
"Will?" Xander asked as he knocked on the kitchen drywall.
"Xander? Whh…What's up?" Willow asked as she wiped her face with her sleeve, her eyes red from crying.
"How...how long have you been standing there?" Willow asks as she sniffled.
"About five or ten minutes," Xander said as he looked her directly into her eyes.
"To long Will," Xander said as he was already walking towards Willow. Finally reaching her, Xander engulfing her in a hug
"Oh Xander," was the only thing Willow said before breaking down and sobbing furiously into Xander's arms for the countless time since they have been best friends.
"Shhhhh, Will. We will get her back I promise"
For several minutes Xander held and rocked Willow, stroking her hair. His shirt becoming soaked as the red head's tears fell freely. However, as the two pulled away, Willow did something that shocked Xander almost out of his eye patch.
The emotionally wrecked witch suddenly latched her lips onto her oldest friend's and pressed her body into his, eyes closed.