xxxxxx
A few weeks after Faith's birthday
xxxxxx
Faith was dressed in a gray sports bra and black sweat pants as she trained. A light layer of sweat had built while she twirled both curved short swords around her. The movements were so graceful she almost appeared to dance. Since teaming up with Xander, who was much stronger and faster then her, Faith was finally able to go all out when she sparred. The result of these intense sessions was a wonderful increase in strength, not to mention quicker reflexes.
As she slashed with her right hand, she followed with a quick right kick to her imaginary opponent. All her hard work was in preparation for today.
Today was a very special day for her. Today was the birthday of her dead mother figure and Watcher, Linda Dormer. Most of all, today was the day she was going to pay the woman back.
Before Linda had found her, Faith had been a loud mouth kid from the streets with no place to go. Her mom had just kicked her out for not turning tricks for her. She mostly lived on the streets, shacking up in homeless shelters. All of that changed in one night.
Faith was on her way back to the small apartment a friend of hers was letting her stay at when out of nowhere, she was attacked. She was used to it, having been mugged twice before, but this time it was different. The very air seemed impossibly charged with an almost feral aggressiveness. When Faith got a look at her attacker, she realized the vibe was coming from him.
She'd never seen anyone like this. The would-be mugger was almost animal like in appearance. Large ridges along his face and forehead disfigured his face. His eyes had an unreal yellow shine to them and his mouth had fangs of all things. His smile was the same one her mom's 'boyfriends' used when they saw her, the kind of smile that sent chills up a girl's spine. And not the good kind.
Just as he was about to attack, Faith felt a rage deep inside that she had never felt before. She flipped back up to her feet and slammed her foot into the thing's face, sending it to the wall hard. Before she could beat the crap out of it, a sword flashed from out of nowhere and sliced its head off.
Faith watched in morbid fascination as the headless body slowly turned into ashes. She looked to her right, towards the entrance of the alleyway. There stood a woman, in her mid thirties or so, smiling. She held a saber in one hand and a sharpened piece of wood in the other.
She tossed the stake to Faith, much to the teen's surprise, and pointed over Faith's shoulder. When the raven-haired teen looked over her shoulder, she saw two more of those things coming at them. Faith wasn't sure why the strange woman had given her a stake but positioned herself into a street fighter/martial arts stance anyway. She was lucky a few of the bikers she had gotten to know a few months previous were hardcore fighters, not to mention nice guys who didn't mind teaching a young girl how to defend herself.
After a few minutes of fighting, a smiling Faith twirled the stake in her hand and looked at the woman who sported an equally wide smile. From that night on, the two had been inseparable.
Faith stopped herself mid-kick as she felt her eyes water. With a sigh, she sheathed the twin swords and grabbed a towel. She wouldn't let herself cry. Not yet.
"Faith?"
She looked up to see Xander standing there with a concerned look on his face. Faith tried to put on a brave face but she knew she could never really hide anything from him. It was almost as if he could read her like a book.
"You need some rest if our plan is going to work," Xander said as he moved over to her and placed an arm around her waist. She looked tired and worn out. Her late night workouts had taken a lot out of her.
Xander had never seen Faith look as vulnerable and open as she did now. She had some bags under her eyes, a clear indication she wasn't getting much sleep. That was something they shared in common.
Every night for the past month or so, Faith had woken in a cold sweat, crying. And every night, Xander was there hugging her and lulling her back to sleep. It wasn't until she finally broke down and she told him everything that she'd managed at least two hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Since that night, Xander had one driving factor-getting Faith some peace of mind.
Reluctantly, Faith nodded at Xander's words and made her way upstairs to her bedroom, Xander following closely behind. That night she dreamed of Linda and of things that could have been.
xxxxxx
The next day
xxxxxx
Rupert Giles truly wondered if karma was a bitch, or if rather, he was karma's bitch. Since losing his position as Watcher, things had started to go downhill.
A few weeks ago, a pompous little prick by the name of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce had taken over as the official Watcher for Buffy and Faith, if the latter Slayer could ever be found without Xander. Although, he did laugh a little when the poor fool tried to force Faith to do something.
How she knew what Wesley could do with a goat was beyond him.
If it wasn't the bumbling fool, it was, oddly enough, Buffy herself. Since Xander's rescue of her and leaving the group, Buffy had become more careless in her slaying. Everyone noticed the change, as she kept everyone at arm's length. Then again, having your life saved by the, as she deemed him, 'useless' one of the group didn't do much for your ego.
Before he could muse any more about Buffy, the library doors opened and in walked the last person he thought he would see. Xander Harris…now Xander Sparda.
"Giles," he said, leveling his eyes at him, "we need to talk. Get everyone together during lunch, got it?"
Before Giles could say one word in return, Xander turned and walked out the door, leaving the librarian/ex Watcher standing there. The look in the young man's eyes had him wondering what poor soul had pissed him off this time.
xxxxxx
Lunch Time
xxxxxx
Buffy waited nervously as she and the others waited for Xander to show up.
Surprisingly, Giles had somehow managed to get everyone in the library, even Cordelia. Then again, she was hanging off the arm of the younger Watcher the Council has sent to replace Giles.
Behind Buffy, Angel stood protectively. He was still slightly pissed off that Xander had not only saved her but told the Watchers Council to fuck off.
Across the table, sat Willow and Oz, who were sitting so close to each other they almost looked like they were joined at the hip. Finally, there was Giles, cleaning his glasses for the fifth time.
"God," Cordelia spat out, "where is that dork anyway? I have better things to do then to hang out here."
"Aww, what's wrong Queen C, got an appointment to get your boobs redone?"
And there stood a smirking Faith with a tense looking Xander behind her, both decked out in their battle gear, ready for war. The gang could see a few weapons but knowing the pair, all were positive there were many more hidden on their bodies.
"Glad you could all make it," Xander said as he looked around the room. Buffy and Angel stiffened as he stared at them a little longer then the others.
Wesley had never gotten a good look at the man who had shoot off his superior's leg until now. His orders were to simply observe and collect any information he could. For all the young Watcher knew, this 'Xander' could be a powerful demon who had turned the other Slayer against her calling. Now was his chance to study the boy. At first glance, he looked like any other normal, American teenage boy. But then there were his eyes.
Xander's eyes were they kind that, right now, could freeze hell a thousand times over.
The kind of eyes that could make a devil cry.
"So, we're all here, what do you want?"
Xander leveled his gaze at Buffy, before addressing everyone else.
"Look, you guys don't like me, and I don't give a shit. Right now there are forces at work that have been manipulating everyone and everything in this town."
He saw that THIS got their attention.
"So, who is it then?" asked Giles as he cleaned his glasses.
"Sorry, G-man," Xander replied, "but that info comes at a price."
"Get on with it already, will you?" shouted an annoyed Angel.
"Chill Dead Boy, you should really switch to decaf."
Angel was about to vamp out and go after him, but a hand on his chest stopped him from doing so. Much to his surprise, it was Buffy holding him back.
"Good doggie," mumbled Faith to herself, although everyone heard what she had said.
Buffy, only narrowed her eyes at the raven-haired Slayer and motioned Xander to continue.
"Now in exchange for this info I would like to ask for your help to take down a Master Vampire by the name of Trick. I'm sure you know who he is?"
At their nod, Xander went on. "Now normally I would take them all out myself, but there are too many unknown factors. His backer can supply him with pretty much anything he wants. Luckily, I have plan."
"Tell me," Wesley started in his 'holier then thou tone, "what this great plan of yours is."
"Well, Wussley," Faith snarled at him, "if you would kindly shut your pie hole, he'll tell you!"
"Now see here! I'm your Watcher and you will treat me with the respect I deserve!"
"Pal," Xander said as he opened his coat to show off his weapons, "you deserve one of two things. Jack and shit…and Jack left town. You can leave if you want, the ones I need are right here."
For a few moments, Wesley did a great impression of a fish out of water with his mouth moving, but no sound came out.
With the annoying British man silent, Xander went into detail on his plan and what each person's part would be.
xxxxxx
Time: Later that night
Place: Warehouse district
xxxxxx
The vampire known as Mr. Trick was having a great night.
He had gotten lucky enough to get some more information on the new hunter in town, as well as the other Vampire Slayer, Faith.
Faith and he went way back, back to when his sire, Kakistos, and he met the Slayer and her Watcher. The first time they had fought, Trick had been surprised at how young the Slayer was. From what he had heard over the years, he expected her to be something like an Amazon. He was very disappointed when he saw her. Yet, there was a fire in her eyes that he could almost get to like.
Almost.
The best part about meeting Faith had been the capture. Sure, Kakistos had ordered her and her Watchers capture, but the thrill of the torture...Even today, he could still hear the screams of the Watcher and the cries of her Slayer.
What he didn't suspect was the Slayer snapping after seeing the Watchers death. Trick hated when he miscalculated things. He and his sire had barely escaped and almost all their forces were destroyed. His sire couldn't just let it go though.
Trick hunted her and tracked her down all the way to the Hellmouth, where the other Slayer was. Again, he was smarter then most and was able to escape. Now though, he had a new backer who, unlike his Sire, embraced the new ways along with the old. The only downside was that this man scared him far more then Kakistos.
After a quick stop at Willy's bar to pick up a fresh pint of human blood, he was on his way to relay the good news to his new boss.
"Well, well, well look what we have here," a voice above him said, catching Trick off guard. He cursed himself for letting his guard down.
As he looked around, his eyes went upward and paled slightly. Above him, on the roof of a small three story building and leaning against a brick chimney was one of the 'mysterious' new hunters he had information on.
It was none other then Xander Harris, although it was Xander Sparda to the rest of the demonic underworld.
"Now isn't this interesting," the brunet said as he hopped down from the roof he was on, "a master vampire like you, all alone with no backup...man, that's just begging to get your ass slain."
Trick started to retreat. Facing off against someone like this kid was like putting your hand into a blast furnace.
He was about to turn and run for it but stopped when he saw the blonde Slayer and her Vampire boyfriend blocking his escape, both armed with swords. Trick turned to his right but it too was blocked, this time by the redheaded witch and her werewolf boyfriend who was wielding a rather mean looking battle-axe. To his left was the Watcher, armed with a crossbow aimed straight at Trick's chest.
He was trapped like a rat on a sinking ship.
The only way left for him to escape was the same way he came in.
Trick weighed his options. He could make a run for it but that would leave him wide open for an attack, especially from the young demon hunter and his two guns.
Just as he was about to make a break for it, the vampire heard the sounds of footsteps coming up behind him. Trick slowly turned around; facing the last person he wanted to see.
Faith, the raven haired Slayer. The same Slayer he had chained and forced to watch as he and his sire tortured her Watcher.
The dark Slayer was dressed in her new traditional combat outfit with her hair tied back in a tight ponytail. Over both shoulders, the handles of her short swords stuck out. Other then that, she appeared to have no other weapons.
"The only way you're getting out of here," she said, "is through me."
Trick swiftly glanced around, not believing what he was hearing. To his disbelief, the dark haired Slayer tossed a sword at his feet. Where she'd pulled it from was a mystery to him. If his heart could still beat, it would be racing as fast as a racehorse's.
He reached down, slowly picking up the sword and trying to calm his nerves. In all honesty, Trick wasn't that old compared to most other vampires but he was smarter than most. Many said he was even smarter then William the Bloody a.k.a. Spike.
"Well, you heard the lady," the young demon hunter above him started, "the only way you're getting out of here alive is through her. And before you ask, it's going to be a fair fight. No ones going to interfere in this fight."
The look Xander gave him was the same one his friends, save for the dark haired slayer, gave him, incredulity.
xxxxxx
"Xander, what the hell is wrong with you? This wasn't part of the plan," Buffy said through clenched teeth. Her eyes were dangerously narrowed as she grabbed him by the shoulder. This was not part of the plan she'd heard.
"Nothing's wrong, Slayer," he replied in a cool tone, "and for your information this is part of the plan. Only it was on a need to know basis and you didn't need to know."
"Damn it, Xander, she can't fight him. Faith isn't strong enough!"
Xander spared her a glance, his eyes cold as ice.
"As I recall, Slayer, you did the same thing when Dead Boy over there went rabid. But unlike you, Faith and I have a plan. Now, shut up and watch."
Buffy was about to explode until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked at Angel, who wore a grim expression on his face. Reluctantly, she backed down. What Xander said did have a grain of truth to it.
And that made it even harder to swallow.
xxxxxx
Faith shrugged off her jacket and tossed it aside as she edged her twin swords out. She slowly twirled them around, circling the Master Vampire who had taken away the only person she'd ever cared for, other than Xander.
"Looking good, Slayer," he sneered at her, picking up the sword at his feet.
Surprisingly, she said nothing. Her eyes were deadlocked on Trick.
"What's wrong, Slayer? Cat got your tongue? Oh well, I'm sure your screams are going to be a lot sweeter then your Watchers were."
That did it.
With a roar that was suited more for a demon, Faith snapped. She charged straight in, ready to cut him a new one.
xxxxxx
The others could only watch as Faith fought with the Master Vampire.
Every attack she could strike with was blocked by Trick. The clashing of steel against steel echoed throughout the old and empty warehouse. They could see sparks flying as the blades meet each other.
Buffy hated to admit it, but Faith was good.
Really good.
Seeing Faith suddenly turn into Xena, when only a few months back Buffy was top Slayer in her mind wasn't fair. Yet, even then, Faith was a slightly better fighter. The only reason she'd won against Faith, was her experience.
She should have been the one getting the new weapons and moves; with everyone else providing backup support, especially Xander. In her opinion, he was the most useless person she had ever met.
Yet, recent events made it clear that without him, she would have died the first day she arrived.
Buffy looked at Xander, taking her eyes off the fight. His eyes were following Faith as she went toe to toe with this Master Vampire. His hands were wrapped so tightly around the pommel of his sword Buffy could almost hear the grip cracking under the pressure.
She was about to say something to him but the sound of the battle drew her back to the fight.
xxxxxx
Faith tried desperately but couldn't get a clean shot at Trick. So far, it had been nothing but nicks and cuts on both of them. And as such, those very same nicks and cuts were already healing up.
Faith faked a kick to the side of Trick's face only to try to stab him. Just as the blade was about to cleave his face in half, Trick blocked it and twisted the short sword away, punching her away hard.
The blow rocked Faith more then she cared to admit. He was at least as strong as Kakistos and moved a lot faster too. From what little she had read of Master Vampires, another thing she had to thank Linda for, they were one of the few things that could go head to head with a Slayer.
Another thing she would hate to admit was how good Trick was with a sword. So far, he had kept her at bay. Every time she thought she had a good shot at him, Trick would either dodge or block.
This was not going to be as easy as she'd thought.
Faith grunted as Trick rammed his shoulder into her, making her drop one of her short swords. Still she managed to get in a lucky shot with the other. When Trick stepped back, she lashed out and knocked the sword out of his hand. The only problem was that she over swung and Trick was able to knock her remaining sword away.
Faith was unable to block the vicious backhand that sent her flying over a crate and onto her back. She landed with a thud that made everyone there wince in pain, especially Xander.
Buffy was just about to scream at Xander yet again when she noticed his narrowed eyes and clenched jaw. She even saw that his hands flexed on the handle of his sword. It was evident he wanted to retaliate on Faith's behalf. He was also shaking slightly; she could see a tint of red aura surrounding him.
With her being so close to Xander, Buffy felt the power oozing off him. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. It was so powerful, in fact, that it was sending her inner Slayer into a frenzy between killing him and running for dear life.
Buffy turned to see Angel who looked even paler then usual. He was scared….plain and simple.
"Xander, what are you doing?" Buffy said finally getting over her initial shock, "she's getting killed…is this part of your plan?"
"…"
"Damn you, answer me!"
"…Buffy…I want you to take a nice tall glass of shut the fuck up," Xander finally said in a chilling tone that sent shivers up even Angel's spine. "As for my plan…this is it."
Buffy was about to scream at him again when he started to talk once more.
"See Buffy, Faith wanted to deal with this alone, and deep down she needs to do this in order for her to move on. Unlike you and Dead Boy, she knows that she must work through her problem rather then brood over it or run away from it. Her problem being the death of her Watcher and friend, Linda. Trick was the one that did most of the torturing to her."
Buffy's eyes went wide when she heard this. She had forgotten about that.
"Now it's her chance to move on…and get a little pay back."
Buffy said nothing more as she looked back down, seeing Trick make his way over to the downed Slayer.
Xander only narrowed his eyes more as they started to get a light red tint in them.
xxxxxx
Faith laid there panting as she tired to clear the cobwebs. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. The sound of the blood pumping and her breathing were the only things she could hear at this moment.
As she opened her eyes, Faith could swear she saw the smiling face of Linda. She was looking at her like she used to when they were sparring, back when Faith barely knew how to throw a punch. Back in the day, when she was training, Linda had always knocked her on her back, thanks to the Watcher's experience or some dirty trick. Linda believed in function over form.
Through it all, there was always something driving Faith to do better, something Linda had said to her over and over again. No matter how many times she wanted to quit, when Faith heard it, she would keep on going.
"Why do we fall, Faith?" she heard Linda's voice ask in her head. "So we can get back up."
xxxxxx
Start Faith's Theme
xxxxxx
Faith whipped the blood from her chin as she got back up. Her eyes locked with the Master Vampire who was mocking her. He was laughing not only at her but also at the memory of the only other person who ever gave a damn about her.
The vampire known as Trick was suddenly flying through the air, bringing an abrupt cut off to his insane laughter. His undead body slammed into the brick wall hard, leaving cracks like a spider web. He shook his head, clearing the fog from his head and looked up with wide eyes.
Standing in front of him was the same Slayer who had been on her knees moments ago. He sensed something different this time. It was almost as if the Slayer had flipped a switch in her mind and was someone else now.
"Round two, asshole," Faith said through gritted teeth.
Faith reached down and grabbed the Master Vampire by the neck. Pulling him to his feet, she slammed him up against the same wall he had crashed into.
For the next few moments, Trick felt the most intense pain he had ever experienced in his undead life. Every punch from the raven-haired Slayer was like a sledgehammer. Each one literally hammered him into the wall.
Actually, it felt like he was about to go through the wall.
She grabbed him again and threw him onto an empty crate, shattering it. Faith then kicked him hard, sending him sliding all the way into another crate.
Faith stalked over to the Master Vampire and grabbed the short swords she had dropped earlier. She saw that Trick had already gotten up, though he looked a little unbalanced, and grabbed his own sword.
Before Trick could blink, Faith was on top of him making a nice "X" shaped slash across his chest. He didn't have time to react to the cut because of the backflip kick to the chin that sent him flat against the wall he had hit several times before.
Faith was on him the moment he hit the wall. A sharp kick to his knee shattered it, hobbling the Master Vampire, just as he blocked one of the swords from taking his head. He wasn't fast enough to parry the other and it took out a nice chunk off his sword arm. Faith was fighting on pure willpower and rage right now.
Every time Faith landed a blow, she remembered a little part of her life with Linda. How she had taken her in. How Linda had shown Faith her destiny and that she wasn't alone. How she had treated her more like a sister rather than a charge.
However, memory was a double-sided blade. For every image she saw of Linda, Faith remembered every scream of her Watcher. How the feisty woman had spit in the eye of the Master Vampire Faith was currently fighting. How she'd laughed at Trick's sire when he wanted her to beg to be killed. And when she did laugh, the Master Vampire killed her as if she was nothing.
But to Faith, Linda wasn't nothing. She was everything.
xxxxxx
Trick was holding his abdomen, trying to keep the blood in his body. Whatever he had said to make the Slayer turn into the Terminator he wanted to take it back, and in a hurry. He would say that she'd gone berserk but that would be a lie. From the look in her eyes, Trick knew that the dark-haired Slayer was in total control.
Trick tried to parry a thrust, forgetting about Faith's other blade until it drove right into his shoulder. Just as he was about to scream in pain, Faith twisted the blade and ripped it out of the Master Vampire's shoulder making the Vampire scream louder.
Trick's scream was short lived though, for Faith slashed at the Vampire's neck, cutting his vocal cords. The cut forced even more of his own blood to be spilled, as he tried to hold onto what was left of his throat.
His eyes were huge as he grabbed his bleeding neck with both hands, the sword having been already dropped. Trick fell down to his knees as he felt his life's blood flowing through his fingers. He blinked a few times, not quite believing what was happening to him and slowly looked up.
Faith stared back at him, eyes half closed, and if you stared hard enough you could see a few unshed tears. The more he struggled to talk, the more blood dripped out.
xxxxxx
Faith looked down at the Master Vampire as he tried in vain to keep his blood inside his body. She could tell every drop of blood lost made him weaker. At this point, she did not feel anything, not anger, hate, or sorrow.
Faith leveled both razor short blades just under Trick's neck like a giant pair of scissors. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks as she thought of this Vampire killing the only other person she'd thought of as family.
"For Linda," she whispered as, with both blades, she sliced the Master Vampire's head off.
As the former Master Vampire turned to ashes, Faith turned around and found herself in a pair of arms that wrapped around her. At first, she stiffened, then she realized it was Xander. For a moment, she thought about making one of her typical wise cracks.
But the hug more than she expected. She dropped the blades, wrapped her arms around him in return, and started to cry.
Really cry.
All the anger and hate Faith had in her was let go at that moment. She buried her face in the crook of Xander's neck as she felt the tears steadily running down her face.
Linda had been avenged
xxxxxx
About an hour or so later, everyone found themselves back at the library. Everybody was sitting at the large table in the middle of the large room, save for Angel who was standing behind Buffy, doing his best to look as brooding as possible.
They were all looking at Faith, who was nursing her neck with an ice pack that Giles had provided. Xander, on the other hand, had disappeared moments before, muttering something about proof.
Buffy, though, wasn't concerned about that at the moment, though she was wondering why the hell she was scared for Xander. What she was really thinking about was Faith. She wondered how the other Slayer had gotten so good in such a short time. Buffy would never admit that Faith was better than she was though, her ego wouldn't allow it.
Just as Buffy was about to demand how Faith gotten so good, Xander walked in carrying a plain brown potato sack with something in it. He tossed it up repeatedly, all the while whistling.
"What's in the bag?" Buffy demanded, rather than ask.
"Oh, this," Xander smiled tossing the bag in the air and letting it drop to the floor, "this is part of the proof I'm showing you guys."
With that simple, yet enigmatic, statement, Xander picked up the sack and tossed it on the table. It bounced a little before settling. With a smile still on his face, Xander grabbed the bag and finally pulled out what was inside.
The severed head of none other then Jack O'Toole.
"Xander," Buffy said, being the first one out of her shock, "what the hell is that?"
"That, Buffy, is a severed head."
"I know that. What was it doing in that sack?"
"Doing a good impression of a bowling ball," Xander replied with a smile.
"What I think Buffy means, Xander, is why do you have young Mister O'Toole's head in that sack?" Giles interrupted, hoping to ease Buffy's temper.
"Well, it was either this or my old gym duffel, and even I'm not that cruel, G-man."
The group blinked as one and stared at him as if he had grown a second head. Well, everyone that is except Faith who, despite her bruises, let out a slight giggle, something she was doing more and more often.
Before anyone could say more, Xander reached into his coat, drew Ebony from his leg holster, and leveled it between the head's eyes.
"Alright, Jackie boy," Xander started, "tell them what you told me or else."
The head didn't move.
"Aww, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"
Again the head didn't move.
By this time, Willow was wondering if her best friend, or in this case estranged best friend, had suffered some sort of mental damage, seeing as how he was threatening a head and all.
Before anyone of them could comment on Xander's strange behavior, Xander let off a shot, barely grazing the head but taking a good size chunk off the table.
"Xander! What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Giles screamed at the young man, who looked as if he was ignoring the librarian. He was about to repeat his question when the weirdest thing happened.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Harris! You could have killed me!"
For that one brief moment, everything stopped, even the sounds outside the school. As one everyone, save for Faith and Xander, turned and looked at the head of Jack O'Toole. The head looked pretty pissed.
"Hey, just wanted to get your attention," Xander replied with a slight smirk. He lowered the Devil-Arm but didn't put it away. "Now…why don't you tell us all what you told me a few days ago, huh?"
"And why would I do that?"
"I would say out of the goodness of your heart but you seem to be lacking a body…and heart. So, how about this…you tell them and I won't use your head as my bowling ball," Xander replied with a nasty smile. "Then again, my game has been getting better."
The head of Jack glared at Xander's smirking face. If the demon hunter had a dime for every demon, vampire, or zombie that had ever given him that look, he'd be rich.
"Fine," the head said through his teeth, "I'll tell them." With that, everyone got a little closer to the head, though they were still a little freaked out about the talking head.
"My Grandpa brought me back a few weeks ago. Said that I should go and have fun with some old running friends of mine. He told me he was hired by someone to resurrect me. I was supposed to distract the Slayer over here while the boss did what he needed to do."
"So, who's this boss?" Buffy asked, already bored.
"I'm getting to that," Jack all but yelled at the blonde. "The guy who hired my Grandpa has also been behind everything in Sunnydale. It's Mayor Richard Wilkins."
"You're kidding right?" Everyone turned to Angel who pretty much screamed.
"Deadboy, chill will ya, I have more things to show everyone. By the way, Jackie," Xander said leveling Ebony at the head, "Thanks."
"YOU SONOVA.."
Xander squeezed the trigger on the Devil-Arm before Jack O'Toole could finish what he was going to say and blew the severed head away. The powerful gun took almost half of the zombie head away, finally killing him.
With a sigh and a twirl of his gun, he put Ebony away. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, life's a party and beers a must."
Chuckling at himself, Xander turned around and noticed the looks he was receiving. "What? My zipper open or something?"
"Why the hell did you do that for? We could have used what he knew," screamed the bleach blonde slayer.
"What part of 'I have more things to show everyone' don't you understand? Sit down and SHUT UP," Xander screamed at her, his temper slowly reaching it point. Much to everyone's surprise, Buffy backed off with her eyes wide with a little fear.
Xander reached into his coat, pulled out some photocopies and a CD, and tossed them on the table. "Like I said, I have more to show you. Willow, I'm going to need your laptop."
Willow reluctantly handed over the computer. She still didn't know what to think of this new Xander. The way he was ordering everyone around wasn't normal. Then again, she supposed, nothing was normal anymore.
Xander started up the computer and popped in the CD. As soon as it loaded, he turned the computer around and let everyone see it. There were images of people and things from the late 1800's.
"As you all know, our sunny little slice of hell we know as Sunnydale is built on top of the Hellmouth. When the settlers built the town, some of them knew something was wrong, but their Mayor, the first Wilkins, talked them into staying. They did, and a few years later, his family was mysteriously killed. At the time, no one thought anything about it, other than it being a tragic accident.
"What they didn't know was that it was Wilkins that was the cause of his family's death. He made a deal with some of the local demons for power and immortality. The only thing that they wanted in return was tribute. For the blood of his family, they made him immortal."
Xander grabbed two photos and held them up. One was an old black and white picture while the other was in color. "This one," he said, holding up the black and white one, "is Richard Wilkins the first, the first Mayor of Sunnydale, taken when the town was officially named. Now this was taken last year during the election."
He put both photos on the table in front of the computer. On its screen was yet another picture taken in the same year the black and white one was, only clearer. All three pictures had a red circle around one persons face. It was the same person.
It was Richard Wilkins in each one.
"Bloody hell," Giles mumbled to himself, as he looked at all three pictures.
"Wait, boys and girls," Faith said with a smirk, "there's more."
"She's right…there is more…a LOT more. It seems that the power part of the deal comes up in about a month or so, when the town has its one-hundredth anniversary. At that time he needs to give a huge sacrifice in order to get whatever he wanted," Xander finished. He looked at each one of their faces to gauge their reactions, which ranged from surprise and shock to confusion and anger.
"So, what do you wish from us," asked Wesley who had kept his peace up until now. It was clear that he was both surprised and impressed for some weird reason.
Xander looked over at Faith and nodded. It was her turn now. Though, from the look on her face, she would rather hit her own hand with a hammer then have it be her turn.
"Help," she said simply.
"Oh, and why would the all mighty Xander and Faith need help?" Buffy sarcastically replied.
Xander had had quite enough of the way Buffy was acting. He was about to say something when Faith cut him to the chase.
"Unlike you, Buffy, we know when to ask for help. We don't know what we're up against. It could be anything from Godzilla to Barney. All I know is whatever it is, it's big. So big that most of the demons and vamps have been working for Wilkins. The bad part is they are scared of him. BIG time."
"Can't we just go and slay him?" Willow asked.
"We already thought of that," Xander said, turning the laptop off, "seems that whatever he's planning, part of it is already under way. A few nights ago, the good mayor received a package. Whatever it was, it was guarded like it was the Holy fucking Grail. Since then, the vampires and demons have been working overtime recruiting others. I was able to piece together what I could, but that's it."
A stunned silence fell over the library. This was more then what they had expected.
xxxxxx
They had left about an hour later, everyone going home.
Faith was quiet the entire way back. She sat there, her arms crossed, the entire way home, looking out the window. As soon as they got back, she went to her room and closed the door.
It was half an hour later and Xander had already changed into his sleep clothes. The door to his bedroom opened, revealing Faith in an oversized shirt. Her hair was down and she looked like she had been crying. Xander opened his arms.
That simple gesture was more then enough to have Faith running into bed with him.
He held her that entire night while Faith dreamed dreamed of what might have been.
((A/N: Faith's theme song is "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence))
