Here is a chapter (a small one I know) that has nothing but Buffy and Faith. It's meant to be a bridge so that when I get to the next chapter there will be more meat in the story (figuratively speaking) so without further ado, here is chapter 7.

Buffy was lost. She knew that Faith was without a doubt going to let her self be killed so that Buffy could add Faith's power to her reserves, but that wasn't the biggest issue. The big issue was that even when Buffy fought Faith in an all-out fight there was a secret. Buffy didn't go all out, she was still holding herself back. She only wanted to hurt Faith enough to knock her out so that she would be easier to bring to Angel. The knife was brought for two reasons: the first was to make Faith angry enough to get sloppy in her fight because Buffy had taken one more thing that had belonged to her, (in faiths mind the town, watcher, and friends were supposed to be hers.) And the second was so that if things went bad, Buffy had a weapon on hand to finish the job. Buffy knew that she had to tell the Oracles and Faith the truth about her powers before anything irreversible happened.

"Faith, Oracles, I need to tell you something. I never truly went all out on anyone, not even Angelus. The fights that I've had with Faith? I was still holding back enough so that I wouldn't hurt her too bad and end up killing her. Are you sure that I need the power boost since you've only seen me fight with about half my strength?" Buffy's voice was soft, hesitant in the darkness, but it reached the three other beings in the ancient graveyard.

All three turned to face her, and all three had a different look on their face. The male oracle had a look of pure shock on his face, one that almost made Buffy laugh in spite of the dire circumstances. Faith had a look of doubt on her face, but it was the look of the female Oracle that had Buffy wondering what was going through her brain. The female Oracle had a smile on her face, one that looked like she was listening to a joke that only she could hear.

"What do you mean Warrior? You could hardly handle Angelus, and barely had an easier time trying to get the Rouge under control. How dare you lie to us about your prowess? We are trying to help you, and you tell us lies? How dare you?" The male Oracle started to speak in a voice full of doubt that had been housed on Faith's face, and ended his speech with a voice full of anger and hostility. He started to take a step towards Buffy when he was met with a blur. When the blur took visible form he found that Buffy was standing in front of him, her hand on his neck applying gentle pressure.

"Doe's that look like a lie to you? I don't lie about my powers, so don't ever accuse me of that again."

"So you have speed that is already greater than any other slayer, what about your strength. Surely it's not that great." The male still spoke with disdain and doubt in his voice although he had not removed his throat from Buffy's grasp.

"Brother, I do not think it wise--"

"No, if he doubts me, he will never respect me, warrior or not. He wants to see my strength? I'll show him my strength." Buffy interrupted the female Oracle while still looking the pompous male in the eyes.

And with that Buffy gripped the Oracles throat and lifted him up off the ground and high overhead. She increased the grip that she had on his windpipe and held it until he began to claw at her hand. Once he started to turn white she threw him at his sister's feet. Buffy stayed where she was as the male Oracle tried to right himself. His sister didn't help him, she just continued to look at Buffy. The smile on her face took on a smug appearance, and once her brother had righted himself she placed her hand on his shoulder and looked at him. There were no words spoken out loud, but the argument between the two of them was obvious.

Buffy did nothing but shrug and turned to look at Faith and couldn't help the chuckle that climbed out of her throat. Faith looked like she was about ready to faint. Her mouth was wide open and she had lost all the color in her face. Buffy shook her head and walker over to her sister slayer. As she reached Faith she gently closed Faith's mouth and then stood beside her waiting for the outcome of the argument.

She just stood there, waiting, and was quite content to continue to do so, but Faith had other ideas.

"B' what the hell was that? Where did that strength come from?"

"That is something that I think we would all like to know Slayer. Where did the extra strength come from?" The male was the one making the query for both he and his sister. The look on his face made it clear that he would not accept anything less than the truth. His sister on the other hand looked like she was having the time of her life.

Buffy just shrugged. She felt like playing with them. "On my seventeenth birthday when Angel and I were…together, I bit him. And let's just say that it was hard enough to break the skin and I was thirsty. Ever since then I've been stronger, faster and I have other vampire-like abilities."

Buffy knew that this was a big deal, but it didn't seem like that to her. She's had the extra stuff for a little over a year now and she's gotten used to it. She knew that she was the only slayer that had a vampire lover, Giles told her that enough when she and Angel first started dating, but she started to wonder if Vampires ever took human lovers. So she did research while they were both getting reacquainted with the whole dating scene.

She found that vampires often took human lovers so that they almost always had an easy blood source. And she also found that if a vampire found a human lover that he or she liked enough that they would prepare the human for their turning by giving them small amounts of vampiric blood. That way when the new childe was made they were already somewhat used to their new powers. The entire time that she and Angel were together she was careful to note if Angel ever gave her dark glasses to drink from. But no, he was a perfect gentleman, getting her waters, and milk and sodas in cans. She didn't know if she was grateful or angry that he never tried anything, but on the night of her seventeenth birthday she couldn't help herself. She wanted to see what it was like to have her vampire's blood in her, flowing over her tongue and down her throat.

So just before she reached her peak she buried her head into the hollow of his neck and when she reached her climax she bit him. With all the pleasure flowing through her and her desire to know what his blood tasted like, it wasn't hard to break the skin of his neck. Nor was it hard to suck on the blood that welled out of the bite.

FLASHBACK

Buffy made sure not to drink too much, knowing that the scent of both her virginal blood and his own would make his already rocky control even more strained. She took two big gulps and then held her tongue over the bite that marked him as her own. She was still quacking with shivers as she came down from her peak and as she did she felt like she was standing on the edge of the cliff, and before her was not a terrifying drop, but a sense of welcome and wholeness. She knew that she shouldn't but once again she was helpless to her own curiosity, and she moved her tongue and bit him again. This time she couldn't help it, her own morbid fascination made her bite harder and deeper into the marks that she had made just minutes before. As she did she felt the cool liquid flow down her throat and as that happened she thought that she saw the very cells of her being change as Angels blood mixed with her own. As she stared closer at this amazing sight, she saw that as the two different blood cells touched they changed and began to race at blinding speeds. She saw all this in a second and before she could even think about this new information she felt that the inner demon in her lover was not unaffected by her curiosity.

Buffy lifted her head, dimly aware that her lips were coated in the crimson liquid, and when her eyes met her lovers she saw that his had changed to their golden amber of his vampire self. Unmindful of her tainted lips she kissed him with every ounce of passion and love that she could find in her being.

As she kissed him she felt his teeth grow into their fang forms and not knowing why or what she was really doing, she ran her tongue under one canine, just enough to create a small cut. Quickly before he knew what she was doing she drew her own tongue back into her own mouth and sucked, creating a small pool of her blood. Then with infinite caution she kissed him once more, gently and carefully opening her lips to his eagerly questing tongue

She felt his body stiffen once his tongue came in contact with her small pool of blood. As hard as he tried, she refused to let him break the kiss until he had no choice but to swallow the pool of their mixed blood. As she slowly pulled back, still giving him small whispers of kisses. When she finally pulled back far enough to look him in the eye she spoke in a whisper so quiet that he would not have heard had he been human.

"Now we both know what the other tastes like."

Angel couldn't help it; he stared at her with open shock and admiration. He gently turned them over and he began to continue their night of lovemaking...

END FLASHBACK

"Ever since that night I've been more gifted with speed, and strength. I can also smell blood easier, but that's about it. The sun doesn't hurt me; neither do crosses of Holy Water. It looks like I was lucky that I got all the good traits."

"What about blood B'? Do you get hungry for it?" Faith's voice was a whisper of itself. Her tone one of confusion mixed with hurt. The look on her face revealed her terror of the unknown and unwanted.

Buffy knew that she should feel ashamed that she herself had taken the first step to becoming a vampire, but she didn't, and she had no problem looking Faith in the eye and answering the question.

"Only his. And since that night I've never had a drop of blood from anyone. Nor will I ever. The craving is a small one, nothing more than a little voice in the back of my mind that starts talking to me once every four months or so. Reminding me of the taste, the thrill and the sheer wrongness that I could have again if I truly wanted it. But I don't, I resist, and I never let it get control of me. I know who and what I am I know that I can never become what my lover is."

The other three beings didn't say a word as Buffy came to the end of her story. There was nothing left to say. Finally Buffy herself broke the silence that was slowly smothering the other occupants of the graveyard.

"So what happens now? Does Faith still have to die? It's not like the need the strength."

The male Oracle looked at his sister, once more arguing with her in their silent speech. With a sniff of disdain the female turned her face away from him and refused to look at him. He heaved a small sigh of exasperation, lifted his eyes heavenward as if asking for patience, and then looked at both of the slayers.

"No, now there is no need for Faith to die, but there is a new problem. Whether she agreed to it or not the Rouge was going to die tonight. The balance was tipped when you came back from death, and two slayers reigned when there should only be one. Chaos ensued, but small enough so that you were able to handle it. Regardless, the balance must be righted in one way or another. There is only one thing to do now that we know about this…bond with the Vampire Angel. The two reigning slayers must fight. There is only one Chosen One, and now we must see who it shall be…

What will happen next? Will Faith and Buffy fight? Who will win, and what happens to the looser?

Ok, I know that I said that this would be a short and small little chapter, but evidently I lied. I didn't think that I could come up with all this. So now I think that I'm gonna' have to have two parts to chapter 7. I don't really want to do that, but I think that this is a good place for me to leave off, and I know that it will leave you guys wanting more. Also, I'm gonna' start replying to my reviewers at the end of every chapter. So here it is; my responses to those of you who update!

First Time Reviewers

MythStar Black Dragon-- THANK YOU FOR THE PRAISE! It means very much to me to see that a first time reviewer for my story liked this chapter that much. Also, I hope that you like this chapter as much as you did the last.

softballgirl9411-- I hope that you liked this chapter since it had nothing to really do with "the pack" and no that was not a season 1 hint although that does give me an idea... : ) I'm glad that you caught the wolve hierarchy referance there. The way that I figure it Vampires are hunters, just like wolves, and at one time the vamps were human, and we know that humans tend to travel in "pack" of our own as well. It just seemed to make the most sense. As to the voice in Xanders head, think about it, if you watched the show, then you should be able to figure it out.

godessa39-- I'm not fond of Xander at all and I was so happy when he was caught in the lie in the seventh season (even though Buffy didn't do anything to him grumble grumble). Personally I think that it might have been better if he was killed by Caleb, buy I think that I could use him in this story. I've read some of the stories where all of a sudden he finally gets that Angel is good and that it was Angelus that is the real bad guy, but that just doesn't seem like something that Xander would do. I think that Xander can understand and maybe accept that Angel is good and that there is a difference between Angel and Angelus, but he'd still be rude and completly hostel towards Angel for the plain and simple fact that h still loves Buffy, and Buffy belongs, heart and soul to Angel, and Xander knows it. I hope that you haven't seen this before because to tell you the truth that I've read so many fanfics that I have to constanly make sure that I didn't use something that I've read in someone else's story.

ChristmasInHollywood-- Thank you for the Favourites!! It means alot to me that this story is someone's favorites. Did you know that I almost thought about deleting this story? I just didn't think that anyone really felt that way about this story. I hope that I can continue to make sure that this story remains on your favorites list.

uskohakuchan-- Thank you. I don't understand it but everyones says that I have a different writing style when all I'm trying to do is emulate the most common style that I read. Oh, well, what does it matter as long as you guys like it?

penmom-- Thank you, I hope to keep it going till the end of the fourth season. Wish me luck!

Dark-Wiccan-Goddess-- Thanks. I'm not going to put Dawn in the story or even the sequel that I hope to get to. Dawn just seems too whiney, and to be honest I hate her character. I wish that at the end of the fifth season that she had died, just faded awau cause now that Glory was gone, there was no need for The Key to exist either, but oh well, I'll just do it my way now.

Dragon's Gothic Angel-- Thank you for the compliment. I hope that you are still reading this even after my very long and unintended hiatus. The voice? It will all be revealed in time...

Exiled-Away-- I never said the he was Angelus, you implied that, understandably I admit. No, its still Angel as you now know, and you also know why he was acting the way he was. So, what do you think now? Do you know where it's going yet?

spk-- I'm glad that you like the vampire Angel. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with broody and moody Angel, but I loved it when he pretended to be Angelus again to get the information from Faith about Graduation. There's just something about Angels character that gets better when he's bad and doesn't care if he's breaking rules or hearts. See you next chapter.

Second Time Reviewers

Angelflowers-- The deal with Faith dying is that when she died, the Oracles were going to give Buffy the power of the Slayer that Faith had. That way Buffy not only had her already extraordinary power, but Faith's above average power as well. I like Faith well enough, mostly because I can understand her to a certain point. As for Angel and Xander? Well, let's just say that they aren't skipping through the tulips just yet...

michebabyblue-- I think that the story will only go on for maybe six more chapter beside this one. Then I will hopefully be able to work on the sequel that will take place in the alternate fourth season. It's not for sure that there will only be five more, but it's my rough geusstimation.

ilovelobsters-- Ok, I'm sorry, but please tell me, what made you come up with that name?! (Besides the obvious, I mean there has to be a story there!!) As to your review, thank you greatly, it always makes it a little bit easier to get back to a story when I know that people read them.

Third Time Reviewers

Arica, Princess of Rivendale...-- You got a little mad at me there at the fifth chapter didn't you? I'm glad that my lack of updates had the effect on you that Asha Dreamweaver's had on me. I did update, and I plan on doing it again very soon.

Ansleyrocks-- Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your reviews. I'm so beyond happy that you like the fact that you can see what the cast is thinking. I am also very happy that you think that the emotions that I have running through my story are in character with the show. Every chapter before I update make myself re-read it and I ask myself if what I wrote would ever in a million years come out of that characters mouth. Thank you and I hope to hear from you again.

Buffycoo999-- I did continue, and I hope that you like where I went.

Senior Reviewers

Ryna-chan-- You still don't remember typing that response to the news that Faith had to die? You will, just wait. I want to thank you especially. Letting me bug and pester you about this story and my Circle of Magic story during Mr. Kane's class and lunch and sometimes even in choir has helped me get to here. I thank you for being the only one that reviewed four times out of six chapters, and I know that I will bug and pester you to read, edit, and give ideas for the next 5 that I plan on doing. It means a lot that even though you have never seen the movie or watched a single show and still you read this fic. Thank you.