Risen

AN: So, I've been thinking about doing a Post-Chosen fic about Buffy abandoning her Slayer destiny for a normal life after Battle: Sunnydale. So, she lives day-to-day for a while, but eventual ends up as a professional MMA fighter, with her little "identity" in the cage being "The Slayer". Coincidence, right? Anyway, with Slayer strength andspeed, no one can beat her, until someone does. When she calls for a rematch against this other masked fighter "The Exorcist", and manages to beat her, she unmasks her and comes face to face with one of the reasons she left the Slayer life. Faith. So? What do you think? Think I should write it or not? Tell me in a review or a PM (Private Message)!

Chapter 10...

"Fuck." Willow said as she saw one of the "good guys" coming at her with a very large piece of sharpened wood. She just got back to her dimension, and now she was about to get staked. The wood was only inches away from dusting her.

Then, there was a swirl of bright whit lights, and she was gone.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing in the middle of a circle of candles. There was a girl in front of her, and she could sense one behind her as well. She turned to face the other girl and gasped. It was her! The "white hat" version of herself from the other dimension! The witch! But damn, she was looking good!

...

I stared into the eyes of my vampire self. She didn't look any different. She was much younger than me. And she still looked at me with those eyes that were trying to undress me. I think it's safe to say she still has the hots for me. Which, I suppose, is a form of masturbation. Wow, that's just wierd.

"Hey you." She grinned, baring her fangs. I paled.

"And you."

"Damn, I guess some time has passe here, huh? You look older."

"You don't."

"But we're both still hot as hell. So, rethink my offer, did you?"

"What offer was that again?" I play dumb.

"You know... You, and me, makin' lots and lots of... noise." She put her hands on my chest and purred.

Tara cleared her throat.

"Oh!" I back away. "Um... me, this is... Tara... my girlfriend... Tara, this is... me."

Vampy me looked back at Tara and smirked. "Girlfriend, huh? This sounds promising."

Tara blushed as Vampy me stared at her. I couldn't really get mad at her for undressing Tara with her eyes, because, technically, she's me, so Tara's technically her girlfriend, too.

But I still don't like it.

"Hey! Eyes over here!" I snap, and she turned back towards me and grinned.

"So what's the deal here, huh? Callin' me up 'cause just one of me can't satisfy your girl over there? Takes two?" I paled again.

"No! I... I have a deal for you."

"A deal, huh? Whaddya got in mind?"

"We need your help with something. And... we're willing to pay..."

"Got no need for money."

"We kind of figured that. What do you want?"

"What do I have to do for it?"

"Some friends of ours are in trouble, but we can't go to them to help them. So, we want you to go help, instead."

"Why can't you do it yourself?"

"Well... let's just say... our hands are kind of tied at the moment."

"God, that's a good image." Vampy me grinned, and I paled again.

"Not like that! We... we just can't leave right now. So, will you do it?"

"Well... why don't I just name my price, and we can come to some sort of agreement?" She suggested, and turned to Tara. "I want me. Her. Whatever, you know what I mean." She nodded towards me. "I want her. If I do this, when I get back, I want her. And you. I want both of you. I've been kinda tied down to one man for a while, and I'm tired of driving stick. Think I'd like to have some fun with someone who knows how to please a girl. And who knows how to please a girl better than other girls?" She bared her fangs again, in a wicked grin. "Second... I don't wanna go back home. I just barely avoided getting staked before you called me back. You sent me back to the exact moment you took me from, and that moment involves a very not-friendly piece of wood going through my chest, and a future as a pile of dust. I wanna live in this world from now on. Don't care much what I've got to do to stay here."

Tara looked at me and nodded. Fair enough. "Fine." I said, and she turned back to me again. "Agreed. You help our friends, and you can have a night with me and Tara, and we won't send you back to your dimension."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. A night? No, that's not what I said. I said I want you and your girlfriend. Not just one night. I want you guys. I wanna make both of you scream as many times as I want."

I think I'm the only one that has a problem with that. Vampy me is grinning wickedly, and Tara looks... I don't know what she's thinking, but she's definitely not disappointed.

"Fine." I agree hesitantly, and Vampy me gets a victorious look on her face. "But if you're going to be our new girlfriend, there's something else you're going to have to do first. See, remember that blonde girl that kicked your ass last time you were here?"

"Ugh. Yeah. Slayer bitch."

"That's her. She's been turned."

"What?"

"She's a vampire now. She's one of the friends we're talking about. Along with a couple others. They're taking her to take this test. That's what we want you to help with. Help get her to the place where she's going to take the test. And the new thing you're going to have to do... you're going to take the same test. After Buffy's done with hers, you're going to take the same test."

"That's all? I gotta take some test?"

"That's all." I agreed. Tara's eyes flash mischief. She knows what I'm up to now, and she's not disagreeing.

"Fine. Whatever. I'll do it. Anything else?"

"No eating our friends would be nice. Or any humans at all, for that matter." Tara said, and I nod. Vampy me groans.

"Fine. That all?"

Tara and I think for a minute. Then, at the same time, "You need a new name."

...

Funny thing. You "kidnap" a high-ranking Slayer like the head of the fuckin' Japan Branch of the Slayer Organization, the rest of the Org doesn't take too kindly to it. Since yesterday, when we faked kidnappin' S, we've been found and attacked three fuckin' times by other Slayer squads, and once by an armored truck full of Watchers.

Of course, after the first time, when S teamed up with us to take down the small group of newbies, they probably figured out that it wasn't actually a kidnappin', so they'll probably be desparate to take us now before we recruit any more help. Hey. Recruit. Fuck, I can't believe I didn't think about that before.

And my chance comes about now. Another group of Slayers drop from the trees, ambushin' us.

B growls and S and me whip out our knives. Oz holds Dawn outta the way, so neither of them get mixed up in the battle. That's what we've been doin' lately. B, S and me do the fightin' while Oz uses his nose as a compass of sorts and finds us the way to the nearest town. Dawn is just kinda there for moral support, I guess, but hey, we could use all the moral support we can get right now. 'Specially with a group of twenty Slayers in front of us. Yeah, I know what you're thinkin', you got past one group of twenty before, startin' to see a pattern, but twenty Slayers is a bunch. Only the strongest Slayers get put in charge of that big a squad.

I myself, when I do field work, get about twenty-five in my squad. B usually got more around forty or so, though that's because she was the High Slayer, and her squad was made up of three or four smaller squads with a whole chain of command thing. Everyone reports to B, but most of 'em have a secondary commander they refer to for orders, which B can overrule, of course, but still... Not that this is relevant, of course.

Anyway, there they are, an array of stakes, knives, crossbows, swords and even a few axes. They're well prepared to take us down.

And at the front is a Slayer I'm all too familiar with. Because I trained her. Her name is Lexi Powers, and she's a natural. I mean, I'm a natural, B's a natural, S is a natural. Lexi is every bit as skilled as any of us, and if she trains her underlings like I trained her, every one of them will be lethal even to us more experienced Slayers.

And none of them will show an ounce of mercy.

"Crossbows!" Lexi shouts, and about half of the Slayers pointed their crossbows right at us. "Fire!" A volley of bolts flies forth, and I can see right away that they're not gonna miss.

But then, they striked some kinda force field in front of us, and they bounce off harmlessly. I look back to see Dawn standin' there with her arms outstretched.

"Watchers are supposed to undergo some training in magick. I excelled in that part of the training. I'm nowhere near as powerful as Willow but shields are pretty easy for me."

I nod grudgingly, and me, B and S are standin' at the ready, waitin' for the attack. But as long as we're just standin' here...

"You do know what we're tryin' to do right, Lex?" I ask.

"Yeah. I've been informed. Trying to get Buffy's soul back."

"And you know what that means, don't you?"

"Yeah. It means she'll be back to normal, but have the combined strength of a true Slayer and a vampire. That makes her too dangerous. Plus, she's killed several Slayers. Even if you get her soul back, that crime is punishable by death. And you've been helping her. That makes you an accessory. You, Satsu, Dawn, Daniel, Willow, Xander, Giles and Angelus all. That means you guys will all share her fate once everything is over with."

"Wait, Red, Xan and G? They were promised they wouldn't be prosecuted if they gave up."

"Well, they also haven't been helping track you down, either. That makes them accessories again, and that carries the death penalty. So, your options are: surrender or fight. If you surrender, then all of you, along with Anyanka and Tara Maclay will meet the death penalty. But your deaths will be swift and painless. If you fight, then a lot of Slayers will die, and all of you will still die, but there's no guarantee it'll be slow. And then, it'll all be over, and Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander and Anyanka will be executed."

"You forgot a name, Lex. You're getting careless."

"Oh? Who did I forget, then?"

"Angel."

Lexi sneered, and I got a bad feeling. "Angelus was witnessed stepping out into the sunlight some time a few days ago. Since your girlfriend there took the Gem of Amarra from him, he burnt to ashes."

Tears are welling up in my eyes, and I can feel B's emotions surfacin', too. Seems even B as a vampire still loves him.

I loved Angel. I mean, I wasn't in love with him, but I did love him. He was the only one who stood by me when I was at my worst. And for that, I'll always have a place in my heart for him. Hearin' he's gone, I feel almost as lost as I felt sittin' on the ground, holdin' B as she died.

"You're wrong, Lex. He... He wouldn't do that... Not Angel... He was always workin'... Tryin' to redeem himself... He told me that our job of redeemin' ourselves was never over, that we'd be workin' our asses off for redemption for the rest of our existences... He wouldn't give up... Not Angel... Never Angel..."

"Well, the witness video taped it so she could prove to the Council she wasn't trying to cover for you guys. I have the tape with me if you want-"

"Fuck you!" I scream, horrified.

"I'll take that as a no. So, what are you going to do, Faith? Unlike Satsu, I'm completely against your goal. I'm not going to betray the Organization to help you. So, if you fight, then it'll be two Slayers, a wannabe Watcher, a werewolf with a muzzle, and a Slaypire versus a small army of highly trained Slayer elites. If you surrender, then no more lives will be lost except yours. So what'll it be?"

I swallow and look around at everyone. I wipe the tears out of my eyes. There'll be time for cryin' later. I see Oz and Dawn standin' to the side, holdin' each other, scared. Satsu's lookin' around cautiously, but she's holdin' her ground. B's doin' the same, but she doesn't look concerned in the least, just pissed. Probably 'cause she can't die. Not with that Gem of Amarra. I look around at the other Slayers, each of them terrified, knowin' that if I choose fight, not all of them will make it out alive, but none of them are waverin'. They have such blind faith in the Council, thinkin' that the Council actually cares. And Lexi just lets them believe that, I'll bet. Despite everythin' that I taught her.

And I realise I'm shakin'. I'm afraid. I know that I'm goin' to die now. It'll happen just like Lexi said. I always promised myself that I'd go down fightin', but I don't want to fight my own people. Slayers. I want to die fightin' vamps. I wanna die takin' down no less than three vamps with me. Not Slayers. That's why I'm shakin'. Not 'cause I'm gonna die, but 'cause I know that I'm gonna have to kill these Slayers. Knockin' them out like I've been doin' won't work. They're too tough for that. I'm gonna have to kill them.

There's only one way I can think of where I might survive. Me and B, Dawn, Oz, and, at least hopefully, S.

"Hey you." I say to one of the Slayers, and she flinches. "Step forward."

"Stay in rank!" Lexi shouts.

"Look, I just wanna talk, okay? Wanna ask you somethin'."

The Slayer looked over at Lexi, who sighed and nodded. The Slayer took a step forward.

"What's your name, girl?"

"E... Errin."

"Errin? How old are you, Errin?"

"Th... Thirteen."

I choke back tears. The damn Council sends thirteen fuckin' year olds to do they're dirty work!"

"Thirteen, huh? Tell me, do you know who we are?"

"The... The Chosen Two... Buffy and Faith..." She responds, and I nod. The others look annoyed that they weren't included in that.

"Right. So, do you think the Council actually cares about you? About any of you?" I look around at the rest of them, and they all look confused. "Why the hell would the Council send a bunch of kids to take down the two strongest Slayers in existence, especially when one of them has the strength of a vampire on top of her Slayer strength? Plus, we've got the head of the Japan Branch with us, a Pack Alpha and a future Watcher who just happens to excell in magic! Why would they do that, unless they know that there's enough of you to kill all of us, even if more than half of you die in the process?! That's why they didn't send their best teams! Because to them, you're expendable!"

"No! The Council cares!" Lexi shouts.

"Bullshit! The Council sees us as weapons to be used however the fuck they want! They get rich, and we get to die fightin' monsters every fuckin' night! Only two of them have ever cared about Slayers. One of them is imprisoned by the Council, and the only reason the other one is still around is because he sided with the Council this time!"

"The Council is made of Watchers, Slayers, witches, werewolves and ensouled vampires!"

"It used to be! But the Watchers hold all the power! There are just enough seats on the Council for non-Watchers to make everyone feel like they've got a say in things, but now enough to actually give everyone a say in things! Tell me, how many of you have lost friends to the vampires, and had to drive a stake through their hearts to make sure they don't come back as a vampire?"

Silence followed, but then fifteen of them raised their hands. Including Lexi.

"What if we didn't have to do that anymore? That's what the Council is afraid of!" As soon as I say it, I know it's true. I'm realizin' everythin' as I'm sayin' it. "The Council is afraid that if this works, and I can get Buffy's soul back, then the door would be opened to that option, and suddenly, re-ensouled Slaypires would be poppin' up everywhere because their friends decide that they don't wanna follow protocol and stab their friends' bodies anymore! Then, we'd finally end up realizin' that we don't need the Watchers, after all! They wouldn't be able to control us anymore! We'd be stronger than them! They'd be useless! And they don't want to lose control of us!"

When I'm done, everyone, even Lexi, is silent. Even B seems to be impressed.

I look around, and see Lexi starin' at the ground, shakin'. Suddenly, she looks back up at me.

"We will not join you." She growls. "We're not going to make targets of ourselves to the Watchers."

I sigh. I'd been hopin' that we could get outta this without anymore bloodshed.

"But..." She continues, "If, say, your group, far smaller than mine, was able to move more swiftly through the forest, and evade us, then no more blood need be spilled, and my Slayers and I would not necessarily become targets."

Wait, she's gonna let us go?

"What are you sayin', Lex?"

"Slayers!" She shouts, and all her Slayers stand at attention. "From this day forth, the events of this encounter are confidential. Need-to-know only! And the Council does not need to know. Understand?"

"Yes, Captain Lexi!" They all shout, and I see sighs of relief and grins throughout the Slayers.

"Good. Everyone's report will reflect that Councillors-slash-Former High-Slayers Faith Lehane and Buffy Summers, along with Councillor-slash-Former Pack Alpha Daniel Osbourne, and Councillor-slash-Watcher In Training Dawn Summers... evaded us in the forest. We never spotted them, and therefore our mission was a failure. No one is to speak of this incident at all, even to each other. Today... never happened."

"Understood!"

I hear a rustlin' in the bushes and see a small girl runnin' away. From what I could see of her get-up, she was a Slayer. And she was obviously running to inform the Watchers of what happened.

She's too far away to catch. And everyone else can tell that as well.

Lex sighs before takin' a crossbow and aimin' at the runaway.

"No." I say. "I'll do it." I take the crossbow away from her. I have better aim, anyway. Besides, she trained that girl. I can't let her kill her.

But, as it happens, I don't need to.

She's suddenly tackled by somethin' that sends everyone's Slayer instincts flarin'. A vampire.

"Get it!" Lexi shouts, but then we realize the vamp is walkin' towards us, with the Slayer's arms pinned behind her back.

"Easy there, she's not hurt. Except, I might have... accidentally... dislocated her shoulder." The vampiress says. The girl screams as a little more pressure is put on her arms. "Yup. Dislocated."

The vampiress tosses the girl to the ground and puts her hands up. Satsu, Buffy, Dawn, Oz and I gasp. It's Red!

"Take aim!" Lexi shouts, and those with a crossbow aims at the vampiress.

"Wait!" I shout, and step in the way.

"Faith! What are you doing?!" Lex growls.

"I know her. Red? What the hell happened to ya?"

Behind me, Buffy's laughin'.

"Oh! I see what's going on!" She says, and everyone turns to her.

"What are ya talkin' about, B?" I ask.

"Look at her! She's much younger than the Willow you know!" I look back at the vamp, and I can see it's true. "Faith, remember we told you about the vampire Willow from another dimension?"

I facepalm. Of course.

"So what the hell are you doin' here?"

"The less fun, super-witch me summoned me back with that girlfriend of hers. Made me a deal. I agreed to it, so now I have to help you get her..." Vamp Red nods to Buffy, "to wherever you're taking her. The other me wouldn't say where exactly that is, unfortunately. Perhaps you could elighten me?"

"Hmm... If Red thinks it's best for you not to know, then I guess I agree. Sorry. Guess you're just along for the ride."

"Yeah."

"SO why no fang marks?" I ask, pointing to the Slayer on the ground.

"I don't like it, but one of the conditions is I can't eat anyone. I guess I'm a veggitarian now. Only animals for me. Though... I can think of a few people I'd really like to... eat." She raised her eyebrows suggestively at me, then towards B, S and Dawn.

"So, you veggitarian, or vagitarian?" I ask with a smile. Looks like I recruited some more help, after all. Or, Red and T did, anyway.

"Both." Vamp Red returned my grin.

"Let's get out of here." Lexi growls, and she handcuffs the Slayer spy.

"Slayers!" Lex says to her group. "We caught Ms. Trescott spying on us, then attempting to carry the information back to the rogues in order to assist them."

"Understood!"

"Just do what you need to do quickly, Faith. My Slayers and I will be spreading the word around the other squads. You shouldn't be troubled by Slayers again." Lex assures me. "But you do realize what's going to happen if this works, right?"

"Yeah." I nod grimly.

"If you get Buffy's soul back, the Watcher's Council won't rest until everyone who helped you do it, along with you and Buffy, are dead. And stay dead."

"Yeah."

"Your only choices will be to run and hide... or fight."

"Yeah."

"Revolution will come."

"Yeah."

"It'll be us against the Watchers and any Slayers who remain loyal to them."

"Yeah."

"Just making sure you're aware of all this."

"I am."

Lex nods, and she and her Slayers leave without another word. I hope I'm ready for this, 'cause we may have avoided killin' anyone today, but we won't get so lucky once we get B's soul back. War will come. And it'll be my fault. And chances are, I'm probably gonna have to lead the Slayers against their own friends. God, I hope I'm ready.