Chapter Ten

Faith sat alone on the roof, ignoring the rain that came down hard and the chill she felt every time the wind picked up. She could feel the borrowed power draining from her, bit by bit. It didn't bother her to know she'd never be that strong again, but she was still a slayer and she would always have an advantage over the nasties she'd find and fight and kill.

She could hear the others inside, packing up their things to return to Scotland. They were excited to be able to go back home even though Buffy was still missing. Faith hadn't told anyone what she'd seen, what she'd heard, nor did she talk about the fight with the succubus when she finally returned back to the house after running for hours all through the city, trying to forget how it felt when the demon spoke to her about Buffy.

Was any of it true? Did she really love her? Faith didn't even know the answer to that question herself. How could she love someone she hadn't seen in years, someone who had never been her friend, someone she essentially really didn't know that well? It didn't make any sense. She did care about Buffy, she couldn't help it. But love? She wasn't sure whatever she did feel when it came to Buffy was love. Even if it was, what could she do about it? It's not like anything would ever happen between them, not when they lived two very different, yet similar lives.

"Faith," Giles said gently as he stood by the door. "Why don't you come inside, get dry and warm?"

"We ready to go yet?"

"Not quite," he replied, shaking his head. "There are still a few preparations Willow has to make before we can, ah, return to Scotland."

"I ain't really down for the whole teleporting thing, G."

"Nor am I, but it sure beats being on a plane for several tedious hours, no?"

Faith shrugged and walked over to him. "Whatever, I guess."

"Are you all right, Faith?"

Shrugging again, she stepped past him inside and walked down the narrow stairs to the second floor. She headed for her room, her wet clothes clinging to her uncomfortably. She knew Giles was right behind her and she turned to him, sighing heavily.

"There is something we have to do before we leave," Giles said and she groaned. She just wanted this to be over with already.

"What now? There some nest of vamps I gotta take care of? Demons? What, Giles? What do I have to do now?"

"I seem to recall you speaking of leather. Cheap leather," he chuckled softly and she eased, laughing as well. "Perhaps, after you change into dry clothes, we can make a quick shopping trip."

"Wicked."

Clutching her duffel bag in her hands, Faith stood with the others on the back patio. Andrew was bustling with excitement as Willow carefully explained how the teleportation process was going to work. They were going to be teleported back to the castle in pairs, Willow being last and alone. Faith could tell that Xander wasn't exactly thrilled he'd been paired up with Andrew and she didn't miss the looks exchanged between him and Dawn.

"Faith, you'll go with Kennedy."

"Sure, whatever."

"It'll be fine," Kennedy said as she bumped her shoulder into Faith's. "You might feel a bit nauseated, but it passes pretty quickly."

Faith shrugged and rubbed her sweaty palm against her new leather pants. She was nervous. The whole idea of teleporting didn't sit right with her, but she didn't have much of a choice. She kept thinking about how she should've kept running and maybe if she did, she'd be halfway to Scotland by now.

"What about Kate?" Dawn asked. "What are we going to do with her?"

"She's recovering in the clinic here," Giles replied. "She'll be fine. I think we should be a little more concerned about her little sister at the moment."

"She's just a kid."

"No, Dawn, she's not just a kid. She is a very powerful witch who has been corrupted horribly and has abused her powers. The coven in England will find her and rehabilitate her."

"Like they did with Willow?" She asked and Giles nodded. "Did they find her though?"

"There has been no word yet, but they will find her. The coven has some very powerful seers and not even a powerful witch like Jessie can hide from them for very long."

Faith wasn't worried about the kid. Her mind was on something else entirely. Satsu. She could feel the anger bubbling in her veins as she thought about her, how she lied to all of them about Buffy. Satsu was the reason all of this had happened and for what? Because she was in love with Buffy and Buffy didn't feel the same way about her?

Fucking psycho is what she is.

Faith shook her head, trying to push the anger away. She knew she should tell the others about Satsu, but she wanted to face Satsu on her own, without Giles or any of the others holding her back. She would hurt her, badly, for what she's done to Buffy. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold herself back from killing her and for some reason, she knew she was perfectly fine with that.

"Are you all right?" Giles asked quietly as Willow prepared to send Andrew and Xander back to Scotland first. "Faith?"

"Just worried about this teleporting thing."

"There's something else."

"Giles-"

"What is it?" He asked quietly, his voice so full of concern that it pained her to keep lying to him about what she knew about Satsu. "Faith?"

"Look, I-it's complicated, Giles. There's something I gotta deal with when we get to Scotland and if I tell you..."

"I'll stop you, won't I?" He asked and she nodded her head slowly. "Does this have to do with Buffy?"

"Yeah."

"Faith, please, do tell me what is going on," he said as he pulled her aside from the others. "What is this something you have to deal with when we return to Scotland? Do you know where Buffy is?"

"Not exactly, but I'm gonna find out."

"Someone there knows where she is," he stated, a look of realization dawning over his tired face. "A slayer?"

Giles sighed heavily and pulled out the strange device she'd picked up in the cemetery, a device they had no idea what it did or what it was for. She placed it in the side pocket of her bag and flashed him a tight smile.

"Giles, are you ready?" Willow asked as Dawn waited for Giles to join him.

"Yes, I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Faith shifted, watching as Giles picked up his own bag and stood at Dawn's side. He stared at her, giving her a look she knew all too well, the look that told her not to do anything rash and stupid, something she'd later regret or get herself killed over. Her stomach lurched as she watched the two disappear and she gulped as Willow turned to look at her.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Faith?"

"Too late to sneak in a quick smoke to calm my nerves huh? How about a quick drink?"

"Oh, don't be such a baby," Kennedy said with a laugh as she grabbed Faith's arm. "Just close your eyes and tap your heels three times and you'll-"

"Oh shut up, Kennedy," Faith growled, but she closed her eyes as Willow murmured a few words to start the teleportation spell. "Fuck, this is gonna suck."

She felt like she'd been kicked in the gut and she kept her eyes clamped tightly shut. Her body felt weightless for only a moment and then she landed, hard on her feet, barely able to keep her balance as she stumbled a few steps forward and opened her eyes.

Faith felt a hand on her elbow, steadying her and she turned to Kennedy with a grateful little smile. She did feel a little nauseated but it quickly passed and she noticed as she looked across the room at Andrew who was throwing up in a small garbage bin, that he hadn't managed to hold onto his lunch that well. Giles looked pale and sat on a chair near the large fireplace, but otherwise he looked to have handled it fine. As for the others, Faith realized that they were probably used to it, at least a little more used to it than Andrew obviously was.

"Well, that's always a rush," Willow laughed as she appeared in the room in the same spot Faith had just stumbled away from moments before. "Is everyone okay? Nobody missing any parts or have any extras?"

"What?!" Faith sputtered, eyes wide as she stared at her, terrified.

"Oh relax," Kennedy laughed as she swatted her playfully on the back. "She's just teasing. Aren't you, Wil?"

"Maybe," Willow said with a wink. "Okay, fine," she relented and smiled at Faith. "I'm teasing. The look on your face though? Priceless."

Rolling her eyes, Faith took out the strange looking device from the side pocket of her back and with eyes wide, she held it in her palm. It was slightly humming, she could just faintly feel the vibrations and not only that, there was a blinking light.

"Uh guys?" She said as she looked over at the others. "Whatever this thing is, it's um, working now I think."

"Can I see it?" Andrew asked as he lifted his head out of the garbage bin. He groaned and placed it on the floor beside him before getting to his feet. "Here," he said as he held out a shaky hand and Faith handed it to him quickly. "Maybe now that I have all the right materials, I can figure out what this thing really is and why it's suddenly working."

"It's not a bomb, is it?" Xander asked as he stood behind Dawn. "It's totally a bomb, isn't it?"

"No, it's not a bomb, Xander," Andrew replied in annoyance. "But we'll figure out what it is."

"It totally looks like a bomb," Dawn whispered back at Xander and the two took a few steps back.

"If it was a bomb, the alarms would've gone off by now. You know that, guys," Andrew said, rolling his eyes as he turned to the table behind him and placed the device down carefully. "Can someone find Vivian? She's always had a knack for strange things and if anyone can help us figure out what this thing is, it's her."

With the others suddenly interested in the device, Faith grabbed her knife out of her bag and slipped out the room unnoticed. She had a slayer to find and she had a feeling she didn't have much time left to waste.

Buffy groaned as she laid on the bed, her body protesting every little movement. Even breathing hurt now. She was a slayer and she needed food, real food. And coffee. God, she wanted a cup of coffee so badly. But with how Satsu had been feeding her for over a month, it wasn't enough for her, not with a slayer metabolism. Even a normal human being couldn't survive very long on next to nothing, barely even what could pass as a substantial meal a day.

Satsu hadn't come back, not after the last time and it'd been over a day, she knew that much. Every muscle in her body ached from the lack of nourishment her body needed. Yet, as she forced herself to sit up, she felt something different, something she hadn't felt in what she knew had to have been a week, maybe a little longer.

Faith.

She didn't know how she knew or if it was just that hope she'd be saved from this prison she was trapped in, but she could sense her, feel her there in the castle. And she could almost taste anger, Faith's anger, feeling it course through her body as if it was her own emotion.

Stumbling her way over to the table, she lit the last match and held it to the wick of the nearly done candle. The light hurt her eyes, but only for a moment and she sighed heavily as she placed her hands on top of the table to keep herself from shaking.

It'd been a long time since she'd felt so weak, the last time was during her cruciamentum. Only now, this was worse. She was fading, more and more with every hour that passed. Her body was on the verge of shutting down and she knew if she had to wait another day, Faith wouldn't be there to save her, she'd be there to retrieve her body.

She wasn't giving up, she wasn't trying to fall victim to what she was going through. She was never the victim, even now. Gripping the edge of the table, she winced as she felt her muscles straining, practically begging for her to stop trying to use them in their weakened state.

Tears stung her eyes and she hung her head low. She let go of the table and clutched at her clothes, the clothes she'd been wearing for a month, dirty clothes that clung to skin that felt grimy and gross. She longed for food, for coffee, but she wanted nothing more than to soak in a hot bath and shower about a hundred times just to wash herself clean of the last month.

Or had it been even longer than that? She didn't even know anymore. Being locked up, chained and in darkness had her feeling like she wasn't just fading away, but slowly losing her sanity, one piece at a time.

"Come on, Faith," she whispered weakly as she crumbled to the floor and pulled her knees to her chest. "Please, Faith. Save me."

Faith searched the castle, moving quickly. She'd gotten turned around a few times, the long twisting corridors confusing since they all looked exactly the same, aside from the odd piece of artwork that hung on the stone walls. She'd run into a few of the younger slayers, who stopped in their tracks when they saw her marching down the corridor towards them with her knife held tightly in her right hand. Not one of them said a word to her or tried to stop her, instead they just stepped aside and let her pass by.

She hadn't found Satsu and she grew more determined as she further searched the castle. She headed down a flight of stairs, recognizing the corridor as she entered it. She knew the training room was ahead and she could hear the faintest sounds of someone hitting the heavy bag in there, the rhythmic tapping followed by the odd soft grunt gave it away.

Licking over her lips, Faith walked into the training room, smiling as she spotted Satsu hitting the heavy bag in the corner of the room. She had earbuds in and was completely focused on the timing of her hits and kicks to the bag that she didn't even turn to look in Faith's direction as she walked swiftly towards her.

Using the edge of her knife, she flicked out the left earbud from Satsu's ear and took a step back, a sardonic smile fluttering over her lips as Satsu turned to face her, clearly flustered and angry she'd been rudely interrupted.

"What do you want?"

"Thought we could chat," Faith replied lowly. "But something tells me you're not going to willingly provide all the answers to the questions I have for you."

Satsu laughed and took a step back from Faith, pulling out the other earbud and tucked them in her pocket. "And what questions would those be?"

"I think you know exactly what I'm getting at here, bitch."

"Oh, I do," Satsu laughed and she glanced at the knife in Faith's hand. If seeing her wielding a weapon scared her, it sure didn't show. "You are right about one thing. I'm not going to willingly provide the answers. You can't beat them out of me either. So, guess what is left? You kill me and she'll never forgive you and she'll never love you. You're nothing but a murderous psycho who should have been put down a long time ago."

Faith growled as she lunged at Satsu and tackled her down to the floor. In her rage, Faith was careless, allowing Satsu just for that split second to get the upper hand and wretch the knife out of her hands. It skidded across the polished wood floor, just out of reach.

"Nobody will ever love her like I do."

"You're wrong about that," Faith spat at her and she brought up a knee to her stomach and managed to get out from the hold Satsu had her in. "What you feel for her isn't love, you crazy fucking bitch."

"What do you even know about love? Nobody has ever loved you, just like you aren't capable of knowing how to love someone. All you do is fuck them and run, don't you? Never one for commitment. All you want is the rush you get from using someone and-"

"Don't you ever shut up?" Faith cut her off as they stood face to face. "Everything about this, what you've done to Buffy, how you brought those demons to our world and fucked with god knows how many people, it's downright psychotic. You did this because you love her?"

Laughing incredulously, Faith spun around and roundhouse kicked her towards the wall. Not giving her a moment to recover, Faith grabbed her by the front of her t-shirt and pulled her to her feet.

"You can't make someone love you, you know that right?" Faith asked as she glared at Satsu. "All you're doing is making her hate you for what you've done to her."

Satsu laughed as her head lolled back. The look in her eyes was frightening and Faith had seen that look before, that same look years ago. In herself. She shoved Satsu to the floor and walked over to where her knife was. Picking it up, she ran her fingertip over the sharp blade and glanced down at Satsu.

"Where is Buffy?"

"Like I'll ever tell you."

"Where. Is. Buffy?" Faith asked again and she grabbed Satsu by her ponytail and pulled her back up to her feet.

She punched Satsu hard in the face with the handle of the knife and brought her head down to knee her in the nose. Pulling her back up, watching as the blood streamed from her nose and mouth, she pulled her hand back, ready to hit her again.

"Faith, stop! What are you doing? Let her go!" Kennedy yelled as she came running into the training room.

"She's crazy," Satsu shuddered, whimpering as her whole demeanor changed in an instant. "She's going to kill me!"

"Faith!" Kennedy pulled her away from Satsu and grabbed the knife easily out of her hand. "What the hell are you doing?"

"You're making a mistake, Kennedy," Faith said as she glared over Kennedy's shoulder at Satsu who was smiling, looking like she just won the fight when it was far from over yet. "Give me my knife."

"No," Kennedy said, shaking her head. She threw the knife towards the wall, it effortlessly sinking into the wood right to the hilt. "Tell me what the hell you're doing and why are you wailing on Satsu?"

"Cos she's the reason Buffy is missing!" Faith yelled and she tried to lunge for Satsu again, but Kennedy grabbed her and held her back. "Let me go, Kennedy. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to."

Kennedy stumbled back as she let go of her, her eyes wide in shock as she slowly turned to look at Satsu. "You are the reason Buffy is missing? You are the one behind all of this?"

"Surprise."

The two of them scrambled to grab a hold of Satsu, who was trying to make a run for it instead of staying to face the music. Faith was pissed Kennedy had stopped her, but it was probably a good thing that she did before something happened that she would later regret. With Satsu in a firm hold between the two of them, they dragged her out of the training room.

"If you hurt her, Faith is going to be the least of your worries," Kennedy said lowly as Satsu laughed sardonically as they dragged her down the corridor.

"You can't hurt me," Satsu chuckled and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Faith tightened her grip on her arm a little harder. "I'm the only one who knows where she is now."

Faith looked over at Kennedy and she could see the fire in her eyes, the anger, the hurt over Satsu's betrayal. Kennedy pulled her to the left at the end of the corridor and into one of the few elevators in the entire castle.

"Andrew, it's me. Get the others and meet us in the holding room," she said as she pressed a button on the intercom before hitting B2. "Like I said," she said to Satsu, glaring at her with a look of disgust. "Faith is going to be the least of your worries if you've hurt Buffy."

"I haven't hurt her," Satsu said quietly. "I'd never hurt her."

"No, you've just kept her prisoner," Faith spat. "What were you hoping was going to happen? That she'd forget that you used a witch and a couple of demons to lock her up and that she'd suddenly fall in love with you?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Kennedy laughed. "That's what all of this is over? Because you're in love with Buffy and she doesn't feel the same way about you? Are you psychotic or something?"

"Or something," Satsu sing-songed, winking at Faith as she squirmed around, trying to get out of their hold.

The elevator came to a slow stop and the doors slid open. Kennedy led the way into what looked like a holding room in a jail. The others were already there waiting, all of them looking surprised and alarmed to see Faith and Kennedy holding Satsu and the state that she was in after taking a beating from Faith in the training room.

After a bit of a struggle, they managed to get Satsu restrained, using chains magically reinforced that hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Faith took a few steps back and brushed aside a few strands of hair out of her eyes, flinching a little as Giles laid a hand on her shoulder.

"It's Satsu?" Giles asked quietly. "She's the one who did this to Buffy?"

"Yeah," Faith said, nodding her head as she stared hard at Satsu.

"But why?"

"Seems like she's not all there in the sanity department after all."

"You would know!" Satsu laughed, the shrillness of her voice sent chills through Faith's body. "I recall Buffy telling me how you weren't always playing with a full deck."

"Can I hit her again?" Faith asked Giles and he shook his head no. "Oh come on, not even just a little to get her to shut up?"

"Violence is not always the answer, nor is it always a way to get the answers one seeks."

"You traitor!" Willow yelled, suddenly running towards Satsu, her anger visible to all in the room. She wrapped her hands around Satsu's neck and squeezed, hard. "What have you done to her? Where is she?"

"Wil, let her go," Kennedy said as she tried to pull Willow back from her. "Please, Wil, just let her go. Don't do this. This isn't you."

"Don't touch me," Willow snapped and she looked back at Satsu, at her own hands around Satsu's neck and she let go suddenly, stumbling back, her hands trembling as she stared down at them.

Satsu started chuckling and grabbed the chains, pulling at them, testing their strength. As she moved around, Faith heard it before she saw it, the soft clink of something hitting the stone floor. Moving quickly, she grabbed the small device and raised an eyebrow as she recognized it as the same device she'd found in the cemetery in Rome.

"Well, this is interesting," Faith said as she handed the device to Andrew who looked like a boy who was getting absolutely everything he wanted for Christmas all his life in one day. "What the hell is that thing, Satsu?"

Satsu continued chuckling, the empty look of madness clear in her eyes. Her head lolled around a little, not having much space to go with her hands chained above her head.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here, G, and say Sushi here isn't gonna cooperate in a non-violent way with us."

"You may be right."

"So, can I hit her a little?" Faith asked, grinning as she flexed her hands in to tight fists. "Come on, just a little?"

"First you want to hit me to shut me up, now you want to hit me thinking I'll speak, that I'll tell you what you want to know?" Satsu chuckled lowly. "All of you people are absolutely crazy. Don't you know that she's been right under your noses the entire time? Not even Willow could figure it out, which you know, really surprised me. I thought she was one of the most powerful witches in the world?"

"I am," Willow said through gritted teeth. "But whatever magic you're using, it's dark and it's not from this world." Willow paced in front of Satsu and suddenly turned to look at the others. "Which you know, that is probably why I could never detect that there had been a spell cast here. It completely makes sense now, guys!"

Faith unsheathed her small dagger from her boot and pushed Willow aside as she walked up to Satsu and held the tip to her throat. "I'm done fucking around here, Sushi. You're gonna tell us where the hell you're keeping Buffy and how the hell we can get her back."

"Faith-"

"Shut up, Giles. This bitch knows exactly where Buffy is right now and she's playing games with us. I've had enough of this shit!"

"If you're going to threaten someone with a dagger to their throat, may I suggest you hold it against a more vulnerable area? Perhaps the jugular?"

Faith smiled wickedly as she turned back to Satsu and repositioned her dagger, jabbing her skin just hard enough for her to feel the pressure against her vein.

"Not so funny when your life is on the line, is it? Ain't nobody here going to stop me from slicing your throat out."

"You-you wouldn't do that."

"You think I haven't had to do this before? That I haven't had to put a bad slayer down? Granted, those happened in the middle of a rough fight and being caught up in the heat of the moment and all, but it had to be done. They were a threat to the world, to us, to themselves. I'm starting to think you're no better than any of them."

Willow stood at Faith's side and Giles moved to stand on her other side. She kept her hand steady, trying to hide the fact that as much as she would love to kill Satsu for doing this, she didn't want to. She just wanted Satsu to be scared enough that she'd tell them what they needed to hear.

"Why are you doing this?" Willow asked in a calm voice that surprised Faith a little. "Why can't you just tell us where Buffy is and how we can get her back. That's all we want right now, is to have her back here with us where she belongs. She doesn't belong to you, Satsu. She belongs to us."

Satsu sighed in defeat. "That device? It opens a portal," she said softly, her whole tone changing in an instant. "In the west wing, in the old dorms, you need to be directly below where she is. You hit the trigger and it'll take you to her."

"What room?" Willow asked.

"Now, what's the fun in that if I give all the answers away?"

Giles gently pulled Faith away from Satsu and pried the dagger out of her hand easily. "She's given us enough to go by. Take the device that came from her and find Buffy."

"There's one problem with that picture," Faith replied dryly as Andrew hesitantly handed the device to her.

"What is that?"

"I have no idea where the hell the west wing is."

"I'll take her."

Faith looked over at Dawn who was already standing by the waiting elevator and she smiled. Finally they were getting somewhere. Finally they were going to get Buffy back home where she belonged-even if she'd been trapped there since this whole thing had started.

"And Sushi?" Faith asked as she looked back at her. "What are we gonna do with her now?"

"Let us handle it," Kennedy said as she grabbed a few heavier chains off the floor. "We'll lock her up in one of the cells. And don't worry, there's absolutely no way she'll be able to escape. Magically reinforced of course."

"Right, more magic."

"Give her a little taste of her own medicine," Kennedy replied, winking over at Satsu. "A little payback just to start things off. What do you think, Satsu?"

Faith stepped into the elevator, her heart racing fast and hard as she watched Kennedy and the others struggle with getting the chains around Satsu to restrain her. As the doors slid shut completely, Dawn handed her a long curved knife.

"Where'd you get this?"

"We have weapons all over, just in case. You know we can't trust her completely right? You can't just hop in that portal and not expect some big bad monster of some type to be waiting on the other side for you."

"What, you looking out for me now, Dawn?"

"She'd want me to."