Disclaimer: See 1st chapter.

~Chapter Twenty-Five:…To Worse~

Sunnydale High School stood charred and broken, with many of the upstairs rooms falling in on themselves. The once crisp white paint of the outside was now covered in blackened ash, with several vines winding their way through windows and doorways. A yellow rope of police tape had been strung up around the building to keep out trespassers, as well as a sign with stark red writing warning that things could collapse at any moment. But when it was your job to save the world, you often had to put aside your own safety.

Not to mention Buffy and her gang had already walked the destroyed halls once and nothing bad had happened. What could a second time hurt?

She'd explained their new predicament at Giles' house; giving them all of the information that Angel had given her. Which wasn't exactly a lot. So far they knew the Hellmouth would open but they didn't know when or how. On a scale of one to ten in the helpful department, he was a three. Two and a half considering he'd basically blamed her and her over-actiness…which could be looked at as the right thing to do but she liked to focus on things that didn't deal with her in trouble.

Anyway needless to say her friends hadn't been happy with the latest development. She could feel their judgy eyes on her the entire time she tried to answer their many questions. Willow looked especially upset, but everything could have been avoided if she'd performed the spell herself. But the fact was, it was done and so the only thing left to do was stop the Hellmouth from wreaking bloody havoc on the world.

Hence waiting until it got dark to scope out the school.

Buffy was very aware how of the serious stuff was. Stopping mayhem and death were totally at the top of her list when it came to keeping the beasty portal closed. She had a feeling her friends thought she was still looking through her rose colored Faith glasses. But now that Faith was safe and sound outta jail, she was back in focus mode. And no matter what they tried to say, two Slayers were better than one. The mortality rate alone should go down at least a few points with them patrolling the streets.

Dressed in dark jeans and a pink fitted sweater, the blonde made a face as she slowly pushed open the broken down door of her former place of learning. Faith entered behind her wearing jeans and a gray long sleeved top, her expression obviously displeased with what she was seeing. With them were Willow and Xander; the only way Dawn would stay away was if Tara agreed to stay with her. Anya chose the same because she didn't wanna get the soot smell stuck in her clothes, and Giles still had a shop to run.

"I wish they would just tear this place down. Cover it in cement and turn it into a parking lot…hopefully for the new boutique full of stylish outfits that they just built." Buffy remarked. She took Faith's hand and entwined their fingers together.

"Memory lane…" The brunette replied, ducking to avoid a large hanging light fixture. "Can't believe you blew up the entire fucken place, B. That was pretty bad ass."

She smiled, listening as something creaked in the distance. "Yeah well half of that was with your help. I doubt Mayor Crazy would have followed me in here if it hadn't been for you."

"What didja say to him anyway?"

"Oh um. Nothin'. It—it's not important."

Faith shrugged, then glanced down at the burnt carcass on the moldy floor. "Wicked. What the hell did he turn into?"

"A giant snake thing." The blonde scrunched up her nose. "And he had all these vamps as like soldiers. It was a pretty epic battle, and one hell of a way to graduate."

She nodded, still staring at the remains. "Sounds like it…"

Buffy kissed her cheek gently, picking up on her mood. "Are you okay? I—I mean I know he—that he meant something to you."

The ex-con sighed deeply but her face never shifted from stoic. "Five by five. He was aight when I was…but I'm not anymore so it's cool. 'Sides, I got Angel in my corner now and he's old enough to be like, my great great great great great great grandfather. And he's not evil so that's a plus."

"I'm in your corner too." Pause. "Also, me, not evil."

"So…" Willow said interrupting. "Shouldn't we be heading to the library?"

Buffy glanced at her friends. "Um, Xander why don't you and Faith go on ahead. I…wanna talk to Will for a few."

Xander nodded and started walking, letting the brunette fall in step with him. "Not gonna push me in the giant hole, are ya? That was a joke by the way."

She laughed, flashing her dimples. "No worries man. I'm on the 'no kill' patch. It's like the nicotine patch but with less cravins."

As they disappeared around the corner, the blonde smoothed a hand over her cheek. She pulled at her sweater and faced her best friend. "Look I—I know you're still mad but could you at least cut Faith a little slack? None of this is her fault."

Willow's eyes were round and bright. "I only said we should find the library."

"Yeah but, you've been glaring. There was glaring."

"I—well I can't help it, Buffy. She—she has you acting very un-Buffy like."

"Okay so I made a semi stupid mistake that could cause the end of the world. But I had to…"

"Why? Because you like her now?"

"Yes. I failed her once. I stabbed her and was prepared to feed her to Angel like a snack cake. Wasn't I actin' un-Buffy like then too?"

"Yeah but you loved Angel and didn't want him to die. Do—do you love Faith?"

"Not…yet. Though who knows what might happen? I just—I like her enough to want her safe."

The read head smiled a little bit. "It's just…weird. You liking a girl and that girl being Faith. May—maybe if I'd been in the alter world I'd understand it better. Did I understand it there?"

Buffy chuckled lightly. "Kinda. You helped me get to the bottom of everything." A beat." I know Faith wouldn't be the first or even the gazillion choice for you, but I can't just pretend that I don't have these feelings. I mean I could but I honestly don't want to. Getting to know her and having her here means a lot to me. I hope you can understand that."

"I do. I just don't wanna see you get hurt." She frowned slightly. "An—and are you sure that this is…say…normal? That the magics involved to send you there and get you home didn't alter you somehow?"

Tilting her head to the side, the blonde blinked. "Um…what? Why would you think that? How is this really any different than me wanting to date a vampire? Neither made sense but they turned out okay. And at least Faith won't lose her soul if we have sex."

Willow wet her lips. "Magic can be very powerful, and there are spells for everything as you know. Are—are you sure your feelings are—well—yours?"

"You think a spell has me feeling this way?" She snorted, folding her arms over her chest. "You know if I were sleeping with Spike, then you could question me all you wanted. Hell I'd be questioning myself, and then promptly checking into a psych ward. How can I convince you that all of this is on the up and up?"

The Wicca cleared her throat, as if encouraging herself to speak. "Let me do a spell. Sorta like a—a test to make sure that things are—are even stevens."

Buffy rolled her eyes; she couldn't believe her best friend! But if it put an end to all of the chilly behavior and made them a team again, she'd concede. "Fine. Knock yourself out. But when whatever shows that I am one hundred percent of sound Buffy, I never wanna hear about this again."

"Deal." Willow smiled and it was genuine.

Without another word, both girls continued to their destination. They found Xander and Faith peering down onto the expansive hole at the top level of the library, surrounded by burnt books and toppled shelves. The brunette picked up a rock and tossed it down, seemingly trying to figure out if it had a bottom. She scuffed at the floor with her boots, her brows narrowed in concentration.

The blonde grinned and just watched her for a few seconds, feeling her pulse speed up. It was a nice feeling, once she used to experience when Angel looked at her or when she'd zone out thinking about Riley's arms. But now it was happening because of the whole package, especially the smile. While Faith was beyond gorgeous and built like a brick house (whatever that really meant), her eyes and her smile were just so beautiful. When she'd get truly happy and her lips would curl up at the sides, it was like seeing a striking sunrise.

"Smells like burnt eggs in here." Faith curled her fingers into her belt loops. "How do we figure out when this bitch is gonna rise up?"

"Everything looks quiet." Xander itched at his hair. "Well actually everything looks black and crusty, but I don't hear any rumblings."

"Wish Cordelia could have been more specific with her vision thingie." Buffy huffed. "For all we know it could open tomorrow or when we're ninety."

"Well, we'll roll down here in our wheelchairs and bust some heads." The ex-con mused. "Can't believe this used to be the library, yo. Was Giles wicked pissed to lose all his volumes and texts?"

Willow stepped over a desk that had been launched through a wall. "I think he'd already took the most important ones home. I'm sure he missed his job more though."

The only male grinned. "Aww over there is where we sat and saved the world. And over there is where I was locked in a cage when I was a hyena. Memories."

"Man, I'd forgotten some of the stuff that happened here. Forgotten or repressed…one of those." The older Slayer replied. "I have total nostalgic face right now. I know things were tense but, I—I kinda miss it. High school was fairly easy compared to the real world."

Xander rocked back on his heels. "I wish I could go back in time and tell sixteen year old Xander not to worry, that he will eventually have sex one day."

Faith snickered, dragging a hand through her hair. "Yeah and I'd tell sixteen year old Faith to steer clear of sixteen year old Xander. And to ya know, pay more attention at the docks." She cracked a grin. "Now what?"

Climbing her way up to the ruined level, Willow peeped into the hole, then held her palm over it. She closed her eyes, trying to sense something. "It is warmer than usual. I feel…darkness but that's a no brainer. This thing is chocked full of evil heebie jeebies. But there are vibes." Pause. "I could probably whip something up that would tell us when it'll open."

"Sounds good to me." Her best friend remarked. "Anything that gives us a heads up will be greatly appreciated. Meh let's go. I'm gonna be washin' the smell of charred wallpaper outta my clothes for weeks."

Buffy and Willow turned to go, but were jolted back to attention when Xander screamed and dived into the massive crater, his feet scuffling for an anchor as more and more of his waist slipped forward. They ran to help him and Buffy figured he must have tripped, until she noticed Faith was missing. With Willow on one side and she on the other, they discovered a nearly unconscious Faith dangling into the cavern, her wrist being held securely in Xander's fist.

Reaching and grabbing her arm, the blonde used her impressive strength to drag her back to the edge and over. "What happened?"

"I—I dunno she just—her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell." Her friend stammered. "I—I just lunged and tried to catch her."

"Good job." Buffy pulled the ex-con into her lap, pushing hair out of her face. "Faith? Faith, can you hear me?" She slapped lightly at her cheek, receiving nothing but muffled groans. "Oh god, what's wrong with her?"

The Wicca checked her pulse, capturing her wrist between her fingers. "Her—her pulse is weak." And then she was pushing up the sleeve of her shirt. "Buffy…look."

Underneath Faith's skin were her veins, but they were tinted the color of charcoal, winding up towards her elbow like super thin snakes.

The blonde could detect spikes of fear prickling her flesh. "She's freezing! C'mon, we gotta take her to Giles. He—he'll know what to do."

They laid the cataleptic brunette onto Giles' couch, and Buffy covered her with a blanket. She then sat beside her and pressed a warm cloth to her forehead, calling her name, trying to get her to wake up. Her eyes would open for a few seconds but they'd be unfocused before closing once again. It was obvious that this wasn't a mere flu bug. Something was seriously wrong with Faith and it made her seriously upset. There was no way she had gotten her back into her life just to lose her again. And this time for good.

Dawn leaned over the sofa. "Maybe we should take her to a hospital."

"No. She wouldn't want that." Buffy whispered. "Giles, what's going on? What's causin' her veins to be like this?"

With a sigh he cleaned his glasses. "Well if I didn't know any better, I'd say this was a bloodstone vengeance spell."

"Hey, that's what Amy's mom did to Buffy." Willow spoke up. "Bu—but who'd wanna hurt Faith? And…how'd they get something or hers?"

The Watcher shook his head. "It can't be a vengeance spell because it took too long to materialize. If it had been a true bloodstone, it would have hit her immediately and eradicated her immune system. She'd be dead already."

A sigh. "So what is it? I mean, what's causing all of this?"

His brows furrowed. "What can you tell me, precisely, about the spell that uh—uh Rack gentleman did for you?"

She thought hard. "I—he didn't exactly let me stay and watch. He just said it would be taken care of. Oh! He did touch my chest and…he said I had to give a little to get a little." She bit her bottom lip. "There were red sparks and he said he could feel Faith's essence—that it was keeping me from being whole."

And Giles was off, heading straight for his books as if something rung a bell.

Taking the washcloth off Faith's forehead, Dawn replaced it with a warmer one. "I'm sure she's gonna be fine, Buffy. Slayers are tough. An—and they heal fast."

Her sister didn't reply. It was easier to simply nod and continue fussing over her fellow Slayer. Why didn't she catch that something was wrong sooner? Why didn't she pay more attention? Oh because she was too busy making mooneyes and staring at her breasts!

Great going Buffy. This is all my fault.

The only option? Fixing it of course, anyway possible.

Minutes ticked by like hours before Giles finally returned, and he did not look like he had good news. "I cannot be certain, but I think the spell he used to free Faith is called Effrego quod resarcio. It means roughly to reconstruct."

"What does that have to do with this?" Xander inquired.

"From the look of Faith's veins, I would say that something is attacking her blood. I dare think this…Rack fellow used effrego quod resarcio to in a sense, take Faith apart and put her back together again, but on the outside. He used your bond as a Slayer as the source—anything of less power would have left her in pieces and wouldn't have been strong enough for the mending process." He explained thoroughly. "However something must have went wrong. It restored her, but it almost appears as if something inside of her is now rejecting itself."

Buffy stared at him, afraid that he knew very well what was 'rejecting itself' but that he didn't wanna say. "Giles, please. I—I can take it. Whatever it is."

Exhaling, he perched on the table in front of her. "He used your Slayer connection to break and repair her. It now looks as if her body is rejecting the connection. Trying to exterminate it as if it were a disease."

A roaring filled her ears, and for a moment she felt as if she were in a bad dream. "But—but that doesn't—I mean it…can't. Can it?"

"No, but it will keep trying…"

"Until it kills her?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"So wait," Dawn began. "Her body is trying to get rid of whatever makes her a Slayer? But I mean—wouldn't she just be like a normal person then? Why would it kill her?"

"Because a Slayer is who she is. She was chosen at birth to carry on the Slayer line; it's built into her DNA." Giles related slowly. "It's in every single strand of hair or pore of her skin. The Slayer's power courses through her veins. That power can only be transferred, it can't be eliminated."

Buffy swallowed thickly, feeling like she was willing her heart to slide down her throat and back into place. She took Faith's hand and brought it to her lips, kissing her knuckles. Yes she'd been selfish when it came to getting what she wanted, but she'd also wanted the brunette safe from crazy inmates. But by attempting to get her out of danger, she'd delivered her into even more danger. And possibly into the clammy, skeleton hands of death.

Shaking her head, she forced back her tears. "How do we stop it? Do we know a way?"

Her Watcher stood, folding his arms over his chest. "As of yet, no."

"We'll find a cure." Willow said strongly. "We'll start researching right now."

Making herself keep it together, Buffy smiled and then kissed Faith softly on the lips. She had a few ideas of her own how to research and neither involved a book. "I—I'm gonna go call Angel. Maybe Wesley knows something." Everyone nodded and she spared one last glance at the brunette before hurrying out of the house.

She had no idea how much or how little time Faith had left, so she ran through the streets of Sunnydale as fast as she could. Soon she was sprinting through the cemetery and to a large crypt. She kicked open the door and it swung back to the wall with a loud thud, scaring a tv watching Spike. He jumped to his feet but snorted when he noticed who was breaking into his home.

"Ya get mad at me if I don't knock, yet you just bust into my crypt as if ya own the damn place." He turned off his television. "So to what do I owe this honor? And where's ya sweetie?"

She had no time for small talk. "I need your help. I need to find Rack again."

Spike stuck a cigarette in his mouth and flipped open his lighter. "Why?"

"Cliff notes version? I'm gonna hit him until he tells me how to save Faith." Her voice was even.

"Save her? What's wrong with her?" He questioned.

"She's…dying." She whispered. "The guys are working on it, but I thought going straight to the source might take less time."

The vampire blow out a smoke ring. "Rack is a dangerous guy. You know that right?

She shrugged. "I don't care. If he knows how to help Faith then I'm gonna find him. With or without your help."

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed up his jacket. "You'll never find 'em without me." Pause. "Look let me do the talkin' aight? Gettin' turned into somethin' squishy won't help ya little bit of fluff."

Buffy gave him an expression to show him she was not amused. "Just shut up and start sniffing. We've got a bad guy to find."