Chapter 26: Kaboom

Buffy stood to her full height. "Farming slayers?"

Faith indicated to their surroundings. "What other explanation is there for growing people in a basement and wanting to kidnap you? They're growing slayers, Buffy." She swallowed thickly. "Someone must've figured out a way to harvest slayer DNA or something."

Buffy sucked in a sharp breath. "It's Quentin Travers. I ran into him upstairs," she revealed. "He's the one behind all this."

The brunette was unable to mask her surprise. "What? But Giles told us he'd died along with the rest of the Watcher Counsel."

Buffy shrugged impassively. "Giles lied."

A wild look momentarily overtook Faith's features. She grabbed an empty test tube and threw it against a wall. The thin glass easily shattered, spraying a thin layer of glass in the area. Buffy didn't react or scold the Bostonian for her reaction. Truth be told, she felt like a little destruction as well.

"I don't get it, though," Buffy mused aloud. "How does growing multiple slayers restore the slayer line? Travers told me that was the reason why he revealed us to the US Army and set Simone after me."

"It doesn't," Faith growled. "It's just a blank slate for people who want to play God with their ideal of what a slayer is. Leaving it up to fate to pick us is ironically too unpredictable."

The word "unpredictable" played on the dark slayer's mind. She pulled out the silver Zippo she always carried in the right pocket of her leather jacket. She flipped the top open and a flame flicked to life.

"What are you doing?" Buffy questioned.

"Just a little friendly arson," Faith responded calmly.

Buffy caught the other slayer's forearm. "You're just going to torch the place? That's your solution?"

Faith's dark eyes flashed at the Chosen One. "And what's your plan, Blondie? Let these little test-tube slayers grow up? Let the Watchers Council artificially create slayers? If that happens, we're dead. We're obsolete. It's either us or them."

"Faith. Just…just wait," Buffy implored.

"For what?" the raven-haired woman pressed.

"Please," the elder woman urged helplessly. Her hazel green eyes implored the other woman.

"Fine," Faith grunted. She flicked the lighter closed. "But clock's tickin', B," she reminded the elder slayer. "We gotta bust outta here even if the building's not on fire."

Buffy walked to a metal filing cabinet and opened the center drawer. The shelf slid open easily. Inside were a number of file folders and dividers.

"What are you looking for?" Faith questioned.

"I don't know," Buffy admitted. "But it would be pretty reckless to torch the place without looking around first."

The Bostonian let out a shaky breath of unease. "Just hurry up, okay? This place is giving me the creeps."

"Agreed," Buffy noted, not looking up from her reading. Her eyes narrowed as she read the name on a yellowing folder. "The hell?"

She pulled the folder from its place and slammed the drawer shut.

"What you got there?" Faith asked.

"I'll look at it later," Buffy clipped. "You gonna burn this place down or what?"

A broad smile spread across the brunette's face. "I thought you'd never ask."

Faith quickly assembled a make-shift bomb. She grabbed a beaker, and filled it with a clear chemical that looked potentially flammable. She hoped it worked though because she didn't want to look like a novice in front of both Buffy and Kate. She had a reputation for destruction to uphold, after all.

She flicked her lighter to life again, pulling a thin blue-white flame from the top. She held the flame to the scrap of cloth dangling from the glass flask. And after a moment to assure the fire had caught, she threw the makeshift explosive into a far corner of the room.

The glass shattered and a contained ball of fire erupted in its wake. The growing fire illuminated behind Faith's form, sucking the oxygen out of the room to feed its insatiable hunger.

Not forgetting the reason why they'd come, Faith held out her hand to Kate who had remained silent and seated since her discovery. The frozen shifter gratefully took the offered hand and stood, wincing and holding onto her ribs. "I don't think I can make it," she wheezed in pain.

Without a word, Faith slightly stooped and gingerly picked up the small blonde woman. Kate wrapped her arms around Faith's neck.

Faith turned back to her sister-slayer. "Time to go."

Buffy cocked her head and appraised Faith and the shifter. It was surreal to see the dark slayer holding onto her twin like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold. She had to admit…they looked good together.

The escape out of the burning mansion was much quicker than their tentative exploration inside. Eschewing the ancient service elevator, the three women took a quick flight of stairs back to the ground level and immediately rushed out of the smoldering home.

Faith stopped a few hundred feet in front of the building to carefully set Kate down on the manicured lawn. The three women took a moment to appraise the damage. The flames began to engulf the mansion. Thick, black smoke rose in the air. Bright orange flames flickered from the first floor windows.

The sound of an explosion jolted Buffy as windows at the front of the house began spontaneously shattering from the fire's oppressive heat. "Oh hell," she muttered under her breath. She hazarded a quick glance at both Kate and Faith before sprinting back towards the house.

"Buffy!" Faith called out in alarm. She immediately began to chase after the quickly moving slayer. "Stay there!" she yelled over her shoulder to Kate.

"Not a problem," the shifter winced from her prone position on the front lawn. It hurt just watching the two slayers run in the direction of the burning mansion.

Faith cursed loudly when she was the blonde dart back into the burning building through the open front door. "Mother fuckin' death wish!"

Faith followed inside and was immediately met with dry, scorching heat. She sucked in a deep breath, knowing full-well it might be her last. She held her forearm in front of her face, trying to shield herself from the intense inferno that had reached the ground level. She squinted through the blaze, trying to make out any moving shapes.

"Buffy!" she called again.

Buffy suddenly reappeared in front of her, carrying a body slumped over one shoulder. "Let's get out of here!" the blonde yelled.

Not needing to be told twice, Faith scrambled back out of the burning house.

The two slayers made their way back to Kate beyond the blaze. Buffy flopped the unconscious body on the grass.

Faith's eyes widened in recognition. "You went back for him?"

Buffy stared down at Quentin Travers. He was unconscious, but his chest rose and fell with steady breaths. "I couldn't have another death of my conscience," she explained darkly.

In the distance, the howling of police and fire engines resounded through the English countryside.

Buffy waited patiently while Faith and a shorter brunette doctor conversed beyond the reach of her slayer hearing. She hugged herself, watching the two women interact. Their body language, along with their moving lips, were undecipherable.

After a moment longer, Faith turned on her heels and began to walk away from the doctor, back in Buffy's direction. The brunette had a frown that etched itself upon her brow. Slowly, the younger slayer walked past her blonde companion and out of the care center, glancing back a few times at the room Kate was in before completely walking outside.

"You would think a place like this wouldn't have rules like a damn hospital," she said with little energy to found in her voice.

Buffy chewed on her bottom lip, unsure of her place or her role in any of this. "What is this place anyway?" she questioned. "Is it even safe for Kate to be alone here?"

Faith pushed out a deep, tired breath. She reached for a crumpled pack of cigarettes from her back pocket. "It's just a spot that anyone can go to get better," she explained as she fished a single cigarette from the soft pack. "They don't ask too many questions. But, yeah… it's safe."

Buffy watched Faith light the tip of her cigarette and breathe in a deep, cathartic breath. "How did you find out about this place?"

The cigarette dangled from Faith's generous lips. "Giles."

"Oh."

Faith took another drag and released a thin stream of smoke into the evening sky. "I know you're anti-hospitals, but even a kick-ass slayer like me needs to get patched up sometimes. This place came in pretty handy a few times," she explained. "They don't ask questions, they take cash, and no funny looks when you stumble in with broken ribs and a messed up face."

"What do you think's gonna happen to Travers?"

"With pending charges of kidnapping and attempted murder? Let's hope he goes to jail for the rest of his miserable life." Faith frowned. "You're a helluva better person than me, B. I woulda let that fucker burn."

Buffy's face crumbled. "You know I couldn't have done that," she said admonishingly.

Faith pulled deeply from her cigarette. "I know," she confirmed breathing out. "Hence why you're better than me."

The blonde looked down at her hands. "Not better," she muttered.

The two slayers stood in silence outside the clandestine care center. After a moment, Buffy spoke again. "So why are we out here?" she asked. "Don't you want to be in there with Kate?"

"Rules. Not family or married to her. So, you know the deal." Looking back at the building that stood tall behind her, Faith couldn't help but shut her eyes for a few long seconds and exhaling all there was in her lungs.

"She'll be okay," Buffy chirped reassuringly when she recognized the guilt resting on Faith's features. She awkwardly patted Faith's forearm. "And I'm sure they'll call you the moment she can have visitors."

The younger slayer only nodded in response. She discarded her half-wasted cigarette and stomped it out with her heavy boots.

"Hey, she was talking when we found her," Buffy tried again. "I'm sure she'll heal fast, and who knows, maybe she'll be back to work for your favorite 'wing spot' by the end of the week."

The last comment lured a genuine smile from the dark brunette.

"She'll be fine," Faith said reassuring herself. She nodded absently. "She's a strong girl, and she'll heal up just fine," she repeated Buffy's words.

"Yes." Nodding in agreement, Buffy held unto Faith's gaze, unsure of what to do with her hands in that moment. After a minute of silent reassurance, Buffy broke away from their stare. "So… now what?"

"I dunno," Faith shrugged. "Hungry?"

One of Buffy's carefully manicured eyebrows rose. "Not if you want chicken wings."

"You're not gonna let that drop, are you?" Faith smirked.

"Probably not."

"Well, since there's not much else we can do to help Kate right now, I guess we could head back to the flat," Faith mused aloud. "Or we could go back to Giles' country house, if you want."

"Would it be a giant hassle to go back to the farm?" Buffy winced, not wanting to be a pain. "I kind of like it there more than the apartment."

Faith held her hands at her sides. "Whatever you want, Princess. Truth be told," she admitted wistfully. "I'm kind of looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight, too."

Buffy looked shyly at the brunette. "Alone?"

The smile on Faith's face broadened until it threatened to cleave her face in half. "Hell no, Blondie."

TBC