Chapter 29
"There you are! How come you guys are in a graveyard?"
Buffy's eyes widened, and she pulled back from Willow and turned to face Faith so fast she almost fell over. Sure enough, it WAS Faith, walking towards them with completely casual disregard for her shock. The little girl seemed unbothered to be out alone at night, walking into a cemetery of all places. She appeared to be merely curious as to what Buffy and Willow were doing there. Buffy saw that she had on jeans and sneakers, but also her newly purchased pajama top, as if she had been dressed for bed but decided rather hastily to sneak outside and go after them instead. Which was probably exactly what had happened- no way would Joyce Summers have let Faith go off alone in the dark without her full knowledge of her having done so.
Coming towards them undaunted by her physical surroundings, Faith looked small and bold and oblivious to Buffy- not to mention very, very much the tempting target to some evil being. Alarm came over Buffy sharply at the very sight of her, and she began to rush over to her, her heart pounding. How long had Faith been alone out here like that?! What about vampires, what about the Council? What about plain old human child molesters or kidnappers? Anything could have happened to her! Why had her mom not been watching her better?
"Faith, what are you doing here?" Buffy called out, more loudly and harshly than she had intended to. She made her way to the girl's side rapidly as Willow followed, also looking at Faith in shock. "You're not supposed to be out here like this! What are you doing out here?!"
"Joyce said you guys were gonna go walkin'," Faith replied, looking between the two of them with a little frown as if she didn't understand why they were speaking so loudly and seemed so upset by her presence. "I wanted to come too… what are you doin' out here, it's boring."
"You can't come too! You can't be out with us, especially not walking over here alone, at night, in the dark!" Buffy exclaimed, and she unconsciously threw out her hands for emphasis. She had told herself to speak softly, more calmly and reasonably to Faith, but those intentions had gone out the window when the child spoke. "You have to go back home, Faith, we're going to have to take you home. You can't be alone out here like this!"
"I'm not alone," Faith pointed out with logic all the more infuriating since Buffy could tell from her tone and expression that she wasn't trying to be a smartass. "I'm with you and Willow."
"Well, you were before now," Buffy said quickly, fighting to control the strong combination of adrenaline, anxiety, and anger towards Faith still heavily present inside her.
It wasn't Faith that she was angry at, so much as the possibility that something could have happened to Faith. God, it still shook her up just to think about Faith, wandering around the Sunnydale streets alone at night, as a seven-year-old…it was a wonder nothing had happened to her. What the hell had she been thinking? Weren't normal kids afraid of the dark?
"Faith," Buffy tried again, and she looked over at Willow for support. Though how Willow was supposed to be any help, she didn't know. The redhead hadn't said a word since Faith showed up, and from the frozen, wary-yet-fearful look in her eyes, Buffy suspected she was wondering frantically just how much of their conversation Faith might have overheard.
Buffy wasn't sure why it mattered to her. After all, Faith had been the one to point out Willow and Tara's true relationship to everyone. Whatever her reason, Buffy knew Willow wouldn't be comfortable attempting to explain to Faith or to correct her. She was going to be on her own with this.
"Faith," Buffy tried again, taking a deep breath as she looked down into the child's eyes. "You can't leave the house like that and go wandering around in the dark. Actually, you can't leave the house and go wandering around even when it's light out… you're only seven years old, Faith, you're too old to do that."
"Too young? I'm not neither too young!" Faith cried out indignantly, her eyes widening in startled protest as she crossed her arms.
Something about her defiant eyes and adult-like posture reminded Buffy of the older Faith, and for a moment she couldn't move, seeing her in the little girl's stead before her. Not noticing this, Faith went on loudly, intent on conveying her disbelief at Buffy's declaration.
"I'm not a baby! I've done this before, Buffy, honest. All the time. I walked around alone all the time outside, night and day both. Mama didn't care… sometimes she even told me to," she added.
Her voice changed slightly with this last sentence, softening, and her eyes dimmed. Regardless, shaking off the memory of whatever it was that had come to her mind, Faith fixed her eyes on Buffy again, revving up her determination once more as she used her "logical" voice on her again.
"See, I'm not too young, 'cause I did it when I was younger and no one cared."
"Well I care, Faith," Buffy replied deliberately, and as she responded to the child's claim, she hoped Faith realized that she was talking about more than simply caring if the girl walked alone outside. Looking her in the eye, she spoke with quiet yet firm sincerity, hoping Faith saw this and believed her.
"I care, and my mom cares… and you didn't tell her you were going out to look for us, did you? You just dressed really fast and snuck out when she thought you were in bed or something, didn't you?"
As well as she might have developed the skill in her teenaged years, the child Faith was definitely not a good liar at age seven. Her eyes shifted sideways guiltily, and she grimaced slightly, her body tensing as if bracing herself for Buffy's reaction against her.
"Uh…well…"
"Uh-huh, that's what I thought," Buffy said dryly, shaking her head, and she rolled her eyes to Willow over Faith's head. Willow smiled back, slightly at ease, and Buffy looked back down at Faith.
"My mom would never let you go out alone like this if she knew about it, and I think you know that or you would have told her. She's probably worried sick if she's realized you're gone," Buffy told her, and she looked at Faith steadily, hoping to impress guilt on her, or some other emotion to make her learn to stay at home at night where she belonged. "And do you know why she would be so worried, Faith? Because it's dangerous. She doesn't want you to get lost or hurt out here, and neither do I. It's dangerous even for me and Willow out here at night, let alone a little girl like you."
"I'm not little!" Faith bristled, lifting her chin in continued defiance. "And if it's so dangerous, then how come you two are out here?"
Buffy looked over at Willow, stumped by that question… what was she supposed to say? Because she was a Slayer and Willow was a witch? That it was dangerous because of vampires and ghouls and demons, not to mention the Council, who wanted to snatch Faith up because she was a de-aged serial killer Slayer?
Nope. Couldn't say that…definitely couldn't say that.
Still looking at Willow, who returned her gaze with a helpless shrug, Buffy's mind scrambled for an answer. "Uh…well, because…"
In an instance of timing that had the distinction of simultaneously being wonderful and horrible, a figure appeared in silent sudden movement from behind Faith. Buffy had just noticed him, just opened her mouth in an involuntary gasp of horror, when the vampire spoke, his voice a self-assured husky growl.
"Wow, I always did like the kiddie meals… something about the innocence makes their blood so sweet…"
"Faith, get back!" Buffy screamed, total panic coloring her tone. Instinctively she rushed towards them, blind fear for the child and rage for the vampire and his desire to harm her, to KILL her, twisting itself in her features. But the little girl was still a good distance away from her, and the vampire was so close…
Buffy's heart pounded in terrified knowledge of what was to happen as she threw herself in the two's direction, wanting only to knock them straight to the ground away from each other, to beat the vampire into a bloody pulp for daring to even think of hurting Faith.
The vampire had already lunged at Faith before Buffy was close enough to block her from harm. But the scene Buffy had seen so vividly in her mind's eye never occurred. There was no teeth sinking into Faith's tiny neck, no spill of blood, no scream of terror and pain as she went limp in the much larger figure's hold. He never even touched her… but this was because of the actions of Faith, rather than Buffy or Willow.
As the vampire had thrown himself towards her, Faith's eyes had widened, and she had yelped in shock, reacting with rapid, if illogical, instincts. When the vampire reached out to grab her, bending his head towards her neck, Faith had pushed both hands out at him, shoving at his chest. She was intending, no doubt, to push him off of her, to attempt to fend off his attack.
What utterly flabbergasted the older girls, however, was the fact that Faith's attempt to keep the vampire at bay WORKED. When she hit him flat-palmed in the chest, she actually affected him…in fact, he went flying, landing hard on his back into a headstone, even breaking it in half.
Willow, who had also began to move towards Faith to help her, simply stopped all movements and gawked, utterly astonished. It was clear that her mind was balking at the reality of what she had seen. Though Buffy too could hardly believe what she had just witnessed, what the child Faith had just managed to do, she nevertheless didn't stop in her racing towards her. But again Faith reacted much faster than she had, much faster than Buffy would have thought possible. In what seemed to Buffy no more than a second or two, Faith was at the fallen vampire's side. As he struggled to get up, crying out confused indignations, Faith kept him from rising by her kicks and punches…kicks and punches that actually emitted cries of pain from him, that brought damage to his skin. Kicks and punches that did not seem to hurt Faith's small fists or feet, her skinny arms and legs…despite how large and hard the vampire's body was.
Now Buffy too stopped short of her, unable to bring herself to move in her total bewilderment. How could this possibly be right…how…
"You can't hurt me!" Faith was screaming, her voice loud and shrill, intense anger tightening her features as she hit him over and over, deaf to his cries…or perhaps feeling vicious satisfaction to hear them. "You can't hurt me…you've never gonna hurt me!"
Not seeming to find fists and feet effective enough, she grabbed a stick near her on the ground and hit him with it several times, not seeming to notice that his eyes bulged and his sentences came in even more frenzied pleas as he took in this new weapon in her hand. Despite the child body before her, as she stood and watched Faith in utter shock, Buffy could only see, only think about the teenager…
One of her jabbings with the stick happened to land right in the vampire's chest…penetrating through his heart. As he scattered into dust, Faiths' eyes grew round in awe, and fury was displaced with total fascination and childish glee in her face and voice.
"Whooooa…" she breathed, her voice much more normal and appropriately childish than before. "That was totally wicked!"
Willow and Buffy had no such reaction. They continued to stare, their mouths open, eyebrows raised high in nearly identical expressions of disbelieving horror. Any passerby would have found their expression rather comical, but neither girl felt even the faintest amusement as their eyes swung rapidly between Faith and the spot the vampire she had dusted just a few moments ago had been lying. She had slain him… somehow, seven-year-old child Faith had slain him… and before that, she had been wailing on him with total success and strength. Strength that she in no way should have possessed at her size and age…
How was that possible? Was it lingering effects from the hypnosis? Was a part of the older Faith remaining with her after all, like her emotions had been when Faith first came out of the hypnosis? Had she somehow carried over her Slayer strength to the child too?
Or…had Faith been like this all along? Was she still the Slayer, even though her body had regressed, and her mind? Once you were a Slayer, did you stay a Slayer no matter what happened to your body or mind?
How had she not seen this? Hadn't she noticed… on the playground, Faith had ran so fast, much faster than the other kids. Buffy had actually had to try to keep up with her. Same with on the swings… the quick reflexes, when Faith had been falling and grabbed the sink to catch herself in the bathroom. Her appetite was much larger than a seven-year-old girl's normally would be… and how difficult Buffy had found it to restrain her in several instances, even though Faith was so much younger and smaller. How had none of this added up until this moment… how could she not have understood….
It had to be true… somehow it had to be true. Somehow Faith had retained her Slayer powers.
"Buffy," Willow said hesitantly as she looked between them slowly, her eyes still huge and shiny with shock, and also quickly growing nervousness. "Buffy, you… you couldn't do that when you were seven…right?"
"Faith…Faith, how did you…" Buffy began weakly, but Faith wasn't listening to either of them. Sitting back on her haunches, she grinned widely, seeming utterly thrilled by her own accomplishment.
"That was so cool! I wanna do it again, I wanna do more! Are there any more?"
She jumped to her feet and began to run around the cemetery grounds, looking for other vampires…and Buffy noticed in a daze how rapidly and stealthily she moved, how easily she avoided running into gravestones. The child wasn't even looking at the ground…she seemed to just know what was there. Like Buffy…
"Faith, stop that! Hang on a minute!" Buffy called after her as the child darted around.
Faith was clearly undaunted by her surroundings, and by what had just happened…what she had just done. If anything she seemed thrilled by it…as revved up as the older Faith would have been. She was excited…but wouldn't a normal kid who had just seen and staked her first vampire, displaying such a blatant show of strength and power, have been shocked by it? Wouldn't she have been terrified? Why was Faith EXCITED?! Why was she bouncing around like she'd just consumed an entire batch of cookies plus several caffeinated beverages? She hadn't, had she… surely her mother wasn't that much of a soft touch with her. She hadn't let Buffy eat like that when she was a kid.
Was it possible that the Child Faith had somehow already know she was a Slayer, that she had already known about vampires and what she could do? Was that why she didn't' seem stunned or afraid? But no, she hadn't known what a Slayer was when the word was mentioned around her…
"Faith, stop it- come here!" Buffy called out futilely as Faith sped around.
Willow remained unmoving, blinking at the two of them as Buffy finally snagged Faith by the arm, holding her firmly and pulling her to a stop. Not seeming to mind Buffy's stopping her very much, Faith let her keep hold of her arm as she grinned up at her, dimples popping as she spoke rapidly and in a higher pitch than usual. The little girl was almost bouncing up and down on her toes from her enthralled mindset.
"Did you see that?! Did you see that ugly man try to get me, did you hear him?! He turned into dust! Did you see me, I hit him and he turned into dust! Like a video game or somethin'!"
"Yes, I saw him, Faith, and I saw you," Buffy said in a tone much less excited and much more tense than Faith's. Still holding her arm, she turned her towards Willow, attempting to walk her toward the cemetery entrance. This wasn't very successful, for Faith wasn't walking with her. It wasn't that the child was trying to be defiant or to resist her so much as that in her hyped up state of mind she didn't notice that Buffy wanted her to come with her.
"Come on, Faith, we need to go home now," Buffy tried again, looking over at Willow for support, but the other girl's helpless, leery expression made it clear that she was on her own. "Come on…"
She attempted to pull her away again, but Faith finally noticed what she was doing and stood her ground, this time deliberately. She was sturdier than she looked…to get her to move, Buffy would have to be rough with her, or else pick her up and carry her. There was no way she was going to do either, so for the moment she was stuck.
"But I don't wanna go home yet! I wanna go get some more of those things! Are there any more?" Faith asked, still wiggling around, her eyes darting from Buffy's to Willow's to their surroundings. "Are there lots? I wanna get lots!"
"Yes, there's more, and there's lots," Buffy muttered, "and that's exactly why you're going home. Faith, come on."
She gave the girl's arm a tug, but Faith wasn't easily swayed by any means. Her eyes still bright, she looked at Buffy pleadingly.
"But that was so cool! I didn't even know I could do that! I was hurtin' him- did you see how I was hurtin' him?"
"Yes, Faith," Buffy repeated through gritted teeth, and now she too was looking around worriedly, hoping fervently that another wasn't going to spring itself out at them. Although Faith had looked quite capable of defending herself…too much so.
"I saw that too… but we're still going. Aren't we, Willow?" she said quickly, looking to her friend pointedly for help. Willow nodded, no doubt seeing the near desperation in Buffy's eyes and knowing she better at least verbally back her up.
"Yeah, yeah, um, we need to go, Faith…"
"I was like a superhero," Faith said, surprise in her tone. She continued to hold herself firmly rooted in place, but it seemed now that this was more because she was distracted by her own thoughts rather than in rebellion. "I was way faster, and I hurt him, even though he was bigger. I did cool stuff… can you and Willow do that too? The stuff I did?"
"Uh…Well…" Willow hedged, put on the spot, and she glanced at Buffy for cues, guilty knowledge stretching across her expression. Buffy didn't know what to do any more than Willow did. Faith was getting closer to the truth than ever now… what if she somehow found out, what would happen? Dammit, her face was probably totally giving her away!
"Faith, we have REALLY got to go now," Buffy repeated insistently, tugging at the child's arm again. But Faith wasn't about to go without one last shot at getting her way. Obviously her stubbornness as a teenager hadn't been anything new to her as a person.
"But I didn't even know I could do that! I wanna do it again! I wanna see what else I can do! Do you think I can make ice, or fire or somethin'?" Faith queried, her eyes glittering in hopeful expectation. "Can I go through walls or read minds? Ooooh! Can I fly?! I wanna see if I can fly!"
"Faith, stop it!" Buffy yelped in real alarm as Faith pulled out of her grasp, starting off. The child's eyes were fixed on a tree at the other end of the cemetery, and gruesome images of her head cracked open were already leaping in all their disturbing glory into Buffy's mind as she snagged her by her shirt. "You can't fly, trust me. Now we are going home, and you're going to bed and staying there this time, because I'm going to watch you. Willow, maybe you should head over to Giles's, call me if you guys need me?"
When Willow nodded, Buffy turned toward Faith, moving to clamp an arm around her shoulders to keep her close to her. "Come on…"
As Willow set off toward Giles's place, calling goodbye and keeping a noticeably quick pace away from them, Buffy continued to steer Faith toward home, unable to settle her shaken thoughts. The little girl sulked at first, muttering and scowling at Buffy as she deliberately shuffled her feet to offset Buffy's pace. However her curiosity got the better of her within minutes, and the questions started up again, hitting Buffy much harder and faster than she could keep up with.
"That man was a real wuss, I totally kicked his ass. What was wrong with his face? He was way ugly. He felt weird. He felt like he was bad. He WAS bad but he felt like it too. How come he turned into dust? How come he wanted blood?"
Buffy's head was spinning, and she had no idea how to answer. She could only respond over and over through gritted teeth, "I don't know, Faith, I don't know." It wasn't a total lie… she didn't know how Faith could have done it. All she could focus on was getting her home.
The irony- or was that the wrong word- didn't fail to register, however, as Faith piped up again. "I'm hungry…can I eat dinner again?"
