(6/28/2017) Only a few more favoriters and I hit three digits! Neat. Remember: reviews make a writer's brain keep going.
Thank you IoSolUno, RHatch89, missmeow1968, Sage of Wind Dragons, Sal the Guest, jkmp28, and thedarkpokemasterfor the reviews! And all you favoriters and followers get jelly beans!
"Faith, run!" Sam shouted as he whipped his handgun out from the back of his jeans and fired at Kakistos. The vampire took the impacts in the chest stoically, mockingly, before sneering at the hunter.
Sam slammed the door shut (heedless of the corpse), braced it with his body, and cast his eyes about for something to hold it closed. Unfortunately, the motel Faith was staying in skimped on amenities; the only halfway decent piece of furniture was the bed and an analog television. "Faith!" he repeated.
To his disbelief the previously fearless, self-assured Slayer had her fists clenched in her hair and a look of abject terror on her face. "No," she moaned. "No, no, no, no, no!"
Sam grunted as Kakistos slammed into the wood from the other side. "Faith?"
"He's here, he's here, he's going to do it to menow and I'm dead! I'm dead! Oh God!"
Perplexed, the hunter abandoned his attempt to hold back the increasingly aggravated Kakistos and rushed across the room. He pulled the girl with him towards the window just as the door splintered apart.
Kakistos let out an unearthly roar, his cloven hands clenched into fists. Deciding that a concrete impact would give them more of a chance of survival than facing a pissed-off, centuries-old demonic monster, Sam turned around and hurled the both of them through the glass.
Fresh air kissed their faces for a brief few seconds before the stench of garbage overwhelmed everything else. Thanking whatever slacker had left the pile of refuse in the motel alleyway, Sam yanked Faith to her feet. She was still in shock. Their time was short; gentle coaxing was going to take time they didn't have. He settled for a slap and braced for the retaliatory strike. The fact that the Slayer didn't smack him back worried him.
"What's going on?" Sam demanded, his hands wrapped around her biceps.
"He killed my Watcher," Faith said softly, eyes wide with dread. "I was there. He made me watch while he… while he…" She drew in a shuddering breath. "There isn't a word for what he did to her. What he wants to do to me."
An animalistic snarl echoed out from one end of the alley. Three vampires (thankfully of the standard kind) were silhouetted by the street lamp. Seeing that the other side was empty, Sam urged, "Come on," grabbed the Slayer's wrist, and hurried towards what he hoped would be safety.
Other than being irked and dirty, Buffy was perfectly fine. Her hair still wet from the shower, Dean's sister sat in her desk chair wrapped in a robe and glowered at nothing.
"So?" the hunter asked from his perch on her bed.
"What?" Buffy snapped.
"That's it?"
"Isn't that enough?"
"So the chick's got issues. Not like you don't."
"Yeah, but I don't make hamburgers of vampire faces."
Dean lifted an eyebrow. "Remember the shtriga?"
Buffy flinched. She recalled swinging the bat over and over and over into the head of the hooded creature. Even though she knew what she was doing wouldn't kill it, the release of tension had felt so tremendously satisfying that even the little boy's screaming hadn't stopped her. Only after Sam had pulled her away and Dean had shot the mangled monster had she realized what she'd done. "That was different," Buffy said unconvincingly.
"Uh-huh," Dean replied.
"Okay, fine! But you can't tell me that having a girl with super powers and serious psycho issues doesn't worry you a little bit. The girl's not playing with a full deck. She has almost no deck. She has a three."
"Maybe, but—" Raucous music erupted from Dean's pocket. He brought out his phone and answered it on speaker. "I didn't know someone your age would be up past ten," he said by way of greeting.
"Dean?" came Giles' voice, pointedly ignoring the jab. "Are you with Buffy or Faith? Or-Or do you know where they are?"
"I'm here," said Buffy.
"I called the Watcher's Retreat. Thought it best to let Faith's Watcher know she was here. Buffy, the woman is dead."
The girl and her brother both shot to their feet. "What? How?"
"Kakistos. He… Well, there's no reason to get into details. Suffice to say Faith is the reason why the vampire is here."
Sam's name began flashing on the phone. "Hold up, Jeeves," said Dean, "I'll call you back."
A breathless Sam answered from the other side. "Dean! Kakistos! Came to Faith's room."
Buffy shed her robe, heedless of the squawk from her brother, and hurriedly pulled on clothes. "Where?" she demanded.
"Warehouse district! Shit —" The phone let out several heavy thumps before cutting completely.
Seeing that Dean had his eyes covered with one hand, Buffy yanked on his arm. "Let's go."
"Next time wait 'til I'm out of the room!" complained her brother as he hurried after her.
The Impala roared down the warehouse district road with Dean doing his best to simultaneously search and drive safely while Buffy kept calling and texting their brother. It was difficult to determine which building Sam and Faith were holed up in as some of the warehouses were lit due to being used for their designated purpose and others were desolate shells. Without actually being able to see the insides there was no telling who their occupants were.
"Stop!" Buffy cried.
Dean slammed on the brakes. His sister pointed to one of the nondescript buildings in front of them. "There."
"Slayer sense?"
"Kinda." She lifted her phone so he could see the window that had popped up. "How many abandoned places have wifi?"
After muttering, "Dumbass vamps," at seeing the server name ("BlckVampNum1"), Dean moved the Impala to a nearby parking lot and turned off the engine. He popped the trunk and tossed his sister a bottle of holy water. A few stakes and a crossbow finished his personal arsenal. "We good?"
"All good," Buffy replied as the lid slammed shut.
Sam and Faith, however, were not good.
Kakistos' cronies, a motley crew of varying ages and seedy origins united under a black vampire wearing a tailored suit, drove the two neatly into the ancient creature's abode. The once abandoned warehouse was now littered with bodies, the most recent bearing the hat and uniform of a local pizzeria. Sam jerked the gaping Faith away from the sight and into a small office. He did his best to barricade the door as the creatures strode inside.
The ancient vampire gave a derisive chortle. "I can smell you, Slayer. You and that abomination."
Puzzled at the latter designation, Faith looked at Sam. He shook his head and mouthed, Later.
"Come out now," Kakistos continued, "and I will make his death brief. Do not and he shall join you in endless torment."
"Go screw yourself!" shouted Sam.
Before the vampire could respond, a twang echoed through the chamber. A moment later, one of the indistinguishable flunkies collapsed into ash. "How about option C?" Buffy quipped as Dean loaded another bolt. "We dust all of you and walk away?"
With a roar, Kakistos lunged at the blonde Slayer. She sidestepped neatly and tossed holy water at his face as Dean fired off another shot. The hunter deliberately stepped on the desiccated debris, stake in hand, and jammed it into the heart of a second vampire.
"Dean!" Sam shouted as he and Faith edged into the fray. His brother tossed the two of them spare stakes before wading back into the melee.
Between the four of them, the vampires were swiftly defeated one after the other. The exception was the suited man who jerked his lapels in place and sauntered for the exit. "The smart vampire knows when it's time to cut and run," he said to the few others who'd chosen to follow him.
Shortly all that remained was Kakistos, the two hunters, and the two Slayers. The humans circled the ancient monster, weapons in hand. Worriedly, a female vampire looked at her swarthy counterpart and asked, "Trick?"
"If we don't do something, the Master could get killed," he replied with affected concern. Then, nonchalant, Trick added, "Well, our prayers are with him," and led his cohorts away.
Buffy led the charge, stake first, and was casually batted away. Sam came from behind and wrapped an arm around the thing's neck allowing Dean to plunge a stake into its heart. Kakistos merely laughed before wrenching off the grip of the taller hunter and throwing him into his brother.
The vampire set his sights on Faith. She froze, fear writ large in her expression. Kakistos reached out, grinning maliciously, and lifted the Slayer by her throat. "Do you remember how long it took before your Watcher begged for death? How long will you last, I wonder?"
A bullet ricocheted off of the vampire's skull. Several more followed. Irritated, Kakistos turned to confront the source, Faith still in his grasp, only to have a small blonde figure bring a knife-hand down on his arm. He dropped the Slayer, roaring angrily, and backhanded Buffy into a support beam. The wood cracked, a large, jagged portion falling to the floor.
"Well, that did fuck-all," Dean grumbled as Kakistos turned his attention to Buffy's brothers. The vampire stomped towards them then stopped, gagging, a black mist drifting from his mouth.
The others stared at Sam, his hand outstretched towards the creature, a look of intense concentration on his face. Unlike what Dean had witnessed in the warehouse, however, Kakistos wasn't buckling. Instead, the mist seeped in and out of the thing's orifices as if battling the desire to stay or leave its host.
As the seconds ticked by, blood slithered down one of Sam's nostrils. The expression on his face began to reflect pain as well as determination. Buffy cried his name, desperately hoping to stop her brother before whatever it was he was doing hurt him further. He ignored her and his other nostril began to bleed.
Abruptly, an enormous, spiky rectangle of wood blossomed out of Kakistos' chest. The vampire gave one astonished glance towards his vanquisher before collapsing into a pile of dust.
Faith dropped the broken beam with a clatter into the detritus. Bruised, but relieved, she and Buffy looked at one another. "You hungry?" wondered the blonde Slayer.
"Starved," Faith replied. The two girls companionably headed for the exit.
"You okay?" Dean asked Sam.
"Yeah," he mumbled, one sleeve swiping away at his clotting nosebleed, "I'll be fine."
Dean gave him a skeptical look as his sister called, "C'mon! Slayers hungry. Slayers cranky!"
"Keep your pants on!" Dean yelled. He checked one more time on his brother before stuffing his firearm into the back of his jeans.
As Dean headed for the car (muttering under his breath about impatient midgets), Sam shook his head clear of the last of the dizziness. It wouldn't have been so bad if he'd had… well, no use complaining about it after the fact. Soon as he was free of disapproving eyes he could contact Ruby and solve the dilemma.
The following day was Saturday, which meant that Joyce wasn't bothered by her daughter's overly late proclivities. A nearby diner, open twenty-four hours, provided the four with some early morning sustenance. While Dean had a slice of pie and Sam a cup of chicken noodle soup, the girls each ate through a plate of pancakes, a burger, a pile of fries, and a milkshake. They compared battle notes as Buffy's brothers merely gawked at the ensuing carnage.
Feeling generous, Buffy offered Faith an extended stay at "Resort Summers" (aka her home's spare bedroom) which the other Slayer declined. "Don't think your mom would like my boyfriends, B," she explained. Shortly thereafter, Faith groaned that she was finally stuffed, propositioned Buffy's brothers again, and, upon receiving one reluctant and one vehement declination, left the diner for her motel.
Now left by themselves, the siblings could address another issue. Or, at least, it was a prime opportunity to do so, but none of them wanted to broach the subject first. Finally sick of the tension, Sam said, "Okay. Go ahead. Say it."
"Say what?" asked Dean.
"Say that I'm… I'm inhuman. I'm a demon. I'm some kind of freak."
"Welcome to the club," Buffy mumbled as she took a sip of water.
Dean sighed and wiped a hand down his face. "Look, man. This shit's just… weird, okay? And look what it did to you! Just trying it on sick-tacos—"
"Kakistos," muttered Sam.
"Whatever. You sprung a freaking leak."
"Don't try to say it didn't hurt," Buffy admonished.
"It-It did," admitted her younger brother. "But that's only because I'm out of… out of practice! If the two of you would get off my back and get off of Ruby's back then maybe I could get better at it."
"I don't trust the bitch," Dean stated firmly.
"Neither do I," Buffy agreed. "Sam, she's a demon."
"And Angel's a vampire," countered Sam. "You both think she's going to go full out evil on me when we sleep in a house with a monster in the next bedroom over!"
"That ain't the same!" Dean said angrily. "We know what makes Angel a dick, what we don't know is why Ruby is trying so hard to get youto be one."
"So what you're saying is that as long as Buffy doesn't screw her boyfriend again, we're all good, is that it?"
Immediately, Buffy grabbed her cup and threw its contents into her brother's face. The few other patrons in the diner quieted, abandoning the pretense that they couldn't hear how the siblings' conversation was turning loud and combative, and watched as the Slayer lurched to her feet and stomped into the bathroom.
"What the fuck, Sam?" Dean hissed as soon as the customers had turned their attention back to their meals.
Sam buried his face in his hands. "It just slipped out. It's just…" He sighed as he wiped his face dry. "I'm already getting tired of defending myself to you guys."
Dean shrugged, unwilling to concede to Sam's desire not to be vilified. Instead he excused himself and headed for the register to pay for the mountain of food that had been consumed. In the meantime, Buffy exited the bathroom and went straight for the Impala.
Sam hurried after her. "Buffy, I'm so sorry."
His sister braced her hands on the car and kept her face turned away. "It's just," Sam continued, "I wish the two of you could see that I'm stuck with this! The least I can do is try to make something good out of what Azazel did to me."
"I know," she said quietly. "And… And loving Angel is like playing with fire, you know? But I can't help it. And I'm starting to think that you can't either."
Relief flooded through her brother; at least someone was starting to see his side. The feeling washed away when Buffy turned to him, her face suffused with disappointment, and said, "The thing is… you lied to me for months. You got so wrapped up in your own little world that you didn't see that I was in pain, too. We both lost a brother, Sam, and I thought I'd killed the man I loved." She jerked open the back door. "You're selfish and stupid and sometimes I wish that Dean had never made his deal."
Sam jumped when Buffy sat and slammed the door. He walked slowly over to the front passenger side and sat gingerly down in his seat. They were quiet until Dean joined them a few minutes later. The eldest brother glanced from one emotionally compromised sibling to the other and wondered, "What the hell is going on now?"
"Nothing," Buffy mumbled. Sam repeated the sentiment.
"Yeah, okay." Dean revved the Impala's engine. As he reversed the car, he muttered, "Swear to God you both act like freaking girls."
Buffy had just snuggled into her bed when, with the sound of flapping wings, an angel suddenly appeared. Reflexively she shrieked and threw the nearest object at hand towards his head.
"What is it?" Joyce called as she hurried in from the hallway. She blinked at the intruder holding her daughter's pillow a few inches in front of his own face. "Castiel?"
"I need to speak to your daughter," he said as he lowered his arms. "Alone."
Joyce folded her arms and frowned; matronly protectiveness had temporarily wiped away any lingering trepidation she'd had. "And why should I allow that?"
"Don't!" Buffy cried when the angel raised two fingers towards her mother's head. As Joyce stared warily at the frozen digits, the Slayer said, "It's okay, mom. I'll be fine."
"You sure?"
Buffy peered at Castiel. "You're not planning on zapping me to, like, where my mom and dad are smooching or something, right?"
"No," he stated.
Shaking her head, Joyce sighed, "All right," before heading back downstairs and considering the weirdness that was apparently now going to be part and parcel of her life.
Irritated by both the intrusion and the lack of sleep, Buffy snapped, "Okay, what?"
"You need to keep watch over Faith Lehane."
"Why? And give me my pillow back."
"She is the Slayer potential that Azazel sought to activate," said Castiel as he approached the bed. "We do not know why."
Buffy shifted uncomfortably away as the angel leaned far too close for comfort to put her pillow exactly where it had been before. He smelled interesting, like some sort of light soap but without the normal tinge of personal body odor that most people manifested. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was definitely high on the strange.
After he'd stepped back, Buffy took a moment to think. "What dad said, about banana-eyes and his long term plan… You're saying that was about Faith?"
"Yes." Castiel appeared to wrestle with some inner dilemma before telling her, "Some among us thought it might be best if the next Slayer was Called."
Indignant, Buffy flipped over her comforter and stood. "Excuse me?" she said furiously as she stalked towards the angel. "What is wrong with you guys? I thought you were supposed to be, like, fluttery happy good guys with naked butts and harps, not murder-happy jerks!"
"I overruled their decision."
Sardonically, the Slayer exclaimed, "Well, thanks so much for that!" She poked him in the chest. "i swear, any of you even try to do something to Faith—"
"There is nothing you could do if that is the path we choose," Castiel growled as he loomed over the diminutive blonde. "What can a mere human, even one endowed with the powers of the Slayer, do against the might of Heaven?"
Buffy glowered right back, her arms folded. "Try me."
The two were stuck in a silent battle of wills when Joyce stuck her head back in the room to check on their situation. "Are we okay?"
"Fine, mom," Buffy replied, her green eyes still locked with the angel's blue ones.
Her mother sighed and shook her head. "If you say so," she said resignedly and left the two of them to do whatever it was they'd been doing.
Castiel frowned pensively. "Even your brother feared what I might do to him. Why do you not?"
The teenager huffed a laugh. "Have you seen the crap I've been through?"
"Your brother went to Hell."
"Big whoop. Another chapter in the Winchester-Summers saga."
The angel tilted his head slightly over to one side. "I don't understand your way of thinking."
"Join the club." When Castiel gave a slight shrug and turned away (apparently abandoning his attempt to psychologically profile the enigma that was Buffy), the girl cried, "Wait! Why did you decide to spare Faith?"
After a moment, the angel turned his head. Rather than respond, however, he flew away, leaving one very frustrated and bewildered Slayer to contemplate what to do about this new dilemma.
"That's it?" Dean asked incredulously.
"That's it," Buffy replied firmly.
After a few hours' sleep, the Slayer felt sanity reassert itself. She'd immediately called her brothers to relate Castiel's ambiguous warning and they decided to meet up in front of the Summers' home to discuss the issue.
Sam was still wary around his sister, but the matter allowed them to put their caustic relationship aside. "Maybe we should stay."
"You guys are going?" Buffy wondered, disappointed with this revelation.
"Another hunter asked us for some help," Dean told her. "Old friend of dad's out in Missouri."
His sister sighed. "Then you should go. Long as while you're out there you don't go and make another crossroads deal or start making more demon BFFs or dying or—"
"Okay, okay! We got the point. Jesus."
"What about Faith?" asked Sam.
"I can deal," Buffy said. "'Sides, Giles is her Watcher now, too. He can, you know, do his Watcher thingy and… watch."
"Oh, by the way, here." Sam handed over a folded piece of paper.
When Buffy opened it she beheld a thickly drawn star encircled by flames. "Okay?"
Her younger brother cleared his throat nervously. "You, uh, and as many of your friends should get that tattooed. Joyce, too. It'll prevent any of you from getting possessed." He pulled down his shirt collar to display his own marking.
"Uh, sure."
"Just do it," Dean said as he reached out and gave his sister a hug. He released her and, after a moment's hesitation, Sam hugged her as well. "Keep in contact, all right?" cautioned the middle sibling.
Buffy nodded and stepped back. After another round of farewells, her brothers got into the Impala and roared off. Dean's hand briefly stuck out of the driver's side window to wave, a gesture that his sister mimicked enthusiastically.
Buffy looked down at the piece of paper and swallowed. The pain wasn't something she was afraid of; it was convincing her mother than getting the tattoo in the first place would be necessary. Her arm itched slightly at the point where Ethan Rayne had stuck Eyghon's sigil all those months ago.
Oh well. No time like the present. She jogged back to the front door and called, "Hey, mom…?"
Acknowledgement : Some lines of dialogue are taken directly from the episode, "Faith, Hope, and Trick" (BtVS 3.03).
Author's Note : I figured that vampires, being part demon, would be susceptible to Sam's powers. Also, there really isn't anything to prove or disprove whether ancient vamps were bulletproof, but why not.
