The Keepers

"You should not have done that."

"I barely did anything."

"You are influencing them, making them soft."

"There is nothing soft about either of them. We've done things your way, and we almost lost them both!" She slid her the hood of her burgundy cloak back, wanting to show how angry she was for all that her charges have been through.

"Those things were meant to happen!" The second keeper is not about to be outdone, her blue cloak shimmering as it pulsed with her own strong emotions.

"You can't believe this is how things were meant to be!"

"They need to learn to stand on their own."

"Yes, but why can't they stand on their own together?"

"You are ridiculous! You spent too much time watching over them!"

"And you don't spend enough!"

The blue keeper scowled. "We will never agree on this, but you know there are consequences to interfering!"

"Giving them a few moments of comfort is not going to hurt anything."

"You don't know that."

Willow

Willow and Giles are bent over her desk when the slayers arrive. She turns to them and freezes as what she sees overwhelm her.

"So what did you guys find out?" Buffy asks.

Giles turned to them and held up the page showing the image of the slayer weapon. "Do either of you recognize this?"

Buffy gasped slightly, "I've dreamt about that."

Faith gets closer and nods. "Yeah, I've seen that in my dreams too. What is it?"

"We don't exactly know. But it might be what we need to close the Hellmouth."

"Where is it? Let's go get the thing already!" Faith's excitement is clear.

"We don't know where it is. All we have is this." He holds up the hand-drawn map.

Buffy reaches out for the paper, her eyes locked on the image. She turns the page, trying to find a different angle that might make the map make sense. She seems unable to and hands the paper to Faith. Quickly Faith's eyes widen.

"I've seen this." Her face scrunches as she tries to remember. "I don't suppose you guys collected the Mayor's books after killing him."

"We did, but I'm not sure where that would be now." Giles offers, looking to Willow who hasn't spoken yet. She's been listening and observing but had not found the strength to speak.

"Can you guys turn that down?" She finally gasped, closing her eyes and waving her hands in the general direction of the slayers. How did it get even more intense than it was before?

"Tara never told you how she controlled it?" Buffy questions, looking guilty about causing her friend pain.

"I didn't realize this is what it was like for her. I never even asked." Willow frowned, once again remembering how awful she had been to Tara.

"She said the more magical someone was, the stronger the auras were. She told me I was made of magic. Faith probably is too. Being around us is probably a lot different than everyone else." Buffy offers.

"I should go, you guys don't need me for this." Faith offers and heads towards the door.

Buffy turned quickly to Faith, "They need you more than they need me right now. You know what that map is." Willow watched as Buffy left, she could still see the intense auras, but it was less. Faith's was spread thinner as it reached for Buffy. She felt guilty for making them separate, but it was a little more comfortable now with only one of them in the room.

"So, where is his stuff?" Faith asked, standing nervously, her hands tucked into her pockets. Her body is leaning in the same direction as her energy. She probably doesn't even know she's doing that. Willow sighed, whatever was going on between the two slayers was not important right now.

"That's one of his books." Willow nodded, finally gathering herself enough to pay attention to what was happening.

"Could that have been his note?" Giles asks.

"It's not his handwriting." Faith supplies.

"What else do you know about this map?"

"He said he was working on something for me. I caught him once looking at some papers on his desk. One of them was a bigger version of that."

"Do you think he was trying to find the Scythe for you?"

"Maybe, never got the chance to find out." Faith looked away. Willow could feel the conflicting emotions. To her the mayor only just died, he must have meant a lot to her. Faith caught Willow staring, and both their eyes dropped in shame and confusion.

"We should go to the library and see if there is anything else you recognize, Faith." Giles suggests and stands up. "Willow? Getting you out of this room would be good. Maybe being around more people will help you cope with your new magics?"

Willow tensed at the prospect of leaving her room. The only other people available were the initiative soldiers. She didn't remember what she had done to them, but she knew it wasn't good. The energy she read from them would likely be very difficult to handle. "Hey, don't worry Red. That wasn't you. They might be mad at you still, but it wasn't you that did those things."

"I wish I could remember what I did to them exactly."

"It could be better that you can't. At least right now. Once we fix the Hellmouth, it might be easier to deal with what you did." Faith held out her hand to Willow, and she slowly accepted it, letting herself be pulled to standing. This is so not the Faith I remember. How could she have changed so much? Or were we just so very wrong about what she was like before? Was this change all just Buffy's influence? The strange new connection they seem to have? She didn't think so, the energies she saw around each slayer were distinctive. She knew when Buffy was sending energy and emotions to Faith, and she wasn't doing that now.

"Who are you?" Willow hadn't meant to ask. She saw a ripple pass through Faith as she must have been warring with how to react to such a blunt question.

"I guess I'm still trying to figure that out. I am only 17, after all." Faith winked, causing Willow to grin despite herself. Only 17, of course. She's so young. Willow shakes her head. She feels like she's only 19 herself, but maybe she's 21 now. She doesn't even know. All this memory loss and time travel is so confusing.

Faith

They exit Willow's room, the guards tense up, but let them pass. Faith glares back at them as they move to follow. "We're just going to the library. You don't need to follow us."

"We have our orders." One of the soldiers growls out, trying to put as much menace into his words as possible. Faith can't suppress a chuckle at his posturing. Even with their weapons, they had no chance against her or Willow.

"Don't worry about it, Faith. It'll be ok." Willow says quietly, not able to make eye contact with Faith or the soldiers.

Faith glowers at them but says nothing else. Buffy opens her door as they get nearer. She smiles when she sees Willow out of her room. "More research?"

"Yeah, hoping there is something else in the Mayor's stuff."

"You can come with us." Willow offers, though she can't seem to look in the direction of the two slayers.

"That's ok, not so big on the research." Buffy backs into her room and shuts the door. It takes Faith a moment to move again.

"What happened with you two? I don't understand how things changed so much."

"I don't understand it either."

"She just forgave you for all the things you did?"

"I don't know."

"Is there anything you do know?" Willow's words are sharp and angry.

Faith only laughed, "I get that you don't like me, and I don't blame you. I can't prove to you that things are different, I'm not even sure if they are."

"That's not very reassuring."

Faith can only shrug. "Before Tara left, she told me that she knew more about me than I knew about myself. I don't know what the hell she was talking about, but maybe if you have her magic, you can see it too now?"

"I haven't figured out what any of what I can see means yet."

"You at least know she trusted me."

"Faith! None of this makes sense. You were evil! You were trying to kill each other, and now you're hugging and smiling at each other like you're in love, something had to have happened." The mention of love shocked Faith. She hadn't allowed herself to identify any of the emotions from Buffy as love. Faith had never experienced anything remotely close to love. It wasn't even a real thing in her mind.

"Shouldn't you talk to B about this? It's not like you, and I are gossip buddies."

"Did you do something to her?"

"Fuck you! How can you think that?"

"How can I not? Some kind of evil magic, tricking her into liking you! For all we know, this time-travel stuff is a lie, and you've just been holding her hostage this whole time."

"I would never do anything like that." Faith wonders, could she have done that? If the mayor had asked her to hold Buffy hostage, would she have done it? She knows she wouldn't do that now, but she might have then. No! Even then, I never would have hurt her like that. I couldn't. I know that I couldn't.

"I don't believe you."

Faith laughs a little, "After all the shit you pulled, you're really going to attack me?"

"I don't remember what I did."

"Maybe not the recent stuff, but Tara mentioned there might have been some stuff before. I bet you remember that."

"What did she say?" Willow stammers out the question.

"Not much, really, only that there was trouble even before she was killed."

Willow scowled.

"Come on. You can't seriously think that I would do something like that to B? I thought you could see our auras."

"I don't know enough about what I'm seeing."

"You never talked to Tara about her magic?" Willow frowns and looks at the floor, tears starting to form. What happened to her? It sounds like she never took the time to understand Tara at all.

"B spent more time with Tara than I did, maybe she told her something that can help you."

"I just don't understand why you seem so different now."

Faith sighed, "A lot has happened. I can't explain it." Am I different? Is it just because B seems to care about me? Or is it just this situation? If the first had offered me a deal, would I have taken it? She rubbed her stomach absently. She couldn't even remember how things had gotten so bad.

Willow scoffed, "You murdered someone, that doesn't just happen."

"Do you think I don't know that? I know what I did was wrong and should never be forgiven."

"But Buffy forgave you."

"I guess when she almost killed me, she realized how it was possible to be driven to some dark places."

"It doesn't seem like the same thing."

"Doesn't to me either."

"So, you don't think you should be forgiven for what you did?" Willow's voice softened a little.

"I really don't." This comment seemed to catch Willow off-guard. She looked away. Faith thought she saw a bit of shame in her expression now.

They finally reach the room that contains all the research material.

Before they can enter, Giles stops them, "Faith? Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure."

"Willow, why don't you get started, we'll be in momentarily."

The two guards station themselves in front of the door as Willow enters, Faith rolls her eyes at them. She and Giles move down the hallway for a little privacy,

"You're freaking me out a little here, G." She finally says when Giles seems to be taking too long to say whatever it is he wants to say.

"When you two disappeared, we looked all over for you."

"For both of us?"

"Well, we believed you might have …"

"Right, you thought I kidnapped her, kept her tied up in a dungeon somewhere?" Faith wants to be angry at the accusation, but she knows it's completely fair that they could have thought she would have been holding Buffy hostage all this time.

"That's not really the point right now."

"So what is the point?" Faith might not blame them for thinking she could have done something like that, but she's still getting irritated. After being harassed by Willow, she didn't need more of it from Giles. She knew what she did, and she didn't need to be continuously reminded.

"We thought you might have headed back to Boston. We tracked your mother down." Faith had told them that her mother was dead, in her mind, she was. It was the only way she knew to become what she wanted to be.

"Oh." Faith can feel herself starting to lose control. "Whatever she told you was probably total bullshit." Her teeth are clenched, and she can barely get out the words.

"It was evident that she was a very difficult woman."

"Right... difficult." Faith sighs and leans against the wall. "Why are you telling me this?"

Giles removes his glasses and cleans them nervously, "When I was younger I rebelled against my family and what they wanted me to be. My actions cost the lives of several humans. My methods might not have been as direct as yours, but the results were the same."

Faith opens her mouth and then closes it. That bitch told him I rebelled? Is that what he thinks? That I was just acting out? Not happy with my perfect little life, so I turned to the dark side? She has no interest in trying to explain what actually happened. Explaining it would require remembering, and she's definitely not going to do that. It's easier to let him think they have something in common. That they're both just rebels, who tread too close to the darkness.

Giles smiles sadly, replaces his glasses and wraps Faith in a warm embrace. "We never should have treated you the way we did."

Faith accepts the comfort of the hug for a moment but then pushes herself away. "It's alright, G. It's what I deserved."

"No, it isn't what you deserved at all." He looks at her sadly. "I was so caught up in Buffy and the council that I never gave you a chance."

"So you think it's your fault that I went all evil?" Faith scoffs, shaking her head. Knowing that it was no one else's fault but her own.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that. Only that I should have seen you for what you are."

"And what is that?"

"A young woman who should have been given support and care. We only called on you when we needed something from you. We never tried to accept or understand you." The look of concern and compassion hits Faith hard. Giles was the closest thing she ever had to a real male role model, as much as she tried to resist, she really did want to believe that he meant what he was saying.

Faith has to fight away the tears that want to form in her eyes. Giles hugs her again, and this time she doesn't resist at all. They embrace for several moments before Faith finally backs away.

"Alright, enough of this mushy crap. We have to find that Scythe and try to set things right."

Giles smiles and follows Faith into the research room.

They find Willow excitedly pouring through one of the books. She starts explaining what she found to Giles, and Faith tunes them out. Searching around for items she might recognize from the Mayor, she finds a box she remembers. She sits down and pulls it into her lap, almost reverently. Opening it slowly, she begins to shuffle through the papers inside. There are a handful of pages all with handwritten notes and diagrams. It was written in a language she didn't know, but she was able to recognize some of the drawings.

Standing up, she hands the pages to Willow and Giles. "I think all this is about the Scythe." They took the papers and began talking excitedly again.

"I can find this." Willow finally says.

"Is it close?"

"Not too far, probably take us a couple of hours to get there."

"Let's get going then!" Faith jumps up and heads for the door.

"Wait, we'll head out in the morning. It will be best to get more rest. We don't know what we'll be facing out there. I need to recover more of my power. We should also coordinate with Riley." Willow says.

Faith frowns, but nods. She can't do this on her own, so she has no choice but to wait for Willow to be ready.

Once Faith returns to her room, she doesn't know what to do with herself. She's pacing, filled with frantic energy. There's too much downtime, too much waiting. She can feel Buffy moving around, emotions swirling around her as she seemed to be wrestling with something. When she sensed Buffy leaving her room, she froze. Frowning when the energy moved away from her room and towards Willow's.

She took the time to reflect on everything Buffy, Willow and Giles have said to her. Trying to decide what it all meant. She knew without a doubt that Buffy cared about her. Giles had also shown in his way that he did too. Willow didn't seem too interested in forgiving her, but with all that Willow had done, she realized that they had more in common than the witch was probably ready to accept.

Why didn't I just kill Willow when I had the chance? I could have so easily. No one could have stopped me. But I never wanted to, even after I knew all she had done, I didn't think she deserved to die. I thought she deserved a chance to fix the mistakes she had made. Faith, for once felt like there was hope for herself.