Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
Chapter 23- Five by Five
"They warned us this and the next 2 would be hard for some reason", Dawn said. "Any idea why?"
"I don't, which is why we're going to watch and find out", Buffy said as the recording started.
A guy called Marquez walked up to some guys huddled around a fire burning in a trashcan under a bridge, saying his boys wouldn't like the mess they'd made. One of them had a gun. The figure holding the gun got up, and it was actually a Demon holding a dismembered hand that had a gun, dropping it into the fire as Marquez stared at their faces, then turned and ran as the 3 Demons changed.
"Demons, so I guess Angel is coming", Willow said as all watched.
Marquez pulled out a gun and fired but they didn't slow. Angel's convertible, driven by Wesley squealed around a corner behind them. As they passed the three demons, Angel leaned out and beheaded one of the demons with a sword. Wesley passed Marquez and turned to cut him off, bringing the car to a halt. Angel jumped out and asked Marquez his name and when he nodded, Angel said he hated saving the wrong guy.
"Why exactly though? The wrong guy could also need saving", Dawn said.
"The wrong guy can be a bad guy", Tara pointed out and she nodded.
Angel beheaded a Demon behind him, splattering the car and Wesley with gore and asked if Marquez wanted a ride. Then a bus pulled up and the door opened as passengers walked out. One of them who was a girl had black platform shoes and a duffel. Then a guy was shown lighting a cigarette while the girl stepped into the cone of the streetlight, and it was Faith Lehane, not looking too good.
Everyone's jaws dropped, as they hadn't expected to see Faith in any of these recordings. But then Buffy and Willow thought about it and realized it was stupid to not expect Faith to show up.
"Faith", Dawn said.
"Yeah, we can see that", Willow said.
"Isn't this when she was still psycho?" Xander asked.
"Yup", Buffy nodded.
"So anyone crossing her path is probably gonna die or be crippled, right?" Tara asked.
"Sounds about right", Giles said. "Unfortunately."
Faith passed the cigar guy as he walked beside her, saying he knew she was new in town and this was a dangerous place especially for a young lady. He could help if she didn't have money or a place to stay. Faith turned to him and said she was cold so he started taking off his jacket, saying warm was his middle name when she hit his stomach and then face, and then kept hitting and kicked him into unconsciousness before leaning down and taking his wallet and keys from the jacket. Then she put on his jacket and said she'd money and a place to stay, and would like it here.
"The guy probably didn't have good intentions but yikes!" Willow said.
"I forgot how violent and psychotic she used to be", Dawn said.
"Because she took you out for fun one night?" Buffy asked.
"Well that, and she is teaching me how to fight too, and now she's so nice", Dawn said. "This almost feels like a bad dream."
"But it wasn't, not for any of us", Xander said, remembering the time she had tried to pretty much rape and murder him, and shuddered. He had forgiven her now, and they were friends, but he wasn't ever going to forget what she had done to them all.
"Now I think I'm getting why they warned us about this", Tara said as the recording continued.
In Romania, 1898, Darla lead a blindfolded Angelus into a house as he asked if he could take it off but she refused so he grabbed her waist and asked if he could take off something else, but she said she'd give him his present first, and then they kissed while commenting he couldn't have enough of those. She then led him to another room and took off his blindfold to reveal a bound and gagged girl lying on the ground. Darla wished Angelus a happy birthday as he noted she was a gypsy and was happy Darla had brought him one. The two kissed as Darla said she'd watch.
"So….birthday gift. I didn't know he had a birthday", Xander tried to joke to lighten the mood but didn't work.
"This is the gypsy girl", Buffy said. "Torturing and killing her is what led to the gypsies cursing him with a soul."
"And a happiness clause to ensure he doesn't find happiness either", Willow added.
"They sure do know how to get revenge", Dawn muttered.
"I know Vamps don't have the same standards as humans, but this….." Tara trailed off.
"I understand what you mean", Giles agreed.
Angelus leaned down over the girl, pushing her skirt up as she squirmed, and then he vamped out and bit her thigh while Darla watched.
Everyone was too shocked to respond, since they knew exactly what Angelus was going to do to the poor girl. They had seen a lot of terrible things Angelus had done first hand, murdering Jenny being the worst thing he'd done to them. But this, this thing they were witnessing was Angelus at his absolute worst and most sadistic.
Angel slammed Marquez into a chair, telling him to do the right thing as Cordelia watched from her outer office, saying this was a waste of a good vision. She walked to where Wesley was laying curled up under his jacket, trying to sleep, and after some talking, he said Angel could convince the guy, but Cordelia said one couldn't change a guy like that, before saying one couldn't change anyone. What they saw was what they found. Scratching the surface would just give more surface. Wesley got up and put on his glasses, saying the same could be true for Angel but Cordelia said he'd been cursed by gypsies and wondered if he'd drag gypsies to shove a soul down this guy's throat, making Wesley point out the guy already had one so deep down he'd have the urge to do the right thing.
"Both make good points but none of them are totally right", Willow said. "People can change, not everyone can, and it is very hard to, but some do change."
"And a soul doesn't mean you're going to be good, or always do the right thing", Tara agreed. "If that was the case, every human would be perfect."
"Warren had a soul, he was still the worst", Dawn reminded.
"Guess you can say there are different rules for different people", Buffy sighed.
Marquez tried to run off but Angel pulled him back and slammed the door shut. Cordelia sarcastically said he was like Dalai Lama as Angel told him to face his demons, but Marquez didn't want to so Angel said then he'd face his.
"Now I'm wondering if that was literal or not", Xander said.
"Probably literal", Buffy said.
In a club, people were dancing and Faith was dancing there too. She bounced from guy to guy and danced up to a girl before taking the arms of the guy the girl was dancing with and wrapped them around her waist. The girl stopped and stared as Faith rubbed herself against the guy. The girl said 'excuse me' and Faith said she was so the girl said the guy was her boyfriend. Faith looked inside the guy's shirt and said the girl didn't have her name on him, making the girl tell her boyfriend Billy to do something, and Faith mocked her by asking Billy to do something to, and then elbowed the girl in the face.
"That's the Faith you told me about, right?" Tara asked and all nodded. "When she was in Buffy, she behaved a lot like this."
"Well, she still loves clubs, but she doesn't take the term 'clubbing' literally", Buffy said.
"How do you know that?" Xander asked.
"We went to one on our date", Buffy said and he nodded.
"Oh!" He said.
"But now she has started a fight, and her violence is unchecked so far", Giles said grimly, and no one disagreed.
Billy now tried to hit Faith but she deflected and he stumbled into another guy behind. Eventually, a fight ensued as people beat each other up and Faith continued dancing to 'Living Dead Girl' while throwing the occasional punch and kick.
"Poor Billy", Dawn muttered, since he was beaten up real bad.
"Man, I'd almost forgotten how violent she was back then, maybe because of myself", Willow muttered in realization, since now due to her own experiences, she understood Faith a lot better.
The rest didn't comment yet.
In a courtroom in day, Lee sat while Lindsey subtly mocked the arguments of the DA and said they hadn't been able to procure a witness, the DA saying Wolfram and Hart tampered with them. Lindsey called him out for the allegation and said he'd file a grievance for this remark while saying they had no case or witness. "I request a dismissal of all charges", the door in the back opened and Marquez walked in, followed by Angel, "against my client, whose reputation has been irreparably damaged by these proceedings. He is a law abiding and upstanding", Lindsey turned and saw Angel and Marquez, "- citizen." Angel quipped. "Your client really is - except for that pesky drug-dealing and murder stuff." The DA said. "Your honor, the state calls Mr. Marquez." Angel and Lindsey stared at each other while Marquez got sworn in. Then Angel walked off.
"Long time no see", Xander muttered about Lindsey and Lee. "I was hoping we never saw either of them again to be honest."
"So Marquez did do the right thing after all", Buffy noted. "He listened to his soul."
"Now if only everyone could", Dawn sighed sadly.
"If that happened, the First Evil would never exist", Willow told them all.
Lindsey later talked to the headset of a wireless phone, apologizing as he hadn't seen the intervention, and the door opened as Lindsey waved to Lee to come in. Lindsey assured he'd take care of Angel before taking off the phone and tossing it to his desk, telling Lee he hated failure when there was no one to pin it on.
"So you hate taking responsibility. We already knew that, tell us something we don't know", Buffy said to him in disgust.
"I know corporations aren't purely ethical and are very much blood sucking, but when the corporation is run by interdimensional Demons and has only hired unethical people, it's a 1000 times worse", Tara commented, and no one disagreed with her.
Lee held out some papers, saying he'd found the solution to their problem and Lindsey looked at them. Lilah was then walking through the lobby and saw Lee, greeting him before giving the guy next to her something to do as he left. Lilah and Lee exchanged basic pleasantries before Lilah said she'd heard Lee had come up with a plan to deal with the friendly neighborhood Vampire.
"So evil corporate lawyers have time to read Spider-Man comics, interesting", Xander commented.
"All the evil lawyers of the place make a return", Willow noted. "And together."
"A team-up no good guy needs", Dawn commented.
Lee wondered how she heard so fast and Lilah said it was part of her job and asked how he knew of a rogue Slayer in town and he said it was part of his job too. Lilah noted Lee didn't know where she was and he assured he would when she opened a folder and said she already knew and would make contact. Lee wanted to make contact but Lilah refused due to his bad people skills, and so Lee called her a bitch, only proving her point but she said she'd let him ride in the Limo if he behaved.
"So they all hate each other too. So surprised….not!" Xander said.
"They are going to recruit Faith to take out Angel", Giles pointed out.
"Some of that I remember", Buffy said, now realizing exactly why the future people had warned them.
Cordelia was on the phone saying they didn't do divorce cases before hearing about the money promised so she agreed when Angel and Wesley arrived and was told the Marquez had testified, making her say to Wesley she'd told him so but he reminded she'd said he never would. Cordelia then said they had a new client who could pay and was meeting him for lunch tomorrow, and noted Angel was happy since his scowl was slightly less scowly. Wesley said the man was lucky to run into him and Angel said he just needed a push in the right direction, making Wesley think how Wolfram and Hart would push back.
"They're gonna push back with the one thing that Vampires have nightmares about", Buffy said grimly. "And we know she's gonna take it."
"You think she was that far gone at that point?" Tara asked.
"I know it", Buffy said firmly. "I saw it myself."
Lilah and Faith walked out of a bar at night and after some talking, Lilah called her by her name, surprising her as Lilah said they knew all about her and could help her get some order in her life. Faith was already on the defensive since Lilah had said 'we', and they knew all about her while she didn't know a thing about them, so Lilah listed some things she liked, including riding in limousines, and then Faith turned as Lee opened the back door of a limousine from the inside, asking if they could talk. Faith told Lilah she liked black and went into the limousine, Lilah following. The limousine drove off.
"So, she's gonna take it because she likes black?" Dawn wondered randomly.
"No, but because they're gonna promise to give her a better life than what she has, which is not much", Willow told her. "And Faith's way of coping with bad stuff, it's not healthy."
"You seem to understand her very well", Xander commented.
"When bad stuff happens to me, I don't cope healthily either", Willow said grimly as Tara grasped her tighter, knowing just what she was talking about.
In the past, Darla entered the house she and Angelus were apparently living in, and called out to him, before noticing Angel huddled against a wall, commenting hoarsely some didn't scream and were just frozen as Darla thought it was a game and Angel whispered the children screamed. Darla agreed they were like little pigs and wondered if he'd brought her some and thought she wouldn't share, assuring she wasn't insensitive.
"His soul", Buffy said in realization. "It has been returned now."
"And he can't take it, what he did is killing him inside", Tara said. "When he had a soul as just a human, he didn't care much about anything, but now that he has it again after everything he's done, he can't take it anymore."
"And the irony of saying you're not insensitive while talking about eating kids", Dawn muttered.
Angel turned from the wall, looking ragged, saying they'd drunk and killed for over 140 years, killing them all, and when she tried to take his face into her hands, he pushed her away, making her wonder if he'd met someone else. Angel took a hold of her shoulders and leaned against her but she pushed him away and on her inquiry he revealed the gypsy girl's people had found out and done something to him. Darla wondered if it was a spell as Angel said one would think he wouldn't remember how every single one he'd murdered. Darla walked to him as he begged for help while she lay a hand on the side of his face, realizing he had a soul now and scratched his cheek, calling him disgusting.
"Interesting definition of the word you have", Xander commented.
"He thought she'd support him, but she didn't", Buffy sighed. "No one was there to support him when he first got his soul back."
"And that drove him to isolation", Willow said sadly.
Darla picked up a wooden chair to ward him off as Angel reminded she'd brought the gypsy girl but she smashed the chair and swung at Angel with a piece. He dodged and said he was like her but she held her stake ready and said he wasn't like anything, warning him to get away from her. So he stumbled out of the house as she threatened to kill him. He turned back to see Darla was still on the door with stake raised so he turned and walked off as she lowered the stake.
"Worst partner ever", Dawn commented about Darla. "And just saying, you brought the gypsy girl too, so blame yourself."
"She doesn't have ethics or morality, so she won't", Tara told Dawn.
"Poor Angel though, now he has his soul back, and no one to help him through this tough time", Willow said.
"From what I think, the first time he tried to connect with people after getting his soul back was with me", Buffy sighed. "He'd have been alone before that. Such a long time."
"Are we sure though, that he didn't try to make contact with others before us?" Giles pointed out, and Buffy realized they weren't sure.
At Wolfram and Hart, Lindsey read out some of Faith's info he had gotten, while saying nothing mentioned she was a Slayer, and Lilah said that's why they found her appealing. Lindsey said they could fix each other's problems. Faith said many men had promised her that, but Lilah assured they'd deliver. Faith asked who she was supposed to kill, and Lindsey said his name was Angel. He started explaining more about Angel but Faith agreed to it instantly, only caring about the payment. Lee started telling her the firm wouldn't be connected to whatever she did as his ass was on the line and he didn't want her making him look bad, so she grabbed him by the neck and slammed his face on the table, mockingly asking how he looked now. She continued pounding his head as Lindsey and Lilah were impressed by her initiative and the former said to some Jesse on the intercom to make it dinner for 3 instead of 4.
"Man, even a slight mistake, and she starts pounding", Xander said, now disturbed. "Though Lee deserved it."
"I am sure Lilah and Lindsey do too", Dawn said with folded arms.
"Well, if it was either of them getting pounded, I don't see the other two giving a damn there either", Buffy agreed. "And Faith just agreed to kill Angel without a second's hesitation."
"She is too desperate at this point, and not thinking with her head", Willow said, not defending Faith, rather explaining her actions.
Next day, Cordelia brought Angel and Wesley for her case, finally revealing it was a divorce case and justified it by saying that the husband had called his wife a real 'witch', but the two weren't amused. Cordelia continued suggesting when Faith was seen behind Angel, aiming her crossbow.
"Turn around!" Dawn said, alarmed.
Angel turned and caught the projectile just as Faith fired it, he, Wesley and Cordelia in shock as Faith said. "That was so cool! This is gonna be fun!" She ran out through a door as Wesley said. "Oh my God. Faith!" Angel pointed out. "I thought she was in a coma." Cordelia quipped. "Pretty lively coma."
"So, you never told them about Faith waking up?" Tara asked Giles. "Why?"
"I mean, Wesley was Faith's Watcher, whether he was good at it or not, you should have told them", Willow agreed.
"I just didn't think it would go that far when she woke up", Giles said truthfully.
"You should still have told 'em", Dawn said.
Later, Angel hung up his phone in the office, telling Wesley according to Giles, Faith had left Sunnydale a week ago and was borderline psychotic, making Cordelia quip on her outfit as Wesley was not pleased over Giles not informing him immediately due to him being Faith's former Watcher, but Angel pointed out he was worried about Buffy and didn't think she'd come after him.
"Now she has though", Buffy sighed.
"I didn't think about it", Giles said again.
"Or maybe you care so much about Buffy that you forget that others need you too", Xander said to Giles who turned to him sharply.
"You have something you want to say to me?" Giles asked.
Xander first looked at Willow, then back at Giles. "I know you left back then because you thought Buffy was too reliant on you, and you weren't wrong. But what about Willow? You had experience with magic addiction, and you knew she was having a problem, but you still left without trying to help her. Why did you do that?"
Giles tried to say something to defend his stance, but then realized he couldn't. Sure he had helped Willow with the Coven, but that was after the damage had already been done. He was Buffy's Watcher sure, but the others were also part of Buffy's unit and helped her out, so he was supposed to be as responsible for them as he was for Buffy.
Yet he was never there for any of them. Willow's downfall was proof he hadn't been there for her the way he was there for Buffy.
Maybe he wasn't fit to be these children's favorite adult after all.
"You are right", Giles said, taking Xander back. "I thought I was doing what was best, but it wasn't the best. I was wrong. I am sorry, Willow."
"Uhhh, apology accepted?" Willow said lamely, not sure how to respond to that.
Angel told Cordelia and Wesley to help track Faith down by checking anything about beatings and killings, and then make themselves scarce so she didn't have free targets. Wesley said he wouldn't run and hide when a psychotic was targeting Angel, but Cordelia agreed with the plan to stay scarce. Wesley said they must band together as they'd strength in numbers while Cordelia piped up 2 was a number. Angel said he had a fight coming up and didn't need them in the way, and when Wesley said they were a team, he said he was the boss so they'd lay low on his command.
"As things stand, they would get in the way", Tara said. "But then again, they can help in other ways."
"Guess he's taking it personally", Willow said.
"What did you tell him Giles?" Buffy asked Giles.
"Only that what happened here was rough", Giles said truthfully.
Wesley said Angel was taking it personally and Angel quipped she'd tried to shoot his personal back. Wesley asked if she'd done something to Buffy and Angel simply said Giles had called it rough.
"I became Faith, Faith became me, that's not rough, its freaky", Buffy said. "And if things had been different, I would have ended up in Watcher's Council prison."
"Not a pleasant place", Giles muttered.
Wesley said if Angel let emotion control him, one of the two would die, and Angel said that's what Faith wanted. Wesley said she wasn't a Demon but a sick, sick girl so there was a chance to reason with her. Angel said he had a shot at saving Faith one year ago but some British guy had kidnapped her and made sure she'd never trust anyone again. Cordelia started how it wasn't Wesley's fault that some British guy had kidnapped Faith before remembering it was Wesley actually. Angel and Wesley just agreed to work.
"Yes, Wesley messed up big time there", Xander said.
"Angel was reaching out, then Wes came in and took Faith in", Buffy groaned. "Yeah, what a mess that was."
"And she went even more psychotic than before", Dawn sighed.
"Hopefully Wesley learnt from his mistake and realized doing something risky on his own without telling the others is stupid", Tara said hopefully.
Angel looked through his weapons cabinet, then heard a noise upstairs and walked there to see someone open the blinds in the outer office, filling it with sunlight. "Hey baby! Come give us a hug!" Faith greeted as Angel quipped it was good to see old friends and when she pulled out a revolver, he wondered if it had wooden bullets.
"What's she gonna do now?" Dawn wondered, everyone tense. "Shoot him with those?"
"Well, she's tried poison once", Buffy joked to lighten her own mood but it didn't work.
Faith said this wasn't for him since she'd kill him slowly and inventively, then tossed it to him to give him a chance to end her. He shot her right leg and she laughed since it was a blank. She said they needed to up the stakes to get him in the game, which Angel wondered about as she said she was getting paid due to them hating him as much as her, and then Angel asked if it'd occurred to her that it was more for him.
"For Angelus, it would be much more fun", Willow agreed.
"What is her play here?" Xander wondered.
"She came here to see if Angel's head was in the game or not", Giles said.
Faith said Angel could kill her and experience a moment of true happiness, and she'd get off on that. They could take a hell ride together, but Angel didn't react and she angrily called him pathetic, saying she'd do him if he didn't do her, and shot his chest as he staggered back in pain. This one wasn't a blank. She jumped out the window, shattering the glass.
"Well, she did come prepared", Tara said. "But she is definitely getting worse."
"Yeah, her mental condition wasn't any good in this recording to begin with, and it's getting worse with every scene", Dawn agreed. "Really it looks like she is almost beyond help."
"Almost", Buffy reminded, now remembering back when the two had exchanged bodies, Faith had pounded on her and called her a 'bitch', but it was actually herself she was hitting and cursing. Her self-loathing should have been an indication to Buffy that she wasn't completely beyond help yet.
But she was too clouded in her hatred of Faith to notice. Though Faith had given Buffy very good reasons to hate her too.
At Wolfram and Hart at night, Lindsey and another lawyer talked of a situation and parted ways as the lawyer came upon Angel in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase.
"Oh my God! Angel in a real business suit?" Dawn said, not believing it, and the others didn't either.
"It suits him", Willow commented.
"Honestly, he looks more like a FBI Agent than lawyer to me", Xander told everyone. [1]
"Maybe he's one in secret", Buffy quipped.
"But will the lawyer catch him?" Tara wondered.
The lawyer told Angel they were in the Gruber meeting together, and Angel managed to hold a conversation before the lawyer's phone went off and he talked. After he was done, he and Angel made conversation again, Angel not raising the guy's suspicions as he told Angel to e-mail him on any updates, and they parted ways.
"He managed to hold himself rather well in the situation", Giles said.
"Like I said, best actor ever", Buffy said. "Even better than lawyers apparently."
That made them all chuckle.
"At least he didn't get caught so far", Willow said.
Angel then entered Lindsey's office, looking through some papers before Lindsey walked in, smiling and shaking his head on seeing Angel, mockingly asking if he didn't have any respect for the law, and Angel complimented his office and view before asking about Faith, calling her his new employee. Lindsey said it was a big firm with a lot of people so he'd give Angel the Personnel's number for help, but Angel described her as 'pretty, dark hair, kills things', which made Lindsey say they had strict hiring practices.
"Hire anyone with no morals at all. Even a little morality and you're rejected", Dawn said.
"It's funny because it's true", Tara said to Dawn.
Angel mocked Lindsey a little who said he'd add slander to breaking and entering, and reminded Angel of throwing a client of his out the window and killing him. Angel remembered and pointed at the window, saying it was about that size and it was too bad the body had burnt up before hitting the ground, as he might have needed a good lawyer. Lindsey said they handled a certain class of clientele and Angel said he'd killed enough people to qualify before asking about Faith again but Lindsey said they had a highly sophisticated security system which could detect Vampires, and had detected him too. Angel grabbed a security guard coming at him with his gun drawn and slammed him down on the table, knocking him out.
"Uh-oh. He's detected", Willow said.
"And more would be on their way", Xander sighed. "This looks like a bust, sadly."
Lindsey said more were coming and the police were called too while the encounter was visually recorded in high-def, and it would make an entertaining evening watching Angel fight for his life and he could make a fortune off of the video, but he had dinner to go to, so Angel picked up his briefcase and walked as Lindsey said he'd thought he'd figured Angel out only for him to show up in a suit.
"Yeah, that got everyone off-guard, including those who actually do know him", Buffy said. "So you've got no chance, Lindsey."
"He had all the countermeasures ready. Bad guy, but a smart one", Tara noted.
"Those are usually the most dangerous kind", Giles said.
Wesley read from a report as he and Cordelia walked into her apartment at night, the former noting the bar fight where a women with Faith's description was there but not arrested. Cordelia asked if she'd charmed her way out but Wesley said she'd broken the policeman's jaw with his handcuffs before disappearing and Cordelia said that was Faith's definition of charm before unlocking and opening her door but it slammed back shut, and she tried again to the same result.
"Well, Faith was psychotic at that point, completely lost", Willow said. "And why is Phantom Dennis doing this?"
"Last time he was all weird, Cordelia's date got her nine months pregnant in one night', Buffy reminded as they all realized what could be wrong. "Faith is already there."
"And Dennis is trying to protect them. Go Dennis!" Dawn said.
"But his ghostly habits won't really do much", Tara pointed as Dawn sighed.
Cordelia managed to let Dennis let them in and told Wesley that Dennis was jealous before saying to the air that hell would freeze over before she'd sex with Wesley. Cordelia was then about to start packing while Wesley started calling Angel, only for Faith to come out from a dark corner. "I've got a little problem. - I don't feel Angel's in the game. But, somehow, I feel you guys are the key", Wesley hung up the phone. "Now what can I do to really make him hate me?"
"Well, crap", Dawn muttered as all tensed.
"What can she do to make Angel hate her? Hurt me, but since I'm not there, hurt his 2 closest friends", Buffy said. "And I know who she's going to hurt."
"You do?" Dawn asked.
"I went there, remember?" Buffy reminded. "Wesley looked very bad."
"So she's gonna hurt Wesley", Willow realized.
"Why him specifically though?" Xander wondered.
"Maybe she still had resentment over him interrupting when Angel almost got through to her", Buffy said. "And so she was taking out her anger at herself for not taking chances when she could at him."
Wesley tried to reason with Faith, saying there had been failures on both sides but he believed in his heart she wasn't a bad person. Faith elbowed Cordelia in the face, dropping her and asked Wesley what he believed in his heart now. Wesley hit her with a right cross.
"Go Wes", Xander muttered, none of them having expected to see his darker side coming out against Faith.
"It seems I underestimated him", Giles said. "But he still can't do a thing to a Slayer."
Faith came back up, holding her lip, and then kicked Wesley across the room.
"And then that happened", Tara sighed as all felt worried for Wesley, since at that point Faith had done a lot of horrible things, and Wesley would now be subject to them too.
In the past, Angel walked alone in a street at Borsa at night while a women and 3 men came out of an inn. Angel told them he was hungry as one of the men tossed him a coin to have a pint on us, thinking him a beggar. Angel then picked the coin and tossed it back to the man, saying he didn't want his money, and Vamping out, said he wanted the woman. The woman called him a monster as the men dragged him to an alley, and he called himself a monster too. There were sounds of fighting and a man came flying through the air past the woman. She tried to help him as Angel came out of the alley, grabbed her, and dragged her into the alley, pushing her against a wall and sinking his teeth into her neck.
"But he has a soul!" Dawn said, everyone horrified now.
"Vampire habits die hard", Giles told them, and all could hear the judgmental tone in his voice.
"He may have his conscience again, but when he has lived like that for so long, another way of life seems impossible", Tara told Dawn.
"So he'll kill the woman?" Dawn wondered.
"No", Buffy shook her head, confidence in her voice. "I don't think he will."
In the present, Angel entered Cordelia's apartment and hearing her moan, ran to where she was coming to. Cordelia frantically told him what had happened as he told her to take it easy and she apologize before taking a deep breath, asking about Wesley, but Angel said he wasn't here.
"She took him to torture him", Willow realized. "That's why he was so hurt, right?"
"Yes, that's what it looked like", Buffy said, and all were even more worried for him.
Wesley was sitting gagged and bound to a chair in the middle of a fairly nice apartment, looking beaten up as Faith paced around him before jumping on his lap and licking 2 fingers rubbed the swelling under his eye, saying these cuts and bruises brought out the mother in her while slapping his cheek, telling him not to faint or die. They'd done one of the five basic torture groups- blunt, and that left sharp, hot, cold and loud. She asked if he had a preference and he nodded as she took off his gag, and he said he was her Watcher so he knew the real her and even if she killed him, he wanted her to remember one thing. Faith asked if it was love but he said. "You- are a piece of sh….." He was cut off when she gagged him again and walking to a picture frame, shattered it, picking up a glass shard as she said now they'd try sharp.
Everyone gulped while Giles just watched emotionlessly, disturbed at how badly Faith was torturing Wesley, though they were also impressed by Wesley's resilience. None of them had thought Wesley could be defiant to Faith of all people when they had met him. And now he had proven them all wrong.
Angel and Cordelia sat in her apartment, looking at a map of LA as she mentioned the guy whose wallet and car Faith had taken, showing the place on the map and saying it was Monday, then mentioned a major drag down on Tuesday, and another guy being sent home with paramedics by 'the bitch from Hell' on Wednesday, and then Angel asked where the first guy lived.
"Bitch from Hell", Buffy muttered. The title was surprisingly accurate for Faith at that point. She had forgiven Faith now, the two had even dated for a bit, but Buffy wasn't going to forget everything Faith had done back then. And seeing the kind of person she was now, it only showed how far she had come from back then.
"So she's in the first guy's apartment", Willow realized. "And that's where Angel is gonna go."
Faith sat on the window, looking at the bloodstained glass piece in her hand and dropped it, shattering it while Wesley was tied to the chair still. Faith walked to him, rubbing her hands and said that was refreshing but cold so now it was time to warm the place up. Wesley had several bloodstains on his shirt. Faith got a lighter from the kitchen. "Did you ever wonder if things would have been different - if we'd never met? What if you'd had Buffy - and Giles would have been my Watcher? You think you'd still be here right now? Or would Giles be sitting in that chair? - Or is it just like fate. You know, there is no choice. You were gonna be here no matter what", she picked up a spray can. "You think about that stuff? - Fate - and destiny." She walked over to Wesley. "I don't." She depressed the top of the spray can and held the lighter flame into the spray igniting it where Wesley could get a good look at the resulting flame shooting forth. "Not that any of this is your own fault." She flamed again. "Since this may be - the last chance we will have to unload on each other, I feel that it is kind of my duty to tell you that if you'd been a better Watcher, I might have been a more positive role model!" She flamed again. "Face it, Wesley, you really were a jerk. Always walking around as if you had some great big stake rammed up your - English Channel!" She frowned and took the gag out. "I think I want to hear you scream." Wesley said. "You never will."
Everyone was too disturbed to comment. They could see the pain Wesley was in, and Faith too. The former's was physical, the latter's emotional.
Wesley had been a pretty terrible Watcher, no one could deny that, and if he had been a better Watcher to Faith, things could have been different, so there was some truth to Faith's words here, but Wesley didn't deserve this either.
Giles, now that Xander had pointed out how he was never there for the others the way he was for Buffy realized Faith was another victim of his negligence too, since he didn't really try to help her the way he did with Buffy, even though he was assigned to be her temporary Watcher. And now, he felt shame creep into him.
Ultimately, Faith was responsible for her choices, but others had played indirect (or direct, in Wesley's case when he had tried to take her to the Council) part in it too, and Giles knew he was one of the indirect players in this now.
Faith flamed again as the door burst from its hinges and Angel slowly walked in. Faith dropped the can and lighter, pulled a knife and held it against Wesley's throat. "About time, soul-boy. Ready to play now?" Angel said. "I'm ready."
All sighed in relief at Angel's arrival.
"Wesley is saved", Dawn said.
"Okay, not that I'm glad to see him, but how did he enter? The place isn't Faith's, and the guy never gave Angel an invitation, plus he's alive, if in the hospital", Willow suddenly said.
"According to Vampire rules, if a person stays in a house for over 24 hours, they are considered a resident too, and Faith was in here for 3 days", Giles told them all. [2]
"And she did say it was an open invitation to him earlier, so it counts as an invitation", Buffy said.
"Man, these invitation rules keep getting more and more complicated", Xander groaned.
In the past in Borsa, Angel stumbled out of the alley, saying he couldn't. The woman stepped up to the corner of the alley breathing hard and leaning against the wall. As she watched him go she fingered the bite mark on her neck. Angel stumbled against a wall gasping, looking desperate, then moved on.
"Told you", Buffy said.
"Oh thank God!" Dawn sighed in relief.
"I think I like him more now", Xander said.
"Well, that's a start", Willow smiled.
Faith asked. "Okay, you showed. But how do I know you are really in this? I mean if I kill him, would that help, or just be really funny?" Angel countered. "You don't think I know what you're after? I do." Faith said. "You I have to kill. Wesley is just for the hell of it." Angel was slowly walking so Faith had to turn to keep facing him, which put her beside Wesley instead of behind him. Angel said. "This isn't about Wesley. This is about you and me." Faith snarled. "No, baby, he's payback." Angel asked. "For what? I thought you were happy with the way you are. By the way you never told me how much I'm worth dusted, just out of curiosity." Faith said. "15 000 plus expenses." Angel commented. "You're kidding." Faith told him. "Hey, I'm young, willing to work my way up." Angel asked. "You feel young, - do you, Faith? - You're looking pretty worn out to me."
Angel's comment made them realize just how much old and worn out Faith actually did look in spite of her age, due to her psychotic breakdown, what the world had done to her, how she had responded.
And Willow was the first one to realize that she had been exactly the same for a while. She had been worn out too, and now she knew Faith had been as well.
Wesley threw himself back, toppling his chair and Angel instantly kicked Faith away from him. Wesley saw that Faith's knife was sticking point down in the wooden floor beside him. Faith picked up a piece of wood and attacks Angel. He deflected some blows before getting kicked, then deflected some more and hit her face, throwing her onto the sofa while taking her impromptu stake and broke it over his knee. Faith asked. "Is that all you got, vampire? Get in the game." She kicked the glass topped sofa table at his face and broken glass flew everywhere. She jumped him, wrapping her legs around his waist and slamming him against the wall with a roar. She kept hitting him, and they both fell to the floor with Faith sitting on top. "Come on, Angel! I thought you were bad!" Angel blocked another blow and flipped her away.
Buffy knew Slayers were stronger than Vampires, but Angel was one of the best ones. He would put up a much better fight. But he wasn't. Why?
Willow was slowly realizing what Angel was up to, and so was Tara, while the rest just watched, thinking of how the fight would play out.
Faith tried to hit Angel with a floor lamp, but he avoided the hit, so she instead swept the feet out from under him as he got up then catapulted him over the sofa and across the room. She jumped over the sofa after him, pushing him and then smashed a vase over his back then slammed him into the ceiling. Wesley had shimmied around and was trying to cut his bonds using the knife stuck in the floor. Faith swung at Angel but he keeps ducking them, so instead she kicked him in the gut. Angel came back and hit her, she hit back then tossed him back over the sofa. "You can't take me! No one can take me!" Faith jumped to kick him again as he got up, but Angel intercepted her kick with a piece of furniture as she fell down. Faith sent him flying across the room again, then smashed up a glass-shelving unit when Angel ducked her next kick. Angel punched, then slammed Faith down on the floor then slid her headfirst across the room into a wall. Faith came up with another piece of wood in her hand. "Come on!" She charged as Angel grabbed then tackled her and they both burst through the window, falling two stories to land on a trash-container lid. They rolled off of it and Faith again threw Angel around.
"She's trashing him!" Dawn said in worry, while the others didn't comment.
"You're gonna die!" Faith kicked Angel into a wall as they fought. Wesley was almost done cutting his ropes. Faith beat up Angel more. "You hear me? You don't know what evil is!" She tossed him away and he hit an alleyway fence, falling down, and rain slowly started pouring. Faith kept beating up Angel, who was barely fighting back. "I'm bad! Fight back!" Wesley had freed his hands and was untying the ropes from around his legs. Angel was beaten more before he ducked a blow before grabbing her arm. "Nice try, Faith." He tossed her away from him, walking after her. "I know what you want." She punched him and he punched back, dropping her. "And I'm not gonna do it!" She came back up fighting, but Angel deflected her blows while Wesley watched from above. He then grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen and headed for the door.
"What does she want?" Dawn wondered. "What is it?"
"She wants Angel to kill her", Willow finally said bluntly. "So that it all ends for her, and she can be free of her pain, and stop causing it."
"Oh my!" Buffy said, now finally realizing it, and cursing herself for not seeing the signs.
"No one helped Angel when he got his soul back. But he doesn't want Faith to be given up on like he was. He wants to help her, and save her", Tara said. "And he will keep on trying."
Angel pushed Faith back again. "I'm not gonna make it easy for you." Faith fought a little again but now it wasn't even half-hearted as she threw herself against him screaming, smacking his chest. "I'm evil! I'm bad! I'm evil! Do you hear me? I'm bad! Angel, I'm bad!" She started sobbing and grabbed a hold of Angel's shirt. "I'm bad! Do you hear me? I'm bad! I'm bad! I'm bad! Please. Angel, please, just do it." Wesley came running out of the house. Faith sobbed. "Angel please, just do it. Just do it. Just kill me. Just kill me."
Buffy had a hand over her mouth now, tears in her own eyes, as she remembered her treatment of Faith right after this, and seeing this, it made her feel ashamed of herself for all of that.
Willow and Xander looked at each other, teary eyed themselves, reminded of a similar situation involving the two of them. Willow had been exactly the same. She had attacked Xander with weak magic at first, threatening to kill him, but he hadn't budged and told her he loved her, reminding her of the yellow crayon from kindergarten, and eventually, she had just thrown weak punches against his chest angrily, but he had still persisted, and brought her back, hugging her as she cried.
What Angel was doing for Faith was no different from that, and Willow was happy that Faith had Angel just like she had Xander.
Tara and Dawn were close to crying themselves, the tears already coming, while Giles clutched his fists, angry at himself again for not paying much attention to Faith before. And now he could see just how lonely and broken a Slayer could get, especially when she had been dealt literally the worst hands in her life, and responded in the only way she knew.
Angel wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her against him. She over balanced them and they sank to their knees, Angel still holding her as she cried. "Shh. It's all right. It's okay. I'm here. I'm right here. Shh." The knife dropped from Wesley's hand as he stood in the pouring rain, staring at them, while Faith cried into Angel's shoulder and thunder rumbled overhead. The screen went black.
'What did I do?' Buffy now thought to herself about how she had gone to have her vengeance against Faith. Her reasons were very good, but now she realized that in this situation, she had become the Wesley. Not the mature, badass one, but the arrogant, pompous one who thought he knew best and tried to handle a situation in his own way, which only ended horribly. She still had her hand over her mouth, and tears in her eyes. Had she been too competitive and jealous because she thought everyone liked Faith more than her? Was that too indirectly responsible for this? It probably was.
Willow could very much relate now. Both she and Faith had gone over to the dark, and had done horrible things, for which there should be no forgiveness. But people who cared about them and understood them had pulled them back too, and given them a chance to make it all right. Willow was confident neither she nor Faith had wasted the chance.
The parallels to his and Willow's situation weren't lost on Xander either. And in this situation, he saw Faith in Willow's place and Angel in his own. And remembering how he had helped Willow, and seeing how Angel was helping Faith, Xander appreciated him more, and also wished he had been able to help Faith like this back then.
Tara only knew the good Faith, but she had heard stories of the psychotic one from the rest, and only met that Faith once when she was in Buffy's body, and one meeting never really put all cards on the table. Now seeing it for herself was different though. Other than Willow, they had all made it sound like she was a force of evil. Probably because they didn't know better themselves. All she was seeing a desperate, broken girl who wanted to end herself because of how much she hated herself.
Dawn hated Faith at first due to how she had tied her and mom up to have revenge on Buffy, and then exchanged bodies with her too, but they had later become friends when Faith had returned from jail. Not close friends, but friends. So Dawn considered the two Faiths different people in her young mind. But now it hit her that Faith wasn't a Vamp. She hadn't been given a soul suddenly like Angel or Spike that made her a better human being. Both Faiths were the same person. The one who had tied her and mom up was a psychotic, broken person who felt like she had lost everything, and the Faith who was her friend was a person who had come out of the darkness, stronger, and more mature. Now Dawn could see it for herself too.
Giles had a better relationship with Faith now, but he was ashamed of himself too, for not helping Faith earlier when he had the chance, back when she was fresh and new in town. He loved all the Scoobies, yet it was clear now that it was only Buffy for whom he had ever moved Heaven and Earth, for the rest, he had just let them deal with their problems on their own. 'No more', he said to himself.
Like that, all six just sat in silence, now finally seeing the real Faith for themselves.
Ooff! I think this was the longest reaction chapter so far, but this episode is just that amazing as well as important. It's also my 7th favorite Buffyverse episode overall. I cried while writing the ending scene.
[1] Just a reference to David Boreanaz's role as Seeley Booth in 'Bones'.
[2] Even in their 3rd best episode, the writers made an error, which is Angel managing to enter the apartment of the guy without being invited. Now you can say he died in the hospital during the time Angel made way to his apartment, but while Faith beat him bad (enough to break bones), I don't think she beat him that bad. So I just think this is how Vampire invitations work, they are weird anyway.
Next episode was amazing too, but not as good as this one. And next will be hard to handle as well, since people are fierce about the sides they take in that one to this day, and I have my own take on that too, and I hope I can explain it rationally.
Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!