Something wicked this way comes chapter 1
In a parallel universe in Los Angeles on the 12th of March 2003.
Faith and Angelus had been fighting for quite a while but it looked like the dark vampire was getting the upper hand.
"Come on Faith. You're not even trying," Angelus said after he threw Faith off the overhang.
"Or is that why you came back huh? Not enough to punish yourself in prison. Is that it? Still looking for someone to beat the bad out of you," tormented Angelus as he repeatedly sent blows to Faith's face.
"You know what the funny part is darling. I could beat you to death and it wouldn't make a difference," he added as he kicked her in the face while she was down, "You are a murderer!" he sent another hard blow to her face, "An animal," he sent another and grabbed her hair, "and you enjoy it just like me!" he ended his punches with a smile like a shark.
Now enraged, Faith stands and goes after Angelus. She punches and kicks him until he's on the ground. Then she goes over to him, straddling him, and beats him in the face again and again.
"No!" Faith jumps back and stops beating Angelus, "You're wrong. I'm different now. I'm not like you,"
Angelus kicked Faith's ankles, pulling her feet out from under her, sending her to the ground where he is. He goes around behind her, grabs her, and vamps out.
"You'll be," he whispered as he sank his teeth into her jugular and Faith whimpered.
Several hours had passed and Angelus was beginning to get bored. At first, he worried that he had taken too much. Slayer blood was delicious and intoxicating to vampires. So not taking all of it had proved more difficult than he expected but he was sure he had taken enough.
The waiting was the hardest part of creating any new vampires. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had turned a Slayer but there had been a few occurrences where it had happened. He thought that there was a story involving his grandsire turning a Slayer. Although he had dismissed that believing it to be a legend. Heinrich Nest had been an old fool and there was nothing like an old fool in his opinion.
Then he saw Faith stirring and a conniving smile appeared on his face. He helped her to her feet.
"So how are you feeling Faithy?" asked Angelus to the newest member of the Aurelian line.
"Hungry," rasped Faith in a husky voice
"Ah, you do learn quickly," praised Angelus as he went to get something from a wall nearby. He returned only moments later dragging a blonde behind him.
The woman tried to speak but it was no use as Faith attacked. She tried to scream but she was sucked dry and Faith turned to her sire after letting the limp body fall to the ground.
"There's my girl," praised Angelus with a demonic grin.
Faith thought for a moment with blood running down her chin. Finally, she managed to morph back into her human face. They exchanged an animalistic kiss before turning their attention to Wesley.
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The mainstream universe in Los Angeles in 2004 at 4 pm.
The petite blonde wasn't used to arriving too late, to feeling superfluous.
The Los Angeles Apocalypse had all gone down without her. Faith's squad, nearer to hand, had caught wind of what was up and had arrived in the nick of time to rescue the world and save Angel, who was at the heart of the catastrophe. Buffy heard about it the next day, via email. An email that was not even written exclusively to her, but one sent to the Council headquarters by one of the slayers and forwarded around.
It felt like quite a letdown, missing out on an apocalypse. But then everything since the end of Sunnydale was an unexpected comedown. Shutting down the Hellmouth and sharing her powers. Being free of the whole weight of the world was supposed to be a marvelous gift. So, her discontent in everything since made her feel secretive and remorseful. It was like when they brought her back from her grave: she was supposed to be appreciative, carefree, happy, and eager to get on with her positive new life. That it wasn't like that this time felt like a personal loss.
She didn't talk about it. The only one of them she'd ever been able to tell that kind of stuff to, her old adversary turned lover, had been dead and gone.
She felt guilty that Spike had made the sacrifice although what else could they have done? She regretted telling him until it was too late what was in her heart not to mention her ridiculous cookie speech to her first love. She and Angel were two different people now. He had taken over Evil Incorporated for what reasons no one could say. Although she never told him what was going on in her life.
She took two more days and then forced the truth out of Andrew that Spike had been back. Maybe he had moved on without her or wanted some peace from their volatile relationship. She was plagued by nightmares of Spike kissing Harmony or confessing his love to any of the faceless women in the city of Angels and laughing at her. In that mood, she flew to Los Angeles from Rome despite being out of the loop.
The light was different in Los Angeles compared with Rome. It looked like the craziness of the demonic invasion had finally passed on. People were out and about talking on the phones and Buffy's taxi pulled up outside the Hyperion with Dawn in the backseat.
"Did Spike lose his memory?" asked Dawn, "Or was held, hostage?" as she got out of the car and followed her older sister to the entrance of the Hyperion.
"No according to Andrew he chose to work with Angel's crew," said Buffy.
"That no good vampire! He lets us think he's fried up in Sunnydale while he is living the good unlife with Angel," growled Dawn seeing the sadness on her older sister's face.
"I will demand an explanation from Spike about why he chose to stay away from me I mean us," promised Buffy and the two girls stepped inside the hotel.
"Oh, hi if you are new clients then you'll have to wait until the boss is recovered," said a blonde from behind a desk.
"You mean Angel, right?" asked Buffy
"Yes, he's currently recovering from being burnt by a dragon," explained the blonde.
"B? I thought that I heard your voice. It's all right Nina I will take B upstairs to see the big guy," interrupted a new voice. Faith had arrived in the lobby. The brunette Slayer radiated confidence and she regarded the sisters with a smirk.
"Faith," grumbled Buffy seeing her former enemy.
"Is Spike here?" asked Dawn looking around for the platinum-haired vampire.
"In the room next to Angel's," said Nina.
Faith took them up the flight of stairs. They passed a laughing couple coming out of one of the rooms.
"So, who are they?" asked Dawn looking at the wiry guy with shaggy brown hair and the athletic blonde with him. It was nice to see people in love the young brunette thought.
"Connor and he's with Tabby who is one of the girls on my squad," explained Faith, "The girls have gone home apart from Tabs who wants to stay here," she added. She nodded to the young couple who were going downstairs and out for a bit.
"Connor is?" asked Buffy curiously.
"You need to ask Angel that question," advised Faith
"Fine! Don't tell me! That's the fate of poor old Buffy. No one tells her a thing!" ranted Buffy, "Nothing about Spike being back in the land of the living,"
"Slayer?" asked an English voice and Spike came out of his room.
The petite blonde snarled wordlessly at her former boyfriend then she slapped him across the face before Faith grabbed her arm preventing her from doing any more damage,
"Let me go! I gonna beat him until he is dust," growled Buffy
"You're predictable Slayer! I see we are having kick the Spike round," snapped Spike with a sneer.
"You utter bastard Spike! How could you abandon my sister?" snarled Dawn.
"Well Platelet first I was a ghost haunting Captain Forehead's office then when I went to Rome with Peaches, we heard that your sister was with the Immortal but according to Andrew Buffy was happy with him, so how long did your older sister grieve for me?" explained Spike with a hard glint in his eye.
"Uh huh, you and Angel believed that? Since when do I need a spokesman huh Spike?" questioned Buffy sarcastically.
"You sent that Nancy Boy to pick up the deranged Slayer who cut off my hands. He told Angel that no one trusts him and his team," pointed out Spike, "Plus Peaches and I saw you dancing with that pillock in Rome,"
"That's so beside the point! Andrew has no right to speak for me! I swear that I'll kill him," snarled Buffy livid at her employee and it was probably her boss and father figure Giles who put him up to it. He never did like Angel, Wesley, or Spike.
"Dana cut off your hands Spike? But how do you have hands now?" questioned Dawn feeling bad.
"The good doctors at Wolfram and Hart reattached them for me nibs I mean Dawn," replied Spike who was about to use his pet name for her. The group including Faith went to Angel's room and knocked
"Big guy? It's us may we come in," said Faith, and the door was opened by a blue-haired woman.
"More little girls half breed. I thought that they had all gone apart from your son's mate," announced the blue-haired woman.
"Did she just say son?" asked Dawn shocked.
"Buffy hi, I thought I heard your dulcet tones screaming at William," rasped a familiar voice from the bed
"You're all crispy," mumbled Buffy shocked at his condition.
"Well, that happens when you take on a dragon," said Angel, "If Faith and Connor hadn't donated blood then I would've been worse off,"
"Oh, God! Why didn't you or Spike call me?" asked Buffy
"Tried Giles but he wasn't buying it," replied Angel, "He probably thought he was talking to Angelus,"
"He didn't tell me that," said Buffy feeling rage boil up. How had they slipped into this insanity? She wondered.
"Buffy most of my team including Wes is dead," said Angel mournfully.
"No one has found Charles though," said the blue woman.
At the remains of Wolfram and Hart later that night.
"Angel has survived along with William," commented a cloaked demon, "Thanks to the Slayers,"
"Yes, my lord but his betrayal of your great uncle Sebassis and the Circle of the Black Thorn won't go unanswered," replied a red-skinned demon
"Are we getting on with the ritual or what?" interrupted a dark-skinned man with an impatient look. Angel and Spike were going to pay for his condition! he promised silently.
"Now Mr. Gunn just because we've teamed up with you and your crew of vampires to get revenge on Angel. It does not give you the right to question me! Now begin the ritual Heure!" snapped the cloaked demon.
Gunn growled and revealed his vampire face before the demon backhanded him sending him flying and eating the pavement.
Heure began chanting and he was calling on the demon of time and space Tempus before a portal opened from the sky, and three people dropped in. One was a female brunette dressed in tight leather clothes, the next was an exact double of Angel but had a psychotic look about him. and the last one was a man in cargo pants and a buttoned-down shirt.
"We have them my lord Danandril," said Heure with satisfaction.
"Welcome Angelus, Faith, and Wesley," said Danandril, "We have much to discuss,"
"Not Angelus again," mumbled Gunn to himself now getting to his feet, "Once was bad enough,"