Faith's POV
"No!"
I watch in horror as B stands bleeding before Connor. The Scythe is stuck in the ground, and I guess what she intends to do. I move in slow motion, trying to get to her before she can do it. There's no time. She lunges for him, impaling him and then herself on the Scythe.
"Willow!" I scream. Reaching her, I carefully dislodge B's body from the weapon. Turning her to reveal she's been sliced from her left cheek down to her right thigh. There's so much blood that I can't even tell what's going on. The puncture wound on her right shoulder goes all the way through. I rip my shirt off to cover it as best I can. Trying desperately to stop the bleeding. She's still breathing and still seems conscious. Her eyes are open but vacant.
The sunlight keeps the vampires away from us, but there are other demons around. I completely ignore them, trusting the rest of the slayers to handle them. It may not be smart, but I won't leave her. I'd rather both of us die than leave her side again.
"Faith?" She whispers weakly to me.
"I'm here. I've got you."
"Drusilla." She motions towards a dark hallway with her eyes.
"It's ok, don't worry about her." I hold her against my body. Tears are falling from my face. Why did she come out here alone? Why did she sacrifice herself to kill Connor? Where the fuck is Willow?
"Spike." Her voice is so soft I almost don't hear what she said.
"Spike is here? Is he part of this?" She passes out before she can answer.
"Faith? What happened?" Willow is finally here, and her eyes go wide with shock.
"Help her!" I scream and turn my attention to B, who is now letting out a low and horrific moan.
Red leans down and examines B's wounds, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm going to need to take from you." She meets my eyes, and I nod.
"Take everything." Just let her live.
Kennedy's POV
I slice through the demon in front of me, grinning as he falls to the ground. Searching the area for my next opponent, I frown. There are none left standing. I sense a few vampires huddled in a room to the left, and I move in that direction. Some of the other slayers follow me, but I brush them off. I'm angry that we're even here.
Faith made it sound like Buffy left willingly, so why are we rescuing her? And they're dating now too? What the hell is that about.
I also didn't appreciate that Faith planned this all out, and everyone just fell in line. They made plans when I wasn't even in the room.
They're sorely mistaken if either of them thinks she will come here and take over. They may have had powers longer than me, but I've been the one training and managing all the slayers. I've always liked Faith well enough, but I also know her history.
She jumped at the chance to take over for Buffy, and I can see her using this fiasco to do the same thing to me.
Once this is over, I'm taking back control of my slayers.
I see two male vampires standing protectively in front of a female vampire in the darkened room. I vaguely recognize her from some of the histories Willow has shown me. Her eyes are mesmerizing, and I find myself drawn to them.
"That's right, little girl, come to mummy."
The sound of her super creepy voice startles me out of my haze. I growl and stake her protectors without any effort. They must have been expecting her charms to work on me because they barely even moved to defend themselves as I attacked.
"So, are you in charge of all this then?" I ask snarkily. I could kill her, but I'm guessing this chick is important. I grab her by the hair and drag her screaming into the hallway. I return to the central area and see all the slayers in a circle. Confused, I throw the vampire against the wall. Her skin sizzles as she passes through the sunlight, but she survives to crash into a shaded area. Puffs of smoke float away from her. "Stay put." I grin at her. She cowers and whines.
Pathetic. I remember Will telling me how powerful Drusilla was, and she even killed a slayer. Kendra must have been pretty soft to let this demented freak take her out.
"What is going on?" I approach to see Faith and Willow huddled over a very bloody Buffy. Willow draws power from Faith, attempting to heal Buffy's wounds, but it doesn't seem to be working.
The other slayers are standing around, some crying, others just looking distraught and confused. "What are you all doing? Help her!" I demand and move closer while reaching for Willow and offering my power. The rest of the slayers join in, creating a circle.
As much as I never liked Buffy, and as much as I doubted her as a leader - I know she is the reason we are still alive. She saved the world countless times. She kept us together and tried to make us strong when we fought the first. She's the one who found the Scythe and gave us our powers.
I might not want to be her friend, but I could never let her die.
A burst of something indefinable passes through me, and my power is drained, bringing me to my knees. The other slayers are likewise weakened, but it only lasts a few moments before we are standing again.
I sure hope that was enough power - I do not want to go through that again.
Looking down, I can see Buffy is stirring. She and Faith are covered in blood, and neither seems to have a shirt on. Faith's is balled up in her hand, pressing to where there was once a large hole in Buffy's shoulder. Buffy's shirt is sliced open and hanging in shreds.
Faith pulls Buffy close to her, and they're both crying. Willow collapses to the ground at my feet, and I move to hold her. The rest of the slayers turn from us, several of them sporting minor wounds of their own. I see one slayer attempting to slink off towards the exit.
"Shannon! Where do you think you're going!?" She freezes and turns to me, her eyes darting around in panic.
"I... uh…" She tries to look innocent, but Faith told me she was sure it was Shannon that took Buffy from the compound.
I still can't understand why we didn't just stop them from leaving. That would have prevented all this from happening. At least it doesn't seem like any of us got hurt, and we stopped whatever the evil plot was.
That should mean Buffy and Faith can go back to wherever they came from and leave things to me.
"Traitor," Faith hissed.
"Don't let her get away!" I call out, she runs, and several slayers chase her down. Tackling her and dragging her back.
"Let me go! I didn't do anything! She's a liar!" Shannon is squirming, but she has no chance to escape.
I stand up from Willow, propping her against a crate. She's incredibly weak from the amount of magic she just expelled. I want to take her home so she can rest, but first, we have to do something about Shannon and that crazy vampire.
I stand in front of her, hands on my hips. "What are we going to do with you?"
"Let her go," Buffy calls out calmly.
"What?" I turn to her, shocked by the rasping sound of her voice. Watching her rise, I have to suppress my gag reflex.
She looks so grotesque, covered in blood, with her skin torn open. The cut on her cheek isn't healed, and it flaps as she speaks. How on earth is she still talking? Faith remains on the ground, watching as Buffy moves away from her in shocked horror.
"Doesn't want to be a slayer, doesn't belong here with you." Her voice is soft, and I can't believe she's even standing, never mind trying to defend the slayer who betrayed us.
"We can't let her go. Take her back to the compound, lock her up until we decide what to do with her." I command the band of slayers that are restraining Shannon. I return my attention to Buffy, furious that she would try to make this decision. She needs to know that I'm in charge here. "None of us chose this, but we fight for what's right. We don't side with evil." She grimaces at me, and I look away in shame, realizing that Faith is there and heard what I said. Faith seems lost in her thoughts, though, and didn't react.
Buffy shrugs and turns towards Drusilla in the corner.
Buffy ripped the Scythe out of the ground. The exertion re-opened her wounds, and she started gushing blood again. Damn, I had no idea how tough she was. I've never seen anyone with an injury even close to that serious up and moving around.
Seeing her like this changes something for me. I try to imagine myself in her position, and I'm not sure I could do it. Willow always tells me I'm wrong about Buffy being weak - maybe she's right.
Though, I can't help but be annoyed that she just wasted all that magic Willow expended to heal her.
I'm pretty sure she still sucks, but I'll try to be nicer about it.
We all watch, frozen in awe, as she stalks over to Drusilla. Swinging the Scythe in her left hand. The hole in her right shoulder was closed, but it didn't seem like she had any strength in her right arm. It hung limply at her side.
She kneels down in front of the vampire. "It's not fair what happened to you. What Angelus did when he turned you was beyond evil. It's no wonder that you're insane."
Drusilla's eyes are wild and crazed. She's giggling like a lunatic. "Can't hurt me. I'm safe in the stars. You can't touch me." Her ramblings are incoherent. She smells of burnt flesh and insanity.
Buffy stands and strikes out with the Scythe - separating the vampire's head from her body. Her face is locked in a maniacal grin before it vanishes into ash. Buffy collapsed to the ground as soon as her task was done. She was still breathing but must be in incredible pain. Faith was by her side in an instant, cradling in her arms.
"Let's get the hell out of here." Faith says, heading towards the exit with an unconscious Buffy in her arms. I try not to let it bother me that Faith's giving orders.
"We're going to bring her back. The rest of you search through this place. I can sense at least one more vampire here, so be on the lookout." I call out to the remaining slayers, and I'm relieved when they comply without looking to Faith for confirmation.
"She said Spike was here." I'm startled by the sound of Faith's voice.
"On which side?"
"Didn't say." I know Spike fought on the side of good, had a soul, and all that. We'll have to give him a chance to explain what he's doing here before killing him.
"If you find Spike, restrain him and bring him back to the compound." It's frustrating to make the suggestion to keep a vampire alive, but I just know I'll catch hell if we don't at least try to verify his involvement.
The remaining slayers all nod and begin to fan out. I'm embarrassed that one of the slayers I've been training for years has turned on us, but the rest are solid warriors.
I know they will do what I tell them to.
Faith's POV
I have seen a lot of fucked up shit in my life.
Nothing compares to this. Nothing I've seen has affected me this way. I thought these types of injuries could only happen in horror movies. Her wounds are so grotesque that they look fake.
Whatever Willow did stopped the worst of the bleeding, but nothing has really healed. I can see through the muscles and down to her bones. It's surreal to watch her slayer healing knit the layers of flesh together, only for it to split back apart almost instantly.
Her eyes are darting back and forth under her closed eyelids. I don't know what that means, but it can't be good. Is her mind being tortured just like her body was?
I have no idea how to comfort someone, and I don't even know if she can feel me holding her. All I can do is try.
I hold her as tight as I can and try to think comforting thoughts. As I rub my thumb over the non-damaged side of her face, she lets out a whimper.
"Faith." It's not even a whisper, but it gives me hope that she's still in there and that we will find a way to get her back.
"Please, B. Please be ok." I whisper just as quietly. "I love you so much." I hate that I didn't tell her that when she told me. What if I never get another chance? What if she dies not knowing?
She has to get through this. She just has to.
"Should we take her to a hospital?" I can't believe I'm suggesting the hospital, but I don't see what option there is.
"They can't help her. There's something magical involved. We'll get her into the infirmary. I'm calling Josie so she will be ready for us when we get there." Red pulls out her cell phone and motions for us to follow.
"Who's Josie?" I don't care who Josie is. I just need something else to think about so I don't lose my mind.
"She's our resident doctor, sort of. She's a slayer who tried to stay in her normal life, but she had to drop out of medical school when she started getting attacked by vampires. She's only been with us for Archie a year." Kennedy explains as we pile into the car.
Kennedy is driving, Willow is in the passenger seat, and I've got B in the back with me. Her body seems so tiny and frail in my arms. Her skin is pale and clammy from the blood loss.
Please, please don't die. You're not allowed to die. Not now, not ever.
"I'm so sorry about this. I should have known Shannon took the Scythe." Kennedy actually looks guilty. For the first time since I've known her, she's taking responsibility for a mistake. I'm not sure it's her mistake to own, but I'm seriously pissed off and frustrated, and she seems like a good outlet. She's always been awful to B, I tried to play nice, but I'm all out of nice.
"I'm sure it's not your fault she sided with evil." I can't keep the sharpness out of my voice as I use her words against her. She winces and looks away, and the rest of the trip is silent - other than me whispering to B, telling her that everything will be ok, telling her that I love her.
If only I could have said it when she could hear me. I can only hope I get another chance.
The drive to the compound seems to take an eternity. I almost think Kennedy is driving slow on purpose. I know she hates B, and I could tell how pissed off she was that we even came out here. I can't think about that right now, though.
I can't really believe she'd be that cruel. Plus, it looks like Red is paying attention, and there's no way she'd let that happen. I know their friendship isn't back to how it was - but I still know she won't let B die.
We finally arrive twenty minutes later, and I carry her inside. Kennedy and Willow are close behind as I burst into the infirmary and place her on the bed. Josie is there and begins working immediately. I stand back a few feet so I'm not in the way, but nothing will make me leave this room.
Josie connects her to an IV, and I watch in a daze as the blood flows down the tube and into her arm. I can feel my legs growing weak at the sight. How can this be happening?
"Can you help me?" Josie motions to Buffy's clothes. Most of it is torn away, but some material is stuck in her wound. I move forward and help to peel it away. None of this seems real. I find a little comfort in the fact that she's unconscious, so she can't feel what's happening to her.
The love of my life is lying before me, covered in blood and gore. The awareness of that hits me, and then everything goes black.
"Buffy!" I sit up from the chair. My head is pounding. The room is dark, and all I see is a faint glow from under the door. I'm still in the infirmary, and B is lying in bed, unmoving.
Someone draped a hospital gown over me, but my body is still caked with blood. I move to the bed slowly. My legs are weak and shaky. I can barely see her, but I can see they cleaned the blood off of her. A bandage covers half her face, and the wound across her torso has small strips holding the skin together. Nothing seems to be actively bleeding. I think that's a good sign.
Now that the wounds are bandaged, I can't see if they're healing or not. I want to ask, but I'm terrified of the answer, and I can't help either way.
I try to imagine that she's asleep, but I know it's not true. Her breath is shallow and raspy, and her heartbeat is slow and strained. It might be my imagination, but her heartbeat seems to strengthen as I get closer. I kiss her on the forehead and sigh. "Why did you do this? Why did I let you?" Tears stream down my face. If she doesn't recover from this - I will never forgive myself.
"Faith?" Josie enters the room, carrying a clear IV bag.
"Is she going to be ok?" I want her to lie to me and tell me everything will be fine. I need to believe it.
"It's too soon to tell." That is not the reassurance I was hoping for.
"Why is her hand restrained?"
"She kept ripping at her wound." Josie's tone is flat and unemotional. I wonder if that's because of all the horrors she's seen or something else. It can't be easy having to play doctor for all these slayers.
"But only one hand?" As soon as I ask, I snap my mouth shut. There's only one reason they wouldn't have needed to strap that one down too.
"She only seemed to do it with her left. We're concerned she may have some serious nerve damage in her right shoulder." I stare down at B, holding her hand, fearing what will happen when she wakes up - if she wakes up.
B was already struggling with life. I can't imagine how much harder it will be if these injuries are permanent. Whether or not she plans to slay again - being this broken will be so hard for her.
Whatever happens - I am gonna be here for her every step of the way.
"You should get yourself cleaned up and maybe eat something," Josie suggests off-hand, and I want to scream.
"I'm not leaving this room." I jump to my feet with my fists clenched. I'm silently begging her to try forcing me out.
"There's a shower in there. Willow brought your bag down earlier." I frown at the suggestion. I don't even like the idea of leaving her side for a second. But I am covered in blood, her blood.
"Ok, thanks." At least she's not forcing me out of here, so I can try and relax. I slump back into the chair and watch as Josie swaps out the bag of fluids for her IV and rechecks her vitals.
"Her heartbeat is stronger." So it wasn't my imagination. Now I'm definitely not leaving this room. I slide the chair closer to the bed. "Faith, I understand your need to be here. But, there is a risk of infection if you don't clean yourself up."
"Do you have some kind of problem with me?" She looks horrified by my accusation.
"Oh, no… I'm so sorry if I was rude. It's just that Shannon was my friend. At least, I thought she was. I don't understand how she could have been part of this." My rage softens as I can see how hurt she is. "She's a slayer. She's supposed to be better than this."
"Sometimes, people make bad choices. She might not even know why she did it." I'm not sure how I can be trying to justify what Shannon was part of. I barely knew the girl, and for all I know, she's just a complete asshole that just wanted power.
I reluctantly back away from the bed, grab my bag, and head into the bathroom. I shower as quickly as I can. It takes far too long for the water to run clear. I dress and return to the room. Josie is gone, but there is now a cot set up next to the bed. There's a bottle of water and two sandwiches on the side table.
Ignoring the food, I move to the cot and position myself to lay down and rest my hand on hers. I didn't think it'd be possible, but I drift off to sleep after only a few minutes.
I'm not sure how long I slept, but I woke to the sound of her screaming. She's thrashing and kicking. The restraints are the only thing keeping her from knocking herself out of bed. The movement is enough to tear open her wounds, and blood gushes out of her. In horror, I realize I'm screaming myself.
Josie arrives almost instantly, adjusting the feed on her IV. Willow follows not too far behind, and she's chanting something. I can't even focus on what anyone is saying or doing. I'm too busy feeling my heart explode in my chest as I watch her suffer. I'm not sure how long it lasts. It feels like hours, but it may have only been a minute or two. Eventually, she calms back down and stops screaming and thrashing. Now she's only moaning lowly, a soft groan of misery.
It's almost worse than the screaming.
Josie cleans the wound and replaces the bandages that had soaked through with blood. "Faith?" I try to focus on what Red is saying. She looks almost as tired and miserable as I feel. "You should eat something. You know she wouldn't want you suffering just because she is."
I laugh at how ridiculous that idea is and so does Red.
She shakes her head and sighs. "Yeah, sorry. That was dumb."
"You're the one who needs to eat and rest. If anyone can help B now, it's you." I pull her to sit with me on the cot and wrap her in my arms. We both need some comfort right now, I can feel her body giving way to sleep, and I guide her to laying down. She mumbles something and tries to resist, but she's too tired. I know she needs rest if she has any chance of fixing B's wounds.
I return my attention to the bed. Josie has finished cleaning her up and is replacing the IV bag. "Damn slayers." She mumbles in frustration.
"What?" A pang of fear shoots through me that she's secretly part of whatever Shannon is up to. I just barely stop myself from attacking her before she can answer.
"Your metabolisms are all over the place. It's hard to get the dosage right on the sedatives." I can see how upset she is by all this, and I try not to let myself blame her for what just happened. "She should be out for a while now."
I reach out to Buffy while I continue to hold Willow. This time sleep won't return to me.