Building on Faith
Chapter 4
Disclaimers and rating preceed Chapter 1
Well, the van was shot. Literally. No way that thing was moving with silver slugs lodged in the engine block. After changing into some fresher clothes, Oz's feet were on the parking lot with most of his body in the van trying to grab what he needed and figure out what to do with the rest of his stuff. A knock on the side of the van startled him. When he looked up though, startled was shoved aside by shocked and scared. "Faith."
"Down, boy. I didn't mean for you to pee on the carpet over seeing me." She smiled. That was meant to be a friendly greeting. "Do I really excite you that much?" She leaned her shoulder and head against the van, keeping her feet in place. If Oz's thoughts hadn't been so clouded by his hatred of Faith he may very well have found that exciting to watch.
"What are you doing here?" He stood beside the van, not moving, trying to decide if he should back away. Wolf v. Slayer had never worked out very well for him so far. That was a good thing in the past - perhaps not now.
"Aw, no time for small-talk? No 'how ya been'? No 'good to see you, Faith'?" She pouted - though even she wasn't sure how sincere the pout was. "OK, so maybe I didn't expect it. Certainly I don't deserve it. But I actually came to warn you."
"Warn me?" He didn't add 'Of what, you?'
"That skinny chick with the crop-top hair and the big ole gun is headed this way."
"And you came to warn me about her?"
"Well, I've been keeping an eye on her since I saw your little scuffle last night. Honestly didn't see enough to know what was goin on, but I figured I owed you the benefit of the doubt for old times sake."
"But, I thought she was dead."
"Your stalker? No. She put a few bullets in your van, one in the guy's head and walked off to her own van over across the street. Sat there crying for a while. I found her again this morning and saw she's headed this way."
"Someone told me they found a girl..."
"Oh, yeah. Wasn't her though."
"I didn't... Oh, God..."
"No. It wasn't you, Oz. Some vamp chowing down back here before you kiddies came out to play. I dusted him right before - that's the only reason I even knew you were in town."
"Interesting... coincidence."
"Well, maybe not entirely. Wolfram and Hart suggested I come to Pittsburgh - wouldn't tell me why. I wonder..."
"Wolfram... aren't they the one's that hired you to kill Angel?"
"Well, yeah but..."
"And then tried to kill you?"
"Right, but..."
"And now you're working for them?"
"They got me out of jail, Oz. I mean, I didn't even think that's what I wanted. Sure I was rotting in there - but I wanted to rot, you know? I deserved to suffer. But what the hell good was my suffering doing the world? I don't give a fuck what Wolfram and Hart want from me, they got me out and I'm going to do whatever I can to use myself for good. Maybe that's even what they want for some reason. I mean they sprung me 'cause Angel's missing. He's one of the good guys right? Why do they want him replaced now?
"I can't be Buffy, but I'm still better at fighting the forces of darkness than a regular person, you know."
"Assuming you're not one of those forces."
Faith looked at him. A sadness - a disappointment - showing in her eyes. A long-held realization that his point was entirely valid. "No. Whether I am or not. Whether I'm a 'good guy' or not, I'm going to do what they do."
Oz shook his head. "You don't get it, do you Faith? You can split hairs. You can look at things sideways and see the grey. But when it comes down to it there are only two sides - and the fence is too high to straddle."
"And which side is Sunnydale's expatriate werewolf on, huh? Not even sure if you killed some random girl last night?"
"Go away Faith. You did your good deed."
"This will be easier if we work together."
"Yeah, it probably would - If I could trust you. But that is just not gonna happen."
Oz grabbed a couple bags and walked away from the van, not even glancing at Faith again. She just leaned back against the van and watched him go.
'So, the wolfman doesn't want my help huh? Maybe that's because he knows we aren't on the same side of the fence at all anymore. Maybe he knows he's just a rabid animal out for a kill and I'm a mystically engineered champion for good. That hardly sounds like a natural alliance.'
'A young chickie with a rifle and a score to settle might not make a bad partner though... I mean, she kills werewolfs. Sure B and Red weren't about to let me go shred their little friend, but now... Hey, were's kill, right? Just like vamps, they feed off humans. That's evil, isn't it? I fight evil. That's what I'm for.'
***
Jo circled the van slowly, rifle drawn to her shoulder. She knew that if he was there he could probably smell her coming. It wasn't feasible to stay downwind and the preternatural senses of a wolf would probably pick her up anyway. Fine, let it be ready for her. She was sure as hell ready for it.
She was not, however, ready for the smiling, buxom brunette who pirouetted out of the line of fire and lunged for her weapon before her determined finger could depress the trigger.
She stood in shock. 'Another one? I even wondered about a pack last night... and I wasn't ready now.'
"Sorry, babe," said Faith in her best answering machine/receptionist voice, "no werewolfs are here right now to take your bullet. Anything I can do for you?"
"No werewolfs my ass. Give me that back and we'll see how *you* take a silver bullet."
"Ouch! Um, does that usually work? The whole 'hand me my gun so I can shoot you' line? I mean, most people aren't too thrilled about getting shot with any kind of bullet, you know?"
"Right, and most people can't move like you did to grab the gun."
"Well, I didn't say I was human exactly - just that I'm not a werewolf." Faith tried her best to look innocent and submissive. "And I'm really not. Honest."
"So, you're not human and not were... what's that leave?"
"Well, that leaves a lot of things!" She started counting them off on her fingers: "I could be a vampire, except for the whole sunny-noon-outdoors thing. I could be a vengeance demon in human guise..." Faith noticed that Jo was backing away, looking puzzled. "Don't tell me you don't know about those things?"
"There's no such thing as vampires..."
"Aw, come on. You think werewolfs are the only monsters under the bed real enough to actually bite you? Vampires are kinda the whole reason for me being what I am. The Vampire Slayer. The one girl... Well, there's this whole speech that goes along with that introduction but it sounds better coming from some stuffy English guy." Faith stepped out from behind the van toward Jo.
"So what... What are you saying? Who are you?"
"Faith. The Vampire Slayer. And the 'vampire' thing isn't like an exclusive, you know? Pretty much any evil, supernatural thing - that's my enemy. I'm thinking Oz the werewolf counts."
"No." Jo shook her head and looked down at where the barrel of her rifle was nearly scraping the surface of the parking lot as it swung in Faith's hands.
"No? What... that's who you're gunning for right? Short guy, red hair, kinda silent?"
"Yeah, Oz the werewolf. But he's mine."
"What, you can't share?"
"Not him. Not after he... He's mine. I'm gonna watch his blood pour out of him. Because of Me. Not you. Not any other 'slayers' or 'vampires'. Me."
Faith stood there looking at her for a long moment. So, this is personal - but still... "Look, a werewolf isn't an easy kill. I don't know how long you've been doing this alone, but a little backup can only help."
"That's not true..." Jo continued to shake her head sadly, then snapped up. "I don't want you to interfere."
"I'm trying to help, damn it." Faith stalked over and pushed the rifle barrel sideways across Jo's face.
"I don't need your help, Slayer. I don't want your help." Jo tried to show the steel resolve she felt, tried to look Faith in the eyes. But there was something there now - something dark and frightening.
Faith snapped the stock of the rifle up against Jo's chin, rocking her head back and buckling her knees. Faith caught the girl easily and brought her back up face-to-face. "I'm trying damn it. I want to help!" She dropped the rifle and slammed her head into Jo's.
Faith threw her against the van. "I'm trying to fulfill my destiny!" She blasted a straight right into the girl's chest, hearing ribs crack. "To fight the forces of darkness!" An uppercut to Jo's gut doubled her over, coughing and on the edge of consciousness. "Why won't you let me? Let me save you!"
She pushed Jo back up, cracking her head off the metal side of the van. "Why won't the world let me?" she screamed searching Jo's unfocused eyes. "I'm the Goddamned Slayer!" She slammed the slumping girl back, bouncing her head off the van again. "Am I so tainted I can't fucking be on your team?"
A right hook knocked the girl out cold and she slid sideways down off the van leaving a smear of blood behind. Faith glared in rage at yet another failure - yet another stupid innocent endangering herself - then charged off, out of the parking lot.
A/N: Chapter 5, the finale, is coming soon.
Chapter 4
Disclaimers and rating preceed Chapter 1
Well, the van was shot. Literally. No way that thing was moving with silver slugs lodged in the engine block. After changing into some fresher clothes, Oz's feet were on the parking lot with most of his body in the van trying to grab what he needed and figure out what to do with the rest of his stuff. A knock on the side of the van startled him. When he looked up though, startled was shoved aside by shocked and scared. "Faith."
"Down, boy. I didn't mean for you to pee on the carpet over seeing me." She smiled. That was meant to be a friendly greeting. "Do I really excite you that much?" She leaned her shoulder and head against the van, keeping her feet in place. If Oz's thoughts hadn't been so clouded by his hatred of Faith he may very well have found that exciting to watch.
"What are you doing here?" He stood beside the van, not moving, trying to decide if he should back away. Wolf v. Slayer had never worked out very well for him so far. That was a good thing in the past - perhaps not now.
"Aw, no time for small-talk? No 'how ya been'? No 'good to see you, Faith'?" She pouted - though even she wasn't sure how sincere the pout was. "OK, so maybe I didn't expect it. Certainly I don't deserve it. But I actually came to warn you."
"Warn me?" He didn't add 'Of what, you?'
"That skinny chick with the crop-top hair and the big ole gun is headed this way."
"And you came to warn me about her?"
"Well, I've been keeping an eye on her since I saw your little scuffle last night. Honestly didn't see enough to know what was goin on, but I figured I owed you the benefit of the doubt for old times sake."
"But, I thought she was dead."
"Your stalker? No. She put a few bullets in your van, one in the guy's head and walked off to her own van over across the street. Sat there crying for a while. I found her again this morning and saw she's headed this way."
"Someone told me they found a girl..."
"Oh, yeah. Wasn't her though."
"I didn't... Oh, God..."
"No. It wasn't you, Oz. Some vamp chowing down back here before you kiddies came out to play. I dusted him right before - that's the only reason I even knew you were in town."
"Interesting... coincidence."
"Well, maybe not entirely. Wolfram and Hart suggested I come to Pittsburgh - wouldn't tell me why. I wonder..."
"Wolfram... aren't they the one's that hired you to kill Angel?"
"Well, yeah but..."
"And then tried to kill you?"
"Right, but..."
"And now you're working for them?"
"They got me out of jail, Oz. I mean, I didn't even think that's what I wanted. Sure I was rotting in there - but I wanted to rot, you know? I deserved to suffer. But what the hell good was my suffering doing the world? I don't give a fuck what Wolfram and Hart want from me, they got me out and I'm going to do whatever I can to use myself for good. Maybe that's even what they want for some reason. I mean they sprung me 'cause Angel's missing. He's one of the good guys right? Why do they want him replaced now?
"I can't be Buffy, but I'm still better at fighting the forces of darkness than a regular person, you know."
"Assuming you're not one of those forces."
Faith looked at him. A sadness - a disappointment - showing in her eyes. A long-held realization that his point was entirely valid. "No. Whether I am or not. Whether I'm a 'good guy' or not, I'm going to do what they do."
Oz shook his head. "You don't get it, do you Faith? You can split hairs. You can look at things sideways and see the grey. But when it comes down to it there are only two sides - and the fence is too high to straddle."
"And which side is Sunnydale's expatriate werewolf on, huh? Not even sure if you killed some random girl last night?"
"Go away Faith. You did your good deed."
"This will be easier if we work together."
"Yeah, it probably would - If I could trust you. But that is just not gonna happen."
Oz grabbed a couple bags and walked away from the van, not even glancing at Faith again. She just leaned back against the van and watched him go.
'So, the wolfman doesn't want my help huh? Maybe that's because he knows we aren't on the same side of the fence at all anymore. Maybe he knows he's just a rabid animal out for a kill and I'm a mystically engineered champion for good. That hardly sounds like a natural alliance.'
'A young chickie with a rifle and a score to settle might not make a bad partner though... I mean, she kills werewolfs. Sure B and Red weren't about to let me go shred their little friend, but now... Hey, were's kill, right? Just like vamps, they feed off humans. That's evil, isn't it? I fight evil. That's what I'm for.'
***
Jo circled the van slowly, rifle drawn to her shoulder. She knew that if he was there he could probably smell her coming. It wasn't feasible to stay downwind and the preternatural senses of a wolf would probably pick her up anyway. Fine, let it be ready for her. She was sure as hell ready for it.
She was not, however, ready for the smiling, buxom brunette who pirouetted out of the line of fire and lunged for her weapon before her determined finger could depress the trigger.
She stood in shock. 'Another one? I even wondered about a pack last night... and I wasn't ready now.'
"Sorry, babe," said Faith in her best answering machine/receptionist voice, "no werewolfs are here right now to take your bullet. Anything I can do for you?"
"No werewolfs my ass. Give me that back and we'll see how *you* take a silver bullet."
"Ouch! Um, does that usually work? The whole 'hand me my gun so I can shoot you' line? I mean, most people aren't too thrilled about getting shot with any kind of bullet, you know?"
"Right, and most people can't move like you did to grab the gun."
"Well, I didn't say I was human exactly - just that I'm not a werewolf." Faith tried her best to look innocent and submissive. "And I'm really not. Honest."
"So, you're not human and not were... what's that leave?"
"Well, that leaves a lot of things!" She started counting them off on her fingers: "I could be a vampire, except for the whole sunny-noon-outdoors thing. I could be a vengeance demon in human guise..." Faith noticed that Jo was backing away, looking puzzled. "Don't tell me you don't know about those things?"
"There's no such thing as vampires..."
"Aw, come on. You think werewolfs are the only monsters under the bed real enough to actually bite you? Vampires are kinda the whole reason for me being what I am. The Vampire Slayer. The one girl... Well, there's this whole speech that goes along with that introduction but it sounds better coming from some stuffy English guy." Faith stepped out from behind the van toward Jo.
"So what... What are you saying? Who are you?"
"Faith. The Vampire Slayer. And the 'vampire' thing isn't like an exclusive, you know? Pretty much any evil, supernatural thing - that's my enemy. I'm thinking Oz the werewolf counts."
"No." Jo shook her head and looked down at where the barrel of her rifle was nearly scraping the surface of the parking lot as it swung in Faith's hands.
"No? What... that's who you're gunning for right? Short guy, red hair, kinda silent?"
"Yeah, Oz the werewolf. But he's mine."
"What, you can't share?"
"Not him. Not after he... He's mine. I'm gonna watch his blood pour out of him. Because of Me. Not you. Not any other 'slayers' or 'vampires'. Me."
Faith stood there looking at her for a long moment. So, this is personal - but still... "Look, a werewolf isn't an easy kill. I don't know how long you've been doing this alone, but a little backup can only help."
"That's not true..." Jo continued to shake her head sadly, then snapped up. "I don't want you to interfere."
"I'm trying to help, damn it." Faith stalked over and pushed the rifle barrel sideways across Jo's face.
"I don't need your help, Slayer. I don't want your help." Jo tried to show the steel resolve she felt, tried to look Faith in the eyes. But there was something there now - something dark and frightening.
Faith snapped the stock of the rifle up against Jo's chin, rocking her head back and buckling her knees. Faith caught the girl easily and brought her back up face-to-face. "I'm trying damn it. I want to help!" She dropped the rifle and slammed her head into Jo's.
Faith threw her against the van. "I'm trying to fulfill my destiny!" She blasted a straight right into the girl's chest, hearing ribs crack. "To fight the forces of darkness!" An uppercut to Jo's gut doubled her over, coughing and on the edge of consciousness. "Why won't you let me? Let me save you!"
She pushed Jo back up, cracking her head off the metal side of the van. "Why won't the world let me?" she screamed searching Jo's unfocused eyes. "I'm the Goddamned Slayer!" She slammed the slumping girl back, bouncing her head off the van again. "Am I so tainted I can't fucking be on your team?"
A right hook knocked the girl out cold and she slid sideways down off the van leaving a smear of blood behind. Faith glared in rage at yet another failure - yet another stupid innocent endangering herself - then charged off, out of the parking lot.
A/N: Chapter 5, the finale, is coming soon.