Chapter 2
Her
heart pounds with fear. Her mouth widens from disbelief. Faith loves this
feeling. She knows it'll only take a few seconds to subdue this lil' girl.
"You
pack a wallop Miss Thang…"
She
grabs her attacker's leg using it as a pole to regain her balance on the
tower's top while toppling her opponent.
"…For
the helpless off guard type, but let's see how you do when I'm on my feet."
Faith
teases as she takes her fighting stance. Who is this girl? Max has no memory of her thus, she couldn't
be an X-5. She springs to her feet with grace and poise, but before she knows
it she is overcome with a powerhouse of strengthened punches. Max takes three
before she returns with one of her own sending Faith crashing through the
tower's glass roof.
"I asked
you a question. Who sent you?"
Max
repeats firmly. Faith is back to her feet almost as if she never hit the
ground. She takes her stance again, yet this time she has studied her opponent
a bit more. A roundhouse kick sends her flying further down the tower. She
hears her attacker's voice echo:
"You
may be strong and fast, but I'm guessing at the rate you're going you won't
live to the bottom of the needle. So do yourself and your boss a favor by
telling me who sent you. I might be nice tonight and let you leave here
walking."
Faith
ignores her attacker's taunts. I'm just a little careless from the hype.
But before she knows it there's a brunette with a striking resemblance to
herself ailing above her. Could the spell somehow have killed Buffy and sent
another slayer in her place? Faith stares up at the fighter. This may very
well be the one she loses. Not by a long shot. She sweeps the girl and
quickly pins her down. A grin comes across her face:
"You
talk a lot of trash for a little girl. Now, either you can tell me what part of
Sunnydale I'm in or I can snap your neck and call it a night. Kapeesh?"
Max
looks at her awkwardly. Could she be one of Lydecker's? He very well could
have kept her from the rest of us.
"Sunnydale's
about three states south. Good luck making it passed the border."
Faith
stares in awe. As soon as she lets her guard down Max takes the upper hand and
has her pinned against a nearby wall. Faith struggles. Max throws her eyebrows
up:
"What're
you doing up here?"
Before
Faith can respond a light shines heavily through one of the needle's many
windows. Max takes off, Faith behind her. They hear explosions as they descend
the large skyscraper from the inside. Dust and rocks fall from above; some more
plenty than the next. They continue down the stairs Max leading and Faith
following. Until they finally reach an exit but it's sealed! Max realizes that
the only way out is to go back up! She pushes Faith aside and heads back up the
stairs before she reaches a window. She kicks it in. She turns to Faith:
"You
coming?"
Faith
hurries up the stairway and dives out the window into the harbor with a massive
explosion following. The pressure from the water smacks her like an open hand. She
immediately springs up for air. After a few coughs and a deep breath, she looks
around for her attacker. Did she survive? Faith looks up at the most
horrid picture she has ever witnessed. Seattle's Space Needle in flames. A
helicopter circles the flames possibly looking for survivors. Faith slowly merges
back into the water and swims to the pier unseen.