Disclaimer: All BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Co. The original ones are mine.
Distribution: Sure, just let me know where it's going.
Thank you all for your encouragement. Sorry for the slight wait for this chapter.
"William The Bloody. Not so bloody anymore."
He opened his eyes and saw Faith standing there, looking down at him.
"We met once before," she said. "You probably don't remember since I was in a different body at the time. We had a nice little chat about champagne corks and right and wrong."
William's eyebrows rose and he said, "I'll be damned."
"So you do remember."
"It's not the kind of conversation a man is likely to forget. What were you doing in Buffy's body?"
"That's kind of a long story. Let's just say I wanted to know how the other half lives."
"And now you're back here. What have you been doing with yourself?"
"Mostly, I've been spending some real quality time in prison. Lately though, I've been in L.A.. I met your old friend Angelus."
William sat up straight. "Angelus, not Angel?"
Faith shook her head. "They needed Angelus for some info. Then they couldn't get Angel back. Until Willow went to help. It's okay now, but they've still got some problems."
"But you came here. How've the Scooby Gang been treating you?"
"They keep watching me, waiting for me to do some evil."
"Yeah. I know the feeling," said William. "They can't believe you could change."
Faith was silent for a moment. Then she said, "We'll never really fit in, even now. Not in with the Scooby Gang."
"Doesn't matter. And it doesn't matter what they think. You just do what's right for you." He stood up. "Come on. I think you should meet a friend of mine."
When William and Faith arrived at the old Victorian they found Jezeil in the back yard training. They watched silently while he finished the sequence of moves.
"Faith," said Jezeil. "Welcome to our humble abode. Can I offer you something to drink?"
"Sure."
"Excellent. Come, have a seat."
They sat down around the wooden table and Jezeil poured lemonade for all of them.
Sitting back in his chair Jezeil said, "So, how has your homecoming been?"
"It's been okay. Actually considering what I did it's been great," said Faith. "But I don't know what's going to happen now. I mean, after we deal with the First. Maybe I won't survive. That would be an answer."
"I can see you're as upbeat as ever. I wouldn't worry. I suspect that things will become clear for you soon enough. And in the meantime there is plenty of work for everyone."
Faith looked down at her hands, which were twisting and untwisting. "It's hard, being at the house. I can feel them watching me. I want to help, really, but..."
William and Jezeil exchanged a look. Jezeil said, "You feel lonely, even in a house full of people, disconnected from the group. That will change in time. But don't think you have to fit in there. The Scooby way is not the only way. It works for them. You will find what works for you. The only person you absolutely have to live with is yourself. As long as you can do that, you'll be okay.
"Now, I think I could use some cake. There is no problem so difficult that it can't be helped by chocolate cake."
Across town on Revello Drive Buffy sat in the basement with Giles. They had spent two hours talking about how to defeat the First. But they hadn't come to any real solution.
Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I think that there is only one thing we can do now."
"And that is?"
"Go see Jezeil. He seems to be the one with all the answers. I suspect that he already has a plan of action and is simply waiting for us."
Buffy nodded. "Okay then, let's go."
When Buffy and Giles arrived at the old Victorian house they heard voices coming from the back so rather than climbing the front steps they went through the side gate and around the house. In the back yard they found a group seated around a large table shaded by a black umbrella. The umbrella was there for Lenore. Also seated at the table were Jezeil, William, Ian, Faith and a woman dressed in gray who Buffy recognized as another member of the Hamatra. Buffy was surprised to see Faith there, and so at ease in the group. William was looking relaxed too, one leg thrown over the arm of his chair.
Jezeil looked over at them and beckoned. "Come and join us. I believe you know most of the people here." Gesturing toward the woman in gray he said, "This is Lady Hester."
"I would have thought you would be training," said Giles.
"At this hour?" exclaimed Lady Hester. "Certainly not. It's 4:15 man."
Jezeil laughed. "Careful Mr. Giles, you don't want to interfere with Lady Hester's tea. Have a seat."
Buffy and Giles sat down in two of the vacant chairs.
"So," asked Jezeil. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"
Buffy leaned forward and said, "We thought that since you're such a know-it-all you'd know what we should do next."
Jezeil smiled. Buffy thought that it was the warmest smile she'd ever seen. It was as if the sun had risen on Jezeil's face.
"And so I do," he said. "We have repair work to do."
"Repair work?" asked Giles.
"Yes. All of this began seven years ago when Buffy was revived the first time. But because you were only dead for a few minutes and because Mr. Harris used mundane means to revive you the ripple in the space time continuum was small, just a little bubble in the rubber sheet. But the second time... That was very different. A vast amount of power was expended to bring you back. All magic is tricky but none more so than that which seeks to cross the barrier between life and death. Now it wasn't just a ripple, but a tear. This tear has allowed the First Evil greater latitude of movement and action. We have to fix the tear. That will send the First back where it belongs."
"And how do we fix the tear?" demanded Buffy.
"We use the First's own power to do it. The main work will be done by four of us. You, Miss Summers, Miss Rosenberg, William, and myself. Everyone else is going to provide interference, keep the Bringers and anyone else out of our hair."
"When do we plan on doing this?' asked Giles.
"Why, tonight," answered Jezeil.
"Tonight?!"
"No time like the present. The sooner the First is back where it belongs the less damage we'll have to deal with. I have just been waiting for you. Now you've come so we can move on. Go home. Get everyone together and we will meet at Sunnydale High School tonight, just after sunset. Once we are there I will explain the details. The plan is not complicated but it does require that we all be there."
Buffy and Giles looked at each other. They both had plenty of questions but it was clear they weren't going to get any answers yet. Jezeil was not the kind of man you could pressure into saying anything he didn't want to say. They got up and went home to gather the troops. Sunset was only three hours away.