Greetings and salutations.  It's getting closer to the end. Thankyou for all the reviews. Much appreciated. Disclaimers on chapter Two.

Remember that guy from chapter one, the one who beat Zealot to a bloody pulp? HE'S BAAAAACK!

"How could she just disappear?" Buffy demanded. She looked at Dawn's bed again. She'd been in here for a whole two minutes. When Buffy had gone in to say goodnight, she had been gone. Her window was closed and locked. Logan had smelled someone else, but there was no threat on the smell, nor was there any sign of a struggle. Neither of them had heard a sound

"Take it easy, Buffy." Logan said. "I'm sure she's fine." His fiancée Turned and glared at him.

"What if she's not?" Buffy said. "What if there's trouble? What if…"

"We've been through this before, darlin'." Logan said, wrapping his arms around her. "No use standing around sayin' 'what if'. Let's just calm down and think it through." Buffy sighed, leaning back.

"I guess." She said. "It's just…"

"Buffy, I'm back." Buffy straightened.

"Dawn?" She raced out of the room and down the stairs. Dawn was standing in the loungroom with Faith and Goku. Faith looked at Buffy's face.

"Let me guess." Faith said, looking at Dawn. "You didn't tell B, right?" Dawn shrugged.

"Don't just shrug it off!" Buffy exploded. "I was worried sick. Where the hell were you?" Buffy threw a glance at Faith.

"Hey, don't look at me." She said, putting her hands up. "I was in my meeting with the Watchers Council, and Dawn appeared. I'll let her explain, 'cause I don't know anything before that. Though I would like to know who's Idea it was to make her Guardian of the Earth." Buffy looked at Dawn, surprised. Logan, who had been coming down the stairs, stopped dead.

"Guardian of the…Earth?" Buffy said, dazed. "How…when…" She sat down heavily. Logan moved beside her.

"I think you'd better start talking." Goku said. "Before your sister has a meltdown."

"Okay, okay." Dawn said. "Geez, did Dende have this much trouble?" Faith and Goku stared at her.

"What? How do you know about Dende?" Goku asked. Faith looked at her thoughtfully. Things were starting to fall into place.

"The guy who picked me up mentioned him." Dawn said. "Guardian of your Earth, right?" Goku nodded, dumfounded.

"Was this guy green?" Faith asked suddenly. "With a cape and turban?"

"Yeah, that's him." Dawn said.

"Piccolo." Faith said. A small grin played on her face. "Sonuva…You really got death wish, green man."

"You know this guy?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, we know him." Faith said. "He started my training. Things are starting to fall into place."

"It is? Could you explain it to me, 'cause I'm still a bit out of the loop."

"Why don't we let Piccolo explain?" Faith said. She walked out the back. A couple of minutes later, she walked back in, dragging a very annoyed Piccolo behind her.

"Would you cut that out?" The Namek warrior snarled. "Let go!"

"Not until you start talking." She said angrily. "Not that we don't need a Guardian around here, but why Dawn?" Buffy got to her feet.

"Start answering the questions!" She said. "Why did you drag my sister in to this?"

"Alright, alright." He said. He got up of the floor. "For a Guardian to be to be chosen, the candidate must have two things; power, and an innate innocence, a goodness, that comes from deep inside. That's why I was separated into two beings during my initial attempts to become Guardian. I was too proud and arrogant. Only after using my Namekian ability to split myself into two beings, the evil King Piccolo and the benevolent Kami, was I able to take the position. My successor, Dende, was a child, innocent. He had joined Gohan and Krillin against the forces that had threatened his home planet. These are two of the reasons he was allowed to take my place." He looked over at Dawn. "Dawn has experienced more hardship than one of her age should ever need to. Despite her apparent disregard for rules and orders, she has never purposefully done anything to hurt anyone. Being the Key gave her power waiting to be unlocked, power she didn't even fully understand. Of all the people on this planet, she is the only one capable of filling the role. That's why I chose her." He looked over at Faith. "Can I go now?" Faith glared at him.

"Good of you to check with Buffy first." She said. She looked over at the Slayer. "What do you say? Let him go, or make him stay and make up for it?" Buffy looked at the Namek. She really wanted to make him hurt, but…

"Let him go." She said. "But if anything happens to Dawn, I'll hold him responsible." Piccolo grunted, and disappeared. "Nice trick." Buffy said. It was then that she noticed the chests. Her widened. "Are they…?" Faith nodded. There were three of them. Buffy bent down and opened one of them. Inside was the accumulated knowledge of who knows how many Slayers and Watchers. Buffy reached down and picked one up at random.

"This is it." Faith said. "These are the thoughts, feelings and knowledge of every Slayer and Watcher since the Council started." She reached in and grabbed some books. "For me and Melody to read. If that's…"

"You don't even have to ask." Buffy said, running a finger down the spine of the book in her hand. "We wouldn't even have these if it weren't for you. Thanks." Faith shrugged.

"No big." She said. She looked over at Dawn. "Thank her. I doubt I could have got out without killing Travers if…" She stopped. "Uh, Dawn? Did you…" Dawn covered her mouth suddenly.

"Oops. Gotta go." She said, and disappeared in a flash of green light.

"What was that all about?" Buffy asked. Faith grinned as she told Buffy what had happened. Buffy laughed. Logan grinned slightly. "He's still hanging there?"

"He was." Dawn said, returning. "I think he's convinced that I mean business." She looked over at Faith. "You did good. You know that, right?" Faith gave a weak smile.

"I don't know." She said. "I think I'm gonna spend the rest of my life wondering whether I should have given him the same mercy he gave my parents." Buffy's jaw dropped. Logan stared at the girl. Faith headed to the door. "I gotta go. Thing to do, places to see." She grinned back at Buffy. "People to threaten. I'll see you later." She ran out the door, hiding her tears. Goku followed her. Buffy looked over at Dawn.

"Did he really…?" Dawn nodded.

"He admitted it." She said. "Said they 'had to be silenced'." She made a face. "Things are definitely changing, or I shut them down. Permanently."

Goku was worried. Faith had not said a thing to him on the flight back. They were getting close to Melody's house. He pulled up beside her. "You alright?"

"I should have atomised that bastard." She said. "I should have turned him into a fried corpse. I just…" She stopped and let loose. Energy poured from every part of her being. Goku pulled back a bit, letting her blow off the steam. The energy died down.

"Feeling better?" Her brother asked.

"Yeah." She said. "Though I wish I had done that in front of Travers. I give it a month before Dawn hears form Nathaniel." She chuckled. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Goku grinned.

"Yeah, but at least Dawn's got you to back her up."

"True." Faith said. "Come on. After my little tantrum, the others are going to be worried." As they learned, 'worried' was an understatement.

"Are you alright?" Trunks asked as they walked through the door. "We felt your power explode."

"Trunks cool it." Faith said. "I was just letting off some steam, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

"How'd it go?" Yamcha said.

"Fine." She said. "I'm gonna hit the showers." She made her way to the bathroom.

"Whoa, what was that about?" Yamcha asked.

"We found the guy that killed our mother." Goku said. "He's the current head of the Watchers. She almost killed him."

"Almost?" Vegeta exploded. "What do you mean almost?"

"She left him alive, but…" Goku shook her head. "It's almost like she was a different person, wild, almost uncontrollable. I think she scared herself." Trunks looked towards the stairs.

"Will she be alright?" He asked. Vegeta raised an eyebrow at his time flung son.

"I don't know, Trunks." Goku said. "I hope so. She's been through too much already."

Faith ran her hands through her hair, the water cascading around her. She tried to forget what happened, tried to forget Travers, tried to forget everything but the sound of the water. She got out of the shower, reaching for a towel. She stopped, looking at the locket on the sink side. She grinned slightly. "It's done, mom." She whispered. "I made him see. You can take the girl away from her mother, but you can't take the mother out of her girl. I scared him shitless, just like you did." She got changed, and picked up the locket, placing it around her neck. She walked down the stairs. Dr. Carson was sitting on the lounge.

"Enjoy the shower?" He asked. Faith smiled.

"Yeah, thanks. Where is everyone?" Faith asked.

"Well, Jackson and Melody have gone to the movies, Cole and Zannah have chaperoned." Faith grinned.

"Who's chaperoning who?" She asked. It had been quite a surprise for her, seeing Zannah and Cole together. Not a shock they had feelings, the sexual tension between the two was so thick you could have cut it with a one of Zee's swords. Roger grinned.

"Goku and Vegeta are out the back training." He continued. "The others are watching them." Faith nodded. She began to move out the back. "Faith. Could we talk?" She turned. "Is there something wrong? You seem…tense."

"No, I'm good. No problem." She said. Roger looked up at her.

"I may not have had a chance to raise Melody properly, but I'm not blind." He said. "The second you walked through that door, it was obvious that there was something wrong. I may not be your father, but I want to at least try to help." Faith grinned.

"Your kinda like Giles." She said, remembering the kindly Watcher that had tried to help her. "All fatherly and stuff." Roger grinned. "Really, I'm fine. I just got a bit…shook up. Royal pain pushed all the right buttons. My reaction scared the crap out of him. Out of me." She giggled a bit. "But, I'm fine now. I'm gonna go out for a while, relax, let my hair down."

"Ah, go clubbing." Roger said. Faith gave a lopsided grin.

"I prefer 'Bronzing'." She said. "Club in Sunnydale. I'll catch you later." She walked out the door. Trunks walked in seconds later.

"Hey, did I just hear Faith?" He asked as he walked in.

"You just missed her." Roger said. "She's gone clubbing. If you hurry, you could catch her."

"Thanks." Trunks said, heading for the front door.

"Um, might I suggest you change clothes first?" Roger said. Trunks looked down. He was wearing the Saiyan Battle Armour Bulma had made. He laughed.

"Yeah, I guess." He moved back to the Z Fighters camp. "I hope she doesn't get to far ahead."

"The way you move," Roger said. "I doubt it."

Faith walked down the street, trying, for once, to forget about the vampires and demons and be a normal girl. So far it was working. The vamps seemed to have learned the lesson; don't mess with her. Especially when she was pissed off. "Hey, Faith." She turned around to see Trunks running towards her. "I thought I'd missed you."

"Trunks, what are you doing?" She asked. Not that she wasn't glad to see him. Damn, he was cute…Whoa where'd that come from? Bad brain.

"Well, the doctor said you'd gone out." The time traveller said. "I thought you could use some company." He flashed a smile. "Besides, you looked bummed."

"Good reason, and better not to talk about it." Faith said. She started to walk. Trunks followed her. "Trunks, I don't need a bodyguard."

"Yeah, I know." He said. "But you might need someone to stop you from killing yourself." He looked up at the sky. Not all that different. "You know, I lost a lot of people I cared about to the Androids. One in particular, I didn't know until after my trip through time. My father…" He looked over at her. "You miss him, don't you? Your father?" Faith stopped and bowed her head.

"Which one?" She asked. "The one I never knew until King Kai trained me, the one who died because of one short, ugly little bastard who thought he had the right to destroy the planet I should have grown up on? Or the one who raised me as his own for three years, who died because a council of tweed wearing wind bags thought it was necessary?" She clenched her fists. "I had him! I had the prick by the throat; I could have taken him out right there and then. The world would have been a better place. The Slayers would have been better off." Trunks hid a grin. He knew he could get her to talk eventually. She just needed someone to talk to, someone who knew where she was coming from.

"Why didn't you?" He said. He stepped in front of her, cupping her chin in his hand. He lifted her head to face him. Tears flowed freely from her eyes.

"'Cause I've been there." She said. "The darkness. The first time it was an accident. After that, it just got easier." She tried to turn away. He wouldn't let her. "You know how easy it would be for me, right now? There are about a hundred different ways I could do it. A part of me wants to."

"Then why not?" Trunks said. He didn't want to, but it had to be done.

"Don't ask me that." She said. A sob tore itself from her throat. "Please, don't even present that possibility. I don't want to go that way, not again." He pulled her close, holding on to her. She closed her eyes, not wanting this to end, but knowing it had to. Now she knew how B had felt with Angel.

"I'm sorry about that, but this shows something." He looked down at her. Damn, she was beautiful. "You don't want to, your scared, this tells me one thing. You're not that person anymore. Sure the possibility's there, but you do your best to turn away from it." He pulled her back, wiping the tears from her eyes. "It's not you, maybe it never was. You made bad choices, but you're better than that now. It's time to move on, find a life away form Vampire Slaying and everything else. You are so much more than that." Faith thought on that for a moment.

"Maybe your right." She said. She grinned. "I could always talk to Logan. Maybe I could be an X-Man." Trunks laughed.

"Yeah, that could work." He said. They stood there laughing. She stopped and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Trunks looked down at her.

"Thanks." She said. "I appreciate this."

"Don't sweat it." He said. "I remember the first time me and Gohan faced the Androids together. I sat down for days afterwards, hating myself for every life I couldn't save. I just wished I could hit Super Saiyan. I knew I could beat them if I could do that. At least, that's what I thought." He looked skyward again. "See, I know where you've been. Self-loathing, self doubt. You don't need that, because there's no reason for it." He looked back at her, smiling. "Don't let your past hold you back."

"Right." Faith said. "Come on, there's a night club around here just waiting for us to crash." Trunks laughed, then cut short. His eyes narrowed as he tried to pinpoint the power he felt. Faith, too, was looking around.

"Isn't this cute?" A menacing voice said from above. The two jumped to one side as a large shape hit the ground, braking through the concrete. "Sorry to break up this touching scene, but I have work to do." He looked from one to the other. "Eeny, meeny, miney, moe. Hahahahaha, who dies first?" He looked at Trunks. "Maybe you!" He opened his mouth, fire cascading towards the youth. Trunks took to the air.

"Nice try, ugly." He said, grinning as he burst into golden energy. "Let me have go, YAH!" A golden beam shot forward, ramming into the creature. He fell to the floor.

"Well, now, that's a nice trick." He said. "But it won't stop me from getting my bounty."

"You want me?" Faith said. She held a palm out. "Here, take a bite of this!" A beam of energy shot out, sending the hunter flying over the horizon.

"That taught him a lesson." Trunks said. Faith shook her head.

"Only sent him away from civilization." She said. "I've got a feeling it'll take a lot more than that. Hopefully, there's no one around where he landed." She powered her Super Saiyan form. "Get your dad and the others, and meet me there."

"Hold on." Trunks said. "I'm not letting you go off after him alone." Faith turned to him and, before he knew what was happening, she kissed him gently on the lips.

"Don't argue, kid." She said. "Just hurry up. You might miss all the fun." She turned away, a smile playing on her face. She launched into the air, leaving a bewildered Trunks standing there.

"What was that?" He said out loud. He shook it off and headed back at top speed. Women!

The Hunter flew through the air, unable to control his flight. As soon as he landed he would go back and teach that girl a lesson. First he'd break both her legs, then he would make her watch as he…

He felt a hand grab him by the leg. He looked up (or down, as the he was being dragged through the air upside down) and saw Faith grinning at him.

"Going my way?" She said.

"Release me, girl, or I'll make your death as slow and painful as possible." He yelled.

"You mean even more painful than listening to you, or smelling you?" She quipped. "Relax, Zippo, I'm just relocating our fight so no one innocent gets hurt." She looked ahead. There. Zealot's island was just ahead. She sped up, waiting before she was over land before letting go of the attacker, dropping him on his head. He bounced several times before going through a tree. "Ouch, that had to hurt. That is, if you had a brain in your head." She landed and watched as the Hunter picked himself up.

"You will regret the day you messed with me." He said. "I am Gorog, the flame master, the Greatest of all Hunters. I shall fry your flesh on your bones, and hand your cindered corpse to Wolfram & Hart." Faith grinned.

"Yeah, I've heard that before." Faith said. "The last person that said that got his brain charbroiled in his skull. I've got things to do, so let's stop posing and start the pummelling." She exploded into golden light, launching herself forward. Her fist exploded against Gorog's jaw. The demon flew backwards, only to find his head buried in the ground by a devastating hammer blow. Faith took off, launching a storm of ki blasts into the Hunter. She then launched herself down, driving her fists into his huge frame. She flipped back, landing in a crouch. She watched as the demon got slowly to his feet. "Not as easy as last time, huh?" She said. Gorog grinned.

"I admit you've improved." He said. "This new power is impressive. And this form…" He grinned, surveying her Super Saiyan form approvingly. "Very nice. Not bad for someone who supposedly died in low orbit of a counter earth." Faith looked at him, surprised. "Frieza and I, we had the same master. He thought you dead. What a surprise when I'm looking for my next target and, lo and behold, there you were, having a Hallmark moment with some lavender haired freak." He suddenly felt the full force of her knee as it exploded into his throat. He doubled over, winded. She slammed her fist into his nose, then spun around him, twisting the fire breathers neck. She watched as he fell to the ground. She stepped back, looking at the corpse.

"You realise you aren't fooling anybody with that act." She said. "I've seen enough corpses in my time to know when you're faking." She watched as he got to his feet, straitening his head.

"My, my, you are special." He said. "Fast, strong, ruthless. No wonder the master wants you working for him. I am impressed." Faith looked at him, silent. "What, nothing to say? That's all right I have an offer. My master has a job for you. He has something he needs…taken care off. Someone is horning in on his territory, and he wants that someone eliminated. He wants you to take care of it. You will be well rewarded, a high position in his army. This world will be at your mercy. What do you say?" Faith continued to stare at him, then began laughing. "What are you laughing at?" Gorog demanded.

"You." She said. "You've answered just about every question that's been bugging me since my battle with Frieza. What was it, he told Wolfram & Hart that he would take me out?" She looked back at him. Gorog couldn't help but stare at her. She was calm, confident and it was obvious that she was going to say know. And yet, she seemed to relish the battle.

"So you think that you have all the answers?" He said, chuckling. "You know nothing. When my master reveals himself, then you will know…"

"How out of my league I am?" She asked. "You're probably right, 'cause I stopped playing the minors years ago." Her old feral grin slid into place. A light shone in her eyes. "What I want to know, is what it's gonna take to bring your 'master' out of hiding? Do I just beat the crap out of you until it gets his attention?" Gorog stared at her. Did she honestly think she could destroy him as easily as she destroyed Frieza? "Well then, let's…" She disappeared, ramming a fist into his face. "…Find…" She hit him with a round house, then launched back. "…OUT!" A ki blast launched from her palms, hitting him hard in. He flew backwards, landing on the beach shore. He dragged himself to his feet, just in time for her knee to explode across her back. He fell forward, hitting the ground hard. He got up, turning towards her. She stood there, grinning. Energy glowed golden around her. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

Okay, extremely long chapter. Gorog's mine, by the way. Obviously, he's a little tougher than Frieza, and there're no prizes for guessing who he works for.

Next: Faith, unleashed! Warning: Mushy stuff incoming.

Stay tuned.

Doc.