Chapter 15: Revelations
"Then I have to go back. I have to save her," Spike protested.
"It's not your job, William." The voice said.
"To bloody hell with you! It is my job. I have to save her," Spike was close to tears. He was acting like I child, he knew but he'd do anything for Buffy.
"No, no William. The Champion must save his true love."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Buffy sat alone in her room. Alone again. Always alone. Faith was down the hall talking to Robin. She doubted things were going well. She heard some yelling earlier. Angel had left after their talk and it had been on good terms. No grudges held or angry words, just a simple conversation. Buffy could tell there were other things on his mind anyway, so she let him go. She really didn't want to deal with any more emotional or mental angst and kind of hoped for a demonic attack or something. She needed to go slay something, soon.
"Buffy!" Dawn and Andrew ran into her room, panting and excited.
"What's wrong?" Buffy was on her feet in a flash.
"Oh my God, Buffy it was so cool!" Dawn said all out of breath.
"Yeah, we were deep undercover, certain death was upon us..." Andrew said.
"Shut up." Dawn said to Andrew. "Buffy..."
Buffy gave Dawn a withering look. "Dawn you shouldn't go snooping around here. You know better."
"Andrew was with me," the younger Summers protested. Buffy just raised her eyebrows, as if to emphasize her point. "Yeah, okay," Dawn conceded. "But you have to see what we found."
"Well, go find Giles and talk to him. I'm gonna go out," Buffy said.
"Fine," Dawn looked hard at her sister. Buffy grabbed her jacket and left the room. "C'mon, Andrew," she said and the two walked sullenly to the library.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Faith sat in a chair. She watched Robin pace across the room in front of her. "You know, you could say something. Might help all the tension," she said.
Robin gave a scoffing laugh. He shook his head. "What? What do you want me to say?"
"I dunno." Faith didn't mean to come in and drop this on him like she had. It kind just slipped out. "Hey, we gotta talk," she had said coming into the room. Robin had been sitting at the table reading the newspaper. "Sure. Finally decided to accept that I'm prettier?" He joked with a smile. Faith shook her head, "No. And you are not." She swallowed, contemplating how to go about this. "Funny story."
"Good. I'm in the mood for a for an anecdote," he said setting down his paper.
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Faith exhaled, "Well..." she wiped her sweating palms on the seat of her jeans.
Robin got up and walked over to Faith. "Hey," he took her hands in his. "You're trembling. What wrong?" He looked into her brown eyes with such compassion that Faith pulled away.
"Stop," she said.
"Stop what?" Robin was confused. "Faith, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
"No, something's wrong because you're acting strange. Just tell me," he moved into to her again. He ran his fingers through her soft, brown hair. She almost let him get away with it. Almost gave in to his advances. She had a good piece of mind to throw him down on the bed and straddle him. But instead, she shoved him away.
"I said stop," she said growled.
"Damn, Faith." He looked more bewildered than angry. "Now, you have to tell me what's going on."
Faith looked down at her feet. Looking back at him she winced. "I'm pregnant."
He had blown up. He didn't hit her, though she wished he did. She would've been able to handle that. But he wasn't that kind of guy. Robin just kind of yelled at her, and she of course, yelled back. Now, she was just watching him, mutter to himself, pacing back and forth, trying to sort out what to do next.
"I... I can't believe this," he finally said.
"Well, believe it kid, 'cause this ain't a dream," Faith said.
"It was just one night. And besides... we used a condom," he was trying to rationalize now.
"One night or not, it happened," she retorted. She shook her head. "Y'know, I can handle this fine by myself. I don't need your help. I just though you should know." Faith got up to leave but Robin blocked her.
"Wait," he said. "Wait." He tried to think of something to say that wouldn't piss her off, but he couldn't. "I wanna help you."
He had tried to say the least negative thing but she still got mad. "I don't need your god damned pity. Okay? I told you I can take care of it by myself." She said shaking him off.
"I'm not pitying you. If anything, I'm pitying myself a little," he confessed.
"You're pitying yourself!" She yelled. "What about me? I'm a slayer for Christ's sake. I'm not supposed to have kids!" Faith was on the verge of tears.
"I know, I know," Robin said. "But I don't want you to do this alone. I know how it is. I don't want that for anyone."
"Neither do I," she whispered. A light went off. "I have to go," she said rushing out the door.
"Faith, wait!" He called, but he still couldn't move that fast. He let her go.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Buffy decided to go out. She wasn't sure if she could call it patrolling. It wasn't like this was her turf, and she wasn't really out looking from vampires. But if some happened along her way, hey what else was she to do? Besides, she couldn't sulk in her room all day and night, and the creepy law firm was giving her, well, the creeps. So she ventured out into the night, doing what she did best. What was it going to be like now? No Sunnydale Hellmouth to fight, and now with all the slayers waking up, things were going to be either a lot more quieter or a lot more chaotic.
So, where would she go from here? They could've all headed straight to Cleveland like Giles had said, and set up fort at the Hellmouth there. She knew she had to find new slayers, teach them and guide them, maybe set up a training facility or whatever. Yet she had decided to let the new slayerettes visit their families and for the Scoobies to head out to Los Angeles. She settled on L.A because a) Angel was here and she'd like to visit him b) bigger city, more vamps, more demons, more stuff to do and c) something in her gut told her to come her. Must've been Spike.
Spike back from the dead, and human. It was too bizarre for words. Is this where the road was going to take her? If Spike was human now, maybe they could have a somewhat normal life together. They'd get jobs, maybe get married, raise a family... the new roads were endless. She did love him, more than she loved Angel, if that was even possible. That was the thing though. Did she love Spike more than Angel? Angel was her first... everything. She loved Angel so much, that she hated herself for doing so. Letting herself be vulnerable like that. Then came Riley. She did love Riley, but more for being there than anything. She had to admit, she treated Riley worse than Spike. With Spike there was sort of an animal desire, a want, a need, an itch she needed scratched. And he did it. Oh, did he do it. And she figured out the big difference between Angel and Spike. Spike loved her when he was the Big Bad. Angel didn't. When time came, and neither had a soul, who was going to kill her? That was the difference, that was all that was needed to tip the scale. She hadn't lied to Angel when she told him that sometimes she pictured a road leading to him, but she wasn't sure if that was the one she was going to take.
A shrill scream pierced the night air and Buffy took off running towards it. She rounded into a dark alley to see three vamps encircling a young girl and boy. They were twins and gripped each other's hands with fear. The boy was in front of his sister, protecting her from these demons.
"Hey, ugly!" Buffy called and all three vampires turned. "Boy, I was just talking to the one in the middle but if you all think you're ugly, you're right."
The one on the right snarled and prepared to attack but the middle one kept him back. "Stop, Riker," he said.
"Why, Den?" Riker asked. "Now there are three, we can each have a meal."
"That's the slayer," the female vampire on the left said.
"Correction," Faith's voice came from above. Buffy looked up to see the dark-haired slayer up on a fire escape. "She's a slayer."
"Two of them," the female vamp said. "What are we going to do?"
Den, the ringleader, smiled evilly. "Invite our friends." He whistled and suddenly Buffy found herself surrounded by four more vamps from behind.
She looked around and scoffed. "Is that all you got?"
"Uh, B?" Faith voice wavered as Buffy looked up to see at least ten more vampires on the ledges of the buildings.
Buffy sighed, it was gonna be one of those nights. She charged at Den and his companions with a swift kick, Riker was on the ground, but the female grabbed her and threw her down. The four behind her came running up as she scrambled to her feet and drew a stake from her back pocket. She dusted two quickly and punched one in the face while the other grabbed her from behind. Faith jumped down from her perch, three more vamps did so also. Faith plunged her own stake into the one that had a hold of Buffy.
Buffy, now free, led off with a roundhouse and staked another vamp before he hit her. Faith had already dusted three more vamps, but more kept coming. Den, Riker, and the female all watched. The twins had tried to run off but Riker grabbed them and was holding on to each by their hair. One particularly small vamp, had obviously been trained in karate, because he came at Buffy with such fury and agility, that she had a hard time keeping one step ahead of him. He hauled off and punched Buffy with such force that she flew through the air into two vamps, which she shoved and staked.
"That's it Chan!" Riker cheered.
The karate chopping vamp was now after Faith who blocked his every move. She flipped him over her shoulder but he landed on his feet and kicked her hard in the stomach and sent her crashing into the brick wall. She slumped down to the ground.
"Faith!" Buffy called out. She made her way over to the injured slayer.
"See ya soon, slayers!" Den said and then they all vanished.
"Faith, wake up!" Buffy said patting her face lightly. Faith's eyes fluttered open. "Faith, are you okay?"
Faith groaned as she tried to get up. "Did we get them all?"
"No, they left," Buffy replied. "What did you think you were doing? You shouldn't be out here, fighting."
"Jeez, B. A little gratuity for saving your ass," Faith said massaging her shoulder.
"I am grateful. But you could've gotten hurt, or worse," she said nodding to Faith's stomach.
"So what? I'm supposed to be all delicate and let you get killed? I don't think so," Faith countered.
"Not delicate," Buffy said. "Just careful."
"Whatever."
"No, not whatever, Faith. You have to be more responsible. I thought that's what you wanted."
Faith shrugged. "Maybe."
Buffy sighed. "Let's get you back. We'll have the doctor check on you." Faith muttered under her breath but let Buffy walk her back to Wolfram & Hart. She prayed that Robin wouldn't find out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Willow let the little girl lead her into the dark forest in Cordelia's mind. It was like something out of a Brothers Grimm fable. "Is Cordelia in that cottage?" Willow asked when she spied a small house in a clearing. They approached the cottage and the little girl turned the knob.
The little girl shook her head. "Not here." They walked through the door and into, a mall.
"Figures," Willow muttered. She looked around at all the stores. They didn't have regular, tacky store names and they merchandise wasn't regular merchandise. Instead, the stores had titles like, 'Embarrassing Moments', 'Sunnydale High', 'Times at the Bronze'. Willow and the girl walked by a store called 'Intimate Moments' and Willow walked in. It was a movies store, but unlike a Sam Goody, the movies had pictures of Xander, Devon from Oz's band, George Clooney, and Angel on the covers. Giggling, Willow walked around the store, forgetting that she had let go of the little girl's hand. She jogged out and saw the little girl still walking down the mall.
"Hey! Wait!" Willow ran after her, but the girl didn't stop and it seemed like she was getting further away. The little girl went into another store and Willow followed. "Um, little girl, where did you go?" The store was empty and dark. She took one step forward when a hand shot out from the darkness and grabbed her arm.
"Aahh!" Willow screamed and she was dragged into the dark. It pulled her into a lightened room. Cordelia's old bedroom.
"Willow?" The hand belonged to Cordelia. "What are you doing here?"
"Cordy!" Willow embraced the girl. "I'm trying to help you. You're in a coma."
Cordelia shrugged. "I know."
"You do?"
"Yeah. I kinda figured when I kept wandering around here and couldn't wake up. Did you guys defeat the First?"
"Yeah we did. How did you know about that?"
"Eh, I heard. Faith was right. You do hear a lot when you're in a coma." Cordelia said rubbing her ear.
"Faith?"
"Yeah, I saw her earlier. And Buffy. Man, does she look bad. Just because you lose a loved one does not mean you have to stop moisturizing." Willow smiled she sounded like the old Cordelia that she knew and slightly despised. "And Jasmine?" Cordelia asked. "Did they kill Jasmine?"
"Who?"
"Jasmine. She was the Power That Be. Or was... Anyway, did Connor and Angel kill her? She was not good news."
"I- I guess so." Willow was now fully confused. "Who's Connor?"
Cordelia laughed. "Angel's son. You met him, remember?"
Willow's eyes widened. "Angel had a son? He can't have kids! He's a vampire!"
"Yeah, well. He did. With Darla. Am I fat? I heard your metabolism slows down when you're in a coma and the last thing I ate was a bacon cheeseburger 'cause you know I was pregnant and the whole hormonal cravings." Cordelia was talking a mile a minute.
"Wait. Darla?" Willow said trying to comprehend what Cordelia had said. "Angel killed her. In Sunnydale."
"I know, but Wolfram & Hart brought her back as a human and then she was dying and Drusilla turned her into a vampire again," Cordelia explained. "Are you sure I'm not fat?"
"You're not. Cordelia, are you sure you didn't hit you head really hard? 'Cause you're really not making sense."
"I don't remember." She said, running her fingers through her hair. "Did my hair get longer? I wasn't too sure about that haircut."
"Cordelia, stop talking. Let's get out of here and you can explain everything later," Willow said.
"Okay. I really want to see Angel." Cordelia held Willow's hand like a little girl. "I didn't get a chance to tell him. They took me away that night I was supposed to meet him. Then Connor dumped Angel in the ocean. It was extreme bad timing." Cordelia said.
"Who took you away?"
"The Higher Powers. Willow, I became a Higher Power. Can you believe it?" Cordelia smiled.
Willow shook her head. "Not really."
"And you. You're a goddess," Cordelia stopped and smoothed Willow's hair around her face. "You're beautiful."
The redhead smiled. "Thank you. But I'm no goddess."
"Whatever." Cordelia opened a door. "I just want to see Angel. They said that I fulfilled whatever I was supposed to do and could join them. But I was on my way to meet Angel that night," Cordelia replied.
"Meet him for what?"
"To tell him that I love him."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Giles sat back and rubbed his temples. He was tired of reading and deciphering and researching. He thought Buffy's idea for a trip to L.A would be more exciting, what with Disneyland and the La Brea tar pits. They all needed a vacation.
"You okay there, Giles?" Dawn asked.
"I'm fine. I'm getting a migraine, though," he replied. He smiled at the young girl, "Thank you for asking, Dawn." Dawn beamed at him and went back to translating the papers she and Andrew had stolen from Lilah's office.
"Here," Wesley handed Giles a book. "Does that say what I think it says?"
Giles put his glasses back on and read what Wesley had pointed out. " 'After the defeat of the First Evil by the Chosen One and her allies, and the return of a Champion, a great evil will follow. Five signs will signal it's return'," he stopped to look at Wesley. "This is what you've found before?"
Wesley nodded, "Yes, but what I hadn't yet translated were the signs. Here," he flipped the page.
"Oh, I see," Giles continued. " 'The Conception, The Twins, and The Rise and Fall of a Champion, and The Death of True Love'. What does it mean?"
" To be honest, I'm not sure," Wesley said. "But, we know some of these have already happened. Buffy and you all defeated the First, Spike's return..."
"Faith being pregnant," Andrew interrupted.
"What?" All eyes were on the jumpy blonde.
"Uh... Faith, the Dark Slayer, is with child," he said meekly.
It took a moment for that information to sink in and Giles was the first to recover. "Right. With Faith, pregnant, and Spike alive, we'll have to find a way to stop the rest from happening."
"How?" Dawn asked. " 'Cause I sure hope Faith's the only one conceiving here. I do not want to go around knocking on doors, stopping people from doing... it."
"No, it would be Faith. Someone of importance, like a slayer," Wesley said.
"Yes, but Mr. Giles said five signals, there are only four," Andrew said.
"No, 'The Rise and Fall of a Champion'. That's two different things," Dawn pointed out. "What are we going to do?"
"Figure out what to do next," Giles told Dawn and Andrew. "Find Willow and Angel, we'll need them."
"And Buffy?"
He sighed, removed his glasses and cleaned them. "We'll tell her later."
