Notes: Yes, a good part of this (the part about Taz) has been directly ripped off from Nightmare 4, I apologise.
"But
I'm sleeping I'm so deep in
So much more real to me closer than reality"
Black Lab, 'Keep Myself Awake'
Wes looked troubled as Faith recounted the tale of the four girls they met. They had to leave almost straight after a confrontation with Marie. As Taz showed them out she suggested that Faith and Buffy, even Wes, slept in shifts, if anyone looked scared they should wake up the sleeping person. Faith swapped phone numbers with her and told her to call if any of them needed anything.
The Slayers left Wes researching at the library while they headed back to the motel to grab some food. They sat on Buffy's bed to eat as Faith's bed was still broken.
"So what do you think it is that's killing everyone? You've been playing this game longer than me." Faith stretched out on the bed and grinned, but it wasn't a happy grin.
"Some kind of demon?" Buffy replied, also baffled by the concept of a demon that could kill in dreams. "I don't know. Maybe it's like with vampires, some demon took over his essence and has all of his rage and memories and is looking for revenge. Or more likely, glad it's found a host that feels justified doing all this killing. Who knows? We've got to kill it."
"Before it kills anyone else." Faith added. "This Krueger guy killed Annie's cousin. Can you imagine that?"
"No, I really can't." Buffy said. "I've lost people before, but no-one I was close to. I have huge guilt over people who I don't even know. Every time I stake a vampire I wonder if I could have saved them, if I was nearby when they were dying. I couldn't imagine losing someone I cared about."
"It's horrible." Faith replied in a tight voice. "That feeling that you could have done something, and knowing no matter how much damage you do to the bad guys you can't bring her back…"
Faith stopped abruptly and stared at the wall, and Buffy realised that Faith was talking about her first watcher. Maybe this was an opportunity to bridge that last gap between them, the final gap that made Faith feel like an outsider. None of the Scoobies knew she had a Watcher before Giles and that she had watched him die. As she opened her mouth to tell her about Merick, Faith grinned at her crazily. "You know, I think that mouldy patch has grown bigger while we were out."
A knock on the door startled them. "Ladies, may I come in."
"Come on in, Wes." Faith yelled, not moving.
Wes strode in, then gave them a quick lecture about inviting people in without answering the door first. For all they knew he could have been a vampire, or been bitten by one.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yes, Wes. But it's only just getting dark now. No vamps out yet."
"And besides, if you had been bitten you'd still be in the morgue now." Faith added. "That must be a rush," she mused. "Being dead, surrounded by morgue attendants, then jumping up and scaring the shit out of them."
"Yeah, have you seen that bit in Blade?" Buffy replied.
"Ladies…" Wes said in a strained tone.
"Oh right. Boredom. Right there with you." Buffy said.
"B, give the guy a break." Faith said sitting up then smiling at Wes. "Share the details."
"I've found it incredibly difficult to dredge up any information on this Krueger character. However, I emailed Willow and she had a little more success. She found an online journal of a girl who had nightmares about him, she was writing under a pseudonym and her journal was coded. Willow managed to break the code and contact her…"
*~*~*~*
"Taz, dinner."
"Not hungry, Dad." She replied, not looking up from her canvas.
"That's not the point. I never see you anymore. You're always either down in your studio or out with your friends. Even if you're not hungry you will spend some time with me."
"Can't it wait? I'm in the middle of something." Taz sloshed some more paint on the canvas. She hated being interrupted while painting.
"No, it cannot wait!" Her father thundered down to her. "Would it kill you to tear yourself away from that damn canvas?"
Taz considered pointing out that 'that damn canvas' was supplying a scholarship to one of the best art schools in the country, but regretfully set down her pallet. She stared at the painting as if seeing it for the first time.
"Oh holy mother of god…" She murmured. It showed Freddy in all his horrific glory standing outside 1428 Elm Street.
"I'll be right up." She called to her father, suddenly eager to be away from her painting.
*~*~*~*
"Mrs James called me today." Her father said conversationally.
Taz silently cursed Annie's meddling mother. Then quickly added all the parents of Springwood. If they would just open their minds a little maybe some their kids would still be alive.
"She said that you were acting rather strangely." He continued, taking a sip of wine. "She's convinced you're using drugs, Taryn."
Taz pushed her food around her plate listlessly, not bothering to correct her Dad's inability to call her by her nickname. "You know I'm not on drugs."
"I know that." Peter McDonald agreed. "I know exactly what is causing your behaviour."
"You do?" She asked hopefully, abandoning her food and taking a large sip of her juice, she winced at the bitter taste. If she was in Ireland she could have Club Orange, even England had 5-Alive, both were by far superior drinks.
"Yes, you forget that I've had insomnia before. Sleep deprivation can do strange things to you."
"Dad…"
He overrode her objection. "And all this cutting yourself is just a plea for attention, I see that now."
"Dad, I'm not…"
He reached out and pushed up her shirt sleeve, showing her latest wound. "Yes you are. And it's going to be alright. I'm going to help you. We're starting family counselling sessions on Saturday."
Taz took another sip of her juice, wincing at the thought of having to talk about her mother's death for the next eight weeks – or however long counselling took. "Daddy, I'm not cutting myself. I've told you, the nightmares –"
"The nightmares can't hurt you." He said firmly. "And as soon as you get a good night's sleep you'll understand that."
Taz was about to retort when a wave of dizziness washed over her. "I need some coffee." She said thickly, noticing that things were starting to get blurry.
"No coffee, Taryn." Her father reached out and stroked her shoulder. "You need sleep, now I wouldn't usually give sleeping pills to a minor but…"
"Sleeping pills?" She gazed muzzily at her juice, it now had a cloudy look to it and she remembered the bitter taste. "You drugged me?"
"Because I love you."
"Put that on my gravestone you fèicer!" She snapped with as much force as she could muster, staggering to her feet and lunging for the door to her studio.
She stumbled down the stairs, heading for her phone. She managed to find Faith's number. It rang twice before connecting, but instead of Faith's voice all she heard was the screech of metal against metal and a dark chuckle that chilled her to the bone.
"Daddy drugged me, drugged me, drugged me." She babbled, hoping that Faith could hear her. "Dream with me. Help. Drugged me. Dream."
The phone suddenly became to hot to hold, she dropped it to the floor and it burst into flames. "I'm dead." She muttered.
As she fell to the floor she caught sight of her painting. Sharlie was now in the foreground, waving to her. "Come join me, Taz."
"Noooo."
She tried to keep her mind on anything but Freddy as she slipped into the dream world. "Nice things, nice things, nice things."
*~*~*~*
"That was very weird." Faith commented, staring at the phone. "Taz just called, she was babbling like a loon. She sounded really scared."
"What did she say?" Buffy asked.
"She said something about being drugged and that she wanted me to dream with her." Faith replied. "Wes, you got any sleeping tabs?"
He shook his head. "But I do know a bit about hypnotherapy."
"Time to learn more." Faith decided. "Put me out. You two can watch me and take notes or something. I'm going to meet the man of Taz's dreams."
Buffy snorted. "That was a pun so lame even I wouldn't use it."
"Sleep now, pun later."
*~*~*~*
Taz opened her eyes fearfully, then breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't in the boiler room or the house. She was in the butterfly garden, her most favourite place in the whole world.
It was the one place that all her troubles seemed to fly away, the butterflies were so delicate and beautiful. She was safe. She moved closer to get a better look at a butterfly that she'd never seen before. Not that she was an expert, she had no interest in their names or breeds, she just wanted to look at the amazing little creatures.
A large purple butterfly. Taz was in heaven. She reached out to touch it but as she did another butterfly landed on the branch next to it. This one wasn't pretty at all, it was red and green and the edges of its wings were scalloped into points that looked sharp enough to cut.
She watched in horror as it killed the beautiful purple butterfly.
She drew back knowing exactly where this dream was leading. She bumped into something solid.
"Taryn." He said almost lovingly.
She whirled round to face Freddy. "Leave me alone. I never did anything to you!"
He lunged for her, she ducked under is arm and she took off at a run for the door. The butterflies followed her. If she could just get outside… She didn't know what her logic was, but living long enough to reach the door seemed just fine to her. She opened the door and ran through it… straight into 1428 Elm Street.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" She yelled desperately as she ran.
She went to the living room door, as she got there the door slammed in her face, down the hall all the doors were slamming.
She was trapped. Krueger now stood between her and the stairs. She flung herself against the nearest door and started pounding on it but it was no use, she was caught. Her luck had run out.
Krueger walked to her slowly, taking his time, knowing that she had nowhere to go. It may be Taz's dream, but it was his domain.
"Wake up, wake up, wake –" Her instructions were cut off as he grabbed her by the throat and picked her up.
Taz wheezed, feeling her throat begin to collapse, she kicked out at him ineffectually.
As he raised his blades Taz said a silent prayer and hoped that her mother would be there to take her to the afterlife.
Krueger paused. "This is new." He commented before disappearing.
Taz fell to the floor gasping for breath and clutching at her bruised neck.
As she looked up, she realised it wasn't quite over yet. The butterflies all resembled the ugly red and green butterfly that had killed the purple one.
And they were swarming like angry wasps.
*~*~*~*
Faith opened her eyes, preparing herself for the worst. Taz had briefed her on what the dreams were like. Spooky house, fine. Ugly guy with razors on his hands, ok. Boiler room, whatever.
But she wasn't in a spooky house, no ugly razor guy was present and she was fairly sure there wasn't a boiler room anywhere near her.
She was in a place far worse.
She was in her stepfather's apartment.
"Hello, sugar." The voice chilled her to the bone.
It was exactly as she remembered it – despite her many attempts to block it from her memory. The carpet was threadbare and stained, there were empty fast food containers all over the floor and there was a thick smell of sweat in the air.
Her stepfather was also mostly unchanged. He was wider than she remembered, but then four years was a long time. He smelled worse, but the leer in his eyes when she turned to look at him was exactly the same.
Faith felt short of breath. "Stay the fuck away from me." She hissed in a low tone.
"Oh, baby, not pleased to see Daddy?" He asked.
"The only way I wanted to see you again was as a horribly mutilated corpse."
He moved closer to her, so she backed up a little more until her back was firmly pressed against the wall. She knew from months of Slayer training that she was trapping herself but she couldn't seem to fight the fear that was paralysing her.
"Stay back." She snapped. "I'll kill you, I swear to god."
"God isn't listening." He chuckled and moved closer to her, running a fingertip down her arm. She shuddered and stared at him. Something wasn't quite right – well, nothing was right, but something was more wrong than it should be. He didn't chuckle like that, if it was possible, that laugh was dirtier than her stepfather's had ever been. And she knew that he would never wear a sweater that was red and green. He never moved from his place in front of the TV, so clothes weren't important, she'd never seen him in anything other than dirty jeans and a stained vest.
She lashed out, her fist connecting solidly with his cheekbone. He retaliated with a blow to her stomach, she doubled over, severely winded. But when she looked up again her stepfather was gone. Instead stood a man horribly mutilated by burns, he was wearing a red and green striped sweater, a battered fedora hat sat atop his head and most horrifying was the glove that adorned his right hand. On each of the fingers there was a straight razor blade. It was a truly lethal looking weapon.
"So you're him then?" She gasped. Strangely her fear was subsiding. While this guy had a malevolent aura, he did not strike the personal note that seeing her stepfather had.
She felt her rage bubble up that he had managed to get inside her head and pick out the thing she feared the most. All of a sudden she exploded and kicked Krueger hard between the legs. As he doubled over she came in with a roundhouse kick to his head.
But his recovery rate was faster than hers and he reached out and caught her ankle before her foot touched him. She toppled over, twisting her leg awkwardly as she did. And then as he leant over her, raising his blades, she suddenly kicked out with her good leg and caught him under the chin.
She used the few seconds that he was disoriented to get to her feet and put some distance between them. But once more he came after her and she found herself cornered. Krueger didn't seem to be even phased by her attacks on him and her leg hurt like hell. She wasn't even able to do much damage to him, finding herself wholly occupied with defending herself.
She looked around the room desperately hoping for something to use against him or a way to escape. There was a window to her right, it appeared they were three floors up.
I'm a Slayer, I'll bounce, she told herself firmly as she flung herself out of the window. Krueger made a grab for her, his blades tearing into the skin on her arm, but wasn't able to find purchase.
As she fell out of the window she realised that she was a hell of a lot higher up than three floors.
And she wondered how on earth she would bounce if there didn't seem to be any ground beneath her.
*~*~*~*
Buffy's eyes snapped open. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but the pendulum was so hypnotic and Wes's voice had seemed so soothing. She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes, clearing the sleep from them.
The room was empty. "Hrmm." She said. "Nice of Faith and Wes to desert me."
She stood up and stretched her arms out, hearing her bones pop and crack into place. She was kinda hungry, and decided it was time to raid the nearest 7-11.
She opened the door and stepped through it.
Right into the hallway of a house.
"Weird." She commented, but wasn't entirely wigged. She had years of experience living atop a Hellmouth, so far this was no freakier than anything else she'd had to deal with so far. She had seen a cemetery appear almost on the grounds of her school campus a few years back, this was no big deal.
"B!"
She turned to see the source of the voice. Faith was just coming out of a room to her left. "Faith, what's going on? Since when was there a house attached to our motel room door?"
"Don't worry about it, B." Faith said in a throaty tone.
"Ok. But just so you know, it's gonna make it really difficult to go for snacks if the house stays there."
Faith laughed and walked slowly towards her, smiling coolly.
Buffy backed up a little, smiling nervously at Faith. "Hey, personal space! We have an entire hallway, why are you giving me a lap dance?"
Faith smiled again. "Maybe because I want to." She said, using the same husky tone. "Maybe because you want me to…"
"Faith…" Buffy held up her hands to stop her, but Faith caught them and pinned her to the wall, hands above her head, leaning into her, the younger Slayer's hips pressing against Buffy's own.
"Don't tell me you haven't thought about this." Faith smiled.
Then she vamped. "I know you have."
Buffy froze for several seconds, her mind buzzing with many thoughts, mostly flashbacks of the pain that killing Angel had caused her, although her mind was quick to point out that Faith still looked hot as a vampire.
Then her mind snapped into Slayer mode, and as Faith started lowering her fangs to Buffy's throat she head-butted her. The vamp staggered back, allowing her to free her hands and get a few lucky punches that forced her to retreat even further, giving Buffy space to escape. The only way not blocked by Faith was the stairs, so she tore up them, trying not to think about her fellow Slayer wearing a new pair of fangs.
But heavy footfalls let her know that Faith was following closely behind her, she stopped dead swiftly kicking out, she was rewarded by an almost comic "ooof" and the sound of Faith falling downstairs.
"Sorry." She whispered, then continued up the last few stairs to the top, unnerved by the silence. Vampires could take a hell of a beating, why wasn't Faith getting up?
She turned and looked downstairs.
Faith was gone.
*~*~*~*
"Father, let me out!" Wes pleaded, hammering on the cupboard door. He wasn't entirely sure how his father had found him in Ohio, but he did know why. His father had told him that he knew Wes was failing as a Watcher (just like he always knew he would), and that he obviously needed a form of encouragement.
He had berated Wes for a good few minutes before using the age old punishment of locking him in the cupboard. Wes was scared of small spaces, he couldn't remember if he had always been scared of them or if it had started because his father was apt to lock him in the cupboard.
Right now he didn't care. He was finding it hard to catch his breath and he was trembling. The air in there seemed too warm and it was dark, pitch black.
Suddenly the door opened and with a flash of light a girl with purple hair flew into the cupboard, landing on top of him before slamming the door. There was a sound of hundreds of metal objects slamming into the door, the wood splintered and sagged but held. The girl burst into tears.
"Who's there?" She asked through her sniffles. "Maya? Faith?"
"I'm Wesley." Wes supplied, somewhat comforted that there was someone else present, even if it was only a girl who was crying. More so, she was Irish, and for some reason he found that soothing.
"You're English? Wait, Wes as in Faith's friend?"
"Yes. And you are?"
"Taz."
"Ah, the girl who called us."
"Please tell me that someone is still awake." She said, fighting back the tears. "Someone has to be out there to bring you out. This is scary shit, if you die in here you die for real."
"In here?"
"The dream world."
"I'm asleep?"
"Big time. You don't think this could happen in the real world? I've just been attacked by metal butterflies."
"So, he's not really here?" Wes asked.
"He who? Freddy? He's here, he's always here."
"My father." Wes replied shortly.
"That fucker." Taz snapped. "He does that, plays with your fears. Whatever you're most scared of he'll be it." She reached out and patted him awkwardly. "He was a monster for Sharlie, she saw a monster movie when she was a kid and never really got over it."
"What was he for you?" Wes asked, knowing it was a personal question, but feeling that he had shared something personal and needed reassurance that everyone else had a weakness somewhere.
"He was my Mum." The girl replied bitterly. "I said something horrible to her the day she died, I didn't realise she was sick!" He felt her shrug in the darkness. "Anyway, we need to get out of here, he'll find us and I really don't like the idea of being rats in a trap."
Once more the door swung open, their heads snapped up towards the light, Faith smiled down at them. "Wes, it's killing me not to make an 'in the closet' joke here. Oh, and for the record, Taz is my age, I think she's a little young for you."
Taz glared at her. "Fuck off, Krueger."
Faith smiled. "I see he's pulled that shit with you, pretending to be someone else. Well, would he be an injured me?" She gestured to her bruised and grazed leg, and her arm with its four slashes. "Let's get the fuck out of here."
"What happened?" Wes asked, climbing out of the cupboard.
"Fell out of a window." She replied shortly. "And he kicked my ass."
Taz looped an arm around Faith's waist and helped her walk.
"Anyone got any bright ideas how we get out of here?" Faith asked. "Because I've just about had my fill of Wonderland."
"Get the fuck away from them, Faith."
All three turned to see Buffy at the end of the hall, holding a badly fashioned stake that looked as if it once was a chair leg.
"B? When did you arrive in the fucked up version of Disneyland?" Faith asked.
"Back off, vampy." Buffy replied, moving towards them.
"She's really Faith." Taz supplied. "See, she's bleeding and all."
"A fact that is disturbingly comforting." Wesley added.
"What? Have you all gone insane?" Buffy asked, flummoxed.
They stared at her as she became transparent and finally disappeared.
"She's awake." Taz said flatly. "Lucky cow. Let's just hope she wakes you up."
"Can't we wake ourselves up?" Faith asked, as they hobbled to the front door of the house.
"Maybe you can, but I'm drugged."
"What did you take?" Wesley asked.
"Take?" Taz was outraged. "Take! I didn't take anything! I was bloody tranked by me own Dad."
"Hey, you wanna calm down? You don't want to go reminding him we're still here." Faith said.
Taz still looked pissed off. "You wanna know why we're still alive? It's because he's found someone else to torment. Someone is dying right now."
Wesley looked as if he was going to be sick. "There's no way you can know…" he said softly.
"No, but if you listen to the news tomorrow you'll know for sure." Taz replied in a flip tone. "You two look horrified, try living with this for as long as we all have with…" She tailed off as Wes began to look transparent and vanished.
"See you on the other side." Taz said flatly to Faith.
"I'm not leaving you." Faith replied firmly. "If she wakes me up I'll just knock myself out again."
"WAKE UP!" Taz bellowed right in her face.
"Taz?"
"No! Now! Wake up!" She started dragging Faith towards the door, her eyes never leaving the hallway behind them.
"What?" Faith looked over her shoulder, knowing what she would find.
Krueger was walking slowly along the corridor, taking his time, a sadistic smile playing on his face. Faith looked back towards the door, but it suddenly seemed twice as far away as it had before. She realised that her perception wasn't fucked, the hallway had stretched.
"We have to wake up." She panted.
"Oh really, you think?"
Faith came to a halt and slapped Taz hard across the face.
"Ok, no making with the funnies while death stalks us. Got it." Taz said, rubbing her face.
"Wake up!" Faith yelled.
"It won't work, I'm drugged!" Taz yelled back, trying to drag the Slayer along the hall once more.
"Yes, Taryn." Krueger agreed almost conversationally. "But I don't want you." He turned to Faith. "I want her." He used one of his blades to point.
He raised his blades high and slashed.