Back to Buffy.
Xander parked the truck and everyone came running.
Willow looked at the body on the ground and then saw the sadness in Buffy's eyes and rushed over and gave her a big hug.
Dawn followed as did Xander and soon everyone was hugging Buffy, which is exactly what she needed.
After the hug Buffy filled everyone in on who Fatum was and what had happened, Xander had grabbed a shovel and was ready to help, but before he could take a step something appeared out of the sky.
It was a demon or it sure looked like one, but Buffy knew it was one of Fatum's kind and stepped forward to greet it, "Hi, I'm so sorry about Fatum, I should've been out here when this happened. I am so sorry."
A tall, rather hideous looking creature moved towards Buffy, "You did nothing wrong, Fatum was never happier than his short time here with you. We will take him back to our world and he will be remembered as a wonderful ambassador and leader and we hope you keep him in your heart as I know he would like that."
"I will, I promise you that." Buffy said unable to hold back her tears.
"Your destiny awaits, fulfill it and I know Fatum would be proud. Farewell Buffy." The demon said and then disappeared along with Fatum.
"Do you know what he meant by your destiny awaits?" Xander asked as he put his shovel back in the truck.
"No, I haven't got a clue, but whatever it is I'm pretty sure it has to do with that building over there." Buffy said pointing to the storage facility.
"Well then, let's get a move on." Dawn said as she began walking towards the building.
"You get back here young lady." Buffy said as she grabbed Dawn's t-shirt and pulled her to a stop. "You aren't going anywhere. You can stay here with the others. I need to do this on my own."
"But." Dawn began but quickly felt Buffy's hand over her mouth.
"Please Dawn, don't argue with me, not now, I can't take it." Buffy said as she hugged her sister.
"Okay, I'm sorry, I just wanted to help. I never get to help you and I want to so much, just once." Dawn said with a sad but pleading look on her face.
Willow walked up and gently pulled Dawn away from Buffy, "Dawn, let's stay here and let Buffy take care of this."
Xander moved towards Buffy, "You don't have to do this alone anymore. We are here now and you know we can help."
"Yes and I'm so grateful for all you've done for me, but I have to do this alone. I'm not trying to shut you out, I'm not." Buffy said with a conviction that couldn't be ignored. "When I find what I need, I'll be counting on all of you to help me, but for now I need you to stay here and take out any vamps that happen by and I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Just be careful, okay?" Dawn asked as she gave her sister a long hug.
"I will. I'll feel much better knowing you are safe." Buffy then smiled at the others as she walked back into the storage building.
This time she had one thing on her mind, finding Dr. Pisnovski and learning more about his research.
She made it down the elevator shaft, moved through some corridors, dispatching many vamps along the way as she closed in on Dr. Pisnovski's office.
Once she took out the two guards, she broke down the door, took out three more vamps and continued through the main doors and into a huge computer center with hundreds of humans operating the computers.
There were men and women of all ages in the room. There had to be over 200 people in the room and all were staring at the screens in front of them, pushing buttons and looking at reports, but with no expressions or emotions on their faces.
They didn't seem to notice as Buffy walked through the room and opened the door at the far end. Inside it was a smaller room, holding truckloads of computer printouts, each box with a specific ID number on it.
Buffy picked up one print-out, but it was impossible to tell what the numbers meant, but they were obviously tracking something as the data was in sequential order, but without knowing what they were tracking, it was a dead end.
With a door to her right Buffy opened it and stepped inside. There were rows and rows filing cabinets in the room, at least 300 in total.
Opening the first one, she shuffled through the different folders, each listed with a number and nothing else. Inside the folder were pictures of people along with their physical information and their health history.
There were circles made over the ages, weights, and blood types of each person, with a genetic marker code given to each one as well.
As she looked through more and more files, Buffy found that the one common denominator in all the files was no date of death for anyone. The only question was what condition they might be in after the good doctor was through with them.
A noise from the other room caused Buffy to turn around in a flash, sending one of the file folders to the ground. She knelt down, picked it up, put it in her jacket and moved to the window to see what was going on.
Dr. Pisnovski and a couple of his flunkies were giving injections to the workers. What he was injecting them with was unknown.
Buffy analyzed her options as she looked over the room and with only three vamps in the room with the psycho doctor, she made her move. She jumped out from the door ready to fight but there was an even louder commotion on the other side of the room as she saw two vamps turn to dust and then the third one go up in smoke and right after that Dr. Pisnovski came through the far doors being pushed forward by Xander, Kennedy, Dawn and Willow.
"Hi there Buffy, here's someone you probably want to talk to." Willow said as she grabbed Pisnovski by the collar and led him over to Buffy.
"I don't know whether to hug you or yell at you for not listening." Buffy said, not believing her eyes.
"Well, Kennedy is a slayer now and I know my way around a spell or two and Dawn and Xander are a lot more capable than you might realize." Willow motioned everyone to come closer, "Anyway, we wanted to help and we did, so what next?"
"Thanks, to all of you." Buffy said with a genuine smile and then turned to Dr. Pisnovski, "We meet again. Do you feel talkative now?"
"Go ahead, enjoy your little victory while you can. I've already finished my research, tested it and now will show you my masterful creations." Dr. Pisnovski tried to push a button on his coat, but Willow grabbed his hands and Buffy grabbed the coat and pulled it off him.
"What do we have here?" Buffy asked as she examined the button closer, "I guess you won't get to show me your creations after all. Why not tell me what you've done with all these people here. They look like zombies."
"Oh I don't care about these people, they were nothing more than a means to an end." The doctor said as he tried to escape Buffy's grasp, but got nowhere. "They are in a deep hypnotized state. They have not been harmed in any way."
"Not harmed? Are you crazy?" Buffy said, trying to comprehend what she'd just heard. "You kidnapped them, took them from their family and friends, took their blood, messed with their DNA and turned them into your slaves and you don't call that harm?"
"Details, details, stop whining, they're alive aren't they." Dr. Pisnovski said without any feeling. "I'm not some killer you know. I am a genetic engineer who wants only to further scientific discoveries. I wanted to work with humans, but was turned down by every major research lab in the country. I was approached by what I thought was a respectable businessman to do some research for him and it turns out he was a vampire. I was more interested in continuing my research than worrying about such things so I did my thing and he left me alone."
"Aren't you a saint." Buffy said sarcastically, "Tell me what you have done here."
"Fine, I suppose it doesn't matter now, they will be released sooner or later and when they are not even a slayer will stop them. Then the world will see that my research is to be reckoned with." Pisnovski said with a proud smile.
Xander was looking at some of the print outs as he listened to the doctor, "What makes these vampires so special?"
"Oh they aren't vampires any longer." He said, his voice raising as he became excited about his accomplishments. "I would have to reclassify them, because they are no longer susceptible to sunlight, therefore allowing them to roam around 24 hours a day. A stake to the heart won't kill them now. And it would take an axe with a 12 inch thick titanium blade to even put a dent in their necks. That's just the beginning."
"That's not possible." Dawn said as she looked at Buffy for conformation.
Buffy pulled Dawn close, "I don't know if it's possible or not, but whatever he's been doing here we do have to find out first hand." "It is possible and I have created them. All my work with gene splicing and DNA manipulation has finally paid off. Let me show you." He said and then waited for Buffy to show him to a computer.
He pulled up a number of files before turning to everyone and pointing towards his monitor. "I'm sure these numbers, graphs and charts mean nothing to you, but if you look closely at the data on the right, it's a complete breakdown of the millions and millions of DNA samples that I've accumulated. This next page is what happens when I melded the different DNA together." He showed a number of complex pictures on the following screens, followed by a close-up of one of his DNA manipulations.
"You see how in this example the DNA is not mutated. In most cases of DNA manipulation the DNA is instantly destroyed, but I found in very rare instances that DNA can be joined, thus creating a new and ultimately more powerful DNA. Now, once I figured out which samples of DNA would match with other samples, I could then start inserting the new DNA into the never- ending supply of vampires. Most died instantly as the new DNA had a diverse reaction to most every part of the Vampire's remaining human organs, as well as tearing apart the skin tissue at such a rapid pace the vampires were literally eaten away from the inside. It was a very nasty sight to be sure. But, that's science for you." He said with a warped laugh.
"I get it, you somehow found a way to mix the DNA of humans and vampires and have made some super vamp, well, show me the way and I'll test your new vamp out for ya." Buffy said, her patience on edge from listening to him yammer on for so long.
"I haven't explained how I got it all to work yet. Kids these days, you have no sense of the big picture." Dr. Pisnovski said with a sigh, "Oh well, if you wish to see my creations I insist you get me out of this place because I haven't yet worked out the coding to program them completely. My guess is they'd kill me as quickly as they kill all your friends here."
"Isn't that a shame, I'd say that works in our favor." Buffy said and then grabbed Pisnovski by the neck and began pushing him towards the door, "You can come with me and if there's anything you want to share about how to stop your new creations just let me know."
"Wait, you can't do this." Pisnovski said, fear filling his eyes as he tried to get Buffy to listen to him. "I'm just a mere mortal; I'll be pulverized by these killing machines. This is inhuman. I'll report you to the.well, I don't know who, but I will. Now you will let me go Miss Buffy."
Buffy stopped and turned towards the group, "Kennedy, could you come help with the good doctor here. I can't be watching him if these things get loose." She then turned back to Pisnovski, "I have no time for your games. How do I stop these things you've created? If I can't stop them, well I don't like your chances in getting out of here alive."
"Fine, I can always create more with different strengths and weaknesses." He said, his survival instincts taking over, "I have a self destruct sequence programmed into each one. They have a packet of the mutated DNA and they will drink it and die instantly. It's executed when they hear the word, 'Godzilla'"
"Godzilla?" Buffy laughed, "That's different."
"It had to be something they wouldn't hear in normal conversation and something I could say fast in case things got out of control during the training process." He reluctantly explained.
"Good, now where are they?" Buffy said as she looked around the lab.
Dr. Pisnovski hesitated for a couple seconds, but knew it was futile, so he gave in, "You take the elevator to the basement, follow the corridor to a security gate, enter the combination, 345292, and they are in cages at the end of the room. There are only 12, so you can have them self destruct without leaving their cages."
"Keep the doctor here until I return, just in case he's not telling the whole truth." Buffy said as she moved towards the elevator.
"Wait." He yelled, as Buffy turned and gave him a nasty look he cleared his throat and grinned, "Um, I guess I forgot to tell you there are 6 regular vamps guarding the cages and there is one of my creations in a cage in my office on the 1st floor. Sorry, it slipped my mind."
Buffy walked up to the doctor, grabbed him and pulled him into the elevator with her, "Okay, I'm done playing games. If there are any surprises waiting or me, I have my human shield to protect me now. Ain't it great?"
"No, um, I have told you everything." He said as his face turned red with fear and as the elevator stopped at the basement he stopped moving, "Okay, I just hate to see all my work destroyed. I've spent years and years working on this. It's just hard. There are at least 36 of my creations in different parts of the facility. There are 12 in the basement here, but others are spread in groups of 6 on the different floors. All our in cages and have the same programming, but they would be killing machines if they got released and I'm not ready for that to happen."
"How noble of you." Buffy said with a heaping helping of sarcasm as she punched in the code to the first security gate, waited for it to close then turned to the doctor. "I'm going to take care of the vamps and then your creations and you better me here when I get back. Is that understood?"
"Yes, of course. I have told you everything now, I have no reason to run. I'm safer with you now." He said with a dejected look covering his face.
Buffy didn't say a thing as she turned and moved down the long corridor, stopping to check out the placements of the vamps in the room. She moved quietly up to the first one, tapped it on the shoulder and staked it as soon as it turned around.
When it turned to dust, the other vamps all turned and rushed towards her at once.
After some fairly simple fighting the regular vamps were history.
She walked up the vamps in the cages and couldn't see one difference in them from the ones she'd just disposed of.
They were all pulling at their cages trying to get at Buffy and when it seemed as though they might break out Buffy yelled the magic word, "Godzilla" and the vamps all pulled out a vial, drank it and began disintegrating on the spot.
Buffy went back, grabbed the doctor and went through each and every floor until every single vamp was destroyed, as were the creations.
When she had finished dealing with the vamps she took the doctor back to the room with all the people working at the computers, "Now, there's one more thing, you need to let all those workers free. Say the magic word so they can get back to their lives."
"Yes, of course." He said with little resistance and then stepped into the room. "Alex Trebek."
As soon as he said it, the people stopped working and began looking around, trying to figure out where they were and what they were doing.
"Alex Trebek? That's the magic word?" Buffy said shaking her head with a faint smile.
"What can I say, I love Jeopardy." He said with a shrug. Buffy took a moment to explain to everyone what had happened and after dispersing a posse that wanted to tear the doctor apart she helped everyone out of the building.
Outside her friends were waiting for her and she pushed the doctor towards Xander, "Could you tie him or lock him somewhere until the police get here. I can't stand looking at him any longer." "Sure thing." Xander agreed and then grabbed the short little man and took him over to his pickup, tied him up and stood watch over him.
Buffy unzipped her jacket to get some air and the folder she'd put inside fell to the ground. She picked it up, opened it and looked it over.
There was no name, but there was a picture of the young woman and as she held it up for a better look the exact same woman walked up to Buffy and she was standing beside her picture as Buffy looked at the picture and then the woman and shook her head in amazement.
"Hi, you seem to know what's going on here. I was wondering if you knew where we were and how I could get back home?" the young woman said politely.
"Of course, what's your name?" Buffy asked as she pulled the picture down and stuffed it back into the folder.
"Oh, I'm Lisa Moyer." She said as she shook Buffy's hand, "I live in Bishop County and I want to get home to my family, they must be worried sick. I don't even know how long I've been gone, do you?"
"I'm sorry I don't know when you were taken. It's August of 2003 now if that helps." Buffy said as she took the woman's hand and led inside the house.
The gang stayed outside and helped the others get readjusted to the world and help them on their way.
Buffy sat Lisa down and explained to her everything that she knew about what had happened to her and then tried to talk about something more enjoyable. "I'll be glad to help you get back home. Bishop County isn't far from where I live so we can head over there when you feel up to it."
"Thank you, I can't tell you how much I miss my family." Lisa said as she sat back in the chair and stretched her arms and legs out. "Even my little sister will be a welcome sight."
"I know they will all be just as happy to have you back home." Buffy said, just happy things turned out so good for this young girl.
"I guess I probably should get going then. Are you sure it's no trouble taking me home? I can walk if it's not far or call a cab or my parent's even." Lisa said as she got to her feet again. "No, it's no trouble at all." Buffy said, leading Lisa out to the truck. "I have the strangest feeling I should be in Bishop County now, so I think I better find out why."
When they walked outside, they saw the police taking Dr. Pisnovski away. There was an FBI team was all over the storage facility and Buffy and her friends all gave their statements and were free to go.
Everyone hopped into the truck, with 3 in the front and three in the cab of the truck and Xander took off down the dirt road and made his way to Bishop County.
It was a slow ride, with so many people walking down the road, but once they got onto the highway things picked up and within a couple hours they came across the, "Welcome to Bishop County' sign.
Lisa took over giving directions and Xander pulled up outside Lisa's home about 10 minutes later. She got out of the truck and slowly walked up to her front door, just smiling and looking over every familiar inch of the home she hadn't seen in over a year.
Back to Faith.
Inside, Isabella was taken to the emergency room where the doctors worked on her until they had her moderately stable and a doctor came out to talk to Faith, "Are you Faith?"
"Yes. Is she going to be okay? You will save her right?" Faith said her voice breaking up as she spoke.
"Isabella would like to talk to you. Please keep it short, but I'm sorry to say she doesn't much time." The doctor said softly and then walked away.
Faith was stunned by what she'd just been told and wasn't sure how she could face Isabella now, but she pulled herself together and walked into the emergency room.
"Hi there." Faith said, trying to put on a happy face.
Isabella turned to look at Faith and a smile came across her pretty face, "Hi, I bet I don't look very good right now."
"You look beautiful." Faith said with sad smile, "How do you feel?"
"Not great, but better now that you're here." Isabella winced and held her chest, "This isn't how I thought our last meeting would be like."
"I know.you shouldn't talk right now." Faith said as she caressed Isabella's hand, You saved my life. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. I was supposed to save you." Faith tried to keep the tears away but just couldn't do it.
"Don't cry." Isabella said softly as she put her hand over Faith's, "Looks like I'm out of visions and you're safe from looking at my life now."
"Please don't joke about this." Faith said, putting her other hand over Isabella's, "You're my hero. Do you know that? The only other hero in my life is Buffy, but now I have two. But you have to get better so you can meet her, okay?"
Isabella coughed and winced as she smiled up at Faith, "I guess we're even then, cause you're my hero. I want you to tell my parent's I love them. I want you to have a good life and a happy life and fulfill your destiny. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet Buffy, I know I would've liked her. Goodbye Faith." Isabella smiled and closed her eyes.
Just then the single white line appeared on the machine and a loud buzzing sound began going off. Faith looked up and saw the straight white line and knew what it meant, "Wait, no, noo, noooo. Please don't go. Isabella. Please."
Doctors and nurses rushed into the room, ushering Faith out in the process. After working non stop for the longest time Faith saw a nurse turn off the machine and cover Isabella up.
Faith was unable to move and barely said a thing as the doctor told her that Isabella had died.
She sank to the chair and cried and cried and cried. When she looked up, she saw Isabella's parent's standing over Isabella. Debra was crying and Harlan was in a state of shock and disbelief.
After they said their goodbye's they came out to see Faith.
They both gave Faith a big hug and she pulled away, "No don't do that, I don't deserve it. I'm so sorry. I should've seen this coming. I should've protected her. I failed."
Debra pulled Faith close and gave her another hug, "No, sweetheart, it's not your fault. The paramedics told us what happened. She saved your life. The only blame is to the person who fired that gun. Please, you can't blame yourself. It's not what Isabella would want."
"Debra is right." Harlan said as he put his hand on Faith's shoulder, "This is a horrible, horrible tragedy, but we will take solace in the fact our daughter saved someone's life today. Someone she looked up to and admired so much. You made a huge impression on her and we'll always be grateful for that."
Faith was overwhelmed by emotions as she tried to make sense out of what had just happened.
"I don't know what to say. She was so happy and smiling and.I just don't understand any of this." Faith said, still shaken by the tragic turn of events.
"I know, I know." Debra said as she sat Faith down and held her until Faith fell asleep in her arms.
It was a couple hours later when Faith woke up in Debra's lap, "I can't believe I fell asleep. I feel so dumb."
"It's not dumb, you had a very long day and you needed this more than you know." Debra said as she watched Faith sit up and get to her feet.
"You didn't have to stay." Faith said as she looked over at the emergency room, only to find it empty.
"I have to tell you something now and I'm not sure if it's the right time or not, but since I don't know your plans I have to say it before it's too late." Debra took out a letter from her purse and handed it to Faith, "Isabella gave me this just before you got back tonight. She didn't tell me what it was, but she was emphatic about me giving this to you before you left. She said you'd understand when you read it."
Faith took the letter and stood there frozen in her tracks.
Debra got up and touched Faith's arm, "You should go outside and read this in private. Harlan and I have to make some arrangements, but we'd love to have you stay with us tonight."
"Thank you, yes, I'd like that." Faith said, her eyes glued to the letter.
"Okay, you go read this and we'll see you back at the house." Debra picked up her coat and walked towards the door, then stopped to look at Faith, "This is a terrible time for all of us, but I want you to remember Isabella when she was smiling, I know it's what she'd want." She smiled as she wiped her own tears away and walked down the hall and out of sight.
Back to Buffy.
It was quiet and even a little eerie as she looked around the deserted streets.
A neighbor drove up in his car and when he got out and saw Lisa standing looking back at him he froze and stood there in silence.
Lisa ran over to him and gave him a hug, "Mr. Jensen, it's really me. I'm home again."
"I can't believe it, it's a miracle." He said as he looked at Buffy and the gang standing behind her.
"Those are the people that helped rescue me." Lisa said as she looked back over her shoulder, then turned to Mr. Jensen, "Where is everyone?"
Mr. Jensen's eyes bulged out and he became visibly shaken, "Oh Lisa, you need to go the hospital now. Your mom and dad are there now. Please go."
"What, is something wrong? Is it dad? Mom?" She asked, not even thinking it could be Isabella.
"Please go there now." Mr. Jensen gave her a hug and walked slowly into his house.
Lisa turned and ran towards the truck, everyone piled back into it and Xander followed Lisa's directions and soon had pulled up in front of the hospital.
Buffy got out and walked with Lisa through the hospital, stopping as Lisa saw her mom and dad walking towards her.
They stopped dead in their tracks, mouths open and tears still fresh on their faces. After walking away from unspeakable sadness, they were now walking towards the return of their other daughter.
Lisa rushed forward and hugged them both, but she could feel something was wrong just by looking at them. Their happiness to see Lisa was marred by what they'd just been through with their youngest daughter.
Buffy looked down the corridor to see a dark haired girl walking away and as she turned to see Lisa's parents tell Lisa about Isabella, her heart broke for the family.
She knew they needed time together so she followed the girl out of the hospital, looked around and spotted her go up on the hill and quickly followed. She stopped once she was sure it was Faith, letting her read the letter in her hand in private.
Faith took the letter and walked out of the hospital and up on the hill overlooking the small town, sat down on an old log and opened up the letter.
As she read it, she heard every word in Isabella's soft sweet voice.
Faith.
I know you must be feeling bad about now. I know you will be blaming yourself for my death and I can't let you do that.
I've lived a very boring 16 years and yet I can say with certainty that today was the best day of my life.
I don't think you have a clue how much you meant to me in the short time that I've known you, but I've never smiled so much or felt so alive as I have just being around you.
I know we could never be together and maybe it's silly to even say this, since I've only known you a day, but I think I love you. I don't know if it's just as a friend or more, but I know I feel this and I wanted you to know it to.
When you were off searching for the demon, I was feeling lonely so I picked up your bag to be close to you and when I did, I had the most intense vision ever.
I've never had one touching an object before, but this one was so real I can barely write this because I'm still shaking from it.
You're not going to like it, but I saw my own death. I saw it through your pretty dark eyes. I saw the man aiming the gun and I could see it was going to hit you and I just couldn't let that happen. You told me once that you would rather die and save my life than stand by and do nothing, well, that's exactly how I felt and I'm so proud to have saved your life.
I know you are meant to do great things and I can't stand in the way of this for anything, not even my own life. Please don't be mad, but I know you have a destiny to fulfill and I will be watching over you when it happens. Love Isabella.
Faith was sobbing uncontrollably as she finished reading the letter, unable to stop herself as she fell to the ground and screamed a single word into the air over and over and over again, "Why?"
When she saw Faith break down in tears and scream out, "Why?" she rushed over, put her arms around her and held her close.
Faith looked up, her eyes filled with tears, to see Buffy holding her and a sense of relief and comfort came over her, helping deal with the mind numbing sadness she was feeling.
Neither girl said a thing, Buffy just held Faith tight and let her cry until she cried herself to sleep.
As the sun came up a mysterious gaseous cloud had formed over the small town, with people dropping like flies as they took their first breath outside. Buffy and Faith woke up to the smell and as they covered their faces, they noticed a strange hovercraft just up the hill. They ran towards it, stopping about 100 feet away, when they looked down to see Faith's bracelet glowing and Buffy's amulet glowing, they opened them both up and a blinding flash filled the sky, the gaseous cloud had disappeared, but so had Buffy and Faith.
The End of the Prologue.
Now the story of Buffy and Faith's true destiny will begin. With a story that spans centuries and tests both girls courage, willpower and love. It will show how their love must withstand many obstacles as they travel to strange lands before ending up in a place where they could be happy forever. But, will that be enough for the two adventurous slayers or will something or someone try to tear them apart as they struggle to be together through it all.
Questions, comments can be sent to buffyfaith19@yahoo.com
Xander parked the truck and everyone came running.
Willow looked at the body on the ground and then saw the sadness in Buffy's eyes and rushed over and gave her a big hug.
Dawn followed as did Xander and soon everyone was hugging Buffy, which is exactly what she needed.
After the hug Buffy filled everyone in on who Fatum was and what had happened, Xander had grabbed a shovel and was ready to help, but before he could take a step something appeared out of the sky.
It was a demon or it sure looked like one, but Buffy knew it was one of Fatum's kind and stepped forward to greet it, "Hi, I'm so sorry about Fatum, I should've been out here when this happened. I am so sorry."
A tall, rather hideous looking creature moved towards Buffy, "You did nothing wrong, Fatum was never happier than his short time here with you. We will take him back to our world and he will be remembered as a wonderful ambassador and leader and we hope you keep him in your heart as I know he would like that."
"I will, I promise you that." Buffy said unable to hold back her tears.
"Your destiny awaits, fulfill it and I know Fatum would be proud. Farewell Buffy." The demon said and then disappeared along with Fatum.
"Do you know what he meant by your destiny awaits?" Xander asked as he put his shovel back in the truck.
"No, I haven't got a clue, but whatever it is I'm pretty sure it has to do with that building over there." Buffy said pointing to the storage facility.
"Well then, let's get a move on." Dawn said as she began walking towards the building.
"You get back here young lady." Buffy said as she grabbed Dawn's t-shirt and pulled her to a stop. "You aren't going anywhere. You can stay here with the others. I need to do this on my own."
"But." Dawn began but quickly felt Buffy's hand over her mouth.
"Please Dawn, don't argue with me, not now, I can't take it." Buffy said as she hugged her sister.
"Okay, I'm sorry, I just wanted to help. I never get to help you and I want to so much, just once." Dawn said with a sad but pleading look on her face.
Willow walked up and gently pulled Dawn away from Buffy, "Dawn, let's stay here and let Buffy take care of this."
Xander moved towards Buffy, "You don't have to do this alone anymore. We are here now and you know we can help."
"Yes and I'm so grateful for all you've done for me, but I have to do this alone. I'm not trying to shut you out, I'm not." Buffy said with a conviction that couldn't be ignored. "When I find what I need, I'll be counting on all of you to help me, but for now I need you to stay here and take out any vamps that happen by and I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Just be careful, okay?" Dawn asked as she gave her sister a long hug.
"I will. I'll feel much better knowing you are safe." Buffy then smiled at the others as she walked back into the storage building.
This time she had one thing on her mind, finding Dr. Pisnovski and learning more about his research.
She made it down the elevator shaft, moved through some corridors, dispatching many vamps along the way as she closed in on Dr. Pisnovski's office.
Once she took out the two guards, she broke down the door, took out three more vamps and continued through the main doors and into a huge computer center with hundreds of humans operating the computers.
There were men and women of all ages in the room. There had to be over 200 people in the room and all were staring at the screens in front of them, pushing buttons and looking at reports, but with no expressions or emotions on their faces.
They didn't seem to notice as Buffy walked through the room and opened the door at the far end. Inside it was a smaller room, holding truckloads of computer printouts, each box with a specific ID number on it.
Buffy picked up one print-out, but it was impossible to tell what the numbers meant, but they were obviously tracking something as the data was in sequential order, but without knowing what they were tracking, it was a dead end.
With a door to her right Buffy opened it and stepped inside. There were rows and rows filing cabinets in the room, at least 300 in total.
Opening the first one, she shuffled through the different folders, each listed with a number and nothing else. Inside the folder were pictures of people along with their physical information and their health history.
There were circles made over the ages, weights, and blood types of each person, with a genetic marker code given to each one as well.
As she looked through more and more files, Buffy found that the one common denominator in all the files was no date of death for anyone. The only question was what condition they might be in after the good doctor was through with them.
A noise from the other room caused Buffy to turn around in a flash, sending one of the file folders to the ground. She knelt down, picked it up, put it in her jacket and moved to the window to see what was going on.
Dr. Pisnovski and a couple of his flunkies were giving injections to the workers. What he was injecting them with was unknown.
Buffy analyzed her options as she looked over the room and with only three vamps in the room with the psycho doctor, she made her move. She jumped out from the door ready to fight but there was an even louder commotion on the other side of the room as she saw two vamps turn to dust and then the third one go up in smoke and right after that Dr. Pisnovski came through the far doors being pushed forward by Xander, Kennedy, Dawn and Willow.
"Hi there Buffy, here's someone you probably want to talk to." Willow said as she grabbed Pisnovski by the collar and led him over to Buffy.
"I don't know whether to hug you or yell at you for not listening." Buffy said, not believing her eyes.
"Well, Kennedy is a slayer now and I know my way around a spell or two and Dawn and Xander are a lot more capable than you might realize." Willow motioned everyone to come closer, "Anyway, we wanted to help and we did, so what next?"
"Thanks, to all of you." Buffy said with a genuine smile and then turned to Dr. Pisnovski, "We meet again. Do you feel talkative now?"
"Go ahead, enjoy your little victory while you can. I've already finished my research, tested it and now will show you my masterful creations." Dr. Pisnovski tried to push a button on his coat, but Willow grabbed his hands and Buffy grabbed the coat and pulled it off him.
"What do we have here?" Buffy asked as she examined the button closer, "I guess you won't get to show me your creations after all. Why not tell me what you've done with all these people here. They look like zombies."
"Oh I don't care about these people, they were nothing more than a means to an end." The doctor said as he tried to escape Buffy's grasp, but got nowhere. "They are in a deep hypnotized state. They have not been harmed in any way."
"Not harmed? Are you crazy?" Buffy said, trying to comprehend what she'd just heard. "You kidnapped them, took them from their family and friends, took their blood, messed with their DNA and turned them into your slaves and you don't call that harm?"
"Details, details, stop whining, they're alive aren't they." Dr. Pisnovski said without any feeling. "I'm not some killer you know. I am a genetic engineer who wants only to further scientific discoveries. I wanted to work with humans, but was turned down by every major research lab in the country. I was approached by what I thought was a respectable businessman to do some research for him and it turns out he was a vampire. I was more interested in continuing my research than worrying about such things so I did my thing and he left me alone."
"Aren't you a saint." Buffy said sarcastically, "Tell me what you have done here."
"Fine, I suppose it doesn't matter now, they will be released sooner or later and when they are not even a slayer will stop them. Then the world will see that my research is to be reckoned with." Pisnovski said with a proud smile.
Xander was looking at some of the print outs as he listened to the doctor, "What makes these vampires so special?"
"Oh they aren't vampires any longer." He said, his voice raising as he became excited about his accomplishments. "I would have to reclassify them, because they are no longer susceptible to sunlight, therefore allowing them to roam around 24 hours a day. A stake to the heart won't kill them now. And it would take an axe with a 12 inch thick titanium blade to even put a dent in their necks. That's just the beginning."
"That's not possible." Dawn said as she looked at Buffy for conformation.
Buffy pulled Dawn close, "I don't know if it's possible or not, but whatever he's been doing here we do have to find out first hand." "It is possible and I have created them. All my work with gene splicing and DNA manipulation has finally paid off. Let me show you." He said and then waited for Buffy to show him to a computer.
He pulled up a number of files before turning to everyone and pointing towards his monitor. "I'm sure these numbers, graphs and charts mean nothing to you, but if you look closely at the data on the right, it's a complete breakdown of the millions and millions of DNA samples that I've accumulated. This next page is what happens when I melded the different DNA together." He showed a number of complex pictures on the following screens, followed by a close-up of one of his DNA manipulations.
"You see how in this example the DNA is not mutated. In most cases of DNA manipulation the DNA is instantly destroyed, but I found in very rare instances that DNA can be joined, thus creating a new and ultimately more powerful DNA. Now, once I figured out which samples of DNA would match with other samples, I could then start inserting the new DNA into the never- ending supply of vampires. Most died instantly as the new DNA had a diverse reaction to most every part of the Vampire's remaining human organs, as well as tearing apart the skin tissue at such a rapid pace the vampires were literally eaten away from the inside. It was a very nasty sight to be sure. But, that's science for you." He said with a warped laugh.
"I get it, you somehow found a way to mix the DNA of humans and vampires and have made some super vamp, well, show me the way and I'll test your new vamp out for ya." Buffy said, her patience on edge from listening to him yammer on for so long.
"I haven't explained how I got it all to work yet. Kids these days, you have no sense of the big picture." Dr. Pisnovski said with a sigh, "Oh well, if you wish to see my creations I insist you get me out of this place because I haven't yet worked out the coding to program them completely. My guess is they'd kill me as quickly as they kill all your friends here."
"Isn't that a shame, I'd say that works in our favor." Buffy said and then grabbed Pisnovski by the neck and began pushing him towards the door, "You can come with me and if there's anything you want to share about how to stop your new creations just let me know."
"Wait, you can't do this." Pisnovski said, fear filling his eyes as he tried to get Buffy to listen to him. "I'm just a mere mortal; I'll be pulverized by these killing machines. This is inhuman. I'll report you to the.well, I don't know who, but I will. Now you will let me go Miss Buffy."
Buffy stopped and turned towards the group, "Kennedy, could you come help with the good doctor here. I can't be watching him if these things get loose." She then turned back to Pisnovski, "I have no time for your games. How do I stop these things you've created? If I can't stop them, well I don't like your chances in getting out of here alive."
"Fine, I can always create more with different strengths and weaknesses." He said, his survival instincts taking over, "I have a self destruct sequence programmed into each one. They have a packet of the mutated DNA and they will drink it and die instantly. It's executed when they hear the word, 'Godzilla'"
"Godzilla?" Buffy laughed, "That's different."
"It had to be something they wouldn't hear in normal conversation and something I could say fast in case things got out of control during the training process." He reluctantly explained.
"Good, now where are they?" Buffy said as she looked around the lab.
Dr. Pisnovski hesitated for a couple seconds, but knew it was futile, so he gave in, "You take the elevator to the basement, follow the corridor to a security gate, enter the combination, 345292, and they are in cages at the end of the room. There are only 12, so you can have them self destruct without leaving their cages."
"Keep the doctor here until I return, just in case he's not telling the whole truth." Buffy said as she moved towards the elevator.
"Wait." He yelled, as Buffy turned and gave him a nasty look he cleared his throat and grinned, "Um, I guess I forgot to tell you there are 6 regular vamps guarding the cages and there is one of my creations in a cage in my office on the 1st floor. Sorry, it slipped my mind."
Buffy walked up to the doctor, grabbed him and pulled him into the elevator with her, "Okay, I'm done playing games. If there are any surprises waiting or me, I have my human shield to protect me now. Ain't it great?"
"No, um, I have told you everything." He said as his face turned red with fear and as the elevator stopped at the basement he stopped moving, "Okay, I just hate to see all my work destroyed. I've spent years and years working on this. It's just hard. There are at least 36 of my creations in different parts of the facility. There are 12 in the basement here, but others are spread in groups of 6 on the different floors. All our in cages and have the same programming, but they would be killing machines if they got released and I'm not ready for that to happen."
"How noble of you." Buffy said with a heaping helping of sarcasm as she punched in the code to the first security gate, waited for it to close then turned to the doctor. "I'm going to take care of the vamps and then your creations and you better me here when I get back. Is that understood?"
"Yes, of course. I have told you everything now, I have no reason to run. I'm safer with you now." He said with a dejected look covering his face.
Buffy didn't say a thing as she turned and moved down the long corridor, stopping to check out the placements of the vamps in the room. She moved quietly up to the first one, tapped it on the shoulder and staked it as soon as it turned around.
When it turned to dust, the other vamps all turned and rushed towards her at once.
After some fairly simple fighting the regular vamps were history.
She walked up the vamps in the cages and couldn't see one difference in them from the ones she'd just disposed of.
They were all pulling at their cages trying to get at Buffy and when it seemed as though they might break out Buffy yelled the magic word, "Godzilla" and the vamps all pulled out a vial, drank it and began disintegrating on the spot.
Buffy went back, grabbed the doctor and went through each and every floor until every single vamp was destroyed, as were the creations.
When she had finished dealing with the vamps she took the doctor back to the room with all the people working at the computers, "Now, there's one more thing, you need to let all those workers free. Say the magic word so they can get back to their lives."
"Yes, of course." He said with little resistance and then stepped into the room. "Alex Trebek."
As soon as he said it, the people stopped working and began looking around, trying to figure out where they were and what they were doing.
"Alex Trebek? That's the magic word?" Buffy said shaking her head with a faint smile.
"What can I say, I love Jeopardy." He said with a shrug. Buffy took a moment to explain to everyone what had happened and after dispersing a posse that wanted to tear the doctor apart she helped everyone out of the building.
Outside her friends were waiting for her and she pushed the doctor towards Xander, "Could you tie him or lock him somewhere until the police get here. I can't stand looking at him any longer." "Sure thing." Xander agreed and then grabbed the short little man and took him over to his pickup, tied him up and stood watch over him.
Buffy unzipped her jacket to get some air and the folder she'd put inside fell to the ground. She picked it up, opened it and looked it over.
There was no name, but there was a picture of the young woman and as she held it up for a better look the exact same woman walked up to Buffy and she was standing beside her picture as Buffy looked at the picture and then the woman and shook her head in amazement.
"Hi, you seem to know what's going on here. I was wondering if you knew where we were and how I could get back home?" the young woman said politely.
"Of course, what's your name?" Buffy asked as she pulled the picture down and stuffed it back into the folder.
"Oh, I'm Lisa Moyer." She said as she shook Buffy's hand, "I live in Bishop County and I want to get home to my family, they must be worried sick. I don't even know how long I've been gone, do you?"
"I'm sorry I don't know when you were taken. It's August of 2003 now if that helps." Buffy said as she took the woman's hand and led inside the house.
The gang stayed outside and helped the others get readjusted to the world and help them on their way.
Buffy sat Lisa down and explained to her everything that she knew about what had happened to her and then tried to talk about something more enjoyable. "I'll be glad to help you get back home. Bishop County isn't far from where I live so we can head over there when you feel up to it."
"Thank you, I can't tell you how much I miss my family." Lisa said as she sat back in the chair and stretched her arms and legs out. "Even my little sister will be a welcome sight."
"I know they will all be just as happy to have you back home." Buffy said, just happy things turned out so good for this young girl.
"I guess I probably should get going then. Are you sure it's no trouble taking me home? I can walk if it's not far or call a cab or my parent's even." Lisa said as she got to her feet again. "No, it's no trouble at all." Buffy said, leading Lisa out to the truck. "I have the strangest feeling I should be in Bishop County now, so I think I better find out why."
When they walked outside, they saw the police taking Dr. Pisnovski away. There was an FBI team was all over the storage facility and Buffy and her friends all gave their statements and were free to go.
Everyone hopped into the truck, with 3 in the front and three in the cab of the truck and Xander took off down the dirt road and made his way to Bishop County.
It was a slow ride, with so many people walking down the road, but once they got onto the highway things picked up and within a couple hours they came across the, "Welcome to Bishop County' sign.
Lisa took over giving directions and Xander pulled up outside Lisa's home about 10 minutes later. She got out of the truck and slowly walked up to her front door, just smiling and looking over every familiar inch of the home she hadn't seen in over a year.
Back to Faith.
Inside, Isabella was taken to the emergency room where the doctors worked on her until they had her moderately stable and a doctor came out to talk to Faith, "Are you Faith?"
"Yes. Is she going to be okay? You will save her right?" Faith said her voice breaking up as she spoke.
"Isabella would like to talk to you. Please keep it short, but I'm sorry to say she doesn't much time." The doctor said softly and then walked away.
Faith was stunned by what she'd just been told and wasn't sure how she could face Isabella now, but she pulled herself together and walked into the emergency room.
"Hi there." Faith said, trying to put on a happy face.
Isabella turned to look at Faith and a smile came across her pretty face, "Hi, I bet I don't look very good right now."
"You look beautiful." Faith said with sad smile, "How do you feel?"
"Not great, but better now that you're here." Isabella winced and held her chest, "This isn't how I thought our last meeting would be like."
"I know.you shouldn't talk right now." Faith said as she caressed Isabella's hand, You saved my life. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. I was supposed to save you." Faith tried to keep the tears away but just couldn't do it.
"Don't cry." Isabella said softly as she put her hand over Faith's, "Looks like I'm out of visions and you're safe from looking at my life now."
"Please don't joke about this." Faith said, putting her other hand over Isabella's, "You're my hero. Do you know that? The only other hero in my life is Buffy, but now I have two. But you have to get better so you can meet her, okay?"
Isabella coughed and winced as she smiled up at Faith, "I guess we're even then, cause you're my hero. I want you to tell my parent's I love them. I want you to have a good life and a happy life and fulfill your destiny. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet Buffy, I know I would've liked her. Goodbye Faith." Isabella smiled and closed her eyes.
Just then the single white line appeared on the machine and a loud buzzing sound began going off. Faith looked up and saw the straight white line and knew what it meant, "Wait, no, noo, noooo. Please don't go. Isabella. Please."
Doctors and nurses rushed into the room, ushering Faith out in the process. After working non stop for the longest time Faith saw a nurse turn off the machine and cover Isabella up.
Faith was unable to move and barely said a thing as the doctor told her that Isabella had died.
She sank to the chair and cried and cried and cried. When she looked up, she saw Isabella's parent's standing over Isabella. Debra was crying and Harlan was in a state of shock and disbelief.
After they said their goodbye's they came out to see Faith.
They both gave Faith a big hug and she pulled away, "No don't do that, I don't deserve it. I'm so sorry. I should've seen this coming. I should've protected her. I failed."
Debra pulled Faith close and gave her another hug, "No, sweetheart, it's not your fault. The paramedics told us what happened. She saved your life. The only blame is to the person who fired that gun. Please, you can't blame yourself. It's not what Isabella would want."
"Debra is right." Harlan said as he put his hand on Faith's shoulder, "This is a horrible, horrible tragedy, but we will take solace in the fact our daughter saved someone's life today. Someone she looked up to and admired so much. You made a huge impression on her and we'll always be grateful for that."
Faith was overwhelmed by emotions as she tried to make sense out of what had just happened.
"I don't know what to say. She was so happy and smiling and.I just don't understand any of this." Faith said, still shaken by the tragic turn of events.
"I know, I know." Debra said as she sat Faith down and held her until Faith fell asleep in her arms.
It was a couple hours later when Faith woke up in Debra's lap, "I can't believe I fell asleep. I feel so dumb."
"It's not dumb, you had a very long day and you needed this more than you know." Debra said as she watched Faith sit up and get to her feet.
"You didn't have to stay." Faith said as she looked over at the emergency room, only to find it empty.
"I have to tell you something now and I'm not sure if it's the right time or not, but since I don't know your plans I have to say it before it's too late." Debra took out a letter from her purse and handed it to Faith, "Isabella gave me this just before you got back tonight. She didn't tell me what it was, but she was emphatic about me giving this to you before you left. She said you'd understand when you read it."
Faith took the letter and stood there frozen in her tracks.
Debra got up and touched Faith's arm, "You should go outside and read this in private. Harlan and I have to make some arrangements, but we'd love to have you stay with us tonight."
"Thank you, yes, I'd like that." Faith said, her eyes glued to the letter.
"Okay, you go read this and we'll see you back at the house." Debra picked up her coat and walked towards the door, then stopped to look at Faith, "This is a terrible time for all of us, but I want you to remember Isabella when she was smiling, I know it's what she'd want." She smiled as she wiped her own tears away and walked down the hall and out of sight.
Back to Buffy.
It was quiet and even a little eerie as she looked around the deserted streets.
A neighbor drove up in his car and when he got out and saw Lisa standing looking back at him he froze and stood there in silence.
Lisa ran over to him and gave him a hug, "Mr. Jensen, it's really me. I'm home again."
"I can't believe it, it's a miracle." He said as he looked at Buffy and the gang standing behind her.
"Those are the people that helped rescue me." Lisa said as she looked back over her shoulder, then turned to Mr. Jensen, "Where is everyone?"
Mr. Jensen's eyes bulged out and he became visibly shaken, "Oh Lisa, you need to go the hospital now. Your mom and dad are there now. Please go."
"What, is something wrong? Is it dad? Mom?" She asked, not even thinking it could be Isabella.
"Please go there now." Mr. Jensen gave her a hug and walked slowly into his house.
Lisa turned and ran towards the truck, everyone piled back into it and Xander followed Lisa's directions and soon had pulled up in front of the hospital.
Buffy got out and walked with Lisa through the hospital, stopping as Lisa saw her mom and dad walking towards her.
They stopped dead in their tracks, mouths open and tears still fresh on their faces. After walking away from unspeakable sadness, they were now walking towards the return of their other daughter.
Lisa rushed forward and hugged them both, but she could feel something was wrong just by looking at them. Their happiness to see Lisa was marred by what they'd just been through with their youngest daughter.
Buffy looked down the corridor to see a dark haired girl walking away and as she turned to see Lisa's parents tell Lisa about Isabella, her heart broke for the family.
She knew they needed time together so she followed the girl out of the hospital, looked around and spotted her go up on the hill and quickly followed. She stopped once she was sure it was Faith, letting her read the letter in her hand in private.
Faith took the letter and walked out of the hospital and up on the hill overlooking the small town, sat down on an old log and opened up the letter.
As she read it, she heard every word in Isabella's soft sweet voice.
Faith.
I know you must be feeling bad about now. I know you will be blaming yourself for my death and I can't let you do that.
I've lived a very boring 16 years and yet I can say with certainty that today was the best day of my life.
I don't think you have a clue how much you meant to me in the short time that I've known you, but I've never smiled so much or felt so alive as I have just being around you.
I know we could never be together and maybe it's silly to even say this, since I've only known you a day, but I think I love you. I don't know if it's just as a friend or more, but I know I feel this and I wanted you to know it to.
When you were off searching for the demon, I was feeling lonely so I picked up your bag to be close to you and when I did, I had the most intense vision ever.
I've never had one touching an object before, but this one was so real I can barely write this because I'm still shaking from it.
You're not going to like it, but I saw my own death. I saw it through your pretty dark eyes. I saw the man aiming the gun and I could see it was going to hit you and I just couldn't let that happen. You told me once that you would rather die and save my life than stand by and do nothing, well, that's exactly how I felt and I'm so proud to have saved your life.
I know you are meant to do great things and I can't stand in the way of this for anything, not even my own life. Please don't be mad, but I know you have a destiny to fulfill and I will be watching over you when it happens. Love Isabella.
Faith was sobbing uncontrollably as she finished reading the letter, unable to stop herself as she fell to the ground and screamed a single word into the air over and over and over again, "Why?"
When she saw Faith break down in tears and scream out, "Why?" she rushed over, put her arms around her and held her close.
Faith looked up, her eyes filled with tears, to see Buffy holding her and a sense of relief and comfort came over her, helping deal with the mind numbing sadness she was feeling.
Neither girl said a thing, Buffy just held Faith tight and let her cry until she cried herself to sleep.
As the sun came up a mysterious gaseous cloud had formed over the small town, with people dropping like flies as they took their first breath outside. Buffy and Faith woke up to the smell and as they covered their faces, they noticed a strange hovercraft just up the hill. They ran towards it, stopping about 100 feet away, when they looked down to see Faith's bracelet glowing and Buffy's amulet glowing, they opened them both up and a blinding flash filled the sky, the gaseous cloud had disappeared, but so had Buffy and Faith.
The End of the Prologue.
Now the story of Buffy and Faith's true destiny will begin. With a story that spans centuries and tests both girls courage, willpower and love. It will show how their love must withstand many obstacles as they travel to strange lands before ending up in a place where they could be happy forever. But, will that be enough for the two adventurous slayers or will something or someone try to tear them apart as they struggle to be together through it all.
Questions, comments can be sent to buffyfaith19@yahoo.com