A/N: See chapter one for disclaimer, rating, and notes.

A/N+1: Time to step this up a bit. Let us see how this progresses.

Title/lyrics: Borrowed from Metallica, 'Fuel' is a great song.

*****

"He's alive," Buffy said, her voice soft with awe. Fresh tears streamed down her face as it broke into a bright smile. "He's alive."

"In more ways than one," Willow reminded her, flopping backwards onto the couch. The divination spells were tiring when one was reaching across so many planes, but it was definitely worth the look on Buffy's face. Spike's face as well, although details were a little bit fuzzy this time. The mage who she spoke with, Spike passing on her words to him, told her it was the magic of the city he was in. She vaguely wondered what it would be like to live in such a place, but quickly dismissed it. They had a demon led army ready to raze it.

"Now we just have to work on getting him back home," Dawn said excitedly.

"It's not going to be simple," Willow said. "And most of the magic has to come from his end. I'm just acting as a beacon, this way he gets to the right place and time."

"He's alive," Buffy said again, not really paying much attention to the other two. After all, how often does someone come back from the dead? Well, some people just tend to be the exception to that rule.

"Willow," Giles walked into the room, his shirt slightly rumpled from a long night of tiring research, "Have you heard from Faith or Michael? I have some questions that he might be able to answer."

"They went to take care of some vampires just out of town," Dawn answered for Willow, who was barely keeping her eyes open. "He said he'd call when there done, but that it would most likely be late."

"He's having some fun with this one," Buffy put in absentmindedly.

Giles merely raised an eyebrow, wondering what that meant.

*****

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Michael asked as he pulled his Mustang to the race's starting line. Faith flashed him a smile and got out of the car, the tight leather skirt was damn short, and the 'shirt' she wore hung off one shoulder and barely covered her chest.

"Five-by-five," her predictable reply floated in just as she shut the door.

"Fucking slayers," he said, the grin on his face at odds with his statement. He was still grinning when he stepped out of his car.

The three import cars also on the line were fast, there was no doubt, but he was sure his own vehicle was faster. After all, he had spent many long hours modifying the already powerful engine and knew it well.

Faith's worried glance drove any thoughts of the race from his mind, and he quickly scanned the crowd that had gathered for the race. It was then that he realized that each and every one of them were vampires, and that he'd walked right into a trap.

*****

"Fuck." Things were bad. Real bad, since there were a couple dozen armed vampires approaching us, game faces on. I'd never been in a bind like this. And yet, I didn't feel the fear I was expecting. After all, I had an ally in this one, someone as strong and quick as myself. I felt a familiar energy in my arms, legs, and heart. I hadn't felt like this since the last time B fought side by side with me.

Michael reached into the car and pulled out his father's sword, and I followed suit, pulling the katana I'd been using. Flashing Michael a dazzling smile, I drew the blade and turned to face the vamps.

"You guys sure about this?" Yup, I guess that witty remarks are part of the Slayer heritage. "The odds aren't in you're favor." I knew Michael was smirking at that one.

"A Slayer and a mortal," one vampire said, a tall, lean man in life, "We'll take our chances."

They charged us then, and my blade sang as I blocked a half dozen strikes in a matter of seconds. I moved forward, staying on the defensive, as I sought to move away from the car and get some room to fight. I felt the slight breeze of a near hit, and that really pissed me off. Fuck defensive, time to take some fucking heads.

I blocked a slash from a vampire on my left, twisting to face him as I drove the blade high. With my Slayer quickness, I brought my sword down and left, taking his head. I threw myself into a roll through the dust to avoid to cuts that would have hurt. I wonder how Michael's doing...

*****

They rushed me, obviously ignorant of my heritage, or my blade. Their loss. The katana sang free from the sheath, it's golden radiance causing the first vampire to pause, and I took advantage of my foe's mistake, killing him with a wicked slash across the chest.

I had a distinct advantage here, since my blade could kill a vampire without the need to behead it. The vampires were slow to realize this, and I had five down before they started to defend against my attacks. Even so, I was faster than they were, and had no difficulty dropping four more before I began working my way over to Faith.

She wasn't having to much trouble on her end, save for the fact that she needed to take heads to kill them. Still, she moved with a fluid and deadly grace, taking limbs and heads almost as quickly as I did. I couldn't help but smile, and I settled into a comfortable rhythm, taking the vampire's down as quickly as I got them within my reach.

*****

Soon, the only sound either of them heard was the quick breathing from the other. Smiling broadly, Faith sauntered over to Michael. He returned her grin as his father's sword slid into its sheath.

"That was fun," she whispered softly, their bodies almost touching.

"A decent workout," Michael returned, his own voice low. "What now?"

Faith seemed to think about it for a moment before her free arm wrapped around his neck and she kissed him. His arm made its way around her waist and he pulled her closer. They stood like that for some time, lost in the feel of each other's lips. When Faith finally broke the kiss, they were both breathless and unwilling to break the embrace.

"Can I drive?" Faith asked a moment latter, smiling sweetly to Michael.

Moments later, the Mustang sped along the highway leading to Sunnydale. She broke the speed limit by a healthy margin, but handled the car skillfully. They'd be back in less than an hour the way she drove.

The song playing on the radio might have had a little to do with her reckless speeding.

Oooo, I burn, fuel is pumping engines,

Burning hard, loose, clean...

At night I burn, churning my direction,

Quench my thirst with gasoline.

*****

He exited the underground crypt, uncaring of the musty smell, or the undead guardians that watched his passage with glowing red eyes. He ducked through the low archways in an absentminded manner, and brushed aside the cobwebs in the same casual manner. The black boots he wore crunched the loose stones, occasionally kicking a bone out of his path.

Although he looked young, there was an air of power that hung heavily around him. Rats and insects scurried out of his path, sensing the truth behind the flesh. His brown eyes looked hard, hiding an awful intellect behind them.

"Time to have some fun," his voice came from a living mouth, but there was no doubt this was the Necromancer. He was laughing as he stepped under the night sky.

*****

The ringing of the phone broke the line of concentration that Giles had been on for an hour now. Heaving a sigh, he walked over to the damn thing and picked it up.

"Summer's Residence," he said, barely able to keep his annoyance from being clearly carried by his tone.

"Giles?" the voice on the other line was definitely familiar. "When did you get back in town?"

"Four days ago," he answered.

"Well, I guess it's better to tell you then." It was Angel, something the Brit was slightly annoyed at. "I've found out what you need to kill the Necromancer."

"Really?"

" His name is, or was, Daevanus. That's the only thing I could find in that regard, but there was something more interesting in the passage. Quote, The highest practitioner of the dead arts can only be defeated by the faith of the fallen."

"Faith of the fallen?" the ex-watcher questioned. "That doesn't sound to promising."

"It does, if you happened across a passage from another book, one that has nothing to do with him. It's a long bit of a poem, and I had the book sent to you. It should have arrived today."

"Let me check," Giles said, taking advantage of the cordless phone by moving to the front door. Sure enough, a plain brown parcel was sitting by the door, forgotten in the events of the day. "I'm going to read it over and I'll call you back."

"Alright," the vampire replied. "I'll be waiting."

Giles hung up the phone and sat at the kitchen counter, opening the book to the page that Angel had book-marked for him. There, quite plainly written in English, he found the passage and read it. A pause, then he read it a second time. Finally, he got up and walked to the phone again. The open book sat on the counter.

Four who seek to end the reign of a dark and terrible man,

Shall return to the site of old power.

There they shall face the four guardians of the ancient place:

the Flame of Heaven;

the Winds of Change;

the Waters of Peace;

the Strength of Stone.

For the Faith of the Fallen they shall strive,

Restoring the cycle of life and death,

To the one who cheated it so long ago.

*****

A/N: Yes, I used my pen-name for the Necromancer. It's not his true name, however, or the one he uses now. Stay tuned, read, and review.