Chapter 4
A Week Later
The Magic Box
Sunnydale, CA
The gang had just returned from patrolling and was putting their weapons away.
Buffy had suggested that they all go to the Bronze, when Giles asked if Xander
could stay behind for a minute and answer a few questions.
"Go ahead, guys. Cordy, I'll catch up with you in a few," he said as he watched them leave.
"What's up Giles?" Xander asked when the others were out of sight.
"Faith has awoken, and disappeared out of the hospital," Giles stated flatly.
"Crap. So, what do you think she'll do - take off or try to get back at us?" Xander asked.
"I don't know. If anything, she would try to get back at Buffy; she is the one who put her into the coma, after all."
"Well, I guess Cordy and I will have to take turns watching the house at night, while Buffy and the Gang patrols."
"Yes, and I would suggest that you keep this as quiet as possible. With Angelus and his group around, we don't need Buffy any jumpier than she already is."
"Okay, Giles. Cordelia and I will work out a watch schedule, and we may use Angelus as the reason we are doing it. He would certainly be enough reason as it is," Xander agreed. "Well, I better get going before they decide to come back and get me."
As the young Vampyre walked out the door, the watcher realized that the young man he once thought of as a son, even though he may be undead now, still retained an important place in his heart. And, he felt quite good about it.
-----~~~~~-----
The Raven
Toronto, Canada
When Lucien LaCroix returned to his office after finishing his radio show, he
sensed someone in the room. He saw his chair slowly start to turn, and he
readied himself for anything. When it turned completely, he saw the sandy hair
and the strong jaw of his childé, Simon Reign.
The two men embraced warmly, having not having seen each other for over a century.
"Simon, it's so good to see you. How have you been?" Lucien asked.
"I've kept busy," the younger man replied. "I have been tracking down some leads and theories about the Templars, and where their fabled resources disappeared to," the man replied.
"Did you find anything?" Lucien asked.
"I've located the whereabouts of approximately half the treasury . About twenty five percent of it appears to have gone along with a group of the more radical knights. They initially went underground, and then appeared a few years later as the Free Masons organization. Another quarter was loaded on a ship that originally set sail for an undisclosed location. After a great deal of work, I traced it to a place called Oak Island, near Nova Scotia. From what I've been able to uncover about the Knights who settled there, it looks like they buried the treasure in some unusual underground chamber they constructed, guarded by a bunch of booby traps," Simon explained.
"Now Lucien, why did you send for me?" he asked.
"What do you know about a soulless vampire known as Angelus?" Lucien inquired casually.
"Angelus, one fourth of the Scourge of Europe, the leader and driving force behind Darla, Spike, and Drusilla," Simon replied immediately, "who were four of the nastiest, soulless vampires ever created. Angelus was cursed by a tribe of Gypsies with a soul, in order to suffer for the death of the granddaughter of the clan chieftain. Why?"
"What do you know about Nicholas' childé, Alexander?" Lucien asked next.
"Only what rumors I have heard, and what I have read in the reports I've seen," Simon said. "He seems to be much older and more powerful than he should be, if considering only the circumstances of his re-birth. Some rumors have suggested it may be because he was born and spent his entire life on the Hellmouth. In addition, despite being a fledgling, he was able to bring across a childé of his own and train her to the point where she is capable of complete control and is reputed to be nearly as powerful as he is. He also works with a slayer and her watcher. That's about it."
"I learned from Nicholas's memories that, at one time, Angelus called Alexander, 'Buffy's White Knight'; something to do with his facing down Angelus when he was human. In any event, that is what Alexander is: a true knight, always looking to help out the weaker humans," Lucien scoffed.
"So? What does that have to do with any of us?" Simon asked.
"The Four have reunited. They are together now, and either getting ready to run up a body count, or open the hellmouth."
"That would not be good," Simon observed dryly.
"No, it would definitely not be good. That was why I sent for you. Alexander thinks that he can handle things himself, but I am not as sure of his ability to deal with all four members of the Scourge simultaneously. I would like you to go to Sunnydale and help him in any way possible," Lucien said, standing to look out the windows at Toronto's Night Skyline.
"There is a club called 'The Bronze' in Sunnydale. I own it. I would like you to go there, and teach Alexander how to run it, that would be a good cover for him. You would be able to provide help to him if he needed it, and keep an eye on the situation there. If the media picks up on a large number of 'vampire like killings', you know there would be an investigation," Lucien sighed.
"Like we need those damned FBI agents snooping around again. What were their names? Mulder and Scully?" Simon agreed.
They talked for a few more minutes, mainly about old times, then Simon excused himself to go. He clasped forearms with Lucien and walked to the door.
"I'll keep you informed of how things go. I should be there within two days to take over the management of the club, so you should let your attorney in California know what is going on," Simon said.
"I will. I will also e-mail you his address so you can pick up the papers. I will call Alexander this evening to let him know what is going on as well." Lucien LaCroix paused for a moment, looking at the man leaving his office. "And thanks for doing this, my son."
"You're welcome, father." Simon replied as he slipped out the door.
-----~~~~~-----
The Bronze
Xander sat quietly at their table in the back of the club. Cordy was curled up against him, sharing the closeness and listening to the music. Willow and Oz were out on the dance floor, and Buffy was at the bar going over the menu trying to decide what to eat.
The Slayer finally made up her mind and flagged the bartender to place her order.
Cordelia turned to her lover and asked, "What did Giles want?"
"Faith is awake and missing from the Hospital," he said flatly.
Cordelia stiffened.
"Giles wants us to make sure that Joyce and Dawn are protected," he said, leaning forward to place a kiss on her neck.
Relaxing, Cordelia replied, "How do you want to do it? I think if I had to sit and watch the house, I would go nuts."
"If you don't mind patrolling, I can stake out the house. If I need you, I could send a text message to you on your phone. Wouldn't make any noise that way," he mused.
"You know, one of the reasons that I am so thankful for the blood kiss is that I have no need to be jealous of Buffy or Willow anymore," Cordelia started.
"You have never had to be jealous of her," Xander interrupted.
"I know that now, but I was always so insecure about Buffy. Now I know that you were just trying to lighten her burden a little. Being her "White Knight" so to speak," Cordelia said with a smirk in her voice.
Xander just glared at her. That was one of the things about sharing experiences he didn't like, there were no secrets. Not that he begrudged Cordelia knowing about them, but her ability to tease him about them was irritating.
"So, how are we going to handle this if she does show up?" She asked.
"I don't know Cor," Xander said sadly. "I never felt like Faith was really evil, more like just lost and angry."
"Are you saying that because you slept with her, or you believe it?" She said, teasingly.
"Because I believe it," he said sharply.
His lady love only nodded in agreement.
"So how do we handle it, Xan? We have to get her to admit, to herself and us, that at least she wants a chance to return to the good guys. Then who knows what Buffy and Willow will have to say about it."
"Yeah, I know. We are borderline accepted now; who knows what adding Faith to our group will do?" He replied.
"We do what we have to, Xan. You taught me that."
With that, the two got up to dance, and tried to have a good time while each attempted to come up with a workable plan.
-----~~~~~-----
The Next Evening
Sunnydale Ca.
The sun had been set for only a few minutes when the phone rang. Cordelia who was sitting at the computer answered it.
"Hello?"
\\ "Is Alexander there?" // a very distinguished voice asked.
"Yes he is, can I tell him who is calling, please?" She asked politely.
\\ "I am afraid that is none of your business, girl." // the voice said regally.
"Too bad, then," Cordelia said and hung up the phone.
The phone immediately rang again.
"Hello?" she again said.
\\ "Why did you hang up on me?" // the voice demanded.
"I asked who you were as a common courtesy. You refused rudely, so I decided since you would not follow common courtesy, you didn't need to speak to him," she replied, waiting to hear the man explode. She was surprised to hear the caller chuckle softly.
\\ "You're right. Tell Alexander that his Grandfather is on the phone." //
"Thank you. Please hold on. I'll be right back."
Cordy went and got Xander out of the garage and hauled him into the office.
"Cordy, I can't believe you hung up on Lucien LaCroix like that," Xander said entering the room.
"Hey, he was rude and needed an attitude adjustment," she explained, with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Hello, Lucien," he said picking up the phone, still glaring at his lover.
\\ "Good evening, Alexander," Lucien chuckled. "You picked an amazing woman there, Alexander, one with a spine.." //
"Yea, she is one in a million," he agreed.
\\ "The reason I am calling, Alexander, is because I need your help. A piece of property I acquired in Sunnydale several years ago is having some problems, and losing money. I would like you to take over the business and run it for me. I will pay you for your effort, and if you make a success of it, there will be a bonus." //
"Lucien, I would be glad to check into it, and let you know what is going on, but I don't know anything about running a business," Xander explained.
\\ "That is not good enough. Alexander. I really would like you to take over and manage this club. I am sending one of my associates who is familiar with the business, and he will teach you what you need to know," // Lucien countered.
Xander was stymied. On one hand it was a great opportunity, but on the other, it left him under Lucien's control.
"Lucien, I am very interested, but to be honest, I don't really want to be under your thumb."
\\ "Xander, I think I understand what you are feeling. From Nicholas, I learned about your home life, and I assure you that I am not trying to manipulate you, or even bring you under my control. I just want you to run The Bronze for me, Alexander. You can run it any way you want to, remodel it if you so desire. The only condition I have, is that you have a section available for our kind." // Lucien explained.
"I don't know Lucien. Look, let me think about it for a day or two. I'll get back to you. All right?"
\\ "Fair enough, Alexander. Simon will be there in three days, and you can talk to him about it and let me know your decision, then," // Lucien offered.
"Thank you. Goodbye, Grandfather," the young Vampyre said as he hung up the phone.
Cordelia, noticing the frown on his face, asked, "What's wrong, Xan?"
"Nothing really, Cordy. Lucien offered to let me run a club he owns. Believe it or not, it's The Bronze."
"So, what did you tell him?" she asked.
"I told him I would think about it. Lucien is a very manipulative man, and I don't know if I want to let him get control over me that way," Xander explained.
"From what you've told me about him, if he wanted it enough, you wouldn't be able to stop him. So, if it's something that you want to try to do, you may as well go for it," Cordelia said.
That left Xander considering the idea as he got ready for guard duty at the Summers' house. Cordy would be meeting Buffy and the gang later at the Magic Box.
-----~~~~~-----
The first night was just boring. Xander had almost gone crazy the first hour listening to Dawn playing her CD's. He was just so NOT into pop music. If he had to listen to Britney Spears any longer, he was considering staking himself.
The second night was when it happened. Xander was lying back on the roof with his eyes closed, listening to the neighborhood. He heard scuffling steps, similar to the sounds Buffy made when she was stalking a vamp.
He pulled out his cell phone and readied a text message to go to Cordelia if, in fact, it was Faith.
It was. Xander saw her as she hopped over the fence and stood quietly in the shadows.
He watched quietly as Faith stood looking into the back of the house. He knew Joyce was doing the dishes by the sounds coming out of the house. He pressed the final button and the call went out to Cordelia, and Xander readied himself to defend Buffy's family.
Faith just stood there, at the edge of the light in the Summers' back yard. She could see Joyce cleaning up the kitchen and she smiled sadly to herself. Buffy didn't know how lucky she was. The Dark Slayer was just starting to turn to leave when she got a strong vampire vibe, and froze.
Xander froze as well when he saw Faith start to turn away, then turn back. Seeing her face, he realized that she had picked him up with her Slayer sense. She had always been better at it than Buffy, more sensitive to the presence of creatures of the night.
As he watched, Faith stepped out into the light, just a bit; trying to draw out the vamp she thought was stalking Joyce.
Crestwood Cemetery
Buffy and Cordelia had just finished dusting a couple of vamps when Cordelia's cell went off. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the screen. It was Xander, and the psycho Slayer was at Joyce's.
"Something just came up Buffy, gotta run," she said, maintaining a casual tone of voice as she lifted up into the darkness.
"I hate it when she does that," Buffy muttered to herself, as she watched the brunette fly away into the distance.
The Summers House
Xander sat motionlessly on the roof, waiting to see what Faith would do. The brunette was casting around, concentrating on what she was feeling.
However, as fate would have it, about this time Dawn looked out the window and saw Faith in the yard. She screamed and ran downstairs.
Using the distraction that the teen provided, Xander lifted up and flew down to stand behind Faith, so that he was waiting when the Dark Slayer turned to run.
"Hi, Faith," he greeted her offhandedly, when she realized who it was.
The look on Faiths face was one of confusion, shock and sadness as she realized where the vibe was coming from.
"Ahh shit, Xan. Why did it have to be you?" She said sadly.
"Just good old Hellmouth luck, I guess," he answered. "But why should that make any difference to you? The last time we saw each other, you tried to choke me."
He saw the shock and sadness on her face as a tear slipped from her eye and ran down her cheek.
"Look, I'm sorry I treated you like crap, Xander, and I owe you for trying to help me. But I won't let you hurt Joyce or Dawn, and it won't stop me from staking you."
"I won't let you hurt them either, and I really doubt that you could stake me," he answered.
"Like you could stop me," she threatened, taking a step toward him.
"He could, just as easily as I could," said a voice from behind her, as she felt a pair of cool, steel-strong arms wrap her up.
"What the f…" Faith exclaimed as she found herself immobilized. If she had been at peak strength and performance, she might have had a slight chance to slip out of Cordelia's grip, but being comatose for months had robbed her of much of her strength and coordination.
"Give it up, Faith. You will not be getting your revenge on Buffy by hurting her family," Xander told her.
"But, I wasn't going to hurt them," Faith said softly, a look of hurt in her eyes as she spoke.
"Tell me another one, Faith. I haven't heard a good one like that in a long time," said Cordelia.
Faith stiffened when she recognized the voice of the former prom queen. She turned to Xander.
"How could you?" Faith demanded.
"Easy, I loved her too much to let her die," answered the young Vampyre.
"Well, I guess there is only one thing to do," he said, nodding to Cordelia.
Faith's senses were screaming at her. She looked at Xander's face as his eyes turned greenish gold and his fangs dropped into place. Behind her, she could feel Cordelia putting pressure on her head, tipping it to one side.
She felt the slight prick as the tips of Cordelia's fangs touched her neck and she wanted to scream out in fear and terror, but something was stopping her.
{ "Why were you going to hurt Joyce?" } She heard Xander ask her, his voice having a droning hypnotic quality.
"I wasn't. I was here to look one more time at what I wished I could have had. I was planning on going to L.A tomorrow," she answered in a flat voice completely void of emotion.
{ "What were you going to do then?" } He again asked in that voice.
"Try and find the biggest demon I could and fight it to the death. If I won, I was just going to keep going 'til I lost."
{ "So, you expect us to believe that you were not going to try and get revenge on all of us?" }
"No, you didn't do anything but try to stop me. I was the evil one. I was hoping that Buffy would kill me, but somehow I survived. All I could do was think while I was in that coma, and I came to understand a lot. I was never any good, and never deserved to be a Slayer," she said, her voice fading to almost nothing.
Xander knew she was telling the truth, having read her with all of his senses, his hypnotic ability preventing her from lying, and he nodded to Cordelia to let her go.
Faith was emotionally drained, and didn't even have the strength to flee.
He wondered what to do next, when the decision was made for him.
At the back door stood Joyce, looking at them, the back of her hand raised to her mouth stifling a scream, as she looked at him, still in game face.
He met Joyce's eyes with his own, and then looked away in shame.
When he heard Dawn scream again, he grabbed up the Dark Slayer and lifted up into the air, Cordelia right behind him. The three dark figures disappeared into the night sky.
Faith struggled a little in Xander's grasp until she looked down. She gulped, then grabbed onto Xander for dear life.
"Don't be hugging my guy too much, Slayer," Cordelia threatened, hostility permeating her voce.
To Faith, the entire situation was surreal. She finally woke from a month's long coma, confused and trying to decide what to do. She had then gone to see one last time, what her life could have been like, only to be grabbed by the only person who had unselfishly tried to help her. He, treated her as though she were a demon threatening them.
Even more unnerving, was the fact that he was now a vampire, as was his former girlfriend, but at least not the standard Hellmouth variety. Then they had worked some kind of mind control mojo on her and gotten her to spill her guts.
Now, after being seen by B's mom and little sister, she was being carried away by those two vampires, who were flying away with her.
Flying, actually up in the air flying.
She was seriously freaked out now.
They came to a gentle landing on the deck of a rather large house in the better part of town. She just stood there when she was released.
"C'mon Faith, let's get inside. I think I have some explaining to do," Xander told her as he and Cordelia entered the house.
-----~~~~~-----
Buffy entered her house in a pretty good mood. She, Willow and Cordelia having staked or crossbowed an even dozen vamps. She was getting hard pressed to keep up with the former cheerleader, when it came right down to it, and she absolutely *hated* losing.
She closed the door behind herself and turned to find her mom, an angry look on her face, and a teary eyed Dawn standing there glaring at her.
"How could you not tell us?" her mother demanded.
"Tell you what?" Buffy asked, confused.
"That Xander's a vampire," Dawn sobbed, as she gave her sister a look of loss, outrage and incomprehension.
"What happened?" Buffy asked, looking around the house for damage.
"I was finishing up the dishes when I heard Dawn scream and come running down the stairs. She was just petrified when she saw Faith standing in the back yard."
"Is she still there?" Buffy asked.
"No, after I got Dawn calmed down, I went to look out the door, and found her being held by two strange vampires. They were different. I could see that their eyes were this weird green-gold color and they had fangs, but their faces weren't deformed like vampires usually are. Then one of them turned around, and I could get a good look at his face. It was Xander," said Joyce.
Buffy started to say something, but was silenced by her mom.
"How could you not tell us, Buffy? Xander was like a son to me, and Dawn worshipped him! Why didn't you tell us?" Joyce quietly demanded, tears running down her face.
"I only found out a couple of weeks ago, Mom. And it's a little weird. Xander is a different breed of vampire than the ones here. He is stronger, faster, and he can fly," Buffy explained. "But most important, he never lost his soul."
"Really?" Joyce asked warily.
"Really. He explained that his kind gets expired blood from blood banks or feeds off the demonic kind of vampire. They try to fit into society, not use it as a smorgasbord. You probably saw him with Cordelia tonight; he 'brought her across' when some regular vamps killed her. He was still in love with her, and couldn't let her die."
"Still, why didn't you tell us Buffy?" Joyce again asked.
"It wasn't my secret to tell. He's uncomfortable with his old friends knowing about him. I was leaving it up to him to tell you if he wanted to," she explained, as she turned to grab the telephone.
Xander's Place
Xander pointed Faith to a couch when they entered the living room and sat across from her. He could tell by the way that Faith wouldn't meet his eyes that she was afraid of him; whether it was his vampyric strength or his hypnotic abilities, he couldn't tell.
But he could smell the fear on her.
Cordelia went into the kitchen and returned with a can of coke, a bottle of Southern Comfort™, and one bottle of bloodwine. She set the coke in front of Faith, and returned to the kitchen, coming back this time with some shot glasses and wine glasses. The brunette Vampyre poured shots of SoCo for all three of them, and a glass of Raven's Cellar for her and Xander.
Xander tossed the fiery liquid down and set his glass back on the table as he stared at Faith. Cordy, the young Vampyre playing the perfect hostess refilled it.
Faith was getting nervous at Xander's stare, and finally spoke up.
"So, um, what happened? How'd you get turned?" She asked
"I was on my road trip last summer, and I went up into Canada," the tall brunet began his story. "I got as far east as Toronto when my typical luck showed up. I was coming out of a diner, when I heard a woman scream. I went to help, and found her being attacked by a couple of vamps. I tried to drive them off with a cross, and managed to stake one of them, but I got nailed by the other, who ripped my throat out with his claws. The woman's fiancé, who was a Vampyre, showed up in time to prevent her from being turned, and after destroying the last vamp, brought both of us across," he explained.
"I eventually came back to town here, and bought this place. A few days later, when I was out on patrol, I heard a woman screaming. Four Sunnydale bloodsuckers had attacked the woman and by the time I arrived, I saw that it was Cordy. She had been almost completely drained. I destroyed all of the vamps and then I brought Cordy across. The reason I did that was because a soulless vamp had already ripped her throat out and I loved her too much to let her die like that, or be turned into a soulless vamp…." he answered, looking into his love's eyes.
"Cordelia and I are Vampyres, but not the kind you are used to dealing with," he elaborated a moment later, as he continued their story. "We did NOT lose our souls when we were brought across, and the community that we belong to has very strict rules about feeding on humans."
He looked in Faith's eyes as he spoke. "We do not kill for food, and if by some chance we must feed from a human, we only take a little blood, and make the victim forget that it ever happened. Most of us obtain our blood from various sources that receive expired blood from blood banks. I get ours from a place in Los Angeles, which is supplied through my grandfather's organization."
Faith grabbed up the shot that Cordelia had poured for her and slammed it back. Grimacing a bit as the harsh liquid burned its way to her stomach; she looked at the young man who had offered to be her friend at one time.
"So. What happens to me now?" She asked.
"That depends completely on you," Xander replied flatly. "What happened to you was a combination of tragic circumstances, Faith. First was the fact that everyone treated you like an outsider, me included. Then we all expected you to be just like Buffy, rather than Faith. No one gave a shit where you lived, what you did, and we all ignored the fact that you were younger than Buffy, but were not in school. Then, after the incident with Finch, we totally shut you out. So we were partially to blame for what happened, too."
"I realize that I was wrong about a lot of things…" Faith started.
"I really don't want to hear about why it happened, or what you were thinking, Faith," Xander interrupted her. "I just want you to tell me: what do you plan on doing now?" He asked.
"I, I don't know?" Replied the young Slayer, confusion clearly visible on her face.
"The way I see it, you have two choices. One, you can leave town and start over somewhere else. Or, two, you can rejoin us and continue the fight against the bad guys here. If you do the first, you are on your own. If you choose to stay, Cordy and I will let you move in here, and will help you with whatever you need."
Xander paused, then looked directly at the young woman, letting his eyes shift colors.
"However, if you ever go bad again, or do anything to hurt any of our friends, or for that matter, any human, I will find you. And I. Will. Kill. You. Myself." Xander let himself slide fully into vamp mode and unleashed all of his presence at her as he emphasized his last few words.
"Do you understand me?" he demanded.
Faith was nearly in full panic right now; her slayer sense was going crazy, and she could feel the raw power in the young vampire. He completely outclassed Kakistos in sheer vampiric presence as he sat there looking at her.
Fighting back the urge to flee from him, she looked determinedly into his eyes.
"Yes, I do, Xan. Yes, I do."
"Good," he said as he changed back, pulling his presence back in.
"So, did you get turned by a Master?" Faith asked.
Cordelia snorted, and Xander just smiled.
Faith looked at the couple confused.
"Faith, we are a totally different type of vampyre, not demonic or evil. Well, most of us aren't, anyway. My father, or sire, was brought across in 1228. His father is almost two thousand years old. How powerful we end up is mainly based on bloodline, though my father tells me I feel much older than I should. He thinks it may have something to do with growing up around the Hellmouth," Xander explained shrugging. "And the term we use is 'brought across,' not turned."
"I'll get her room ready," Cordelia said, as she got up and headed upstairs.
Faith still sat quietly, seemingly afraid of the former Zeppo.
Xander looked at the normally brash slayer, and took pity on her.
"Looks like you and Cordy will have to go shopping as well, though I will warn you, she has really gotten into wearing leather now, and knows the best places to go. But I would suggest you tone down your style of dressing some. We really don't need to attract too much attention now."
"Um, Xander, are the police looking for me?" she asked.
"Nope, Willow hacked into the computer system after everything calmed down, and it looks like the Mayor covered it up for you before we blew him up at graduation," Xander explained.
"Yeah, about the mayor, Xan…." Faith started.
"I told you, I didn't want to hear it Faith, and I meant it. The past is the past, and I really don't care why it happened. There were a lot of mistakes made on both sides, and I don't want to dwell on them. I just want to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again."
"Yeah, well.."
"No 'yeah well,' Faith. Just do the right thing," Xander said.
The phone rang making Faith jump a little.
"Hello," Xander said, scooping up the receiver.
\\ "Hello? Xander?" // asked Buffy.
"It's me, Buff. Whatcha need?"
\\ "I hear you found Faith. What are you planning to do with her, send her back to the Council for trial?" //
"There won't be a trial, Buff. What Faith did was an accident, and you don't try people for that."
\\ "But she killed a person, Xander She has to be punished." //
"She will be, Buffy. For the rest of her life, she will remember what she did. That is punishment enough."
\\ "Xander!" // Buffy started to say, and then the phone was pulled from her hand.
\\ "Xander, this is Joyce. Why did you never come to see us, to tell us?" //
"I didn't want you to see me, Joyce. I didn't want to expose you to what I was," Xander replied softly.
\\ "That means nothing to me, Xander," the brunette's mother of his heart stated firmly. "I want to see you tomorrow, just as soon as it gets dark. And bring Cordelia and Faith with you, as well. Faith is okay, isn't she?" //
"She's fine Joyce. She was just stopping to look to see what she had missed growing up, She wasn't going to hurt anyone."
\\ "Okay, Xander, we'll see you tomorrow night. Right after dusk. Rupert wants to talk to you now." //
Xander heard the phone being passed to Giles, and could clearly hear Joyce tearing into Buffy in the background.
\\ "Xander, I am assuming, from what Joyce said, that Faith is okay, and there are no problems with her. Is that correct?" //
"None at all, Giles. And she's said she wants to help us again. She has assured me that she will not be straying from the light again," Xander explained.
\\ "And you believe this, Xander? // Giles asked, somewhat shocked at the brunet's matter-of-fact statement.
"Yes I do Giles. She didn't lie to me, and in fact, she couldn't. I used my hypnotic power on her and read her body with my senses. She is telling the truth."
\\ "That is good, but there is one problem with our implementing her intention. The council is sending a wet work team to track her down and take her back to Britain for trial." //
"Well, shit," was Xander's final comment.
\\ "Exactly." //
tbc