Authors Notes Chapter 10: Sorry about the delay guys but my beta seems to have gone MIA. So WARNING THIS CHAPTER HAS NOT BEEN BETAED.
Ok this is where things get a little less canon. I'm still working with the basic premise of how things happened in the show but have taken more artistic licence with the who's, why's and when's.
Also I know that Teal'c is referred to as Murray in public on Stargate and honestly there is no reason its not so here except for the fact I forgot about it. I had already started posting by the time I remembered and couldn't be bothered to go back and change it and repost everything.
Chapter 10 Weapons, Medallions and Ex's Oh My
Outside the Vineyard
Sunnydale, California
"Janet behind you" Mac screamed as she bought her weapon to bear. The Doctor looked up just in time to see the Bringer's knife descend down, letting out a very unmilitary like squeal she didn't hesitate to fire up at him at the same time as Mac and Jonas hit him from either side. Janet rolled to the right as The Bringer fell forwards and landed half on top of her, his knife missing her by inches.
She breathed a deep sigh of relief, when Mac pulled the heavy body off her.
"I'm good," She gasped out "kinda angry about nearly getting stabbed in the back, but good"
The Marine grinned, "I don't think anyone likes that"
"It can be annoying" Jonas added, "look out more are on their way"
Inside the Vineyard
Buffy and Faith made their way cautiously through the tunnel they had found themselves in after sliding through the trap door.
The power in the air so potent it made Faith shiver.
"Can you feel it?" Faith asked her blond counterpart.
"Not exactly sure what it is, but yeah it's something alright" Buffy agreed as they came across a well-lit cavern.
There sitting in the middle of it was a rock, in that rock was a weapon. The weapon from Buffy's dream!
Its long shaft gleaming bright red in the torchlight, the deep brown of the wooded stake attached to the end of it and the wickedly curved metal still stuck in the rock, called to the both of them.
"I guess we found it" Faith quipped quietly mesmerised by the call of the scythe "It feels like…" she started
"It's yours" Buffy finished "Like it was made for you"
"Yeah… something like that" Faith's heart plummeted to her stomach as she realised that Buffy was getting the exact same feeling as Faith
"No Faith. It's for the Slayer. You" Buffy looked at the younger woman, understanding what Faith was thinking "Not me. You."
Faith turned to gaze at her curiously "What the hell you goin on about B?"
Knowing the truth of the words she was about to utter knowing and understanding that she was no longer The Chosen One but one called to fight the darkness even though her first role in the fight against evil was finished there was still much more to be done. Buffy turned to face her fully "You're The Slayer Faith, it's for Her alone to wield. The Slayer… you. I'm a Slayer but not the head of the line, that's you and you only. I have a new job" Buffy took a deep breath "Take it Faith, its yours"
Faith tentatively reached out a hand to grasp the handle when a scream echoed through the cavern from behind them.
"You filthy whores"
The two girls whirled around as Caleb came storming towards them, his face bright red with fury, a glimpse of gold around Caleb's neck caught Buffy's eye.
She muttered something to Faith under her breath and went to try and distract the Evil Preacher while Faith got the Scythe. Buffy wasn't expecting Caleb to bring a two by four from behind his back and smash it across her face, flinging her against the cavern wall. With the force of both impacts the blond Slayer slumped to the floor unconscious.
Acting on instinct Faith pulled the Scythe out of the rock with surprising ease, whipped around and lashed out at Caleb slicing the blade in a deadly strike across his belly.
Caleb looked down in shock at the profusely bleeding cut across his midsection, then up at Faith, unable to believe that she had just done that.
Meeting her gaze he sniggered "You'll never win"
Faith smirked back at him "Wanna make a bet" she brought the Scythe down low between his legs and up hard, slicing him neatly in half.
Faith looked down at him "Moron".
She remembered what Buffy had muttered to her before being knocked out
'Medallion'
Looking down, she could see the dull gold glinting in the torchlight. Faith reached down to pull it off his neck when a painfully familiar voice stopped her
"Now, now Faith, that's not yours. Why would you have need to take it?"
Looking up she saw her first Watcher standing there mischievous yet serious glint in her eyes. Just like Faith remembered. Yanking the medallion off Caleb, she put it in her pocket.
"He's dead, doesn't need it anymore. It's important ain't it? Why else would you use her to try and stop me? Sorry bubs ain't gonna happen." With another grin in the direction of an infuriated The First, Faith hoisted Buffy up into the fire mans carry and ran out of the cavern as fast as she could.
The First stood there looking like it was about to cry, the image started to shrink getting shorter and more petite, the hair lengthened and got lighter and lighter until a perfect copy of Buffy stood there.
"S'not fair" She stamped her foot with hands on hips.
Outside the Vineyard
Sunnydale, California
Sam was getting worried; it shouldn't be taking Buffy and Faith this long, unless… No she wouldn't think like that. The girls would be fine. She fired another three round burst as another Bringer attempted to get to the main doors.
"Not on my watch buddy" she muttered more to herself than at the dead Bringer.
Without warning the doors burst open, she opened fire at the figure that burst out, not sure whether or not she had hit them when they jumped back behind the door's, she kept firing until she heard Faith's voice in the dark.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? I'm on your side remember"
"Faith?" The Colonels voice echoed from the other side of the door.
"Yeah, lets book it, B's hurt"
Keeping her eye on their surroundings Mac stayed where she was, just in case more Bringers arrived. She watched as Teal'c came out from his hiding place to take Buffy gently in her arms. The others slowly filtered away but something was keeping her there.
Looking towards the doors that Faith had come out of Mac could see a figure coming towards her. The shape and swagger were familiar, more familiar than she would have liked.
"Sarah…" she could hear her name resonating from within the vineyard, the voice painful in its familiarity.
In the light of the doorway stood a man, short dark blond curls, rugged features and boyish smile, gasping audibly Mac brought a hand to her mouth at the sight of her dead ex-husband, Chris Ragel.
"Come out, come out wherever you are…" How many times in her youth had Sarah heard that particular phrase, whether from the voice currently calling her or her Fathers? "Sarah I know you're out there. I told you, wherever you go I will find you. We were good together once, and can be again"
Blinking back the tears that suddenly sprang to her eye's Mac stayed as silent and as still as she could, hardly daring to breathe.
"You may have killed me, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna leave you alone." He paused "I love you Sarah" Mac tried to work up the courage to run, get away from here, but she couldn't.
She was mesmerised by the image presented in front of her. Chris Ragel was dead, by her own hand, but there he was walking talking, standing just like she had seen him the year before.
He had been her ticket out and away, the hand that pulled her out of the cycle, only to put her into another one. Mac tried to stop the assault of memories seeing the image of Chris had brought up, but starting slowly and getting faster and faster they ran through her minds eye, getting more and more vivid the more painful they were.
A crashing through the bushes startled her and broke through the memories, when Mac looked up Faith was standing over her.
"Whoever the hell he is, he's not worth your life girl", Faith yanked her up into a standing position and pulled her away from the vineyard.
As they were running his voice could be heard in the still night
"You can't run away from me forever Sarah. I'm your husband, I will always find you"
Hyperion Hotel
Los Angeles, California
"Angel Investigations, We help the hopeless" Fred Burkle was the fastest to get to the phone, in the reception of the Hyperion Hotel.
"Hiya, how ya'll doin?"
"Uh huh"
"Uh huh"
"I can get…"
Giles, Dawn, Anya, Willow and Xander listened on in interest hoping that it was news from Sunnydale
"Oh… Ok… I'll let them know"
"That's fine… Any idea when?"
She turned her back on them "Ouch"
"That's good news"
The Sunnydale residents sighed. Buffy and Fred had never met, so it couldn't be her…
"No problem, see you later"
Fred turned to the five of them and smiled "Faith wants to know how you like your preacher, sliced or diced? Cause she's got both"
They all stood up at once and started shouting questions at Fred.
