Bye, Bye Slayer

Episode 8

Downtown Haynesville:

            Faith was wandering the town alone. She had just come from Buffy's place. She had been there when the First told them its plans. She was there when Buffy's face had gone cold. And she was terrified.

            First off, Faith didn't think that they had a chance last time around. This time around, she knew that their chances were even slimmer. Their army was gone. It was reduced to about fifteen or so people. And Buffy had lost the scythe. Besides, she didn't think Willow could pull off that spell a second time.

            Faith was a lonely girl. She had always been one too. But then again, a slayer was always lonely. Every slayer that ever lived was alone. She was alone and even Buffy was alone. Faith knew that. Although Buffy had her friends, in her mind, she felt alone.

            She continued her walk through town. She was deathly bored and desperately longed to slay something. She approached a park. The sign at the gates said it was Central Park. She entered through the gates and walked around.

            After walking for about an hour or so, she came upon a small clearing. There were a few benches there also. That's when she noticed something under one. It was a man, wrapped up in a blanket. She walked over a kicked him. The man stirred and looked up at her.

            "Bloody hell!" he shouted, crawling out from under the bench, "Can't a bloke get a little shut eye?"

            He slowly stood up and faced his opponent. He was shocked to see who it was. He recognized her.

            "Faith?" he questioned, "What are you doing here?"

            "I'm bored to death," she replied, "I decided to go for a walk."

            "Oh," he said, "Well enjoy."

            "Why'd you do it?" she asked, sitting down on the bench.

            "Do what?" he questioned, looking confused.

            "Why'd you get a soul?" she repeated.

            "Oh that," he said, sitting down next to her, "Well truth was, I fell in love with Buffy. After she came back, she used me. She slept with me for several weeks. I really thought in my mind that she loved me back. She continued denying it. I was fed up and took drastic measures. I almost raped her."

            "I see," Faith said, "But how'd you get the soul?"

            "Right," he said, returning to his story, "I left Sunnydale. I was tired of Buffy treating me badly and I knew I had to get back at her. I had to get the chip removed so that I could kill her. I headed for Africa, where I heard of a demon that could help me. I demanded the demon to return me to my former self. After enduring a few tough trials, he gave me what I wanted, my soul."

            "But I thought you said you wanted the chip out?" Faith asked.

            "I thought that too when I went to the demon," Spike informed, "But I guess my heart wanted other things. And those things were Buffy's love and to be wanted by people, to be among them."

            "You did all that just for Buffy?" she asked.

            "Yes," he replied, "I wanted redemption. I knew that I had killed too many and was a monster. But I still wanted it. The final thing that led to my redemption was my sacrifice. They sent me back."

            "They?" Faith asked.

            "The Powers," he answered, "They said I hadn't redeemed myself enough to go to Heaven, but I had redeemed myself somewhat. I was sent back. I was given a second chance."

            "What are you trying to tell me?" she asked.

            "That by redeeming yourself, you may receive a second chance at things," he said.

            "I see," she replied.

            Faith got up off the bench and turned to face the vampire. She smiled at him.

            "I guess I should be going now," she told him, "I have some work to do."

            She turned and began to walk out of the clearing. She was almost out of sight. That's when she stopped and turned.

            "Thanks Spike!" she called then disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Downtown Haynesville:

            Faith was back to wandering again. The only thing different was that she had a new mission. She was out to find the opening to the hellmouth. And she definitely knew that there was a hellmouth beneath the town.

            She knew that if she had discovered where the location of the hellmouth was, she would be helping out Buffy and the others. She figured that they would possibly accept her into their circle of friends.

            She wandered into an alley and noticed a small group of vampires, standing around something towards the back. As she quietly inched closer, she saw what they were standing around. It was a young girl.

            "Hey!" Faith shouted, trying to draw the vamps' attention away from the girl.

            The small group turned around and looked at her.

            "Now we have the main course," one said.

            They began to casually walk over to her. Faith reached into her back pocket. She was gripping a stake tightly. She had to wait for the right moment; she had to wait for one of them to make the first move.

            The four vampires began to slowly circle her. She tensed up a lot. She couldn't blow this. It may help her achieve her redemption. She wanted to do a good thing by saving this young girl.

            "What's wrong sweetie?" another vamp asked.

            "You seem a bit tense," a third added.

            "Why don't you relax a little?" a fourth questioned, "We won't bite. Okay, well I lied, we will."

            Faith had had enough. She pulled out the stake and slammed it into the heart of one of the vamps. It exploded into dust. The other three were taken aback.

            "You bitch!" one shouted at her.

            Faith didn't waste anymore time. She thrust the stake forward, dusting that one also. The other two turned to run. She grabbed them both by the neck and tossed them backwards. She threw the stake at another. She hit her mark, the vampire's heart.

            She walked over and pulled the remaining vampire to its feet. She held on tightly to its neck.

            "You're gonna tell me what I need to know," she told him.

            "Depends," he replied.

            "Well, then I guess I'm gonna put you up on that roof, hang you upside down on a pole and let the sun cook you slowly," Faith informed, "How's that sound?"

            The vampire didn't look too excited. A look of fear spread across his face.

            "Now, where is the Hellmouth located?" she questioned.

            The vampire didn't utter a word. He was too terrified.

            "Where the hell is it?" she asked.

            "It-it's underneath that exterminator's place," the vamp muttered.

            "What exterminator place?" she asked.

            "The guy that slays us vampires owns it," he informed, "I told you what you wanted, now let me go."

            "Why?" she asked, "So you can go on killing?"

            Faith tossed him into the side of one of the buildings. He hit it with a thud. The look of fear was still there. She picked up her stake and threw it at the vampire. It punctured his heart. The vamp exploded into dust.

            Faith walked over to see if the young girl was all right. She checked for a pulse. The girl was still alive. Faith picked up her stake then turned and walked out of the alley.

Axel's Place:

            Buffy was bored. She had to get out. She turned off the television. She slid on her boots and leather jacket and headed out the door.

            As soon as she closed the door behind her, she noticed someone standing in the shadows across the street. She walked across the street to see who it was.

            "We need to talk, B," Faith said, as Buffy came walking up.

            "What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

            "I've been thinking about some stuff lately," she answered.

            "What kind of stuff?" Buffy asked.

"Buffy, I need redemption," Faith said.

            "Huh?" Buffy questioned.

            "I've done some bad things in my life, some wrong things," Faith went on, "I've killed people, I've hurt them. And I need to redeem myself."

            "Don't you think that you already have?" Buffy asked.

            "That's the problem," Faith answered, "I don't know."

            "Faith," Buffy began, "You've helped us out a lot in the past year. I mean, sure you terrorized us a while back, but you've also helped a lot."

            "I know that," Faith replied, "But it hasn't been enough. I need to do more. I need to do more before I die. I have to redeem myself before the end. And I can't do it sitting around here, waiting for the First to kill us off."
            "What are you saying?" Buffy asked.

            "I need to go away for a while. I need to leave here. I need to go out and find myself. I'm going to seek redemption for all the bad things that I've done in my life."

            "I see," Buffy replied, "Well Faith, I know that I can't keep you here. This is your decision to make. I just hope you're making the right one."

            "I will be back," Faith said, "I'll be back before the final fight, I'll be back to help."

            "I know, Faith," Buffy said, "I know."

             The two stood there, under the streetlight for a few moments. They both stared down at the ground.

            "Buffy."           

            "Yeah Faith?"

            "I probably won't get to say this later, but thanks for everything."

            "Your welcome. I just hope you find what you're searching for out there."

            Faith turned and began to walk away. But she quickly turned back.

            "Just to let you know," she said, "The Hellmouth is underneath that place."

            "Huh?" Buffy questioned.

            "The Hellmouth is under the place where you're staying."

            "Thanks."

            "Goodbye, B."

            "Goodbye Faith and good luck."

            Faith turned back and disappeared into the darkness. Buffy watched her go until she couldn't see her anymore. She had lost someone, someone who could have been a big help. Buffy knew that she'd be back eventually. She just hoped Faith would be alright.