Awakening

Episode 22

Giles's Apartment:

            "We've been at this for days," Xander said, "No one has found anything."

            "Calm down, Xander," Wesley insisted.

            "We have to keep looking until we find out who won the fight," Giles informed, "We must figure out who we are dealing with."

            "But Faith and the troops haven't come up with anything yet," Xander replied, "I mean, what are the chances of them finding anything now?"

            "He's right, Giles," Oz added, "This town isn't that large. If there was any corpse or anything left, it would have been found already."

            "See, told you so," Xander said.

The Cemetery:

            "Do you think we should have let Kennedy take the other girls out?" Faith questioned, "There's at least one threat still out there."

            "I'm sure they're fine," Angel assured.

            "Oh god," Faith said, "I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. And it is way too much to carry."

            "See, now you know what Buffy has gone through before," Angel told her.

            "I know, but I don't think Buffy ever had this much pressure before," Faith replied, "I mean, come on, this apocalypse seems like it's gonna be huge."

            "It will," Angel added, "But you're doing fine. You have nothing to worry about."

            "Kiss me," Faith said.

            "What?" Angel replied.

            "Please, kiss me," she repeated.

            Angel wrapped his arms around Faith. Faith did the same. Their lips met in a passionate kiss. Faith's hands roamed all over Angel's back and through his hair. She needed this. She needed sexual relief.

            Angel pushed against the door to a crypt. She roamed her hands all over his body. Then he began to kiss his way down to her neck. It was like heaven for the two of them. They hadn't been close to anyone for a long while now.

            Suddenly, the crypt door gave way and fell inwards. Faith landed on her back, Angel fell on top of her. They both started laughing hysterically. Faith put her hands above her head and stretched. She gasped at what she felt.

            Angel looked up and saw what she had touched. There was some kind of corpse there. But it was too hard to tell from his current position. He rolled off Faith and climbed to his feet. Then he helped her up. The two stared at the corpse for a moment.

            "We've been searching this whole damn town for the past week and it's been here all along!" Faith exclaimed.

            "But which corpse is it?" Angel asked.

            The demon corpse had two large horns on its head and wings on its back. There were three huge claws on her hand. It could have been either demon except for two major things. This demon did not have a tail and it was dark reddish-orange in color.

            "Looks like lady luck wasn't on our side this time," Faith said.

            "Unfortunately," Angel murmured, "We should get back and tell Giles."

Giles's Apartment:

            "I still this is pointless," Xander told everyone.
            "Xander, just sit down," Cordy ordered, "You're getting no where with your argument."

            "Oh I guess you're right, Cordy," he said, giving in.

            Xander walked over and told a seat on the couch next to his girlfriend. Cordy smiled at him. He smiled back.

            "Thank you," Giles said to Cordy.

            Just then the door opened and Faith and Angel walked in. Faith closed the door behind her and the two walked into the middle of the room.

            "What's wrong?" Wesley questioned, lifting his head for the book in front of him.

            "We found it," Angel informed.

            "What did you find?" Fred asked, coming into the room.

            Fred had taken it upon herself to look after Buffy. She would occasionally check on her during the day. She'd also fix Buffy's blankets and pillows. She wanted to make sure that Buffy was very comfortable.

            "The corpse," Angel answered.

            "Told you," Giles whispered to Xander.

            "Where was it?" Wesley questioned.

            "It was in a crypt at the cemetery," Faith replied.

            "Interesting," Giles said, "It seems like whoever being won wanted to hide the evidence from us."
            "Or maybe not," Fred interrupted, "Don't you think if they didn't want us to know, the corpse would have been burned?"

            "The science chick does have a point there, Giles," Oz said.

            "There's bad news though," Faith informed, "The victor was not who we hoped it would be."

            "Which means we are dealing with a whole new force that we've never come up against before," Giles concluded.

The Bedroom:

            Willow sat alone in the room. She had spent most of her time sitting in a small chair in the corner of the room. She always stared blankly at the bed, hoping that its occupant would awaken. But her waiting seemed like a waste.

            The witch was a mess. She had spoken to anyone since Buffy had gone catatonic. She had gone through so much in the past few years. And this had finally pushed her over the edge. She had lost everything. And now she had nothing left.

            Tears began to fall from the redhead's eyes. She covered her face with her hands.  Buffy was never going to wake up. There was no hope for her anymore. Nothing could make her normal again. Nothing could make her happy anymore.

            That's when she heard a small gasp. Her head shot up and she glanced in the direction of the bed. She saw it. The petite blond lying there had her eyes open. She had a smile on her face.

            "Willow," she said softly.

            "Oh my god!" Willow exclaimed, "Buffy!"

            Willow was out of the chair and sitting on the bed in the blink of an eye. She had her arms around the slayer. Tears of happiness were now sliding down her cheeks. A smile was on her face.

            "What happened, Willow?" Buffy asked.

            "I thought I lost you, Buffy," Willow said, "You've been a coma for like three weeks now."

            "What?"

            "Spike found you on the beach after Axel and Kennedy left you. We all thought you were dead. But Giles found a pulse. Oh Buffy, I'm so glad that you're all right."

            "Are you guys all okay?"

            "We suffered two casualties."

            "Who?" Buffy asked.

            "Riley and Gunn. Riley saved them all. But he and Gunn died in the process of saving."

            The door to the bedroom opened. Both Willow and Buffy turned their heads in that direction. Faith's head popped in. When she saw Buffy, her jaw dropped in shock.

            "Buffy?" she questioned, astonished.

            Buffy didn't reply. She just smiled at the younger slayer. Faith turned her head back to the main room.

            "Buffy's awake!" Faith yelled.

            She then walked into the room and embraced Buffy in a big hug. Buffy smiled once again.

            "Oh B," Faith began, "Everything's been so damn hard. I can't lead these guys into battle anymore. Oh god, it feels like I have the world on my shoulders. I can't do this anymore."

             "Faith, calm down," Buffy told her.

            In a few moments, everyone else appeared in the door. And one by one, they entered. They were all smiling. Giles stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his slayer. He was so happy to see her awake. His face was beaming.

            "So fill me in on everything," Buffy said.

            Giles broke off his embrace. He chuckled at her want to get back in the action.

            "We've had our hands full these past three weeks," he informed, "The First became corporeal a little while ago. I believe sometime last week, actually."  

            "It's corporeal now?" Buffy questioned, shocked.

            "It was corporeal," Faith replied, "It's dead now. The Goddess killed it."

            "So we have one great evil on our hands now," Buffy said.

            "Will someone please tell me what the bloody hell is going on around here?" Spike questioned, appearing in the middle of the room, "Why the hell is it raining…Buffy?

            Buffy smiled at the ghost vampire. He was still the same as she remembered. She hadn't really noticed him since he arrived in town with Angel and the gang. Spike stood there, unable to speak. He was too shocked to say anything.

            "What about raining?" Xander asked.

            Spike didn't say anything for a few moments. He was shocked and didn't hear what Xander had said.

            "Spike!" Xander shouted.

            "Oh…sorry…" Spike said, "It's raining fire right now."

            "That's not possible," Giles said.

            "He's not lying," Oz said, reentering the room.

            "Will someone tell me why it's raining fire?" Cordy asked, sticking her head into the room, "Oh hey Buffy. Good to see you up."

            "You know," Buffy said, "Maybe we should focus on the raining fire thing right now."

            "Right then," Giles said, "What is going on here?"

            "Oh bloody hell!" Spike yelled, "Can't any of you ponces see that this is the end?"

            Everyone stared at him like he was insane. No one said anything though.

            "Bloody hell!" he yelled, "I'm out of here!"

            And with that the ghost was gone. Just then Angel walked into the room. He smiled when he saw Buffy.

            "Oh it's about time he went away," Angel said, "I'm getting annoyed by him."

            Within a few minutes, everyone left the room. Giles, Faith, and Angel remained there with Buffy lying in bed.

            "So what's the plan?" Faith questioned.

            "Faith," Giles began, "I want you to go out and round up Kennedy and the potentials. Keep them safe."

            "Whoa, wait!" Buffy exclaimed, "What about me? I'm ready to take on this Goddess."

            She threw the covers off and jumped to her feet. She instantly collapsed back down on the bed. She smiled at her stupidity.

            "Guess I was wrong," she murmured.

            "No Buffy," Giles said, "You are much too weak to fight, let alone get out of bed. Let Faith handle it."

            "I got this one, B," Faith told her, "You rest up here. You can take over later."

            "Thanks Faith," Buffy said.

            "No problem," she replied.

            Faith disappeared out the door. The three of them could hear her opening the door and leaving the apartment.

            "Go with her," Giles said to Angel, "She may need your help."

            Angel nodded and headed out of the room. He took off after Faith. Only Giles and Buffy were left in the room.

            "How has she been doing?" Buffy questioned.

            "She's doing well."

            "I knew she would."

Downtown Haynesville:

            It seemed that Xander had been walking a lot lately. There wasn't really much he could do to help in this war besides get in the way. So that's why he had been walking around town. Last time, he'd been with Spike. This time it was Jake who'd gone with him. Both guys were oblivious to the fact that Buffy had awakened.

            "How was home?" Xander asked.

            "Pretty much the same as I left it a few years back," Jake replied, "You'd think something would change in two years."

            "Yeah," Xander said, "I experienced that. I left Sunnydale after graduation to discover myself. Never did, but that's a different story. But anyways, when I got back, everything was the same except my friends were in college."

            "Oh."

            "How were your parents?"

            "I'm not sure. I couldn't find them."

            "Where would they have been?"

            "Who knows? I haven't seen them in so long, not since I left to vacation in Sunnydale. I guess they assumed I was dead."

            "Yeah, my parents were like that," Xander told him.

            The two seemed to be enjoying their talk. It was much better than sitting in that large apartment with all those people fighting and arguing all the time. Plus, they were learning things about each other.

            "My parents kind of disappeared after I moved into an apartment with Anya," he informed, "And I never saw them afterwards. I'm not even sure if they were killed when the vampires took over Sunnydale a while back."

            "That's sad," Jake replied.

            "What ever happened with your relationship with Julia?" Xander asked.

            "I'm not sure," Jake answered, "We went out for a few months and then I left."

            "Did you tell her that you were coming back?"

            "I wasn't sure if I was," he answered, "And she still doesn't know that I am."

            "Do you think you should tell her?" Xander questioned.

            "No," Jake said, "I'm not staying. I'm leaving soon."

            "How come?"

            "I've had enough with this whole fighting evil thing," Jake replied, "I've been through so much and I've lost so much."

            "How so?"

            "I lost two girlfriends and a friend because of vampires and such: Dani, Sarah, and Cindy."

            "I didn't realize that you'd lost so much," Xander said.

            "Yeah, but you've probably lost a lot too. I mean, you've been doing this whole thing way longer than I have."

            "That's right. So where are you headed?"

            "I'm not exactly sure," he answered, "Maybe I'll travel the country. Sure I've seen Southern California and Southern Louisiana, but there's still so much out there."

            "Sounds like fun," Xander said, "Wish I could do the same, but I can't abandon my best friends now. They need me."

            "I understand and that's cool. I'm just sorry I can't stay and help. But you know, you guys seem to have everything under control."

            Xander laughed a bit at that one. Everything was far from under control.

            "Well Xander," Jake said, "I'd love to stay, but I've got to get going before things get any worse around here."

            Jake turned and began to head off into the darkness. Xander turned and looked as he walked off.

            "Hopefully I'll see you around," Jake said, turning back and waving.

            "Yeah," Xander called, "See you around!"

            Xander turned and began his walk back to the apartment, the walk back to reality. Unbeknownst to him, that was the last he would ever see of Jake. The two would never cross paths again.

The Swamps:

            "What are you doing here?" Faith questioned.

            She didn't turn around to face him. She knew who it was.

            "You might need help," Angel replied.

            "With what?" Faith asked, turning to face him.

            "That," he said, pointing over her shoulder.

            Faith turned and stared into the dark swamps. There she saw them, a fairly large group of Ubervamps. They were standing there, staring at her and Angel.

            "The survivors?" Faith questioned.

            "Probably," Angel replied.

            "We should take them out," she told him.

            "Not yet," he said, "We should get help. They are still strong."

            "Hey guys!"

            Faith and Angel spun around. Wesley, Oz, Kennedy, and Axel came walking into the clearing that the two stood. Kennedy started waving once the two turned to face them.

            "What's going on?" Wesley asked.

            "There are Turok-Han over there," Angel informed, "They must be the survivors from that battle."

            "Wait," Faith said, "Kennedy, where are the other girls?"

            "Oh, I took them back to the apartments and ran into Wesley and Oz as they were leaving," she replied.

            "Giles sent us after you as backup," Oz informed, "He wanted to make sure you two didn't get into any trouble."

            "Well you guys showed up just in time because we're going to finish these last few vampires off!" Faith exclaimed.

            Faith was glad that the others had showed up. She felt weird around Angel now. She had felt uncomfortable around him since earlier that day after their little 'encounter'. She didn't know what to do. Had she really fallen for Buffy's ex?

            "Come on!" she exclaimed, "Let's get them!"

Giles's Apartment:

            Buffy had regained some of her strength. She was able to get out of bed and move around the apartment. She was glad for that. She had gotten something to eat, which was also a plus. She'd been so hungry. She figured that Giles and the others probably couldn't feed her much while she'd been in the coma.

            "Buffy," Giles called, coming into the kitchen.

            Buffy spun to face him.

            "What's wrong?" she asked.

            "Nothing. Just this package arrived for you this afternoon," he told her, "I figured I should wait to give it to you until you got stronger."

            He handed her the package. The two of them turned and walked back into the main room. Buffy sat down, the package on her lap.

            "Buffy, I need to talk to you," Spike said, appearing out of no where.

            Both Buffy and Giles jumped. Spike had obviously scared them both to death.

            "Spike!" Giles shouted, "Don't ever do that again!"

            "Sorry mate," Spike apologized, "I need to talk to you though, Buffy."

            "Just wait until I open this package," she replied.

            She found the tape holding the box closed and tore it off the top. She carefully opened the flaps, just in case something jumped out at her. She glanced down to see what was inside.

            A small orb sat in the middle of packing peanuts. It was pale blue in color. It was perfectly shaped. Buffy seemed drawn to it, while Giles was intrigued by it. She reached down and picked it out of the box. Giles noticed a note underneath the orb and read it aloud.

            Dear Slayer,

                        This will help you restore the champion. Also, try using it against her. Your welcome!

                                                                                   

                                                                                                Signed,

                                                                                                     A Friend

            "Champion?" Buffy questioned, confused.

            Suddenly, the orb glowed with a bright blue light. A wave of energy shot off of it and lit up the entire room. Buffy and Giles had to shield their eyes because it was so bright.

            Within a few moments, the light had faded and the orb stopped glowing. Buffy dropped it back into the box and pushed the flaps closed. She shoved the box away. It had obviously frightened her.

            "Bloody hell!" Spike shouted, "Stupid bugger blinded me!"

            Buffy glanced towards him. He was rubbing his eyes, trying to see again. He was also stumbling around like a blind man. He bumped into a table and stumbled forward before hitting the ground.

            "Spike?" she questioned.

            "What is it, luv?" Spike asked, finally able to see again.

            "Y-you're c-corporeal," she said.

            "What?" Spike asked, confused.

            He had no idea that he had just ran into a table. He was too busy trying to see again to realize that he was no longer a ghost. He reached over and touched the table which he had bumped into.

            With that, he rose to his feet and began dancing around the room. He started shouting with joy and singing. He was loud enough to disturb the others and drew them into the room.

The Swamps:

            Angel and Faith were back-to-back. They were having some trouble taking out the vampires. Both of them had cuts and bruises on their arms and faces. It was obvious that the Turok-Han had the upper hand.

            "Why did we come out here without weapons?" Faith questioned.

            "Our mission wasn't to fight," Angel replied, "It was to round up the girls."

            Angel gave the closest vampire a quick jab to the face. The vampire punched back, knocking him to the ground. Two vampires jumped at him, pummeling him into the ground. Faith came up and kicked one away. She proceeded to beat the vampire until she was finally able to snap its neck.

            Angel rose to his feet. He shoved the remaining vampire away and then charged it, knocking it into the swamps. Angel reached up and broke a large branch off of a nearby tree. He slammed it down into the heart of the Ubervamp.

            "You'd think they'd be weaker without a leader," Faith said, dodging a blow, "But they're just as strong as before."

            The vampire punched her. She punched back then followed up with a quick front kick to the face. The vampire fell on its back. Faith bent down and snapped its neck. It exploded into dust instantly.

            Wesley had a cross bow and was firing bolts this way and that. He had great aim too. Most of the bolts hit their target, dusting them. Unfortunately, a vampire tackled him to the ground, knocking the crossbow from his grip. It went tumbling to the ground. Oz saw this and rushed over to help.

            The vampire had Wesley pinned to the ground. It was about to move in for the kill. Oz began beating it over the head with his mace. He didn't stop until the vampire turned to dust. Then he helped Wesley to his feet. The two looked around to observe how everyone was doing.

            There was one vampire left and it was all Faith's. She began kicking it around a bit. She then gave it a roundhouse kick, causing its jaw to snap. The vampire growled in anger and punched her back, in the face. Faith gasped in pain as the vampire hit her again. Angel decided now would be a good time to help out. He grasped the broken branch and charged the Ubervamp, ramming it right through it heart.

            "That was some evening workout, huh?" Faith said, out of breath, "Now I'm hungry."

Giles's Apartment:

            Buffy sat, alone, in the room that she had spent the last few weeks in. She was thinking about everything. But mainly, she'd been thinking of the blue cube that a 'friend' had sent to her in the mail. She wanted to know who this person was and she wanted to know why it had turned Spike corporeal again. That's when the door opened.

            "Buffy?" Spike questioned, coming in the room, "Can we talk?"

            "About what?" she asked.

            "About me," he replied.

            "Sure."

            "According to Angel, I returned only a few weeks after the battle in Sunnydale. That amulet was mailed to Angel for some odd reason that I don't know. Anyways luv, I wanted to tell you that I was back, I really did. But the more I thought about it, the more that I realized I couldn't."

            "And why's that?"

            "I realized that the whole saving-the-world thing wouldn't mean anything to you anymore. I figured that if I came to find you that my sacrificing myself to save the world wouldn't be worth anything; that it wouldn't matter anymore."

            "Spike."

            "Yes, luv?"

            "I missed you so much. I dreamt about you after your death. I care about you, Spike. I really do."

            "What are you trying to say, slayer…Buffy?"

            "I'm not sure. But I know that you are in my heart, Spike."

            "I know it wasn't true."

            "What wasn't?"

            "What you said back there, in that cavern."

            "I don't know what it was. I was caught up in the moment, I guess. And I thought I loved you, after you were gone. But then I fell for some cheap trick of the Goddess. Maybe it was love, but it isn't there anymore."

            Spike looked hurt. It seemed as if he would burst into tears at any moment. He wanted to, but he couldn't in front of her."

            "Spike…" Buffy began, "I just want you to know that you will always be in my heart. And maybe someday, something may happen between us. But it can't now. You and I both know that. Maybe after the world doesn't end something will happen, but not now."