Chapter 14

They had been waiting for a full day in anticipation. Waiting, and waiting. There was nothing else to do except wait, and that made things go even slower. Xander had no idea that a day could take so long to pass. He had spent the whole time at Buffy's house, waiting for Giles to ring back. He'd tried playing many board games, such as monopoly with Dawn, but that didn't make the time go any quicker. They'd tried watching videos, daytime T.V, listening to music, going shopping, anything. Nothing made the day go by any quicker.

The worst thing was that three hours after Giles was meant to call, they hadn't heard from him, and Xander could see that they were all making up excuses as to why he hadn't called. They'd been going on like this for half an hour after he was meant to call them, but hadn't, it now being dusk. The most realistic excuse that they could come up with was that he just simply forgot because he was too preoccupied with other things. Not one of them, except Dawn, had, had the guts to put the most obvious reason forward; that he was trying to deal with Willow, who had gone over the edge, again.

They were in the middle of arguing over their latest excuse; that Giles and Willow were in the middle of a ritual that they were doing, when the phone rang. Xander saw Buffy race to the phone and pick it up.

"Giles?" she said urgently into the phone. Xander watched as apprehension came over Buffy's face. "No. No, she hasn't. Why?" Xander watched as Buffy nodded. Somehow, he had the distinct feeling that it was something to do with Faith, and that it was probably the Watchers Council. "If we hear anything from her, we'll call," Buffy replied into the phone before hanging it up. Xander looked to her. "It was the Council. Saying that Faith's broken out of prison, and asking if we'd heard from her," Buffy said.

"And how come you said no?" Xander asked.

"We can't let the council kill her, not because they want a new slayer," Buffy replied.

"We are talking about Faith here aren't we?" Xander said in a sarcastic voice. "This is the same woman who tried to kill you, swapped bodies with you, killed the deputy mayor, and tried to kill Angel isn't it?"

"Yes. But Angel said a while ago that she'd changed. She turned herself in remember Xander. And if she wanted to kill me, why would she ring here for help?" Buffy replied.

"That could be a part of her plan. Convince us all she's all better, then try to kill us again," Xander replied.

Faith had been wondering Downtown LA for what seemed like ages now. She had checked out where Angel Investigations used to be, but it wasn't there anymore. In its place was a new office block. When she asked what had happened to the old business that was there, the secretary had just said that it had blown up. The secretary didn't know where the business had moved to, or even if it was still open or not. Faith had asked her if she knew of any places to stay, and she kindly gave Faith directions to a home that takes in teenagers off the street. Faith didn't really care if she looked like she was off the street. It was a given that she'd look a bit tattered after just breaking out of jail. What Faith was surprised at though was that the secretary or the guy that had given her a lift seemed to notice that Faith was in a prisoner's uniform.

Dusk had come before Faith had even found the street the home was in. She had tried to look up one of the maps that were in the phone books in all the public phones, but all the phone books had been taken. By the time Faith had actually found the home, night had fallen.

The place looked pretty good, to Faith's standards, which wasn't saying much. She was used to staying in run down motels and any other cheap places she could find. As she walked up the front steps, she could hear loud rap music coming from inside the building.

"Just like home," Faith said to herself under her breath. She knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer. She knocked on the door again, but still no answer. This time, she pounded on the door. Still no answer. Faith opened the door slowly and saw a short blonde girl walking towards her. For one second, she thought it was Buffy, but after her initial shock, she realised that it wasn't.

"Hi. Are you looking for a place to stay," The girl asked Faith.

"Yeah," Faith replied, while looking around.

"As you can see we're pretty full here. I don't know if there's any room, sorry," the girl said.

"I won't take up much room, and I won't be here for long. Just have to find a friend. I'll be out most of the night too. All I need is a place to crash," Faith replied. The girl looked at Faith for a moment, then replied,

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, I'm not… why?" Faith replied.

"You can't go out after nine. It's not safe. Especially for young women," the girl replied, almost like she was hinting at something.

"Don't worry. I can handle myself," Faith replied.

"There's been plenty of people who've said that too, and they've never come back," the blonde replied. "Just know that it isn't safe after dark," she cautiously said.

Anne was wondering what she was going to do with the brunette standing before her. She couldn't really turn her away, but they were full. The brunette looked like she'd been through a rough time. Her hair was all tangled up and scruffy, and the brunette looked dog tired. There was also something in her eyes that gave off the impression the girl had seen too many things she wasn't meant to see. There were always people who had that look in her home these days. Anne thought it was because of all the vampires running the streets, preying on young kids.

She was just about to tell the brunette that she could stay if she could find some room when there was a knock on the door. She walked past Faith and opened the door. There was a young man standing on the front step, looking like he'd seen a ghost.

"Y-y-you have to help me… I-I was chased, down the street. T-there were about four of them. I-I don't know if they followed me or not," he stammered.

"Sure, sure, come in," Anne replied. She stepped aside and allowed the man to enter. She looked over to Faith who looked at her and nodded at the young man who had just stumbled in the doorway. Anne guessed that Faith was happy to wait until she'd gotten the man settled. Anne saw Faith turn away and look at one of the pictures that was on the wall. Anne turned her attention back to the young man, "Just tell me what happened?" she asked.

"I-I was walking down the street… I go this place to stay, you know. I was heading there. Then, these guys came out of an alleyway and started talking about food or something, and then they chased me… I think I lost them on the way here," he replied, obviously calming down.

"Tell me, what did they look like?" Anne asked him, "Did they have anything wrong with their faces?"

"Yeah," the man replied. Anne looked to Faith, who was still looking at the pictures on the wall. She looked back to the man, and in horror, realised that his face had changed. His brow had protruded, and small little fangs had sprouted in his mouth. "They looked something like this," he said. Before anything could happen, he lunged at her and pushed her over onto the ground. She looked up at him in terror, not knowing what to do. She knew that she'd frozen, and there was nothing she could do about it. The vampire had his mouth open and was bringing his mouth down to her neck. Anne just closed her eyes as last thoughts went screaming through her head.

However, no piercing pain came. She could feel his weight leave her body and heard a loud crash. She opened her eyes and saw the vampire scrambling to get up off the floor beside her. She saw a figure above her, and saw that it was the young brunette girl. She was offering out her hand to help Anne up. She gladly took the brunette's hand and was pulled up suprisingly fast. The brunette kindly pushed her out of the way and stood facing the vampire. Anne was lost; she didn't know what was happening. She saw the vampire get up and look at the brunette girl. Anne started to call out as the vampire charged at the brunette, but stopped when she saw the brunette duck under the vampire's punch, and uppercut it in the chest. She watched the brunette step back then grab the back of the vampire's shirt and slam him into the door. The brunette picked him up off the floor onto his feet and dodged his poor attempts to attack her. She pummelled his chest then brought her fist hard into his cheek. There was a loud crack as his jaw broke. The brunette kicked his legs out from under him, but not before the vampire managed to hit her in the chest. The brunette stumbled back a bit, and looked around. Anne realised she was looking for a stake, and she knew that she had one nearby. She opened the drawer of the small wall unit that was nearby and found what she was looking for. She threw the stake to the brunette, who whipped it out of the air and plunged it into the vampire's heart. Before them, the vampire turned to dust, leaving a neat little mess on the floor.

"Told you I could handle myself," the brunette said while handing the stake back to Anne. Anne watched as the brunette looked around the room at everyone that was watching. Anne knew that most of them had had a run in with a vampire in their young lives, but none of them handled themselves with the confidence the brunette did. "I'm Faith, by the way," she said holding out her hand to Anne.

"Anne," she heard herself reply.

"So, I'm guessing I can stay then?"

She was in a forest. No sign of civilisation around her. From the size of the oak, pine, and redwood trees around her, she guessed that the forest was ancient. To her right, a small gazelle looked up at her, and then darted off into the underbrush. She looked up and barely saw through the tops of the gigantic trees that it was a nice sunny day, although she could hardly tell from her position. She closed her eyes and just stood there, letting everything take her over. She could hear the sounds of the forest; the birds singing, the cicadas and crickets chirping. Apart from that, and her own breathing, there was silence. Suddenly, she was overpowered with emotion. The feeling was tremendous in scale, and although the feeling scared her, she liked it. Inside her, she felt at peace, as if this was the way it was meant to be. The girl then remembered that this is how it had felt before. Her mind was screaming out to her that there was something she was forgetting, but she couldn't 'put her finger on it'.

Soon, the feeling left, and she was swamped with the same emotion again. She knew it was because she was connected. She could feel the force of life around her, feel the way it was all connected together, and that she was apart of that. It felt so right, proper, like this was her place. Images flashed through her brain of something else that had felt this right before, but again, she couldn't put her finger on it. It had something to do with people, that much she knew. She also knew that the feeling she was experiencing now was purely because she was away from society and all the mess that comes with human beings. She was above them now. She was pure, untainted by the human hand, having escaped all that.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing in perfect circular clearing. The floor was blanketed with dead and decaying leaves. Above her, she could see the blue sky, and the sun shining straight down at her.

But then something came over her. Everything wasn't all good. Everything didn't feel right. She came to realise that she was only a human, just like the rest of them. She knew that she was one of the few people to reach the state she was just in, and she also realised that she had never comprehended the true meaning to the things around her before; that she had tried to control that which was not hers, or anyone's, to control. She knew that by trying to do so, it had completely consumed her, in all the wrong ways. She couldn't remember what had happened before, but she knew that there was great pain, all caused because of her. She remembered being intensely insecure, until she found out about this. Then, something else happened, that fixed everything. She lived completely happily for a few years, then she remembered that she took whatever that had come along for granted, and then everything went downhill until where she was now.

All of a sudden, everything snapped back to normal. She realised that something was showing her these things; telling her even. Now, she listened.

In an instant, she knew that she had a second chance, but that this chance wasn't to be taken lightly. She somehow knew that if she got anything wrong this time, she, and everyone else, would ultimately be far more worse off than now.

She looked around, trying to find some clue of the thing that was telling her these things, but there was nothing. She knew that it was communicating to her on the most basic level. Beyond language. She was shown feelings, and whatever was bringing these up also brought up her own feelings. Without even knowing what was happening, she was granted with knowledge of what she had done wrong, exactly, beyond the human brain's understanding, but she knew that it wasn't beyond the soul's understanding.

"Who are you?" she called out, curious. "Can you show yourself to me?" She knew that whatever she was communicating with was going to show itself to her even before she spoke it. Patiently, she waited, but nothing came. "Are you going to show yourself?" Patiently, she waited again, but nothing. As soon as she closed her eyes to sense for a presence of anything, she felt something coming towards her, through the forest. She could feel that the thing coming towards her was familiar, too familiar. She turned in the direction it was coming from and opened her eyes.

She couldn't believe what she saw as memories from her life flashed back to her. This was the love of her life coming towards her. The one person that she honestly couldn't care more for. The one person who had come back into her life only to be violently ripped from life. She watched as the heavenly blue eyes locked with hers as the girl entered the clearing.

"The answers are right in front of you. You just have to look in the right place… You know what you have to do… You know what I'm talking about. Those who seem to aid you will be your downfall, and those that you know aid you will be your upbringing. You just have to see yourself, know your limits, and then, everything will be perfect," The girl said. "Clarity perceived is not clarity believed. Heed these words" The girl turned and started to go.

"NO! You can't go!"

"I will come back, and you will guide me back, but I am not who you think I am. Moreover heed these words" the girl laid her hand on her head and everything felt good. Nothing felt bad, and it felt as though nothing would ever be bad again. "Remember, I'm always there if you need me. You just have to know who to ask." The girl then shimmered into nothingness.

Around her, the scenery shifted to that of the forest she was in before, without the clearing. She was ultimately confused, even though she felt as though everything was clearer than they'd ever been in her life.

Giles and Cassia were still trapped in the cabin by the coven's spells. A few minutes after Giles had woken up he and Cassia had tried a spell to get through the barrier surrounding the cabin, but to no avail. They both knew that it was pointless, but they had to try. From then, Giles had spent the rest of the time trying to figure out if his fears were feasible.

"Cassia?" Giles asked.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Why do you think the coven is keeping us and Willow in here?" Giles asked from his chair beside Willow's bed.

"I don't know. I think I believe them in saying that they want to protect themselves until Willow gets better," she replied. Giles nodded at her response. He took off his glasses and cleaned them before asking his next question.

"Do you honestly believe that?" It was a while before Cassia replied,

"No."

"What do you believe then?" Giles asked, wanting to know if she was thinking along the same lines as he was.

"I don't know," Cassia replied. Giles looked at the girl for a moment. He could tell that she honestly didn't know.

"Cassia. I know you've been with the coven for a while-" Giles started.

"I only come in when I can. I'm here now because they asked me to be here for Willow's recovery, seeing that I'm good with the natural magicks and all. I think they wanted me to teach her," Cassia replied, babbling a bit. It was obvious she was nervous about something.

"I think that the coven has, uhh, ill intentions towards Willow," Giles said after a moment.

"What do you mean by that?" Cassia asked. Giles just sighed.

"I think the coven wants to keep Willow here until they can find out a way to completely drain her of her power and use it for their own purposes," Giles said.

"Yeah, I could see that happening," Cassia said. Giles just furrowed his brow when Cassia said that.

"Why could you see that happening?" Giles asked.

"I don't know, I just could," Cassia replied, shrugging. Giles turned to the bed when he heard a noise from Willow. It appeared as if she was waking. He saw Cassia walk towards her, and he did the same. When they both got by her bedside, her eyes shot open.

"Willow? Are you alright?" Giles asked. She just ignored him and got out of bed. She walked to the door, opened it, and went to step through the doorway but she was met by a barrier. She extended her hand out and the air around it wavered. "Willow?" She turned around and faced Giles,

"It's alright Giles. I know what to do," Willow replied softly. Giles was concerned about Willow. It seemed as though something in her had changed, and Giles didn't know if it was for the best. "Samantha. Show yourself," Willow said into the room. "Montague. Come here now." To Giles, it was almost as if she was demanding their presence. "Show yourselves now!" Giles saw her look around the room. He didn't know if Willow was any better yet. "Show yourselves!" Willow screamed. Again, nothing happened. "By the powers of earth and water, air and fire, I call upon Samantha and Montague to appear before me. Let me see them before me now," Willow said with her head bowed and eyes closed. In front of her Giles saw two figures start to materialise out of nowhere. Soon, Montague and Samantha were before them.

"What is the meaning of this? How did you do that?" Samantha queried a little too hastily.

"I think it would be in your best interests if you let us go," Willow replied. "I'm not staying here. You can't and won't help me."

"How do you know that? We just tried once and something went wrong," Montague replied. "Surely we can try again."

"It won't work. You can't do anything. I demand you release us, now," Willow said, anger clearly evident in her voice.

"I'm sorry, but we won't do that," Samantha said. "You're apart of a bigger picture Willow. One that you can't understand. It may seem we are being cruel, but in the long run, we are doing the right thing," Samantha replied.

"By keeping us here? I mean, I think I understand why you want me here, but why Giles and Cassia?" Willow asked.

"You don't see the big picture Willow. You never have. We have to prepare for what's coming," Samantha replied.

"And what is coming?" Giles heard himself ask. Samantha looked exhausted from the confrontation and she looked to Montague. For the first time, Giles saw that Samantha looked remarkably older than what he had first thought.

"Something big," Samantha replied.

"We don't really know," Montague said at the same time. It was evident to Giles that both Samantha and Montague were lying. There was a long silence as Willow, who was obviously in charge, thought about what to do. Calmer now, she said;

"Fine then. We'll compromise." Both Montague and Samantha looked at her. "You can't leave until we do," Willow said, faking a smile at the two of them.