Prologue:
This was a dream.
She was sure of it...because she knew she was asleep.
Sometimes though, for Mary Sloane, dreams could be more than passing images in her mind.
Sometimes they were visions.
And sometimes...they came true.
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The young woman sat at the bar, crouched low over her drink so that her long dark hair covered her face. It was obvious she was trying to be invisible amongst the late night drunks scattered through the seedy establishment, but even in her purposely disheveled state, she could not hide her physical beauty.
She knew she was attractive, both in face and body, and that had always been just one more weapon she could use against the rest of the world. But, tonight she wanted to be alone, and as she sensed a random male patron belly up next to her, she ground her teeth angrily in anticipation for what would come next.
"Hey, baby," the man to her left said, his voice rough from years of cigarette smoke, "How you doin'?"
Faith lifted her drink to her lips and finished off the burning liquid with one quick motion. She set the glass on the bar again, her strong hands spinning it around lazily, and she stared at the sparkling reflection of many neon lights. She was tired, far too tired for her task at hand, and many long careworn years shone in her eyes. She certainly did not have the patience tonight for drunkards with their libidos on their minds.
"Oh, come on, baby," the man prodded after a moment, "Don't be like that. Aren't you interested in a little fun tonight?"
Faith still gave no indication she had noticed the man's presence. She was waiting, listening to everything around her, and preparing herself to do what she had to do.
It had been months since she left Sunnydale, a long time to be without proper supervision in her duties. But that had not stopped her from doing them. Did that make her some kind of vigilante? Maybe. But she was a Slayer, whether or not the title was still official, and nothing made her happier than doing what she was born to do.
"Hey, bitch, I'm talkin' to you!" the man next to her suddenly shouted, and grabbed her arm roughly. Faith made no attempt to defend herself. As if on cue, another patron of the bar intervened in the drunken man's rude behavior.
"I believe the lady has made her disinterest in you quite apparent," a new voice said, the tone smooth and debonair.
Faith felt the drunkard's hand pulled away from her, and she glanced through her strands of hair to see a very well dressed gentleman holding the other man's wrist. The second patron was tall, handsome and smiling politely, a stark contrast to the bar's dingy appearance.
"Oh, yeah?" the drunk man stammered, "Well...I believe...you can kiss my ass and then fuck off 'cause me and this bitch was just...ahhhh!"
Some of the other patrons, as well as the bartender, turned to watch the confrontation between the two men with passing interest, but Faith kept her eyes forward, staring at the mirror mounted behind the bar.
After a minute under the suave man's grasp, the drunkard fell to the floor, suddenly released from the powerful hold. He stumbled to his feet, cursing and spitting in their direction, before walking off towards the bathrooms.
Faith continued to gaze into the streaked and dirty bar mirror, until a hand touched her shoulder. She turned, seeming very hesitant, and then glanced up at the second man with wide, innocent eyes.
"He won't bother you any more, my dear," the well-dressed man said soothingly, and then reached out a hand toward her face, "So strange...to see such a lovely child in a horrid place like this..."
"Are you sure he's gone?" Faith said, making her voice tremble with false anxiety.
"Oh, yes," the man replied, "I pretty sure I convinced him to leave..."
"Damn," she said, her voice suddenly becoming hard, "He said we were going to have fun..."
She tilted her head up and met the eyes of her 'savior,' such a brave 'man,' who was not a man at all.
The 'man' frowned in surprise as the helpless child's face became the visage of a killer.
"I guess I'll have to have fun with you then..." Faith said.
In a move almost too fast to see, she drew a stake from her coat and rammed it into the vampire's chest. A split second before he turned to dust, the vampire's face changed, its fangs gnashing for her throat defensively. But, Faith only smiled, as the creature's body melted away and rained to the floor.
All the murmuring chatter around her fell into a shocked silence. The bartender began to inch slowly towards the telephone, his eyes locked in terror on the young woman with the pointy wooden stick.
Faith dusted off her hands, and fastened her weapon back into the hidden depths of her jacket. She knelt down, ignoring the horrified gasps of the people around her, and sifted through the vampire's remains. Her hands came upon a folded piece of yellowing paper, which she opened carefully, blowing the remaining ashes away so she could read what it said.
There were letters of an ancient alphabet scrawled across the top, directly above an address and date that had been spelled out in plain English. Faith smiled approvingly at her discovery and then her eyes fell to the picture below the words. It was of a dark creature, hidden by shadow and formless, except for its long curling tail, its yellow eyes and row of sharp teeth.
This was what she had been looking for. She knew there was a secret vampire coven in the part of New York outlined by the folded note, but she was less concerned about them as she was about what they planned to invoke. A demon that moved in the shadows, who could drain groups of human beings of their life blood with only a touch. But, it did not consume the blood, only the life force, which is why the vampires wanted it as a pet.
An undead buffet whenever they wanted, Faith thought folding up the note and putting it in her pocket, And those Watchers thought I never did my homework on demon lore. But I remember this baddie...and I know how to kill it...
Faith, pleased by tonight's turn of events, stood up again and sighed happily. She felt refreshed, energized, the way she always did after a good slay. But she could not say the same for the cowering patrons around her.
She turned and saw the bartender trying to dial 911 with his large shaking fingers. She grinned, slapped a twenty dollar bill on the bar, and leaned toward him.
"Just a vampire, man," she said with a shrug, "Everything's five by five now. That mirror behind the bar really comes in handy for spotting those bastards. Or, for not spotting those bastards."
The bartender glanced nervously at the reflecting glass, and Faith laughed at her bizarre humor as she shoved open the bar's vinyl doors and charged out into the night.
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It was a dream.
Mary was sure of that.
There was Kurt...
There was the Slayer...
The Slayer saw Kurt...
She doesn't know he's not the one...
She has a knife in her hand...
Kurt doesn't see her...
She lifts her hand and...
...
...
Mary awoke in a cold sweat, and sat bolt upright in bed.
She glanced around the room, half expecting to see the Slayer's eyes and the glint of a blade in the darkness. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and covered her face with her hands.
"It was a dream," she said aloud, "Oh, God, I hope it was just a dream..."
After a little while, Mary was able to lie down again.
She closed her eyes with a sigh...and wondered what in the world a Slayer was.
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Author's note: Book 5! Finally. The character of Faith is the same one as in BTVS. This takes place around season 4 or 5. I don't know too much about the later seasons but I figure this is after Faith is out of coma and all that jazz from the Graduation Day episode. No, that's not a bad pun in the title of book 5 either, but a statement on Kurt's faith. Hmm...
I just realized Book 4 has like 75 reviews. I love you guys! Please keep the critiques coming!
To XanyKaos: Thanks for those last few reviews! Very belated luck on your finals and such. Taco Bell is definitely study food. My sis has eaten more cheesy gordita crunches this week than humanly possible any other time of the year. lol. As for romances, I'll just have to see how it plays out, but not Becca/Pyro, though I have a feeling she may grow a fondness for green British type, cause you know we all do. :-)
To Demon Rogue: Book 5! Lots of Kurt for all, and maybe a little Kurt/Ororo angst to keep things interesting!
To Liz the capitalist madhatter: I'll have to check out your recommended Kurt fics! Always looking for new fics to read. As for Toad stories, I've listed my favs in my favs at my main page but do a search for Toad fics in the characters box and a ton more will pop up. All characterize him a little differently but they are all worth reading! :-)