Chapter Seventeen
"So that's Perfect huh?" Saleena asked as she approached her friend lost in her thoughts as she peered below inside the cell.
Faith turned but said nothing.
"She certainly looks perfect." Saleena said as she eyed her friend's love.
"No, she is Piper. She stopped being Perfect long time ago." Faith answered with a numbed smile.
"Come on now, I saw the way you two were looking at each other. Now I might have been dead long time ago, but when I see…"
"No. That was a moment's weakness. She lied to me. She never intended to go back for Kelly, that's why she left her there for dead, if I hadn't seen her do it, I would have never been able to…" Faith paused unable to say the words. "You know what, forget it." Faith said as she tried to walk away.
"No, don't you dare hide your tears from me." Saleena stopped her friend and pulled her into a hug. Faith resisted for a second then gave in, allowing her tears to pour out as she clung to her friend.
Almost 20 feet below another woman was watching the two women who now appeared single in the dim light of random torches on the walls. Piper looked away wiping the slight wetness in her eyes. While inside the cell both Paige and Tara were in the midst of apologizing for their past actions. Piper walked to them and sat down right next to her sister.
"Life's a bitch isn't it?" Paige said watching her sister's gloom face. "Who would have thought that of all the people in the world Faith would be with Saleena?"
"Faith is with Saleena?" Dawn asked surprised.
"Yep, she shot an arrow at Piper to save HER." Paige said with contempt.
"But how can that be, Saleena is a vampire." Dawn asked.
"And you have never heard of slayers and vampires together?" Tara asked Dawn surprised at her surprise.
"Well, I have but… but… Leo said that …"
"What did Leo say? I would like to hear his part in all this?" Tara asked edged towards her former mentor.
"Nothing." Dawn tried to retract her earlier outburst.
"No, Dawny you don't want to hide things from us. Remember what happened the first time you sneaked things past us." Tara stared at Dawn with the eyes that said 'I know what you did'.
Dawn looked down guiltily and was compelled to share Leo's thoughts, "Leo said that slayers were the good counterpart of the vampires, so to annihilate a force inside a vampire its counterpart would alone be able to do so. So, if I am the key or a switch slayer alone can use me. That's why I was sent as Buffy's sister. Now the slayer has changed but not the fact."
"Then hope for some magic because I don't think Faith is going to harm Saleena or the Baby." Paige said as leaned back and played rattled on her chain.
"Who is that?" Scully asked Olivia who just finished a conversation on the phone.
"We got to go." Olivia simply said as she grabbed both their coats.
They drove to a residential area where all the lights were out except for one house.
"You want to come in." Olivia asked when she parked on the driveway of that very house. Scully nodded and followed the young detective.
"Olivia, I am so sorry to call you this late but she just has been so restless this whole night…" He immediately started to talk but Olivia politely stopped him.
"That's ok John. We were up for a case anyway. This is Agent Scully, she is working with me, and Agent Scully this is Mr. John Anderson." Olivia said as she introduced the two strangers who politely shook hands.
"I did try calling Faith and when I couldn't reach her, I called you." He explained further as the two women entered his home.
"I know she is unavailable right now." Olivia acknowledged her friend's absence and as her eyes fell on the little girl gloomily sitting holding on to her teddy.
"Hey, wanna come with me tonight?" Olivia asked as she knelt in front of the girl to whom she had become a second guardian to.
She looked up with her dark beautiful eyes and immediately jumped to hug the older woman.
"My head hurts Liv." She said as she started to cry on her shoulders.
"That's ok Kelly now I am here." Olivia said as she soothed Faith's daughter.
"Phoebe." Paige said aloud as she stared at the woman looking at them through the bars.
The other three women in the cell looked up as they heard the name and stared in the direction of Paige's eyes.
"And I thought only my mind was playing tricks." Tara said to herself recognizing the vampire and realizing that even the sisters were making the same conclusion she had made when she first saw her in the dome.
The bars of the cell opened at her command and she walked in as Paige and Piper stared at the face that uncannily resembled their sister.
"When I asked for a miracle, I never thought it would be answered." Paige said as she looked at Piper who was too dumbfounded to speak.
"Bring her." Chance said pointing towards Tara.
"Phoebe." Piper said when she realized that Chance was leaving.
"Name is Chance." She said as she growled and her face turned into a vampire's. "Don't you dare call on me? Thank Faith's generousness that you are alive or else I would have personally drain your blood for attacking Saleena." Chance growled with anger as she left the cell with Tara being towed by one of the lower level vampire.
"You are Phoebe." Tara said once they were all alone inside a room. Chance completely ignored her and continued on to chain her to the two pillars on the middle of the room.
"You might not remember but your face is changing as you remember, so please you must try. You are Phoebe." Tara insisted un-scared of what the Vampire planned for her.
"You certainly have a lot of guts coming here to kill Saleena." Chance who still carried the vampire face said as though she hadn't heard a word of what Tara said.
"I never intended to kill Saleena, I am here only because Prophet dragged me here." Tara explained honestly. "Phoebe, you have to believe me."
She had just said it when a heavy hand slapped her face. "Don't you dare call me that." Chance said as her face changed to normal. "I am Chance."
"No, you are not." Tara said recovering from the hit.
Chance took Tara's face on her hand and squeezed it as she talked right on it, "The only place out of that cell is your casket, no matter what Faith says. You know how much trouble I can be for trying to help you out here, and all you can do is call out some bitch's name, now give me one good reason why I shouldn't set aside this crazy desire I have for you, and just suck you dry to turn you."
"Because you are Phoebe." Tara answered bravely.
"No." Chance screamed as her vampire face reappeared and she slashed Tara's blouse with her nails causing her to bleed. Sighting blood the vampire in her slowly approached to lick her through her torn blouse but just as she was close enough to sniff the taste, she changed back and instead just tore her blouse further exposing Tara naked. Her eyes changed from dark to bright then to pure lust as she took in the view of Tara's bareness. She fondled the blonde white lighter's breasts slowly at first then harder and harder causing the Tara more pain than pleasure. "Ahhh…" Tara cried out in pain to which the vampire simply kneed on harder and came to her ears and bit it harder than usual, "Say my name and I'll stop hurting you." She said as she put her index finger inside of her mouth and put it out revealing a long vampire's nails instead. "Phoebe." Tara said stubbornly and closed her eyes awaiting her punishment. Instead of putting her nail to an immediate use, Chance smirked at the white-lighter's bravery as she pressed its point on her throat as Tara closed her eyes harder unwillingly to show her pain. Chance put a little more pressure on it, as the blood oozed out and started make its path downwards through the length of her throat, then the valley between her breast and stopped right on top of her belly button. Chance traced its path with her index finger as Tara's tightly shut eyes started to relax. She continued her finger further down to the button of her pants which she quickly unbuckled and her pants were down rendering her 100 naked. Then it was her tongue's turn to make the previous path downwards. Tara's eyes still remained closed, and she was still moaning, but this time not with pain as her mind and body only felt the trace of the Vampire's tongue on her skin, between her breasts, along her stomach then stopping right on her belly button. Chance took time to dart her tongue in and out of it. Then she ran her nails up and down Tara's legs as she moaned louder. "Say my name." Chance said once again right on her heat this time. "Phoebe." Tara defied once again but in a feeble, barely audible voice. "You asked for it." Chance said as she darted her tongue right inside her core with a forceful thrust that erupted a volcano of pain and pleasure almost like the surge of pain that hits you as your virginity is broken. screamed but Chance continued devouring with growing urgency as her own body started to crave the very invasion. By now Chance was carrying all of Tara's weight on her shoulders and her head was dived deeper inside. For the first time, as her orgasm built up, Tara felt antagonizing physically that her body didn't even feel the pain in her wrists as it bled when she cringed for the final time, letting go of her release.
Even though Tara was 100 exhausted she weakly nodded her head. After that Chance unchained her and took her to the bed, where Tara immediately went into slumber."Keep your hands where I can see them." Olivia warned aiming her gun to the stranger in her house.
"Listen I can explain." He said as he turned around with his hands up.
"Kelly, come to me." Olivia told the young child who was almost grabbed by the man.
"Who are you and why were trying to kidnap Kelly?" Olivia asked as she protective pulled Kelly behind her.
"Leo!" Scully said as she walked inside the living room. "You know him?" Olivia asked but wasn't surprised. "Yes, you can keep your gun away, he is, umm… for the lack of more understandable word, an angel." Scully said as she walked up to give him a kiss on his cheek. Leo was one person from the Halliwell acquaintances that Scully had actually liked. "Thank god, you are here." Leo said voicing his relief in seeing her. "Listen, I need Kelly." Leo begged hopping that Dana would understand the emergency. "Leo, she is but a child." Dana replied thinking more about the child than the danger all around them. "Do you have any idea what is happening?" Leo asked sensing that Dana might not be totally in dark. "Yes, everyone is after Saleena." Dana replied knowing that the very mention of the name would suffice in answering that she did know. "She or the baby doesn't have to die. Prophet sent message that he got everything to make that happen, including the k…. including Dawn so now all he needs is the slayer. And Kelly is a slayer." Leo explained quickly as the time was pressing on. "But so is Faith." Dana asked. "I know but I just can't find her, and we don't have much time. Please let me take Kelly." Leo begged once more to the two women. Scully wanted to say yes, but she knew it wasn't her decision, so she simply looked at Olivia to make it. "Where are you taking her?" Olivia asked still not sure what to do. "To the underworld." Leo replied honestly. "Oh! God. The army is planning to bomb it. I have been trying my best on the phone trying to stop them." Scully said as her fears of people being there were confirmed. "You have to stop them, this can be dealt with no life wasted." Leo said as he simply stretched his hand for Kelly to hold. Olivia hesitated at first then she let go of Kelly. Kelly had only held his hand when they both tingled into thin air. "We have to stop the army." Scully said already half way out the door. "I remember." Chance said as she examined the wounds she had caused on Tara's beautiful body. "You do." Tara reconfirmed grinning with joy. "Tara you have to understand, I was awakened by Saleena. If or not she turned me, I don't know. But when one is awakened they get the memory of the vampire who awakened them. So, I have Saleena's memory, not in entirety but enough to know it happened. So, I remember the Phoebe you talk about." Chance said as she cupped the beautiful face and continued. "I remember Saleena killing her." "No, you are Phoebe. I can see it in your eyes." Tara refused to believe. "Sucking her blood must have put her memories in Saleena's blood and I might have taken a chuck of it, as I have been getting flashes of her memories." Chance explained her own confusion. "If you are getting flashes it could be your own memory." Tara said unwilling to give up hope. "It cannot be, because it is very rare for vampires to remember their past life. Even when that does happen it takes centuries to actually find it, because when one is awakened we are flooded by memories of the every vampire that ever performed the awakening." Chance said disappointing even herself, as at some level even she had started to wish that she was Phoebe, the woman of Tara's desire. As Chance was able to bring doubt back in Tara's mind her face was changing to that of a stranger than of Phoebe. Just then the door flew open, and for the second time the two women were caught in bed. "Where are her chains?" Faith yelled as soon as she saw what was happening. "Get her chained and get out." Faith said as she stormed out as she had stormed. Chance didn't even look as Tara as she quickly cuffed her and chained her to the bed as she hurriedly got dressed cursing under her breath for being caught by none other than Faith. "She promised, she wouldn't disappear." Chance gave an excuse as she got out of the room and closed the door. "And if she did, it wouldn't be the first time she broke a promise to you." Faith retorted furious. "What?" Chance asked wondering what Faith meant. "Listen, you are to keep away from all the prisoners or else I'll slay you with no remorse." Faith threatened her. "Now, go to the Prophet, he called for you." After Chance had left, Faith re entered the room to find Tara who had already dressed. "That is Phoebe." Tara said as she watched her former friend come nearer. "I could feel her soul, it might be suppressed but its there. You didn't kill her." Faith smirked as she stated the obvious, "She is dead. You think vampires are alive?" Just as Tara realized she was right, the real irony dawned on her. "Oh God! It's a perfect revenge for you. The sisters at opposite sides." Tara said as her head started to overload with possible scenarios in which the two sisters would kill their own. "Now she can hold the dragger for her own sister." Faith said devilishly. Tara was surprised to hear hate in the slayers voice, but then she realized that Faith still didn't know the truth. "She didn't leave her to die." Tara said halting the slayers exit. "She wanted to sacrifice herself for Kelly." "Yes, and that is why she left her there." Faith retorted back. "No, she didn't leave her there…" Tara stood up to walk but her chains prevented her. "Yeah, and she would sacrifice herself and I would just take it, you think she was that foolish." Faith said throwing the reason out the window. "That's why she had the memory spell." "What memory spell?" Faith asked now a little interested in hearing her out. "The spell that she was to put on you and Buffy so that you would forget her. But, because someone had put a spell on her, her spell backfired making her, loose her memory hence she forgot all about Kelly." Tara reported in a nutshell. "Who put a spell on her?" Faith asked trying to believe her story. "Dawn did. She thought that if Piper left you, you would come back to Buffy and Buffy would be happy again." Tara finally revealed Dawn. Faith stared at her blankly trying to assess the truth and let go of the anger that she had managed to keep even after so many years. Tears appeared in her eyes as she thought about all the hate she had build up, just then Jena ran into the room panicking, "There is something going on in Prophet's den, I heard Chance scream and he has all the prisoners in there." "You said no one would die." Leo screamed from the ceiling where he was pinned with unseen force. "Oh! I lied. You know when you have lived or died for as long as I have the little thing as truth holds no meaning." He said as he approached the little slayer. "Now, Kelly my little girl. All you have to do is put this dragger inside her." He said pointing to Saleena who was pinned on the wall too. "Why are you doing this?" Saleena asked, unable to believe that Prophet was betraying her. "I am just killing that force inside of you, not you Saleena." Prophet screamed back trying to make Kelly hold the dragger. "Now, come on little girl." He said using more force on her hand to which Kelly pushed, causing the Prophet to slide almost to the other end surprising everyone in the room, including the two sisters and Dawn. "My oh my, you certainly are powerful." He said as he pinned her on the wall. "Hold the dragger." He commanded as the dragger floated right near her hand. "No, I'll not kill anyone." Kelly replied as she broke his hold, grabbed the dragger and shot it right at him. He moved his head, making the dragger miss only by a hairline. "Nintandum." He shouted shocked by the young slayer's strength. Just then a huge cage appeared around Kelly whose bars were beyond her strength. As he was getting up, Faith walked in with Jena and Tara in tow. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" Faith had just asked that when both Jena and Tara got pinned right next to Leo and she found herself floating in the air once again. "Ahh the solution to my problem; what the daughter won't do, the mother will." Prophet said looking at the older slayer. "What the fuck is up?" Faith asked once again trying to unleash herself. "Oh I'll tell you, you see I have a little deal going on here. You see, immortality can be curse once you have lived as long as I have. Now, I know a stake through my heart can end it, but who wants to go to hell, not me. So, here is what I have been offered, kill that force inside, and I shall be set free." He turned to Saleena as though she was the only one who would understand. "Now, you understand why I have to do what I have to do, right." "But, you don't have to kill the baby." Leo said once again hoping on the goodness inside Prophet. "Yes, there is, and believe me Leo, if I had a choice I would wait for your witch to find it, but she has failed." He said looking at Tara. "Without it, this is the only way." He said walking up to Saleena and holding her shoulders as though he wanted her to forgive him for what he was about to do. Saleena looked up helplessly as everyone she hoped would save her, were all pinned by the Prophet's powers. "Now, slayer, how about taking the dragger." He turned to Faith making the dragger float right to her. "Not, even if you skin me." Faith said daring the Prophet. "I know the buttons in you. Thanks to Saleena's memories." Prophet said as he floated Chance from one side of the wall to where the sisters were pinned. "Now what is that thing you girls say, oh yeah, 'the power of three will set us free'. Yeah, that one, start chanting it." He commanded as the three women stared at each other. Just then Kelly screamed with pain and knelt on the floor holding her head. "NO….." Faith screamed realizing what the reconstitution of the Charmed Ones meant for her daughter, while the sisters finally realized who they were staring at. Even though, Paige's heart was filled with joy, she was the first one to speak for them all, "We will not say it." Faith looked up at the sisters thankfully. "It doesn't matter, as long as they are together, Kelly will bleed. Now slayer, how about making me mortal again?" He said as he held the dragger and put it in Faith's open hand. Just then the room was stormed with enormous amount of wind, throwing the three sisters in the three different direction of the room and amidst all the dust a ghastly silhouette walked towards Kelly's cage. "No one harms my child." Odan said as his voice echoed throughout the tunnels of the underworld. Tara clasped Leo's hand as soon as she saw Odan. "I have found it."