A/N: Although certain BtVS characters will make an appearance, Buffy for example, I'm not going to officially consider this as a crossover. It still centers around the Angel universe. You'll get what I mean later on.

Enjoy.

Sleight of hand and twist of fate

from With or Without You by U2

Faith writhed in pain, clutching her stomach with one hand and clawing at empty space with the other. She was caught in a tug of war, being rapidly pulled back and forth between realities. She saw glimpses of Angel, the messenger boy and people she was sure she knew. The voices that invaded her head became deafening and the pain grew unbearable.

Stop it! Stop it! She tried to fight back to no avail. The baby inside her kicked furiously as if he was trying to fight back too. If we get out of this, I'm going to make someone wish they were dead.

When the angry noises and the pain subsided, the blurry visions of Angel and the others were gone and Faith was left lying on top of thick, damp grass, panting and still clutching her stomach. The baby gave one last furious kick to remind her he was okay before calming.

"Faith?" Someone whispered tentatively and Faith's eyes snapped open, her skin humming.

Vampire! Her senses screamed as she scrambled to her feet, still slightly groggy from her ordeal. Someone touched her arm and she immediately flung them back.

"Wait! Stop!" Willow screamed frantically just as Faith was about to blindly pounce whoever was closest to her.

Faith halted, panting but ready to fight to the death if need be. "Willow?" She whispered. "You!"

The witch smiled softly, nodding. "Yeah, it's me. It's us."

"What the hell did you do to us?" Faith suddenly screeched, grabbing the other woman by the shoulders. Willow flinched and tried to jerk away but Faith tightened her grip. "Answer me, damn it!"

"She's insane." Anya, who Faith didn't recognize, whispered. "You're temporarily insane. It's the spell."

Who the hell is she?

"Let Red go, luv." Spike pleaded as he dusted dirt off of his leather duster. "And I'm going to forgive you for flinging me to that tree."

And why is Spike talking to me like we know each other?

"Shut up!" Faith hissed.

Dawn, who Faith overlooked, stepped forward shakily. "If you're mad that we did this, blame me. This was my idea. I begged them. Faith, I…I couldn't-"

Your idea? Couldn't what? Faith wondered bewilderedly.

"Mine and the platelet's." Spike added, interrupting her thoughts.

This isn't right. Something's off. Think, Faith, think.

"We didn't mean to hurt you. We wanted to save you." Anya declared brightly, bobbing her head earnestly. "You're experiencing the side effects to the spell. It's like being drunk while jetlagged. It makes you crazy and perhaps amnesiac. Your name is Faith and you have amnesia."

Faith looked at her with confusion and let Willow go. "Save me?" From what? I don't understand. I thought they'd hurt me and the baby.

They all nodded. "You're still weak. Let us take you home." Spike said quietly as he tried to reach her.

What is going on? Why are they acting this way?

Faith immediately backed away, scowling. "Why would you save me?" She demanded from Willow. "We're enemies." You should be trying to find a hundred ways to hex me or something as payback.

"I was correct. She has amnesia." Anya declared.

I don't have amnesia, you imbecile.

"Anya, enough." Spike growled. "Look, luv, we'll explain it all to you, give you the play by play of everything that's happened since you've been…been gone. Right now, we have to make ourselves scarce. The rebels are running about and I'm not about to let anything happen to you again." He said to Faith.

What the hell is up with Mr. Instrument of Evil? Why is this happening?

Faith blinked, taking in her surroundings for the first time. Thick black smoke blanketed the sky and fire roared around them viciously while the stench of rotting human and demon bodies filled the air. "What happened? Why is it like this?" She had never seen Sunnydale looked so decimated.

"We lost."

She looked at all of them with confusion, trying to make sense of everything. "No." She whispered insistently. "Angel said...he said everything was good. Buffy saved everyone. Again."

This is all wrong.

"You have everything all mixed up. But listen, we're not enemies, Faith. You're all confused." Willow argued firmly. "We have to go. We don't have time."

"No. I'm going back to Los Angeles."

Anya frowned as did everyone else. "Why would you want to go to Los Angeles?"

"Never mind that. Now is not the time to be stubborn, pet." Spike said.

"Tell Buffy we'll catch up next time." She muttered darkly as she began to turn away.

The group fell into a dead silence. "Buffy's gone. You know that." Dawn explained and Faith halted. She looked at them. Gone? Gone where?

"You really don't remember, huh? Let's go, Faith, before anything else goes wrong." Spike coaxed but Faith suddenly doubled over, instantly falling on her knees.

"What the hell? What did you do?" She gasped, looking at Willow accusingly.

"Do? I didn't!" She insisted rushing to Faith's side just as Spike and Dawn did. Anya stepped forward. "Someone's trying to pull you out!"

"Willow, do something!" Dawn yelled hysterically, holding on to Faith.

Not again. Faith thought as she fell on her knees. The blurry images of Spike, Dawn, Willow and Anya were the last thing she saw before everything faded to black again.

Angel walked into the hotel gloomily, discarding his sword on the table. His visit to Wolfram and Hart and the Oracles had been sadly unproductive, none of them resulting in getting Faith and his son back. Despite her cockiness and as much as she wanted to take credit for it, Lilah knew nothing about Faith's disappearance and the Oracles refused to let him enter and speak with them.

Wesley walked up to Angel, looking just as demoralized. "The locating spell didn't work, Angel. I'm sorry." They had tried to locate Faith while Angel went out to get some other information and at both attempts, they failed.

"Maybe we got the ingredients, wrong." Fred suggested, trying to stay hopeful.

"I'm sorry, baby doll, but that spell was the real dealio. No glitches. We can't find Faith and the baby because they're not here." Lorne stated sadly, patting Fred on the shoulder.

Gunn arched an eyebrow. "We kind of figured that, Lorne. That is why we're looking for her in the first place."

"I meant not in this dimension, Bucko. When Faith was fading away, she wasn't just becoming translucent. She and the baby were being pulled out of our reality."

"They could be in a hell dimension?" Fred whispered, shuddering. "Like Pylea. They'd make her into a cow slave."

"But she wasn't sucked into a portal." Cordelia pointed out. "She's probably doing lunch with the Powers. I'm migraine-vision girl and I don't get to do lunch."

Lorne nodded empathically. "There are other ways to transfer people from one dimension to another. It doesn't always have to be through a portal, princess. And there are millions if not billions of dimensions out there. Faith could be seen as anything; cow, goddess, messiah, demon. Hell, our little slayer could be the next superstar or a simple little shrimp. Like I said, anything."

"Shrimp?" Angel mouthed.

"Or she could be chased by crazy pitchfork wielding rebel-demon folk wanting to skewer her alive." Gunn added.

"Whoa, tone down the doom and gloom, guys. Wherever Faith is, she'll take care of herself and the little nipper growing inside her. The Powers did make her into super slayer, right?" Lorne stated. They nodded. "Anyhoo, I might know someone who can help with finding our slayer in this universal haystack. She's big with the dimensional traveling, kiddies. I left a message on her inter-dimensional answering machine. I told her it's an emergency, so, she should be here any minute."

"Thanks."

"She must have a lot of air miles." Cordy murmured.

"What about Lilah, Angel? Did you get anything out of her?" Wesley curiously asked as he flipped another page of his book.

Angel shook his head. "They don't have Faith."

"Are you sure?" Cordelia skeptically asked. "Lilah's a liar. A big one."

"But she's also likes to gloat, Cordy. She doesn't have them. And the Oracles wouldn't let me in."

Cordelia frowned, shaking her head. "Maybe they don't have the answer you're looking for."

"No, they know something but they just don't want to help us." He argued. "I don't understand why the Powers would go through all this trouble just to take my son away."

"When they don't want to see you it means they have something big to hide." Lorne declared. "World changing kind of big."

"Perhaps this was the plan." Wesley suggested softly.

Angel turned to him. "Plan? What plan, Wes? To dump my unborn son and Faith in some hell dimension? Just to get them killed?"

"What I meant, Angel, was although your son is prophesized to exist, he may not be meant to live in this reality."

"And that Faith showing up was the Powers' way of telling you that you're son is alive." Fred continued for Wesley.

Gunn scoffed. "That's messed up."

"That's something like the Powers would do." Cordelia insisted.

"But why hurt her and the baby? It doesn't add up. Someone else is doing this to her and I'm not just going to stand in the sidelines." Angel argued fiercely.

"Hello." Someone spoke and everyone jumped except for Angel.

Wesley dramatically touched his chest, his heart beating wildly.

"Laney!" Lorne exclaimed, outstretching his arms as he greeted his friend. "Sweetie, you made it! Hallelujah!"

"Got your message, Lorne." Laney replied cheerily as she removed leather gloves off of her hands. "I would have been here sooner but there was a glitch in one of the openings and I got thrown back in some dimension. Anyway, what's the problem?"

"We misplaced a slayer. Couldn't find her with the routine tracking spell."

The gang shared a baffled look with each other. "She's our back up plan?" Cordy asked. Gunn just shrugged. "She looks like she's still in high school."

Laney turned to Cordelia and flashed the other woman her best smile. "It's just my street face. People tend to underestimate teenagers. I just turned four hundred last fall."

Lorne chuckled, patting Laney's hand as he led her to the gang. "Gang, meet Laney. She's like a cosmic phonebook. She's absolutely fantastico."

"Or homing device." Laney added, grinning. "But, yeah, I'm fantastic."

"So, you're going to get Faith back for us?" Angel asked, still looking grim but bordering on hopeful.

Laney through her head back, laughed and then stopped abruptly. "There must have been a miscommunication between you and Lorne, Obi Wan. I'm not going to get anyone back."

"What exactly do you do then?" Wesley demanded.

"Oh, Elvis, give me strength. Was no one listening when I said that Laney-girl is a like a mystical phonebook? You look the name up and voila, there's the address! Now, come on let's start flipping pages before slayer girl starts jumping dimensions again!" Lorne exclaimed with a heavy sigh.

Laney flashed a knowing smile at Lorne. "Listen, measly humans and lone vampire, I can follow…uh, Faith, right? Faith's tracks, go where she's been taken but I can't pull her out. I can't do anything that affects these various realities. It's against the rules."

"I suppose it's fair." Wesley stated. "What do you need us to do?"

"Nothing, English muffin. Absolutely nothing." Lorne replied briskly leading Laney away. The group followed. "That's where Faith was when she disappeared. Do your mojo, Laney, before brood-boy here knocks me silly with the tension and worry he's giving off. I'm seeing double already I haven't even had enough Mai-tais."

Fred gigled.

Laney pressed blue tinged lips together and nodded. "So, who wants to go on a field trip and save the princess?"

"Too much turbulence for me." Lorne quipped. "I get nauseas."

"We'll hold the fort in case Faith manages to come back or someone decides to attack." Gunn declared as Angel stepped toward Laney.

Laney grinned at Angel as she took his cold hands into hers. "Okay, time to go, lovey." She said and in a blinding flash of light they were gone, leaving Wesley, Cordelia, Gunn, Fred and Lorne standing in the middle of the lobby.

"How long do you think they'll take?" Gunn asked as they started to turn away.

"Maybe a few hours, a day." Lorne replied with a shrug. "How about we have a pow-wow while we wait for another big thing to happen? We seriously need an upper right now."

There was another flash of light and Angel was sent catapulting across the room, crashing against a chair on Cordelia's right.

"What happened?" Cordy asked as she rushed over to Angel and helped him up.

"Well, that was quick." Gunn muttered.

Seeing no sign of Faith, Wesley sighed. "I guess you didn't find her."

Laney, who appeared moments later, crossed her arms and tapped her foot in frustration. "That was someone's nice way of telling us to stay out." She declared. "We're very lucky we didn't get imprisoned in limbo."

"What does that mean?"

"Your girl was taken to the off limits zone."

Angel glowered. "What off limits zone? I thought you could go anywhere, any dimension."

"I can and I did. But you, friend, are not allowed in. I entered the first one; hellish sort of dimension, filled with a lot of demons, vampires and humans. Actually, it's a lot like a place I know in this reality. The second one was area 51."

"The U.S. government took Faith?" Wesley asked looking thoroughly shocked. "When did they resort to magic? This is too bizzare."

"No, not that Area 51, Einstein." Laney clarified impatiently. "The last place Faith was taken to is off-limits to everyone. Only those who are summoned can go there. It's territory to the higher powers. It's a lot like heaven or so I heard."

"The Powers that Be are at work just as we suspected." Wesley said in defeat; removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose as if suffering from an onslaught of a severe headache. "If they don't want us retrieving Faith and your child, Angel, we'll never get them."

The boy's enormous blue eyes stared emptily into the Stillness, seeing far beyond what was in front of him. His companion, the woman, appeared on his right.

"The slayer has entered the other world." She declared, remaining stoic. "She has spoken with the others."

The boy nodded and blinked as if trying to refocus his eyes. "I saw."

"She will demand answers."

"The dark slayer is not prepared to hear them." The boy insisted.

The woman's face contorted slightly. "We think she is."

"She may hear it but she will not accept it. She will not understand." The child insisted unwaveringly. "It has only been a day. She has not had enough time to bond with the child."

"You are concerned for the mortal."

The boy scoffed. "Cautious. Mortals are fickle creatures. Unpredictable." He whispered, looking somewhat disgusted. "We have supremacy over them yet they have too much control."

The woman's pale lips stretched into a small knowing smile. "We have long ago destined that the crossing over will come to pass; that the truth will be shared."

"Yes, but the Dark One was never meant to go across and not by the hands of a human sorceress. They could have damaged the child due to their selfishness." He argued just as Faith materialized in front of them, still and frozen. The boy stepped forward, scowling slightly. "Even in stasis, the pain still lingers in her flesh. It comes off of her in waves. Sickening."

"She likes pain." The woman whispered with a slight fascination. "But this became unbearable for her."

The boy backed away from Faith. "We should remove her memories of the encounter."

"The Dark One will see it as an act of betrayal when she realizes what we've done. She will immediately sever her allegiance to us."

The boy grinned. "Duly noted."

Faith abruptly woke up and found herself on the same crowded bus that the Powers that Be had ungraciously dropped her off yesterday.

"Shit." She murmured angrily and an elderly lady and a couple of teenagers shot her curious looks. She glanced out the window and saw that it was nightfall already.

Angel must be going berserk. Faith thought as she rang the bell, spotting the Hyperion a couple of blocks away.

The bus came into a screeching halt and the automatic double doors opened, making a slight hissing noise as Faith got off. She waited for the traffic light to turn green and briskly crossed the street, not waiting to run into a vampire or any demon that was asking for a fight. She was feeling strangely ill.

"You're not hurt, are you?" She whispered to her stomach and the baby gave her a kick as if to say that he was five by five. Faith smiled faintly and pushed the rusty gate open. She could see Angel pacing in the lobby, his usual scowl pasted on his face. Faith sighed and walked to the door, pushing it open.

Angel looked up, shocked to see her but it was Lorne who spoke up first.

"Hot Tamales! You're back! They let you out of your mystical prison." He exclaimed.

Angel rushed to Faith's side. "What did they do to you? Is the baby okay?" He asked. She looks pale.

Faith nodded, exhaling loudly. "I woke up on a bus headed here."

"Like before?" Gunn asked as he, Wes and Fred emerged from Wesley's office.

"Yeah." Faith mumbled, looking distracted. Something did not feel quite right. "The same bus, different people."

"Welcome back, Faith." Wesley said. She merely nodded in response.

"That was one Houdini trick that we don't want to see again." Lorne quipped brightly. He stepped back as if examining her and paused but remained silent despite the look he was giving Faith.

Whatever. Faith thought. I'm tired.

"How long was I gone?" She curiously asked.

"Forty nine hours and fifteen minutes." Fred beamed, timidly waving a hand to Faith.

Over two days. I was gone for over two days. I didn't even talk to him as long as before.

"Faith, why did the Powers that Be remove you?" Wesley asked as he joined the gang stand around Faith.

She blinked. The boy told her something. She wasn't quite sure. Everything was still so hazy. "The baby was in pain."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Faith shrugged.

"Surely, there must be a reasonable explanation." Wesley pressed, looking suspiciously. Cordelia glanced at him and understood. "Do you at least know who was causing Angel's child pain?"

Faith narrowed her eyes into thin slits and shook her head. "No, I don't, Wes. What's with the third degree?"

"Oh, Wes just likes to cover all his bases, don't you, Wes?" Cordelia interjected. Wesley nodded, looking bleak. "Just so there aren't any more disappearances happening.

"Okay, let's hold off the firing squad, boys and girls. Faith, you're looking a little green." Lorne said as he touched her cheek. She felt uncharacteristically clammy. "Actually, you look so green we could be related."

"I'm fine. That damn cosmic roller coaster ride just made me feel a little-" Faith abruptly stopped talking, turned and ran the opposite direction. The gang quickly followed. She crouched down by the bushes and vomited violently. Fred was kind enough to hold her hair while everyone else returned inside with the exception of Angel. He stood nearby, looking at her worriedly.

Fred rubbed Faith's back. "You know, doctors are liars." She laughed softly, trying to lighten the mood. "Morning sickness doesn't only happen in the morning."

Faith stopped heaving. "This is supposed to happen, right?"

"I guess so."

A/N: Probably just as cryptic but I left hints all over. Also, there's a reason for Faith's vomiting in the end of the chappy. It's not just to gross you out.

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