::Author's Notes:: I can't apologize enough for how long it always takes me to update my fanfiction. I know it drives me crazy when I'm really into a good fanfic and it never gets updated or completed. So to those of you who have stuck with this story, I want to offer a million thank yous and a million apologies. And, again, I will try to be better in the future—if only my stupid job will let me. Also, this chapter is kinda short. Sorry!::

The power was so colossal, any description Faith would have verbalized if she could have would have been an understatement. The rush washed over her, through her. For a moment she felt like Sunnydale itself with her personal Armageddon between the Power of the Slayer and the Power of the Vampire ripping at the very essence of her being, at war with one another—natural opposing forces made to exist in one small human body. As if dying from that vamp in his stupid ruffled cape wasn't enough, her resurrection was like a new definition of hell. Her senses were more alert than ever, and had she been able to form coherent thought, Faith might have said she could feel the change in each individual cell of her body. As it was, all she could do was retch and writhe on the floor.
Then, with a suddenness that would have made her heart stop had her body still lived, the war raging inside of her ended. The two sources of power stopped warring and merged. Faith's screaming paused, before turning to laughter. Her soul slipped away into the ether and she knew, if she wanted it, the world could be hers.
'First things first.'
 Faith could feel the coven of witches and their futile attempts to contain her. It was with immense satisfaction that she realized that these were some of the most powerful dark witches on Earth.
'Aww. I'm touched. So much trouble for little old me.'
 They were all still connected to her, and with the same effort it would cost her to curl a finger, she looped their magic, turning back onto them. Their bodies, and in all probability souls, were consumed by it. Not even ashes remained.
Faith cracked a smile and turned her attention to the wretched Slayer who had done this to her. Abbey clearly had no idea what had just happened; that her coven was obliterated and she was utterly defenseless.
Faith recalled a conversation she had years ago, while being trained by her first Watcher, days before the woman had been mutilated by Kekistos. A vampire had taken one of her schoolmates. Even though Faith had only known the boy in passing, at fifteen, she nonetheless found the idea of driving a stake through someone she had once known, however casually, a little too much to take.
"The vampire may look like your friend," Priscilla had said, in that maddeningly calm tone. "He may move like Tony, speak like him, he may even recall his human life—but he is not him. Tony's soul is gone. The thing that is in his body is something completely different. The shell is the only thing the demon and the boy have in common."
'Not exactly right, Watcher.'
As a matter of fact, Faith felt like precisely the same person she was before her transformation. She was more infinitely more power, yes, but her essence remained Everything that made her "Faith" was the same—save one minor detail. There was no conscience.
So she still hated Abbey, for everything the little bitch had done to her, and would feel no guilt whatsoever at taking her revenge.
The look on Abigail's face when Faith grabbed the girl by the throat and lifted her in the air was priceless. "Oh, come on, Abbey," Faith said, her sarcastic tone sounding much like the one she had used to such good effect when she was human. "Don't tell me you didn't see this coming?"
Abigail kicked and sputtered. She strained with all of her Slayer- imbued strength to release herself from Faith's grip, but it was no use. Faith's newfound power was so immense, the traditional power of the Slayer was infinitesimal by comparison.
Faith shook her head. "I mean, think about it. You turn me into something so powerful that it's been forbidden since time immemorial, and you thought a bunch of Blessed-Bes could stop me. Think, girl."
Abbey struggles were getting weaker, her face going from red to purple.
"I'm disappointed, Abbey," Faith continued, then paused for a moment. "But then again, you've always been an idiot, haven't you?"
All it took was a little concentration, and Faith caused the Slayer's heart to seize one final time before it beat no more. Faith released her grip, and Abbey crashed to the ground, clutching her chest, blood bubbling out of her mouth.
The doors crashed open and Faith found herself staring at two of the ugliest demons she had ever seen—and that was saying something. They were big, mean, and brawny, covered in scales and dripping with goo that sizzled when it splashed on the floor—the sorts of things that even give the monsters nightmares. They looked down to see their former leader taking her few last breaths before going completely still.
"Hey," Faith said, sounding positively cheerful.
The two demons dropped immediately to their knees, and while Faith could not understand their guttural language, she knew instinctively that they were swearing allegiance to her.
'Cool.'
They were still going on and on, and Faith soon grew bored and decided she'd had enough. "Yeah," she said, cutting them off. "That's great." With a disdainful glare, she kicked Abbey's body. "Get this thing out of here, would you? And spread the word that I'm the boss now. Let everyone know there's a new big bad in town." One of the demons immediately leapt to its feet to drag Abigail's body out by a handful of her hair, the other following.
A dripping sound behind her caused Faith to turn around. Spike's skin had been so abraded by the cross and holy water that his organs were being exposed. He was finally blessedly unconscious, but could not survive much longer under such a brutal assault.
"Wait!" Faith snapped, amused that these hulking brutes actually cringed. She gestured back at Spike. "Get him the fuck off of that thing," she said darkly. "And get him some blood so he can start to heal. Fresh blood." She knew that Spike would never agree to such a thing, but blood from a still-beating heart was much stronger than blood from a refrigerator. It went without saying that the source would be human—she knew the demons would just assume so. Hopefully, Spike was too oblivious to care.
The demon looked confused, but it clearly knew better than to argue. It shuffled over towards the unconscious vampire.
"If any harm comes to him," Faith said, the hard-edged warning in her tone unmistakable. "I will hurt you so bad, you'll beg me to kill you, and I'll have only just begun."
The demon didn't need to be warned twice. If Spike hadn't looked so pathetic, it might have been funny to watch the demon handling the vampire as if he were made of glass.
'Hell,' Faith thought, twisting her lips in a crooked smile, 'maybe it is still funny.'

::Feedback Response::

Insane Sketchbook: lol Well, I'm glad to finally meet another hater of Ms. Buffy Summers. I swear, I won't let Buffy kill Faith. And I really, really, really, will try to remember to update soon.

bsktballchik: laughs Well, it's not like I'm decisive either, so I guess I'll decide where Faith ends up as I write later. Thanks for your constant support!

VampireBunny1: Great name, BTW. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And I'm glad to meet yet another person who feels as I do about Ms. Summers. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait.