::Warning: this chapter contains character death. (Maybe I should have warned about that before I killed Faith too, even though she's "back" huh? Sorry)::

Spike was no stranger to pain. In fact, after his early relationships with Dru and Angelus, and his later relationship with the Slayer, he had come to consider pain an old acquaintance. A deep dark part of him even enjoyed the pain sometimes, though less now that his soul had returned than before, for some strange reason. He had once draped himself over a cross, after all, without so much as a flinch. There was a certain triumph in overcoming that which would have destroyed a lesser man—not to mention the fact that the look on a bloke's face when you impaled yourself first was intoxicating. All that aside, nothing could have prepared him for the excruciating agony of prolonged hours lying on the cross, tormented with holy water leisurely dripping on to him long enough to expose his innards and melt them into so much goo pooling on the floor. The pain had been maddening.

That made it more than a little surprising when Spike woke up feeling not only pain-free and whole, but strangely more energized than he'd been in years. Reflexively, he reached down to touch his stomach, running his hands along his own torso and surprised to find unmarked skin where melted innards should be. 'Huh. Interesting.'

"Spike!" Spike looked up in time to see Dawn throwing herself at him. He wrapped his arms around her, attempting to calm the girl down as she clamped herself firmly onto him, sobbing hysterically. "Shh. It's okay, little bit."

Dawn pulled herself together with visible effort and drew back from the vampire's embrace. She looked terrible, suffering and horror etched into her tear-stained face and bloodshot eyes. "I thought you were gonna die," she gulped, then paused, considering her words. "Or, you know, like die the rest of the way."

"You'll never get rid of me that easily," Spike replied, with what he privately thought was considerable bravado.

Dawn rewarded him with a tiny tug at her lips that the vampire was willing to accept as a smile, given the circumstances.

"So, little bit. What happened? All I remember was fighting Abbey's little misfit army. I got knocked out...the rest is a blur." 'No need to tell the girl about Abbey's little game of melt the Spike.'

"Oh, I'll fill you in, Lover." Spike turned to find Faith standing in the doorway behind him, wearing a smug and self-satisfied smile. Power rolled off of the Slayer in waves, charging every crevice of the room. Even the most thick-headed fledge would have felt it. To a Master vampire like Spike, the force of it was nearly overwhelming. He had been in the presence of The First Evil and a goddess (though he privately thought that if Glory was a goddess, it was a wonder mankind hadn't taken over the universe), but never had he been confronted with anything this intense. Faith had become the ultimate taboo of the spiritual world—a Slayer who was also a vampire, utterly forbidden by even the basest servants of evil from the beginning of time.

'Bloody hell.'

Faith sauntered over to the bleached blonde, ignoring a terrified Dawn who scampered out of her way.

"Well," Spike said, his voice characteristically dry. "This is an interesting development. I mean, I knew Abbey was a moron, but even I didn't think she was that daft."

Faith grabbed Spike in a possessive grip and rammed her tongue down his throat. Always the sexual being, he found himself responding in kind, until the sound of Dawn whimpering brought him back to himself and he pulled away.

Faith smirked. "Nice to see that after all you've been through, you can still rise the occasion." She gestured at the tight leather pants someone had dressed Spike in, and the vampire was mortified to find himself actually blushing at his body's betrayal. "For a while there, I thought you were a goner. I mean, I've seen some sick shit in my time, but man, Blondie. Melted intestines dripping all over the floor has to be tops."

"Yeah, well, I'm a quick healer," Spike retorted quickly, before a thought gave him pause.

'How did I manage to heal so fast?'

He had never felt more sick in his unlife as he felt when the answer dawned on him. Faith laughed. "Yeah, Lover. Human blood is powerful stuff."

Spike's first thought—Can she read my thoughts now?—was quickly replaced by the horror and guilt that flooded him as he realized what he had done. He had twice sworn never to drink of human blood again, once when his soul had been restored, and again after he had finally broken free of The First's control. As Faith gestured to a pile of cold human bodies that Spike had failed to notice in his concern for Dawn, the vampire realized he'd have to make that vow a third time. 'No. Oh, god, no.'

It was all he could do to hold himself together. He had killed, again. He had killed the members of Abbey's army that had invaded the hideout, and now he had apparently drained others who were in all probability innocent. Or at least, as innocent as any human being could be.

'No. Nonononononononono...'

Whether he had been awake and aware was beside the point. He could feel the blood of the slaughtered innocents poisoning his body and soul, healing his wounds only to lacerate his spirit. He wondered if he would ever be clean again. Faith was laughing at him, clearly pleased with herself, darker than she had ever been even when she had joined forces with the Mayor.

"Spike!"

Dawn's voice was choked with terror. She watched through wide and watery eyes as her lone protector cracked under the guilt, and Spike knew he could not afford to give in. Not now, when the little bit needed him.

Faith was still laughing. "Oh, Baby," she said with mock concern. "You're so...sensitive. Where's that bad boy who terrorized Sunnyhell and charmed the socks off of girls even as he drained them? Never took you for the "sensitive new age man" type."

Spike moved to place himself protectively between himself and Dawn, who for her part gripped him from behind with enough force to turn her fingers white, and buried her face in his shoulder. "This isn't you, Faith. You and I...we may not be friends, but I've always respected you. You're not a common killer."

"How sweet! Blondie is trying to reason with me!" The sarcastic gleam in Faith's eyes darkened, and Spike was sure the temperature in the room dropped at least 20 degrees. "You're right, Lover. I'm anything but "common". And yes, I know what you're thinking. I can hear you without even trying. You're thinking, "The bint can still be saved. Red will see to that." What, you think I want to end up like you and Angel, a mopey do- gooder who will spend centuries fighting the good fight with a tragic loner complex. Well, thanks but no thanks, Lover. I tried the whole redemption thing and obviously," Faith paused, gesturing all the corpses that littered the room. "It didn't take."

"I hear you, pet," Spike said, glancing around, trying to surmise a way to escape. Dawn trembled against his back as if she were a blade of grass fighting a tsunami. He had to get her out of there.

"No, I don't think you do. I can hear your thoughts, Spike, remember?" Faith pointed a finger and tapped her temple for emphasis. "I can hear the thoughts of every creature for a 100 miles. You can't surprise me. You can't stop me. I let you live so you can go tell good old B that I'm here. I want you to send that bitch a message."

"Really," Spike stalled. "What makes you think I'll be your delivery boy? Never was good at playing the lackey type."

Faith moved so quickly, it was too fast for Spike to see. He felt Dawn being pulled from him, heard her terrified scream, and found himself rooted to the spot, literally unable to move as Faith held him immobile with the sheer force of her will. Totally helpless, he had no choice but to watch as Faith bared her fangs, plunged them into the younger Summers' throat, and drained the girl of every last drop before letting Dawn's lifeless body fall to the ground.

"Yummy," Faith said, running her tongue over her lips.

The paralysis that had held Spike was released, and he dropped to the floor beside Dawn, shaking her shoulders, calling her name, searching desperately for any sign of life.

The girl's head just rolled to the side, her skin stone cold.

Spike glared up at Faith, and in a fit of rage flung himself at her, only to be knocked back against the wall with a sickened crack as the Slayer batted him away as casually as she would a gnat. "You bitch," Spike snarled, knowing he didn't stand a chance in hell against her but not caring. "You will pay for this. I won't rest until you pay!"

Faith strolled casually over to a door and flung it open. The night sky beckoned outside, cruelly calm and peaceful despite the senseless murder that had just been committed. "You're free to go, Lover," Faith said.

Spike wanted nothing more than to tear Faith's head off, Slayer power be damned. But he couldn't leave Dawn here. He had failed to protect her life, but he would not let her rot in this gods-forsaken place—even if it meant giving in to Faith's wishes and serving as her "messenger". He scooped the girl up carefully, cradling her in his arms as he headed into the cool evening air.

"Say hi to B for me."

Spike paused. His eyes rested on Dawn's face, and what was left of his heart spasmed as he realized he would never hear her voice again. "She'll kill you for this," he said softly, suddenly drained. He didn't even bother to turn around.

"Well," Faith conceded, utterly unconcerned, "I'm sure she'll try."

::Author's notes::

Thank you thank you thank you to my wonderful reviewers! I really appreciate your taking the time to read this and review. I hope you all don't hate me after this chapter.

Feedback Response:

Insane Sketchbook: Hee! And here I thought I was alone in hating Buffy. As for Xander (and I promise he'll be back soon)...I'll have to think about that--although you're right, it would be fun.

MSA: OK--here's the explanation for why I like Faith and killed her, but hate Buffy and let her live. See, I have this sick thing where, when I'm writing, I love to torment the characters I love. I know, it makes no sense. I love Spike, so I eviscerate him. I love Xander, now he's blind. I love Faith, so I turn her into a freak. shrugs What can I say? I'm just a weirdo.

bsktballchik: I'm glad I've kept your attention and I'm glad you keep reading even though I take forever to update. Evil Faith is kinda fun to write, I have to admit.

Darklight: Sorry you don't like how Faith killed humans, but I really feel like she just would have. I mean, she's the Big Bad now and has no soul. What if I promise this will have an eventual happy ending?

wavscaper: I'm glad you're enjoying it! And I'll see about a solution... See, I like my fic full of horrible angst but I like them to end on a sense of hope. So, I'll see what I can do.

rma: Computerless! ACK! How did you survive! And please, don't worry about how long it took to review when I know it takes me a while to update. You're the second person to ask me to have someone slap Buffy, so I may just have to do that. Although, I guess killing kid sis was probably worse. poor Dawn--I actually like her And I guess now you can see she doesn't really care about Spike. P.S. laughs In the Anita Blake books, if the heart and head are intact, vamps live, so I'll steal that principle. And you don't want Faith with Angel or Spike, huh? Well, I do love ships, but maybe you can convince me.