Disclaimer : Not mine
Summary: Buffy and Faith fight once more, but this time, for each other and
with each other (as in side by side) to stop a great evil. They get help
from a source that they don't expect and manage to find love. This will be
a Buffy/Faith story, so if it weirds you out, I suggest you turn back
before it's too late. I think they make a kick ass couple and I really saw
potential for a relationship before Faith went crazy. I think the best
example for potential b/w the two was the dream they shared before
graduation. I think it circumstances had been different they would have
been great for each other. By the way, thanks to all that reviewed the
first chapter, I may go back and make it a little less abrupt and if
updates don't come as quickly as they should it's just b/c I want this
story to be as good as it can be and I like to take the time to make it as
easy to read and as believable as possible. Anyways, enjoy the next
installment. Thanks for reading. Oh, and by the way, it does sound weird
for Giles to use the word 'ubervamp', but I really had no other way of
describing the Baddie. =)
Feedback: Always Welcome
A.N.:I explain the vision that both Buffy and Giles receive in this
chapter. The only parts I don't describe are the parts explained in the
first chapter about the time travelers in the alley with Finch. She also
saw some of the stuff with Faith's first watcher and Kakistos, but I didn't
really feel like getting into all that. I only described the parts that I
felt would explain Faith's behavior in season 3 and 4.
CHAPTER 2
Then next morning, Giles arrived at the house early looking for the slayers
and Dylan. He wandered into the kitchen and found the whole crew eating
breakfast.
"Hey Giles, grab some food, Faith made it and it's awesome." Dawn said
between bites.
"Thanks, but I already ate." He smiled at the group and instantly they
knew they had trouble.
"What's up Giles, you're wearing your end of the world face." Buffy said.
"Well, there is something rather pressing that we need to discuss, but you
all finish eating and I will arrange my things in the living room." After
receiving seven nods he left and gathered his books on the table.
Ten minutes later, they had eaten and stuffed the dishwasher. They were
sitting in the living room waiting for Giles to come out with it. He stood
a moment and cleaned his glasses before replacing them and facing the
group.
"Now, I fear we are in more immediate danger than I originally thought with
this demon that Dylan is to face in the future. I have learned of an
ancient prophecy that-" He was cut off by Faith.
"G, just make sure to explain in layman's terms...not all of us are
brainiacs."
"Yes, of course...unless my calculations are extremely incorrect, this demon
will present itself in four days."
"Wait, that can't be right, it's supposed to be twenty years from now, I
fight it in the future. How can that be?" Dylan looked up at Giles,
confusion etched on her features.
"Yes, I thought of that, and the only explanation is the men from the
vision. They must have found out about you coming back and decided to come
back to stop you."
"So now we have to worry about time travelers too? I don't get it, why
four days from now? Why not just come back two days ago and kill little D
before she got to you? No offense kiddo." Faith said. Dylan just smiled
and turned her attention back to Giles, she wanted him to explain the whole
thing, it would probably make more sense.
"Well that would create a paradox, see they obviously don't find out that
she is here for another few days, otherwise they would have come sooner.
There are rules concerning time travel. I want to keep this as simple as
possible so everyone understands. Basically, by the time they found out
Dylan was here, they weren't allowed to return any sooner than when they do
for risk of a paradox. We'll just leave it at that."
"So what's the plan Giles?" Buffy had her game face on.
"Well I have done some initial research on the demon we will be facing.
Its name is Maltag. In short, he is one of the oldest purest forms of
evil. It's sort of an ancient Ubervamp. But it doesn't need to bite to
turn. It can turn any living being evil with just a scratch. As you can
imagine, he is rather difficult to kill, as all before us have tried and
been scratched and turned. Or, just killed." This was met by groans from
around the room.
"So how do we kill this ancient vampy thing?" Willow questioned.
"Well, there's more. It appears its heart is mobile. It doesn't remain in
one place for longer than a second or two, that is one main reason he
hasn't been killed. Anyone to get close enough, either turned or died
because they never hit its heart. But there is one person who can kill it.
She is immune to its turning powers and can see its heart. She is the one
who is born of pure good and strength. In short, Dylan. She is the pure
heart."
The group exchanged glances until all eyes fell on the daughter of the
slayers. She gave them all a nervous grin. She began to fidget, until
Buffy spoke up again.
"So, what do we do?"
"Well, I would suggest that you and Faith, Dylan and Kennedy begin intense
training. The four of you will need to be in top form to fight."
"Wait, G, how are me, B and Kenny gonna fight it if we can't see its
heart?"
"Well, I believe Maltag has been gathering an army of demons and vampires,
so you three and the rest of us will have to buy her as much time to kill
him as possible. The good news is that as soon as Maltag is defeated, so
is his army. So, for now Xander, Dawn and myself will be researching the
demon to find as much as we can. Willow, I want you to see if you can find
some sort of magic that can take out as many demons and vampires in groups
as you can. I suspect there will be a horde of them."
Buffy stood and faced the group. "Okay guys, lets get going."
Willow, Xander, Dawn and Giles settled themselves at the table with their
books as the girls headed upstairs. Kennedy went into Willow's room to
change as the other three went into Buffy's room. Once all four had
changed they decided the backyard would be the best place to train. They
decided to split into twos. Two would spar and two would train with
weapons. As Buffy and Kennedy were using swords, Faith and Dylan decided
to spar. Faith learned quickly that Dylan had immense power. She threw
everything she had at the young blonde and still ended up on her back.
"Damn kiddo, you are tough." Dylan stood above her with a smug smile.
"See, told ya." The young blonde took a playful bow and wiggled around in
a victory dance.
"Maybe you should try taking on the two of us." Buffy said after watching
for the last few minutes. She knew that nobody could take on the Chosen
Two. Dylan smirked and waved her hands around as if to say 'bring it on'.
The two slayers played well, but they still couldn't take the youngster
down. Dylan appeared to be faster and she was certainly stronger that both
the slayers combined. The young blonde smiled as her parents lay on the
ground panting. Kennedy began to get bored with watching. She walked over
and tapped the kid on the shoulder. The potential stood ready Dylan lunged
at her with a smile. The two slayers exchanged a glance and sprang up to
play. Much to Dylan's delight she had all three women on the grass in two
minutes. It would have been quicker but she didn't want to damage too many
egos in one day.
"Damn B, we created a monster." Faith sat up rubbing the side of her face
where Dylan's foot had connected not too long ago.
"Well, I was told that your power was increased exponentially when you had
me, so technically I have the strength of four slayers." Dylan smiled
proudly as she held up four fingers to emphasize her point.
"Well, perhaps you could tame your strength, so we can at least pretend to
train with you." Buffy said as she stood and groaned.
"If you say so."
The four women resumed training and remained outside until dusk. They
found the others still researching.
"Hey why don't we order some pizza?" Faith asked trying to keep her
stomach from rumbling too loudly.
"Well, see we aren't really basking in the luxury of money these days
Faith." Buffy said as her gaze fell to the floor.
"It's no prob B, just take me up to the ATM, I'll take care of it." Buffy
gazed at Faith with a confused look on her face, but before she could ask,
Faith explained.
"The Mayor. I know it's kinda weird, but with everything he did to you
guys, we should at least make the most of the money he left me."
"Are you sure Faith?"
"Yeah B, it's fine, screw him. Don't worry about money anymore, at least
let me help with that." Buffy smiled at Faith and the two of them headed
for the door.
"Guys, go ahead and order, we'll be back before it gets here."
Twenty minutes later, the two returned to the house. Buffy walked through
the door still stunned at what she had discovered. It turns out that the
Mayor left Faith a little over five million dollars. Just as she was
getting ready to close the door behind her, the pizza arrived, Faith
bounded to the door and grabbed the boxes and handed over the money. They
took the four giant boxes into the kitchen and set them on the counter.
Buffy watched as Willow walked into the kitchen quietly and grabbed her
pizza and went straight back to the books. She sensed something was off,
and just as she was about to check to see if she was alright, Kennedy waked
into the room and slumped onto a bar stool. Faith raised an eyebrow at her
and nudged her with an elbow.
"What's up Kenny, trouble in paradise?"
Kennedy looked at the dark slayer angrily.
"Bite me." With that she stormed out of the room. Buffy and Faith
exchanged a glance. Without saying a word, Faith went after Kennedy and
Buffy went to Willow.
Faith ascended the stairs and went to Willow's room and knocked softly on
the door.
"Go away!"
Faith rolled her eyes.
"Come on Kenny, let me in."
"Go away Faith."
"Kenny." Faith said in a singsong voice.
"Fine!"
Faith smirked and opened the door; she walked in the room and found the
girl sitting on the bed against the headboard with her knees bent. She had
her elbows resting on her knees and her head in her hands.
"Look, Kenny, I was just screwing around. Sorry if I hit a nerve or
something."
"It's fine."
"Well obviously I said something wrong...or right depending..."
"Faith, I'm fine. It's okay."
"Okay, well, you know I've been through a bunch of shit, so if ya ever need
to talk or vent or spar or anything, just let me know."
"Yeah, whatever."
"I mean it kid, I know what it's like."
When she didn't receive a response she turned to leave.
"Faith?"
The dark slayer turned as she opened the door.
"Thanks." The younger girl gave her a small smile.
"Hey, we're five by five, anytime."
Faith smiled at the girl and closed the door behind her as she left. As
she was walking back downstairs, Buffy was coming upstairs.
"Hey B, is everything cool with Red?"
Buffy looked around to see if anyone was in earshot and she pulled Faith
into her room and closed the door behind them.
"Couldn't resist me could ya B?" Faith smirked at the blonde.
Buffy rolled her eyes, but smiled at Faith.
"Faith." Buffy warned in a playful tone. Faith rolled her eyes and smiled
at the smaller slayer.
"Yeah, yeah, what's up with the bleedin' hearts?"
"I talked to Will, and apparently her and Kennedy have been having a few
problems lately."
"What kinda problems?"
"Well...intimacy problems to be specific."
"Who's got the problem, is Red still wigged about Tara?"
"No, and how do you know about that?"
"Please, Daybreak has a bigger mouth than anyone I know and she always
seems to have the skinny on everything and everyone here."
"Dammit Dawn."
Buffy moved to sit on the bed and crossed her legs Indian style facing the
head of the bed. Faith followed and stretched out sitting up against the
headboard.
"Hey, it's cool B, my lips are sealed. So what's the what then?"
"Okay, let me try to explain this so it makes sense...and don't get
defensive. Kennedy kind of has a rough past. I don't know much, I've just
picked up on a few things she's said and Will told me some stuff. She's
kinda like you used to be."
"Let me guess, has major issues with getting close, not really into long
term relationships. And if she does find herself in one, she usually runs
away, pushes the other person away or freezes up in bed...right?"
"Bingo."
"So, I'm guessing it's the freezing up that's the problem."
"Yup."
"So, what are we supposed to do, it's not like we can really help her with
it that much...at least directly."
"Well, honestly I think you will be more help than me."
"Me? How do you figure?"
"I just think you can help Kennedy. Whether you realize it or not, she
looks up to you a lot more than she does me. I'm more of a mother figure
while you're more of a big sister type. She thinks you're cool. Willow
said all she's talked about since you got here was how cool you are and how
badass you are. You're her idol."
"Now that's scary."
"No, Faith a few years ago it would have been scary, it's not now, you're
different. Not so defensive, you let people see you. You seem to have a
lot less anger. She reminds me a lot of you when we first met. I think
you could do a lot of good with her. You're a good person, we both just
made a bunch of mistakes the first time around and I don't want to see her
make those mistakes and hurt Willow."
"I still don't get it, how can I help her?"
"Talk to her."
"She isn't exactly the talking type B, takes one to know one. I doubt
she'll spill to me."
"Well, I was kinda thinking maybe the whole 'share and share alike' angle
would work."
Faith groaned and pouted slightly for a moment. Buffy saw this and gave
her a super pout. Buffy of course won.
"Fine."
Buffy grinned and reached out to hug Faith.
"Yay! Thanks Faithy."
Faith released the blonde and rolled her eyes though smiling.
"Whatever B, it's not like I can say no to you. Besides, you are important
to me, so you're friends are important to me. I'll do what I can."
"They're your friends too ya know."
"Nah, not yet...maybe one day though."
Buffy grinned and hopped off the bed pulling Faith with her.
"Definitely one day...one day soon."
"Don't get all sappy on me B, come on, let's eat."
The two made their way back downstairs and joined the others watching some
random movie as they ate. When Buffy finished she piled her dishes in the
sink and decided to take a shower.
She made her way upstairs to the shower. While Buffy was showering, Faith
called Angel and had him arrange a few things. She found Buffy's bankbooks
and gave Angel her account information. The next day, Buffy would become a
million dollars richer and she would never have to worry about money again.
She hung up the phone and returned Buffy's things. She was just looking
through her bag when Buffy emerged from the bathroom, wearing nothing but a
towel. She caught sight of Faith and blushed slightly. She turned to
gather her clothes and Faith had to remind herself to be cool. She knew
that Buffy had some kind of feelings, but they were never explained in
depth with everything else going on. She somehow managed to peel her eyes
away from the soft skin of the fair slayer and made her way to the shower.
Faith returned from her shower and found Buffy lying in bed already. Buffy
made sure to pull the blankets back on the other side of the bed for Faith.
The dark slayer changed into boxers and a tank top and crawled into bed.
She turned away from the blonde and began to drift off to sleep when she
felt Buffy move. Suddenly, she felt the blonde's strong, slender arms wrap
around her middle and Buffy found her face nuzzled into Faith's neck. The
dark slayer struggled to keep her breathing under control as tingles were
sent through her body at the contact. She shivered slightly as she felt
Buffy's face at her neck. She leaned into the small body next to her and
she felt Buffy's grasp on her tighten. Faith found herself smiling as she
drifted off to sleep.
Buffy awoke the next morning still wrapped around the dark slayer. She
smiled into Faith's hair and slowly breathed in the sweet scent of the dark
locks. Buffy propped herself up on her elbow and gazed down at the
sleeping slayer next to her. She brought one hand up and began to slowly
trace patterns on the brunette's exposed arm. She felt the dark slayer
shiver and knew instantly that she was awake. She smiled and placed a soft
kiss on Faith's shoulder. A soft gasp managed to escape Faith's mouth and
Buffy found herself shudder at the sound. She knew she could press on.
She replaced her arm around the dark slayer's middle and found the hem of
the tank top Faith was wearing. Her fingers made their way north as she
traced her fingertips lightly on the tan skin. She felt Faith's muscles
twitch under her touch and she placed another kiss on the slayers skin, but
this time on her neck. Unable to handle it any longer, Faith rolled over
on her back and gazed up at the other slayer. Faith saw her own desires
reflected in the blonde's eyes. She rolled over facing Buffy and slowly
leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was unlike anything either of them had
experienced. It was sweet and gentle. Buffy moaned lightly at the
softness of Faith's lips. She rolled herself on top of Faith and gazed
into the dark pools before her. She leaned in and kissed Faith again. She
kiss began as lightly as the first, but soon desire took over. Faith ran
her fingers through Buffy's hair and wrapped her hands around the back of
the fair slayers neck. She pulled the blonde closer and deepened the kiss.
Faith moaned as tongues battled for control. Faith's hands began to
wander and she soon found them tugging at Buffy's shirt trying to pull it
off while breaking contact as little as possible. Buffy smiled and pulled
her tank top over her head and she quickly began to pull Faith's up over
her head as well. But before she could get it off, a sudden knock on the
door jarred both slayers out of lustville. Buffy rolled off of Faith and
frantically searched for her shirt. Faith pulled the sheet up covering
Buffy just as the door swung open. A smug smile was gracing the lips of
the slayers' daughter as she took in the scene before her.
"Wow, and here I was worried that a week wouldn't be enough for you two to
get back on track."
"Did you need something?" Buffy asked a little perturbed at the
interruption. She sat up in bed and held the sheet to her bare upper body.
"Giles and everyone are waiting for you guys to go over some demony stuff...I
can tell them you're busy..."
"Tell them we'll be right down Dylan." The annoyance was evident in
Faith's voice.
"Are you sure you don't need a minute...or ten." The young blonde teased.
"Out!" Buffy ordered pointing her finger out the door. Dylan just smirked
and held up her hands as if to say 'okay, okay' and walked out closing the
door behind her. Buffy gazed down at Faith who had rolled over on her
stomach. Buffy leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the dark slayers
shoulder blade. She brought her mouth to Faith's ear and whispered softly,
"I don't think ten minutes would have even come close to enough time."
Faith raised her eyebrows at this.
"Oh really B?"
"Honey, that's what slayer stamina is all about." Buffy placed another
kiss on Faith's soft skin and hopped out of bed pulling her shirt on as she
went.
"Damn B, you're killin' me." Buffy smiled down at her and grabbed her
hand, pulling her out of bed.
"Come on Faithy, we'll get back to this later."
"I'm holding you to that."
The Scooby gang spent most of the morning the same way they had spent the
previous day. They split into a research team and a training team. They
broke around noon to eat lunch and got back to it. Faith grabbed Buffy's
hand as they made their way back outside. Buffy stopped and looked up at
the dark slayer.
"Is everything okay Faith?"
"Yeah B, um...ya think we could take a walk? There's some stuff I wanna talk
to you about."
Buffy gave her a sweet smile and nodded her head.
"Let me tell Giles and we can go."
"Okay."
After letting Giles know they would be gone for a while, they began to walk
down the street. Buffy didn't do anything to rush Faith into what she had
to say; she knew the brunette would talk when she was ready. They made
their way into a park nearby the house and Buffy led Faith to the swings
and each sat down. Faith dug the toe of her shoe into the sand for a
minute before she began.
"Look, B, I need to apologize for everything I did." Buffy smiled sadly at
Faith and shook her head at her.
"No, you don't Faith, it's all in the past. It's done."
"No, B, I messed up big time."
"Faith, stop."
"No...listen, there's a few things you don't know. I had a plan, but it
backfired. I got sucked in."
"What do you mean a plan?"
"When I first went to the mayor, I planned at first to double cross his
sorry ass. I was still on your side, but I didn't want you to know. But
the more I got involved with everything and the worse you guys treated me,
the closer I got to Wilkins. I felt like I didn't deserve you guys, it was
like the life I never had, but after Finch, it went to hell and I knew it
would because it always does. I never meant for it to go as far as it did,
but after everything the mayor did for me, I got guilted into doing
everything I did for him. I didn't want to lose what he was giving me. He
seemed to really care about me. He treated me like I was important and
special. I knew I messed it up with you and the Scoobs, I knew I couldn't
go back, so I went bad instead. But originally, I never meant to hurt you
guys."
"Faith, it's okay, as long as you stay with us this time, I don't care
about anything from back then. The whole 'I'm gonna kill everyone
craziness' was done before you and after you. You aren't the only one who
tried to kill us all. Let's just put it behind us and move forward. I'm
not gonna let anything like that happen again. So don't give it another
thought."
"B, why are you being so cool about all this?"
Buffy thought silently for a moment, debating if she should tell Faith
about the vision. She finally decided that honesty would work better in
this case.
"Faith, it was the vision that the seer gave me...I saw a lot of things."
"Like what?" Faith began to get worried that Buffy knew something that she
didn't want her to know about.
"Don't freak out when I tell you."
"Buffy, just tell me."
Buffy immediately knew that Faith was worried she'd seen something. Full
name usage was never a good thing.
//Faith was ten years old. Her mother came stumbling from the bedroom and
began to yell obscenities at the young girl huddled in the corner of the
kitchen.
"You stupid worthless slut! You're not good for anything! You don't even
deserve to live!"
She went on until the young girl began to cry. Her mother ran towards her
and grabbed her off the ground. She pulled her close until they were face
to face. She kept screaming until the front door slammed. Faith's father
came storming in and pushed her mother out of the way. He kicked her for
good measure. She leered down at the young girl crying on the floor. He
gave her a sickening grin as her grabbed her. He pulled her into the
bedroom and shut the door behind him. An evil grin spread across his face
as he began to unbutton his pants.//
//At age fifteen Faith entered the house being careful not to disturb her
parents. She closed the front door quietly when she heard a noise in the
kitchen. As she approached, she saw her father standing above her mother.
She was bound and gagged and badly beaten. He turned to look at Faith.
"It's your fault she's going to die you stupid bitch. You are a worthless
whore. But don't worry, she didn't love you anyway, nobody loves you and
nobody ever will." He glared at her for another moment and turned back to
her mother. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a handgun. "It's your
fault you stupid, worthless bitch. She will die because of you." Suddenly
a shot was fired and Faith flinched away. When she looked back, her mother
was dead. The close range of the gun had destroyed her face. Her father
reached out and grabbed her. He dropped the gun and grabbed on of her
hands in each of his. He forced Faith's hands down to the mess left of her
mothers face and smeared her blood onto Faith's hands. "It's on your hands
now, it's your fault." He suddenly released her hands and reached to pick
the gun back up. He held it to Faith's face and stared coldly at her. She
was paralyzed with fear and didn't move a muscle. "You whore." She
squeezed her eyes tightly and heard a shot fired. She opened her eyes and
saw that her father had shot himself.//
Buffy opened her eyes and saw that Faith was crying, she did her best to
keep her tears at bay, but they kept coming. Buffy felt an ache in her
chest and she rose and knelt in front of Faith. She placed a hand on each
knee and looked up at Faith.
"That's when the running really started. He s-shot himself about t-two
months before I was c-called." Buffy felt her eyes well up and she pulled
the younger girl into a hug.
"Faith, honey I am so sorry."
Faith did her best to calm herself down. Buffy released her hold on Faith
but held on to her hands.
"I didn't want you to know all that stuff about me. I didn't want your
pity."
"No, Faithy, I don't pity you, I just want to help you. I swear I'll take
it all to the grave, nobody but me has to know."
"Thanks B. I...want us to go slow with all this stuff with us though. I've
never done this when feelings where actually there, and I don't wanna screw
it up."
"Sweetie, you won't screw it up...but we can take it all at your pace, I
won't rush you at all, I promise."
Buffy could tell Faith was getting kinda squirmy with all the sharing, so
she rose and took her swing again. She reached over and grabbed Faith's
hand. She softly traced her thumb over the silky skin, but remained
silent. She heard Faith take a deep breath and hold it for a moment before
she released it.
"I guess we should get back B, I wouldn't want little D to kill Kenny
before we got back." Faith gave Buffy a small smile before standing, she
tried to pull Buffy up with her, but she stayed seated. Buffy gave Faith's
hand a tug, pulling the dark slayer down. She reached up and gave Faith
the sweetest kiss she could muster. When it relinquished, Buffy gazed into
Faith's eyes and smiled. No words were needed as she stood. Buffy never
let go of the brunette's hand as the two made their way back home.
Summary: Buffy and Faith fight once more, but this time, for each other and
with each other (as in side by side) to stop a great evil. They get help
from a source that they don't expect and manage to find love. This will be
a Buffy/Faith story, so if it weirds you out, I suggest you turn back
before it's too late. I think they make a kick ass couple and I really saw
potential for a relationship before Faith went crazy. I think the best
example for potential b/w the two was the dream they shared before
graduation. I think it circumstances had been different they would have
been great for each other. By the way, thanks to all that reviewed the
first chapter, I may go back and make it a little less abrupt and if
updates don't come as quickly as they should it's just b/c I want this
story to be as good as it can be and I like to take the time to make it as
easy to read and as believable as possible. Anyways, enjoy the next
installment. Thanks for reading. Oh, and by the way, it does sound weird
for Giles to use the word 'ubervamp', but I really had no other way of
describing the Baddie. =)
Feedback: Always Welcome
A.N.:I explain the vision that both Buffy and Giles receive in this
chapter. The only parts I don't describe are the parts explained in the
first chapter about the time travelers in the alley with Finch. She also
saw some of the stuff with Faith's first watcher and Kakistos, but I didn't
really feel like getting into all that. I only described the parts that I
felt would explain Faith's behavior in season 3 and 4.
CHAPTER 2
Then next morning, Giles arrived at the house early looking for the slayers
and Dylan. He wandered into the kitchen and found the whole crew eating
breakfast.
"Hey Giles, grab some food, Faith made it and it's awesome." Dawn said
between bites.
"Thanks, but I already ate." He smiled at the group and instantly they
knew they had trouble.
"What's up Giles, you're wearing your end of the world face." Buffy said.
"Well, there is something rather pressing that we need to discuss, but you
all finish eating and I will arrange my things in the living room." After
receiving seven nods he left and gathered his books on the table.
Ten minutes later, they had eaten and stuffed the dishwasher. They were
sitting in the living room waiting for Giles to come out with it. He stood
a moment and cleaned his glasses before replacing them and facing the
group.
"Now, I fear we are in more immediate danger than I originally thought with
this demon that Dylan is to face in the future. I have learned of an
ancient prophecy that-" He was cut off by Faith.
"G, just make sure to explain in layman's terms...not all of us are
brainiacs."
"Yes, of course...unless my calculations are extremely incorrect, this demon
will present itself in four days."
"Wait, that can't be right, it's supposed to be twenty years from now, I
fight it in the future. How can that be?" Dylan looked up at Giles,
confusion etched on her features.
"Yes, I thought of that, and the only explanation is the men from the
vision. They must have found out about you coming back and decided to come
back to stop you."
"So now we have to worry about time travelers too? I don't get it, why
four days from now? Why not just come back two days ago and kill little D
before she got to you? No offense kiddo." Faith said. Dylan just smiled
and turned her attention back to Giles, she wanted him to explain the whole
thing, it would probably make more sense.
"Well that would create a paradox, see they obviously don't find out that
she is here for another few days, otherwise they would have come sooner.
There are rules concerning time travel. I want to keep this as simple as
possible so everyone understands. Basically, by the time they found out
Dylan was here, they weren't allowed to return any sooner than when they do
for risk of a paradox. We'll just leave it at that."
"So what's the plan Giles?" Buffy had her game face on.
"Well I have done some initial research on the demon we will be facing.
Its name is Maltag. In short, he is one of the oldest purest forms of
evil. It's sort of an ancient Ubervamp. But it doesn't need to bite to
turn. It can turn any living being evil with just a scratch. As you can
imagine, he is rather difficult to kill, as all before us have tried and
been scratched and turned. Or, just killed." This was met by groans from
around the room.
"So how do we kill this ancient vampy thing?" Willow questioned.
"Well, there's more. It appears its heart is mobile. It doesn't remain in
one place for longer than a second or two, that is one main reason he
hasn't been killed. Anyone to get close enough, either turned or died
because they never hit its heart. But there is one person who can kill it.
She is immune to its turning powers and can see its heart. She is the one
who is born of pure good and strength. In short, Dylan. She is the pure
heart."
The group exchanged glances until all eyes fell on the daughter of the
slayers. She gave them all a nervous grin. She began to fidget, until
Buffy spoke up again.
"So, what do we do?"
"Well, I would suggest that you and Faith, Dylan and Kennedy begin intense
training. The four of you will need to be in top form to fight."
"Wait, G, how are me, B and Kenny gonna fight it if we can't see its
heart?"
"Well, I believe Maltag has been gathering an army of demons and vampires,
so you three and the rest of us will have to buy her as much time to kill
him as possible. The good news is that as soon as Maltag is defeated, so
is his army. So, for now Xander, Dawn and myself will be researching the
demon to find as much as we can. Willow, I want you to see if you can find
some sort of magic that can take out as many demons and vampires in groups
as you can. I suspect there will be a horde of them."
Buffy stood and faced the group. "Okay guys, lets get going."
Willow, Xander, Dawn and Giles settled themselves at the table with their
books as the girls headed upstairs. Kennedy went into Willow's room to
change as the other three went into Buffy's room. Once all four had
changed they decided the backyard would be the best place to train. They
decided to split into twos. Two would spar and two would train with
weapons. As Buffy and Kennedy were using swords, Faith and Dylan decided
to spar. Faith learned quickly that Dylan had immense power. She threw
everything she had at the young blonde and still ended up on her back.
"Damn kiddo, you are tough." Dylan stood above her with a smug smile.
"See, told ya." The young blonde took a playful bow and wiggled around in
a victory dance.
"Maybe you should try taking on the two of us." Buffy said after watching
for the last few minutes. She knew that nobody could take on the Chosen
Two. Dylan smirked and waved her hands around as if to say 'bring it on'.
The two slayers played well, but they still couldn't take the youngster
down. Dylan appeared to be faster and she was certainly stronger that both
the slayers combined. The young blonde smiled as her parents lay on the
ground panting. Kennedy began to get bored with watching. She walked over
and tapped the kid on the shoulder. The potential stood ready Dylan lunged
at her with a smile. The two slayers exchanged a glance and sprang up to
play. Much to Dylan's delight she had all three women on the grass in two
minutes. It would have been quicker but she didn't want to damage too many
egos in one day.
"Damn B, we created a monster." Faith sat up rubbing the side of her face
where Dylan's foot had connected not too long ago.
"Well, I was told that your power was increased exponentially when you had
me, so technically I have the strength of four slayers." Dylan smiled
proudly as she held up four fingers to emphasize her point.
"Well, perhaps you could tame your strength, so we can at least pretend to
train with you." Buffy said as she stood and groaned.
"If you say so."
The four women resumed training and remained outside until dusk. They
found the others still researching.
"Hey why don't we order some pizza?" Faith asked trying to keep her
stomach from rumbling too loudly.
"Well, see we aren't really basking in the luxury of money these days
Faith." Buffy said as her gaze fell to the floor.
"It's no prob B, just take me up to the ATM, I'll take care of it." Buffy
gazed at Faith with a confused look on her face, but before she could ask,
Faith explained.
"The Mayor. I know it's kinda weird, but with everything he did to you
guys, we should at least make the most of the money he left me."
"Are you sure Faith?"
"Yeah B, it's fine, screw him. Don't worry about money anymore, at least
let me help with that." Buffy smiled at Faith and the two of them headed
for the door.
"Guys, go ahead and order, we'll be back before it gets here."
Twenty minutes later, the two returned to the house. Buffy walked through
the door still stunned at what she had discovered. It turns out that the
Mayor left Faith a little over five million dollars. Just as she was
getting ready to close the door behind her, the pizza arrived, Faith
bounded to the door and grabbed the boxes and handed over the money. They
took the four giant boxes into the kitchen and set them on the counter.
Buffy watched as Willow walked into the kitchen quietly and grabbed her
pizza and went straight back to the books. She sensed something was off,
and just as she was about to check to see if she was alright, Kennedy waked
into the room and slumped onto a bar stool. Faith raised an eyebrow at her
and nudged her with an elbow.
"What's up Kenny, trouble in paradise?"
Kennedy looked at the dark slayer angrily.
"Bite me." With that she stormed out of the room. Buffy and Faith
exchanged a glance. Without saying a word, Faith went after Kennedy and
Buffy went to Willow.
Faith ascended the stairs and went to Willow's room and knocked softly on
the door.
"Go away!"
Faith rolled her eyes.
"Come on Kenny, let me in."
"Go away Faith."
"Kenny." Faith said in a singsong voice.
"Fine!"
Faith smirked and opened the door; she walked in the room and found the
girl sitting on the bed against the headboard with her knees bent. She had
her elbows resting on her knees and her head in her hands.
"Look, Kenny, I was just screwing around. Sorry if I hit a nerve or
something."
"It's fine."
"Well obviously I said something wrong...or right depending..."
"Faith, I'm fine. It's okay."
"Okay, well, you know I've been through a bunch of shit, so if ya ever need
to talk or vent or spar or anything, just let me know."
"Yeah, whatever."
"I mean it kid, I know what it's like."
When she didn't receive a response she turned to leave.
"Faith?"
The dark slayer turned as she opened the door.
"Thanks." The younger girl gave her a small smile.
"Hey, we're five by five, anytime."
Faith smiled at the girl and closed the door behind her as she left. As
she was walking back downstairs, Buffy was coming upstairs.
"Hey B, is everything cool with Red?"
Buffy looked around to see if anyone was in earshot and she pulled Faith
into her room and closed the door behind them.
"Couldn't resist me could ya B?" Faith smirked at the blonde.
Buffy rolled her eyes, but smiled at Faith.
"Faith." Buffy warned in a playful tone. Faith rolled her eyes and smiled
at the smaller slayer.
"Yeah, yeah, what's up with the bleedin' hearts?"
"I talked to Will, and apparently her and Kennedy have been having a few
problems lately."
"What kinda problems?"
"Well...intimacy problems to be specific."
"Who's got the problem, is Red still wigged about Tara?"
"No, and how do you know about that?"
"Please, Daybreak has a bigger mouth than anyone I know and she always
seems to have the skinny on everything and everyone here."
"Dammit Dawn."
Buffy moved to sit on the bed and crossed her legs Indian style facing the
head of the bed. Faith followed and stretched out sitting up against the
headboard.
"Hey, it's cool B, my lips are sealed. So what's the what then?"
"Okay, let me try to explain this so it makes sense...and don't get
defensive. Kennedy kind of has a rough past. I don't know much, I've just
picked up on a few things she's said and Will told me some stuff. She's
kinda like you used to be."
"Let me guess, has major issues with getting close, not really into long
term relationships. And if she does find herself in one, she usually runs
away, pushes the other person away or freezes up in bed...right?"
"Bingo."
"So, I'm guessing it's the freezing up that's the problem."
"Yup."
"So, what are we supposed to do, it's not like we can really help her with
it that much...at least directly."
"Well, honestly I think you will be more help than me."
"Me? How do you figure?"
"I just think you can help Kennedy. Whether you realize it or not, she
looks up to you a lot more than she does me. I'm more of a mother figure
while you're more of a big sister type. She thinks you're cool. Willow
said all she's talked about since you got here was how cool you are and how
badass you are. You're her idol."
"Now that's scary."
"No, Faith a few years ago it would have been scary, it's not now, you're
different. Not so defensive, you let people see you. You seem to have a
lot less anger. She reminds me a lot of you when we first met. I think
you could do a lot of good with her. You're a good person, we both just
made a bunch of mistakes the first time around and I don't want to see her
make those mistakes and hurt Willow."
"I still don't get it, how can I help her?"
"Talk to her."
"She isn't exactly the talking type B, takes one to know one. I doubt
she'll spill to me."
"Well, I was kinda thinking maybe the whole 'share and share alike' angle
would work."
Faith groaned and pouted slightly for a moment. Buffy saw this and gave
her a super pout. Buffy of course won.
"Fine."
Buffy grinned and reached out to hug Faith.
"Yay! Thanks Faithy."
Faith released the blonde and rolled her eyes though smiling.
"Whatever B, it's not like I can say no to you. Besides, you are important
to me, so you're friends are important to me. I'll do what I can."
"They're your friends too ya know."
"Nah, not yet...maybe one day though."
Buffy grinned and hopped off the bed pulling Faith with her.
"Definitely one day...one day soon."
"Don't get all sappy on me B, come on, let's eat."
The two made their way back downstairs and joined the others watching some
random movie as they ate. When Buffy finished she piled her dishes in the
sink and decided to take a shower.
She made her way upstairs to the shower. While Buffy was showering, Faith
called Angel and had him arrange a few things. She found Buffy's bankbooks
and gave Angel her account information. The next day, Buffy would become a
million dollars richer and she would never have to worry about money again.
She hung up the phone and returned Buffy's things. She was just looking
through her bag when Buffy emerged from the bathroom, wearing nothing but a
towel. She caught sight of Faith and blushed slightly. She turned to
gather her clothes and Faith had to remind herself to be cool. She knew
that Buffy had some kind of feelings, but they were never explained in
depth with everything else going on. She somehow managed to peel her eyes
away from the soft skin of the fair slayer and made her way to the shower.
Faith returned from her shower and found Buffy lying in bed already. Buffy
made sure to pull the blankets back on the other side of the bed for Faith.
The dark slayer changed into boxers and a tank top and crawled into bed.
She turned away from the blonde and began to drift off to sleep when she
felt Buffy move. Suddenly, she felt the blonde's strong, slender arms wrap
around her middle and Buffy found her face nuzzled into Faith's neck. The
dark slayer struggled to keep her breathing under control as tingles were
sent through her body at the contact. She shivered slightly as she felt
Buffy's face at her neck. She leaned into the small body next to her and
she felt Buffy's grasp on her tighten. Faith found herself smiling as she
drifted off to sleep.
Buffy awoke the next morning still wrapped around the dark slayer. She
smiled into Faith's hair and slowly breathed in the sweet scent of the dark
locks. Buffy propped herself up on her elbow and gazed down at the
sleeping slayer next to her. She brought one hand up and began to slowly
trace patterns on the brunette's exposed arm. She felt the dark slayer
shiver and knew instantly that she was awake. She smiled and placed a soft
kiss on Faith's shoulder. A soft gasp managed to escape Faith's mouth and
Buffy found herself shudder at the sound. She knew she could press on.
She replaced her arm around the dark slayer's middle and found the hem of
the tank top Faith was wearing. Her fingers made their way north as she
traced her fingertips lightly on the tan skin. She felt Faith's muscles
twitch under her touch and she placed another kiss on the slayers skin, but
this time on her neck. Unable to handle it any longer, Faith rolled over
on her back and gazed up at the other slayer. Faith saw her own desires
reflected in the blonde's eyes. She rolled over facing Buffy and slowly
leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was unlike anything either of them had
experienced. It was sweet and gentle. Buffy moaned lightly at the
softness of Faith's lips. She rolled herself on top of Faith and gazed
into the dark pools before her. She leaned in and kissed Faith again. She
kiss began as lightly as the first, but soon desire took over. Faith ran
her fingers through Buffy's hair and wrapped her hands around the back of
the fair slayers neck. She pulled the blonde closer and deepened the kiss.
Faith moaned as tongues battled for control. Faith's hands began to
wander and she soon found them tugging at Buffy's shirt trying to pull it
off while breaking contact as little as possible. Buffy smiled and pulled
her tank top over her head and she quickly began to pull Faith's up over
her head as well. But before she could get it off, a sudden knock on the
door jarred both slayers out of lustville. Buffy rolled off of Faith and
frantically searched for her shirt. Faith pulled the sheet up covering
Buffy just as the door swung open. A smug smile was gracing the lips of
the slayers' daughter as she took in the scene before her.
"Wow, and here I was worried that a week wouldn't be enough for you two to
get back on track."
"Did you need something?" Buffy asked a little perturbed at the
interruption. She sat up in bed and held the sheet to her bare upper body.
"Giles and everyone are waiting for you guys to go over some demony stuff...I
can tell them you're busy..."
"Tell them we'll be right down Dylan." The annoyance was evident in
Faith's voice.
"Are you sure you don't need a minute...or ten." The young blonde teased.
"Out!" Buffy ordered pointing her finger out the door. Dylan just smirked
and held up her hands as if to say 'okay, okay' and walked out closing the
door behind her. Buffy gazed down at Faith who had rolled over on her
stomach. Buffy leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the dark slayers
shoulder blade. She brought her mouth to Faith's ear and whispered softly,
"I don't think ten minutes would have even come close to enough time."
Faith raised her eyebrows at this.
"Oh really B?"
"Honey, that's what slayer stamina is all about." Buffy placed another
kiss on Faith's soft skin and hopped out of bed pulling her shirt on as she
went.
"Damn B, you're killin' me." Buffy smiled down at her and grabbed her
hand, pulling her out of bed.
"Come on Faithy, we'll get back to this later."
"I'm holding you to that."
The Scooby gang spent most of the morning the same way they had spent the
previous day. They split into a research team and a training team. They
broke around noon to eat lunch and got back to it. Faith grabbed Buffy's
hand as they made their way back outside. Buffy stopped and looked up at
the dark slayer.
"Is everything okay Faith?"
"Yeah B, um...ya think we could take a walk? There's some stuff I wanna talk
to you about."
Buffy gave her a sweet smile and nodded her head.
"Let me tell Giles and we can go."
"Okay."
After letting Giles know they would be gone for a while, they began to walk
down the street. Buffy didn't do anything to rush Faith into what she had
to say; she knew the brunette would talk when she was ready. They made
their way into a park nearby the house and Buffy led Faith to the swings
and each sat down. Faith dug the toe of her shoe into the sand for a
minute before she began.
"Look, B, I need to apologize for everything I did." Buffy smiled sadly at
Faith and shook her head at her.
"No, you don't Faith, it's all in the past. It's done."
"No, B, I messed up big time."
"Faith, stop."
"No...listen, there's a few things you don't know. I had a plan, but it
backfired. I got sucked in."
"What do you mean a plan?"
"When I first went to the mayor, I planned at first to double cross his
sorry ass. I was still on your side, but I didn't want you to know. But
the more I got involved with everything and the worse you guys treated me,
the closer I got to Wilkins. I felt like I didn't deserve you guys, it was
like the life I never had, but after Finch, it went to hell and I knew it
would because it always does. I never meant for it to go as far as it did,
but after everything the mayor did for me, I got guilted into doing
everything I did for him. I didn't want to lose what he was giving me. He
seemed to really care about me. He treated me like I was important and
special. I knew I messed it up with you and the Scoobs, I knew I couldn't
go back, so I went bad instead. But originally, I never meant to hurt you
guys."
"Faith, it's okay, as long as you stay with us this time, I don't care
about anything from back then. The whole 'I'm gonna kill everyone
craziness' was done before you and after you. You aren't the only one who
tried to kill us all. Let's just put it behind us and move forward. I'm
not gonna let anything like that happen again. So don't give it another
thought."
"B, why are you being so cool about all this?"
Buffy thought silently for a moment, debating if she should tell Faith
about the vision. She finally decided that honesty would work better in
this case.
"Faith, it was the vision that the seer gave me...I saw a lot of things."
"Like what?" Faith began to get worried that Buffy knew something that she
didn't want her to know about.
"Don't freak out when I tell you."
"Buffy, just tell me."
Buffy immediately knew that Faith was worried she'd seen something. Full
name usage was never a good thing.
//Faith was ten years old. Her mother came stumbling from the bedroom and
began to yell obscenities at the young girl huddled in the corner of the
kitchen.
"You stupid worthless slut! You're not good for anything! You don't even
deserve to live!"
She went on until the young girl began to cry. Her mother ran towards her
and grabbed her off the ground. She pulled her close until they were face
to face. She kept screaming until the front door slammed. Faith's father
came storming in and pushed her mother out of the way. He kicked her for
good measure. She leered down at the young girl crying on the floor. He
gave her a sickening grin as her grabbed her. He pulled her into the
bedroom and shut the door behind him. An evil grin spread across his face
as he began to unbutton his pants.//
//At age fifteen Faith entered the house being careful not to disturb her
parents. She closed the front door quietly when she heard a noise in the
kitchen. As she approached, she saw her father standing above her mother.
She was bound and gagged and badly beaten. He turned to look at Faith.
"It's your fault she's going to die you stupid bitch. You are a worthless
whore. But don't worry, she didn't love you anyway, nobody loves you and
nobody ever will." He glared at her for another moment and turned back to
her mother. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a handgun. "It's your
fault you stupid, worthless bitch. She will die because of you." Suddenly
a shot was fired and Faith flinched away. When she looked back, her mother
was dead. The close range of the gun had destroyed her face. Her father
reached out and grabbed her. He dropped the gun and grabbed on of her
hands in each of his. He forced Faith's hands down to the mess left of her
mothers face and smeared her blood onto Faith's hands. "It's on your hands
now, it's your fault." He suddenly released her hands and reached to pick
the gun back up. He held it to Faith's face and stared coldly at her. She
was paralyzed with fear and didn't move a muscle. "You whore." She
squeezed her eyes tightly and heard a shot fired. She opened her eyes and
saw that her father had shot himself.//
Buffy opened her eyes and saw that Faith was crying, she did her best to
keep her tears at bay, but they kept coming. Buffy felt an ache in her
chest and she rose and knelt in front of Faith. She placed a hand on each
knee and looked up at Faith.
"That's when the running really started. He s-shot himself about t-two
months before I was c-called." Buffy felt her eyes well up and she pulled
the younger girl into a hug.
"Faith, honey I am so sorry."
Faith did her best to calm herself down. Buffy released her hold on Faith
but held on to her hands.
"I didn't want you to know all that stuff about me. I didn't want your
pity."
"No, Faithy, I don't pity you, I just want to help you. I swear I'll take
it all to the grave, nobody but me has to know."
"Thanks B. I...want us to go slow with all this stuff with us though. I've
never done this when feelings where actually there, and I don't wanna screw
it up."
"Sweetie, you won't screw it up...but we can take it all at your pace, I
won't rush you at all, I promise."
Buffy could tell Faith was getting kinda squirmy with all the sharing, so
she rose and took her swing again. She reached over and grabbed Faith's
hand. She softly traced her thumb over the silky skin, but remained
silent. She heard Faith take a deep breath and hold it for a moment before
she released it.
"I guess we should get back B, I wouldn't want little D to kill Kenny
before we got back." Faith gave Buffy a small smile before standing, she
tried to pull Buffy up with her, but she stayed seated. Buffy gave Faith's
hand a tug, pulling the dark slayer down. She reached up and gave Faith
the sweetest kiss she could muster. When it relinquished, Buffy gazed into
Faith's eyes and smiled. No words were needed as she stood. Buffy never
let go of the brunette's hand as the two made their way back home.