A/N: M'kay so I didn't get as many reviews as I wish I did. hint hint Thanks Harry2 for reviewing lol...Here is the much awaited chapter where we find Faith and Illyria .....

Chapter 5 : Rogue Slayer

Los Angeles

Gunn moved the rag slowly over the machete, making sure not to miss a spot. There was a sudden bashing noise that caused the broad shouldered man to jump.

Before he could make it down into the basement, where the noise had sounded from, Wesley pushed himself in front of him. "Terribly sorry. Did you hear that or was it just me?" Asked the British ex-watcher.

Gunn nodded down into the basement. "Think Faith's trying to make scraps of her cell again?" He asked suggestivley.

When the two men had reached the bottom of the stairs, they both stopped. Wesley sighed irritabley and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No. I believe that Illyria has decided to cause mass destruction and in the process, kill our hostage."

The brunette slayer sneered. "I ain't you're prisoner Wes, I'm just waitin around til you least expect it." She stood her back against the bars on the back of the cage.

Illyria snarled visciously at Faith. Her hands gripped the bars on the outside of the cage so hard that the steel began to bend inward a bit. Faith smirked as she watched the blue vixen.

"Yo, Big guy," She started, nodding towards Gunn, who was carefully trying to approach Illyria from behind. "... if Blue keeps this up, I won't hafta break outta this damn cell. She'll do it for me."

Illyria turned swiftly to face Gunn who jumped back in surprise. "She insists on antagonizing me to cause me mental pain. I have the sudden urge to torture her for endless days."

Faith snickered before Gunn could speak. "Yeah right. I can just picture that. You torturing me. Sorry, cutie, but I think that if you'd lay one hand on my pretty little face that I'd cut off your arm." Faith was stern and calm but it seemed to impress Illyria very little.

"I will rip out your spine and hang your decripting corpse as a trophy on my wall."

Faith's eyes widened but she quickly masked it with her I-can-kick-your-ass-any-day-of-the-week look. "Try it." She hissed out softly.

Illyria moved towards the cage again but Gunn grabbed her forearm. Wesley had also taken a step towards Illyria as the conversation had continued, if that's what you'd call a conversation.

Dark blue hair swished across Gunn's face as Illyria's large eyes turned to look at him. Her mouth was in a tight line and her jaw clenched. She tilted her head to the side lightly to look at him in a different perspective.

"Remove your hand."

Gunn nervously shook his head 'no'. He knew that if he let anything happen to Faith then he would probably get killed. If not by Angel, then by Faith herself.

"I had warned you, fecies stained mortal." Her arm was brought up and immediatley flung full force against Gunn's chin. He flew backwards against the wall.

Wesley rushed towards his friend in utter panic. He began to check the unconscious man for any permanent signs of injury, broken bones, etc..

Meanwhile, Illyria had begun to pull the bars apart within mere seconds. Faith found herself frightened for the third time in her life. The first being Kakistos, the second being when Buffy and she fought, and now, when Illyria was about to rip off her head.

"Get away from me bitch!" Shouted Faith as Illyria punched her across the jaw with a force that could have knocked a pure human on their ass.

"Quiet you foul-mouthed morsel of dirt." Illryia brought her fist up to hit Faith again but Faith was ready this time. She grabbed Illyria's fist and struggled to hold it back.

Illyria was extremley shocked at how much strength this small girl possessed. Faith lifted her leg and kneed Illyria in the stomach. She doubled over but quickly regained her composure. She moved swiftly to put her next hit on the slayer, but Faith had already moved behind Illyria.

From behind, Faith shoved Illyria hard against the bars and climbed through the small entrance in the bars, made by the blue vixen herself.

Wesley had been in the middle of tending Gunn, who was finally beginning to wake up, and watching the fight occur. He began to stand as Faith moved up the stairs.

Her body was deathly thin and she looked weak. She hadn't been able to train in years so that wasn't a surprise, but her agility was still grand.

By the time Wesley had reached the lobby, the front doors were swinging closed.

Faith was gone.

Sunnydale, The Mansion

Thick streams of sunlight woke Buffy from her sleep. It wasn't all too peaceful as nightmares and images of her past haunted her. Yet Angel always seemed to be there to comfort her, make everything okay again.

Within a few minutes, Angel entered the bedroom with a glass of water. "Sorry. There isn't really anything worth eating... We can pick something up tonight if you want."

Buffy downed the glass of water thankfully and nodded. A brief silence washed over the pair before Buffy finally got the courage to ask again.

"So... uh... what happened to F-Faith?" she stuttered out.

Angel began to pace, rubbing the bridge of his nose before kneeling in front Buffy. He lay his hands on her knees and frowned as he began to relive that day four years ago.

Flashback

Giles rushed into the mansion as quickly as he could. His face was panicked and full of fear. Willow and Oz immediatley stood up to acknowledge him and whatever was so upsetting.

"Giles?" Willow asked hesitantly. "What is it? What happened?"

The old watcher took many deep breaths to regain what was lost from his running. "It's.. It's Buffy, Willow. Sh-She was stabbed... by... by Faith. Faith put... her in...." Giles was interrupted by a raging, frantic redheaded Wicca.

"WHAT?! Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Is she okay?! She isn't dead right?! Ohmigosh Giles how did this happen?! Where is she?! What about Angel?!" Oz put a comforting hand on his girlfriend's shoulder as she went throught her rambling.

Giles sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, well Willow, if you had let me finish, I would have told you that she's been put into a coma... and... and they're not sure if she'll ever awaken." Giles felt himself on the bridge of tears. He took off his glasses and began to clean them on the hem of his sweater.

"Wow." Oz said softly. This was alot to take in, for everybody. "I hate to be the one to point at the clock and all, but Angel's kind of dying. He needs Slayer blood."

Willow felt hot tears stream down her face but she refused to choke out so much as one sob. She wrang her hands and paced back and forth in front of the two men.

"There has to be an antidote or something! I mean, it can't JUST be ...." WIllow's eyes grew wide and she began to jump up and down. "Oh! Oh! I think I have an idea!"

Oz smiled. "Under different circumstances I would jump up and down too."

Giles looked at him funny but then turned his attention fully on Willow. "Well, Buffy's in a coma... so can't Angel take some of her blood?"

Giles glared. "Willow don't be silly. That's ridiculous."

Willow groaned. "But Giles..." She whined, wiping at her neverending tears. "Buffy would hate us forever if we let Angel die. We have to do something."

With a deep breath, Giles walked towards the kitchen. Oz and Willow both turned towards his moving body.

"W-Where are you going?" She asked briskly. Giles turned and had a solemn look of sadness etched over his worn features.

"To make a phone call."

It was about twenty minutes later that Giles erupted from behind the curtain that seperated a dying vampire from the rest of the house.

Willow was sitting on the side of the bed pressing a damp cloth to his forehead while Oz sat on the opposite side deep in thought.

"Pardon me, " Started Giles softly, hoping not to disturb Angel. "But I think I've found the cure. After twenty minutes of bargaining and threatening the council, they've finally given me the correct method, other than slayer blood, that can, hopefully, cure Angel."

Willow frowned. "But I thought that Wesley said the council wouldn't help under any circumstances... and hey! Can't they fire you for threatening stuff?"

Giles laughed softly. "Not when I threaten to uncover several secrets they wish for the world not to know. I also may have mentioned that when Buffy wakes up and finds her vampiric boyfriend dead, she would happily... gleefully even, rip all of their heads from their bodies and use their body parts for Christmas decorations."

Oz coughed a little loudly at the imagery and Angel stirred. His eyes slowly fluttered open. "B-Buffy?"

WIllow sighed. "He keeps calling me Buffy. He's done it like, a zillion times now." Oz nodded in agreement and Giles just knitted his eyebrows together. "Oz, I need you to pick up these ingrediants at the magick shop down on Lake, if you would?"

Oz nodded and took a thin sheet of paper from the elder watcher. "Sure." He pecked Willow on the cheek and headed out to his van.

Willow continued to dampen the wash cloth against Angel's forehead as he woke every so often, calling her Buffy and telling her over and over that he was sorry.

Giles was on the other side of the room setting up a small table with herbs and books. A small bowl sat in the center with Giles tossing things about.

Oz returned about half an hour later with a large brown paper bag full of herbs and essentials for the spell. Willow and Oz switched places so that Willow could perform the spell.

She began to chant something in Latin while Giles sprinkled Belladonna and other things into the smoking bowl.

"Amahara de muela Oriox brystai va ci taijoh! Amahara de muela Oriox brystai va ci taijoh!" WIllow repeated the spell several times before Angel finally jolted from his place on the bed with a gasp, startling Oz so much that he jumped back.

Giles smiled proudly as did Willow. He turned to Oz with his soft brown eyes and sighed. "Where did you ever find the Beta Root? I imagined it to be almost impossible to possess."

Oz shrugged. "Lady at the shop said she had just a little. No one ever asked for it."

Willow kneeled down in front of Angel. He was staring at them all with lost eyes. "Where's Buffy?" He asked gruffly.

Giles closed his eyes and Willow just bit her bottom lip. "Angel... remember when Faith hit you with that poisen arrow?" At his brief nod she continued. "... well the only cure we could find, at first, was the blood of a slayer."

Angel's eyes narrowed. "She went to kill Faith." He said softly in realization. "Did she succeed?"

Willow wouldn't meet his eyes. She stared at the floor like it had suddenly become immensley entertaining. "WILLOW! Where is she?! What happened?!" He asked in a panicked tone.

The red head became frightened at his tone of voice. "She.. she... was stabbed. Faith stabbed her. She's at the hospital. Angel, she's in a coma. They... the doctors don't think she's gonna wake up... ever."

Angel growled and stood abruptly from the bed. He stood so fast that Willow fell backwards on the floor.

The bar smelled of stale smoke and much alcohol. Angel didn't need to breath to know that the place was deathly. Of course Faith would be here.

Angel had checked every bar, hangout, drughouse... anywhere Faith might be, from Sunnydale to San Francisco. His current stop was a small private bar in downtown L.A.

It had been two months since Buffy went into a coma and two months that Angel had spent searching to wreak his revenge on the brunette slayer.

A tall man with broad shoulders and a buzz cut stepped in front of Angel. "Name?"

Angel sighed. He hated having to go through this ID shit. "Angel."

"Angel..."

"Angel. That's it." The vampire had no idea why he was even answering considering he knew he wasn't even on the damn list.

The man frowned and shook his head as his eyes scanned the paper in front of him.

"Sorry man, your not on the list. Good try though. By the way, Angel, nice name." The man chuckled as he picked on Angel's name.

Bad idea.

Angel brought his palm upward to connect with the man's nose. The guy fell backwards and touched the blood that streamed down to his lips.

"Faith here?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Damnit! Your pretty brave for someone who's about to get their eyes ripped out of their sockets."

With one hand covering his now broken nose and the other up in surrender, the man scoffed. "Okay! Okay! She's in the back room. Be careful. No one knows what goes on back there."

Angel stepped over the doorman easily and walked down the long hallway until he reached the last wooden door. He pushed open the door with force so that it slammed hard against the wall behind it.

Approximatley six men, mid-thirties, surrounded a circular table with cards in their hands and cigars in their mouths.

Faith was standing in front of the man near the left of the table, proceeding in a lap dance.

Angel rolled his eyes. "Faith."

Faith grinned and licked her lips seductivley. "Hey big guy, how ya holdin' up? Your big bitch barbie wake up yet?"

A low growl erupted from his throat as he sustained from hitting her in front of all these men who watched with amused, drunken eyes.

"Not yet. But she will. How are ya Faith? Livin life to the fullest, I see." He said sarcastically, sliding his hands in his coat pockets.

Faith sneered followed by a scoff. "I'm five by five, some days four by five but I'm still livin'. Awake at least."

Angel bit his tongue, eyeing each man in the room. None of them seemed sober or able to fight, so he figured it'd be best if he didn't do too much damage...

While he was distracted, Faith punched him hard across the jaw. "Damn did that just bring me up a notch."

Angel grimaced. "Yeah well I'm about to take you down a couple." He threw his fist towards her face but she caught it and pushed it back against him while kneeing him just above the groin. He yelped in pain but quickly pushed the searing pain aside and yanked her head backwards by her hair.

His face was mere inched from hers. "You hurt the girl I love. Therefore, I hurt you."

Faith head bunted him causing him to stumble back a few feet. He touched his forehead. Both were completley unaware of the men in the room watching with an intent gaze.

"I don't think you get it yet, Angel. Hurting me isn't going to solve anything, just gonna make your life a bit more complicated." She threw a roundhouse kick that knocked him against the wall.

Angel moved so that he was sideways to her and elbowed her against the chin. "Oh yes it will. I have this built up anger inside me and my therapist says I need to find a way to release it."

"Violence isn't the answer to anything." She retorted cheekily.

"Tell that to the pyschotic idiot who stabbed my girl and put her in a coma."

Faith was silent. She just glared with a menace that could freeze over hell, two times. She finally spoke. Her voice was filled with venom and hate. "If she's such an idiot then why isn't she the one lying in the hospital bed with a stab wound in her gut?"

The fight continued. Angel and Faith danced around eachother with few words. Each blow was blocked by the other, each hit was manuevered against the other. Angel had Faith pinned against the card table. By now, all six men had backed up against the wall in fear then made their way as quickly as possible to the door.

It was down to the end. Faith and Angel.

His face formed into it's vampiric demon, hoping to intimidate the slayer but Angel should have known that it wouldn't have worked. She was a slayer for Christ's sake!

Angel dug his fangs across her throat in warning. She immediatley shutup and stopped struggling, afraid he was gonna bite her.

He didn't.

Instead, Angel took this oppurtunity to grab Faith's wrists and hold them tightly together. With his free hand, he reached up to the chandelier and ripped it from it's hook on the ceiling. He broke off the long dangling chain and tightly wrapped it around her wrists.

"I hate you! Damnit! Let me go! I'm gonna fucking kill you!! You bastard!" She screamed as he lifted her over his shoulder and headed out the back door, not wanting to deal with the people in the front.

Faith continued to kick and scream while Angel limped, sporting quite a few new bruises and a set of broken ribs. Yay him! As he set Faith down in the backseat of his GTX, Angel gave her a forceful punch that knocked into the oblivion of unconsciousness.

End Flashback

Buffy had a look of horror cross her features. "Y-You put her in a cage?!"

Angel nodded with his head bowed low. "Buffy, I wasn't gonna let her get away with what she did to you. I spent two months after the Acension searching for her. I knew I couldn't kill her... even though I wish I would have. I knew I couldn't so I had to do something with her."

Swallowing, Buffy nodded silently. "Is she still there?"

Angel raised his questioning gaze to meet her eyes. He nodded. Buffy licked her suddenly very dry lips and closed her eyes briefly.

"I wanna see her, Angel."

Abruptly, Angel stood to his feet shaking his head vigorously. "No Buffy. Your not strong enough to go anywhere yet and your still confused. It would be a dangerous move. She'd try to play with your mind, your emotions."

"Angel! You're doing it again! You're trying to make decisions for me. Wasn't this what almost ruined us at graduation?! So stop now before it happens again."

He was silent. So was she.

They were both startled when Angel's cell phone rang.