"Buffy!" Dawn shouted as her sister dragged her towards the store where the Weasleys had gone.
"Run now, complain later," Buffy told her. Side by side, they sprinted to one of several larger junction areas. This particular one had a gazebo in the center that Buffy knew provided a setting for photo ops with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Fred and George were in the K-Mart on the far side. Just beyond that lay the exit.
Behind them, the mass of shoppers surged forward, scrambling over benches and through the gazebo in their haste to catch the fleeing Summers girls. Fred and George saw the mob through the store's entrance; when they spied Buffy and Dawn fleeing their way, they dropped their armfuls of new clothes and hastened to the door.
"They're gonna cut 'em off," Fred shouted to his brother over the din. In front of Buffy and Dawn, a new group of shoppers had shed their purchases and formed a second front. "We've got to do something!"
"Like what?" George yelled back. He had his wand out already.
"Put that away. We can't use magic with all the muggles." George nodded and sheathed his wand as Fred cast around frantically for some sort of solution
Buffy couldn't afford to wait for their intervention. The rioting mob had boxed them in.
"Dawnie…"
"We're totally stuck," Dawn finished. She glanced around at the circling mob and instinctively moved back-to-back with her sister.
"Try not to hurt anyone too badly. I think these are still normal people, just zombified somehow."
"Gotcha."
One of the shoppers, another boy in a Sunnydale High letter jacket, lunged at Dawn; she sidestepped and with a short hop kicked him in the ribs.
"Sorry, Aaron," she squeaked as he tumbled over with a 'whoof'. An older man, in his forties and wearing a dull gray suit, came in behind Aaron and swung a leather briefcase at her head. Dawn ducked and slammed her heel into his crotch, doubling him over. Behind her, Buffy made short work of two burly men she thought she recognized from Xander's construction job. She saw Fred and George standing just beyond the mob and an idea popped into her head.
"Fred! Can you lighten stuff?"
He barely heard her through the noise, but lifted his hand in a thumbs-up gesture.
"Dawnie," she said, dropping a soccer mom with a sharp elbow, "I've got an idea."
"What?" A fist narrowly missed Dawn's face; she kicked its owner in the stomach and he tumbled to the floor.
"Fastball special."
"What! No way!"
"Fred will catch you."
"Buffy…"
"I'll be right behind, Dawnie."
Looking doubtful, Dawn acquiesced, clearing some room with a spinning leg kick. Buffy cupped her hands and Dawn jumped on them.
Using Slayer strength for a trampoline, Buffy hurled Dawn into the air. She sailed over the massed shoppers; Fred whipped out his wand and guided her to a soft landing. A few seconds later, Buffy followed suit, landing perfectly after an amazing leap.
The crowd rushed after them as the Weasley boys and the Summers girls took off down the hallway.
Are they in position?
Yes a dozen master you wanted a dozen they brought a dozen.
Excellent.
They escaped through the glass doors into the parking lot, all four breathing heavily.
"So much for buyin' work clothes," George said between pants. He looked back at the mall, where the bloodthirsty mob seemed suddenly docile and confused as they milled around behind the doors. "I've gotta tell you, Buffy, I thought Professor Giles was havin' us on about the Hellmouth, but this place is pretty bleedin' strange."
"I'll second that," Fred wheezed.
"That was not of the norm," Buffy said with a nod.
"Somebody must have been controlling them," Dawn chipped in. "Look at them now, they look really surprised – kind of an oops-I'm-in-a-rampaging-mob-and-I-can't-get-out moment."
"Check out idea girl." Dawn perked up, smiling proudly. "Come on, let's find the car and get the hell out of here."
When they reached the correct row, Buffy jerked to an abrupt halt, scanning the darkness with her eyes as the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
"What is it?" Fred asked. He grabbed Dawn and shoved her between him and George.
"Something's …" The distinct crack of rifle echoed around them, followed instantly by a strange thwip. Buffy's hand went to her neck, "…wrong."
She crumpled to the ground, the metallic sliver of a tranquilizer dart protruding from the soft flesh of her neck.
"Down!" Fred tackled Dawn to the asphalt.
George whipped out his wand and took a knee next to a blue Corolla. With his left hand, he reached over and touched Buffy's stomach.
"She's breathing. S'not lethal poison."
"Okay, what now?" Fred's chest muffled Dawn's voice. Under other circumstances, she wouldn't have minded, but the sight of Buffy slumped on the ground overrode all emotion but fear.
"How about some dinner?"
Dawn watched in horror as vampires appeared from between the shadowed cars. Lots of vampires. More than she could swiftly count.
The one who had spoken leered at her from beneath the bill of his stained baseball cap. The cap had been white, Dawn could tell, but now it looked more like a candy cane mixed by a drunk. She gulped audibly.
"Off me," she said to Fred, pushing against him forcefully. He rolled away and rose to his feet; Dawn reached over, pulled a stake from Buffy's prone form, and came up in a fighting crouch.
"Relax, nibblet," a reassuring British voice said. Two vampires in the back turned to dust, then two more, before the rest of the group caught on. "You look like you've eaten already, and seconds just won't do."
Dawn came up out of her crouch and drove her stake home on a suddenly confused vampire. "Are you saying I'm fat, Spike?" She couldn't see him, but she knew that voice anywhere.
"INCENDO!" Twin spells cast by twin Weasleys produced two enormous fireballs. "You look good, Dawn. The undead have no taste," Fred added as his spell dusted several vampires.
That comment drew a smile from Dawn. She lashed out with a long leg and tripped another vampire. In seconds he became a scattered pile of dust; the other vampires were swiftly disappearing as well. Grunts and shouts echoed across the parking lot as Spike and the Weasleys took care of the grisly job.
Dawn spun around, looking for something to stake, and came face to face with another enemy.
"Hafta agree with carrot-top, Dawnie. You look sleek. Been training?"
"Faith?" Dawn's huge eyes grew even wider.
"She's with us, Bit," Spike said, brushing vampire remains from his duster. "Trust me."
"But … it's … she's MMMMFFFF."
The last of the vampires suddenly grabbed Dawn from behind, holding a dangerous-looking knife to her throat.
"The Key is ours. You let me go or the girl dies."
"Let her go, an' we won't dust your do-rag," Spike warned.
"Hurt her," Faith added, "and I'll introduce you to some of my classic torture collection."
"Ooh, tough slayer and her pet vampire. Don't think I …"
They heard a sharp snap and his head suddenly detached from his body, do-rag and all. For a half-second the disembodied head floated in the air, its eyes wide with shock, before the dust covered a very surprised Dawn. She couldn't help but stare at her savior.
Dobby was standing behind her on the hood of a station wagon, a wide smile splitting his enormous head. He wore mismatched blue and yellow socks and a long t-shirt with the words 'Don't Mess with Texas' emblazoned on the front. A blue Dodgers cap perched between his ears.
"I'se did as you asked, Mister Spike, but he wanted to hurt the Miss. Dobby meant no offense."
"Offense? What offense?" Dawn asked Spike.
"I told him not to use magic. It's alright, Dobby – you saved the bit here, we'll call it even."
"Oh, thank you, Mister Spike."
"No, thank you … Dobby?" Dawn broke in, taking in the sight of the odd creature. "Dobby, thank you. You saved my somewhat artificial but very much valued life."
She smiled at him, and fat tears started dripping from his eyes.
"What? Don't cry!"
"No, miss, Dobby is happy to have saved Spike's Bit. He is so very …"
"Cool it, Dobby," Spike said; he knew this could go on for hours. He turned to Dawn, "As for you, you know I think you look bloody fine, so stop your bullshit whinjin' and help me load your sister into the car. We got lots ta talk about."
"You know I want to go back and have orgasms, right? It's just that I want to be sure we have a firm … Xander?" Anya said as the bell on the Magic Box door tinkled. "You're not listening to me, are you?"
"An…"
"That's so typical: I tell you that I don't want to play Angry Passenger – Naughty …"
"An, Stop! Look!"
Anya turned and looked at the shop. Buffy lay prone on the counter, obviously unconscious, with Dawn and Spike standing over her holding a cloth to her head. The Weasleys sat around the research table, books held in their laps and chairs tipped back.
"'Ey, Chubs. Nice o' you to join us. Demongirl," he said to Anya with a nod.
"What are you doing here, Junior?"
"Somethin' you need to know before I answer that."
"I don't think so. I think you need to skip answering it and get the hell out before Buffy wakes up." He suddenly realized Buffy was unconscious. "Buffy! What did you do to her? Is she…"
"She's okay, Xander," Dawn said. "She got tranqed. No big. Fred and George did a spell to make sure. But listen, there is something else."
"What?"
"Me." Faith stepped out of the training room.
"GAH!" Xander started flailing around for a weapon. "Anya, help me. We need to find something …" He grabbed the nearest hard object to the door and whipped it up in front of him. "Back off, Faith."
She couldn't help it. She started to chuckle. Soon Dawn, Spike, and the Weasleys were giggling, too. Xander looked at the object in his hand for the first time.
"What the – An, what is this?"
"Dried iguana. They're on sale this week. It's a very good price, and the quality is excellent. I don't think it will do much to that girl, though."
"Anya," he said, his face ashen as he dropped the iguana, "that's Faith. Evil Slayer Faith?"
"You mean the one who stole Buffy's body and," she made a thrusting motion with her hips, "with Riley?"
Spike laughed harder, but Faith went silent and her eyes darkened. He caught her reaction and turned to Xander.
"Listen, moron, she's hear with me. Workin' the side o' right and whatall."
"No way. Not possible."
"She saved our lives, Xander. Her and Spike and Dobby," Dawn said indignantly.
"We can put a truth spell on her, Xander. Would that convince you?" George asked.
"No, you won't," Spike said, knowing she would reveal a lot more under that spell than he wanted her to. "It doesn't matter what Harris thinks." He shot a glare at Xander.
"Okay, Fangless, let's get something straight here. You vampire. Evil. Bad Guy. Me demon hunter. Not evil. Good guy. You don't tell me what…"
"Stop it," Buffy said from the counter. The shouting had broken through her unconsciousness. She tried to rise, then quickly dropped back to the surface. "That's it. No more tequila for Buffy."
Xander rushed down to her side. "Buff, you alright?"
"I'd say yes, but everything's kinda gone all Fear and Loathing in Sunnydale."
"I'll get your golf shoes," he replied. "Seriously, how do you feel?" He looked at Dawn. "What the hell happened?"
"Somebody called an attention mall shoppers on us, then we got jumped by vampires in the parking lot. Faith, Spike, and Dobby flanked them and opened up a six-pack of whoop ass."
Buffy's eyes shot open again. "Faith? Faith's here?"
"Hiya, B," she said tentatively. "Don't worry, I'm not … it isn't … I'm here to help."
Buffy swung her legs gingerly over the side of the counter and staggered to the floor. She faced the dark-haired Slayer, weaving slightly as she struggled to stand.
"You're here to help. Why am I oh so not comforted by that."
"Buffy," Spike said, his tone soft and sincere.
"Don't. You don't get an opinion here."
"She's here with me, Buffy. She volunteered. We were together in L.A."
Buffy turned and glared daggers at Spike. "L.A. You've been in L.A. all this time. With Faith."
"It's not like that, B," Faith said, well aware what Buffy must have thought. "He only showed up a little while ago. I got paroled in August and I've been helping Angel."
Neither Spike nor Buffy averted their eyes. The connection between them was palpable. So was the tension.
"Angel," Buffy spat.
"He took me in. I had nowhere to go."
She finally looked at Faith. "Any particular reason that you should have?"
"Listen, Slayer, it's not …"
Her fist snapped his head back like a speed bag.
"I don't want to hear it, Spike. I just want you both out of here. Now."
"No."
"No?" She punched him again, sending him staggering into the counter. Faith moved to step in between them when Buffy swung at her, too.
The punch never landed. Faith instantly vanished, reappearing on the far side of the room looking dazed.
"Dobby won't let you hurt Mister Spike or Miss Faith," the house elf said as he crawled out from under the research table.
Buffy's eyes went wide. "Huh? What was in that dart? And why am I seeing his shirt saying 'Don't Mess with Texas'?"
"That's Dobby, pet. He's with me, too. Does the hocus pocus like a right pro. He's a house elf. Got the shirt from Angel's girl Fred."
"You and Faith came here from Angel in L.A. Where'd you get a house elf?" Willow had explained them to Buffy earlier in the year.
"Dumbledore sent 'im to watch my back."
"Why?"
"Because you're in danger, an' I'm trying to get you out of it, pet."
The atmosphere calmed considerably after that. Anya and Dawn made tea, heated conveniently by the Weasleys, and sat down at the research table with Buffy. Spike and Faith stood near the training room, while Xander stared blankly from the counter with arms crossed over his chest.
"So I'm in danger, but you don't know from what. You know a guy who knows, but you have to pay him for the info first, and he'll only give it to you. That about sum it up?"
Spike lit a cigarette. He didn't say that he knew about the Prince of Lust or his quest for a soul. A rudimentary plan had started to form in his mind; he hoped he had the patience to see it through. "That's about the size of it, yeah."
"Why are you here, then?"
"Research. Need the Bit's help to figure out who this bastard's looking for."
"This is bullshit," Xander said. "Could you be any more vague about all this? Who's this mysterious contact guy of yours?"
"If I tell you, you'll try an' take him out. We can't have that. He won't talk, so you'll kill him and we'll be fucked, or he'll kill you an' then it'll be moot."
"Wait," Dawn said, interrupting Xander's snide retort, "you need my help?"
"Yeah. You up for it?"
"Of course." She smiled. "Go research girl me."
"You trust Faith?" Buffy asked, not looking at the dark-haired Slayer.
"She's done okay so far. Poof and the junior watcher, they trust her. S'good enough fer me."
The blonde Slayer thought that over for several tense minutes, then she rose and entered Faith's personal space. Her diminutive size made her no less imposing.
"I want this clear, so listen carefully. We're not friends. We're not allies. We're not five by five. We're not anything. If there's a fight, you throw in, fine. If I even suspect that you're trying any of the shit you used to pull, I'll hit you until you stop moving. Clear?"
"Crystal."
"Slayer, listen …"
"No way, Billy Idol," Faith said, "this is between me and B. She's doing the right thing and the smart thing, so don't try and be wicked noble defending my virtue. I don't have any."
Across the room, Xander watched the exchange and felt something stir in his heart. He hated Faith. Not just for trying to kill him, which admittedly he wasn't thrilled with, but for what she had done to Willow and especially to Buffy. He could sense, though, that this was not the girl who had done those things. This was a girl on the rebound. He almost smiled at that.
Faith caught Buffy's eyes. "You don't want me to, and that's cool, I wouldn't either, but I've got your back here, B."
"That's comforting," Buffy said as she sat back down.
