Actions & Consequences (6/?)

Gunn cursed as he saw the younger man across the street crumple, kid had some moves but no mortal was going to take down four vampires on his own. Drawing his pistol crossbow, he sighted and fired in one smooth motion. The bolt flew true, slamming into the vampire's back with thudding impact, the demon bursting into dust. "He shoots he scores," Gunn crowed before hurrying across the street to where the crumpled youth lay. "Lose your eye, punch the boss, and get beaten up by four vampires," he muttered as he examined the youth's battered body. "Your luck's not the best is it?" Still he had got to make time with Faith at some time in the past, so it wasn't all bad.

His eyes narrowed as he noticed a circular golden medallion with a pair of curved fangs carved onto its surface lying on the ground. Grabbing the medallion he shoved it in his pocket, Wes would just love researching it. Next he crouched by the unconscious man and lifted him on his shoulder, grunting in surprise at the weight before starting off back to the hotel. "Cut down on the Big Macs man," he muttered. "Otherwise next time, I'm bringing your ass back in a wheelbarrow."

"Xander!"

Faith hurried towards the sweating African-American and took his load off him prompting him to mutter. "Thanks for making me feel all manly girl."

"What happened?" Faith demanded. She glared at the shaven headed man making him take a back-step. "Did you-?"

"Calm down," Gunn pulled a medallion out of his pocket. "I found your boy-."

"He's not my boy," she interrupted fiercely. "I just owe him that's all!"

"My mistake. Going all Street Fighter on four vamps," Gunn continued, his eyes nervous. "He killed three, but the fourth got him and was about to feed when I came onto the scene and staked him. They left this behind." The demon-hunter indicated the glittering medallion.

"Good lord!" Faith glanced behind her to see a shocked looking Wesley staring at the medallion with bulging eyes. "It can't be. The Blood Brotherhood!"

"What?" demanded Angel.

"Fang," she glanced down at the battered body in her arms. He looked so helpless, well nobody was ever going to hurt the father of her babies again. "Priorities, X is bleeding like a stuck pig."

"Good point," Angel turned to a pale looking Fred and Lorne. "Take Faith and Xander up to a spare room."

"Is it he alright?" Angel asked a returning Faith.

"Fred says his wounds aren't serious," the sultry Bostonian replied, her voice shaky.

Angel's brow furrowed at the Slayer's grey face. He couldn't help but wonder if the brunette felt more than guilt for Xander. Shoving aside that troubling thought, he turned towards Wesley. "What is this Blood Brotherhood?"

The former Watcher looked up from the book he'd been reading "The Blood Brotherhood are a Council myth, I'm rather surprised you haven't heard of yourself," the Englishman replied.

"Cut to the chase Wes."

Wesley blinked at the tightness in the Slayer's voice. "Quite. The Blood Brotherhood were formed in the 15th Century by Dominus Itis." The Watcher threw him a significant look.

Angel felt his legs go weak. "Oh crap."

Faith looked from him to Wesley. "Domminus Itis? Somebody wanna give me a hand here? I barely speak English, much let this ancient crap?"

Finally he found his tongue. "Domminus Itis, is Latin for Lord Pain. Pain was an Italian nobleman who even before he was turned was know for his sadistic debauchery. One night in 1140s' Florence he picked up a whore," Angel hid a grimace, he knew how well that ended. "Probably intending to torture and kill her. Instead she turned him. For almost three hundred years he dominated Italy as its king, killing a Slayer-."

"Two," Wesley corrected.

"In the process. Then in the 1480s he disappeared. He was assumed dead, but apparently the Council knew better."

"We knew no such thing," Wesley corrected. "The Blood Brotherhood were only ever a rumour, a whispered muttering that once spoken would result in the informant's prompt and painful death."

"So, fun guys," Faith's teeth were tightly gritted. "BUT WHO THE FUCK ARE THEY!"

"Aw."

"He's awake!"

"Please," Xander blinked up blurrily at the pretty brunette and, he edged backwards, the green demon sat on his bed, his eyes wary. "My head's killing me. Don't shout. Who's he? Actually, who are you?"

"I'm Fred-."

"Don't look like a Fred," Xander commented. God, he felt like he'd been worked over with a baseball bat. "Only Fred I knew was a three hundred pound construction worker with beer-breath and three days' stubble."

The girl giggled. "Winifred Burkle, this is Lorne. You're Xander, you came in with Faith. You knew Faith before she went to prison right? What was she like before she was evil? What was she like when she was evil?" Xander stared in bemusement at the closest thing he'd ever heard to Willow-babble. "I bet she was real scary bad, she was real scary when she was in town a few weeks ago and she was good then. Is she diff-."

"Now pipe down Fred," Lorne said softly. "Sweetcheeks looks like he needs his rest," Xander coloured. He was sweetcheeks? He thought he had problems with Andrew. "Sweetcheeks, do you need anything?"

"An ice-pack for my ribs and some pain-killers would be good," he replied dazedly.

Lorne nodded. "You get the supplies Freddie, I'll go and tell Faith you're awake. She was awful worried you know."

"Um, uh," Xander nodded. Somehow he doubted it. The only person Faith worried about was herself. The moment the door closed behind the duo, he pushed himself to his feet, ignoring his body's protests. He knew if he stayed around here he'd be ignored, he was the one without powers, the one who'd been sidelined for the past four years. "Let the grown-ups deal with it," he muttered bitterly. Well he'd be damned if he was going to be sidelined when his children were at risk. His breath caught at the thought of his children being scared alone, their adoptive parents probably dead. Forcing away his terror he opened the window and climbed gingerly onto the fire escape, he was staying involved no matter what.

"This is it?" Buffy asked, Willow nodded. Buffy took a breath, not only was she terrified of what she might find inside the hotel, she was also more than a little uneasy at potentially meeting Angel again, so soon after losing Spike. Schooling her face to show none of her worry she turned to the other Slayers. "Keep calm," she instructed sternly. "The last thing we need is somebody going off half-cocked."

"Says her," muttered Rona.

Buffy decided to ignore Rona's comment. She had bigger fish to fry than an ego-ridden, power-crazed Slayer, Giles had been lucky to have a Slayer as balanced as her. "Giles, you keep Dawn out here, things could get hairy." Her eyes narrowed as her sister's mouth opened in protest only to shut at a look from Kennedy. What influence did Willow's girl-friend have over Dawn?

Pushing away the concern as rather less immediate than others, she turned to the forbidding hotel's front. "Let's head in."

Kennedy slipped a hastily scribbled note telling Dawn to watch Wood as she followed the others into the hotel. It would be up to her to be voice of reason. God, she hoped she was up to it.

Lord Trent hurried from the plane, his personal assistant, bodyguard, and occasional bed partner by his side. He stopped by the black van with tinted windows and nodded his approval. The ten men surrounding it were the scum of the earth, men taken from the world's special forces, soldiers thrown out of their respective elite units for various crimes. Men who were utterly ruthless and talented in the arts of death. "Have you read the briefing?"

The group's leader, a thickly muscled former Mossad agent, nodded. "We have sir."

"Good, remember the children's mother would be a bonus," a tamed Slayer would be a tremendous asset both professionally and personally. "But the children are the priority."

The instant she'd shouted, Faith felt her heart drop at Wes' involuntary flinch. He was still fucking terrified of her, after all these years. Not that she blamed him, sometimes when she doubted if she'd done the right thing giving up her babies she'd remind herself of what she'd done to Wes and know she'd done the right thing – they deserved better. "Sorry Wes," she apologised in a whisper. "I..I'm just wicked scared."

"Quite," after a second the Watcher had regained his composure. "The Blood Brotherhood were based on a single edict, any vampire that joined its order had to be invited and could only turn humans that had a talent to offer – fighting ability, wealth, psychic or magical ability and the like. If a vampire created a minion without permission, then both the sire and the childe were killed to keep the group elite."

"Uh, uh," Faith nodded. She got the principle, in prison she'd developed a yen for knowledge finding to her surprise she wasn't stupid just ill-educated. "Something like a Special Forces unit or some Aryan brotherhood shit?"

She hid a smirk at Wes' surprised look, he obviously hadn't expected her to get it.
"Exactly."

Faith pursed her full lips together in thought. The Blood Brotherhood would be wicked dangerous mother-fuckers, not like most the average vampire called purely on their attractiveness or a closeness to their sire. "What does this Lord Pain want with my babies?" Wesley and Fang exchanged a look, her hackles rose, she knew that look, she'd seen it on enough guys who were hiding something unpleasant from her in the past. "Stop holding out on me boys," she warned.

"Faith-."

"There is a prophecy relating to your children, they are of destiny." Angel glared at the Watcher who stared back, Faith's eyes widened. Fuck, Wes might still be scared of her, but Angel didn't intimidate him one little bit. "She deserves to know."

"Hi guys," Faith turned to see Lorne stepping out of the elevator. "Sorry to interrupt the heavy pow-wow but Xander is awake."

Faith felt her spirits rise. "Wicked! Thanks Greenie.," she turned back to Wes. "Go on."

"Um," the Englishman lifted a hefty tome and opened it. "You mentioned your boyfriend said he was a Kalian agent?" Faith hid a wince at the mention of Wood before nodding. "The Kalians are an order who believe in a prophecy by Belar in 1700BC Mesopotamia," the Watcher looked up at her. "Mesopotamia was-."

"Was the cradle of the Babylonian, Sumerian, and Assyrian civilisations," she nodded impatiently only to glare at Angel and Wes' shocked stares. "I've been in prison for three fucking years, it was either get some bitches, work out, or read. I ain't into carpet munching and it wasn't like I could go all-out in the gym so I read. Now get on with it, you'll catch flies with that, "she grinned suddenly as she remembered a term her old Watcher had used with her when she was yapping. "Gob."

"Bloody marvellous now she insults me working-class English as well as gutter yank, my cup runneth over." The Watcher shook his head before continuing. "From a Slayer's womb will come two of child. One meek yet strong, one happy yet wild." Faith felt her eyes begin to burn, that was her babies he was talking about, they couldn't be in a prophecy, she wanted them to be normal with a mummy and daddy who loved them, gave them toys and shit. Why couldn't she at least give them that?

"Faith!" Suddenly she was falling, her legs buckling beneath her only for Angel to catch her inches from the ground. "That's enough for now Wes," her mentor instructed.

"Of course," she saw her former Watcher begin to stand, a look of concern on his face. "Fai-."

"Angel!" it was that Fred chick. "Xander's disappeared!"

Suddenly the front foyer door's crashed open. "Faith! Where's Xander!"

Faith hear Angel's groan. "Of course things could always get worse."

Dawn glanced at the note and nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wood slip away from the group and into the night. She nudged Giles. "Let's go," she muttered.

The two of them followed Wood for about twenty minutes until they came to a seemingly deserted office block. Deserted except for the light that could be seen through the second-floor blinds. "We need to get closer," she whispered to her companion. "Find out what's being said."

"Oh no," Giles shook his head. "We've uncovered where Wood's compatriots are based. I think it's best we return to the hotel before we're spotted."

Dawn opened her mouth to protest only to be interrupted by an upper-class English voice behind them. "I'm afraid it's rather too late for that."