A/N: Anyone recognise the wrestling quote within.

Actions & Consequences (7/?)

Xander strode into the drab building, noting the shoddy construction work with the eye of a professional. As he made his way through the passages one look was enough to send the small-timers scurrying back into the corridor's shadows, but then it wasn't the small-timers he wanted. Hearing the heavy sound of bass coming out of the cracked door at the end of the passageway, he smiled and pulled out the .38 he'd stolen off a drug-dealer two blocks away. Taking a step back, he charged the door, hitting it shoulder-on.

The door splintered under his charge. Hitting the floor on his shoulder he rolled up and fired at the first of the three men, taking his head off. The second began to raise his Uzi but his head followed the first in splattering against the wall. Instantly Xander turned to the third. "Don't," he warned the heavily tattooed African-American reaching for his gun on his table. "The life you save may be your own."

The thickly-muscled dude looked up at him, his eyes burning angrily. "You know who I fucking am you honky mother-fucker?"

Xander's hand flashed out, the butt of his gun smashing into the man's head, knocking him to the ground. In an instant the muzzle of the gun was back pointing at the crumpled bodybuilder. "I know who you are, Johnny 'The Bull' Banks. You're the biggest arms dealer in this part of town according to my informant, a real bad man." He crouched over the body. "Guess what? I could give a shit, I need arms fast and I don't have any cash. So I figured, a nice society-minded guy like you wouldn't mind contributing. Hell, I'll even name my next kid after you. Now, what have you got?" He barely gave the two dead bodies a glance, low-life scum like that were unimportant. What he cared about was his children, Wolfram & Hart were going to rue the day they kidnapped his kids.

"Oh shit," Angel's brain was on overload right now. Faith's tough girl facade had cracked revealing the frightened kid beneath, Xander had disappeared, and Buffy was here, with a distinctly murderous look on her face. It was days like this that made him think that perhaps hell was the easy option.

To his surprise, Wesley stepped between Faith and the newcomers, who had to be the new Slayers. "Ms. Summers, the situation is far from as it appears. Faith did not kidnap or hurt Xander, nor did she go rogue," the Englishman paused. "Faith, if I may?"

The brunette in his arms looked surprised, hesitated, then nodded. "They need to know Wes."

"Very well." The Watcher nodded. "You are of-course aware that when Faith was first in Sunnydale she slept with Xander. Well, this liaison," Angel raised an eyebrow, nice phrasing, still he was glad that Wes was doing this explaining rather than him. "Resulted in two children."

"WHAT!!!"

The Watcher continued as if the twin bellow from Buffy and Willow hadn't happened. Angel's lips tugged up in a slight smile, nothing much phased the Englishman these days. "Who were taken from a comatose Faith and given," the Watcher's voice trailed off as a suddenly crying Buffy stumbled out through the hotel doors.

"Damn," Angel cast Faith a concerned look. "Are you okay if I-."

"I'm five by five big guy."

Angel nodded gratefully. "Wes, can you continue the explanation?" The Watcher nodded. Swallowing slightly, he walked through the massed ranks of Slayers, ignoring his demon's whimperings at being surrounded by so many supernatural warriors for good. Thanks to what Buffy and Willow had achieved in Sunnydale, he suspected the world would be forever changed. Although for good or bad he really couldn't tell.

Outside he found a sobbing Buffy slumped against the wall. His unbeating heart tore at the look of anguished guilt on his former love's face, the tears pouring down her face. In an instance he was by her side, about to put his arms around her, but she pushed him away and shook her head, her golden blond hair swinging in the air. "N...no," she sobbed through gasping breaths. "I don't deserve comfort. I stuck a knife in Faith and nearly killed two babies," her eyes widened in shock. "Xander's babies." She broke down into a fresh, even more frenzied bout of sobbing.

This time, the shaking Slayer didn't resist when he grabbed her by the shoulders. "Listen to me Buffy," he ordered firmly. "Nearly isn't the same as did and I should know. And you didn't know about the children when you fought Faith. And you told me it was you or her. What's important is getting these children back safe and well."

Suddenly Buffy's head shot back up, her eyes puffy but suddenly determined. "Who's got Xander's babies?" she grated. His blood chilling at the look in the Slayer's eyes, he told her. If anything Buffy's eyes grew harder. "Wolfram & Hart? And you've been battling them for four years? What the hell have you been doing, playing charades?" he swallowed, suddenly too nervous to speak. "In that case we better get my nephew and niece back. And then we're taking Wolfram & Hart to pieces, brick by brick."

"Guys," the hotel door flew open and Willow hurried out, her face excited. "We've got a problem."

Giles glanced from side to side, seeing that he was out-numbered four to one but with no apparent weapons on show he did the only thing he could. "Dawn run!" At the same time he roared his order, he stepped back, his left elbow snapping backwards into the nearest man's mouth, knocking him back a step. Spinning round, he caught a karate chop from the other man flanking him aimed at his neck on the shoulder. Grunting slightly at the impact, he blocked a right cross on his forearm before crashing his forehead into the bridge of his opponent's nose, shattering bone, even as he slammed a fist into his rival's gut.

Grinning evilly at the man's anguished cries he drove his knee upwards into the man's groin. Instantly the thug doubled up and crumpled to the ground. Turning to face the first hoodlum, he was met with a punch to the mouth that sent blood splattering. Ignoring the pain, he slid beneath a follow- up only to catch a left hook to the forehead even as he thudded a right body shot into his adversary's stomach. Suddenly something crashed into the head from behind, sending his world crashing into darkness.

The instant Giles bellowed, Dawn moved. She hated leaving Giles but if she could escape, she could warn Buffy where Wood was hiding Giles and then maybe they could rescue him, if she stayed, nobody would have a clue where they were. She squealed in protest as a pair of strong arms grabbed her waist from behind before driving her heel back onto the man's instep, just the way Buffy had taught her.

Her captor swore and loosened his grip. Seizing the advantage, Dawn slammed her head backwards into the man's chest, grunting slightly at the jarring pain. The man swore again and this time completely released his grip. Dawn started forward only for the fourth man to step forward and send a right crashing into her jaw.

Andrew Lexington crouched down over the two bodies. When his surrogate son had arrived he'd warned them he'd been followed, that the Summers brat and Rupert Giles had tailed him. Lexington pursed his lips together as he examined his unconscious country-man, a man maybe fifteen years his junior. He'd never met his fellow Watcher before but had heard stories, stories that apparently had more than a grain of truth in them judging from what he'd just witnessed. Savage, absolutely savage.

"Bastard!" Joe Dawson, blood leaking from his nose and his face grey with pain, drove a boot into Giles' stomach. "I'll fucking-."

"You'll do nothing," Lexington interrupted softly. "Mr. Giles and Ms. Summers are our guests and will be treated with the requisite-."

"That ponce broke my bloody nose."

Lexington rose and stared at his subordinate who instantly dropped his gaze. "Had I finished speaking?" the former British marine shook his head. "Then do me the courtesy as your superior officer of keeping your bloody trap shut!" he growled. "Your nose was broken because of his own poor reactions. Mr. Giles is a man in his late forties, you both are twenty years your junior. Yet, if I hadn't stepped in with my truncheon, he would have beaten you both. Completely and utterly pathetic. Now bring him inside."

He smiled to himself, now they had leverage. With Ms. Summers' sister and her surrogate father under their control, she wouldn't dare make a move.

Buffy kept her eyes fixed on Kennedy as the brunette Slayer explained sending Giles and Dawn after Wood who was apparently a double-agent. "And you've tried their mobile?" she couldn't look at Faith, oh god what had she done? Willow nodded. "What about a locating spell?"

"We're being blocked."

"And I'm afraid there's a larger issue too."

She turned to Wes. "What's that?"

"Faith's children," the Watcher glanced towards her sister Slayer. She didn't. "Are the subject of prophecy."

Buffy groaned, of course they were. "It never rains it pours. Let's hear it."

"To cut a long and convoluted story short, it was predicted 3,700 years that one day, two children would be born to a Slayer and that they would be either a great force for evil or good, on which the world could hang -."

"Oh fuck."

Buffy's ears picked up Faith's shocked whisper. This was obviously news to her counterpart too. "Most interesting because they came from the womb," Buffy bit back a half-chuckle at the crimson flush that entered the Watcher's cheeks at his utterance of the word 'womb'. Maybe Wesley hadn't changed that much. "Of an active Slayer they too will become active Slayers at the same age of their mother."

"WHAT?" every set of eyes except hers turned towards Faith. "They can't, Alex is a boy."

Buffy winced, oh god she'd named her son after Xander. "Nevertheless," Wes continued with firm softness. "The prophecy says they will become the Slayers at the same age you did, which was?"

"Uh," there was a pause as the younger Slayer struggled to focus her thoughts. "I was three weeks from my sixteenth birthday."

"Then we'll say sixteen," Wesley nodded. "This makes it doubly imperative we track down these children. Not only for Faith and Xander, but for the whole world."

Buffy nodded. Not that she needed extra incentive. She was going to rip this town apart to find those children and if she had to create a LA sized crater to do it, then that was fine by her. She glanced towards Angel. "Angel?"

The vampire paused for a second before speaking. "Wes, I want you to go with Buffy and Willow and cover the west side looking for any trace of Dawn and Giles. Gunn, take the rest of the Slayers and go through the east side. The rest of us will stay here and see if Xander turns up or Wolfram & Hart contact us."

Buffy nodded before turning to Kennedy. "Kennedy, can you bring the weapons in." The younger Slayer nodded before trailing the other new- comers out of the room.

"You really hate me don't you B?"

Buffy's head snapped round to see Faith stood behind her. "N..no," she shook her head.

Her counterpart smiled bitterly. "Fuck B, don't bullshit a bullshitter. You can't bear to look at me. That's five by five, not like I've given you a reason to like me."

"It's not that," Buffy swallowed. She and Faith had never had a heart to heart before. "I nearly killed your children."

Faith looked surprised then shrugged. "Different time B. I was trying to kill you remember? Besides you didn't," the brunette smirked. "My babies are tough."

"Like their mom."

Faith winked. "Damn straight."

The other Slayer turned away. "Faith," the raven-haired beauty turned back to her, a quizzical look on her face. "How did Xander take it? Finding out I mean?"

The Bostonian's face fell. "He already knew B, that's why he was giving me the attitude not 'cause I tried to kill him."

"He'll forgive you, that's Xander's power – he forgives people."

"Maybe," Faith didn't look convinced.

Buffy decided to change the subject. "When are you twenty-one?"

"Uh," Faith thought for a second. "9th June, a week."

"A week's time," Buffy commented. "I think getting your kids back for you would be a pretty good present."

Eyes watering, Faith nodded. "The best ever."

"We better make sure it happens then," Buffy turned at a hand on her elbow. It was Kennedy. "Ready?" Kennedy nodded. "See you later Faith."

"Bye B."

Faith jumped as her mobile rang. After a second she pulled out her phone. "Hello, this is Daniel Wolfe of Wolfram & Hart. I trust you are well Faith?"

"Cut the shit," she growled. "You better worry about my kids' health, you piece of s -."

"Really Faith," the disembodied voice reprimanded. "Is that any way to speak to your future employer? It's hardly a good way to start employer- employee relations, causes unnecessary tension."

"Whatever, just tell me where my babies are," she demanded, her entire body shaking with anger and fear.

"Say please," the lawyer taunted.

Faith gritted her teeth. "Please."

"That's better, you'll soon be well-trained, malleable. Willing to do as you're told without question, why I'm sure you'll be up for employee of the month in no time." Faith's blood ran cold. "I want you at the park on 9th Street in 30 minutes. Oh, and bring the vampire."