"Did you do it?"
"Sir..."
"I don't believe you realize the importance of this. We thought the slayer had been lost, and now we realize they've both been right under our noses this whole time?"
"Wasn't there any other way?" Edmund's mind was racing. He had killed a man. Not just a man, he had killed a husband and a father. But if it was true, and that one death would bring back the slayer, even two slayers... Was it worth it? The theory was that some vampire had changed the lives of the slayers. And this one, Faith, used to have no family, no-one to live for. But was killing the people she cared about really the right way to turn her back? The other slayer, Buffy, wasn't so bad. The vampire who did this had been smart with her. See, for her it was quite the opposite, it was her friends which kept her going. So the vampire made her a workaholic. She only had time for one guy and that was all. At least the council was a little more subtle here. They put a spell on Buffy's man to make him leave her, hoping that that would jolt her into quitting. But Edmund couldn't stop thinking about the fear in Faith's husband's eyes as he...
"Now we need to finish the job."
"What?" Edmund was confused. "Haven't we done enough?"
"Faith, she doesn't have the anger we're told she once did. She still has something holding her back."
"The children?"
"Yes. Think of how many lives this slayer could save, just for a small sacrifice."
"No. I won't."
"Then we'll just send someone else to do it."
"Can't we give her some more time?"
"The world is out of balance. We're already past time. If you won't do it, someone else will."
"Fine."
Edmund had no intention of killing the two boys. Going against the council's orders he could pay a harsh penalty, but nothing worth the guilt. So he went. He collected his weapon. He received co-ordinates. And he went. Straight to Faith.
"Who are you?" Faith was not in the mood for talking. For one thing, she hadn't slept for two days, and had just driven 5 hours to drop her children at their grandparents' house.
"I'm the man who killed your husband."
So many questions ran through Faith's head at that moment. 'What are you going to do to me,' 'Why did you do it,' 'Who are you?' She didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. She hit him.
"I deserved that," Edmund was about to say, but he got cut off as Faith hit him again and again. She sobbed as she hit him until she fell in a heap on the floor. Now she spoke.
"What do you want?"
Edmund spat out blood and painfully pulled a note out of his pocket. He ran away as Faith read it. It explained all about her slayer heritage, and whatever Edmund knew about the vampire who had changed realities like this. It wasn't much. It also explained what had happened to Buffy, and gave directions to her apartment. At the end, it said,
"Faith. I wrote all this down so that if you killed me you'd still find out the truth. And if you didn't kill me, you know you were holding back. I am a highly trained fighter, so you should have worked out your strength. I'm sure there are other clues as well. How many times have you looked lovingly at your children, and known, just known, that they weren't yours? How many times have you marveled at the wonderfulness of your mediocre life? You know in your heart that you have a sacred birth-right. I was supposed to murder your children tonight, but I didn't. I believe you can fight this thing without that grief. So go out, find Buffy, and prove me right. Go to Sunnydale. A vampire will be their named Kakistos. He is strong, but if you kill him, your lives will be back to normal.
Edmund"
Faith pocketed the note and climbed into her car.
