She's Gone 4 - First Steps

"Hello Angel Investigations?"

Faith smiled at her mentor's voice. However down she was feeling just hearing his voice gave her a buzz. "Hi Fang."

"Faith!" the vampire's voice went from professional to friendly in an instant. "How's Sunnydale treating you?"

She grinned at the affection she heard. "You were right," she admitted, "things weren't as bad as I thought. I'm staying with Xand and his fiancée, got a new bud in Tara, getting closer to Pip, and G's five by five too."

"That's great!" the vampire enthused, there was a pause. "You didn't mention Willow?"

"Yeah." Faith's good mood fled to be replaced by bitterness at her humiliation at the hands of the Wicca as well as wariness of discussing Red with Fang, Angel always had a soft spot for her. "Um, Willow's kinda out of control. She was going to resurrect B-."

"She was what!"

She shuffled nervously at the hard note in the vampire's voice. "Yeah, but you need four people to do it and nobody would agree to join her, so she's kinda sulking." She figured it would probably be pretty dumb to mention her part.

"And the Hellmouth?"

Faith grinned, thank god, safer ground. "Quiet Fang, real quiet."

* * *

Razor stared morosely into the bottom of his empty tankard. The small town of Quaker, Utah had been good to his band of bikers but the last of the town's men had been tortured to death, the last of the young girls had succumbed to internal bleeding or madness, and worst of all the drink was running low. They'd have to move on, but the question was to where?

Suddenly one of his lieutenants appeared in the bar's doorway, an excited look on his face. "Boss! Summers is dead!"

After a moment of stunned silence, the bar erupted into excited shouts, the decapitated head some of his men had had been playing soccer with kicked through the window in celebration. As a raucous party broke out Razor smiled to himself. He knew where they'd head next.

* * *

"What do you want to play tonight!" Dawn asked eagerly.

Tara stayed quiet, she hadn't spoken much since Willow left, but Anya spoke up. "Cards!"

Dawn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had no proof but she suspected Anya cheated when they played for money. And it was severely cutting into her weekly allowance from Giles. Her eyes narrowed, maybe tonight would be the night she caught her. Then she'd get her money back. She let out a shriek as the window exploded and two demons flew through the window grabbing her and the others.

* * *

"Are you okay Faith?"

Faith started at Xander's soft voice cutting through the silent night. She continued to stare in front of her, her fingers tracing the letters of the gravestone before her. "He was thirty-five Xand," her voice trembled, "thirty-five years old when I murdered him."

"Faith," she looked up at Xander's voice in her ear and his hand on her shoulder as he crouched beside her. "What you did was dumb but how stupid was he, running straight at a Slayer in full flow? Way I see it, it had to be an accident."

She shook her head, refusing to be comforted. "Maybe but what about Worth? I carved up the poor bastard like Lectar on acid." She closed her eyes as she remembered the blood splattering onto the walls and the man's begging screams echoing in her ears. She remembered how she'd got off on it - being the one with the power, being the one causing the fear for a change.

"Faith," she looked up into G's firm but kind face. "The Mayor manipulated you into a situation, took advantage of your fear and youth to use you to further his own ends."

"I fucking murdered him!"

"Yes you did," she was surprised when Giles crouched down in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "And you paid for it with eight months in a coma, a nervous breakdown, and two years in prison. The best way you can pay them back is by performing your duties to the best of your abilities."

After a second she nodded. "Five by five." Rising she turned towards the town. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed fires flickering throughout the town and the vague sound of screams. "Fuck," she'd promised B's spirit that she'd look after her little sis for her. Nothing was going to happen to Pip.

* * *

Faith stared around the devastated lounge her heart sinking as she took in the glass littering the carpet, the over-turned furniture, and the photos lying on the ground. During their frantic journey through the ravaged town they'd passed scattered fires, occasional corpses, and wrecked shops and houses. Whatever had caused all this shit was probably responsible for Pip and the others.

Faith cast an idle glance towards her companions. Her blood chilled as she saw their cold eyes and set faces. Gone was the stuffy shop-owner and affable clown. In their place stood two dangerous looking sons of bitches. Resisting the urge to shudder she spoke. "So what's the -."

Her head swung towards the opening lounge door. Even as the seven foot tall, one-eyed, purple-scaled demon stood in the doorway opened its mouth to speak, its forked tongue lolling over its jagged teeth, Faith sprang forward, catching the demon under his jaw with an uppercut that lifted the monster off its feet and sent it crashing into the far wall.

The demon recovered immediately, bounding towards her. She slid beneath a right cross, grabbing the arm at the wrist and biceps before flinging the beast back into the wall. Spinning round she snapped out a side-kick that the demon swatted away with a forearm. Instantly she moved into a leg- sweep taking the demon's legs away at the knees knocking it down onto its side.

Before the demon could move she'd flipped it onto its front, knelt on its back, and hooked an arm around its neck pulling its head back. "Now you better talk and fast. Who are you? And what's happened to the girls?"

"I ain't telling you shit bitch. Arggh!"

The demon screamed as she thrust her knife and jabbed it into its side causing the wound to spew a greyish ichor. "My shrink said labels are unhelpful and hurtful," she said cheerfully before twisting the knife in the wound, "listen bud I can keep having fun like this all night. Question is how long can you keep quiet for?"

"We're a biker gang called the Hellions," her captive babbled, "Razor heard that the Slayer was dead so we figured -."

"Shit, what the fuck am I chopped liver?" now Faith was really pissed, it always came down to her not being as good as B.

"Faith," Xander's voice was tight with tension, "focus."

"Yeah," Faith sliced of the demon's right thumb, "now where did you take the others?"

"The nightclub," the demon sobbed. "The Bronze?" the demon nodded. "How many of you are there?"

"Twenty."

Fuck that was a lot. "Thanks," she jerked the demon's head back, ripping it off its shoulders. "Now there's nineteen." Standing she looked into G and Xand's watching faces, and said words she'd never thought she'd say. "Xand we need reinforcements. Can you get in touch with Red?"

Xander slowly shook his head. "She's not at her parents, I've left her dozens of messages but she doesn't answer them."

Faith's heart ached at the pain on Xander's face. He really missed the Wicca, that bitch didn't know how lucky she was to have friends like him. "We could ring Angel -," she shook her head, "no that'll take long. We'll have to deal with this ourselves."

"Uh," Xander raised a hand, "I know someone who'll help!"

* * *

"Come on move it!"

Dawn trembled as they were herded towards the back of the Bronze. The demons were too busy emptying the nightclub of its liquor to notice them much but soon.

She jumped at a pair of hands on her shoulders only to relax as she looked up at Tara's pale but smiling face. "I. it'll be alright, Faith wouldn't let anything happen to us."

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure," Anya interrupted, her tone lecturing, "I remember bands of rampaging demons from Europe. Soon they'll be torturing and raping, it's in their natu-."

"Not helping," Tara snapped as Dawn's eyes burnt with tears. She was so scared, she wished Buffy was here. She'd have saved them.

* * *

"This is your great idea Xand! A fucking demon?"

Clem looked from little Dawn's friends Xander and Giles to a repulsively tight-skinned female with fiery black eyes - even for a human she ugly, no sagging flesh at all. But she had an aura of frightening power around her. "Um, excuse me," he said timidly.

"Clem's a friend Faith," Xander interrupted, "he saved Dawn from two vampires about a moth ago."

The anger in the girl's eyes dimmed. "Really?" Clem risked a nervous nod. "So you're like the Jimmy Stewart of demons?"

Clem beamed. Ah Jimmy Stewart, now there was an actor. "I loved him in 'Mr. Smith Goes To Washington'."

"I prefer 'Rope' myself," Giles broke in.

The brunette's eyes rolled back. "Fuck, great - movie review. Can we get down to business?"

"Sorry," Xander turned back to him, "we need your help Clem. We'll pay you in kittens-."

"Kittens?" broke in the ugly brunette.

"They taste nice," he explained, "and you can't lpay kitty poker without them."

"Gross," the girl looked disgusted before shaking her head. "Whatever. However many kittens it takes. You've heard about the biker gang." Clem nodded, suddenly breaking out into a sweat, no way was he dealing with them. "Well they've kidnapped a ton of people including Dawn, Tara, and Anya!"

"WHAT!" his roar shook his apartment as he bounded to his feet, his rage causing him to forget his fear. Someone was threatening sweet Dawn, the first human to befriend him. Or gentle Tara who always had a smile or kind word for him? Or Anya, well Anyaka the former vengeance demon scared him, but she was dating Xander, his good friend. "Nobody hurts little Dawn."

"Okay," he noted that the brunette was eyeing him warily and forced himself to calm, "good to see we're on the same page. Here's the plan-."

* * *

"Hello boys," Clem forced his heart to calm as he walked towards the Bronze, his heading waving at the two guards lounging against the club walls beside the doors. Clem figured the fact they were outside the club meant they were low in the gang's hierarchy and therefore low in power. At least that was what he hoped. "I hear you've got a party going in there. Lot's of girls," including little Dawn, he growled inwardly.

"Yeah there is," the two denim-clad demons slouched their way towards him. "And they're all taken so piss off."

Clem continued his advance, measuring the distance between him and the bikers. "But that's not very friendly especially as you're in my," he lunged forward, his hands shooting out to grab the demon's heads and slamming them together, cracking like egg-shells. "Nicely done."

Clem nodded morosely at Giles' praise as the Watcher and Xander moved out of the behind him. Faith's plan for him to be the one who'd approach the demons guarding the club made sense. He hated killing but he wasn't about to allow somebody hurt his friends - not after three hundred years alone because of his gentle nature making him an outcast amongst his people. He waved away the offered crossbow. "I use my hands."

Giles nodded. "I'll ring Faith."

* * *

Faith dropped her phone back into her pocket. "Girl, your mom must have hit you upside your head one too many times. This has got to be one of the dumbest fucking plans in Slayer history." Checking the grappling hook and rope tied to the roof she looked down through the skylight. For her plan to work demon biker gangs had to operate the same as the human ones she'd hung with in Boston. "I'm comin' Dawnie."

Letting out a war cry, she leapt through the skylight, sending glass flying to the club floor below. Halfway down she released her grip on the rope she'd been clinging to and drew her sword. Her knees bent to spread the impact throughout her body as she landed on a pool table she cast a challenging look around the hall at the seventeen demons surrounding her. "Shit," she muttered noting some of the lecherous looks she was getting, "this better work."

Just as the surrounding demons shook themselves out of their shock and started towards her the double doors exploded and G and Xan walked in together with Clem. Faith couldn't help but smiled at the saggy-jowled demon's almost apologetic expression, he was a fucking strange one that was for sure. Seeing that demons had once again been stunned into stillness by her companions' arrival she seized the advantage. "Hi gang," she said, her casualness hiding a pounding heart, "seems you thought this little burg didn't have a Slayer. Big mistake." She jumped off the pool table and onto the dance floor. "See this girl's Faith," she smirked at the mutter that went through the demons, oh yeah they'd heard of her, "the bad-ass Slayer. I'm in town to build a new rep for myself. I figure challenging your leadership will be a start."

"You?" a dog-faced demon spoke up, his voice a growl, she figured he must be their leader, Razor. "We out-number you and your gang 4 to 1. I figure we beat you down," the demon's mouth widened into a smile, "kill your buds and then me and you have some fun."

Faith's stomach flopped at the way the dog-faced bastard's eyes were roaming her body. Somehow she figured the fun would be all one-way. Forcing a sneer she laughed. "No thanks, I figure you've probably got fleas. You beat me one on one and you get a hell of a rep," she smirked, "if you're good enough. You come at me as a gang and you'll win. But me and my buds will take out maybe half of you before we go down. And those who'll be left will wonder if they should be led by a chickenshit."

Razor roared and charged her, his claws shredded the air. Faith winced as one of the claws tore through the left sleeve of her jacket, ripping open her forearm. Ignoring the pain she slid away from the demon's advance, snatched his arm and flung him into the pool table.

His mouth parted in a snarl the monster spun found and bounded towards her. Instantly Faith flung the pool ball she'd picked up earlier at the demon, the ball smashing into Razor's forehead above his left eye, blood spewing out of the wound.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a demon creeping up on her. She began to turn to meet his attack only to see a crossbow bolt fly through the air and tear through the beast's neck spraying a greyish viscera across the dance floor. "I like a fair fight."

"Thanks Xand," she turned back towards her adversary only to catch a right hand to the mouth that tore her bottom lip open. Cursing she stumbled backwards only to catch another blow to the side of the head. The snarling demon pressed his advantage with a foot to the stomach. Ignoring the pain in her gut she snatched at the demon's ankle and pulled. The biker careered forward, into her straight-arm across his chest, the demon screamed as the impact of her clothesline flung him onto the pool table.

As she advanced on the demon he snatched up a cue from the table and slammed it into the side of her head, causing the vision in her left eye to momentarily blur and knocking her down on one knee. Before she had chance to rise the demon kicked her in the chest, cracking a rib and knocking her onto her back. A smirk on his hideous face the biker leant over her, grabbing a handful of hair and pulling until it was nearly coming out of the skull. "You're going to scream to die."

"Bullshit talks," she slammed the point of her combat boot into the demon's groin, doubling him up, "money walks." Ignoring the pain coursing through her body she leapt to her feet, scooped up the cue and thrust it through the demon's neck. Even as the biker chief slumped to his knees another demon charged her. "Down!" At Xander's shout she dropped face-down to the ground. Hearing the whoosh of a bolt over her she leapt back to her feet and watched the bolt slam into the demon's milky-white eye before slumping to the ground.

"Thanks Xman," she cast a challenging stare around the demons massed around her. "So," she forced a cocksure tone, ignoring her weariness, "you have two choices. You can charge me and my crew," she registered G and the others moving up to flank her, "and lose maybe half your gang. Or you can fuck off and live." She smiled as the demons stampeded towards the doors. "Good choice." She smiled as Dawn and the others hurried towards them. They'd won.