She's Gone 6 - Everyone's Someone
Faith listened from behind The Magic Box's counter as Anya and Xander bickered good-naturedly, hidden from view by the shop shelves, her bland expression giving no hint to her inner pain. Prison and Angel's counsel had combined to teach her she deserved more than just being a notch on a succession of smooth-talking bastards' bedposts, she wanted a relationship. Trouble was sensitive guys were wimps, smart guys dorks, and tough, edgy guys pricks. What she wanted was an Angel or, or an Xander.
Faith frowned down at the dusty shop floor lost in thought. Since that night in Spike's crypt she'd hung a lot with Xand, shared shit she'd only ever told Angel before, enjoyed cracking wise with him and loved his gentle consideration. If she'd maybe paid more attention back in the day, trusted him, perhaps things would have turned out better. She smiled sadly as Xander appeared from behind the shelves, wiping Anya's lipstick from his crimson face as he walked towards him. Back in the day she wouldn't have hesitated to steal Xander from the ex-demon but she didn't want to live her life by the philosophy of 'Want, Take, Have' anymore. She wanted, needed, to be better than that.
"Did you bring a coat?" Faith shook her head at Xander's question. The male Scooby grinned at her mute reply before producing a denim jacket. "Lucky I brought a spare then." Faith smiled wanly. That was what she loved about Xander; she'd never known such a thoughtful guy. Her friend's brow furrowed. "Are you okay Faith?"
"Five by five Xand," she one-hand vaulted over the counter to land beside the Scooby. Nodding her thanks, she took the jacket and shrugged it on. "We off on patrol then? Kick some bad guy ass?"
Xander stared worriedly at her for a second before nodding. "Sure Faith," Xander glanced towards where G was busy assisting Tar and Pip on some ancient language or other. "We're off G-Man!"
"Be caref-," Giles' voice trailed off. "Oh bollocks."
Faith turned to the opening shop door, the blood draining from her face as she recognised the figure stood there. "Red."
* * *
Willow smirked at the frightened expressions on the others' faces. Oh yes, she wasn't the meek bookworm anymore, she was the true power. Once she'd finished her spell memories of the past few weeks would be removed, with her being the only one with their memory intact. She could manoeuvre Tara back into loving her and Xander into following her lead, she needed her to guide him, he wasn't smart enough to cope on his own. And then, her eyes narrowed as she looked at Faith, she could push the slut out of the group. And if the spell went wrong she had the fail-safety, a power crystal in her back pocket -all she had to was break it and the spell would be broken. Seeing Xander and Faith move towards her she quickly uttered the spell she'd found. Her eyes widened as she realised that in her haste she'd missed a part out. "Oh balderdash!" she screamed before falling flat on her face.
* * *
"How many boys we got?" Strike asked.
"Nine boss," replied Carver, his second-in-command.
Strike nodded in satisfaction. "Here's the situation, that new Slayer has to be shown who runs this town-."
"I don't know boss," interrupted Kevin, a small, weasely looking bastard, god knows what the vampire who'd turned him was thinking of. "I worked for Mayor Wilkins when she was in town last, she's one crazy bitch. Maybe we should just avoid her."
Strike nodded before slamming a stake into the vampire's chest. "Any more questions?"
* * *
"Fuck my head. Must have been a hell of a party last night," she muttered. She looked up, a smile creasing her face as she realised she was laid across a hunky guy's chest. "Nice, I wonder what his name is," her mouth dropped open. "I wonder what my name is?"
Her head still throbbing she looked around. It looked like they were in a shop, her forehead furrowed, a magic shop? At the back of the store a middle-aged man and two girls young enough to be his daughters sat slumped at a table while at the front door there lay a red-headed woman. She started at a groan from the man beneath her. "You five by five?" she shook her head. What the fuck did that mean? "You okay stud?"
The man flashed her a lop-sided grin that made her go all tingly. Oh yeah, he was hers alright. "I'm fine-," the man's face creased in consternation, "who are you? Who am I?"
"Oh," she forced away a feeling of disappointment at the hunk's question. "I was kinda hoping you knew."
"What the bloody hell's going on?" She glanced over her shoulder to see the wrinkly and the two girls with him rising. From his accent him and his daughters were English. "Who are you all?" the man glanced around him. "And what the bloody hell are we doing in a magic shop?"
"Yes I'd like some answers too."
She started at a voice behind her. Turning she saw a bedraggled-looking blonde rising from behind the counter. "I've got a plan," she beamed at the man beside her. "We must have some ID on us?"
"Ah," the Englishman's face brightened. She realised he was kinda good looking for an old guy. "Splendid idea."
She began rummaging through her coat pockets but found nothing. Next she tried her jeans and grinned in triumph as she found a wallet. "My name's Faith Cook!"
"I'm Alex Harris," the young man beside her announced.
"Hey!" Faith beamed at the man. "I'm wearing a jacket with your name on the inside pocket. You think we're dating?"
The man returned her grin with interest. "I hope so."
"I'm Willow Rosenberg," the red-head timidly proclaimed.
"I appear to be Rupert Giles-," the Englishman was interrupted by the blonde behind the counter.
"I'm Anya Jenkins and," she pointed to the sign hanging over head, "we own this shop. And," the blonde beamed proudly as she held her hand out towards the Limey, "we're engaged!"
"Oh really?" the Englishman looked smug. "I'm a rather lucky fellow."
"Or a dirty old bastard?" her boyfriend glared at the Englishman. Faith groaned what had it got to do with him?
The older man bristled. "Why you cheeky bugger!"
"Shit," Faith stepped between the two men as they started towards one another. "Let's ease up on machismo guys," she glanced towards the two pale-faced girls still at the table. "Who are you?"
"T.Tara," replied the older of the two.
The younger girl shook her head, her entire body trembling and her eyes wide with fear. "I..I haven't got any ID, I'm nobody."
"Shit," Faith hurried over to the younger girl and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Everyone's someone. I think it's pretty wicked not having a name, means you can choose your own. So how about it?"
"I like Chloe," the girl said tremulously.
"Chloe? That's a wicked name," Faith smiled at the newly-named Chloe before glancing at the others. "Any idea what's happening gang?"
"Well," Rupert looked deep in thought. "I would hazard a guess that we do all know each other seeing as we're all here together. The only question is why? Given we're in a magic shop," the Englishman looked around. "Perhaps whatever happened is mystical in origin."
Alex snorted. "Magic. Somehow I doubt it. I bet," Alex pointed at the vent, "the government, the military maybe, are conducting some sort of experiment. They must have pumped some sort of gas through the vents to make lose our memories."
"Poppycock!"
"Look guys!" Faith broke in before the two of them started arguing again. "What's important is getting help. I figure we should all head for a hospital."
"Good idea," Alex praised. "Brains as well as beauty."
Faith reddened. "Whatever. Let's hit the road." She pulled the door open only to gape at the three monsters stood there. "Shit!" Her legs suddenly weak she fell backwards into the shop. She heard Alex shout and saw him charge past her sprawled body and towards the figures. Alex grabbed hold of one of the demons but he was thrown off and into the wall.
Snarling protectively she bounded to her feet and charged forward. Grabbing hold of the nearest creature she flung it against the wall before snatching up a wooden spike off a table by the shop front and thrusting it through the beast's chest. "Fuck!" her eyes widened as the beast exploded into dust. Feeling hands on her shoulders she shrugged off her shock and snapped her head backwards propelling it into her attacker's face.
Free of her attacker's grip she spun round and drove her heel into her attacker's knee shattering bone. Off balance, the monster fell forward onto her weapon and exploded into ash. The surviving beast's eyes widened in terror before turning to flee. A grin on her face, Faith hefted her stake like a javelin and threw it through the beast's back. An instant later and it joined the other two as ash on the floor. "Wicked cool!" she jumped up and down on the spot, her heart bursting with happiness. "I'm a fucking super-hero!" her happiness died at the wary looks on the others' faces. "Hey guys I'm on your side," her voice trembled, for some reason she knew there people's approval was very important to her.
"Faith's right guys," she relaxed as she felt Alex's arm around her shoulders. "She just saved us from those ugly things. And she's wearing my jacket so I obviously know her well. Let's just get to the hospital and get this mess sorted out."
"There's just one problem," the red-head pointed out of the window, "there's four more of those monsters heading this way."
"Damn," Faith looked around seeing the table was filled with stakes, she guessed that was what they were, and pointed at them. "Grab them and we'll make a run for it."
"Or we could go through the trapdoor I found behind the counter," Anya suggested.
Faith nodded, a plan forming in her head. "Five by five, Rupes," Faith glanced towards the magic shop owner. "You take the others through the trapdoor. I'll lead them away-."
"No way," Alex shook his head even as he picked up a stake. "I'm not letting you go out there alone."
Faith opened her mouth to argue then, seeing the determination in her boyfriend's eyes, nodded. It felt good to have someone care for her like that. "Five by five. Let's go."
* * *
"Shit." Faith looked behind her, she'd made a mistake. She wasn't even straining as she raced away from the shop, the four vampires in hot pursuit, but Alex was puffing heavily, the lead they had being rapidly eaten up. She should have left him with the others, she'd have had more chance escaping the monsters and he'd have been safer on his own. Coming to a decision she turned to face her pursuers and forced a grin for her boyfriend. "Time to make a stand Alex."
"Okay." Alex took a stance and hefted his stake. Faith nodded approvingly; well at least he'd obviously used one of them before. Focusing her attention on the approaching enemy Faith glided forward, at the last second she sidestepped the nearest vampire's charge, leaving her leg behind to sweep the demon's feet from beneath him and knocking him to the ground, helpless to prevent her stake from tearing through his back and into his heart.
As she turned her attention back to the other vampires she was caught by a two punch combo to the face that knocked her flat on her ass. She looked up to see a sneering African-American with a weight-lifter's physique. "Name's Strike and you're my first Slayer, bitch!"
Faith's forehead creased in puzzlement, what the fuck was a Slayer? "And you," pushing away her confusion, Faith kicked at the vampire's ankles, knocking him off-balance. "Talk too much!" Seizing advantage of the distraction, she slid outside of Strike's clumsily executed overhand right before driving a knee into the vampire's groin. The demon croaked in pain and began doubling up. Instantly Faith's stake hand thrust upwards, slamming her wooden spike into the vampire's heart. "Fuck." Noting Alex pinned to the ground by the fourth vampire, he must have handled one on his own - not bad at all, Faith hurried over to her boyfriend. At the last second the vampire registered her presence and began to rise to meet her but Alex halted the beast's motion by grabbing its legs, hooking it under its knees.
The monster got loose with a back-handed slap to Alex's face but the delay gave her enough time to rush over and slam a stake into its chest. "You five by five Alex?" she asked as she helped her battered looking boy-friend to his feet.
"I think I need the healing touch of your lips," Alex grinned at her.
Faith winked. "All you had to do was ask."
* * *
Giles looked with confusion at the four girls he was herding down the tunnel. What the bloody hell was going on? First he awakens to find himself in a magic shop surrounded by a group of youths. Then they're attacked by monsters. And then one of the girls reveals herself to be some sort of super-hero. Still, he grinned, at least he was engaged to a gorgeous young blonde half his age. Every situation had its compensations.
His grin faded as the girls before him stopped as they turned a corner and were confronted by two vampires. "Down!" he roared, raising the pistol crossbow he'd found behind the shop counter and firing.
His shot flew true, hitting one of the vampires in his chest. The second vampire let out a roar and lunged at Willow but his fiancée, magnificent girl, pushed the red-head out of the way, knocking a crystal out of the girl's backpack. A protective snarl on his lips Giles charged forward. He winced as he blocked a punch to his head on his left forearm before kicking his adversary on the shin. The demon howled in pain before catching him in the head with a left hook to the ribs even as he slammed home his take. As he staggered backwards, his foot crunched down onto the crystal that had fallen from Willow's backpack. Suddenly a fog cleared in his head and remembered everything. Glaring he turned to face a pale-faced Willow. "I can exp-."
"You bitch!" Anya's fist snapped in a practiced right cross, connecting with thudding force to Willow's jaw. The red-head's eyes glazed over as she fell to the ground, unconscious. Anya glared down at the fallen witch, her eyes gleaming with fury. "You made Xander think he was dating Faith and I was engaged to Giles!"
Giles raised an eyebrow. "And what's wrong with being engaged to me," he muttered in an injured tone. Giles glanced down at Willow's crumpled body, he supposed he better take her home.
* * *
Faith plunged her tongue hungrily into Alex's waiting mouth, enjoying the moist warmth she found there. Even as she pressed her lips to his she pulled at his hair and his hands began gently roaming her body. Faith found herself smiling inwardly, god Alex was a good, no great, kisser. A sudden pain exploded in her head, forcing her apart from Alex. Her face ashen, she looked up at her companion, the memories flooding back, to see a look of horror on Xander's face. Yeah, 'course he'd be horrified kissing a skank who'd tried to murder him. Seeing his mouth begin to open, Faith spoke quickly, anxious to head off any embarrassing apology. "Hey Xand," she was pleased to find she managed to keep her tone casual, "no harm, no foul. We were under a spell right?" Oh yeah, when she saw Red again serious damage would be done. "I'm going to crash at Dawn's tonight, give you the night alone with Anya." Faith forced a wink. "This will be our little secret, good work with the lips by the way." Turning she hurried off before Xman could say anything, damn it had been so nice having someone who cared for her.
* * *
Willow groaned, feeling gingerly at her jaw as she struggled to wakefulness. Someone had punched her, punched her hard. Giles, Tara, and Dawn had been too far away it must have been - Anya. Willow growled, first the bitch steals Xander from her and then she punches her. Oh she'd pay.
Willow looked around her, her eyes narrowing. Someone, Giles probably, had brought her home. It wasn't fair; she needed someone to share the magic with, to love her. She turned at the rattling of the exercise wheel and smiled. "Amy."
Seconds later the girl was sat naked on her bed. Willow beamed proudly, her most difficult spell yet. "Hello Amy."
"H.hello," her fellow witch's trembled with fear as she stared at her.
"Calm down," Willow stroked Amy's brown hair, it wasn't Tara's but it felt nice. "I've returned you to human form. Are you grateful?" her fellow witch nodded nervously. "Good," she pushed the witch's arms away from in front of her body and smiled. Oh yes, Amy would most definitely satisfy her needs. "Then," cupping Amy's head in her hands, she lowered her head to kiss the witch, "maybe you should show me how grateful."
Faith listened from behind The Magic Box's counter as Anya and Xander bickered good-naturedly, hidden from view by the shop shelves, her bland expression giving no hint to her inner pain. Prison and Angel's counsel had combined to teach her she deserved more than just being a notch on a succession of smooth-talking bastards' bedposts, she wanted a relationship. Trouble was sensitive guys were wimps, smart guys dorks, and tough, edgy guys pricks. What she wanted was an Angel or, or an Xander.
Faith frowned down at the dusty shop floor lost in thought. Since that night in Spike's crypt she'd hung a lot with Xand, shared shit she'd only ever told Angel before, enjoyed cracking wise with him and loved his gentle consideration. If she'd maybe paid more attention back in the day, trusted him, perhaps things would have turned out better. She smiled sadly as Xander appeared from behind the shelves, wiping Anya's lipstick from his crimson face as he walked towards him. Back in the day she wouldn't have hesitated to steal Xander from the ex-demon but she didn't want to live her life by the philosophy of 'Want, Take, Have' anymore. She wanted, needed, to be better than that.
"Did you bring a coat?" Faith shook her head at Xander's question. The male Scooby grinned at her mute reply before producing a denim jacket. "Lucky I brought a spare then." Faith smiled wanly. That was what she loved about Xander; she'd never known such a thoughtful guy. Her friend's brow furrowed. "Are you okay Faith?"
"Five by five Xand," she one-hand vaulted over the counter to land beside the Scooby. Nodding her thanks, she took the jacket and shrugged it on. "We off on patrol then? Kick some bad guy ass?"
Xander stared worriedly at her for a second before nodding. "Sure Faith," Xander glanced towards where G was busy assisting Tar and Pip on some ancient language or other. "We're off G-Man!"
"Be caref-," Giles' voice trailed off. "Oh bollocks."
Faith turned to the opening shop door, the blood draining from her face as she recognised the figure stood there. "Red."
* * *
Willow smirked at the frightened expressions on the others' faces. Oh yes, she wasn't the meek bookworm anymore, she was the true power. Once she'd finished her spell memories of the past few weeks would be removed, with her being the only one with their memory intact. She could manoeuvre Tara back into loving her and Xander into following her lead, she needed her to guide him, he wasn't smart enough to cope on his own. And then, her eyes narrowed as she looked at Faith, she could push the slut out of the group. And if the spell went wrong she had the fail-safety, a power crystal in her back pocket -all she had to was break it and the spell would be broken. Seeing Xander and Faith move towards her she quickly uttered the spell she'd found. Her eyes widened as she realised that in her haste she'd missed a part out. "Oh balderdash!" she screamed before falling flat on her face.
* * *
"How many boys we got?" Strike asked.
"Nine boss," replied Carver, his second-in-command.
Strike nodded in satisfaction. "Here's the situation, that new Slayer has to be shown who runs this town-."
"I don't know boss," interrupted Kevin, a small, weasely looking bastard, god knows what the vampire who'd turned him was thinking of. "I worked for Mayor Wilkins when she was in town last, she's one crazy bitch. Maybe we should just avoid her."
Strike nodded before slamming a stake into the vampire's chest. "Any more questions?"
* * *
"Fuck my head. Must have been a hell of a party last night," she muttered. She looked up, a smile creasing her face as she realised she was laid across a hunky guy's chest. "Nice, I wonder what his name is," her mouth dropped open. "I wonder what my name is?"
Her head still throbbing she looked around. It looked like they were in a shop, her forehead furrowed, a magic shop? At the back of the store a middle-aged man and two girls young enough to be his daughters sat slumped at a table while at the front door there lay a red-headed woman. She started at a groan from the man beneath her. "You five by five?" she shook her head. What the fuck did that mean? "You okay stud?"
The man flashed her a lop-sided grin that made her go all tingly. Oh yeah, he was hers alright. "I'm fine-," the man's face creased in consternation, "who are you? Who am I?"
"Oh," she forced away a feeling of disappointment at the hunk's question. "I was kinda hoping you knew."
"What the bloody hell's going on?" She glanced over her shoulder to see the wrinkly and the two girls with him rising. From his accent him and his daughters were English. "Who are you all?" the man glanced around him. "And what the bloody hell are we doing in a magic shop?"
"Yes I'd like some answers too."
She started at a voice behind her. Turning she saw a bedraggled-looking blonde rising from behind the counter. "I've got a plan," she beamed at the man beside her. "We must have some ID on us?"
"Ah," the Englishman's face brightened. She realised he was kinda good looking for an old guy. "Splendid idea."
She began rummaging through her coat pockets but found nothing. Next she tried her jeans and grinned in triumph as she found a wallet. "My name's Faith Cook!"
"I'm Alex Harris," the young man beside her announced.
"Hey!" Faith beamed at the man. "I'm wearing a jacket with your name on the inside pocket. You think we're dating?"
The man returned her grin with interest. "I hope so."
"I'm Willow Rosenberg," the red-head timidly proclaimed.
"I appear to be Rupert Giles-," the Englishman was interrupted by the blonde behind the counter.
"I'm Anya Jenkins and," she pointed to the sign hanging over head, "we own this shop. And," the blonde beamed proudly as she held her hand out towards the Limey, "we're engaged!"
"Oh really?" the Englishman looked smug. "I'm a rather lucky fellow."
"Or a dirty old bastard?" her boyfriend glared at the Englishman. Faith groaned what had it got to do with him?
The older man bristled. "Why you cheeky bugger!"
"Shit," Faith stepped between the two men as they started towards one another. "Let's ease up on machismo guys," she glanced towards the two pale-faced girls still at the table. "Who are you?"
"T.Tara," replied the older of the two.
The younger girl shook her head, her entire body trembling and her eyes wide with fear. "I..I haven't got any ID, I'm nobody."
"Shit," Faith hurried over to the younger girl and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Everyone's someone. I think it's pretty wicked not having a name, means you can choose your own. So how about it?"
"I like Chloe," the girl said tremulously.
"Chloe? That's a wicked name," Faith smiled at the newly-named Chloe before glancing at the others. "Any idea what's happening gang?"
"Well," Rupert looked deep in thought. "I would hazard a guess that we do all know each other seeing as we're all here together. The only question is why? Given we're in a magic shop," the Englishman looked around. "Perhaps whatever happened is mystical in origin."
Alex snorted. "Magic. Somehow I doubt it. I bet," Alex pointed at the vent, "the government, the military maybe, are conducting some sort of experiment. They must have pumped some sort of gas through the vents to make lose our memories."
"Poppycock!"
"Look guys!" Faith broke in before the two of them started arguing again. "What's important is getting help. I figure we should all head for a hospital."
"Good idea," Alex praised. "Brains as well as beauty."
Faith reddened. "Whatever. Let's hit the road." She pulled the door open only to gape at the three monsters stood there. "Shit!" Her legs suddenly weak she fell backwards into the shop. She heard Alex shout and saw him charge past her sprawled body and towards the figures. Alex grabbed hold of one of the demons but he was thrown off and into the wall.
Snarling protectively she bounded to her feet and charged forward. Grabbing hold of the nearest creature she flung it against the wall before snatching up a wooden spike off a table by the shop front and thrusting it through the beast's chest. "Fuck!" her eyes widened as the beast exploded into dust. Feeling hands on her shoulders she shrugged off her shock and snapped her head backwards propelling it into her attacker's face.
Free of her attacker's grip she spun round and drove her heel into her attacker's knee shattering bone. Off balance, the monster fell forward onto her weapon and exploded into ash. The surviving beast's eyes widened in terror before turning to flee. A grin on her face, Faith hefted her stake like a javelin and threw it through the beast's back. An instant later and it joined the other two as ash on the floor. "Wicked cool!" she jumped up and down on the spot, her heart bursting with happiness. "I'm a fucking super-hero!" her happiness died at the wary looks on the others' faces. "Hey guys I'm on your side," her voice trembled, for some reason she knew there people's approval was very important to her.
"Faith's right guys," she relaxed as she felt Alex's arm around her shoulders. "She just saved us from those ugly things. And she's wearing my jacket so I obviously know her well. Let's just get to the hospital and get this mess sorted out."
"There's just one problem," the red-head pointed out of the window, "there's four more of those monsters heading this way."
"Damn," Faith looked around seeing the table was filled with stakes, she guessed that was what they were, and pointed at them. "Grab them and we'll make a run for it."
"Or we could go through the trapdoor I found behind the counter," Anya suggested.
Faith nodded, a plan forming in her head. "Five by five, Rupes," Faith glanced towards the magic shop owner. "You take the others through the trapdoor. I'll lead them away-."
"No way," Alex shook his head even as he picked up a stake. "I'm not letting you go out there alone."
Faith opened her mouth to argue then, seeing the determination in her boyfriend's eyes, nodded. It felt good to have someone care for her like that. "Five by five. Let's go."
* * *
"Shit." Faith looked behind her, she'd made a mistake. She wasn't even straining as she raced away from the shop, the four vampires in hot pursuit, but Alex was puffing heavily, the lead they had being rapidly eaten up. She should have left him with the others, she'd have had more chance escaping the monsters and he'd have been safer on his own. Coming to a decision she turned to face her pursuers and forced a grin for her boyfriend. "Time to make a stand Alex."
"Okay." Alex took a stance and hefted his stake. Faith nodded approvingly; well at least he'd obviously used one of them before. Focusing her attention on the approaching enemy Faith glided forward, at the last second she sidestepped the nearest vampire's charge, leaving her leg behind to sweep the demon's feet from beneath him and knocking him to the ground, helpless to prevent her stake from tearing through his back and into his heart.
As she turned her attention back to the other vampires she was caught by a two punch combo to the face that knocked her flat on her ass. She looked up to see a sneering African-American with a weight-lifter's physique. "Name's Strike and you're my first Slayer, bitch!"
Faith's forehead creased in puzzlement, what the fuck was a Slayer? "And you," pushing away her confusion, Faith kicked at the vampire's ankles, knocking him off-balance. "Talk too much!" Seizing advantage of the distraction, she slid outside of Strike's clumsily executed overhand right before driving a knee into the vampire's groin. The demon croaked in pain and began doubling up. Instantly Faith's stake hand thrust upwards, slamming her wooden spike into the vampire's heart. "Fuck." Noting Alex pinned to the ground by the fourth vampire, he must have handled one on his own - not bad at all, Faith hurried over to her boyfriend. At the last second the vampire registered her presence and began to rise to meet her but Alex halted the beast's motion by grabbing its legs, hooking it under its knees.
The monster got loose with a back-handed slap to Alex's face but the delay gave her enough time to rush over and slam a stake into its chest. "You five by five Alex?" she asked as she helped her battered looking boy-friend to his feet.
"I think I need the healing touch of your lips," Alex grinned at her.
Faith winked. "All you had to do was ask."
* * *
Giles looked with confusion at the four girls he was herding down the tunnel. What the bloody hell was going on? First he awakens to find himself in a magic shop surrounded by a group of youths. Then they're attacked by monsters. And then one of the girls reveals herself to be some sort of super-hero. Still, he grinned, at least he was engaged to a gorgeous young blonde half his age. Every situation had its compensations.
His grin faded as the girls before him stopped as they turned a corner and were confronted by two vampires. "Down!" he roared, raising the pistol crossbow he'd found behind the shop counter and firing.
His shot flew true, hitting one of the vampires in his chest. The second vampire let out a roar and lunged at Willow but his fiancée, magnificent girl, pushed the red-head out of the way, knocking a crystal out of the girl's backpack. A protective snarl on his lips Giles charged forward. He winced as he blocked a punch to his head on his left forearm before kicking his adversary on the shin. The demon howled in pain before catching him in the head with a left hook to the ribs even as he slammed home his take. As he staggered backwards, his foot crunched down onto the crystal that had fallen from Willow's backpack. Suddenly a fog cleared in his head and remembered everything. Glaring he turned to face a pale-faced Willow. "I can exp-."
"You bitch!" Anya's fist snapped in a practiced right cross, connecting with thudding force to Willow's jaw. The red-head's eyes glazed over as she fell to the ground, unconscious. Anya glared down at the fallen witch, her eyes gleaming with fury. "You made Xander think he was dating Faith and I was engaged to Giles!"
Giles raised an eyebrow. "And what's wrong with being engaged to me," he muttered in an injured tone. Giles glanced down at Willow's crumpled body, he supposed he better take her home.
* * *
Faith plunged her tongue hungrily into Alex's waiting mouth, enjoying the moist warmth she found there. Even as she pressed her lips to his she pulled at his hair and his hands began gently roaming her body. Faith found herself smiling inwardly, god Alex was a good, no great, kisser. A sudden pain exploded in her head, forcing her apart from Alex. Her face ashen, she looked up at her companion, the memories flooding back, to see a look of horror on Xander's face. Yeah, 'course he'd be horrified kissing a skank who'd tried to murder him. Seeing his mouth begin to open, Faith spoke quickly, anxious to head off any embarrassing apology. "Hey Xand," she was pleased to find she managed to keep her tone casual, "no harm, no foul. We were under a spell right?" Oh yeah, when she saw Red again serious damage would be done. "I'm going to crash at Dawn's tonight, give you the night alone with Anya." Faith forced a wink. "This will be our little secret, good work with the lips by the way." Turning she hurried off before Xman could say anything, damn it had been so nice having someone who cared for her.
* * *
Willow groaned, feeling gingerly at her jaw as she struggled to wakefulness. Someone had punched her, punched her hard. Giles, Tara, and Dawn had been too far away it must have been - Anya. Willow growled, first the bitch steals Xander from her and then she punches her. Oh she'd pay.
Willow looked around her, her eyes narrowing. Someone, Giles probably, had brought her home. It wasn't fair; she needed someone to share the magic with, to love her. She turned at the rattling of the exercise wheel and smiled. "Amy."
Seconds later the girl was sat naked on her bed. Willow beamed proudly, her most difficult spell yet. "Hello Amy."
"H.hello," her fellow witch's trembled with fear as she stared at her.
"Calm down," Willow stroked Amy's brown hair, it wasn't Tara's but it felt nice. "I've returned you to human form. Are you grateful?" her fellow witch nodded nervously. "Good," she pushed the witch's arms away from in front of her body and smiled. Oh yes, Amy would most definitely satisfy her needs. "Then," cupping Amy's head in her hands, she lowered her head to kiss the witch, "maybe you should show me how grateful."
