She's Gone 10 – Deepest Fears
The unshaven figure watched from the shadows as his fellow countryman closed up his magic shop, his knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists. "Soon Ripper. Soon you'll pay for the last two years."
* * *
Faith hid a grin at the excitement on Tara and Pip's faces as they left the cinema. Watching a romantic-comedy wasn't exactly her idea of a great night out, a night at a club knocking back the JD and going home with a few well hung studs was more her speed. But, she reminded herself, that was the old Faith – and it wasn't like she hadn't had fun.
Faith stopped as her senses went crazy. Her heart pounding as she looked around the crowded car park but couldn't see anything out of ordinary. "We're gonna have to deep six the pizza," she said finally, her voice tight with tension. Damn, she'd been looking to chowing down on a Hawaiian.
"Oh why?" Dawn whined.
"Hush Dawn," Tara rebuked softly. "Trouble Faith?" Tara looked at her, the happiness of seconds ago replaced by worry.
"I don't know," she looked side to side as they hurried towards the bus stop. Damn it, she had to pass her driving test. Tara could drive but her car was in the shop meaning they had to reply on Sunnydale's haphazard public transport system. "But something feels -, shit!" Faith leapt backwards, keeping herself between her attacker and the others. Her assailant was a huge, furry shape with gleaming claws that sliced through the air, causing her to bend her knees slightly to allow the blades flash over her head. "Fuck! I don't need a haircut!"
She swallowed as the full impact of her attacker's appearance hit her. The creature stood maybe eight feet tall, its massively muscled body and covered entirely with long, thick brown fur. Its single green eye shone with menace while the horn on its forehead curved upwards to the sky and its wide mouth was filled with what seemed to be dozens of jagged teeth. "Oh shit," Faith swallowed. King Kong had come to town and all she had was a stake.
"Incindeire!"
A wall of fire erupted, running from alley wall to alley wall and impeding the monster's progress towards them. Faith cast Tara a grateful glance. "Let's get to G's."
* * *
"How do you think Faith's doing?"
Xander looked up from locking his car to his fiancée. That was the question wasn't it? That was the reason they were outside the Summers' house – Giles had asked them to come round to discuss the Bostonian Slayer's progress.
When Faith first returned to Sunnydale he'd been terrified. Then, as they'd grown closer, she'd taken the courageous step of confiding facts from her pre-Sunnydale life in him.
Xander resisted the urge to shudder. His home life had been tough but next Faith's it had been like the Brady Bunch. Ignored by her mother for as long as she could remember, bullied at school. Raped by one of her mother's many boyfriends at the age of 12, forced into prostitution a year later, and a street runaway for eighteen months before her first Watcher had taken her in. Then came the hammer blow – being forced to watch as the first person who'd ever returned her love tortured to death.
He realised Anya was speaking and smiled in apology. "Sorry, I was miles away,"
"I was saying Faith seems lonely. She needs a boyfriend, someone limber and athletic enough to keep up with a Slayer."
Xander shoved aside the wave of jealousy that hit him at the former demon's suggestion. "Don't match make sweetie," he counselled. "Give Faith time to adjust to life outside. Maybe she's not ready for a relationship yet. Let her take things at her own pace."
Before the kiss he hadn't thought of Faith as anything but a friend. Of course he'd noticed she'd blossomed from knockout babe to a beautiful young woman, he wasn't blind but he'd been more than happy with Anya. Since the kiss though he'd been remembering how it felt the first time they'd been together, how her ass had fitted perfectly into his hands, how it had felt to suck on her long nipples, and how it had felt to slide -. "Xander!"
He looked up to see his girlfriend staring at him strangely. "Let's go in." He wouldn't, couldn't, cheat on Anya.
* * *
The unkempt man watched as the boy and the blonde bimbo he'd seen at Ripper's shop enter his old comrade-at-arms' house. According to the rumours circulating the town the blonde Slayer had died and the redheaded Wicca no longer worked with them. But that didn't matter, dealing with Rupert 'Ripper' Giles was the important thing, dealing with that bastard had consumed his every waking moment for the past two years.
After smiling he began muttering in an arcane language, the ingredients he'd spread around the house during his earlier break-in creating a magical trap. Once he'd finished he stalked over to the house and peered through the lounge window. A twisted grin spread across his face. "Excellent."
* * *
Faith looked both ways as she climbed out of the car, relieved when her senses didn't indicate any near-by demonic presence. "Coast's clear," she muttered to the car's other occupants. "Get inside." She hurried inside, herding Dawn and Tara ahead of her. Once in the hallway she opened the lounge door and stopped, her heart thundering in terror. "What the fuck!"
She made to step into the lounge, towards the trio of figures slumped there only for Tara to grab her arm. Turning she looked into the pale-faced Wicca's wide eyes. "D..don't, there's a magical trap."
"How do you know?" Dawn demanded, her voice trembling..
"P..pentagram," the honey-blonde explained. "I..I can see the markings on the floor. T..they must have been hidden from Giles before they were activated then it was too late."
"Red," Faith growled. That was is, the bitch was going to get her ass kicked. She was gonna find out why her fellow prisoners had dubbed her 'The Boston Bulldozer'.
Her plans were interrupted by Tara shaking her head. "N....no this isn't Willow's work. Her aura isn't here."
"Who then?" Dawn asked, Faith watched Tara with narrowed eyes. If her friend had any flaw it was the way she refused to believe Willow could do wrong.
"I..I don't know."
"How do we break it?" Faith interrupted.
Tara turned back to her. "Either we get the spell caster to break it. Or as we don't know who cast it I'll have to do a counter-spell."
"So do it."
"I haven't got the ingredients I need."
"Five by five," Faith nodded before snatching up a pen and paper from the hallway desk. "Tell me what you need and I'll go get it from the shop." Tara recited a list. Faith groaned. "Shit! I sold the same fucking stuff to an English guy just after G left for dinner. He must be the slimy bastard who did this!"
"Faith," Dawn had a troubled expression. "Will you have the man on tape at the shop?"
"Yeah, why?"
"If he waited for Giles to be out of the shop before coming in to buy his ingredients he probably knows Giles and didn't want to be recognised. Maybe one of us will recognise him."
Faith looked doubtfully at the younger girl. "That's a hell of stretch Pip."
"You're going there anyway," Dawn countered.
"Five by five," she replied. It was worth a try.
* * *
"Got it," Faith ejected the video. She'd found the footage of the guy who'd brought the stuff. She remembered him now, a real slimy bastard. Given her past it took a hell of a lot to creep her out but that lecherous shit managed it. She now wished she'd given into her first impulse to introduce his face to the shop counter. Customer is always right – bullshit!
Suddenly she heard the sound of the front window shattering. Looking up she saw the demon who'd attacked her earlier charging towards her. "You've gotta be shittin' me! I so do not have time for this!"
Twisting round she snatched up the tv, tearing it out of the wall, and flung it at the monster. The demon roared in agony as the set smashed into its forehead, knocking him into a set of shelves that swayed and crashed down onto the furry creature, pinning him to the ground.
Faith stared at the snarling beast. She should really finish it off but she didn't have the time and couldn't risk the ingredients not getting back to Tara. Her decision made she picked up her bag and video before hurrying past the snarling monster. "Been fun! Call me!"
* * *
Xander looked around, he was in the old family lounge. Oh the happy memories. He looked at his father, the old childhood fears returning. "Dad."
His father's lips parted in his trademark sneer. "Well if it isn't my worthless son."
Xander flinched at the scorn in his father's voice. "I'm not worthless."
"Aren't you?" His father chuckled. There was little warmth in the sound. "That blonde bimbo and your yid friend never listened to you. That limey bastard barely notices you. Your first girlfriend left town to get away from you. You're so good in bed the first girl you fucked tried to kill you. Your fiancée?" Harris Snr. Snorted. "She's a freak. An ex demon for god's sake!"
Xander bowed his head, the weight of his father's mockery hammering down on him.
* * *
"Ethan Rayne!" Dawn stared at the frozen picture.
"Uh?" Faith raised an eyebrow at the younger teen's exclamation.
"He's an old friend of Giles', a chaos mage. During your bad-ass working for the Mayor phase," Faith winced at the reminder. "He kidnapped me, Xander rescued me. It's a false memory of course, but that's his face."
"Five by five," Faith gathered her thoughts. "Try the hotels Pip. Tar, you get to work on the spell."
Ten minutes later Dawn looked, a triumphant expression on her face. "Here's a likely address. An Edward Rain – spelt different but.."
Faith glanced at the address and nodded. "Well done," she praised before grabbing Giles' car keys. Time was too short to walk, they didn't know what the spell was doing. "I'll go get the prick."
* * *
Giles stared at the grave, his heart shattering as it always did when he was confronted by Buffy's resting place. He reached up to wipe away a welling tear. "Oh you pathetic bloody pillock!"
Giles' blood chilled. Forcing a calm expression, he turned to face the figure behind him. "You."
Ripper grinned at him and shook his head. "You arse. You should have stayed away from the Council like I wanted. But no, you had to do the honourable thing and what happened?" The younger version of him looked over his shoulder. Giles fought back the urge to vomit as he turned to find Buffy's grave had been joined by Jenny Calender's, Kendra's and Faith's. "Four beautiful young women, cut down in their prime because of you."
* * *
"You bastard!" Faith stared through the ruined hotel doorway to the cowering man inside. One look was enough to confirm that the snivelling shit was the person Dawn had identified as Giles' old running mate. Her lips parted in a sneer when she noted the duffle bag on the bed. "Figuring on running out where you?"
"Good lord, if you're the girl from the escort ag-."
"Nor funny," Faith cut off the mage with a punch to the gut. "Wanna tell me what you did to G and the others?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," the doubled-up sorcerer wheezed.
"And yet I'm not convinced." Picking up the warlock by the scruff of his neck she flung him into the far wall. After the man had slid to the floor she drove the point of her boot into the wizard's groin. "Think I should warn ya," she backhanded the man across the face, splattering blood to on the wall behind him. "I'm not lilly-white like B was. I've killed before and," grabbing the man's right hand, she bent it back to breaking point. "I'll do what it takes to help my crew. Talk!"
"I cast a spell to Morpehus, god of dreams, forcing the three of them to continually face their greatest fear until either they or the spell is broken."
Faith felt a stab of her own fear, fuck what where they facing? "And how do I break the spell?" she grated. The Englishman stayed silent. "Either the spell gets broken or you do. Into little bits."
"You need to break the bust on my bedside -," her foot shot sideways, the heel smashing through the plaster, "table."
Grabbing hold of the man by the front of his shirt she dragged to his feet. "Let's go. I'm betting G will be real pleased to see ya."
"I'd like to decline your -."
"Wasn't asking. Move it!"
Faith had barely crossed over the motel room's threshold when she was hit in the side of her face by a furry paw that lifted her off her feet propelling her halfway across the parking lot. Head spinning she staggered to see the huge furball from before charging her. "Can't he take a fucking hint?" Faith muttered before leaping onto the roof of a near-by station wagon. Once there she launched herself into the air and into a sin-kick that smashed into the advancing monster's face, staggering it backwards.
Upon landing Faith launched a barrage of punches into the beast's stomach. The monster grunted before backhanding her to the ground. The creature went for a stomp but she caught the foot inches from her head. "Hey a girl's looks are her fortune don't ya know?" The monster let out a roar when she twisted its captured foot while kicking at its grounded leg.
The furry bastard hit the gravel but was back to his feet a half-second behind her. The thing shot out a right that Faith slid under and grabbed hold of its arm by the wrist, both her hands together barely covering its thick forearm, and threw it into a near-by wall, shaking dust from it. "What the fuck is your problem! Why are you trying to kill me!"
"Wolfram & Hart," the beast snarled.
Faith's eyes widened. Oh just great, they hadn't forgotten her. The beast bounded towards her. At the last second Faith leapt forward, grabbed the monster behind its knees and threw it onto its back. The monster collided with the ground with a bone-shuddering impact. Before the demon could recover Faith tore a steel railing out of the near-by fence and drove it through the monster's eye.
For a second she crouched over the demon exhausted by the fight and its accompanying adrenalin rush. Then she looked up, cursing when she realised Rayne had fled. "Best see Xan and the others are five by five," she muttered as she hurried to her car.
* * *
"Hello Anyanka."
Anya tensed at the appearance of D'Hoffyrn by her side. "It's Anya now," she replied stiffly.
"Are you sure?" D'Hoffyrn muttered something arcane under his breath. "This is you eighteen months in the future."
"I'm fat!"
"No fat dear," the Arch-Demon corrected with a roll of the eyes. "Pregnant. In two years you'll be the mother of twin boys."
Anya suddenly felt scared. Her, a mother? She didn't know if she was ready for that. Suddenly the picture changed to her Xander in bed thrusting into a shapely brunette moaning and shrieking his name. "Four years from now, you'll be too interested in your two children to pay much attention to your husband's needs. So he sought solace in Faith's arms -."
"FAITH!" She gives that bitch a place in her home and she steals her husband from her!
"A Slayer has an allure that no normal woman can match, the power, the energy. And the current one is more sexual than most."
"I'll kill them both!"
"And then," the picture changed to an elderly woman sat in armchair. "There's sixty years from now. Little Anyanka's all alone in a retirement home. That's the human experience – heartbreak, loneliness, losing your health, death."
* * *
Xander looked his dad in the eye. "You're wrong. I've saved lives, helped people. I'm not a worthless drunk and I never will be."
* * *
Giles laughed. "These past few years have been wonderful. I've got to know a group of wonderful, self-sacrificing young people that I'm proud to call my friends. I've helped saved the world numerous times. And what would I be if I'd continued being you? A drunken lech chasing women half his age! Do us both a favour and piss off!"
* * *
"Tar," Faith looked across the living room to the drunken man sat rocking on the couch. "I need you and the others over here now. Yeah," she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Whatever Anya saw in her vision freaked her out. She got home, slapped me across the face, packed a bag, and left to be a demon again. Xan's a mess, I don't know what to do. I need help bad."
The unshaven figure watched from the shadows as his fellow countryman closed up his magic shop, his knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists. "Soon Ripper. Soon you'll pay for the last two years."
* * *
Faith hid a grin at the excitement on Tara and Pip's faces as they left the cinema. Watching a romantic-comedy wasn't exactly her idea of a great night out, a night at a club knocking back the JD and going home with a few well hung studs was more her speed. But, she reminded herself, that was the old Faith – and it wasn't like she hadn't had fun.
Faith stopped as her senses went crazy. Her heart pounding as she looked around the crowded car park but couldn't see anything out of ordinary. "We're gonna have to deep six the pizza," she said finally, her voice tight with tension. Damn, she'd been looking to chowing down on a Hawaiian.
"Oh why?" Dawn whined.
"Hush Dawn," Tara rebuked softly. "Trouble Faith?" Tara looked at her, the happiness of seconds ago replaced by worry.
"I don't know," she looked side to side as they hurried towards the bus stop. Damn it, she had to pass her driving test. Tara could drive but her car was in the shop meaning they had to reply on Sunnydale's haphazard public transport system. "But something feels -, shit!" Faith leapt backwards, keeping herself between her attacker and the others. Her assailant was a huge, furry shape with gleaming claws that sliced through the air, causing her to bend her knees slightly to allow the blades flash over her head. "Fuck! I don't need a haircut!"
She swallowed as the full impact of her attacker's appearance hit her. The creature stood maybe eight feet tall, its massively muscled body and covered entirely with long, thick brown fur. Its single green eye shone with menace while the horn on its forehead curved upwards to the sky and its wide mouth was filled with what seemed to be dozens of jagged teeth. "Oh shit," Faith swallowed. King Kong had come to town and all she had was a stake.
"Incindeire!"
A wall of fire erupted, running from alley wall to alley wall and impeding the monster's progress towards them. Faith cast Tara a grateful glance. "Let's get to G's."
* * *
"How do you think Faith's doing?"
Xander looked up from locking his car to his fiancée. That was the question wasn't it? That was the reason they were outside the Summers' house – Giles had asked them to come round to discuss the Bostonian Slayer's progress.
When Faith first returned to Sunnydale he'd been terrified. Then, as they'd grown closer, she'd taken the courageous step of confiding facts from her pre-Sunnydale life in him.
Xander resisted the urge to shudder. His home life had been tough but next Faith's it had been like the Brady Bunch. Ignored by her mother for as long as she could remember, bullied at school. Raped by one of her mother's many boyfriends at the age of 12, forced into prostitution a year later, and a street runaway for eighteen months before her first Watcher had taken her in. Then came the hammer blow – being forced to watch as the first person who'd ever returned her love tortured to death.
He realised Anya was speaking and smiled in apology. "Sorry, I was miles away,"
"I was saying Faith seems lonely. She needs a boyfriend, someone limber and athletic enough to keep up with a Slayer."
Xander shoved aside the wave of jealousy that hit him at the former demon's suggestion. "Don't match make sweetie," he counselled. "Give Faith time to adjust to life outside. Maybe she's not ready for a relationship yet. Let her take things at her own pace."
Before the kiss he hadn't thought of Faith as anything but a friend. Of course he'd noticed she'd blossomed from knockout babe to a beautiful young woman, he wasn't blind but he'd been more than happy with Anya. Since the kiss though he'd been remembering how it felt the first time they'd been together, how her ass had fitted perfectly into his hands, how it had felt to suck on her long nipples, and how it had felt to slide -. "Xander!"
He looked up to see his girlfriend staring at him strangely. "Let's go in." He wouldn't, couldn't, cheat on Anya.
* * *
The unkempt man watched as the boy and the blonde bimbo he'd seen at Ripper's shop enter his old comrade-at-arms' house. According to the rumours circulating the town the blonde Slayer had died and the redheaded Wicca no longer worked with them. But that didn't matter, dealing with Rupert 'Ripper' Giles was the important thing, dealing with that bastard had consumed his every waking moment for the past two years.
After smiling he began muttering in an arcane language, the ingredients he'd spread around the house during his earlier break-in creating a magical trap. Once he'd finished he stalked over to the house and peered through the lounge window. A twisted grin spread across his face. "Excellent."
* * *
Faith looked both ways as she climbed out of the car, relieved when her senses didn't indicate any near-by demonic presence. "Coast's clear," she muttered to the car's other occupants. "Get inside." She hurried inside, herding Dawn and Tara ahead of her. Once in the hallway she opened the lounge door and stopped, her heart thundering in terror. "What the fuck!"
She made to step into the lounge, towards the trio of figures slumped there only for Tara to grab her arm. Turning she looked into the pale-faced Wicca's wide eyes. "D..don't, there's a magical trap."
"How do you know?" Dawn demanded, her voice trembling..
"P..pentagram," the honey-blonde explained. "I..I can see the markings on the floor. T..they must have been hidden from Giles before they were activated then it was too late."
"Red," Faith growled. That was is, the bitch was going to get her ass kicked. She was gonna find out why her fellow prisoners had dubbed her 'The Boston Bulldozer'.
Her plans were interrupted by Tara shaking her head. "N....no this isn't Willow's work. Her aura isn't here."
"Who then?" Dawn asked, Faith watched Tara with narrowed eyes. If her friend had any flaw it was the way she refused to believe Willow could do wrong.
"I..I don't know."
"How do we break it?" Faith interrupted.
Tara turned back to her. "Either we get the spell caster to break it. Or as we don't know who cast it I'll have to do a counter-spell."
"So do it."
"I haven't got the ingredients I need."
"Five by five," Faith nodded before snatching up a pen and paper from the hallway desk. "Tell me what you need and I'll go get it from the shop." Tara recited a list. Faith groaned. "Shit! I sold the same fucking stuff to an English guy just after G left for dinner. He must be the slimy bastard who did this!"
"Faith," Dawn had a troubled expression. "Will you have the man on tape at the shop?"
"Yeah, why?"
"If he waited for Giles to be out of the shop before coming in to buy his ingredients he probably knows Giles and didn't want to be recognised. Maybe one of us will recognise him."
Faith looked doubtfully at the younger girl. "That's a hell of stretch Pip."
"You're going there anyway," Dawn countered.
"Five by five," she replied. It was worth a try.
* * *
"Got it," Faith ejected the video. She'd found the footage of the guy who'd brought the stuff. She remembered him now, a real slimy bastard. Given her past it took a hell of a lot to creep her out but that lecherous shit managed it. She now wished she'd given into her first impulse to introduce his face to the shop counter. Customer is always right – bullshit!
Suddenly she heard the sound of the front window shattering. Looking up she saw the demon who'd attacked her earlier charging towards her. "You've gotta be shittin' me! I so do not have time for this!"
Twisting round she snatched up the tv, tearing it out of the wall, and flung it at the monster. The demon roared in agony as the set smashed into its forehead, knocking him into a set of shelves that swayed and crashed down onto the furry creature, pinning him to the ground.
Faith stared at the snarling beast. She should really finish it off but she didn't have the time and couldn't risk the ingredients not getting back to Tara. Her decision made she picked up her bag and video before hurrying past the snarling monster. "Been fun! Call me!"
* * *
Xander looked around, he was in the old family lounge. Oh the happy memories. He looked at his father, the old childhood fears returning. "Dad."
His father's lips parted in his trademark sneer. "Well if it isn't my worthless son."
Xander flinched at the scorn in his father's voice. "I'm not worthless."
"Aren't you?" His father chuckled. There was little warmth in the sound. "That blonde bimbo and your yid friend never listened to you. That limey bastard barely notices you. Your first girlfriend left town to get away from you. You're so good in bed the first girl you fucked tried to kill you. Your fiancée?" Harris Snr. Snorted. "She's a freak. An ex demon for god's sake!"
Xander bowed his head, the weight of his father's mockery hammering down on him.
* * *
"Ethan Rayne!" Dawn stared at the frozen picture.
"Uh?" Faith raised an eyebrow at the younger teen's exclamation.
"He's an old friend of Giles', a chaos mage. During your bad-ass working for the Mayor phase," Faith winced at the reminder. "He kidnapped me, Xander rescued me. It's a false memory of course, but that's his face."
"Five by five," Faith gathered her thoughts. "Try the hotels Pip. Tar, you get to work on the spell."
Ten minutes later Dawn looked, a triumphant expression on her face. "Here's a likely address. An Edward Rain – spelt different but.."
Faith glanced at the address and nodded. "Well done," she praised before grabbing Giles' car keys. Time was too short to walk, they didn't know what the spell was doing. "I'll go get the prick."
* * *
Giles stared at the grave, his heart shattering as it always did when he was confronted by Buffy's resting place. He reached up to wipe away a welling tear. "Oh you pathetic bloody pillock!"
Giles' blood chilled. Forcing a calm expression, he turned to face the figure behind him. "You."
Ripper grinned at him and shook his head. "You arse. You should have stayed away from the Council like I wanted. But no, you had to do the honourable thing and what happened?" The younger version of him looked over his shoulder. Giles fought back the urge to vomit as he turned to find Buffy's grave had been joined by Jenny Calender's, Kendra's and Faith's. "Four beautiful young women, cut down in their prime because of you."
* * *
"You bastard!" Faith stared through the ruined hotel doorway to the cowering man inside. One look was enough to confirm that the snivelling shit was the person Dawn had identified as Giles' old running mate. Her lips parted in a sneer when she noted the duffle bag on the bed. "Figuring on running out where you?"
"Good lord, if you're the girl from the escort ag-."
"Nor funny," Faith cut off the mage with a punch to the gut. "Wanna tell me what you did to G and the others?"
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," the doubled-up sorcerer wheezed.
"And yet I'm not convinced." Picking up the warlock by the scruff of his neck she flung him into the far wall. After the man had slid to the floor she drove the point of her boot into the wizard's groin. "Think I should warn ya," she backhanded the man across the face, splattering blood to on the wall behind him. "I'm not lilly-white like B was. I've killed before and," grabbing the man's right hand, she bent it back to breaking point. "I'll do what it takes to help my crew. Talk!"
"I cast a spell to Morpehus, god of dreams, forcing the three of them to continually face their greatest fear until either they or the spell is broken."
Faith felt a stab of her own fear, fuck what where they facing? "And how do I break the spell?" she grated. The Englishman stayed silent. "Either the spell gets broken or you do. Into little bits."
"You need to break the bust on my bedside -," her foot shot sideways, the heel smashing through the plaster, "table."
Grabbing hold of the man by the front of his shirt she dragged to his feet. "Let's go. I'm betting G will be real pleased to see ya."
"I'd like to decline your -."
"Wasn't asking. Move it!"
Faith had barely crossed over the motel room's threshold when she was hit in the side of her face by a furry paw that lifted her off her feet propelling her halfway across the parking lot. Head spinning she staggered to see the huge furball from before charging her. "Can't he take a fucking hint?" Faith muttered before leaping onto the roof of a near-by station wagon. Once there she launched herself into the air and into a sin-kick that smashed into the advancing monster's face, staggering it backwards.
Upon landing Faith launched a barrage of punches into the beast's stomach. The monster grunted before backhanding her to the ground. The creature went for a stomp but she caught the foot inches from her head. "Hey a girl's looks are her fortune don't ya know?" The monster let out a roar when she twisted its captured foot while kicking at its grounded leg.
The furry bastard hit the gravel but was back to his feet a half-second behind her. The thing shot out a right that Faith slid under and grabbed hold of its arm by the wrist, both her hands together barely covering its thick forearm, and threw it into a near-by wall, shaking dust from it. "What the fuck is your problem! Why are you trying to kill me!"
"Wolfram & Hart," the beast snarled.
Faith's eyes widened. Oh just great, they hadn't forgotten her. The beast bounded towards her. At the last second Faith leapt forward, grabbed the monster behind its knees and threw it onto its back. The monster collided with the ground with a bone-shuddering impact. Before the demon could recover Faith tore a steel railing out of the near-by fence and drove it through the monster's eye.
For a second she crouched over the demon exhausted by the fight and its accompanying adrenalin rush. Then she looked up, cursing when she realised Rayne had fled. "Best see Xan and the others are five by five," she muttered as she hurried to her car.
* * *
"Hello Anyanka."
Anya tensed at the appearance of D'Hoffyrn by her side. "It's Anya now," she replied stiffly.
"Are you sure?" D'Hoffyrn muttered something arcane under his breath. "This is you eighteen months in the future."
"I'm fat!"
"No fat dear," the Arch-Demon corrected with a roll of the eyes. "Pregnant. In two years you'll be the mother of twin boys."
Anya suddenly felt scared. Her, a mother? She didn't know if she was ready for that. Suddenly the picture changed to her Xander in bed thrusting into a shapely brunette moaning and shrieking his name. "Four years from now, you'll be too interested in your two children to pay much attention to your husband's needs. So he sought solace in Faith's arms -."
"FAITH!" She gives that bitch a place in her home and she steals her husband from her!
"A Slayer has an allure that no normal woman can match, the power, the energy. And the current one is more sexual than most."
"I'll kill them both!"
"And then," the picture changed to an elderly woman sat in armchair. "There's sixty years from now. Little Anyanka's all alone in a retirement home. That's the human experience – heartbreak, loneliness, losing your health, death."
* * *
Xander looked his dad in the eye. "You're wrong. I've saved lives, helped people. I'm not a worthless drunk and I never will be."
* * *
Giles laughed. "These past few years have been wonderful. I've got to know a group of wonderful, self-sacrificing young people that I'm proud to call my friends. I've helped saved the world numerous times. And what would I be if I'd continued being you? A drunken lech chasing women half his age! Do us both a favour and piss off!"
* * *
"Tar," Faith looked across the living room to the drunken man sat rocking on the couch. "I need you and the others over here now. Yeah," she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Whatever Anya saw in her vision freaked her out. She got home, slapped me across the face, packed a bag, and left to be a demon again. Xan's a mess, I don't know what to do. I need help bad."
