Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.
Summary: Post AtS and BtVS, Faith and Xander are approached by a secret government agency. Surprises all around.
Rating: PG-13
A/N: A long time between updates, eh? Darn accounting professors, with their infernal reliance on copious amounts of homework to spur learning!
Chapter 22: The Head Watcher
Faith and Xander were almost out the door to go looking for Spike when the big Fyarl appeared, slamming into Xander and sending him flying. The big brown demon let out a bellow of rage, attacking Faith.
She countered his punch with a quick block, staring up at the monstrous demon with the huge horns. "Dude, seriously, a breathmint," she managed to quip as he bellowed again.
Blocking his blows seriously hurt; he was strong, stronger than anything she'd seen recently. And his scaly skin looked hard to penetrate; even if she'd had the weapons Spike had taken with him.
She thought a few choice invectives in Spike's direction. "So, you ready to dance, big guy?" she asked, punching him as hard as she could. To her surprise it lifted him up off the ground, flipping him over and skipping him across the ground.
He wasn't as heavy as he looked, she thought with exultant joy.
Then he got up, springing to his feet, and advanced again.
Okay, she reasoned. He wasn't heavy, but he was still tough. Tougher than he should have been. Not as fast as her, though.
She tried to spin and kick him away again, but he was having none of it. He caught her blow, slamming a hand into her.
This time there was no blocking, and she was lifted up off the ground, much as she'd knocked him off the ground. She could see the gravel beneath her spinning like a top, and realized with a jolt that this was going hurt quite a bit.
It was a bit like riding the roller coaster, if the roller coaster had been actively trying to kill you. Maybe it had been. Faith's childhood memories weren't too clear.
She slammed down hard, feeling bits of stone cut into her flesh in a most painful way that made her suddenly angry at the stupid demon. One demon, alone? She was the Slayer! One demon alone wasn't supposed to be able to kill her!
Of course, she was wrong. She could see that. This guy, alone, was big enough, bad enough, that he probably could do the job.
"Silver! Silver!" yelled Xander, getting to his feet. "You can kill him with silver!"
The Fyarl immediately moved after Xander, apparently understanding his words.
Faith panicked. She jumped forward desperately, tackling the demon from behind. She didn't weigh enough to take the monster down, but from his back she was able to get her arms around his throat and squeeze.
He struggled, bellowing. Apparently he didn't like having her hands anywhere near his neck; just like Xander, she thought bitterly.
The demon threw himself backwards, attempting to smash her into the ground. She jumped off at the last possible second, letting him smash himself into the ground while she rolled away unhurt.
Well, mostly unhurt. She could feel both her elbows stinging, and there was sticky liquid dribbling down her face.
Xander threw himself at the Fyarl furiously, screaming at it. He had found a two by four, and was using it as a make-shift club, battering at the Fyarl with all his strength.
The Fyarl batted him away effortlessly, and Faith felt her heart stop as she watched her Watcher hurl through the air and slam down onto the ground, jerkily, like a high-speed videotape.
Faith cursed, diving back into the fray. Once again Xander was acting with no regard at all for his own life. His suicidal tendencies were going to drive her to drinking, she decided.
Well, if she didn't already drink.
She slammed a fist into the Fyarl, trying to knock him off balance. He absorbed the blow easily and backhanded her away.
As she slammed into the ground again she heard a bellow that sounded just the Fyarl. She glanced up, surprised.
Spike charged in, wielding a shining metal stake that he slammed into the Fyarl's chest. As the huge beast collapsed backwards he collapsed to the ground, breathed hard and raggedly.
There were shallow cuts all along his face, and Faith noted more along his wrists. She dragged herself to her feet with some effort. "What was that bellow?" she asked.
"Fyarls are a bloody slowwitted lot," growled Spike. "Start yelling about honor and blood and they freeze up. Didn't fancy letting him get another shot in. You all right, Slayer?"
Faith stretched, feeling unpleasant pops under her skin. "Five by five," she growled.
Spike sighed, rolling his head along his shoulders. "Drusilla's out there," he said, nodding his head away.
Faith glared at him. "And she's still alive because…?"
Spike shrugged. "She was never alive, luv," he corrected her. But as she stared at him she could see something in posture, something not right, that told her he was obfuscating, avoiding her question. Trying to dodge it.
"What is it?" she demanded. "Did you let her go?"
He glanced at her coldly. "Just drop it."
Now Xander had picked himself up, and he was staring at Spike. "You mean you had a chance to end this and you let her go?" he blurted out. He was not only incredulous, Faith could see some rage lurking in his eyes.
Spike sighed, retrieving the silver stake from the Fyarl's body. "Oh, and I suppose you two happened to have silver weapons handy to kill the nice demon?" he asked sarcastically.
"Why do you?" asked Xander, surprised.
"Werewolves," said Spike. "Nasty buggers. They had a whole pack, back when I was hiding from them, trying to track me by scent."
"Back on track!" snapped Faith. "Drusilla! Crazy vamp!"
"I never could stake her," said Spike mournfully. "I'm not that good. I'm not Angel. Could you stake your mother?" His scowl deepened. "I couldn't. Ever. Not ag—I couldn't."
Faith caught his slip. "What, you dusted Drusilla once before?" she snarked.
"Um, he means his real mom," said Xander. "You know, the whole vampire go-back-and-kill-everyone-you-love deal? Didn't you get that memo from Angel?"
Spike scowled. "Exactly," he said, looking just a bit relieved. "Dru's only dangerous to us, really. She won't be trying to destroy the world."
"Well, besides trying to kill us," growled Faith, "she will be doing that vampire thing and killing innocents!"
Spike glowered at her. "Then you do it," he muttered. "She's right behind me." Faith froze, and turned to look back down the street Spike had run down.
True to form, Drusilla was walked down the street slowly. There were several demons with her, large ones, and well-armed. They were moving slowly, almost like zombies, matching her pace. She appeared to be having a giggling fit. Faith stared. "Well, why didn't you say so?" she asked, madder than ever.
Spike shrugged. "You guys never listen to me anyway," he said reasonably.
Faith glanced around. "This is going to be a bit dicey," she said.
"Well, we're going to run," said Spike reasonably, bringing out the shotgun. "Cyclops, you try to slow them down with this." He tossed it over, tossing a box of ammunition a moment later. "I'll get the bikes." He tossed a pair of knives to Faith, who caught them easily, glowering at him.
"I'm going to kill you," she warned him.
"You let psycho there live to come after us with reinforcements!" she hissed.
Spike shrugged. "You think I've given up on getting her a soul?" he asked, his voice rough. Faith blinked. "I owe her!" insisted Spike. "Owe her everything!" He glanced back at Drusilla, who was now within a hundred feet of them. "Well, okay, that's overkill," he said, noting the demon with the chainsaw.
Xander started firing. "Get the bikes!" he screamed, anger in his voice. Spike glanced at him, surprised. "You get her killed and I'll kill you, Spike, I don't care if you're a human!" snarled Xander, pumping the action and firing again.
He was too far away for his shots to have any real effect, but Faith didn't say anything, running back for the bike, stowing the knives in her belt. As she started it she glanced at Spike, who was unloading a sword from his bag, stowing it behind him as he did so.
"I'll distract them, try to grab Dru," snarled Spike. "You do what you have to!"
Grab Xander, he meant. She gritted her teeth and gunned it, swinging the bike back around at him.
She should have tried to stop Spike, she knew. It was a crazy idea, trying to grab the crazy ex. But that was what he did, crazy things, and she didn't really care.
She slowed down as she came alongside Xander. "On!" she snapped.
He hesitated, firing again. Now the demons were so close that he hit one, knocking it down. He jumped on behind Faith, and she gunned it.
He was hanging on around her stomach with one arm, one warm arm with the fingers clamped to her ribs and squeezing her. And it hit her on so many different levels that she curled her hands tight around the handlebars, leaning forward.
It was really the first time he'd touched her since the night she'd tried to kill him. Oh, she'd touched him when she grabbed him in the kitchen, and they'd touched during fights, but this was the first time she'd felt his hands on her again.
It was comforting, in a way. It was nice, if not entirely familiar.
And it was turning her on.
She tucked her chin in. How warped was that, anyway? The chunky carpenter with one eye turned her on.
She heard a roaring noise and half-turned, noting that Spike was even more bloodied, but hadn't managed to snag the loony vampire. She heard more noises and looked back.
She could see cars coming after them, and she scowled, accelerating. "Can you shoot their tires out?" she yelled at Xander.
"When they get closer!" he yelled in her ear. He shifted position, his hand moving around.
It was pretty unfair, she thought, that he wasn't enough of a jerk to at least cop a feel. She shifted, hoping to cause him to lose his balance enough to grab something he shouldn't have.
But he let go, swinging around for a two handed grip on his gun and firing. The recoil knocked him into her, and the bike swayed across the road. Faith was glad at this point they were alone on the road.
Spike pulled up beside them. "Nit!" he roared, reaching out with one hand and snatching the gun from Xander. He pumped it with a smooth move of his single hand, braking hard.
Faith looked back, watching. As the cars caught up Spike fired at point black range, blowing out their tires. Then he accelerated away, pumping again and firing. Faith switched her eyes forward, listening to the reverberating explosions behind them.
Finally they stopped.
"He get them all?" she asked Xander. She had to repeat it before he heard her.
"Yes!" he yelled, his voice too loud in her ear, nearly deafening her.
He was holding himself on with his knees now, his arms by his sides, holding the bike. His knees pressed into her thighs, and she was right back where she started.
Maybe if she'd had an opportunity to get laid in the past month it wouldn't be this bad, she reflected.
Spike took the lead, heading out at a break-neck speed. "We should have helmets!" yelled Xander. Faith shrugged.
Apparently Xander wasn't the only one with a death wish.
Dawn carefully sat down opposite Buffy, noting the pout. "Feeling left out?" she said sympathetically.
"No! Yes! I just… when did… Angel ran away from me to go save Spike! And I'm starting to think he's telling the truth when he says that."
Dawn sighed. "That was the consensus here in brains-ville while you were spacing. You want to talk about it?"
Buffy shook her head. "The days when I came first for Angel ended a long time ago. The days when I came first for Spike apparently also did. But, you know… what's the plan?"
"Smooth segue," said Dawn, amused. "Well, sis, here it is; we're gonna call Xander, and tell him to hoof it as fast as he can to the safe house in Seattle. It's the one closest to him. When he gets there, we're gonna have Slayers waiting for him. Including you, if you like. Angel made it sound like a war, and there's only one organization on this planet more ready for war than us; and it's cool, I checked with l'Eterno, and he's still doing his mysterious thing, not at all throwing down with us. Which is good, because we'd totally kick his butt."
Buffy blinked. "Somewhere, in there, there was sense," she said, marveling. Dawn giggled.
"Cool, huh? Anyway, we're pretty sure Angel has some kind of vision sense-y thing going on, so he can find them. Possibly faster than we can. We figure it's an hour to sun-up where they are; we'll give them the day, then call them."
"Why give them the day?" asked Buffy.
Dawn shook her head. "We don't want them to get to Seattle before the army of Slayers, Buffy," she said reprovingly. "Andy's putting together his strike team; are you on board?"
Buffy stared at Dawn. "And, you?" she asked quietly.
Dawn grinned. "Well, we know that there's still an Italian Wolfram and Hart office. I'm putting together my own strike team, and maybe l'Eterno will help me out on this… he was ambivalent. But my job is to start cutting these Wolfram and Hart rats off at their knees, clear things up for Xander and Faith."
"When did you become the one in charge?" asked Buffy softly.
Dawn shrugged. "Ask Giles," she said obliquely. "And maybe Andy."
"And when did Andrew become Andy?" complained Buffy.
"When I slept with him?" suggested Dawn. "Gotta go get ready to fight! Bye!"
Buffy sat there, her eyes wide. "I'm not an unobservant person!" she complained as Giles entered the room. "Really, I'm not!"
Giles sighed, sitting down. "You just had a meeting with Head Watcher Dawn, I take it?" he asked. "She sneaks up on you. She acts like a little girl, but as soon as bad things start happening, she takes charge, makes sense, gives orders. At first we just took them as suggestions, but not so much anymore. Especially after Andrew, of all people, suggested that we elect a Head Watcher. I had assumed it would be my role; but they didn't think so."
"Wait, she was elected?" asked Buffy, horrified.
"No, of course not," sniffed Giles. "I merely had a quiet conversation with Dawn, and I appointed her Head Watcher." His tone clearly said American ideas like elections would never be part of his Watchers' Council.
"Where did this come from?" asked Buffy.
Giles smiled. "Isn't it obvious, Buffy? It came from you, of course. You taught her everything she knows. How to lead; and how to make hard decisions. When she kicked you out that night… did you ever think about it? Nobody else was going to kick you out, except maybe Kennedy. Nobody else would think of it. But Dawn did it. Why?"
Buffy stared at him, slowly starting to comprehend what he was saying. A small smile tugged at her lips. "Because she knew I needed to get away from everyone else, and think about things," said Buffy. "She knew… and things worked out just as she thought they would, didn't they?"
"You'd strayed," said Giles. "You needed to learn, and she taught you. She's done the same for me on occasion. I have been known to curse her name. When we do finally formalize things… she will be the Head Watcher."
"And not you," repeated Buffy, still shocked.
"I'm a field agent," said Giles. "A Watcher. Now, more than ever."
Buffy shook her head. "Wow. I mean… wow. One morning you wake up and realize that not only were you never really in charge, your kid sister now bosses everyone around."
"Oh, she rarely bosses," said Giles. "She doesn't have to. She just says, and it's done. And she rarely says; she prefers for us to solve our own problems."
Buffy laughed. Then she froze, her face twisting. "Wait, she slept with Andrew?"
Giles flushed. "Er, that was right after Sunnydale, during your … um, are you going with Andrew?"
Buffy made a face. "After finding out he slept with my sister? Ew! No! Is she still here?"
"For another half hour," said Giles. "I think she's packing up."
Buffy sighed, heading up the stairs. "Goodbye, Giles," she said. "Take care!"
Giles let out a sigh when she left. "Oh, Andrew?"
The Watcher-in-training slipped into the room, a guilty look on his face. "I didn't really mean to eavesdrop," he said.
"I know," said Giles. "You slept with Dawn?"
Andrew shrugged. "It was, um. I have never treated her with anything but respect, and we parted on very good terms."
"I've no doubt of that," muttered Giles. "I'm sure you'd have been missing body parts otherwise. You know I just lied to Buffy, don't you? That often comes back to bite me in the arse."
Andrew nodded. "Well, Dawn didn't want to tell anybody… you know how freaky she is about privacy. And, um… well, I went along because I did not want to wake up one morning without my lungs and kidneys."
"Lungs and kidneys?" asked Giles, amused.
Andrew shrugged. "Buffy's very straightforward. She's a lungs person. You? You're sneaky. It would be my kidneys."
Giles sighed. "Your kidneys are safe…at least until after I talk to Dawn."
Andrew smiled. "And thanks for saying I helped Dawn!" he said proudly. "I mean, I wasn't that much help, but it was very nice of you to say so."
Giles shrugged. "You weren't ever any help, it was very nice of me, and you need to get to Seattle."
Andrew took off.
Buffy found Dawn braiding her hair. "Wow, braids," she said awkwardly, stepping into the room.
"Yeah, brings out the kid in me," said Dawn impishly. "Actually, I just needed something easy to do so I can get on the plane in five. We okay?"
"With the SuperDawn deal? Better than okay. Fine! Um, you slept with Andrew?"
Dawn grinned. "Well, I figured if I was dropping bombs, I ought to just put it all out there."
"I feel like you grew up and I wasn't even watching!" said Buffy mournfully.
"Oh, you were watching," said Dawn. "You were there the whole time, in Italy. But I had all that free time… and I've always wanted to rule the world."
They shared a grin. Buffy shook her head. "I want to come back to Italy with you," she said.
"I thought you'd run off after the gorgeous vampire who loves you," said Dawn, confused.
Buffy shook her head. "I'm taking a page from their book, for once," she said. "Forget pining. I'm gonna go do something right, save the world. We can deal with me later."
Dawn grinned. "And here I thought I'd have to kick you out of the house again! I'm so proud!" she said. Buffy picked up a pillow and threw it at her.
