Chapter Two

Sunnydale

Xander did not expect to be woken at 1 AM, so Willow was pretty understanding when her groggy and half asleep friend answered the door, invited her in quite grumpily, and then had to have the situation explained to him a couple of times before he got the general gist of it. It did not help matters at all that she told him in a complete rush that was part babble and part explanation. He jumped up off the couch that he had deposited his weary and half clothed body on and made for the door whilst telling Willow that they should get to Giles.

"Xander…while Giles will probably appreciate us getting to him as fast as possible, or maybe not 'cause it's really early in the morning… I think he'd want you to get changed first," Willow told him a little embarrassedly.

He looked at himself in the mirror on the wall nearby and realised his near naked state. "Oh" he said to himself half sheepishly. "Good point! I'll be right back," Xander hurried off into the bedroom.

Willow tried not to listen in on the immediate conversation that arose between Xander and Anya; someone else didn't appreciate being woken up before the sun either. "Ooh, did she say what kind of portal it was? Or what it looked like?" the ex-demon asked once she was a little more awake and a lot less annoyed.

"No, Anya, I was a little bit more interested in the fact that Buffy disappeared than asking Willow about all the pretty colours." Xander replied as he slipped into a pair of pants that had been chucked on the floor a few hours earlier.

Anya got up off the bed and started getting dressed. Xander paused and looked at her, silently asking 'you're coming?' She shrugged whilst replying "What? I want to know what's going on as much as you do. I could be helpful." While in actuality she was just being a little nosy, Anya did not want to miss out on the action. Besides, with Giles preoccupied with Buffy's disappearance, that would leave the Magic Shop all to her. "Anyway, you're all panicky, and I can calm you down. Really, this might be nothing, and Buffy will suddenly pop out of nowhere. Spontaneous appearances have happened many times before…of course, those times there was usually the loss of a limb when the missing person did return, or sometimes a finger, but one time there was a head. Though on that occasion, the person died --."

"Wow, really? I would've thought he'd have been wide awake," Xander responded sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"Fine, be that way, but I'll have you know it is quite possible for some species of demon to exist for a short period of time without their head. If they get it back within a certain period, they'll live. If that person hadn't been half human, he would have survived," Anya reeled off the facts as though she had been present at the time, when in actual fact she had heard that bit of information from the friend of a friend of an enemy.

"You're really not helping," Xander pointed out. He shrugged on his jacket as his girlfriend slipped on a blue shirt that was actually his. Hers was somewhere around, but seeing as Xander was in a rush there was no time to find it. They both headed out of the bedroom at the same time; a few minutes later, the three friends were in his car and speeding through the streets to Giles' house.

Sunnyhell

The demons had not noticed Faith; too intent were they on teasing and prodding their terrified human victim. She was torn between walking away and helping the poor guy. On one hand, she ought to mind her own business, and besides, she had problems of her own to deal with. On the other hand, something inside her insisted she go about her slayer duties and win some justice.

She had been in the prison for a year and half; she didn't want to jeopardise her newfound freedom by potentially getting killed five minutes after her escape. She sat crouched in front of the heavily dirt stained window and surveyed the room, pondering the situation. Being cooped up in a cell wasn't the best training area, and with the rule of not being able to pound the other inmates, she had not fought an actual opponent for a long time. Not that she doubted she'd still be able to hold her own against the bad guys, of course. Faith just didn't want to rush in there with six demons if she was a little rusty.

Faith made her decision quickly. Who was she kidding? She couldn't wait to get in there and teach the demons a thing or two. And if a vampire with a soul could atone for past mistakes then she could too. Her death toll was a whole lot lower for that matter.

When the door slammed back on its hinges and fell to the dusty floor, the demons jumped to their feet and were struck still as statues in their confusion. It looked as though they hadn't had to really fight potential food before. The slayer stood there, waiting expectantly. "Come on, what are you waiting for? Or are you weak and scared as well as butt ugly?" she taunted.

If the sight of a human that wasn't afraid of them didn't get them moving, the insult certainly did. They charged at her. The room was narrow, so only two could get close to her at anyone time. It helped the odds a little bit.

Faith rammed the first red and horned demon's bulky head into the wall. She had thought the bulk was merely fat but as the thick flesh tore she saw it was bone. Hitting the thing's face was going to hurt her fist more than it hurt his head. It also didn't help the wall much. He pushed himself out of the concrete and left a gaping hole in his wake. One of his smaller green pals took off out the back door, leaving the odds 5-1. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Bulky Red drew his large fist back as she twisted the muscled arm of his smaller comrade. The little demon's arm snapped, and he let out a roar of pain and fury. Faith tossed him over the glass counter, and he landed on a faded carpet and shards of glass. She turned to once again take on bulky Red, just in time to greet his fist with her stomach. She flew backwards through the doorway and landed heavily on her back; at least there were no smelly garbage cans this time.

Being outside now gave her more options in relation to possible weapons; it also provided more space to fight. Unfortunately, that also aided the remaining four demons. They edged around her cautiously in a circle before closing in.

"I thought you were dead anyway…do slayers have nine lives as well as superior strength?" Cordelia asked conversationally. She had stopped walking around Buffy as though inspecting a prize horse, and now stood with her arms folded, looking just like a student asking questions of the teacher.

"I was dead?" Buffy asked, feigning stupidity. If this wasn't her Sunnydale, then she might as well get some answers about this place from a semi-reliable source. If there was one thing she could say about this Cordelia, it was that she was more dangerous than the human version, which meant she could not be taken lightly.

"Well duh," the vampire responded as though talking to an idiot that wasn't quite with the conversation. "When a person drowns and doesn't get medical attention, that's usually what happens. I always thought the Master would make you one of us anyway," Cordy added, more to herself.

Buffy was starting to get the general gist of what had happened. A chill ran through her as she remembered her time with the Master, the first big bad she had faced. "The Master is alive?" she asked in hushed tones.

"Yeah…I'd take you to meet him, but first you have to die," she told the Slayer cheerfully before advancing.

If I died, that means Kendra is here… Buffy processed that thought as she mechanically blocked a surprisingly good punch from Cordelia. It reminded her that the Kendra from her world was only dead because of Drusilla, and that made her mad. Although Cordelia wasn't that particular crazy vampire, she would make a good substitute. Buffy punched Cordelia in the jaw, the force knocking her backward against one of the many gigantic containers that littered the dockyard; she took her frustrations out on the once popular girl of Sunnydale High.

Buffy heard the sound of running feet, but she did not let that break her concentration. The cavalry had, unfortunately for her, finally arrived. She narrowly avoided falling flat on her back as Cordelia made an attempt to sweep her off her feet. There must have been six more vampires that came to watch the show; it only took them a couple seconds to decide they wanted to participate, and then ran toward Buffy as a single mass.

A crossbow bolt slammed into the heart of one, lingered in the air, and then dropped to the wet floor as she exploded in a cloud of brown dust. That effectively stopped the remaining vampires in their tracks. Fear appeared in their eyes; it was a reaction that Buffy had seen herself when a vampire that recognised her or had heard of her reputation had to take her on… only this time, they weren't looking at her.

"It's Kendra!" one of them hissed and readily contemplated turning back the way he had come, not caring if he looked like a coward to his companions.

"We can take her," another one immediately answered. "You think one Slayer and a bimbo can take us?" she demanded.

Cordelia was backing away toward the other vampires; Buffy ignored her and turned her attentions to the other female vampire. "Excuse me? Did you just call me a bimbo?" she asked indignantly. "You called me a bimbo? The vampire with a pasty complexion that thinks multicolored spiky hair is a good look for the undead?" Almost unconsciously, the female vamp touched her hair and glared at Buffy.

"Are we going to fight, or do you want to stand around here and talk the rest of the night?" Kendra strode towards them and let fly another bolt even as she walked. The second cloud of dust was the perfect thing to get the fight started again.

Bulky Red, Faith decided, was definitely the boss. The remaining demons dropped back to let him come toward her, so she concentrated mostly on him. She ducked another punch that was, this time, aimed at her head. He was fighting out of anger now, whether it was because of his unconscious buddy or because he realised he had to fight his food and not just play with her. Whatever the reason, his punches came thick and fast, quickly putting her mostly on the defensive. Faith did not like that. When she fought a demon, she liked things to go her way -- he should be on the floor gasping for breath by now. She matched him hit for hit, and a smaller red demon began to close in; it seemed he was bored with the waiting.

"Not so talkative now, are you?" Bulky Red let out a deep laugh.

His arrogance was to be his downfall. Faith began to slow down, acting as though she were running out of steam and tiring. Bulky Red saw this as an opening; he thought the ending was near and saw her as a mere weakling. He left himself open to attack, believing he could block anything she threw at him. When the portal had thrown her out, the chewed up bars had come with her. Faith snatched one up and thrust it through his neck. The demon's eyes widened in shock, and he gargled as green blood dripped from his mouth. She pulled the bar free at the same time as he dropped to the floor, and it slid out of his thick flesh easily. "Who's laughing now?"

The other demons certainly weren't.

A screech of tires turned their heads. A white van sped toward them, and as it slowed down, a brown haired young man jumped out with an axe. "Hey, wolf boy," Faith greeted before turning her attention back to the other demons.

Oz abruptly looked at her, clearly startled. "How…?" he stopped; questions could wait.

The van had halted a few feet behind them, and now Faith felt a hand grab her hand. "Come on. Get in the van!" an unfamiliar voice urged.

Faith looked up at the taller young man. He held a sword and was anxiously watching the demons. "You, I don't know," she commented before shaking his hand off her arm. "Can you guys handle these?"

"What? Yes, but we have to go. Now!" the stranger announced and moved to grab her to pull her away.

"A word of advice here, friend, don't tell me what to do, and we'll get along fine." Another demon came toward them at a run. This one was short and stocky, green in colour, but no less bony. The difference was his long claws; he raised his right hand to sweep the deadly points across her face. She grabbed the sword, and bone and metal met in midair. This time it was surprisingly easy to overcome the demon -- the weapons won, and the claws clattered to the floor. Blood trickled out of the remaining short stumps, and the demon began gasping. Faith watched it in confusion; generally she didn't need to cut a demon's nails to kill it.

"Its veins run into the claws. Cut the claws, kill the beast," Oz explained in simple terms.

"Whatever." There was one demon left, and he was debating taking a run in a direction opposite to Faith. She decided Oz and the other guy could take care of the last one, and took of in the direction of the shop.

"We'll have to leave her!"

"We can't, Larry," Oz shot back. The whole reason for the Whitehats was to help people, and while the brunette wasn't really shouting for help, that didn't mean she should be left behind. "We need people on our side. I think she can probably help."

Faith still held the sword, and she used this to knock off the lock that kept the shopkeeper imprisoned. He was sat at the back, trying to make himself as small as possible. He shivered uncontrollably. "Hey, come on…you can come out," Faith tried to sound reassuring.

"No, no, no. You should not be here," he murmured half to himself. "Everything is out of balance, out of harmony." He rocked backward and forward, his long arms wrapped around his thin frame.

"In case you haven't noticed, demons are running around like they own the place; balance and harmony are the last things you should be worried about. Now you have to come out, okay?" Faith moved down onto her knees so that she was at eye level with the man. "I'm gonna give you my hand so I can pull you out of there -- just don't go crazy on me." She instructed before reaching her arm to pull the man out.

He shot up, his piercing grey eyes acknowledging her presence for the first time since her arrival. His flung an arm out, and his fingers gripped the sleeve of her uniform. "You should not be here! This is not your place!" Faith wrenched her arm from his surprisingly strong grasp. "Trouble, trouble, lots of trouble."

"Hey, I'm trying to do the whole atonement thing, but you're not making this real easy," Faith retorted. She grabbed him and yanked him out of the cage before standing again. "Now I saved you. You go someplace safe. My job is done." She turned to leave.

"I go too," the man told her and began to follow.

"No, you see, you said I was trouble. Usually people try and get away from trouble," Faith tried to dissuade the man.

Oz stood in the doorway with the axe, the blade smeared with the demon's green blood. "Everyone comes," he told her. Well, that was that. Faith didn't have anywhere else to go, and at least she recognised Oz, even if this one had no idea who she was. That wasn't such a bad thing considering the fact that the one she did know probably wouldn't want to help her, because she was supposed to be in prison.

Oz led the two of them back toward the van; they passed the decapitated last demon on the way. Faith looked around the area; there was still one out there. There was one more out there, the one that had fled. That would have to be another demon for another night.