"So let me get this straight." Faith said as they made their way to pick up Angel. "We let this vamp live because a: he has a soul and two: he helps us out, right?"
"Right." Buffy nodded. "But that doesn't mean we're all chummy or anything. He's just around because he's useful."
"Plus Xander goes all green eyed over the fact that you patrol with a another guy, vamp or not, right?" Faith said with a small grin.
"No, that has nothing to do with it." Buffy said as they made it to Angel's apartment. "Well, maybe a little."
"Knew it." Faith said as Buffy knocked. "You got the hots for the goof ball." Buffy was about to retort when Angel noticed the door. The first thing Faith noticed was how unbelievably hot he was, followed by the slight, yet noticeable, feeling of darkness Buffy had described, then her Slayer sense. "You're right, B. Apart from the whole vamp thing, he is a total hottie." Angel looked at the new girl suspiciously. "Don't give me any sideways glances, dusty." She said.
"Faith, meet Angel." Buffy said. "Angel, meet my until yesterday unknown twin sister, Faith."
"Twin sister?" Angel repeated. Whistler hadn't mentioned this, but then again, there was a lot about the Slayer that Whistler had neglected to mention. "And what's with the hair?"
"Why is the hair the first thing everyone notices?" Faith asked. Buffy smiled.
"Who knows?" She said. "And as for your question, Deadboy, it's a reaction to the Potential Slayerness of my sister over here." Faith snickered.
"I wish you wouldn't call me that." Angel pleaded. Buffy smiled.
"Okay." She said. "Come on, Deadboy. We want to get to the Bronze tonight." Faith's snicker turned to all out laughter as Angel closed the door behind him. Why me, he asked the heavens silently. Are this girl and her wit part of my punishment, because if so, I think I've paid my dues by now, don't you?
I'm out of shape, Faith thought as she dusted the last vampire. She was breathing heavily, something she thought was impossible. She looked around, spotting only Angel. "Where's Buffy?" She asked, a sense of foreboding settling over her. One of the first things Joyce- no mom- had taught her was to trust her feelings, her instincts, and hers were telling her something was up.
Angel looked around. Faith wasn't the only one having bad feelings, only his were for a different reason. He could feel her, Dru, his insane Child. And if Dru was here, then Spike was here. And that meant… "Oh no." He muttered.
"Yo, Deadboy. What's going on?" Faith asked.
"Buffy's…your mom had a run in with my Grand Child in college." He explained. "Spike knew about you, or at least, he knew about one of you. His Sire, my Child, is around, and if she's here…"
"No." Faith breathed. Angel didn't need to finish that sentence. She focused on the link her and Buffy shared. Come on, B, where are you? "There." She muttered, taking off in the direction she could sense Buffy in. Angel followed curiously. There was more to this than two Slayer sisters. He just didn't know what.
Buffy had finally caught up to the vampire she was chasing. "You know, you really shouldn't have done that." She said. "'Cause now you've gone and made me mad." She served him a vicious round house in the head, and followed it with a stake to the heart. "That'll teach you." She quipped as he exploded into dust. She was about to head back to the others when the sound of clapping got her attention.
"Well, well, well. You really 'ave come a long way since I saw you last." A British accent said. Buffy turned to face the owner. "I'm definitely goin' to enjoy the fun we'll 'ave over the years." Buffy's breath caught at the sight of the Billy Idol look alike walking towards her.
"You're Spike." She breathed. "The vampire mom told me about." Spike grinned.
"Nice of 'er to do that." He said. "Saves time on the intro's. Means I can get straight to the fun part to of the evenin'. Makin' you mine." Buffy dropped into a fighting stance.
"You wish, blondie." She said, stake back and ready to strike.
"Come on girl, you think I don't know how to handle you?" Buffy felt a sting on her arm. She pulled out the dart that had hit her.
"Too scared of me to go a fair fight?" She asked groggily as the drug began to take effect. She ran herself through the exercises her mom had taught her, trying to get past the forced lethargy that had overwhelmed her. Her knees buckled as she fell to the ground. "You won't get away with this." She muttered. Spike walked up to her, cupping her chin in his hand.
"Who's gonna stop me, pet?" He whispered. "Angel? Don't bet on it." He pulled her up, supporting her with his arms. "By the time he gets here, the deed'll be done. No matter what the Grand Poof does, from this moment on, you're all mine."
"Just don't forget our deal." The shooter said, coming from his hiding place.
"Yeah, yeah, I remember." Spike said, annoyed at the interference. "Don't worry, Finn. You'll get your reward." Yeah, you'll get it all right. Your face'll be the first one my new Child eats. He turned back to Buffy's neck, running a thumb down her vein. "Now, to enjoy my prize." He whispered, revealing his game face.
"Get your fangs away from my sister, shit face!" Faith yelled, running into the clearing. Finn tried to get in her way, but she barrelled right through him. She had to stop Spike before he turned Buffy, before Faith lost her forever.
Finn pulled his gun up, aiming at the new girl. Maybe he'd be allowed to keep one of them. "Think again, trigger happy." Angel said, ramming his foot into the back of the guy's face. Finn folded on the ground, unconscious. He looked up; Faith stood stock still in front of Spike, who was holding Buffy in front of him.
"Angel, what surprise." He said. He switched his gaze to Faith. "Sister, huh? Thought you were dead, pet."
"Seems to be the general opinion." Faith said her eyes locked on Buffy's still form. "Buffy?" The Slayer moaned, floating between consciousness and unconsciousness.
"What a pity, she can't help you." Spike said. "And you sure as hell can't get to me without hurting her." Faith glared at him. Damn it all, what could she do?
"Faith." Buffy's voice echoed across her mind. "Faith, I can't help you, not physically, but I can help you. Your lessons with mom today, remember? You picked it up way faster than you should have. I think I may have been helping you, giving you what you needed accidentally. All you have to do is get him from behind. You can do it, sis. I trust you." Faith nodded, pulling her stake up.
"What're you going to do?" Spike sneered. Faith took a breath and threw the stake over Spikes shoulder. "And that does what?" Faith ignored him, reaching out with the Force like mom had taught her…no, not her. Buffy. She was right; she could do this.
She brought her hand up, concentrating on the stake. Angel watched from behind her as the stake slowed, then stopped completely. It spun so the point was facing Spike, then flew straight at him.
"Bloody hell!" He roared as the stake plunged in. He dropped Buffy and tried to pull the stake out.
"Missed." Faith muttered, storming forward. She leapt over Buffy, ramming her foot into the vampire's face. Spike fell back, forcing the stake through his gut. Faith took the opportunity to rearm herself, ripping her stake out.
"That hurts!" He roared.
"What a shame." Faith sneered. "I meant to hit your heart. Sorry about that. I'm new with this levitaty thing." She brought the stake up. "Can I try again?" Spike snarled and ran off. He was going to have some words with Dru when he got back.
Faith turned to Buffy's still form, to see Angel leaning over her. "Step back, Deadboy." She said, moving to her sister's side. "B? Come on, sis, answer me." She reached down to check her pulse. Still strong. Faith breathed a sigh of relief. "She's just unconscious." She picked her up gently. "I better get her home. And no, you're not coming. B's told me enough to know that you're not welcome."
"At least let me walk you to the front door." Angel knew there was no way she could fight like that. Faith looked over at him.
"You care about her, don't you?" She asked. Angel nodded. "You know you don't have a chance, don't you?"
"I know." He said. "I knew that from the beginning. It doesn't matter, so long as she's safe." Faith's respect for the souled vampire raised a few notches. "Besides, she needs someone that can look after her, someone who can be there at all times, not just the night's."
"You mean like Xander?" Faith teased. Angel looked at her, stone faced.
"Better than Giles, I suppose." He said. Faith had to chuckle at that. "How did you do that with the stake, anyway?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out."
It's not that I don't like Spike, I just think its fun to put the poor bastard through hell. Is that wrong? How do you like the link between the girls? It saves time on the traingin for Faith, and leaves a lot of space for fun.
Stay tuned.
Doc.