Chapter 4 - Rituals
Things were weird with Buffy for a few days, and everyone was getting concerned. They were no longer harassing her about the mystery gentleman because she told them it was a random guy and nothing happened. But now they were worried that she was being distant. In addition to everything, the career fair had started and Buffy couldn't help but be reminded that she would never have a career. Herself, Xander and Willow were all seated at a table filling out the interests survey, and Xander was ranting about something. Buffy wasn't really tuned into their conversation but she shifted back to reality to here Xander say "It's just these people can't tell from one multiple choice test what we'll be doing for the rest of our lives. It's ridiculous."
"I'm kinda curious to find out what sorta career I could have." The cheery hacker stated with a large grin.
"And suck the spontaneity out of being young and stupid?" Xander sarcastically argued.
"You're not gonna be young forever." Willow retorted, more serious now.
"Yes. But I'll always be stupid." Xander said just as Faith pulled up a chair next to the other slayer.
"You're not stupid X-man, you're just special." Faith joked at his expense.
"Why aren't you filling out the test?" Willow asked the brunette slayer, trying to sound interested. She was preoccupied by the thought of how cute the two warriors would be together. Faith spoke up and jolted her from her wandering.
"I know what I'm gonna be, got the whole destiny deal." Faith said looking at Buffy. "Why are you bothering, B?"
"I don't know." She said dropping her pencil. "Let's get out of here." And the chosen two got up from the table and left their friends. When they were alone in the hallway Faith started to enquire about Buffy's unusual mellowness.
"Are we ok?" Faith asked as they turned a corner. "I mean..." She continued uncharacteristically nervous.
"I'm already over it Faith." Buffy said with a smile, which was whole-heartedly mirrored by the younger girl.
After stumbling upon a vampire heist in the cemetery during patrol that night, Buffy, Faith and Giles had to return to the scene the next morning. The two girls argued it was not important, just another vampire hijink but Giles insisted they find out exactly what was taken by the undead demons and for what purpose. They entered the mausoleum and Giles immediately notices the name "Du Lac" over the entrance. He recognized the name to be that of the author of the book stolen from him last week by a vampire. Knowing the book contained dark rituals, which could only be read with a Du Lac Cross; it was not hard to figure out what had been stolen from the tomb. The scoobies would be forced to pull an all-nighter to discover the connection with these events.
Buffy and Faith were talking in her room after the long night of research. "I just wish I could have a normal life. I wish I wasn't a slayer. I wish I could look forward to having a job and a family." Buffy says not looking at her friend sitting next to her. She lifts her head, making eye contact and continues "I wish I could fall for someone normal..."
Faith felt uncomfortable by the intensity in her eyes. Those eyes... was all she could think as she felt herself being pulled in by them. She eventually knocked herself out of the trance and tried to comfort the blonde. "B, look at what you do have. Great friends, great mom, the perfect watcher... and who says you can't have someone normal and have a family. I don't believe for a second that by being slayers, we'll never get that stuff." She finishes by laying a gentle hand on Buffy's leg just above the knee.
"Faith, I'm sorry I let what happened on Halloween..." Buffy said before she was cut off.
"Stop B. Everything's fine now. We're five by five." Faith said getting up from the bed and looking around at the pictures Buffy had displayed. She picked up one and laughed, showing it to the other slayer.
"Oh my god. My Dorothy Hamill phase. My room in L.A was pretty much a shrine, Dorothy dolls, and Dorothy posters. I even got the Dorothy haircut. There by securing a place for myself in the geek hall of fame." I sorrowful expression was starting to appear on her face and she continued. "I wanted to be her. My parents were fighting all the time and skating was an escape. I felt safe."
"I danced. I took ever dance class I could. That was my escape." Faith said nodding in understanding. "There's a rink near my motel. I heard someone say it was closed on Tuesdays."
"Today is Tuesday." Buffy said quizzically.
"Let's go." The brunette said laying the picture back and grabbing her friend loosely by the hand.
Buffy had managed to find skates for both of them hide away in the spare room. And they were now on the ice relearning to skate together. Buffy was doing much better then Faith, not surprisingly. "How long has it been since you skated, Faith?" The blonde said through her laughter.
"A while." Faith answered uncharacteristically sheepish. It made her realize that every moment with Faith was new, she was always surprised by the brunette and she loved it. Buffy was shot out of her thoughts when her skating partner went barreling into the sideboards. The blonde didn't waste anytime skating to her trying to help her up.
"You ok?" Buffy asked genuinely concerned. She couldn't help but stare at the deepness of Faith's eyes. She couldn't believe she had never noticed their unyielding beauty before. She then moved her gaze to focus on her full painted lips; unknowingly she began to move her lips to meet the object of her desire. Suddenly she was grabbed viciously from behind. She wriggled free from the attacker's grip and flipped him over her shoulder onto the hard ice. Faith was at her side in a single moment, she lifting her leg and used her skate to slit their opponent's neck. Buffy sat down on the ice coughing and holding her throat and Faith quickly sat down next to her and held her close. When Buffy had regained herself, they got up to leave but Faith noticed an interesting ring on the dead man hand. She grabbed it in hopes that Giles would know the symbol and maybe figure why he would attack the slayers.
They whole scooby gang had been assembled late in the evening to hear what kind of trouble Buffy and Faith had gotten into. The two walked through the library doors to see their friends gathered around the table at the center of the floor. "Now Buffy, you have something you wanted me to look at?" Giles enquired walking from his office.
"Yeah. We were attacked, and the guy was wearing this." Buffy responded passing him the ring as her partner walked to the table, grabbed a donut and sat down.
"Oh dear." Giles stated with great worry in his voice. "The Order of Taraka." Receiving a room of inquisitive looks, he continued. "It's a society of deadly assassins dating back to King Solomon. Their credo is to sow discard and kill the unwary."
"How do we can fight this?" Buffy says bluntly.
"They have no earthly desire except to collect their bounty. You two are in great danger." Giles answered. Both slayers did not seem convinced, so he explained further. "Buffy, once the Order of Taraka has been summoned, they never stop coming. For every one you defeat, there is another. And another. We must get you two somewhere safe until we can end this."
Willow speaks up with a great epiphany. "You think whoever sent these assassins also stole the cross?"
"Yes, Willow. They may be trying to distract the slayers while they perform the ritual." Giles states truly amazed at her perception.
"So we just have to find out what was in the book so we can find out who we're looking for? Isn't that what you've been doing?" Faith questioned a little too anxious.
"Spike sent them." Angel says walking in at the perfect moment. "Spike is trying to restore Drusilla to normal strength."
"My god. I'll research the ritual, so we may stop this. Thank you Angel. You have been most helpful." Giles says scurrying to the stacks.
"Be careful Buffy." He says obviously concerned, turning around to leave.
Angel didn't walk far from the school before sensing a familiar presence. "You've been a naughty daddy..." The woman's eerie voice taunts. "Helping the slayer." Angel didn't get a chance to respond before he knocked unconscious by a blonde vampire. "Now let's get you fixed up luv." He says picking up the other vampire's limp body.
Everyone is still in research mode in the library, except for Buffy and Faith who were somewhat snuggled on the stairs. Buffy had fallen asleep on Faith's lap with a book still grasped with one hand, and Faith had fallen asleep shortly after, entwining their bodies somehow. Willow glanced up from the page at them and a huge smile appeared on her face. She was wonder how it was going with them, since Buffy hadn't said anything about it in a few days. But it was clear to her that they were well on their way. She was pulled from these thoughts when Giles walked from his office and began speaking to them. "I fear the worst is yet to come. I've discovered the key to Drusilla's cure. The ritual requires the presence of her sire and it must take place in a church on the night of a new moon."
"That's tonight." Faith stated indifferently, still groggy and trying to free herself from the body lying on her.
"Angel. He's Drusilla's sire." Buffy says grimly.
Xander, inappropriately as usual, pipes in with a joke. "Man, that guy got major neck in his day." Only receiving a laugh from Faith and a smack from Willow, he decides to let it go.
Buffy is getting even more worried about her friend. "Will it kill him?" She asks trying to keep the sadness from herself.
"Yes, I'm afraid it will." Giles says solemnly.
"I'm going to Willie's. Faith." She says signaling the brunette who left right behind her.
As usually Willie claims he knows nothing and Buffy is tossing him around. She smacks him against the wall and asks again of Angel's whereabouts. "Honest. I don't know where Angel is." He chokes out.
"What about this ritual? What have you heard?" Buffy asks but he's keeping quiet so far.
"Just hit him B!" Faith says getting frustrated with the severe lack of violence.
"She likes to hit." Buffy says trying to scare the guy.
He finally decides a beating from two slayers is not worth it and confesses. "Y'know, maybe I did hear something about this ritual. It's coming back to me. But, I'd have to take you there."
"Let's go." Buffy says in full slayer mode now.
He takes them to an old church and as they walk down a long hallway Willie says to Buffy "Here you go. Don't say your friend Willie doesn't come through in a pinch." As they round the corner they run straight into some new, scary-looking assassins and Willie repeats himself to them this time. The assassins grab the girls and haul them through a large set of doors.
Spike is in the middle of the ritual when Willie brings them in. "Hey there pal. I got your slayers."
"Are you mad? Tripping? You bring them here? Now!" Spike said furious at the man.
"You said you wanted them." Willie tried to defend himself.
"In the ground! Pinhead. I wanted them dead." Spike tried to explain.
Willie kept up. "Dead or alive is what I heard." He tried to get himself out.
"You heard wrong." Spike stated simply, turning to look at the horrified expression on Buffy's face as she stared at her alley, already gone limp. "Don't feel bad for Angel. He's got something you don't have."
"What's that?" Buffy asked snarkly.
"Five minutes." Spike said receiving Faith's foot in his face.
The church erupts into a huge fight. Buffy battling Spike, Faith battling the two deadly assassins. But the two on one got too heavy for Faith after a few minutes when she was knocked down by an enormous slab of wood. Buffy rushed to see if she was alright. "Faith, are you ok?"
"Five by five, B." Faith said straining to sit up.
"More like 2x4." Buffy said jokingly. Spike took this opportunity to make a getaway with his beloved Drusilla. They finish off the assassins and Buffy sees Angel lying lifeless on the altar. She looks at Faith soundless asking what to do.
"I'm alright, B." Faith answers and Buffy runs up to him. Picking up the nearest object, she nails Spike in the back of the head. Sending him headfirst into the wall with Dru still in his arms.
"I'm good." Buffy says with a grin, just as the church begins to collapse. She grabs Angel and they run out before the whole building comes down.
The next few days were very slow on the hellmouth. It was worrying the slayers, but Giles assured them it was nothing to worry about. Buffy was sitting in her room getting kinda brooding thinking about everything that had happened, but mostly about Faith. She decided she'd had enough of this self-pity and picked up the phone to call Willow. "Hello?" Came a voice on the other end.
"Hey Wills. What's goin' on?" She asked excitedly.
"Just finishing up my homework. What's the news in Buffyville?" She enquired returning the enthusiasm.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking Will." Buffy said with sadness in her voice.
"The kind of thinking that involves a certain brunette slayer?" Willow teased.
"Yes." Buffy said shyly. "Even with everything hellmouthy going on, all I can think about is Faith. I don't know what to do."
"You once told me something very wise Buffy." The redhead stated trying to arouse her attention.
"What's that?" Buffy asked thinking she couldn't remember ever being wise.
"You said carpe diem. I think you should take your own advice." She responded smugly
"Fish of the day?" The blonde asked more then confused.
"Not carp Buffy, carpe. You have to do something about your feelings or they will get the better of you." Her friend said trying to convince her.
"I almost kissed her Will." She responded bluntly.
"Well that's a start. Almost?" Willow asked now taking on a confused face.
"We were attacked by that assassin guy." Buffy said with regret in her voice.
"Bummer...it'll happen, sooner or later." Willow replied solemnly. "Buffy, it's getting late. I should get to bed."
"OK Wills, I'll see you tomorrow." Buffy said hanging up.
That night while she slept, Buffy had a horrific dream, and she knew it was prophetic. Drusilla had not lost her life...or unlife in the church that day. She knew things were gonna get sticky now. She knew. . Her worries just got a lot worse.
That morning Buffy got up early, well more like was bolted from sleep by this horrible nightmare. She got ready as quickly as possible and went to get Faith at her motel. She was in the middle of her routine when a knock sounded at the door. "It's open." She yelled from the bathroom with a toothbrush still in her mouth. She rinsed and walked out to see who was visiting so early. "Hey B." She said enthusiastically to the sorrow looking blonde before her. "What's up?" She asked more concerned.
"I had a dream that Drusilla was still alive. I think it was a slayer dream." She replied trying to hold back her fear.
"B, not every dream you have comes true. What else did you dream last night?" Faith enquired placing a calming hand on her friend's shoulder.
"I dreamt Willow became a famous singer and married Elton John." She said with a laugh.
"See what I mean." The brunette said giggling. I don't giggle She thought to herself.
"I guess you're right. Willow really can not sing." Buffy said and they both burst into laughter. "I'm just scared Faith." She says and Faith takes her into her arms trying to sooth her before saying they should leave for school.