Night Falls

Notes: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming.

Previously:

"That's what you wanted to talk to me about?" Willow teased, sensing that their conversation was not going to be about their relationship.

"Not exactly," Hailey laughed. She opened her eyes and gazed into Willow's intently. She knew that Willow trusted her explicitly. She also knew that Willow would not react well to her asking the witch to perform such a powerful spell. "Let's go upstairs, okay?" She said softly. "I need to ask you to do something for me and you're not going to like it."

Chapter Forty-Six:

Faith led Buffy into their bedroom, closed the door, and locked it. She stood for several long moments facing the slab of wood, contemplating her word, and terrified that she would be unable to express to Buffy how important this spell could be for them in so many ways. "What's going on?" Buffy asked, standing awkwardly in the center of the room. "You're starting to freak me out."

"Sit down," Faith sighed, turning to face her lover. With her back to the door, Faith watched as Buffy slowly sank onto the bed, her green eyes filled with anxiety and fear. "I said that I needed to talk to you about the girls."

"Yes," Buffy agreed. "You did. What about them?"

"They're not enough," Faith replied. "They'll never be enough."

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked angrily. "You and Hailey are the ones who have been so optimistic about them. I've always thought that this was going to end very badly for everyone, but the two of you managed to convince me otherwise. Now you're telling me you don't think they can handle it? What are we supposed to do now, Faith?" Buffy shouted, rising from the bed.

"Calm down," Faith pleaded, throwing her hands up defensively. "I'm not criticizing you."

"I've busted my ass trying to turn those girls into Potential Slayers instead of letting them just be girls. Wasn't that good enough?" Buffy demanded.

"This isn't about you!" Faith said firmly. "It's about them and they can't hack it. For God sakes, keep your voice down so they can't hear us," Faith added, knowing that most of the girls were upstairs. Buffy sat back down on the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Now will you just let me finish what I was trying to say?" Faith asked wearily.
"Fine," Buffy replied curtly.

"Hailey had a dream," Faith continued.

"A Slayer dream?" Buffy interrupted, suddenly interested in the conversation again.

"Yes," Faith replied. "She believes that the First is trying to assemble an army of Turok-Han vampires in the Hellmouth."

Buffy paled. She clearly remembered the difficulty in fighting one of those vampires by itself. Even though she was a Slayer, the vampire almost won. The Potentials would not be capable of fighting Turok-Hans. "They won't stand a chance," Buffy whispered.

"No, they won't," Faith concurred. "Not unless we do something to help them."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked suspiciously. She knew that Faith wanted to tell her something that she was not going to like. Faith was standing with her back to the door, her hands fidgeting nervously in front of her. Though she was speaking calmly, for the most part, she refused to look at Buffy; instead, her eyes settled somewhere above the blonde Slayer's head on the wall. Buffy smiled slightly, knowing that Faith always had difficulty trying to talk to her about things, from the smallest thing to the most important.

"They need to have an advantage. Training them isn't going to give them that advantage. They'll know how to block a punch, but blocking a punch that's ten times stronger than you, isn't gonna do shit," Faith answered.

"I take it you already have an idea in mind as to what this advantage could be?" Buffy asked.

"Yes," Faith said softly. "Hailey spoke with the Coven."

"The Coven? What could they possibly do?" Buffy asked in confusion.

"A spell," Faith replied simply. "A spell to turn all of the Potentials into Slayers." Silence hung over the room as the words left Faith's mouth. Buffy stared at her blankly for a long time before emotions began to filter through her eyes. First was anger, then jealousy, then resignation, and then hope.

"We could be free," Buffy whispered, as if she believed saying the words out loud would destroy their chance.

Faith smiled and looked down at the ground. "You could be free," she said. Buffy looked up at her quizzically. "I like this life, Buffy. I always have. It's the only thing that's given me any direction or purpose. I can't just abandon that. I'm a Slayer and I'll always be one, no matter how many others there are," Faith said, finally moving forward. She sat down next to Buffy and took one of the blonde's hands in her own. "I know that you've always wanted a normal life. If we do this, you could have one. You wouldn't have to fight anymore. But I can't just give it up. I understand if you can't live with that."

Buffy blinked back tears and reached over, pulling Faith to her, and pressing a passionate kiss to her lips. When she pulled away, she said, "I'm not going to leave you because you want to keep fighting."

"But your normal life?" Faith asked.

"Will be as normal as I want it," Buffy replied. "With you in it. Besides, I don't know if I could give up being a Slayer entirely. Sure, I'd like a vacation. But after a while, I think I'd miss it."

Faith smiled, unconsciously breathing a sigh of relief. The idea had occurred to her that if the world was full of Slayers, Buffy would no longer feel the need to retain her calling. Though Faith wanted her lover to have everything that she wanted, Faith was uncertain if she could live a normal life. Slaying had been everything to her. It was the only thing that stood by herself when everything else had abandoned her. However, she would remain with Buffy as long as the blonde Slayer wished. "So you think it's a good idea?" Faith asked.

"I think if it works, it's a great idea. The First and its army won't stand a chance against an army of Slayers," Buffy replied.

"Good," Faith said, then noted, "I hope Hailey's having as much luck talking to Willow."

……………………………

"How was the desert?" Hailey asked as she and Willow entered the bedroom that they shared.

"Good," Willow replied. "Giles worked with me on meditation, you know, centering myself so that I can retain a sense of calm when I'm using magics. So I don't lose control."

"Do you think that you can?" Hailey asked.

"What?" Willow inquired.

"Keep control," Hailey replied steadily, looking earnestly into Willow's eyes.

"You want to talk to me about magic," Willow stated, suddenly realizing why Hailey believed that she would be anxious about their conversation.

"I do," Hailey said, sighing as she sat next to Willow on their bed. "I know you don't like to talk about it and I know that you're afraid to use it."

"But…" Willow said, sensing the end of Hailey's thought.

"But we're going to need you very soon," Hailey finished.

"What kind of magic are we talking about here?" Willow asked nervously. Hailey smiled and reached over, brushing a strand of her red hair behind her ear. "You mean like a protection spell?"

"No," Hailey said slowly. "Intense magic…the kind of magic you don't want to use."

"I can't," Willow started, but Hailey held up a hand to silence her.

"I'm not asking you to do it alone," Hailey elaborated. "The Coven is sending representatives to help with the spell. They believe in you. I believe in you."

"You didn't see me when I went all end-of-the-world-y," Willow mumbled.

"I know a thing or two about losing control," Hailey said softly, trying to meet Willow's eyes, though the witch looked away. "I know that you can do this. It's going to be scary and there'll be a moment when you don't think that you can finish. But I know that you can. I know that if you really dig in deep and reach down inside of yourself, you'll find that there's so much goodness in you. Nothing evil can stand against that."

Willow sniffled and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "You really think I can do this?" She asked tearfully.

"I wouldn't ask you if I didn't," Hailey said, pulling Willow into a warm embrace. The witch melted in her arms, allowing her tears to fall freely. Hailey closed her eyes, feeling a deep pain in her heart, knowing that she was partly the cause of Willow's sadness and frustration. She wish that she did not have to ask her lover to perform the spell, but she knew that there was no other way. Finally, Willow's tears abated and she pulled away, though she remained close to Hailey. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she laughed embarrassedly.

"Sorry about your shirt," she murmured, letting her head rest on Hailey's shoulder.

"It's okay," Hailey replied.

"So this spell that I'm going to be doing…what is it?" Willow asked.

Hailey smiled and looked down at her. "You're going to do it?"

"Yeah," Willow said softly. "I can do this."

"I had a dream, a Slayer dream," Hailey began. "I saw that the First was amassing an army of Turok-Han vampires. I knew, even in that dream, that we would be unable to defeat them. No matter how much we train the girls, they're just not strong enough."

"The spell is to strengthen them?" Willow questioned.

"In a way," Hailey responded. "The Coven believes that we can take control of the Slayer line, break it away from the influence of the Powers that Be, and turn all of the Potentials into Slayers."

"Gods," Willow said breathlessly, lifting her head to look into Hailey's eyes. "You want me to turn all of the girls into Slayers?"

"Yes," Hailey faltered, penetrated by the intensity of Willow's gaze.

"Can that even be done?" Willow wondered aloud.

"The Coven seems to think so," Hailey assured her. "I wasn't so sure myself, but when I spoke to the Head Mistress, she seemed optimistic."

"This definitely isn't a protection spell," Willow muttered, rubbing her forehead. "We're going to need some heavy magics for this."

"I don't like asking you to do this, Will," Hailey said emphatically. "But we're not going to defeat the First without this spell. I know that. It may seem pessimistic, but it's true."

"I know it's true," Willow said sadly. "We've faced some unbeatable odds, but to fight the first of all evils, that's a burden that we can't help but buckle under. Even with three Slayers, I don't believe that anyone had much hope."

"But an army of Slayers," Hailey said, her eyes twinkling, "not even the first of all evils could stand against that."

…………………………………..

The First stood in the hidden room of the vineyard, angrily staring at the empty place on the altar where the Scythe had previously rested. A few Bringers were hovering behind her, their heads bent with guilt, knowing that they had been the cause of their master's unhappiness. "Where's my Scythe?" The First finally asked. In its mind, it heard the answer. The Bringers could not speak aloud; it had taken that privilege away from them. Only through the First could they speak and so it heard their very thoughts. She heard them say that the Slayers came and took the Scythe when they had been gathered at the high school, aiding in the process of assembling the Turok-Hans. The First laughed without humor.

"It matters not," it said confidently. "With or without the Scythe, the Slayers will fall under my army. There is no other end to this." The Bringers filed out of the room as quickly as they could. Caleb had been killed. Hailey still lived. The Scythe had been taken. These things were setbacks for the First, but nothing more, for the First still had some tricks up its sleeves. The Slayers thought that they were untouchable now that Caleb was gone, but little did they know that even as they celebrated their victory, a traitor lingered in their midst. The vineyard could be abandoned; the First no longer required it. Everything that was needed lie in the basement of Sunnydale High School. The First smiled and walked out of the room and up the stairs. As it walked out into the light of day, it murmured, "Eternal night will fall upon this place and all will be brought to ruin."