Disclaimer: I own Leilita and Faith. Kevin Smith owns all the cool characters. I hope he doesn't sue me, because all he'd get in return is this can of peas I'm holding right now.

Rated PG

A/N: I totally changed what direction I was going w/this one...and I think I like it!

More A/N: Some references to the Ambiguously Gay Duo. (No not Silent Bob and Jay!) I remember they changed the name to Ambiguo Boys, briefly, but they changed it back... Don't worry, it'll make more sense if you read the chapter. ;-)

Even more A/N: I couldn't think up a suitable chapter title... That's what happens when you stop doing 'songfics' and try to be creative and make up your own dam titles... Psssh. ^__~

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Chapter 10: Strength of Character

Leilita turned her honey colored eyes on Faith. Disdain flashed across her face, and she folded her arms cross her massive brass chest plate. "You stupid little human," she sneered, watching with glee as Faith struggled against Azrael's rope bonds. "You'll pay."

"You'll never get away with it," Faith said, confidantly. "My mom will save me."

"Your mother is dead," Azrael snapped, as he finished tying the small, darkhaired girl's arms and legs. "You have nothing, and you have no one."

"That's not true," Faith cried, jabbing an elbow into Azrael's side. "I know my mom's not dead!"

Leilita approached her, slowly, her heavy cape scraping over the dirt ground. "Such a headstrong little girl," she said, addressing Azrael, over Faith's head. "It will be such a shame to blot out her existence, but you gotta do what you gotta do." She offered Faith a smile, and touched her cheek.

The young girl jerked away from Leilita, swallowing hard and tightening her lips. 'I have to be strong', she told herself. 'The Last Scion's not a wimp.' She raised her voice, slightly, so that Azrael and Leilita could hear her. "You'll see. My mom and her friends will find me. They'll save the world, again. You'll see, and then you'll be sorry you ever came back."

* * *

"There's an abandoned barn about five miles up the road," Bartleby stated, as he hunched over a map. He pointed to the location of the barn, beckoning his companions to move in. "It was built on an ancient Indian burial ground in 1895 and - "

"Oh fuck no," Jay cried, almost dropping his kerosene lantern. "There's no fuckin' way I'm setting foot on Indian graves! You ever seen Poltergeist?!"

Bartleby rolled his eyes. "Those things can't happen in real life, Jay. Now just focus, okay? Can you do that, ADHD boy?"

Jay frowned, but said nothing, leaning in to look at the map.

"The reason I think they picked this barn is because the Indian burial ground was also used as a site for Satanic rituals, around 1923. The people called themselves the Minion of the Dark Lord, and made ritual sacrifices on what is now the...site of the outhouse. Leilita might believe that by killing the Last Scion at the site of a Satanic sacrifice, she can bring her family back to life..."

"What a fucked up bitch," Jay mused, nudging Bob in the gut. "I'll bet one night of passionate sex with Jay'd fix her up."

"Stop that," Bethany snapped, whirling on him and jabbing her index finger into his chest. "This isn't the time for your inane little ramblings, okay? When Faith is safe, in my arms, THEN you can talk as much as you like. Until then, zip it." She turned back to the map, as Bartleby put an arm around her shoulders.

"We'll find Faith, Bethany," he said, giving her a little shake. "I've got a hunch - "

"I hope your hunch is right," she mumbled, rubbing her forehead. "If I lose my little girl... I don't know what I'd do."

* * *

Faith sat on the dirt ground, her ankles and wrists chafing from the rope. Her dark hair hung in thick, greasy strands, suffering from neglect, and the lack of a good shower. Loki, the blonde one, approached her, rubbing a bruise on his forehead.

"You're a tough one," he said, almost kindly, getting down on one knee before her. She didn't respond. She didn't even acknowledge that he'd spoken to her. sighing, Loki shuffled closer to her. "Faith."

She tried to move away, but fell over, unable to move her tightly bound arms and legs. "Leave me alone," she snapped, not looking at him.

"I won't hurt you."

"That's not what I'm worried about," she grumbled, allowing Loki to sit her up. "I'm worried about my mother."

Loki nodded, pulling a handkerchief out of the pocket of his jeans. "Here," he said. "I have something for you." He opened the faded kerchief and spread out the contents before her: a Swiss army knife, a package of crackers, some EZ-Wipes and some Band-Aids.

"Why are you being nice to me now?" she asked, as he opened the Swiss army knife and began cutting at the rope. "I thought you wanted me dead."

"I was foolish," he said, sounding beyond his years. "I thought Azrael and Leilita had the answers... Your little escapade in the barn kind of - so to speak - cleared my mind."

"Sorry about the head butt. Mom never liked me to watch WWF Smackdown," Faith said, timidly, rubbing her red wrists.

Loki grinned as he pulled out a tube of Neosporin from his other pants pocket and applied it to the rope burns on her arms, and applied bandages. "We'll get you out of here, Faith," he said, managing a smile. He handed her the crackers and EZ-Wipes. "Wipe your face. You've got a little something on your chin."

Faith did as he told her, and burst into a wide grin when he handed her the Swiss army knife.

"Now, you use that wisely," he instructed her, standing her up and pulling off his jacket, dropping it on her shoulders. "Only use it if it's absolutely necessary."

"Can it kill demons," Faith asked, turning the heavy knife over in her hands. "Like Azrael and Leilita?"

Loki grinned. "You're the Last Scion. You've got the family genes working for you, kid. All you have to do is bless it and the knife will do it's job."

"So... I could bless a chicken and throw it at Azrael, and he'd die?" she asked.

Loki choked back a laugh. "Uh, yeah, technically. Azrael can't die. When his host's body dies, he is sent back to hell where Lucifer gives him some other task to fulfill." Loki put his arm around the girl and gave her a hug. "Good luck."

"Aren't you coming too?" she asked, looking up at him and taking one of his hands in hers. "I can put in a good word for you, you know."

Loki smiled down at her, sadly. "Sorry, Faith. I can't... It's kind of like baseball, you know? Three strikes and you're out?"

She nodded, solemnly, before wrapping her skinny arms around his waist and hugging him. "Thanks for helping, Loki. I'll DEFINITELY put in a good word for you now."

Faith shot him one last look before tucking the knife into a pocket in Loki's leather jacket and slipped through the heavy barn doors.

Loki sighed, sitting down in the scattered hay.

Waiting for his judgment.

* * *

"I'm stuck in a car sandwiched between Ace on one side," snapped Rufus, "and Gary on the other."

"Ace?" asked Jay. "Who the fuck's Ace?"

"Haven't you ever seen Saturday Night Live? Very funny stuff," Rufus said, shifting between Jay and Silent Bob, uncomfortably, as the six of them headed for the abandoned barn.

Bob shook his head.

"Ace and Gary? You know? The Ambiguo Boys?" Rufus said.

Bob shrugged and shook his head.

"The Ambiguously Gay Duo?" asked an exasperated Rufus.

"Who's gay?" asked Jay.

Rufus sighed. "Neveremind, brain damage. Forget I said anything."

In the front seat, Bethany removed the gold locket and chain from around her neck and flipped it open with the sliver of her index fingernail. She touched the small, smiling image of her daughter with her thumb and sighed. "Faith, don't worry. Mom's coming."

Bartleby smiled, yet didn't remove his eyes from the road. "I don't think she'll have a problem, Bethany. She's a strong girl, and wise beyond her years. I think she'll be okay."

Bethany replaced the chain around her neck and sighed. "I hope you're right."

Bartleby nodded. "I KNOW I'm right, Bethany. Just a little bit farther, and then we'll be at the old barn."

Bethany sat back in her seat, gripping her seatbelt in her hands, her knuckles white and aching. 'If anyone harms my little girl, I'll kill them', she told herself, biting on her upper lip and chewing it. 'I'd gladly take Hell to save my daughter.'

* * *

TBC