Animatus
Notes: Thanks for the reviews. I noticed a general point come up among them: you guys thought Anya's reasoning for why Faith went nuts was a bit trivial. Let me try to defend myself on that point. Yes, there was a whole lot going on that made Faith turn – jealousy being the primary motivation. I think most of you would agree with me on that. But jealousy is always rooted by a desire for something. That desire can sometimes be translated as love. Love makes you do crazy things, like kill people. Yes, it is simple. No, it's not the whole truth. That interaction was just my way of having another character try to explore Faith. They all have different ideas for why she turned evil; I just wanted to voice some of those opinions. Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that, so if you have a counterpoint, please share it with me.
Previously:
They walked the road leading to the campus quietly, slowly becoming aware that the claustrophobic silence surrounding them was being broken by desolate, hungry wails. They reached the top of the hill and looked down. Anya drew in a sharp breath. "That's a lot of zombies," she stated.
Faith nodded. She could feel Buffy's energy again, pulsing like a beacon of light in the dark. It was close. "She's here," Faith said softly.
"Do you know where?" Anya asked.
"No," Faith shook her head. "But we're gonna find her."
Chapter Seven: Trust:
"How do propose we do that?" Anya asked, surveying the campus with dismay."I'm still working on that part," Faith murmured.
"Wait," Anya said, looking over at her sharply. "You don't actually have a plan?"
"I'm not so good with making plans," Faith answered defensively. "I just do things and hope they work out well."
"I wish you would have told me that before I insisted on coming," Anya muttered. "So we need a plan."
"Yeah," Faith agreed. "We do."
"If I were a vampire slayin' survivor of a massive zombie attack," Anya reasoned, "where would I go?"
"The cafeteria?" Faith suggested.
"No," Anya said, pointing to a building in the center of the campus. "See that one? That's the cafeteria."'
"Too many windows," Faith nodded.
"The zombies would see them and break in," Anya concluded. "What about the gym?"
"Which building is that?" Faith asked.
"That one," Anya said, pointing to a building on the far left of the campus.
"Where are the dorms?" Faith questioned.
"There," Anya said, pointing to a cluster of buildings on the far right.
"It's too far," Faith dismissed. "All of the students were probably asleep, or at least just waking up, when things went down."
"If Giles is right, anyway," Anya said, "the zombies came from here. They were probably caught off guard."
"No one would have had a chance to escape," Faith finished. "They could have moved sometime during the two weeks after."
"I don't know," Anya shook her head, "I'm not sure even Buffy could convince anyone to trek across a campus full of zombies."
"So we'll check the dorms first," Faith nodded. "That sounds like a plan to me."
"Vaguely," Anya agreed. "There's still the matter of how we're gonna get down the hill without all of them noticing us," she said, motioning towards the collective assemblage of zombies wandering around the campus below them.
Faith smiled grimly. "Any suggestions for that?"
"Oh!" Anya said excitedly. "I got one."
"What?" Faith asked warily.
"We could pretend to be zombies," she replied enthusiastically.
Faith chuckled and shook her head. "You think that would work, huh?" She asked jokingly.
"Here, look at this," Anya said, laying down her shotgun. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed. A blank look came over her face and she stumbled towards Faith, moaning like a deranged monkey. Faith burst out laughing.
"Somehow I don't think that will work," she replied, once she could speak again. Anya rolled her eyes, picking up her shotgun again.
"You underestimate the power of my zombie impression," Anya replied seriously, though she smiled widely.
"Come on," Faith said as she slowly began to descend the hill. "See the building closest to us?" She asked. Anya nodded as she followed. "I don't see any of them around it. Let's start there."
The two women cautiously pressed forward, edging towards the shadow of the dormitory to which they were headed. Several trees stood between them and the building. To these, they furtively pushed. The zombies had not noticed them thus far. Faith breathed deeply, trying to calm her racing heart. "Are you okay?" Anya whispered over to her, as they ducked behind a bench. Faith peered over the edge, watching the oblivious zombies closely.
"Five by five," Faith replied shakily, gripping her shotgun tightly.
"You're not panicking are you?" Anya questioned as they began to move again, creeping across the ground.
"Maybe a little," Faith admitted. Only several yards remained between them and the building. Faith glanced over at the nearest zombies, which were stumbling about unaware of their presence.
"What?" Anya asked sharply. "You're not supposed to tell me that."
"You asked," Faith said emphatically, as they ducked behind a tree.
"You're a Slayer," Anya insisted. "I'm supposed to be the one panicking, not you." Anya peered over at the zombies. "We're good," she said and they moved again.
"You're not panicking?" Faith asked. The shadow of the building loomed before them.
"No," Anya said honestly. "I just want to kill things."
Faith sighed as they slipped around the back of the building. Resting her back against the wall, she momentarily closed her eyes. "We're so gonna die," she muttered.
"Way to see the glass hall full," Anya replied, poking the dark haired Slayer in the ribs with her elbow as she smiled slightly.
Despite herself, the corners of Faith's lips curled up. "Let's go kill things," she said.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," Anya nodded enthusiastically. The Slayer in Faith was starting to supersede her fears. Stopping by a window, she peered inside. She could not see anyone, or anything, moving about inside of the room. Breaking the glass with the butt of her gun, she cleared the window. "You first," Anya said.
Faith tossed the gun into the room and crawled through the window. Landing on the floor, she quickly grabbed her gun, and leveled it. Glancing around the room rapidly, she sighed with relief. "It's clear," she said as Anya toppled through the window behind her.
"Can you feel Buffy here?" Anya asked, as she stood and wiped off her jeans.
"Generally, I can feel her anywhere," Faith answered. "But not particularly strong here, no."
"Maybe we'll find someone else," Anya offered as they moved towards the door. Faith pulled it open and glanced up and down the hallway. She saw one zombie moving away from them down the corridor.
"You want it?" Faith asked, glancing back at Anya. Anya nodded emphatically and stepped forward into the hallway, leveling her shotgun. Clicking back the hammer, she breathed deeply, and pulled the trigger. The dead emergency light several feet in front of the zombie burst in a shatter of glass.
"Good shot," Faith noted sarcastically.
"Let me try again," Anya insisted, as she leveled her gun again.
"I thought Giles said that you were good with weapons," Faith murmured.
"I'm not really sure what he was talking about," Anya admitted. "You know, rose colored glasses and all that." The zombie turned, alerted by the gunshot, and stumbled towards them. Anya pulled the trigger, squealing happily when the zombie's head burst in a cloud of flesh and bone.
"Damn, girl," Faith muttered.
"You like that," she joked, "you should see me with a frying pan."
"I don't doubt it," Faith replied as they moved forward. They walked down the hallway until they reached the stairs. "She's not here," she murmured definitively.
"Is there anyone here?" Anya called down the corridor. Silence greeted her.
"Do you want to check this building?" Faith asked.
"No," Anya shook her head. "Let's find Buffy and get out of here."
They hurried down the stairs until they reached the exit. Faith peered through the foggy glass of the window. "I see three," she noted. Opening the door, she and Anya slipped outside. She eased the door closed until she heard a soft click. The zombies were across a street from them.
"Move," Anya instructed quietly. Quickly crossing the street, they slipped beside a monument dedicated to the founder of the college, which was topped with a statue in his likeness.
"Have they seen us?" Faith questioned.
"Yeah," Anya acknowledged, glancing around the large monument. The zombies were heading towards them. Faith stepped out from behind the bronze statue and aimed her shotgun. Pulling the trigger three quick times, she smiled with satisfaction as the zombies fell.
"Come on," she said, glancing back at Anya. The ex-vengeance demon hurried behind her as Faith shouldered open one of the emergence exit doors of the next dormitory building. They slipped inside and let the door click closed behind them. Almost instantly, Faith was assaulted by the overwhelming presence of the other Slayer. "She's here," she confirmed.
"Well," Anya noted, "she's not alone." The other girl nodded towards the staircase sprawling in front of them. At least a dozen zombies were staring at them, littering the stairs.
"Oh, shit," Faith uttered
"How much do you really want to find Buffy?" Anya muttered softly. Faith steeled her resolve and glanced over at Anya.
"Remember what they did to Xander?" She asked. Anya smiled grimly and nodded.
"I do," she replied.
"Let's kill some zombies," Faith said. Looking back at the zombies, the two women raised their guns and began firing. "Cover me," Faith shouted over the sound of the gunshots, as she slung her pack off of her back and grabbed a box of ammunition. Reloading her gun, she nodded over at Anya and began shooting again, while Anya grabbed her own ammunition. The zombies rushed down the stairs towards them, but the torrent of bullets never ceased. Finally, when the smoke cleared, and the final echoes of the gunshots faded, Faith and Anya stood alone in the bottom of the stairwell, with over a dozen bodies littering the stairs in front of them. To their right, the door to the first floor of rooms stood.
"Damn," Anya murmured. "We kicked ass."
"We totally kicked ass," Faith agreed. "What floor did Buffy live on?" She asked.
"Second," Anya replied breathlessly. They both quickly reloaded their guns and then picked their way through the bodies as they ascended the stairs. They had just reached the landing of the second floor when the door flew open in front of them and a soldier stepped out. Both girls quickly raised their guns.
"Hey, it's okay," the soldier replied, throwing his hands up defensively. He held a handgun in one of his hands and a flashlight in the other. Faith sighed when she heard him speak, lowering her weapon.
"You almost bought it," she said.
"Riley?" Anya questioned, as she lowered her shotgun. The soldier smiled.
"Anya," he stated happily. "It's good to see you." Faith looked back and forth between the two.
"You guys know each other?" She asked.
"Riley is Buffy's boyfriend," Anya noted. Faith felt her heart tighten, but she nodded.
"We're looking for Buffy," Faith said. "You know where she is?"
"Yeah," Riley said. "We're holed up in a room down the hall."
"Do you have anyone else with you?" Anya asked.
"Willow and Tara," Riley answered.
"Tara?" Anya questioned. "Who is that?"
Riley smiled. "Willow's girlfriend," he replied.
"Willow has a girlfriend?" Faith asked in confusion.
Anya shrugged. "This is news to me too."
"Who're you?" Riley asked, motioning to Faith.
"Faith," the dark haired Slayer replied.
"She and Buffy are old friends," Anya elaborated.
"Then I'm sure Buffy will be happy to see you," Riley said. "Come on."
He opened the door and started walking back down the hallway with Faith and Anya trailing behind him. "You could have told me that Buffy has a boyfriend," Faith whispered over to the ex-vengeance demon.
"Why?" Anya whispered back. "I thought you said that didn't love her."
"I don't," Faith whispered harshly.
"Then who cares if she has a boyfriend?" Anya whispered.
"I do," Faith insisted.
"Maybe you should think about why," Anya replied.
"Is everything okay?" Riley asked, looking back at them curiously.
"Everything's fine," Anya answered, smiling widely. He nodded and continued.
"We heard gunshots," he explained. "I was coming to investigate."
"What have you guys been doing all this time?" Faith asked.
"At first, we tried to find any other students that had survived," Riley answered. "But we couldn't. There were too many of them. They're all over this building. We've managed to get out a few times to get food and supplies. But Buffy didn't want to risk trying to escape. She didn't think Willow and Tara would make it." They finally stopped walking. "We're here," he said. He knocked lightly on the door. It swung open and he stepped inside.
"You ready for this?" Anya asked. Faith glared over at her. Anya shrugged and entered the room as Faith followed nervously behind her.
"Look who I found," Riley stated. Faith instantly felt three sets of eyes burning into her face. Glancing at Willow, she saw only anger. Next to the red haired witch sat a blonde girl, who Faith assumed was Tara. She was watching Faith curiously, having noticed the tension that suddenly filled the room. Finally, Faith made herself look towards Buffy. The blonde Slayer was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, intently gazing at the younger girl.
"I thought you were in a coma," she said softly.
"People wake up from those," Faith explained. "It's a funny thing."
"What're you doing here?" Willow nearly growled.
"Down girl," Anya instructed. "We're here to rescue you."
"What?" Buffy asked in confusion.
"Not that you need rescuing, or anything," Faith said, suddenly launching into a ramble. "I'm sure you're handling everything just fine here. Seems like as good a place as any to hide out," she said, looking around, "but we just thought we'd come and see if you could use some help. You know, with the zombies."
"Help?" Buffy asked again. Her initial reaction upon seeing the dark haired Slayer was to grab the nearest weapon, but upon studying her face further, Buffy saw something that she had never before seen in the younger girl – fear. Faith was nervous.
"Yeah," Faith offered. "We have guns."
"Gods," Willow muttered. "Who the hell gave her guns?"
"Let it go," Anya demanded. "We know, she tried to kill you. She turned evil. She slept with your best friend. She did all kinds of things for which you have great, painful feelings. We get it. But zombies have taken over Sunnydale. I think it's time to forgive and forget, people. We don't have all day and I want to get the hell out of here."
"What's going on?" Riley asked confusedly.
"It's a long story," Buffy murmured. When they had first heard the gunshots in the stairwell, Buffy had felt something that she had not felt for nearly eight months. Something stirred in her heart. A presence arose in her mind. She could feel Faith, though she did not know that it was the dark haired Slayer causing such turmoil within her. That presence had sparked a ray of hope that Buffy had thought had long ago faded. But still, seeing the younger girl ripped open the wounds of painful memories, about which she had forcibly forgotten.
"We have your mom," Faith blurted out.
"You have my mother?" Buffy said angrily. "Seriously, you kidnapped my mother at a time like this?"
"What?" Faith asked confusedly. "No."
"Oh, for gods sake," Anya rubbed her forehead. "Think before you speak," she muttered over to Faith.
"I didn't say that," Faith said defensively.
"You said you had my mother," Buffy replied. "How am I supposed to take that?"
"I meant that we found your mother," Faith corrected. "We found her. I took her to the Bronze. Giles is there."
"Giles is alive?" Buffy asked with relief.
"Yeah, it's good to see you too," Anya muttered. "They're so happy to see I'm not dead."
"We're happy to see that you're not dead," Willow said, rising to her feet, and quickly hugging Anya. "Very happy."
"Where's Xander?" Buffy suddenly asked.
Willow released Anya and stepped back. Anya looked down at the ground for several long moments before replying. "He's dead."
"What happened?" Willow asked, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Buffy sighed heavily and sat down on the bed.
"He got bit by one of them," Anya answered. "I had to put him down."
"I'm sorry," Tara said sympathetically. Standing, the blonde girl laid a comforting hand on Willow's shoulder.
"Look, as much I'd like to stand around catching up," Faith interrupted, "we gotta get moving if we're gonna get back to the Bronze before nightfall."
"We're l-leaving?" Tara asked anxiously.
"What makes you think we can get out of here?" Buffy questioned, rising to her feet.
Faith smiled grimly. "I guess you'll just have to trust me."