LOS ANGELES – 2:07AM
Faith continued to rub the end of her toothbrush on the end of her bunk, pondering over the conversation she just had with Wesley. He had showed up not too long ago, pretending to be her lawyer. How he was able to convince the security to let him talk to her at two in the morning was beyond her, but whatever.
Wesley had told her about their encounter with Laibach. Faith didn't know too much about him, but she remembered something about him a few years ago when she helped Buffy rescue a group of people being sacrificed for some ritual Laibach was involved in. Wesley wanted her to go to Sunnydale and help Angel and Buffy prevent a portal from opening. As much as she didn't want to go back to that town, it beat the hell out of staying here. Plus, she felt like she owed them something, regardless of the crap the cops were gonna give her once she got out.
After she agreed, she told Wesley to wait outside with the car ready. She had a plan.
The end of the brush was nice and sharp. She glanced up at the top bunk to see her roommate, Clarice fast asleep. The woman was a heavy sleeper, so Faith was gonna have to be as loud as possible if she wanted this to work right away.
She sat up in her bunk and took a deep breath, holding the sharpened toothbrush in her right hand. Clenching her teeth, she took the sharp edge of the brush and ran it across her left wrist.
"Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" she screamed out, falling to the ground.
She landed on her knees, and rolled over on her back. Blood oozed from her wound, staining her blue jumpsuit. Clarice jumped out of bed and stared at Faith in horror. She ran to the bars, yelling out into the halls.
"Somebody help! Faith is bleeding! It's getting all over!"
The lights cut on in the hallways and Faith could hear the sound of guards as they came rushing towards her cell. The gate to the cell opened, and a few guards came running in.
One of them came up to her while the others stayed nearby. The guard knelt down beside her and grabbed her arm.
"We got a bleeder, it looks bad. Send her to the infirmary." The guard said.
Faith saw a glimmer out of the corner of her eyes. Sure enough, a set of keys were dangling from the man's belt. Her plan would work.
Now here comes the tricky part.
The other two guards were peering over her when they were suddenly greeted by a rough kick that sent them flying backwards into the hallway. The guard holding her arm gasped in surprise before Faith brought her uninjured arm up and punched him in the face. He released his grasp to cradle his face. Faith quickly snatched the keys off his belt and pivoted towards him, bringing her leg out and tripping him from under his feet.
She jumped up to her feet to see the other two guards as well as a few more coming towards the cell.
"Later, Clarice." Faith said before she took a running dive right through the guards.
She landed in the middle of the hallway and rolled right back up to her feet. She turned left and took off. Gunshots went off from behind her. Someone set off the alarm, alerting more guards about her escape.
One guard, a middle aged man, stepped in front of her, weapon raised. Faith stopped dead in her tracks and kicked her foot out. Her boot smashed into the man's hands, causing the gun to fly out. Faith took him out with a quick punch to the head.
She reached the gate to the front lobby and took out the set of keys. She quickly fumbled with them as various yells and shots could be heard coming from behind her. She tried the first key, and let out a deep breath as the key went in with ease. She turned it and pushed the gate open.
Wesley sat in the car, lost at thought, when a gun suddenly went off inside the building. He glanced eagerly, praying for Faith's safety as more gunshots sounded, followed by the blaring sound of an alarm. He threw the license plates in the back, as to avoid anyone memorizing the number as they fled. What had felt like a full hour had passed when the door flew open, and out came a panicked Faith as she ran through the yard. More gunshots went off as guards outside as well as in the building opened fire. She jumped on top of a bench right next to fence and with the skill only a Slayer could possess, jumped over the fence, rolling on the ground next to the car. Wesley threw the passenger door open. Faith leaped back to her feet and jumped into the car. Wesley took off, leaving behind the various guards as they continued to chase their escaped prisoner.
SUNNYDALE – 6:01AM
So here she was, back in Sunnydale. After her escape, they made it to some big abandoned hotel that Angel and his crew apparently stayed at. She met Charles Gunn, a young African-American guy from the city, and this really weird looking dude with green skin, red eyes, and a loud yellow suit by the name of Lorne. She really didn't have time to talk to them, with the police on her ass and all, but they seemed like a cool bunch.
Wesley had filled her more in the details about how the portal to Laibach's dimension was open and she had to get there to help the others and all, then sent her on her way. Wesley had her take Gunn's truck out there since Wesley's car would already be on the cop's radar. Gunn wasn't all too happy about it, but hey, gotta do what ya gotta do.
The dark-haired vampire glared angrily at her from the ground. Faith was on her way to meet up with Buffy and the others when she caught this vampire attacking a woman on the street next to a crashed jeep. She figured she could use the practice. Been a long time since she's been in a fight not counting the many times she had to take out the next girl who thought they could build their reputation in the pen by taking her on.
Faith pulled out her stake and prepared to advance. The vampire leaped off the ground and charged. Faith swung the stake towards her, but she was too fast. The vampire grabbed her arm and twisted it. She screamed out in pain as the vamp twisted her arm behind her back and held her.
Faith acted quickly. She threw her head back, smashing it into the vampire's face. Faith spun around bringing a backhand to her face. The vampire growled in rage and returned the punch, smacking her in the mouth. She spit out blood from her busted lip and wiped her mouth.
"Bitch." Faith replied, scowling.
Lilah watched with slight amusement as Faith came back in swinging. Each blow connected to Drusilla's face. Dru managed to block one and counter her attack, only for Faith to grab her arm and kick her in the chest. Faith came back in for another attack, but Dru blocked her advance. She dug her long nails into a long gash on Faith's left wrist. Faith yelled out in pain and went down to her knees. She stared at the ground. Pain and defeat etched in her features. Drusilla placed her hand under Faith's chin and lifted her head up to face her.
"Look into my eyes." She said.
Faith appeared to be in a trance, her gaze lost in Drusilla's eyes.
"Bad puppy, ruff!" she said with a small throaty bark. "Ms. Edith says its time to put you down, like that other bad dog. She didn't so much as whimper before I slashed her little throat."
"She is going to kill her." Lilah said quietly.
As amusing as it would be to see Faith die before her eyes after the headache she caused the firm a couple years ago, but Faith's demise could quite possibly mean the end of herself as well.
Faith stared deep into the insane vampire's yellow eyes. The pain from the slash in her wrist now intensified from the vamp's attack. Fresh blood dripped on the pavement.
The vampire lunged for her, Faith snapped out of the trance and ducked the blow, pushing herself against the vamp's body and giving her a hard shove. The vamp let out a surprised yell as she fell back, landing roughly against the crashed jeep.
Faith jumped up and picked up her stake off the ground. She came in for the kill, but was rewarded with a hard slap which sent the stake flying out of her hands. The vampire let out a frustrated cry of rage and pushed her back, causing Faith to fall backwards onto the pavement. The vampire looked down at her with a sad pout.
"This isn't fun anymore." She said. "This wasn't supposed to happen at all. The party is all ruined and the guest have begun to become bored."
She glanced around nervously, pulling at her hair.
"This is all wrong! I can hear all their little voices nagging in my head. I cannot stay any longer!"
With that, the vampire took off. Faith watched as she disappeared off into the night.
"Man, what a nut job." She said, standing up and dusting off her blue jumpsuit.
She turned around to see the woman that was being attacked earlier. Faith recognized her from that weird law firm in Los Angeles that had hired her to kill Angel before she turned herself in. The woman looked a wreck. Her legs were all cut up and she had a wicked bruise on her forehead. The woman looked up to face her.
"Well, if it isn't 'Slayer: The Sequel'. Not as good as the first one, but with a bigger body count." She remarked, snidely.
"You." Faith replied.
"Yeah, well, I'm usually referred to as Ms. Lilah Morgan, but you're about to die anyway so why should we bothered getting well aquatinted?"
"You just better be happy I saved your ass. If I knew who you were I would have just let Psycho Bitch finish you off."
"And you're just one to talk, aren't you?" she replied, standing. "Honestly I don't know how you managed to get out of your little rat cage, but you're wasting your time. Even if you get a hold of the Tedarke Dagger, it wouldn't be enough time before Laibach eliminates all of you."
"Tedarke Dagger?" Faith asked.
"Did I just say that out loud? Oops." She said, slyly. "Anyways, do what you will with that little remarkable piece of information. I can care less what happens to Laibach, you, or the rest of this miserable little town. I'm done here."
Lilah brushed past Faith and into the jeep. The engine started up after a few tries. She backed it up onto the street, coming up to Faith's side.
"Tell Angel I said hi."
She drove off, leaving Faith behind in the middle of the street.
---
"Get out!" Buffy said, amused.
Angel nodded his head.
"I guess Cordelia finally got all the attention she wanted during high school then. How did you manage to drag her back?"
"A threat to end her life for her powers, angry mob, battles to the death. You know, the usual."
"Well, I guess she has changed quite a bit. If you called the Cordelia I knew a 'cow', she would have someone hired to ruin your life before they killed you." Buffy said.
Angel gave her a warm smile as she cuddled in his arms. The two of them were walking back to the Magic Box. Spike went back to his crypt for a little while. After their run-in with Laibach, she talked to Giles and Willow and went back out to fight some more. They encountered several more nasties, and decided to head back to the Magic Box to regain some more strength before heading back out. Laibach took a lot out of them and they didn't want to be caught with their hands in their pockets again. So far, everything seemed pretty quiet. Either their interference shortened the number of demons around, or there weren't enough people around to cause a racket. The last thought sent an involuntary shiver down her spine
They approached the shop. Another feeling of unease struck her as she saw that the door to the shop open and the lights were off.
"Uh oh." Buffy said.
"What's going on?" Angel asked.
"I don't know. But open doors and creepy darkness is never of the good. Especially right now."
They walked up and quietly stepped inside. Buffy waited as her eyes adjusted to the dark. From what she could tell, the place was a wreck.
"Where are the others?" Buffy whispered. "Do you see them?"
"No, but there's sign of a struggle. Either they left in a hurry or they were taken away."
"God, I hope not. Giles wouldn't just leave without calling….and if it was an attack, I'm pretty sure they could handle it on their own. Come on, Angel, have a little…"
"Faith?" Angel said, glancing off ahead.
Buffy looked in the direction Angel was staring. A dark-haired woman dressed in a blue prison jumpsuit had her back turned to them. Buffy walked up to her and reached her hand out.
"Faith."
Faith jerked back, shoving her hand off. Faith spun around quickly. In her right hand was a sharp dagger, blood dripping from the blade.
Oh god, its her! She did this!
With a sharp snap, Buffy knocked the knife out of her hand and grabbed the front of her shirt.
"Buffy! Angel yelled.
Faith pushed Buffy back, causing her to lose her grip. Faith swung her right fist, smacking her across the face. Buffy punched back, hitting Faith in the lip. Faith took another swing, but was blocked as Buffy grabbed her wrists. They both struggled. Faith pushed Buffy back against a shelf of books. A few fell to the floor. Buffy threw her head out and smashed it into Faith's face. Faith fell backwards and hit the floor. Buffy advance towards her, but was stopped by Angel as he jumped in the way, grabbing Buffy's arm and pushing her back.
"Stop, both of you!" Angel said. "Buffy, get a hold of yourself!"
"What's going on, Faith?" Buffy said, venom dripping from her voice at Faith's name. "What did you do with Willow and Giles?"
"Listen, Miss Animosity, the place was a wreck when I got here. You might still not have included the word 'bygones' in your dictionary, but I'm here to help out, whether you believe me or not." Faith replied.
"What's with the bloody knife, then?" Buffy asked, still not putting her guard down.
"Tall, dark and handsome here has a whole shelf, full of a nice selection of trinkets. And since I'm not a broadsword kinda gal, I took a dagger, less storage room needed. I ran into this weird werewolf-looking demon on my way over here and I had to put him down."
"You were at the hotel?" Angel asked.
"Yeah, Wesley showed up and said you guys might of needed help. But seeing as Lethally Blonde here is all pumped up, I don't think he knew what he was talking about. I drove all the way out here in your friend's truck, Charles Gunn. It ran out of gas a couple blocks down and I walked the rest of the way until I found this place. Wesley told me you guys stayed here."
"No wonder that truck looked so familiar." Angel said to himself.
"Oh yeah, well I guess Wesley was wrong after that. We don't need your help, Faith." Buffy said.
"Look B, I'm just as excited about me being here as you are, but I owe you all a favor and the least I can do is help. Plus I'm already out now. I already just added at least ten more years to my sentence, so might as well save the world in the process."
"She's right, Buffy." Angel said.
Buffy thought for a moment.
We could use the help right now
She thought, giving in.
"Fine." She sighed.
"Great. Let's get it shakin. What do we do next?"
"I don't know. Giles and the others are missing. I guess the first plan is to find where they're at. I say we spread out, hit some of the spots Laibach or anyone else might keep them. I'll go check the area by the Hellmouth. Faith, you should go…"
"That was Fred. They're all at Giles' place." Angel said, hanging up his phone.
"Okay. That was easy." Buffy said.
"Let's go." Faith said.