Chapter 3
Back in the Manor living room:
Faith's vision was blurred as she finally came to. She could only vaguely see the debris of the fight. She saw metal glinting in the sunlight streaming through the broken windows where weapons had fallen. The sounds of pained breathing filled the room. The faint scent of smoke filled her lungs with every breath she took, she feared it was of the vampires. She prayed against all odds that they had survived and were seeking shelter in the shadows. Pain shot through her back as she moved to stand up, but her Slayer endurance allowed her to ignore it. Groping with her left hand, Faith found a sofa, and supported herself and stood. Her right hand rubbed at her eyes as she blinked feverishly to try and clear her sight. Shit…I hope we won. The throbbing pain in her head was slowly subsiding and she was beginning to see the damage done in the fight.
Xander's body was limply draped over the upside-down chair, the crossbow dangling from his hands. Shards of glass from the potion vials littered the floor, splinters of wood mingled with them. Scorch marks marred the walls. Curtains were slashed and altogether pulled down. Windows, and their frames alike, were smashed through. Blood was splattered in random places. Buffy lay unconscious at Faith's feet, and the younger Slayer fought the rising tears to survey they rest of what apparently had taken place.
It couldn't have been this terrible. Two dust piles catch her eye, and her fears are confirmed. No…against her will, a silent tear makes its way down her cheek. She collapses on the couch, not out of exhaustion, but out of anger. She had just closed her eyes when she heard a vaguely familiar voice.
"Faith?" It was Leo. "Faith, are you alright?"
"Ye-yeah. I'm fine…sir." Faith's eyes remained closed as the pain in her head began to worsen again. "I-I mean…Leo. Go…in the other room. The sisters and…and little D and Lorne are in there…or were. Check if they need healing." Suddenly she snapped her eyes open. The 'bookshelf' was gone, and Willow and Pri were visible on the floor, trembling. Their hands still clenched tightly in each other's. They lay curled up in seemingly miniscule balls, facing one another…shaking. Oh no. "Willow and the chick she likes. Over there." Faith gestured in the two Wiccas' general direction, too overwhelmed by the events to get up herself.
As Leo tended to the Wiccas', Faith knelt down at Buffy's side. "B, wake up…please wake up." Her hands tentatively hovering over the unconscious Slayer's body. Should I shake her? Her emotions, finally getting the best of her, began to spin out of control. Her hands began shaking. Her eyes shed tears that had wanted for so long to be free. "Buffy, you need to be alive. The scoobies need you…the sisters need you." She took the older slayer in her arms and held her close, not believing the next words that were to leave her lips. "I-I need you…"
"Faithy?" Said a weak, muffled voice from Faith's arms. "You're suffocating me." Buffy relaxed as she took in a deep breath. "What were you saying?"
Faith blushed and quickly turned her head to hide her tear-stained face. "Um…yeah. The sisters are still in the other room with, uh, Lorne and Dawn. Spike and Angel are…um…well…" Faith struggled with the words. "They're dust…sun got 'em I think. I dunno. I just woke up. Xand-man's passed out. So are the mojo-wonders over there." Faith gestured to where Leo was still trying to heal Willow and Pri, a deep frown of concern on his brow. "Leo, what's wrong?"
"They seem physically fine." The Elder muttered, barely audible. "But they aren't waking. They…they seem to be…sort of shaking. Nothing serious. It's like a cold shiver. I'll orb them to Pri's bed; cover them with a couple blankets, then, when I wake the others I'll have them figure out what's going on. Maybe the other Elders will have an idea as well."
"Nothing serious?" Buffy's voice was hard as she shrugged Faith's arms from her and stood. "Nothing serious!" She was nearly screaming and she was at Leo's side threateningly in an instant. "My best friend and her apparent new love are unconscious, on the floor, shaking like heck, and you say it's not serious! I'll carry them to Pri's room, you, mister, get to work on the others." And without waiting for a word from the Elder, Buffy lifted the unconscious Wicca's onto her shoulders and carried them up to Pri's room.
"Alright. So the two love birds are lost in lala-land, and the two fang-boys are dusted." Faith began. All signs of her brief previous meltdown were gone. "It's a tragic loss. We all shall mourn…but first we must bring back our friends that we at least know we can save. Mr. Flashy-Exit has gone up to angel world to see if the head-cheeses know anything, and it's up to us to do the big research."
"What else do we not know, Faith?" Xander said, with a hint of bitter sarcasm.
"Look, I'm just recapping what's going on just to make sure we're all clear." The younger slayer glanced around. "Especially those that have taken nasty blows to the head." Her eyes stopped on Paige.
"What you looking at me for?" Paige frowned. "The cupcakes didn't eat the turkey on my watch." Her eyes narrowed to slits and she looked at Lorne. "Ask him, he's got peanuts in his soup."
Piper's eyes widened and she refrained from giving Paige another smack on the head. "Ok, Faith. I think it's pointless trying to get her to stay focused."
"The book of shadows has nada." Phoebe proclaimed as she strode into the kitchen with the massive book cradled in her arms. "I brought it in case we got anymore ideas. Save me my energy by not forcing me up and down those stairs all day."
"I think it's safe to assume that this…Sini freak is back in her rightful time." Xander pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone. "Perhaps the spell was too strong. Maybe…" He shrugged. "I dunno…maybe Wills drained too much from Pri, and used too much. Maybe the spell had some kind of fail-safe that made them pass out before all their energy was used so that they wouldn't die. They could just be rebuilding the energy they'd lost."
A rustle of pages made the room look to the book. It was changing pages of its own accord. "Wow…smart book." Faith muttered and she stared at the page it had opened to. "Check this out. Some weird dimension thingymabobber that kidnaps powerful witches engaged in a power-draining spell of great magnitude. That sounds like our dealio. Apparently if the witches are using too much power, this dimension sucks them into this portal type thing that only takes their consciousness. That way they are forced to end the spell and thus enabled to live and regain energy in their physical form while their mental…thingee takes a vacation." Faith shrugged. "Ok, so we just wait for their energy to build and they'll wake up."
"I think I've heard of that-MONKEY-before-OWEEEEOOO-the portal thing…" Paige was beginning to make sense, but occasional outbursts interrupted. "It's called §¥iöŕiał."
At that moment Leo orbed in. "Please tell me you did not just say §¥iöŕiał."
"POOGLE DOPPER!" Paige exclaimed.
"Uhhh…Leo. What exactly is §¥iöŕiał?" Xander inquired, trying not to pay attention to the apparent lack of Paige's sanity.
"Hi ho, hi ho, it's raw squid we go." Paige began belting out to the tune of a song from Snow White. "We'll bury the in the yard, and eat them two years from now, hi ho hi ho hi ho." Paige had by now stood and was marching around with her face cocked to one side. "Hi ho, hi ho, it's chicken guts we snow…"
"Please, excuse me while I bring her upstairs." Phoebe stood and took Paige by the hand, leading her from the room. "It's ok, honey. We'll get you a nice padded room in the asylum. And a nice doctor too…to keep those evil pointy objects away from you…"
"Anyway…" Leo began, watching as the two sisters walked off. "The §¥iöŕiał is a demon portal. Or, I should say, a demon portal that has beenthought to be myth for the last few millennia. It translates, from a foreign demon dialect known only in that world, to Field of Tests." Leo's face grew grim. "It is said to be home to many groups of ferocious, uncivilized beasts. There is one military force that is hired out by the many countries to try and take over other countries in exchange for payment. The payment can either be money, slave power, weaponry, and things of powerful magick. The book is right. Witches' minds are sucked through it to the world to regain energy in the physical world: by battling and using power in the demon world. Those two are in danger…if it truly is §¥iöŕiał.
