Present Day
Giles watched as Alexander took in the slayer under the watchful eyes of both Smith and Weatherby into Giles's apartment. "So, this is the great plan, is it?" Giles asked turning to Colins. "Give me a slayer?"
"Well, you are the one begging for help," Colins replied as a matter of fact. "Plus, this place is crawling with vampires so she can do her job here… also, it might hopefully keep you in check." He said more icily.
"What are you referring to?" Giles asked the man.
"Nobody trusts you anymore old boy," Colins told him. "Working with a vampire, using the dark arts and allowing a slayer to be killed within five minutes of meeting her." Colins listed. "Hardly inspires confidence and certain gets the old war dogs back in HQ talking."
"Well, if they are so concerned about my performance why don't they come here and relive me?" Giles sarcastically asked at Colins glare Giles laughed bitterly shaking his head. "Of course, why bother getting your hands dirty here when there is a cup of tea, a nice book and warm fireplace back in Merry old England!"
"Just cause they are keeping cosy there doesn't mean that they keeping an eye on what is going on here," Colins warned. "The way they see it, you or the vampire step out of line then the slayer does her job."
"I'll bear that in mind," Giles muttered turning away from the man.
XXXXX
Late 1997
"We have to do something!" Jenny Calendar banging on the table in front of him. Giles sighed as he looked up to who he previously thought was just a rather annoying computer science teacher at Sunnydale High. It turns out that she was a technopagan who was well aware of the supernatural.
"They are just children," Giles said with defeat gesturing to where Oz, Nancy and Larry sitting around the library table while Jenny and he talked in Giles's office. "They should be just kids. They are not bound to this fight by Super-natural abilities or duties. We should be their teachers at school not their leaders into battle."
"Then teach them! Train us!" Jenny implored him. "We have to fight back!"
"Fight against the Master?!" Giles responded in disbelief. "You must have seen what he heard about what he and his kind did to the Bronze! The bodies lying around! It was a massacre! And you want me to take him on with that?!" Giles said pointing to the students.
"At the very least we can try and keep the streets clean," Jenny said. "Warn people! Form some kind of patrol!" At Giles shake of the head Jenny decided to change tactics. "Have you spoken to the Watcher's Council?"
Giles sighed. "Yes, I have place a call with the Council again," he gritted his teeth. "It took a bit of persuading, but they are going to send the Slayer… When they can." He admitted looking a little ashamed.
"When they can?" Jenny's brow furrowed in disbelief. "Do they have any idea on what has happened here? What is happening still?!"
"They're having a bit of trouble." He avoided Jenny's eyes here. "From what I can gather the newest Slayer is a little... erratic. Her watcher it seems cannot order her to come due to the delicate nature of her family life at home certainly not at the moment. I've tried to explain this won't wait, but it wasn't cutting much ice. They actually said, 'it's not the end of the world' the fools!" He muttered.
"Then work with us, fight with us!" Jenny implored the older man to see sense. She had been sent here to keep an eye on Angel, the vampire with a soul but had arrived to find no sign of him. She had later learned from Giles that he and Angel had worked together briefly before Angel had been captured by the Master and his forces. She reported what she learned to her elders in the Kalderash clan, who seemed all too happy to accept the fate that had the vampire with his soul had found himself in arguing that brutal torture from his own people was what he deserved. She could have left, gotten as far away from this town as she could have but she decided to stay and fight.
Soon it became a rhythm: teaching during the day, research and patrol in the evenings, sleep when you could fit it in. For a few months he had been slowly easing into a causal relationship with Jenny. While her interests were at odds with, and infuriated, him sometimes there was nevertheless a clear attraction. That was how they had often interacted until… one particularly bad night when after finding a group of bodies belonging to children as young as six Jenny had sought him out and kissed him. "I don't feel like we have any time to waste," she had muttered while removing their clothes. She was indeed right as three months later she was dead. Killed by vampires.
He had buried himself in his work and honouring her by continuing to patrol at night. Anything to keep busy. Anything to keep going.
XXX
Present Day
The sun rose. The Master felt it, even safe in his chambers in the Bronze's basement. He threw his half-drained breakfast to the floor and glared at the attending minions. "Where is Abaslom?" The minions glanced nervously at each other. No-one answered. "I sent him and his men on a simple mission. Surely killing two insignificant foes can't have taken this long." A few of the older, more seasoned minions began easing their way towards the exit. "You!" The Master said picking out an unfortunate fledgling. "Tell me!"
"They aren't back, yet Master."
Vampires can't survive in sunlight and Abaslom was given strict orders by the Master himself to return when the deed was done which means… The Master's high-pitched screech heard by all around the Bronze closely followed by the distinctive sound of vampires being rendered back to dust. The noise died down eventually and an unusual quiet fell over the Bronze, broken only by the soft whimpers of captive humans and the moans of injured vampires. They would pay. That traitorous vampire and that damned English man would pay. For too long they have annoying him like a fly buzzing in one's ear but for no longer. He would tear them limb from limb and paint the walls with their blood. Their deaths were a prize that none of his minions seemed to want to give him.
After decades of isolation trapped in that church, he had almost forgotten how poor people can perform up in the surface. How many mistakes they can make or distractions and pleasures they allowed to get in the way of their purpose. His own purpose had now changed thanks to his return to the surface. After having spent so long trapped underground, he openly defied the Order's old-established views and conquered Sunnydale. This was his castle and its people his subjects charged with offering penance and thanks. Those two squatters or rats would pay for their insolence. Those two had been interfering in his trade and his factory. He had been trying to restore it back into operations for months now and several other powerful demons and vampires were beginning to wonder if it was not all just a pointless exercise. He would make them pay for anymore delays.
Across town Rupert Giles awoke to loud screaming and cursing. Gathering himself out of bed he went downstairs of his small apartment to see Alexander there looking similarly unimpressed. "Looks like she is awake," the vampire said looking towards the door of the bathroom where they had stored the vampire slayer and where all the noise was coming from.
"It would appear so," Giles agreed, and he straightened up a little. "I think it is time to make our introductions."
"Absolutely she can insult us better that way," Alexander remarked but he opened the door to reveal the brunette slayer in the bathtub, chained and fastened there looking very, very pissed off it must be said.
"Get me the fuck out of these things!" She barked at both men eyes blazing with rage
"Now Faith," Giles began using her name for the first time. "I am afraid I cannot do that until you have calmed down."
"Fuck you," came her reply. Alexander hid a smirk she was a poet for sure.
"I am Rupert Giles a watcher here in Sunnydale," Giles explained.
"I don't care if you are a singer on Broadway! Let me the fuck out or I will break you in two!" Faith yelled back at him falling into the role of brash young thug when she was in a situation, she wasn't sure how to handle. She moved for the thousand time testing the chains to see if they would give. She turned her attentions to the other younger man in the room who had so far been silent. She felt a pang in her stomach. One that didn't come from being hungry… "Oh shit!" She growled trying to get away from the man. He was one of them! A vampire! This watcher was going to feed her to this fucking vampire! "Get away from me!" She snarled at Alexander. She had heard some messed up things about the Watchers but this was sick.
He held up his hands in a peace offering. "I am not going to hurt you!" The vampire said. "I have a soul."
"Yeah, and I have a fist want me to introduce you to it?!" Faith spat at him gritting her teeth trying her best to look fearsome despite being shackled to a bathtub. Faith scowled in Alexander's general direction.
"Faith," Giles said stepping between her and Alexander. "I promise you that Alexander will not hurt you. He works alongside me, for me, for the side of good!" She looked unconvinced as she eyed Alexander carefully. "Do you know why you have been brought here?"
"Brought!? Kidnapped more like!" Faith growled at him, and Giles looked slightly guilty. It was very true the Watcher's Council had been forced to use such methods to bring Faith here. Giles frowned and turned to Alexander who merely shrugged. This was not going well.
"I am sorry for the use… of such extreme methods," Giles began. "But it was necessary I am afraid. Sunnydale is a very dangerous place in dire need of a slayer's help."
"I know what Sunnydale is and that is why I want to get as far away as possible from it!" Faith said frustrated. This place was the last place she wanted to be. She would rather be back in that crap Boston school than here. At seeing Giles's confused look on his face Faith rolled her eyes. "You think I want to be here?! This is a suicide mission. The last slayer who came here didn't even last 24 hours before that bat faced Master took her down. That is not going to be me!" She finished giving both men a fierce some and determined look in their eyes.
"So, you ran away," Alexander stated figuring out how she was delivered to them.
"More like pursuing other options bloodsucker," she fired back at the vampire. She didn't trust this guy as far as she could throw him. The sooner he was dead the better.
"In any case I assure you that Alexander and I will do our very best to help you perform your duties here," Giles told her. "We have been fighting this fight together for nearly a year now."
"I don't care! I don't want any of this!" Faith yelled back at him banging her chains against the bathtub.
Giles huffed and looked back at Alexander who simply shrugged at a loss to do. Monitoring for the vampire to follow him they left the slayer in the bathroom closing the door to Faith's swearing and cursing at them. "I think it's best we give her a few hours to calm down," Giles said shaking his head.
"I don't think she does calm," Alexander remarked. The slayer was a feisty one for sure.
"True it would seem," Giles commented listening to one or two of the insults and winching at the use of language. "But for now, she is stuck with us."
XXXXX
Mid 1998
Giles looked around uncomfortable at his surroundings. It's fairly run-down with some old chairs and sofas, old lamps with the reek of old beer and cigarettes in the air. He saw a bunch of young people sitting on the sofas looking strung out, eyes glazed over, movements sluggish and clearly distorted. Memories of his youth and from his rebellious years where he visited and engaged in such practices and places.
Rack, the owner of such a place stepped forward. He has long stringy hair, an amulet around his neck, a scar on his face, and his eyes point in different directions. "You're a little older than my usual clientele," he remarked looking at Giles before offering an unnerving grin. "But I guess you are never too old to start right?"
"I simply seek… a better understanding of the dark arts," Giles explained as best he could and as calm, he could. "What I currently know is largely theory based and a few spells what I seek is- "
"Power," Rack stated cutting Giles off. "Real power. Power to take on armies, power to defend and to attack. Simple, blunt, forceful power."
Giles swallowed wishing it was not true. Wishing to God there was some other way, but he was out of options. Oz and Larry were dead. The slayer, Buffy Summers was dead too having entered his life one moment and gone just as quickly. He wished that he wished that the Watcher's Council would return his calls, that his summoning Anyanka, a vengeance demon had worked, and he didn't have both Cordelia and Anyanka's words didn't taunted him late at night: 'That the world wasn't supposed to be like this', 'I had no idea her wish would be so exciting! Brave New World.' This whole reality was a mistake… not easy to live with but live with was what he had to do. "Yes," he replied.
"That's the trick though," Rack explained. "Power, real hard power. It taints you. They don't tell you that in back of the book, but it stains you. You can try rubbing it off, washing it with all kinds of soap but it doesn't come off. You okay with that?"
Giles nodded and Rack moved forward putting his hand onto Giles's chest and began to imprint magical power into Giles charging the older man with concentrated magical energies… exceptionally addictive magical energies. Giles could feel it within him, the craving for more sensations like he was experiencing. He hadn't felt like this… since Jenny. At that he jumped back away from Rack's touch. "That's enough!" He gasped fighting to stand.
"You sure there?" Rack said smiled.
"I'm sure," Giles answered gritting his teeth.
XXXXXX
Present Day
Faith winced as she shifted slightly. She was fed up, bored and so beyond frustrated. Sleep hadn't come to her yet nor had the strength to break these damn chains. This was the last place she wanted to be. The last two Slayers went off to Sunnydale following the Watchers' Council's orders and died before they hit eighteen. And Faith was more than aware the likelihood is that one day, so will she be. And this is an eventuality she'd rather avoid; she wants to stick to the fights she has a chance of winning, not become another unfortunate statistic for the Council to shake their stuffy heads over. She knew she was meant to shake it off, as all good little Slayers do. We don't have feelings, right? No fear, no concern for oneself. Right. Gotcha. You okay, Faith? Five by five, not a worry now be a good little girl and go kill that vampire! Who cares that I'm being eaten alive inside by this fear! Who cares if I want to live! I have a calling! Yeah, well this is one slayer who isn't answering. Leave a voicemail at the end of the beep.
She heard the door opening and looked up to see the vampire standing before her. "Come for a quick snack?" Faith reacted harshly to his visit. If this leech lay one finger on her he would be dust.
"Come to offer a snack," Alexander said holding up a plate with a sandwich.
"The watcher send you?" Faith asked him.
"Giles is at the high school working," Alexander replied setting down the sandwich on a small table and taking a seat on the toilet. "I thought you might be hungry."
"That's so sweet of you!" Faith replied sarcastically. "But if you really wanted to get me something how about a coffee and a doughnut? I'm sure there is a place nearby that sells them just head on out- "
"Side without a cloud in sky and a nice gentle breeze," Alexander finished her sentence with a small smile nodding. "Yeah, maybe tomorrow if you are still here."
"Don't plan to be," Faith told him. "These chains can't hold me forever."
"Doing a pretty good job so far," Xander said eyeing them subtly to see if they were in danger of snapping.
"Why don't you come bite me then?" Faith replied exposing her neck to him. "Take a nice long drink of my blood. I bet its better than fine wine. Best you will ever taste. Make you feel like you can go all night."
"Cause I don't that anymore," Xander replied looking away from her and her taunting.
"Bullshit," Faith snorted. "You are a vamp plain and simple. I dusted plenty of you to know the signs. You got all that thirst inside you just inching to come out. You want to cut me, wound me deep and watch the blood run from me in rivers. I don't care if you wearing some 'soul' badge or being sponsored by some watcher. You are nothing to me than some bloodsucker and if I wasn't chained up, they would need to hoover your ass up after I was finished with you." Goddamn this Watcher's fucking rules. Some people need to die no matter what excuse they were using.
"You don't know anything about me," Xander whispered.
"I know everything vampire," Faith drawled out bored of this conversation.
"Do you know about Willow?" At Faith's puzzled frown, he clarified, "She was my best friend for the first 16 years of my life. We did everything together... she, me and Jesse. Until the day the Master rose. Willow and I became vampires… Jesse was just a meal. Willow and I joined the master's order, and we went about torturing and killing various townspeople. We were cocky, enthusiastic and determined to make a name for ourselves. You see High school, to both of us, was a constant state of mockery and ridicule. We didn't fit in, and the world made sure that they were constantly reminded of it. But as vampires we were feared and even respected in some quarters. It felt good." Xander explained with a sad smile. "Then that blond came, and I was dusted so I'm told was she. Giles brought me back with one goal to kill them to kill them all. It's the only thing I can do to honour her, to protect the memory of her."
Faith frowned listening to him. She doesn't have the best people skills on the planet as some ex-boyfriends would argue, but she thinks she knows when she is being played and lied to. This guy was either giving an academy award winning performance or he seemed sincere. His tone was calm, but his eyes said something very different. She stared at it - at him. There was something there. Something in that eyes. She suddenly felt a profound sense of loss. "Why not bring Willow back too if she means that much to you?"
"And have her here like this?" Xander turned to her. She looked what bored? Tired? Angry? He was nearly unreadable. "To feel the guilt, to see the faces of everyone I ever killed haunting me, to relive each kill in my head but this time to feel it. To be cursed like this. No, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I made Giles destroy the spell right in front of me just to prove he wouldn't bring her back."
She wasn't entirely sure what to think. This was just completely beyond her. Magical wizards and souled demons simply did not exist in her world. That was grey she lived in black and white. You see a monster you kill it. You see a French fry you eat it. See a good-looking guy… you get the picture. The point is here everything was upside down. She had just listened to a vampire pour his guts out. Vampires don't do that certainly not the ones she met. They tired to bite you, tried to kill you, one of them even owned alligators but they didn't explained their actions yet here was one spilling there guts to her. "I don't want to die," she whispered almost ashamed of this admission.
"You won't," Xander assured her. "But you can't go running. If it, isn't you then its someone else. You die the council will send someone. They don't care about you, me or even Giles and he is one of their own. Your just an asset to them. A match to toss into a bonfire. It doesn't light first time hey they got a box full of them. But we can help you!" He said firmly and with conviction. "We don't work with or for the council. I don't care for rules and I'm guessing you don't either. I'm just asking you to help us. Can you do that Faith?"
"Undo these chains," Faith asked him. He did as he was asked believing that she wouldn't react as she might have if he had done it earlier. She stood up stretching from being sat for so long.
He held out his hand to shake hers, "I'm Alexander and you in or out?"
She gripped his hand, tight enough that he should have cried out. His jaw clenched, but he said nothing. "I'm Faith, I'm in," she said. "And I fucking hate you."
He offered her a rare grin, "Pleased to meet you.
