FIC: Cleveland Calling (7?)
Faith waited until they'd reached the law firm's parking lot before speaking. "Guys," she looked from Connor to Amy, "could I have a word with Xan on my own?"
"Sure," Amy glanced from her to the Watcher, "we'll go to the car." After grabbing Connor by his arm, the witch dragged him away.
Faith turned to Xander. "I'd never do it again," Faith said softly. Seeing Xander's confused expression, she elaborated. "Hurt you. Strangle you like I did." She ignored Xander's flinch to continue. "That ain't me."
Xander chuckled and smiled. "Faith, of course it is." Faith winced at Xander's damming verdict. Xander shook his head. "No, you don't understand. What I meant is all of us have a dark side. Buffy screwing Spike. Giles being Ripper. Me and my temper. We all have dark sides. Controlling them is the key."
"But not Red, uh?"
Xander chuckled before unfastening his shirt and opening it up. "You never asked me where I got these scars."
Faith spent a few seconds oodling the hunk of manhood before shrugging. "Some big bad," she forced herself to look up into Xander's face.
"Yeah," Xander nodded as he refastened his shirt. "Some big bad. Willow went psycho when Tara was murdered. Buffy couldn't stop her. But I managed it. This is what I got. Sometimes, when Willow does magic I'll flashback. I've forgiven you Faith; it's the forgetting that's the tough thing." Xander looked towards the car. "The others are waiting. Shall we?"
Faith stared dazedly at her friend before nodding. "Sure, X."
Andrew leapt up as his hero and his fellow three intrepid adventurers entered the kitchen. "Sir!" he saluted. "Did your confrontation with our nemesis go well?"
"It was interesting," Xander replied.
Andrew nodded. He had little doubt that Anya's former fiancée could handle anything some piddling law firm could throw at them. "Sir," he licked his lips, "Mr. Giles rang."
"Oh yeah?" the Watcher's face sobered. "Any message?"
"Only to contact him as soon as you got back."
"Right," Xander looked around. "Faith, Connor, get the Slayers and head for the briefing room. Every one else, follow me."
"Is it set up?" Andrew nodded at his question. Xander stared doubtfully at the web-cam the younger man had set up. Whenever he'd envisaged getting involved with web-camming, the person on the other side hadn't been male. And certainly not Giles.
Shuddering at the thought, he picked up the phone and dialled Giles' number. "Hello?"
"Hi, G-Man," he replied. "It's me."
"Oh," Giles' voice turned from serious to positively doom-filled. Xander could just tell this was going to be a fun conversation. "Ah, Xander, splend-."
"G-Man, I'm in the briefing room with the gang, could you turn your web-cam on?"
"Web-cam?"
Xander hid a grin at the Englishman's horrified tone. "I know it's not messaging by pigeon. New millennium, G-Man."
"Yes, very amusing," now the Watcher's tone was miffed. Man, he knew his English tweed. "Give me a minute." Giles placed his hand over the phone but Xander still heard him shout. "Lisa! How do you set this infernal web-thingie up!"
Five minutes later and he and the others were staring at an uncomfortable-looking G-Man through the computer screen, thanks to the wonders of the internet. "Hello, everyone. Andrew, Amy, Faith," Giles eyes narrowed as he looked over their heads to the junior Slayers sat behind. "And I hope all you young ladies aren't giving Xander too much trouble?" The Englishman chuckled. "Just enough to keep him on his toes."
"Hey G!" Faith shouted. "You and technology, what's with that?"
"Ah, Faith," Giles smirked. "I've often wondered if the horrors of web-camming would be out-weighed by the delights of seeing you. I see that you're looking as beautiful as always."
"Damn," Faith muttered from behind him. "He's smooth. If he was ten years younger, I'd definitely take him for a spin." Xander shuddered at the terrible images. "What, I can't do charity work for the old?"
"Yes," Giles sniffed. "Very amusing. Now, to business." The mood immediately sobered, the levity dissipating. "Faith, if I may, would you do me the courtesy of answering a couple of questions?"
"Sure, G," he half-heard Faith's nod.
"You said the vampire claimed to be called Yelena?"
"That's what she said her handle was," Faith confirmed.
"Uh, uh," Giles pursed his lips, took off his glasses and rubbed at the lens. "And she was a Slayer?"
"Yeah."
"What did she look like?"
"Tall, muscular, blonde hair, grey eyes."
Now the Englishman looked positively perturbed. "And she mentioned something about the Croc Dal?"
"Said they'd cap my ass for killing her," Faith's tone was almost unreadable but Xander thought he caught a note of worry in the Bostonian beauty's voice.
"Yes, well," despite the distance, Giles appeared to have caught the Slayer's trepidation because he looked up from his notes to shoot Faith a reassuring smile, "we'll have to show them what a mistake that was."
"Damn straight," Faith agreed.
"However," Giles sighed. "This matter is serious. There is a possibility that the young lady you fought was indeed a Slayer."
"Oh fuck," Faith muttered.
"Please Faith," Giles looked pained. "There are youngsters present."
Faith snorted. "They kill demons and you're worried about a few cuss words?" Faith waved her hand. "Go on, G."
"Yes," after shooting the unrepentant Slayer a disapproving look, the Council Head continued. "Yelena was America's first ever Slayer, she was reported killed in a fire in New York in 1696."
"Who killed her, G-Man?" Xander put in.
"Yes," Giles pursed his lips together. "This is where we enter the land of conjecture-."
"Is that anywhere near Mexico?" Faith queried. "'Cause I've always wanted to go there." Giles stared at the Slayer. "Ah, closer to the North Pole, I'll give it a pass then."
Xander watched in fascination as Giles slowly counted to ten before continuing. "Our records show that at the time of her death, she was hunting a famed vampire by the name of Gellert." The Watcher paused. "The head of the Crimson Clan." When no one replied, he sighed long-sufferingly. "The Gaelic for Crimson Clan is Croc Dal."
"I knew that," Xander lied easily, "I just love it when your brow furrows like that," he giggled girlishly. "It's just so."
The room exploded in titters as a vein began to throb on the senior Watcher's temple. "Quite," Giles said through gritted teeth. "Very amusing. However, this is not a laughing matter, Gellert whose name means 'Powerful Soldier'," Xander groaned. Why couldn't vampires have names that meant 'Peace Lover' or 'Sunflower'? "Was an Hungarian war chief in 6th Century AD."
"He's1,400 years old!" Andrew squeaked.
"Really?" Giles raised an eyebrow. "How astonishing. None of us had noticed that."
"Oh it's really quite simple. Elementary maths-."
Amy sighed. "He's being sarcastic Andrew."
"Oh," the youth's voice trailed off.
"As I was saying," Giles continued. "There are few demons with a reputation even close to that of Gellert," Xander groaned. "For over four hundred years he held sway over much of Europe, clandestinely ruling Hungary, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, and Bulgaria." Xander slouched down in his chair, the weight of what they were facing weighing down on him.
"What stopped him?" asked Amy.
"Yes," Giles nodded approvingly at the Wicca's question. "Gellert made the mistake of confronting a demon far older than him, Aurelius." Xander winced. Giles nodded at his reaction. "Yes, the Master's sire. Defeated, and many of his followers dead, he fled into Romania, heading west, ultimately ending up in Asia where he became known as 'Night's Death'."
"Sounds like a bad hombre, G," Faith commented.
"Oh yes," the Englishman's nod did wonders for Xander's confidence. "In addition to his own quite horrific deeds, he was also the sire of Lothos and Kakistos." Faith hissed at the mention of her former arch-enemy. "At some point, both vampires attempted to rebel against him but were defeated and fled in fear of their lives. Upon his defeat by Aurelius , he formed the Croc Dal, the Crimson Clan, in response to Aurelius' own fledging Order. But was himself quite selective in the turning of vampires. Any one of his childes who turned an unsatisfactory vampire was staked, together with the childe. His two most notable childes are Sophos, a Greek nobleman of 800 years of age, and Geir a seven hundred year old Viking." Xander felt like echoing Andrew's squeak.
"He get any Slayers, G?" Faith queried.
"Yes," Giles rustled through his papers. "One in the ninth century, two in the twelfth, and a forth in fourteenth."
"Plus Yelena," he added. Five Slayers.
"Yes," Giles nodded, his expression grave. "In," the Watcher glanced at his notes, "the early seventeenth century, he moved to America, together with Sophos and Geir, and a number of lesser childes. In 1696, Yelena confronted him and was believed to have killed him in a house fire that we also believed claimed her life and her Watcher's."
"Wait," Xander interrupted. "But another Slayer was Called, right?"
Giles nodded. "Yes, that's why we thought he was dead."
"Have you got a full history of this Cor Dal?" Xander queried.
"Yes," Giles replied. "My secretary's emailed you the information."
"I'll check later." Xander promised before looking around the room. "Can I talk to Giles in private, gang?"
Gellert stared at the slightly-built vampire stood before him, Geir and Sophos flanking the minion. "This Slayer killed your brethren, Luther?" The named demon nodded meekly. "And my sweet Yelena." The minion nodded again. "Seven vampires dead, but not you, Luther?"
"Y….you had to be told, milord," Luther stuttered.
"Yes," Gellert nodded. Luther relaxed. "And thank you for that." He punched his fist through the 30 year old demon's chest cavity, grabbing and withdrawing his heart. "I do appreciate it." He turned to his two minions as the dust settled. "This situation is most unsatisfactory."
"Let me kill them," Geir rumbled, his eyes dancing eagerly. "Slayer blood tastes so good."
"Let us not forgot the balance of power has changed," Sophos counselled. "There are far more Slayers than there ever was."
Gellert glanced from the hulking former Viking to the slender Greek nobleman. Geir as always was eager to kill, to add to his tally of three Slayers, while Sophos wasn't frightened, a childe of his didn't get frightened, but more cautious. "We'll wait," he decided. Geir growled. He shot his childe a warning glance. "Let them wonder. And their terror build."
"Miss Lehane, can I speak to you."
Faith glanced over her shoulder to see Breena there. "Yeah, kid?"
"Not here," Breena shuffled nervously from foot to foot. "It's private."
Faith squinted at the kid before shrugging. "Sure, Breen. Let's go to the kitchen, I feel like a drink."
"Okay," the red-haired Slayer beamed.
"I take it from Andrew you were visiting," a smile tugged at the Englishman, "the belly of the beast."
"The belly of the beast?" Xander stared with befuddlement at his mentor. Then his confusion cleared. "Oh, you mean Wolfram & Hart?"
Giles' eyes widened. "They're here too? Good lord, you have quite a complicated situation there don't you?"
"Yeah," Xander nodded before forcing out an unwelcome question that had been nagging at him since the revelations had begun. "When does my replacement get here?"
"Your replacement?" Giles looked puzzled.
Oh great, he was going to have to spell his humiliation out. "When are you sending over my replacement to deal with this, I know when I'm out of my depth."
Now Giles looked livid. "You stupid bloody idiot," the Englishman snarled. Suddenly he was grateful of the distance between the two of them. "I didn't send you over there as a caretaker. I sent you there to run the Hellmouth because I trust you!"
"But I haven't got the teaching -."
Giles' expression softened. "Wesley had the learning. He was the best qualified Watcher of his year, a research Watcher of four years' experience with a number of published papers to his name. And yet, he was a complete and utter failure as Faith's Watcher. As," Giles grimaced, "was I. Why did Wesley fail?"
Xander sensed the question was rhetorical but answered anyway. "Because of the stick up his ass?"
Giles chuckled. "The stick would have had to make room for his head. He had all the teaching in the world. But thanks to certain things in his past, he didn't know how to be a man. From all accounts he learnt to be one, but you, you know that already." Giles smiled at him. "Son, I sent you here because I believe in you. Do me the courtesy of believing in yourself."
"Okay," Xander looked down, too choked with emotion to speak.
"Of course that doesn't mean you don't have to send me the fortnightly reports."
"Phooey!"
"Want anything?" Faith queried as she opened the fridge. Seeing a packet of Andrew's favourite Pop Tarts, she pulled them out, together with a soda can, X wouldn't allow booze around the kid Slayers, and set them on the counter.
"N..no thank you."
Faith stood, opened the can and chugged half of it down before speaking to the red-haired Slayer. "So what's the sitch? Got some question you need answering?" Faith perched on her stool. "Something about Slaying?"
"Not Slaying," Breena shook her head and reddened.
"Oh right," Faith hid a grin. "Guys, my other area of expertise. So, what's his name?"
"No, no," Breena shook her head so violently that Faith half-thought it might fly off. Denial. Another sign of guilt. She had to want a guy. Or girl, Faith paled, maybe Breena's hero-worship wasn't that, it was a crush. Oh crap, as if life wasn't complicated enough. "It's not me. It's you. I think you should be dating someone."
Faith chuckled, amused and relieved by the kid's interest in her love life. "Sorry, kid. I'm kinda lone wolf. 'Sides," she shrugged, "it's not like this life lends itself to dating." She'd got the urge to get some and get gone occasionally over the past few months but had avoided temptation. That was old, bad Faith who thought she wasn't worth shit.
"I've
got the perfect person!" Breena bounced up and down on the spot,
face shining
"Xander!"
Faith gaped at the kid. "You're joking right?" she shook her head. "Me and Harris, don't think so."
"Oh no," Faith groaned at the dreamy look in the red-haired Slayer's eyes. Fuck, she was planning the wedding. "You'd be perfect, he's so kind, funny, and brave."
"Kid," Faith shook her head. "I 'ppreciate the thought but -."
"And he understands about Slaying and everything." Breena interrupted. "He's such a gentleman, I bet he knows how to treat a girl. You'd make the perfect couple."
Faith's temper snapped. "Perfect couple?" Faith lifted her hands up. "See these hands, kid? These hands you want me to hold him with? Once I had them 'round his neck squeezing, even as I told him what a worthless piece of shit he was!" Faith's voice trembled. "Perfect couple!" she laughed, the sound discordant even to her own ears. "Life ain't a Harlequin story book, kid. I'm lucky he'll even look at me after what I put him through."
The freckled Slayer paled and shook her head. "Faith-."
"Kid," Faith growled. "Just don't," she paused at the sound of scratching at the outside door. She glanced out of the window. Rising, she snatched a carving knife out of the near-by knife-stand and made her way towards the door. If it was a demon, she'd decapitate the shit, a crim looking to score some stuff to get his next fix, she'd stick it in his thigh and twist.
"What-."
Faith impatiently waved her companion to silence as she flung the door open. "Yo!" she gaped as a naked man fell into her arms. A naked, very good looking man. A naked, very good looking man who she recognised. The blood drained from her face as she stuttered the man's name. "A……..Angel?"
