Animatus II: The Descent

Notes: Sorry for all of the delays lately, but I've been suffering from a stomach flu that wouldn't go away. All better now and ready to write. Anyway, I think this will be wrapping up soon. I have another story in mind to post when I'm done with this one.

Previously: The Escape:

"I know how we can get out of here," Faith announced, her eyes never straying from the vampires sitting within the cell.

"How?" Buffy asked.

"We use them," she nodded toward the vampires.

Chapter Seventeen:

"Faith," Buffy said, pulling the younger girl to the side, "I need to talk to you for a minute."

"Okay," Faith replied rather reluctantly, her brow furrowing with concern as she followed the blonde Slayer. "What's up, B?" She asked.

"I need to know something," Buffy whispered, gazing deeply into her lover's eyes.

"What?" Faith inquired further.

"I need to know that when we go out there again, you're not going to freeze up," Buffy explained. "I see what happened out there before. The way you were looking at those zombies. It reminded me of something."

"What did it remind you of?" Faith asked, though she feared that she already knew the answer.

"When Kakistos tried to kill you," Buffy stated. She clearly remembered the panicked expression in Faith's eyes when the ancient vampire broke into her motel room so many months ago. "You had that same look…like you were paralyzed with fear. You didn't know what to do. Well, you get that look when you see the zombies. You don't know what to do."

"I know," Faith muttered, looking down at the ground.

"I need to know that you're going to stay with me out there," Buffy repeated. "We've been through so much, Faith, and we're so close to getting out of here. I can't do this without you," she said tearfully. "The whole time I was trying to get in here," she continued, "I kept thinking about you. I was doing this for you."

"Buffy," Faith attempted to interrupt, but the older girl shook her head.

"I need us to be together," Buffy murmured, stepping forward, reaching up, and gently caressing the dark haired Slayer's cheek. "I love you so much," she whispered. "After all that we've been through, this can't be the end. So I need to know that you're not going to let them take you. I need to know that we're getting out of here together."

"I know that I have this tendency to freeze up when shit really hits the fan," Faith admitted. "But I can tell you this much," she continued, "there's nothing I want more in the world than to get out of here and spend the rest of my life with you. I'm gonna be okay out there."

"You sure?" Buffy asked concernedly.

"I'm sure," Faith nodded. "I'm not gonna lie, it's terrifying out there. But I can handle this."

"Just remember," Buffy advised. "We're Slayers. Those zombies…they don't have anything on us."

"Hot chicks with superpowers," Faith grinned. "That's us."

"Damn straight," Buffy replied. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Listen up," Faith announced, drawing everyone's attention. "Here's the deal. I know that not everyone is happy with this plan." Diego shuffled his feet at her words. "But I don't see any other way of getting out of here. If you have another suggestion, speak up."

Silence filled the hallway as the group collectively glanced around at each other. When no one else spoke, Buffy began. "We're going to release the vampires first. And in case any of our blood sucking friends gets the wrong idea," Buffy spoke loudly, "all of you are chipped. That means that you can't hurt any human being. You can't bite us. As long as you're as harmless as a bunch of bunnies, you're not going to get staked."

"Bunnies…a bad analogy, B," Faith interrupted.

"What?" Buffy asked confusedly.

"Bunnies," Faith repeated. "Not so harmless according to some," she concluded in reference to Anya's perpetual fear of rabbits. Though Faith only had known Anya for a short time, the two had created a friendship that Faith sorely missed following the ex-vengeance demon's death.

"Okay," Buffy breathed. "Not bunnies then. Kittens, is that better, Faith?" She asked amusedly.

"Works for me," Faith nodded.

"The vampires are as harmless as kittens to us," Buffy concluded.

"I'm allergic to cats," Jay interjected.

"Oh for god sakes," Buffy sighed. "I think everyone understands what I mean."

"Troops seem to be keen on the back talking," Spike laughed.

"Shut up," Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Remember, Slayer," Spike replied. "We had a deal. I help you, you help me. We get out there, I want to know that you're not going to stop me from escaping."

"I remember our deal, Spike," Buffy ground out. "I'm not going to stop you. The sun might though. We don't know if it's day or night."

"And you better not start any shit, either," Faith noted. "I'm not above shooting your ass if I think you're trying to prevent us from escaping."

"I'm a good, little dog now, remember?" Spike reminded her.

"Is everyone else clear on what's going down?" Buffy asked. The vampires issued a collective grunt of approval and Buffy looked over to Kate. "Open their doors."

"You're sure?" Kate asked.

"I'm sure," Buffy confirmed.

"Doors opening," she stated as she flipped a switch. The doors containing the holding cells slowly opened and the vampires stepped out, many for the first time in ages. Some stretched, others cracked their knuckles, all of them ready to fight the zombies waiting for them on the other side of the blast doors separating the residents of the hallway from the rest of the Initiative.

"I don't particularly like being surrounded by all these vampires," Faith muttered under her breath.

"Goes against everything in us," Buffy agreed.

"But sometimes you have to make compromises for the greater good," Faith said.

"And hopefully this works," Buffy concluded.

"If not, we just let loose a whole lot of hell," Faith muttered.

"Time's right, Slayer," Spike prompted. "We gonna get out there to kick some ass or not?"

"We are," Buffy confirmed. "Vampires," she said politely, "would you please move to the front of the line."

The vampires moved forward until they were pressing against the metal door. Diego and Jay moved to the back, where Paul, Kate, Buffy, and Faith were standing. Spike remained at the front, standing by the keypad next to the door. "You're sure that we can trust them?" Diego asked warily.

"No," Faith admitted.

"But they're our only chance," Buffy stated. "If we want to get out of here, we'll need to trust them. Or, at least work with them."

"Ready to open the door?" Spike asked impatiently. "What's the code?"

"3…8…2…9…0...1...6…3," Buffy repeated from memory.

Spike nodded and punched in the code as Buffy spoke. The metal doors slid open, revealing the room full of zombies waiting on the other side. The vampires looked at each other and charged, emitting a collective battle cry as they ran. Meeting the zombies head on, they fought as the rest of the group slipped out of Section D. They hugged the walls, avoiding the zombies that were too preoccupied with the charging vampires to care about them. "Here's the plan, guys," Buffy said softly. "There's a stairwell across the room," she pointed to a door. "It leads to the outside. We reach that stairwell, we're out."

"Let's go then," Diego replied determinedly.

The group pressed forward. Any zombie that strayed toward them, one of the soldiers, or Buffy or Faith, put a bullet through its head. They had circled halfway around the main room of the Initiative when the zombies began to notice their presence with greater numbers. The charging vampires had taken them by surprise initially, but the surprise had abated. The vampires were pressing their way toward the exit as well, though slowly, and Buffy worried that they might not reach the door before the zombies decided that they did not like the taste of vampire meat. The zombies charged them and they fired back. Running toward the door, the sound of gunfire echoed behind them. Though Faith could feel her fear threatening to stop her footsteps, she continued running.

She could see Buffy in front of her. The Slayer's golden hair shimmered under the light of the flashlight attached to the scope of Faith's rifle. Despite the fear threatening to overwhelm her, Faith knew what she wanted. From the moment that she had first seen Buffy, she had known that she had wanted the older woman. Her feelings had evolved into love and into hate. But through it all, she always had loved the other Slayer. Though she had ruined many of her chances with Buffy in the past, she was determined to form a future with her lover. A future meant that she had to survive her escape from the Initiative. The Powers that Be had given her a second chance and she was going to fight for it.

The zombies crowded around them, but they did not stop. As they ran, they maintained a pocket of space between them and the zombies through the continuous barrage of gunfire that lit up the room. The zombies hovered around them in the dark, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike, but they did not give them a moment to attack. Finally, they reached the door. Throwing it open, Buffy led the charge up the stairs. When Jay past through the door, he slammed it shut behind them. His action would only delay the zombies momentarily, but he hoped that those seconds would give them a chance to flee into the night unnoticed by the horde following after them. "Keep running!" Buffy instructed. "We're almost there."

"Man, I just want to get out of here," Diego muttered. Buffy led the group, followed by Faith. Jay and Diego brought up the rear, with Kate and Paul sandwiched between them.

"Don't we all," Faith muttered in reply. Their footsteps echoed up the stairwell. Behind them, Faith heard the clanging of the door busting off of its hinges. More footsteps began to pour up the stairs.

"We got company!" Jay yelled.

"Haul ass!" Diego commanded. "I'm not getting stuck down here when freedom is only a few more steps away."

From the lead position, Buffy could see the vertical ladder they would have to climb looming before her. Once she reached it, she gripped the cold metal rungs in her hands and propelled herself toward the surface. She felt Faith grab the ladder behind her. Buffy reached the surface and pulled herself onto the floor of the shed. She could feel the cool, night air strike her face and she smiled. Moving out of the way, she helped Faith out as well. Kate and Paul followed her out with Diego climbing up behind them. Finally, Jay reached the surface.

"We're out," Diego stated with relief. "I can't believe we're actually out."

"We gotta keep moving," Faith said. "We're still not safe."

"Where are we going to go?" Kate asked.

"I know a place," Buffy said. "I think Faith knows of it too. We can stay the night there and leave Sunnydale in the morning."

"It's not safe traveling at night," Jay explained. "That's why it would be better for us to find some place to bed down for the night."

"Where are you thinking, B?" Faith asked curiously.

"The roof of the sporting goods store," Buffy grinned. "I stayed there my first night here alone."

"How romantic," Diego joked.

"We'll go there," Buffy said, ignoring the soldier as she led the others out of the shed and into the night. The stars shone above them brightly. A gentle breeze moved the tree branches. As they ran stealthily through the night, Faith looked up into the sky and smiled with hope. Glancing back at the shed, she thought she saw the glimmer of bleach blonde hair running through the night in the opposite direction. Though she did not like Spike, she was glad that he had found freedom. No one deserved to be imprisoned within the desecrated and bloodied walls of the Initiative.