A/N: This chapter contains sex

"Sharp as ever, eh, Slayer?" Whistler winked as he dusted his shabby clothes.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Faith asked in shock, having one more piece of the puzzle called Rowan standing in front of her.

Before Whistler could answer, Pauline came to the patio followed by Miyoko and Patricia. "Faith, who are you talk... Oh, it's you."

"Your humble servant, ma'am," Whistler bowed and raised his threadbare fedora.

"Hi, Wiz," Faith heard Trish greet the newcomer from behind her.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Faith practically screamed and made the universal sign of timeout with her hands. "You... he... YOU FUCKING KNOW EACH OTHER AND NO ONE TOLD ME!"

"Faith, please, we couldn't." Pauline tried to placate her.

"Has all this been just some bullshit show to fool the gullible Slayer!" Faith shouted, feeling the familiar anger rise within. "I trusted you all."

What happened next shocked everyone. Whistler took a step forward and slapped Faith in the face. "Shut up partner and listen," he hissed. "Haven't you learned anything yet? She said they couldn't tell you. And why's that? They were told not to. It wasn't the right time before, now it is."

Faith instincts told her to attack but an unfamiliar twinge in the back of her mind suddenly rose its head. She lowered her head in submission. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Instead of acknowledging her, Whistler addressed Miyoko. "Well?"

"I just got back," Miyoko replied evenly and shrugged her shoulders.

That seemed to shock Whistler and she laid a gentle hand on the Slayer's shoulder. "Sorry, love. I sometimes lose the track of time. I thought your training was well underway already."

"It's ok," Faith muttered and slowly raised her gaze again. "Why are you here?"

"It's too soon," Pauline objected.

"The time waits for no one," Whistler overrode her objection and faced Faith. "The Powers want to see you."

"Am I really gonna meet the Powers, as in the Powers?" Faith asked anxiously as they drove along the Poihipi Road to Taupo half-an-hour later.

"Your guess is as good as mine, love," Whistler answered simply. "All I got was this, 'bam!' command in my head, 'We will see our new Champion now,' and a vision of a building with the knowledge where it's located."

"What do they want from me?" Faith asked hesitantly. Her heart was doing double-rate in her chest and her palms were sweaty. She had been raised a Catholic and, although she had lost her faith a long time ago, the thought of meeting something akin to gods gave her some serious wiggins.

"I thought we covered this already," Whistler groaned.

They drove on in silence for several minutes.

"Why didn't you tell me about the 'compensation for time spent' catch back then," Faith asked eventually. It was something that had been bothering her.

"What are you talking about, lassie?" Whistler asked, clearly in confusion.

"That's what he said," Faith answered quietly. She was feeling a fresh anxiety. Had Rowan been mistaken? "He said something along the lines that my time as a Champion will not be counted as far as my lifetime is concerned."

"Ah, I see," Whistler nodded in understanding. "Well, yes, in your case that might be applicable."

"My case?"

"Yes, being mortal and all. For an immortal... different rules altogether."

"Such as?"

"Well, hypothetically, a vampire might be allowed to..."

"What?"

"Sorry," Whistler apologised hurriedly, realizing he had said too much already. "Don't worry your pretty head over it."

"Don't worry?" Faith spat out. "Do you have any idea...?"

"Hold on to that thought, love," Whistler replied sagely, somewhat relieved that the trip was over. He pulled over and parked the car in front of an abandoned-looking building. "We're here."

"Where?" Faith asked and blinked. She looked around in bafflement. They were parked in front of an old, derelict-looking building with its three-storey façade made of red bricks.

"Where I was supposed to take you. Get your ass out of the car, Slayer. I'll see you in a jiffy."

"Whoa, wait! I'm supposed to go in there alone?"

"Got it in one, Einstein. Now, get moving."

Faith was left standing on the sidewalk as Whistler sped away in his rental car. 'You're the Slayer, dammit,' she told herself as she pushed the slightly leaning front door open.

Inside it was dusty and dark. Faith strained her Slayer hearing but the only sounds she could pick up were caused by some swift rodent feet fleeing to safety. She couldn't pick up any vibes with her Slayer sense either. She appeared to be totally alone in the building.

A door with stairs on the other side, leading down to a basement opened next to her with a creak, and she almost jumped out of her skin. There was a faint light illuminating the staircase.

Grabbing the Spirit Blade from its usual place behind her back, she cautiously descended the stairs.

The stairs lead to a small room in which two figures were sitting around a small table. They were... she couldn't really describe them as... her eyes just slid off them. Whenever she tried to focus on them, her eyes just betrayed her by looking at something a little bit above or to the side of them.

"Greetings, Champion," one of them greeted Faith formally. Like their look, the voice was equally indistinguishable, and it didn't seem to come from the spot where Faith presumed their mouth was.

Acting on instinct, Faith fell to one knee and bowed her head. She laid the Spirit Blade in front of her on the ground.

"Knows her place, that's commendable," the other fleeting figure commented in a low voice. "Faith Lehane. You took the mantle of Champion on your shoulders of you own free will. Do you want to rescind that decision now? We will honour your choice and no harm will come to you or those your sacrifice touched."

"No," Faith answered immediately, her gaze still fixed on a spot on the dusty floor in front of her. "I gave my word."

"Well said, young Champion," the other vague figure stated with a hint of approval.

"So be it," the other proclaimed. "Our time here grows short but before we go, we will give you your first task as a Champion."

"Yeah, sure," Faith agreed with a slight feeling of dread inside.

"Allay your fears," one of them surprisingly tried to soothe her. "We understand that by necessity you were formerly associated with one who would have usurped the place and position reserved for those who are long gone from this plane. He was still a human for all his limitations. We are far beyond that."

"Ok, gotcha," Faith murmured back. It was all so surreal. She was in the presence of a few godlike beings who were treating her with what felt like respect. Then she said something she had never thought possible. "I'm yours to command."

The two vague figures stood up.

"Faith Lehane. There will be a fight in the near future – one that has two possible outcomes. You will make a choice then that will either allow the events to deviate further from what should have been or re-align the past with the future. You will know when the time comes. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Faith answered without hesitation.

"Until the next time then, Champion," the two announced in unison. "We are pleased with you."

Between two blinks she was alone in the dilapidated room.

When Faith got back to the street with her mind still in turmoil, Whistler was leaning against the car smoking a cigarette. She stopped in her tracks. It was fully dark outside.

"Well, you certainly took your time, Slayer."

"What," Faith blinked. "I was there for maybe half-an-hour, max."

"You went in there six hours ago. Intense?"

"You could say that." Faith let out a deep breath. "They want me to..."

"Need to know basis, love. Need to know basis," Whistler sniffed and flipped the cigarette butt away. "You gotta get used to that in this line of business. With the Powers it's always about some fucking cosmic balance. Don't let them fool you – they are not the epitome of goodness by any means. I'm bound to them, just as you are, but I don't follow their dogma blindly. They can be incredible bastards sometimes, but they are still infinitely preferable to the alternative."

"Old Ones?"

"Got it in one again, Einstein. Let's get you back home."

"You go. I need to clear my mind," Faith shook her head weakly. This was just too much. "I'll patrol for a while and then take a cab."

"Just in case your patrol route ends in a bar, have one for me, yeah?" Whistler winked at her. "'Till next time, champ."

Faith was drinking alone. She had given the young bartender one unobstructed view at the girls, and he had immediately forgotten all thoughts about Id's and legal drinking ages. She was less than six months away from her 18th birthday, so what was the big deal anyway?

JD and a chaser, one after the other, and she wasn't getting any drunker. It took quite a lot to get a Slayer roaring drunk – last time it had been almost two bottles of JD... but no, she didn't want to go there.

Still, with her thoughts in the past, she couldn't avoid the Scooby gang popping to the front of her mind. An involuntary smile lit up her face as she thought about them... us, which gave her an unexpected warm feeling. She had never belonged to a group of friends before, and she still recalled in astonished awe the way Buffy, Xander and even Willow had proclaimed her belonging to the gang. Rowan had been there from the get go, but she had never dared to believe, until that moment, that she, too, might be considered a full member.

The evening before the Ascension had been one about bonding. She had laid herself bare, apologised and waited for the verdict, which had been a full "pardon". It was still unbelievable to her how forgiving the whole group had been. Some of that had been, perhaps, out of necessity and Faith was slowly coming about to the fact that she really needed to face each of them – Buffy, Willow, Xander, Joyce, Giles and maybe Gwen as well – alone, one-on-one, and show them that she really meant it. Xander had already hinted about his readiness to listen to Faith's version of the events at her former Motel – something she had left out of her story during the session at Giles'.

A drink was suddenly set on the table in front of her. She raised her head and looked quizzically at the waitress who had brought it to her.

"I didn't order...," Faith started.

"Compliments of the gentleman at the bar," the waitress interrupted her simply and moved on.

Faith turned around and a guy standing next to the bar desk raised his own drink at her with a smile. A college student by the look of him.

'What the hell,' she thought. 'I could use the release.' She inclined her head in an inviting manner and the guy sauntered over. He smelled clean and gave no warning tickles. 'I guess he'll do.'

"Hi, I'm Pierce..."

"I'm hungry and horny," Faith interrupted him. "Wanna help me with the second 'H'?"

"Um, yeah... sure," Pierce stammered, slack-jawed, but then his mouth turned to a hungry smile Faith knew all too well. "I like forward..."

"Let's go."

Faith dragged the still stupefied Pierce into the men's room by his belt.

"Hey, what's your...?" Pierce attempted.

"Shut up."

In the restroom Faith let go of Pierce's belt and pushed him roughly into the largest stall – the one for disabled and baby care – hard enough that he staggered backwards until he fell to his butt on the toilet seat. She fished a condom out of a pocket of her jean jacket.

"Here," she called unceremoniously and threw the small plastic packet to Pierce and breathed a few deep ones, steeling herself. She could... no she needed to do this. She was calling the shots. She was in control.

Locking the stall door behind her, she quickly pulled her jeans and panties down and kicked them unceremoniously to a corner. She could already smell Pierce's arousal and hear the way he was panting behind her.

"Wow," Pierce breathed in awe at the sight of the girl's firm ass and athletic legs. The whole situation was totally surreal. This nameless girl was absolutely breath-taking in all aspects. Sitting on the toilet seat, he started unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants with trembling hands, every second waiting for her to call this whole thing off. Also, if this was a dream, he'd be damned if he didn't take full advantage of it before waking up.

"You... you're...," he gasped at the sight as the girl steadily approached him and sat down on his thighs, spreading her legs wide.

"I told you to shut up," Faith hissed through gritted teeth. "If I want something out of your fucking mouth, I'll tell you."

Knowing when to keep his mouth shut, Pierce quickly unrolled the rubber over his rock-hard cock. Holding his breath, he could only watch as the girl grabbed his shoulders, raised herself slightly and slowly sat down on of his raging erection. He had never felt such magnificent tightness before and, despite the warning, couldn't help the quiet "oh, yeah," escaping his lips as he slid easily all the way inside this strange girl's wet pussy.

Faith was feeling numb, focusing her gaze on a rude drawing on the wall just beyond Pierce's shoulder. The idea of getting fucked like this had been much more satisfying than the actual physical act she was now participating in. The guy was quietly moaning and groaning against her chest as she rode his admittedly well-proportioned cock. She needed to come, but like this she...

Flashback

"Any objections?" Rowan whispered and brought their lips together.

Faith didn't answer but rolled them over so that she was on top, where she belonged.

"I trust you, Sunray," he assured her between kisses and spread Faith's legs with his knees. She could feel he was already hard as their crotches bumped together.

"Lay still," Faith instructed Rowan and sat up to perch on his waist. She pulled her shirt over her head as Rowan grabbed the headboard with both hands.

"You like this?" he asked. "This feeling of control?"

"Yeah," she grinned and laid her hands on his chest. "What are you gonna do about it, Bright Eyes?"

"Nothing, for now," he answered easily, but there was an amused glint in his amber eyes.

Suddenly she felt invisible strands wrap themselves around her wrists. Before she could react, they were gone just as swiftly as they had appeared.

"Mad skills, remember?" he smirked.

"What...?"

"You're far stronger than me, Sunray. But that doesn't mean I'm helpless. So, you better tread carefully."

Faith's heart was hammering in her chest as she started unbuttoning Rowan's shirt. Once done, she ripped his white t-shirt in two at the front. As she slid her hands over Rowan's smooth, brown skin, underneath which well-trained muscles rippled, a brief flashback suddenly invaded her mind. 'You know what I think? I think you don't have what it takes to handle me, Bright Eyes.'

This was a new challenge. A test of limits.

"You're hard for me," Faith groaned as she ground her hips against Rowan's jeans.

"You're wet for me," Rowan countered as he bucked his waist to meet her movements.

Faith almost ca...

End Flashback

Faith came hard and, hearing and feeling that, Pierce moaned and blew his load into the rubber inside her.

Faith was still panting as she stood up and got dressed. She refused to look at Pierce as she heard him fumble with his zipper and belt.

"That was great," she stated monotonically, facing the stall door. "I gotta go."

"Hey, wait," she heard Pierce call behind her. That made her turn around.

"Look, you don't know me. You don't want to know me. We both got what we wanted, and you'd better leave it at that."

She saw him think briefly and then nod a bit sadly at her words. That raised his stature in her eyes considerably.

"I'm not kidding," she continued more softly. "That was really great. Bye."

"Bye," Pierce called weakly at the stall door as it slammed shut. He stayed sitting on the toilet seat for several long minutes, sitting absolutely still. 'What the hell just happened.'