Wearing Masks (Part 3)

Disclaimers

Legal:All characters are (c) Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy and probably a whole mess of other people. No infringement of copyright intended.

Archive:Go right ahead. Just let me know, please

Spoilers:All the way up to "Who Are You?"

Summary:Buffy is Faith, and Tara is . . .

Rating:R (MPAA) - violence, language, f/f concepts

Notes:Faith (in B's body) has just seduced Willow and murdered the Mayor (who was hiding in Tara's body). But what of Buffy herself?

Being Faith is even worse than I thought it would be.

It was bad enough having the Council goons spitting on me. That I could deal with. It's not like I would expect anything better from them even if they had known who I really was.

But seeing that same fear and the distrust in Giles' eyes really hurts.

"Giles, it really is me." I'm close to pleading now, "If I were Faith, and I found you alone, why would I bother with this story? Wouldn't I just kill you?"

"If you're really Buffy -" He says slowly, and I'm so glad to hear him at least consider it, "- you'll be willing to let me tie you up."

"Giles, please . . . we don't have time for bondage games. Faith's out there in my body. She could be doing anything." I try to think of a way to persuade him, "Look, I can prove who I am! Remember when Ethan turned you into that demon and I realised it was you just from your eyes? C'mon, Giles . . . can't you see that it's me?"

I'm getting through to him. I can see it in his eyes.

"Look, how could I know that stuff if I was Faith?" I wheedle. Faith never wheedles. Giles should know that. "And when I found out about you and my mom having sex, I remember Mom thinking that you made love like a stevedore." A thought occurs to me. "What's a stevedore?"

Good going, Buffy. Asking that is something Faith would do.

"It's a person who loads and unloads ships." He answers vaguely. That's my Giles . . . factoid man. But I can see he's starting to believe me. Or at least admit it might be possible.

Then the TV catches my eye, and I raise my hand to stop him talking. Giles has the sound turned low, but Slayer hearing is a wonderful thing. There's a shot of one of Sunnydale's churches on the screen, with a young female reporter in the foreground.

"- witnesses say the gang of men appear to be wearing masks, or possibly to have deformed faces. It is unknown how many hostages they hold at this time."

"There's something going on at that church." I point at the TV, startling Giles. "It sounds like demons. I've got to check it out. While I'm gone, please call the others. Warn them to stay away from Faith . . . from me. Please, Giles." I turn to leave, not waiting for a reply.

"Buffy -" that one word stops me in my tracks, a huge smile coming to my face. Giles pauses, then speaks again. "Take care."

"Thanks, Giles. I will."

-----------

Riley is outside the church, talking to a policeman, and without thinking I rush up to hug him.

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Uh . . . thank you, miss." He sounds confused. He has a right. I can be so mentally challenged at times. "Do we know one another?"

"I'm -" I stop, realising that explanations will take too long, and drag him away from the cop, lowering my voice as I do. "What's the situation? The gang inside . . . they're some kind of demons, right?"

"Demons? How do -" he looks surprised, then I see comprehension in his eyes, and he takes a step back, his expression cold. "You're Faith, right?"

"No! Well, kinda." I really want to explain, but I don't have time. "Look, call Giles. He'll fill you in. How many of them are there?"

"Three." He takes another step back, obviously unsure what to do.

"Thanks." I run toward the church, hoping like hell that he'll call Giles. I don't want to come out of this to find myself with an entire Initiative team ready to bag me. I've been captured quite enough times for one weekend already.

Vampires and demons tend not to think about the details too much, so I hook round to the side entrance of the church. Sure enough, it's been left unguarded, and I slip inside quietly.

A daylight attack on a church isn't normal practice for vampires; which is who I find inside; and for a second I think that maybe Faith is here somewhere, orchestrating this. But then their leader starts talking about how 'He' has shown them not to fear God's house, and I realise that Adam must be behind this little incident. I really need a way to put him out of commission.

I come out of the shadows fast, staking one of the three vamps before they even know I'm there. The second goes down just as fast, while people start to run for the doors. The leader, however, is a bit tougher than the average. I don't know if the propaganda Adam has been feeding them has had some effect, or if I'm just not used to fighting in this body, but he manages to hurl me across three of the church pews.

I hit the ground hard, but roll and come to my feet ready for more. There's no warranty on this body, and I don't see any need to give it back in its original condition. The vampire comes at me, straight over the pews. It looks very dramatic, but it isn't all that smart: I duck under his lunge and help him on his way, sending him crashing against a wall.

Seconds later, he's dust, and I lean against the cool stone wall of the church. I hate this body. It feels big and slow and clumsy. I have no idea how Faith used to keep up with me. Sheer psychotic tendencies, I guess.

A quick look around confirms the place is empty, so I sneak out of the side door and head for Giles' place. I do my best to stay out of sight, just in case Riley didn't call Giles, or didn't believe him. I don't know what I'd do if Forrest and the others suddenly turned up, looking to party.

Actually, I do know. I just don't want to think about having to hurt them.

----------

Seeing fear and distrust from Giles was bad enough. Walking into a room full of those same, suspicious eyes is one of the worst experiences of my life.

Xander is there, Anya at his side. Both are standing as far from the door as they can, watching me carefully. I don't know how much Xander's told his girlfriend, but it looks like enough that even she is being cautious.

Riley's there, too. He has one of the Initiative's fancy zap-guns pointed at me, whilst Giles stands at the phone. As I slowly close the door behind me, he puts the handset down with a sigh.

"Ah, Buffy." He notices me and pushes his glasses up to rub his eyes. "I've contacted everyone I can. Your mother is on her way here, now."

"Willow?" I ask, taking a half-step forward. Riley's grip tenses on his gun, and I stop. Chalk up another thing I owe Faith for.

"Your mother said she left with . . . you, about ten minutes before I called. They were supposed to be going to your dorm room." Giles' tone is sombre, and I feel a squeeze of concern. "There's no answer there." Without looking away from me, he gently pushes Riley's gun to a safer angle.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but how do we know this is Buffy?" Xander sounds angry. My first instinct is to snap back, but I clamp down on it. Getting into a fight would be the Faith thing to do. "Giles says it is, but he bought Gwendolyn Post's story, too." He flicks a glance at Giles. "No offence, G-man."

"None taken." Giles says, dryly.

"She might be at Tara's." I suggest, silently cursing myself when I realise I never learned the other girl's phone number. Hell, I've never even met her. When did Willow and I stop telling each other stuff like that?

"I tried that number, too. No answer."

I flush in embarrassment when I realise that Giles, at least, is keeping up with Willow's life.

"Is anyone going to answer my question?" Xander's tone is still clipped, and I feel a small knot form in my stomach. It's suddenly occurred to me that he's seemed angry a lot, just lately, and I don't have a clue why.

"It's me, Xan." I match his gaze levelly, and say the first thing I can think of that I'm sure no-one would have ever told Faith. "You bought a bracelet for me when I tried out for cheerleading in High School."

Xander nods, slowly.

"Good enough." He reaches out to squeeze Anya's hand. "It's her."

Riley slowly places his gun on the table. I want to go over to him, but I'm afraid of how he will react. He looks away, then back at me.

"Can I talk to you, Buffy?" his expression is strained, and I wonder what's wrong. Something must be. "In private."

"Sure." I move into the corner of the room, and he comes over, standing close and speaking in little more than a whisper.

"When did . . . when did Faith and you . . . swap bodies?"

"Just after dusk last night." I'm surprised at the question, and answer it without thinking. Then I see his expression, and the breath goes out of me.

"Last night . . ." he stops, "She came to see me. I thought it was you, Buffy."

"You slept with her?" the shock makes me blurt the words out loud, and three heads whip around to look at us. Nice going, Buffy. I try to ignore the others, concentrating on Riley, feeling numb.

"I thought it was you." He repeats, dully.

I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. I'm torn between agony and feeling nothing at all. Finally, I just nod, stiffly. Put another mark in Faith's tally.

----------

Five minutes later, mom arrives. I expect her to react like the others, but instead she hugs me without hesitation. I guess she's worked out the Slayer-Mom deal, by now. 'Weird' comes with the territory.

"I'm so glad you're okay, honey." She murmurs, brushing hair from my face. "I was so worried, this morning, when I thought you and Willow –" she breaks off suddenly.

"What about Willow?" I feel my heart clench. What if something has happened to her? Then I remember that mom last saw her leaving with Faith, so that can't be it.

"Buffy . . ." she stops, then steps closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. I get a creep of déjà vu up my back, and go instantly cold. Whatever this is, it's going to be bad news.

"I went into your room this morning to wake you." She says, quietly, "And Willow was sleeping in your bed."

"They had a sleep-over?" It's a ridiculous question, but my mind refuses to consider the alternative.

"She was naked, Buffy." Mom pauses, while I try to ignore the pounding in my head. "Honey, I have to know . . . are you and Willow . . . involved?"

I shake my head, unable to form the words to answer.

"I'm so glad." She hugs me tightly, "When I thought . . . I tried to be calm about it. I wanted to deal with it better than I did when I learned you were the Slayer. But it was hard. Oh, honey, I'm so glad."

Numbly, I let her hug me again, as I feel my world crumble even further. First Faith tried to take Angel, then Riley, and now Willow. One after another, she wants to rip them away from me.

I want to break down. To hug mom back and just burst into tears. But I don't. Because I've latched on to the one thought that will let me hang on.

After we swap back, I'm going to kill Faith. And I'm going to get it right, this time.