Faith sat in the forest for some time, allowing the pain to consume her at last. When it was necessary, she could hide it, even pretend it didn't exist, but now they had stopped running, she had nothing to distract her. Her body ached all over, from the spells Dawn knew about, and some she didn't. The slayer heard distant voices through the trees, and sat upright abruptly.
"Dawn!" she whispered urgently. "Kid, wake up!" Dawn moaned, and opened her eyes. She didn't remain groggy for long, realising where they were. She shifted awkwardly, knocking into Faith, who winced.
"Sorry." Dawn gasped. She turned to retrieve the broom, but something she saw through the corner of her eye made her return her gaze to the slayer. A deep red stain had recently blossomed on Faith's white shirt. Faith followed her gaze, and swallowed.
"It's nothing. We have to move." But Dawn wouldn't take that.
"Let me see." She said. Faith held up her hands to ward the girl off, but Dawn grabbed her right hand, squeezing hard on the cut palm.
"Ah, crap!" Faith cursed. Dawn smiled faintly as the slayer let down her guard. She lifted the edge of the t-shirt to see a large, deep cut in Faith's midriff. Dawn grimaced.
"Oh, god, they stabbed you!?" But Faith shook her head.
"No." Dawn looked back at her stomach, and saw there were no other large scars. Her eyes fell upon the cut once more, and she realised what had happened.
"They just opened up an old one…" Dawn gasped.
"I'll be ok." Faith assured her. "But we gotta get outta here." She turned to peer through the trees.
"It put you in a coma last time." Dawn said quietly. Faith turned back, but didn't meet the other girl's eyes.
"I'll be ok." She repeated. "Come on." They mounted the broom and took off, deciding that though there would be death eaters up in the open too, they'd have more chance of out stripping them than they did while swerving between trees.
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"OH!" Willow exclaimed. "I got it!"
The slayers eyes went wide. Willow continued, "She's alive… and moving fast. I think… I don't know what's going on, but she's either running, or being taken somewhere."
"Well then lets go." Buffy said, standing.
"She's…" Willow frowned, not understanding the reading she was getting "… I think she's flying!"
"Broom stick." Dumbledore said. The scoobies looked at him in disbelief. "What? I'm serious. But if she's flying, you'll need to take brooms too."
"Ok then, where can we get 'em?"
"Only you, Wesley and perhaps these two young ladies will be able to fly a broom." The head master said. Buffy nodded,
"The magic, right? Ok then, me an' Wes go."
"Buffy!" Willow cried.
"Will, I need you here- you can tell what's happening, at least to an extent." The witch sighed and nodded. "K, Wes, you can fly?"
"A little." He said, paling. Dumbledore produced a couple of brooms from nowhere, handing them to them.
"Good luck." He said. Buffy nodded, and strode out of the office.
As Buffy and Wes reached the entrance hall, they heard running footsteps behind them.
"Buffy!" a voice yelled out. She turned to see Draco streaking down the stairs. He was holding a broom. "I'm coming."
"No way." Buffy snapped.
"Yes I am. I, kinda sorta heard some of the conversation (thanks to the Wesley twin's invention) and I am coming." Buffy looked in the boy's eyes, and saw the angry determination she felt within herself.
"Ok." She nodded, "But you get Dawn and get her back here, you understand? No heroics just grab her and go."
Draco nodded, and the three left the castle, the two wizards showing Buffy how to deal with the broom.
The broomstick burst from the trees at a terrifying speed, the two girls clinging on for dear life. The shocked Death eaters quickly pursued, closing quickly on the old broom. One held out his wand, shooting a streak of red energy at the girls. Faith winced in anticipation of the hit, but the blast was deflected before it came close. She looked at Dawn. The young witch was murmuring under her breath, her lips constantly moving. Faith raised her eyebrows, impressed, but the death eaters would soon be close enough to grab them without magic. Faith looked around, weighing the odds, even as she lashed out with a foot to un-seat the closest death-eater. He tumbled down towards the forest with a nasty yell. It was then that she knew the truth. There were too many. Either Dawn's shield would fail, or they'd get through her physical defences… as long as they were concentrated on Dawn. She leant closer, speaking in the girl's ear.
"Keep going, ok? No matter what, just get outta here. Hold up that shield and go!"
"Faith…" Dawn protested.
"NO! Remember what I said? First rule is don't die. Run, ok? And don't stop for anything." She aimed at three death-eaters close behind them, and leapt from the broom. Dawn screamed,
"FAITH!" but kept flying, the broom picking up speed the second the extra weight was lifted. Faith wrestled the first death-eater off his broom, taking it for herself. Then she rammed his two friends' with a force even few quidditch players had felt. One slipped and fell immediately, the other clung on. Faith punched him in the face, changing that. Then she headed for those closest to Dawn, kicking, punching and ramming as hard as she could. Now and then, Dawn glanced behind to check on the slayer. She knew Faith was strong, but she'd just experienced days of torture, not to mention the re-opened stab wound.
Buffy, Wesley and the novice wizard sped through the air in the direction Willow had indicated. They scanned the horizon for any sign of Dawn, or men in black cloaks. Not far off, Buffy heard a yell. She couldn't hear what was said, but knew somehow that it had been Dawn. She gestured to the others, heading off in that direction. Sure enough, they soon beheld a terrifying scene. Dawn was speeding towards them on a broom, closely followed by many death-eaters, but none of their spells hit her, even when they were right on target; and behind her, this took Buffy's breath away, a figure on another broom was fighting tooth and nail against the swarming death-eaters. Just as they were approaching, Buffy saw Dawn glance over her shoulder at Faith. A death-eater swung at the not-so-dark slayer from one side. Faith performed a spectacular move, rolling round on the broom to dodge the blow and unseat her attacker, but she lost sight of the guy on the other side. A jet of red energy hit home, and Dawn screamed,
"FAITH!" Faith lost her grip on the broom, flopping sideways into the space between the broom and the forest. "FAITH!" Dawn cried again, swinging round. But as the slayers limp form dropped beneath the canopy, strong hands encircled her arms, preventing her following, so all she could do was watch.
Sorry its so short, but I just HAD to leave it there… he he he! Sorry. More soon.