Risen
Chapter 4...
(Buffy's POV)...
It's been two days since Faith watched me get off, and she hasn't said a word to me since. I don't really care. I'm a vampire. I don't have any emotions. I can't care. Really. I don't. Just because I'm bored, and even getting myself off has lost its appeal. I'm staring at her right now, trying to get some reaction out of her. But she's every bit as stubborn as I am, and it doesn't look like I'm going to be successful. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying.
"How long do you think you'll be able to keep up the silent treatment, Faith?" I ask, and I can even hear my sadistic grin in my voice. I can feel the tips of my fangs on my lip as I speak. That's something I'm not used to yet, and I don't think I ever will be.
Faith still doesn't reply, though she jumps when I speak for the first time in an hour.
"Come on, this is getting unbearable. I never liked silence, Faith, and you didn't either. So why even try? I'm the only thing that even comes close to resembling a living thing you've actually been around in two days. I admire your resolve, Faith, I really do, but it's pointless. I mean, seriously? Why are you so resolute in not talking to me?" I let the question hang in the air for a minute, and just when I'm about to speak again, Faith replies.
"How dare you?" She asks.
"What?"
"Don't play stupid, Buffy. You're blonde, but you're not stupid. How dare you?" She's still not looking at me.
"Umm... Okay? Wanna fill me in on what the hell you're talking about? If this is about me speaking, I'm not going to apologize for breaking this un-fucking-bearable silence."
"Three days ago... I was just tryin' to keep you from... well, since you're already dead, I can't keep you from dyin'. But I was just tryin' to stop the other Slayers and the Council from killin' you. That's all. 'Cause I was in love with B, and I failed her. And if I keep you from gettin' dusted... I don't know, I guess it's like I'm makin' up for lettin' her down. But then... two days ago... You go and pull a stunt like that... just stripped down and got off in front of me... God, I feel like I failed her all over again." I can smell her tears, even through the ten feet of space between her and the cage. "I mean, I could have dealt with that. But... I just stared at you, watchin' the whole thing, and I couldn't look away. No, I didn't want to look away. I wanted to... you know, I wanted to want to look away, but I just didn't wanna look away. It was like you had me under that same thrall thing Dracula got you under that time. That's what I'm pissed about. How dare you put me under your spell? I'm not just some fuckin' puppet you can pull my strings and control me. Stay the fuck outta my head. My head is the only thing I have left. My body... It belongs to the Watchers. They control me already. I'm in deep, Buffy, and I'm afraid I might not be able to get out. My soul... I lost that when I killed Finch... then that guy who studied volcanoes or whatever. I lost my soul then. And my heart... I finally discovered I had one when I fell in love with B. Then she goes and dies on me, and all that's left of her is some empty shell that only cares about not becomin' a pile of dust. Doesn't care about me. Doesn't care about B's friends and family. Doesn't care about what we had, the slayin'. Doesn't care about what we could have had... So if I've got nothin' to say to that shadow... that shell that looks like her... then you're just gonna have to fuckin' deal with it. 'Cause I'm done. I'm not givin' up on gettin' you out of here. I've got this plan that might make both of us happy again. I'll give it a week after we're out of here. If my plan doesn't work, though, I'm done. I'm done. That's it. Finished. I'll walk away and never look back."
Faith falls silent, never having even looked at me the entire time she was talking. It pisses me off. But I don't say anything, and you know why? It's because I actually feel bad about it. Ha! Can you imagine that? Me, a vampire, a demon, feeling bad about what I've done to Faith?!
I growl as I turn and stalk back to my cot and lay down. I stare at the ceiling, and the time inches by slowly in silence. I don't try to provoke her anymore, and she never moves from where she's standing, looking away.
(Faith's POV)...
Yesterday, I spent all day in silence with Buffy. I didn't leave to go eat, I didn't even have to use the bathroom. I just spent the entire day starin' out the window in silence. Since our talk the day before, Buffy didn't bother me yesterday, but I still spent all day in that hall, listenin' to Buffy move around the cage, antsy.
But today, I have a clock in the hall, so I'll know when luchtime was. Go figure, I'm not hungry today. So, just like yesterday, I spend today in silence. Just the extremely annoying tick... tick... tick of the clock. They couldn't have given me a digital clock. It had to be a ticker.
Buffy doesn't bother me today, either, and I'm starting to cool down about the whole "thrall" thing she did to me a few days ago. Maybe even enough to talk to her.
Maybe.
I lose track of time, and soon, I slump to the ground, nearly unconscious. I'm so exhausted. I've spent the past four days just ouside her cell, never getting a wink of sleep, so it's startin' to take its toll.
I pass out so suddenly, I don't have time to call for my relief.
And I dream of Buffy.
Not the demon that's wearin' her skin, the real Buffy.
We're walkin' together, just like we always do. But somethin's different this time. Normally, I can feel the love comin' from both of us. How much I love her, and how much she's in love with me.
But this time, there's a feelin' of uneasiness. Awkwardness. I can feel my heart poundin' just bein' near her. That's nothin' new. But B... she doesn't have a heartbeat. She sounds just like the vampire that's wearin' her skin right now, outside of this dream. But I can see in her eyes that she's the real one. Like I can see her soul. She's an ensouled vamp, but somethin's missin' from her. I can't place it at first, but then it hits me.
She doesn't love me. She doesn't hate me, she's not mad. She just doesn't love me. It's frustratin' her, 'cause she knows she should love me. It's a part of who she is, just like Slayin'. But... she just doesn't. What happened to her love for me? Is she under a spell? Maybe somethin's preventin' her from lovin' people. I need to figure out what it is, but somehow, my dream self knows what it is, and it's hurtin'. It's hurtin' bad. It feels like I made a sacrifice. Or she did. What was sacrificed and why? I don't understand. I feel anger, and grief, and fear, and frustration, all boiling my blood, and it's breakin' what's left of my heart. It hurts, and I want to scream about it. I just wanna tip my head back, throw my arms out, and scream, and cry. That's the worst thing. I actually wanna cry.
"I don't understand it, either, Faith. I don't know what happened. I wish it hadn't. I... I was in love with you, and it felt good. But... that feeling, it... it's gone now. I just... I don't get it."
"I do. Devvon told me, while you were takin' that test... He told me that the process wasn't perfect. When a vamp gets their soul back, they have to sacrifice somethin' else. They have to sacrifice the thing they hold the closest to their heart. The thing they hold most dear, he said. Guess for you... that meant your love for me." Tears are in my eyes as I say it. In this moment, I wish that I could sacrifice my love for her. Stop the pain. But it doesn't happen. I just lean into B and cry into her shoulder, and she holds me. She's tryin' to comfort me, but she's so confused about herself right now. It's like her world has fallen away, and she doesn't understand anythin' anymore.
I slowly wake up, but don't open my eyes. My heart feels like it's in a million pieces, but I don't know why. I don't remember fallin' asleep, and I don't remember any dreams or anythin'. But I can tell somethin' big happened. I wouldn't feel so broken otherwise.
"It's about time you woke up." Buffy grumbles.
"Shut up, Buffy." I growl back. I wonder why she didn't try to escape?
"Whatever." She mumbles, but doesn't say another word.
"Bad dream last night?" I ask. That's the only thing that could be puttin' her on edge so early.
"I don't sleep. Vampire." She says, matter-of-factly.
"Right." I agree, and feel stupid for askin'.
"But your dream sure as hell bothered me. Is that what you're planning? Taking me to some demon to get my soul back?"
"What?" I ask.
"You said something about a vampire getting their soul back. Since I'm the only vampire around that you could possibly care enough about totry and get my soul back, that definitely narrows it down. So, I'm gonna ask again. Are you planning to get my soul back?"
"Look, B... Buffy... Look, Buffy, I don't even remember fallin' asleep, let alone whatever the hell kinda crazy dream I had last night." It's not a lie. "I have lots of crazy dreams. Remember when I was in that coma for eight months? Well, that whole time, I dreamed that you and me made a bed together, then you stabbed me and gotmy blood all over the white bedsheets. Okay? I have an extremely active imagination, okay. Probably just workin' through things in my head a bit. If I did dream about you gettin' your soul back, it's probably just 'cause I still can't get over... I still can't get over B. Probably just my way of holdin' on to her."
None of it was a lie. It was all the truth. Just not the whole truth.
Just then, Dawn burst into the room.
"Faith!" She whispers, closin' the door behind her. "We've got a problem!"
"What?"
"The Watchers, they're moving Buffy's execution up! They got everything together faster than I thought!"
"I figured they would. Figured two weeks actually meant closer to one week."
"Try four days!"
"What?!" I'm instantly on my feet, and I hear Buffy growl.
"They knew you'd know that two weeks meant half the time, so they put everything together even faster, to foil any attempts to help her escape! They're going to execute her tonight!"
"Fuck!" I punch the wall beside me, and I feel my hand shatter against the stone. I cry out in pain and recoil, holdin' my hand gently.
"Faith, can you get angry like that again?" Dawn asks.
"What?"
"Look." Dawn points to where I punched the wall and we see that I'd done more damage to the wall than I'd done to my fist. I almost punched right through it, and the wall is two feet thick. "Adrenaline plus Slayer strength equals broken cage." Dawn says, almost excitedly. "Luckily, I move just as fast as the Watchers. I've already talked to Oz, Angel, Xander, Giles and Willow. They're all on board, whenever we're ready. We can leave now, if you want."
"I don't think Faith is going to be much use like that." Buffy points out. "Adrenaline plus Slayer strength may equal broken cage, but Faith plus broken dominant hand equals next to useless."
"Here." Dawn hands me a bottle of painkillers.
"What?" I ask. "What are you doin' with these?"
"I figured you'd react badly when I told you the Watchers are faster than we thought, so I brought those with me, just in case."
"Good thinkin'." I say, almost smilin'. Almost. I down three of the pills and nod to Dawn. "Go get 'em. We're movin' now. Can't afford to wait any longer."
"Okay. You should have Buffy out of the cage by the time we all get back." Dawn says, then runs off.
"So this is actually happening?" Buffy asks, thrilled at the idea of freedom.
"Yeah." I agree, and grab a couple of bars on the cell, wincing as I tighten my grip and start pullin'
I think about how the Watchers are gonna make me kill Buffy if we don't make this work, and the thought of drivin' a stake through her heart gets me so mad, the bars bend like fuckin' twizzlers.
I scream in pain again as I let go and stumble back, my adrenaline wearin' off.
"What's going on?" I hear as another Slayer and two friends come in to check on me, and they gasp and chare when they see Buffy walkin' out of her cage.
When B was still a Slayer, not a Slaypire, I was stronger than her. Physically stronger. But Buffy's always been the fastest Slayer. Even when Red cast the spell that woke up all the other Slayers, none have been even close to as fast as B.
That speed was doubled when she became a Slaypire.
I see the three Slayers topple to the ground before I can blink in surprise. Two of 'em have broken necks, the third one has a gash in her throat where B bit into her.
Three Slayers dead in an instant by one vampire. I'm startin' to think that maybe the Council was right, and she is too dangerous to be kept as she is.
But then, that's why I'm gonna get her soul back.
Dawn rushes in soon with the rest of the gang right behind her, and they gasp at the three dead Slayers on the ground. Everyone but Dawn looks at Buffy in disgust.
"What?" She asks innocently. "I didn't drain them. They won't turn."
"Guys, if we're gonna do this, then we can't afford to let anyone get in the way." I say, and Giles nods.
"Of course." The Watcher agrees. "Faith is right. If we are to have any chance of making it out of this alive, we must, unfortunately, draw blood. The blood of those we've workd side by side with for almost three years now."
Willow, Oz and Xander nod grudgingly. Angel looks like he understands the sacrifice. He didn't even flinch when he saw the bodies.
"Faith, as you are now the highest ranking Slayer, I believe you should take point in this matter." Giles says, and everyone turns to me for orders.
"Fine... Um... Let's get goin'. Follow my lead." I say, and I grab some chains from the wall and chain B's arms and legs together. "B, ya gotta act like my prisoner for now. Just trust me."
"That's right. A vampire trusting a Slayer. What a great idea!" She snarls, but follows me.
"Everyone, surround her. Gotta be her security detail."
"Right." Dawn agrees, and everyone swarms around B.
"What's going on?" A Slayer asks when she sees us approachin'. She and four other Slayers surround us, like they can take us.
"Easy there. Councillor, and Acting High Slayer Faith Lehane." I name myself. I call myself a Councillor, but everyone knows it's the Watchers that hold all the power.
"And your entorage?"
"Uh, right, pardon me, Councillors Rupert Giles of the Watcher Organization, Dawn Summers, Daniel Osbourne, Angelus, and Willow Rosenberg, accompanied by Reverand Alexander Harris.
When the Slayer Organization was set up, Xan got tired of bein' the only one with no special abilities, other than Dawn, so he got himself ordained. Now he blesses little vials of water and crucifixes and stuff so we can use them as weapons. Comes in handy when supplies are low.
"My apologies. I'm new here, I don't know everyone's faces yet." The Slayer in front replied, and stepped aside to let us all by. "Might I ask what you're doing here?"
"Yeah, Council wants us to take former High Slayer Buffy Summers to the occulus for execution as a risen Slaypire." I say, like it's a burden that should have been given to some lower Slayers. Buffy growls for effect.
"Right." The Slayer agrees, now wary of the woman in chains.
"Carry on." I say with authority. The Slayers go back to patrolling the corridors while we manage to escort Buffy almost right up to the front gate unhindered.
"Halt!" I hear several female voices say, and more than twenty Slayers corner us.
"Seriously? 'Halt'? No one says that anymore, nerds." I smirk. "Try something a little more modern, like... oh, I don't know, 'Stop' or 'Freeze'."
"What is your business?" A very agitated Slayer asks.
"Stand down. We're Councillors." I inform them. "Councillors Faith Lehane, Rupert Giles, Dawn Summers, Angelus, Daniel Osbourne and Willow Rosenberg, along with Reverand Alexander Harris."
"So. You're Watchers." One of them growls.
"No. The only Watcher here is Giles, and he supports the Slayers 100%. Really, he's the only one that does. You may not like the Council, but I know you respect the title of High Slayer." I say, and they instantly start to back off. I relax. I'd been tensing up, ready for a fight. For once, I see the point of these useless titles. People tend to not ask questions when they hear High Slayer or Councillor.
"Right. Sorry." the one in charge says, and they all carry on, just like the last group.
We head up to the front gate, and I have Red step outside first. It's daytime, so we need cover if we're gonna get Buffy outta here.
"Oh, look at that. Forecast calls for rain." Red says almost comically, and her eyes glaze over, taking on a cloudy white color. Clouds cover the sun, and block out the rays of light that would cause Buffy to disintegrate. The rain comes fast and hard, and it's beatin' down on us. The thing about the desert is the ground doesn't absorb water very well. In no time, the heavy rain floods the desert, and we're stumblin' about the place. Good news is, it's coverin' our tracks, so it'll be harder to find us right away.
In less than a few hours, we can't see the compound anymore.