Authors Notes: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I hope you all like this part. I took some abstract inspiration from another episode in season three and twisted things around to work for me. Hope it all makes sense. Enjoy!
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"I could get used to this," Buffy announced through a mouthful of popcorn. She and Faith were sitting in front of the television, cocooned in a mess of blankets and pillows. The brunette nodded her agreement as she grabbed the remote control, beginning to surf through the channels. "Hey!" Buffy exclaimed as she made a grab for the remote. "I was watching that."
"Oprah?" Faith rolled her eyes as she held the remote out of the blondes reach, still flicking channels as she did so.
"What's wrong with Oprah?" Buffy asked as she shot Faith her patented wounded puppy dog look, her green eyes wide and bottom lip jutting out just a tiny bit.
"Not gonna work B," Faith averted her gaze from the blonde. She'd already caved to that look and let Buffy watch Dr. Phil and a double feature of Ricki Lake. She believed that had earned her some quality cartoon time. "That's more like it," she said with a grin as she stopped on a Looney Tunes episode.
"Faith," Buffy whined as her hand snaked out again, this time managing to grab the end of the remote. A brief tug of war ensued, but Faith finally managed to wrench the remote back, tucking it under the pillows behind her. Folding her arms across her chest she flashed a triumphant smile at the blonde before turning her attention back to the television. Her victory was short lived however as Buffy pounced on her, putting all her energies into tickling the tiny brunette.
"Okay, okay," Faith called out desperately between gasps and giggles as she struggled to fight the other slayer off. "Truce!"
Buffy ceased her assault and reached behind the younger girl, reclaiming the remote. "I get to watch Oprah then? No complaints?"
"You've been pickin the shows all morning," Faith protested as she cast a longing glance at the television. "Just one cartoon, come on B."
"Hmm," Buffy sat back, looking thoughtful. "No!" She dove forward, beginning to tickle Faith again. Before the brunette could even begin to defend herself the pair were interrupted by a bright flash.
Blinking hard the mini slayers stared up at Joyce, who was beaming fondly at them over the top of her camera. "You two are adorable."
"Mom!" Buffy exclaimed, but Mrs. Summers was already retreating out of the room, a happy expression on her face.
"God," Faith muttered as she sat back on her couch, rubbing her temples as she contemplated the fact that there was now photographic evidence of her predicament. She could feel a headache coming on, most likely a product of too much junk food mixed with television and play fighting. Looking up she scowled, realizing Buffy had changed the station back to Oprah. "I'm gonna get a drink," she muttered as she climbed off the sofa.
"Don't be a sore loser," Buffy called out, smiling smugly as she settled back down on the sofa, turning her attention back to the talk show. Minutes ticked by and the credits rolled, but the grumpy brunette still hadn't returned. "Faith?" Buffy called out as she sat up, peeking over the back of the sofa. "We can watch cartoons now." Her offer was met with silence. Frowning Buffy climbed off the couch and padded into the kitchen. A light breeze caught her hair and she looked over at the back door, which was standing open and swinging gently. The blonde smirked as she caught a faint whiff of cigarette smoke. "If my mum catches you smoking out there she's going to kill…." Buffy trailed off as she stepped out onto the small deck. The garden was empty. "You."
There was a soft creak behind her and Buffy spun around, stumbling backwards as a figure covered in a smoking blanket lunged towards her, grabbing her tightly. A strong hand clamped a chloroform soaked rag around her mouth before she could scream. "Lights out slayer," a familiar voice chuckled as Buffy's world faded to black.
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"B… B, come on wake up."
"No, sleep now," Buffy muttered and rolled onto her side, curling up into a small ball. Seconds later her eyes shot open as she felt a sharp, stinging pain across the side of her face. Sitting bolt up right she looked around, her eyes narrowing at Faith who was kneeling beside her. "You slapped me!"
"Not the big issue right now," Faith said darkly.
The blonde slayer opened her mouth to protest then closed it, as the memories of the afternoon flooded back to her. "Crap," She stood up quickly, only to hit her head hard on something above her. Hissing in pain she crouched back down again, clutching her head and squinting at her surroundings through the stars that danced across her vision. They were in a cage in the corner of a dimly lit room. "This is bad."
"That it is," another voice chimed in as a figure stepped out of the shadows.
"Spike," Buffy growled.
"Miss me?" The blonde vampire grinned as he swaggered over to the cage and squatted down in front of it.
"Hardly," Buffy said, her eyes blazing with anger. "Love the new tactic by the way. Hiring someone to shrink down the slayers, because that's the only way you're ever going to beat us."
"Hey!" Spike looked offended. "I only hired magic boy to do this little nibblet." He reached through the bars and gave Faith a rough pat on the head. "She was supposed to be the bait you see." He straightened up again and began to pace the length of the room. "I was going to lure you here, kill you, and then bring the newbie back to Dru as a present. Show her I haven't gone soft." He stopped, a sad smile crossing his face. "Make her love me again."
"She dumped you?" Buffy asked with an amused smirk.
Spike snarled, his features morphing into game face as he lunged towards the cage again and slammed his hands hard against the bars, which rattled violently. "I'll get her back slayer," he sneered. "In fact I think she will like having two baby slayers to play with." Reaching into his pocket he grabbed a flask, taking a large swig and wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "She cheated on me with a chaos demon you know."
At this Faith let out a snort of laughter. "You were overlooked for some slimy thing with antlers? Ouch."
Spike let out a howl of rage and fished around in his pockets, pulling out a key and drunkenly tried to shove it into the thick padlock that held the cage shut. "One slayer will do Dru just fine." There was the soft sound of someone clearing their throat and another man emerged from the shadows. Spike spun around, growling at the intrusion. "What?"
"I see you got them," Ethan stepped into the weak light, staring down at the two tiny slayers in the cage.
"They're little kids it wasn't bloody hard," Spike scoffed as he stood up, swaying a little as he took another long drink from his flask before shoving it back into his coat.
Ethan smiled. "Good. Then, I'll just be taking my payment and I will be on my way."
"Yeah, about that," Spike stepped towards Ethan, his hand sliding discreetly into his pocket. "I'm a bit strapped for cash at the moment …" in one smooth movement he pulled Ethan forward, impaling him on the knife he was now holding in his hand. The vampire stepped back, letting the body fall to the ground in front of the wide eyed slayers. "Terribly sorry," he chucked as he strode out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
To be continued…