Summary: This is a sequel to my story A Creature I Don't Know which can be found here: s/8467907/1/A-Creature-I-Dont-Know
A/N: I strongly recommend a good understanding of season 5 to follow this: Spiral especially for this update.
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, UPN and WB Television Networks own the television shows, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel". Dark Horse and IDW own the Comics. No copyright infringement is intended, no money is being earned by myself. The title of each chapter, and the story as a whole, come from K's Choice songs/Album titles. (Given that I had soundtrack for the first I thought I should have one for the second).
Thank you all for your kind words and support for my last story. I hope you enjoy my continuation of it. I would love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts. Many thanks.
15. Now Is Mine
Faith watched Buffy simply staring out of Xander's window while her sister replayed their great escape from this morning.
Buffy hadn't said a word to Faith since their fight the day before. Faith hadn't said a word to Buffy since Spike. She wondered if Buffy had figured out he loved her yet. She had to know. Maybe that's why she was keeping him around. Faith didn't care for her motives though, all she knew was that Buffy was allowing Spike to drive a wedge between them.
"Hellbitch in orbit!" Dawn concluded, prompting Faith to look around the room and find out what had been said.
"Go, Buff!" Xander praised.
"I knew you'd be able best Glory eventually. With all our years of training and-"
"A truck hit her." Buffy, remaining at the window, informed her Watcher.
"Oh."
"Did you throw it?" Anya tried, keen to bring back the enthusiasm into the room.
"Well, no," Dawn admitted, the light gone from her story, "she more kind of waited for it to hit Glory- but then Buffy ran really fast and we got away!"
"I don't know how we got away." Buffy sighed, turning into the room. "That truck couldn't have slowed her down for more than a second."
"How isn't important." Giles tried once more. "All that matters is the two of you are safe."
"Safe?" She practically spat the word back at him. "We've barely been able to manage not getting seriously dead every time we cross paths with Glory. Now that she knows about Dawn-"
"Wait," Faith interjected, "what?"
"Floaty green shimmers." Tara smiled at Dawn in wonder. Willow simply pointed to her girlfriend sadly while Faith caught up. "Why don't you shimmer?"
"She didn't mean to." Willow looked round the group. "You know that, right?"
"I know." Buffy nodded, "But it's done, and now we have to deal with it."
"Is there anything left in that book-"
"The Book of Tarnis?" Giles clarified for Faith.
"...something we've missed that we can use against Glory."
"Piano!" Anya smiled triumphantly.
"Boss!" Faith said quietly to herself, not paying attention to Xander's sarcastic retort for his girlfriend. "Boss!" She said louder, getting the attention of the group. "Boss, wanted to be a god right?" She looked round at them all. "What did you do to..." She faltered, she'd never really spoken about it before, "...what did you do to kill him?" She asked more softly.
Everyone fell silent, nobody knowing how to answer Faith. Nobody sure how to tell the girl how they killed one of her fathers.
"He just wanted to be a demon, Honey." Buffy said eventually. "A big, scary, apocalypse bringing demon, but a demon nonetheless. Not a god." She told her quietly. "We could fight him. We can't fight Glory."
"Not yet, but Will and I-"
"Were stupid. Reckless and nearly got yourselves killed."
"We killed all her minions. She's by herself now. Woman's not that bright."
"The god knows that Dawn is the key. Minions or no minions its not going to take her forever to trace us." Buffy continued. "She's too strong. We're not going to win this with spells or stakes or libraries full of dynamite. She's a god, and she's coming for us." Buffy turned back to the rest of the group, "So let's not be here when she starts knocking."
"Run away?!" Anya smiled happily. "That's what I wanted to do with the Mayor, but nooo..." She sighed to Faith, "everyone just had to stay and kill him. Running away is a sensible plan."
"That's not what she meant." Xander told her. "Is it?"
"We can't stay here." Buffy said simply. "Glory will kill us off one by one until there's nobody standing between her and Dawn."
"Buffy, we all understand the severity of the situation, but there must be another-"
"No!" She cut off Giles, "We stay - we die! Show of hands for that option?" She waited for anyone else to argue against her. "All right." She nodded. "Nobody goes home, nobody tells anyone we're leaving. We grab whatever supplies we can and that's it - we're gone."
"Cool." Dawn smiled at Faith. "Won't have to study for that geometry test."
"What about wheels?" Xander asked Buffy, "I don't think everybody's gonna fit in the Xan-mobile."
"Just get your stuff together I'll take care of it. Faith," she took her girlfriend to the side, "watch Dawn. Do anything stupid or dangerous and I will kill you." Faith tried to smile weakly at the girl she loved before her. "I'm serious," Buffy warned, "Dawn is all that matters now."
Faith sat with Dawn on the curb a little way down from the others. She could hear them talking, panicking, trying to stay calm. She didn't think Dawn could hear them though. She didn't think Dawn could hear a thing.
"You and Buffy going to split up?" Faith looked at the girl blankly. "When Mom and Dad got divorced they fought just like you two..." She cut herself off, fiddling with the edge of her jumper. "Well the monks tell me they fought anyway." She tried to smile. "But then they stopped fighting, stopped talking..." She looked back up at Faith besides her, "like you two have."
Faith wrapped an arm around the girl and pulled her close to her.
"I don't know." Faith told her truthfully. "Once all this is over..." She shrugged, "then I guess we'll find out."
"I like you better Angel."
"I like me better than Angel too." Faith smiled. "In fact, I can-" she stopped when she saw an old RV pull up in front of the others. "I have an awful feeling that's our ride."
"Cool," Dawn tried to sound enthusiastic. "Never been camping." She pulled Faith up and walked with her to the others.
Faith peered around the door and found Spike sitting in the driving seat with reinforced goggles to protect his eyes from the sun.
"What's he doing here?" Faith asked Buffy, stepping back down onto the curb.
"Just out for a jaunt." Spike called out from his seat. "Thought I'd swing by and say howdy."
"Out." Giles said simply, taking a step towards the vampire. But Buffy got in his way.
"He's here because we need him." Buffy explained.
"The hell we do." Xander scoffed.
"If Glory finds us, he's the only one besides Faith and I that has a chance of protecting Dawn."
"Buffy," Xander tried again, "come on, he-"
"This isn't a discussion!" She told him. "He stays. Get over it." She watched the others climb into the Winnebago. "You coming?" She snapped at Faith.
"Its me or him?"
"You're making me choose? Now?" Buffy laughed bitterly at her. "Your sense of timing perfect as always, Faith."
"Its me or him." Faith told her once more, trying to remain calm.
"I'm not choosing between you. I'm choosing Dawn. The pair of you can help me protect Dawn. Now get in the RV and save your pissing contest for after I've worked this out."
"Fine." Faith told her. "But I'm doing this for Dawn."
"I don't care if you do this for the memory of your dead mayor-"
Faith punched her, hit her squarely on her right cheek before Buffy could finish her sentence. Buffy simply punched her back.
"So this is it?" Buffy asked as Faith held her face. "You hit me, I hit you?"
"Just like old times, eh, girlfriend?" Faith told her as she stepped into the vehicle and sat besides Tara. "How you doing?"
"She shines." She whispered to Faith.
"All Summer's women do." Faith smiled back at her, winking as Dawn looked worriedly back at her. "Wouldn't have it any other way." Faith sighed as Buffy passed her and into the bedroom.
The door slammed and Faith made herself as comfortable as she could on the bench while Spike drove off.
They sat in an uncomfortable silence. A silence punctuated only by hushed argument between Buffy and Dawn on the state of her and Faith's relationship. Anya reassured Faith that they were all pretending not to hear it, despite the paper thin walls. Spike would snigger every so often and Faith threatened to let Tara play with the blinds again.
It wasn't until arrows started to puncture the walls and Spike took hold of the sword penetrating from the ceiling did the atmosphere lessen between them.
"This would be the time to do something impressive for the girl you love." He advised while Faith watched the blood pour from his hands.
She scanned the small moving room and hopped up on to the table and through the skylight and knocked the medieval soldier from the roof.
"Thank you!" Spike called from the hole as Buffy joined her on the roof.
"Can I kill them?"
"They're human." Buffy told her as she watched the barrage of arrows and weapons continue to threaten her sister.
"Oh good, cause there wasn't enough crazy in this town." She sighed as the two women fought off the men side by side.
"Yo B!" Faith threw her a sword. "Twelve o'clock!" She pointed to a rider on horseback heading towards the driver with a spear as in jousting tournament.
Buffy thought for a moment, only a moment, before throwing the sword in his direction.
Faith watched as the man fell from his horse.
She whistled and announced "Shot!" as she kicked the final soldier from the roof.
"So we done with that portion of the day?" Faith asked hopefully.
"I don't think so." Buffy sighed, seeing a hoard approaching in the distance.
"Red said she can protect us if we're still."
"Then we're get still." Buffy pointed to an old gas station on the horizon.
"Plan." Faith, jumped back down through the sun roof and informed the others while Buffy remained above.
Giles parked the RV round the back of the abandoned station and everyone decamped into the building. Willow made sure that Tara was calm and settled before working on something to hold the crusade back. Faith and Buffy fought off the men as Giles, Xander and Anya worked on securing the boarded up windows and exits. Spike threw a couple of punches but could only roar in pain as his chip flared.
Buffy and Faith struggled to keep the men from storming the front door, as Spike and Giles did all they could to fight of the couple that were coming from the rear. It wasn't until the general slashed at Giles midriff did Faith lose control.
"Faith, NO!" Buffy reached her just in time, just soon enough to catch the weight of Faith's hands and stop the sword from penetrating the man's chest.
Willow secured them inside, repelling the army outside. Xander took the general as Faith and Buffy saw to Giles. Faith made threats, Giles tried to pacify her. Buffy simply looked between the men. One of them was injured – possibly fatally – and the other had answers. For as long as Willow's barrier held, they had time.
Faith stood in the shadows, she'd tried to keep Dawn out of the room yet Dawn would not be kept. She would listen and she would learn with them all. If the soldier was about to explain the key's, her, history, she would not be kept from him. The soldier, the general, the Knight of Byzantium hid nothing from them. He wanted them to know, he needed them to know how dangerous the key, Dawn, was. When Buffy left to tend to Tara's screaming and to make sure that Giles was healing – that he could heal, the general spoke on. He explained of Glory's power, of her will, of her desire to return home. He spoke of the key's purpose, of what it would do, of how it would destroy the world.
Both Faith and Spike found their job as guardsman over the general, as well as their mutual distrust for Doctor Ben, whom Buffy had managed to barter into the compound, brought them into an uneasy truce. Faith knew that she hated him, trusted him about as far as Dawn could throw anything and that she would happily kill him as soon as the mess with Glory was resolved. Yet she found his presence comforting. As if having another supernaturally strong being around Dawn helped lift some of the weight of her, and more importantly Buffy. Spike couldn't stand the smell of Buffy on Faith, yet he knew his very existence was being to push them further apart. A fact he not only enjoyed but opening revelled in. He also knew though, that Faith would do anything to save Dawn to protect Buffy and for that he was grateful.
But then everything changed.
There was fresh screaming, fresh panic as Ben demanded out of the building. But just as suddenly it ended, there was only silence once he transformed into Glory.
Everything was so fast.
In the end Glory was gone, Dawn was captured and Buffy fell to the floor.
Thank you, Circus