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: The Gift 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.
17. Busy
Death was her gift.
The world was saved, without fan fair or ceremony. Worlds and dimensions had crashed into each other like tectonic plates, her life was the sacrifice to stop the eruption.
Death truly was her gift.
She had left Faith to deal with Ben, little did she know that the other slayer had killed the innocent as her Watcher looked on. Little did she know that her mercy had been ignored. All that mattered was that she had rescued the girl from the monster and the tower before she jumped into the abyss to save the world.
The god had demanded a life, Buffy provided the lamb to save the child. Such was her love for the girl.
Faith ran. She packed her things and fled in the night. She stood by the fresh grave, having been absent from the funeral, and said her last goodbyes. They were bitter and cold. Full of scorn and hatred. She had taken a human life, for what? Buffy had given herself and got to rest in peace. Faith had given herself and reawakened the ghosts she'd been suppressing. Buffy got to die. Faith had to live.
She cursed her name, she told her she loved her and she left in the night.
Giles watched her die. He watched her sacrifice herself so that the world might be safe. He watched her kill a human once more. He watched her kill him so that Buffy wouldn't have to. He watched her kill him yet Buffy died anyway.
Once again he had chosen one over the other and yet he had lost both in the gamble.
He heard her leave. Her silent footsteps not quiet enough to be hidden by the night. He knew she would go to her and from there, he could only imagine.
He watched the others pick up their lives. Willow and Tara taking over guardianship of Dawn, Xander and Anya working on rebuilding it all. It took him too long to realise that Faith should have that chance too. She was already gone. She vanished into the night and would not be found.
He had failed her once more. All that time ago he had naively thought that Buffy would be there to pick up the broken pieces of Faith, he never realised she had had other intentions.
He had failed her once more. He had lost them both.
And that's it folks. Thank you very much for reading, for supporting and encouraging. Circus
(Keep an eye out for 'Begin To Hope' that will be the next in the series...)