Back at the hotel, Solaris laid on her mattress, lost in thought yet fuming inside. The nerve of that little girl to attack her. Hadn't she already warned Kennedy not to mess with her? As she growled angrily, pieces of old memories ran through her head, playing out like an old black and white movie. She couldn't hear any words or sounds, but the images in her mind were clear. Familiar faces, long-dead evils, and a few sorrows played through the scenes. One particular memory caused Solaris to forget her rage and a lump to lodge itself in her throat. Slowly, the lump seemed to drop to her heart and she couldn't hold back the tear that slid down her cheek. She could see a girl, no older than sixteen, crying in a bathroom as her parents fought, unaware of Solaris' presence. Then the scene shifted into one of the same girl, much older now, standing high above a town on a shaky platform. The girl was talking to her sister, then she turned and jumped from the platform into the turmoil of a fierce portal into hell.
A light tap at the door intruded into her thoughts, breaking her concentration. Again, the memories slipped from her grasp to return to the depths of her mind that she could not access. Irritated, Solaris climbed to her feet and went to answer her bedroom door. Haloed by the light of the hallway, Buffy stood waiting.
Solaris waited, remaining silent.
"We need to talk. Solaris, right?"
Solaris nodded her agreement.
Solaris motioned her hand toward a soft, black recliner positioned in the corner of the room. As Buffy sat, Solaris pulled up her own hard, wooden chair and sat facing the back of it. Her chin resting on the back of the chair, Solaris placed her full attention on Buffy.
"What happened today…will not happen again," Buffy began, careful not to sound too polite. "If it does, I will be watching you. If I have to, I'll make you leave. Don't let it happen again. I don't have time for your problems with Kennedy."
Solaris could tell that Buffy hated having to be so strict, but it was the price of being in charge. If only she could help relieve some of that responsibility.
"It won't. Don't worry. I know I crossed a line and I…well, anger. Really wasn't the best of me. I hope you never see that again, nor her. I have no intentions of hurting anyone here, but I can get carried away."
Buffy could tell Solaris was sincere, but she couldn't help wondering why someone who looked like they were nineteen or twenty years old talked like someone who might be Giles age. It was unusual and her tone caught Buffy off-guard, causing her to choke on her words.
"I…fine. Just stay away from her and both of you should be fine."
Buffy stood and turned towards the door. As she was almost into the hallway, a hand gently intertwined with her own and tugged her back inside. Buffy turned to face Solaris and tried to speak, but Solaris lifted a finger to her lips to silence her. Bending slightly, Solaris whispered lightly into Buffy's ear.
"I need you to know my secret."
Buffy closed her eyes at the words, unable to withdraw herself from the room.
"I have known you always. I have known you all your life."
Then Solaris was gone, vanishing down the stairs and out of the hotel. Buffy was left in the doorway of the room, confused yet oddly at peace.
The night air held a stale coldness that settled on the ground in small crystals. Solaris walked briskly through the long grasses of a damp field, gazing intently skyward. For a moment, she smiled as she watched a small star streak across the sky. But soon, a frown replaced her smile once she realized that the star was no star at all, but a plane.
The outdoors was a pleasant change to being trapped in the hotel with all those people. Out here, Solaris was free and uninhibited. She could see for miles and hear the slightest sounds. Pausing in a small clearing, Solaris listened carefully to the chirps of crickets and ticking of locusts. She could sense something moving nearby, stirring up butterflies hidden in the tall grass.
Her muscles tensed, Solaris remained perfectly still. Eventually, a warm body brushed up against her leg, purring loudly. She glanced down and relaxed. A female mountain lion moved in and out of her legs, purring for attention. Solaris reached down and petted the lion between the shoulder blades.
Hearing a loud rustling, someone attempting to sneak up on her but not very successfully, Solaris bent to eye level with the lion.
"Go on now, pet. This is no place for you. Go before you are seen."
She clicked her tongue and gently smacked the lion's rear end, causing her to dash off in a blur of color. The next moment, Solaris' pursuer had reached the clearing where she stood.
"Hello, Faith," Solaris greeted the other Slayer.
"You're weird, you know that, right. How you know it was me?" Faith stepped out of the tall grass, revealing herself to Solaris.
"I could smell smoke. Where there is smoke, there is you with a cigarette. Mind if I bum one?"
Faith handed over one of the long, paper sticks packed tight with tobacco and a plastic, black lighter. Solaris lit the cigarette and took a long, deep drag.
"Don't seem much like the smoking type, Solaris."
"Can't be too quick to judge. Anyone can smoke," Solaris responded, taking another deep drag of the cigarette and releasing the smoke out of her nose.
"Yeah, s'pose that's true. Why aren't you back at the hotel? Not much for crowds, either?"
"That, and there's a Slayer or two I'd rather not see right this moment."
"You know B doesn't mean anything by it. She just has to be big boss lady, you know. Keep everything running smooth. Glad it's not my job," explained Faith, stretching her arms above her head, cigarette still in hand.
"Are you? Hmmm, you might like it this time around, Faith. Oh yes, I heard about the armory. Not really your fault, if you ask me. Bad luck though, getting blown up on your first chance at being leader." Quickly changing the subject, Solaris continued, "But, no, that's not exactly why I don't want to see Buffy. She's not…wrong, in her own right. It seems I don't quite click with the others, I've noticed. My imagination, I suppose."
Solaris glanced down at the ground, then looked skyward and sighed. After taking one last drag off her cigarette, Solaris tossed it to the ground and stomped out the embers with her sneaker. Faith followed suit.
"It's not all about getting along. Most of us don't at some point. Though, I have to say, the way you kicked Kennedy's ass was wicked sweet. Not that I don't like her, but boarding school brat has had it coming for awhile. About time someone straightened her out. Though I expect Willow might not be so thrilled about you beating down her ex-girl."
Solaris began walking back through the field, nodding for Faith to follow. Hesitating for a moment, Faith scuffed the ground with the toe of her shoe then followed after the strange girl.
"Where we going?" Faith yelled after her, attempting to catch up.
When Faith finally caught up, she kept her pace even with Solaris and waited impatiently for her to reply.
"To get a drink. Thinking my mind could use a night off. You?"
"Sure, I'm up for letting off a bit of steam," answered Faith, doing a quick spin as she walked. "Jack D dulls the pain some, as I always say."
Buffy was exhausted by the end of the day. It was only eight o'clock at night and she was ready to collapse on her bed and sleep for hours. She really didn't need much sleep, but for some reason the thoughts constantly reeling through her mind had worn her out beyond normal.
She sat slouched in a green chair in the lobby, her head resting on the arm of the chair. She watched as Xander became frustrated with another table he was putting together for them to use. Willow and Kennedy were nowhere to be found, probably locked away in their own room. Engrossed in a large manuscript, Andrew was actually quiet for longer than a second.
Eyes slowly fluttering close, Buffy wondered where Dawn was. She hadn't seen her sister very much at all today, except when they had gone into town.
She's most likely just roaming around the hotel or something, Buffy thought.
Beyond being able to fight off sleep, Buffy let her eyes finally drift close and let herself float into a half-sleep where she still felt movement around her, but her mind was caught in a dream.
The dream began innocently enough with Buffy at the mall with all of her friends. She was searching the length of each wall for the perfect pair of shoes. Finally, she came upon what she had been looking for: a pair of tan suede boots with thin, pencil-width heels. As she reached for them, a hand grabbed her arms from behind, spinning her around into a warm chest. Buffy glanced up into violet eyes and gasped, unable to speak. The faceless girl above her bent low, taking Buffy's face in one hand and holding her waist with the other, and kissed her deeply and passionately. Buffy tried to pull away, but realized she didn't really want to stop the kiss. As their lips were entangled, Buffy could feel something slowing rising from within her traveling from her heart upward until a glowing light passed between the two mouths. It wasn't until the girl had let go that she understood what had happened; her soul had left her and went into the other girl.
Where have I seen eyes like that before? Buffy wondered. Abruptly, the scene shifted to a dark room Buffy could not recognize. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Buffy took in her surroundings, noting all of the magical relics and weapons displayed on the many walls. She must be in some sort of magic shop or magical institution, possibly. She walked around two counters and was looking at a particularly shiny orb when Buffy nearly tripped over something heavy on the floor. When she looked down to inspect, Buffy came upon Dawn, unconscious and slumped against the counter. As she reached down to throw Dawn over her shoulder, a maniacal laugh sounded from all over. The walls shook and the laughing grew louder.
A hand touched Buffy's shoulder, catching her off-guard. Buffy spun around and hit the person square in the jaw. Then Buffy hesitated, again looking into those same faceless eyes from the shoe store.
"What's happening? What is this?" Buffy screamed, slightly alarmed and afraid for Dawn's life.
"She must go. They come to take her. We won't let them. Together we can fight them. Together. I don't know the way yet. Tell me the way. It's in your heart, the way. What is it?" The violet-eyed girl whispered, seemingly to avoid being heard by the laughing voice.
"I don't know! The way to what? Tell me, now," screamed Buffy, her voice going hoarse at the end of her words.
Tears streamed down Buffy's face when she could hold them in no longer. Then another voice, maybe the same voice with the violet eyes, spoke gently to her.
"Don't cry, baby girl. I have seen the past, present, and future. I have seen you and know what I must do. Dawn must die. It is her time. But I cannot let her. With courage, I can do what I must. Will you be my courage?"
"Make it stop!" Buffy shouted at the top of her lungs and instantly the shaking walls and raucous laughter ceased. Peace followed.
Again, Buffy turned to Dawn, lifting her sister into her arms. As Buffy carried her sister in the direction she hoped a door would be, a light snap could be heard. Glancing down at her unconscious sister, Buffy noticed a small stain on Dawn's chest quickly growing larger. Then she realized it wasn't a stain at all, but recognized it to be blood. Buffy fell to her knees, still holding Dawn, and pressed her hand against where the blood was flowing out.
"Summer's blood," she heard a voice hiss. "The price is Summer's blood."
Buffy refused to give up or pay attention to any of the voices anymore. Again, a hand gently touched her shoulder and this time Buffy didn't flinch. A moment later, violet eyes were gazing into her eyes and yet again their lips met. This time a much larger light passed from the faceless girl into Buffy, leaving her feeling quite disoriented. Then the faceless girl took Dawn up in her arms, vanishing before Buffy had a chance to protest. They were gone. Dawn was gone. Forever.
After becoming seriously intoxicated beyond normal, Faith and Solaris finally stumbled home, laughing stupidly. All the lights were off and everyone sound asleep when they stumbled into the hotel. Laughing quietly, they wobbled towards the stairs and Faith crawled drunkenly up the stairs, headed for her room. Solaris began climbing the stairs, but hadn't even made it to the third step before she slid back down the stairs and plopped on the floor.
Buffy woke with a start from a disturbing dream, covered in a clammy sweat. She glanced around the lobby making sure she was no longer in a dream before she noticed Solaris attempting the pick herself off the floor and climb the stairs. Shaking and slightly irritated, Buffy walked over and lifted Solaris' arm over her shoulder. Together, they took the steps one at a time, slowly making progress. A few times, Solaris almost sent both of them tumbling back to the bottom of the stairs, but Buffy was able to stabilize them by gripping tightly to the rail and adjusting their balance.
Eventually, Buffy had to drag a limp Solaris to her bedroom and lay her on the beaten mattress. Buffy let out a deep breath, clearly disappointed, but not totally surprised. She did expect this sort of behavior from Faith, but she didn't know Solaris well enough to expect anything. Solaris rolled onto her side, facing away from Buffy and slept deeply. Exhausted, Buffy was unable to keep herself from lying down on the mattress beside Solaris.
I'll only lay here for a moment, Buffy told herself. Just rest my eyes.
A second later, Buffy had fallen into the deepest sleep she had ever had.