Chapter Five

"Both of you are bloody stupid!" Giles yelled as he paced the kitchen floor. "Do you have any idea the risks you've put yourself under, Faith? You are seriously injured! Would it have killed you to spend one more godforsaken night in the clinic just to make sure you're all right?"

Faith stood leaning up against the counter, arms casually crossed over her chest. The plan she and Dawn had come up with had gone off without a hitch. After they convinced Giles to go back to the house and then convinced the doctor Faith needed some rest, Dawn found a wheel chair and got her out of there without anyone getting in their way. By the time they'd gotten halfway back to the house, Faith was already feeling much better than she had been before and walked the rest of the way, ditching the wheelchair by a dumpster behind a small restaurant.

Dawn sat at the table, her head hung low as Giles continued pacing the floor. She looked like a young child being scolded for doing something she was told not to do. Faith rolled her eyes and stepped in front of Giles, stopping his inane pacing that was driving her up the wall.

"Look, G, stop it, okay?" Faith said calmly. "I'm fine. That place, it just messes with my head and I wasn't gonna get any better lying in that bed, stressing out about being there in the first place."

"You're still bloody stupid!"

"Fine, I'm stupid!" Faith yelled back and Giles sighed heavily and shook his head. "But we've got a lot of other problems on our hands right now than for you to be yelling at us like we're frigging five years old."

"She's right," Kennedy spoke up, having been otherwise silent for the last twenty minutes that Giles had been yelling at Faith and Dawn. "We're here because of Buffy, for Buffy. Now, why don't we all just calm down and listen to what Faith has to say?"

Faith, meanwhile through all the yelling and bickering that had been going on, had been trying to put the pieces of this whole mess of a situation together. Where did Kate come in? Was it Buffy who had gotten her to do the cloaking spell which enabled her to disappear without being found, or was it the demon the entire time? How long had Buffy been possessed? Clearly there had to be some signs there that the others had overlooked.

Laying all the known facts out on the line while the others listened, while Willow and Andrew hurriedly took notes, she could almost see the wheels turning in Giles' head as he too listened intently to her. Nobody other than Faith spoke and as she repeated as much as she could remember from the shared slayer dream she had with Buffy, she felt a wave of despair, of hopelessness wash over her.

"It comes down to this, guys," Faith said, shaking off that feeling that left a bad taste in her mouth and a heavy feeling in not just her gut, but her heart as well. "We gotta figure out when this demon came to Buffy in the first place. Whether it possessed her or took her and shape-shifted itself into looking like her, we gotta figure out when and where this happened."

"Do you think that'll make any difference?" Willow asked.

"Those unfortunate incidents where those young slayers died? The way Buffy acted before and after it happened? I kind of felt like something was off about her then," Kennedy said softly. "I know, Wil," she said upon Willow's surprised look. "I should've said something sooner, but everything that Faith just said? She's right. We need to figure out when this demon first showed up. We need to figure out just how long this has been happening."

"We also need to know why it chose Buffy," Andrew added. "And it can't be for the obvious reason that she's the Original Chosen One. Faith is one too and we had a discussion before about who would've carried the line and we all agreed that it was Faith and-"

"Save it, Andrew," Dawn snapped at him. "We're not discussing who carries the line, or who did before Willow did that spell to activate all the young slayers around the world. We're discussing when this demon, this succubus first decided to show it's ugly face and made Buffy a victim."

"Do you remember that meeting we had?" Xander asked the others. "You know, the one about a week before those girls were killed during the patrol Buffy took them out on?" Silence filled the room while the others stared blankly at Xander. "Buffy was late for the meeting. She'd never been late before, unless it was a morning meeting, but how often do we have those?"

"Oh, that meeting," Willow said and she frowned. "We all thought she was drunk. She sure smelled like it."

"Maybe she was?" Xander asked and he shrugged. "Either way, that's something our Buffster doesn't do is get drunk in the morning and then show up late for a quasi-important meeting. She started being careless after that, not caring about protocols, about schedules, all the things that she normally cared about."

The room fell into silence and Faith could see the others trying to think back to well over a month ago, trying to find all the signs that something was wrong with Buffy. Faith could see how hard it was on the others, especially Dawn who looked like she was on the brink of tears and a full on emotional breakdown over this entire situation.

Leaving the others to sit with their thoughts and discuss certain events that Faith nor Giles had been around for, Faith headed up the stairs and into the bathroom. Flicking on the lights, she looked at her reflection for the first time since she woke up in the bed at the clinic.

Dawn had been right, she was a mess, but all the bruises and cuts on her face were healing, just like the rest of her was. Her left eye, although still swollen, wasn't near as bad as it had been. With a heavy sigh, Faith turned on the tap and splashed a few handfuls of cold water over her face. All she wanted was her chance to have another one on one with the demon and kick its ass, deliver the payback for the ass kicking of her life she'd gotten the day before.

The tiredness seemed to hit her in waves as she stared at her reflection. She knew she needed to get some rest, to let her slayer healing do it's work so she could get back out there and figure out how to save Buffy from this demon that had taken over her life. Splashing water on her face once more, she reached for the small towel on the rack and gently covered her face. She could feel the hot tears as they slid out, soaked up by the cheap cotton towel before they could roll down her cheeks.

Faith could just faintly hear the others downstairs, still talking, still discussing Buffy and the little things they were now just noticing that had been completely out of character for her. Sooner or later, they'd pinpoint an exact time, the exact day that the demon had taken possession of Buffy. Faith knew they'd figure it out, they were the Scooby gang and with Giles there, there was no way they wouldn't be able to figure out how to end this entire thing and bring Buffy back home safely. With her help, of course, because that was what she was there for, to find Buffy and bring her home.

There was one thing she knew and that was once they figured out when this demon first came to Buffy, it'd make it easier to get the answers they all wanted, even Andrew who wanted to know why it chose Buffy when there were literally hundreds of slayers it could've chosen. Hell, even Faith wondered the same thing, why Buffy? Why not her or another slayer? Or was Buffy just an easier target, a better one for whatever game the demon, both of them, were playing?

Although she was beginning to feel her body healing much quicker than it had been while she'd been in the clinic, the tiredness was too much to endure for much longer. Making her way to her room, she tried to shut out the rest of the world as she changed out of her clothes and into something more comfortable. The bruises around her ribs were dark, a mix of purple, green and a nasty shade of yellow. She winced as she ran her fingers over the darkest bruise and she knew just how lucky she was that she didn't end up any worse, like dead worse.

Faith pulled her loose t-shirt on as Giles knocked quietly on the partially open door. Faith groaned and motioned for him to come in and she moved to sit on the small bed, every movement just as painful as the last.

"I suppose you came up here to get some much needed rest, so I'll keep this fairly short," Giles said quietly. "I also brought you something to help you sleep."

"I'm fine, G."

"It's just a mild painkiller, Faith."

Rolling her eyes, she took the offered pill and small glass of water Giles had brought up with him. Knowing he wasn't going to leave without her taking it in front of him, she swallowed the pill with just a small mouthful of water and placed the glass on the bedside table.

"If you indeed shared a dream with Buffy, there's a high possibility that it could happen again. What you told us about the dream before, you do realize what it suggests, don't you?"

"That this demon is just wearing a copy of Buffy's body and that she's not really there, but somewhere else?"

"Precisely. If that is indeed the case, ridding her of the demon is not an option. We will be able to kill the demon without harming Buffy herself."

"It just means we gotta find her, right?"

Giles nodded. "There is also another possibility that this dream you believed you shared with Buffy, that she was there-"

"That it was just a figment of my imagination, just my hopes getting high and all that. Don't you think I took that into consideration here, G? Believe me, I know a slayer dream when I have one. Call me crazy, but during those dreams?" Faith paused and shook her head. "I can feel her. Can't explain it, I just do. Believe me when I say I know the difference between a slayer dream and one where I'm just dreaming about her, either she's killing me, again, or we're fu-"

"I understand," Giles cut her off, a slight blush creeping over his cheeks. "I do want to stress that I want for you to be careful, Faith."

"You're just worried about me cos the demon kicked my ass, aren't you?"

"I always am worried about you, for one reason or another."

Faith knew that over the years, Giles had become more than just a friend, a partner in the good fight. Giles had become a father figure and she knew that he saw her like a daughter, treated her like one at times when it was needed. She wasn't going to argue with him over the fact that he always worried about her. She knew what he meant by it. They'd been in a lot of tight spots in their time together and more than a handful of times she'd been close to being killed because of one little careless mistake.

Faith had become what Buffy used to be to Giles. Yet, their relationship was starkly different in a lot of ways. She could get away with a lot more things than she knew he'd let Buffy get away with if the roles were reversed. Buffy didn't need him around anymore, she'd decided that a long time ago, but when it came to Faith, she wanted him around just as much as she needed him.

"I do wonder one thing," Giles said and he frowned slightly at Faith's distressed look. "Yes, I realize that I mentioned I would keep this short, but the thought just dawned on me. If this demon is just a copy of Buffy, so to speak, why would she release you after she had captured you?"

"Out of the evil kindness of her shrivelled up demon heart?" Faith replied bitterly. "I have no idea, G. Probably did it so she could fuck with me, literally. Then there was the whole beating on me 'til I could barely move and leaving me there to die thing too. Let's not forget about that. Still got the evidence of that little painful, unplanned encounter."

Giles frowned again. "Demon's don't just-"

"You're wrong and you know it. This isn't just any demon, Giles. These things? They prey on humans, literally fuck them in their dreams. With how real it felt, made me wonder if I just thought I was dreaming and it happened for real. These demons? They aren't following the usual evil route. They've made up their own set of rules and are having the time of their evil lives messing with me. Willing to bet they've done the same thing to B too."

Faith could feel the mild painkillers slowly starting to kick in. As much as she hated drugs, she knew Giles was right. She needed to rest and sleeping with her injuries wouldn't come too easy without a little bit of help.

"Pretty much everything you've found on these demons have been some form of fiction," Faith continued. "We need facts, G."

"We are working on it tirelessly. It has been centuries-"

"Thought you were gonna keep this short?" Faith asked, smirking slightly as Giles stood by the bed, flabbergasted over her cutting him off mid sentence. Again. "We both knew coming in that this wasn't gonna be easy. If there's one thing you've taught me over the years, it's that just because something is hard, doesn't mean it is impossible."

Giles nodded and turned to leave the room. He stopped by the door and looked back at Faith, smiling softly at her. "Rest well, Faith. I assure you that we'll have something more, anything more, when you wake up."

"Counting on it, G."

Like the other night, the place that only existed in her dreams took fruition in what felt like a matter of minutes. The white room came into view, the bed still in the same place as before. She was alone this time. Buffy wasn't waiting for her.

Faith walked across the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. The sheets were still crisp and soft, the room quiet and still. Still on edge from her recent encounter and beating, she rubbed her neck and looked around the room for any sign that Buffy would come to her again. She knew she couldn't get her hopes up for another shared slayer dream with her so close to the other, but it wouldn't have been the first time-that she knew of anyway.

"Are you waiting for me?"

Faith turned at the sound of Buffy's voice, smiling as she saw her walk towards the bed after appearing out of nowhere.

"Not really. I dunno," Faith shrugged, even though she was hoping that she'd come to her again. "Just fell asleep and here I am."

Laughing, Buffy sat on the bed across from her. She still looked as she did the last time, still dressed in the same clothes and she still had that tired, scared look in her eyes. But when she smiled, that all seemed to fade away. Faith could see the Buffy she knew when she smiled, she could see that light she always carried inside of her, the light that made her good, that made her alive and strong, the light that made her love and for others to love her in ways that Faith would never know what it was like.

"I'm not really where you think I am."

"And where are you, B?"

"I don't know," Buffy said, her smile fading away. "Somewhere dark. Cold and damp. Water trickles down the walls just before sunrise. I only see a sliver of light first thing in the morning. At least I think it's morning. I've lost all sense of time, of place."

"Where do you think you are?"

"Not where you think I am."

"And where's that, B?"

Buffy fell silent, her eyes lowering to the space on the bed between them. From the shaky rise and fall of her shoulders, Faith knew she'd started to cry. She didn't know what to do, how to comfort Buffy, how to convey in words that this wasn't a hopeless situation even though she wasn't sure of that herself anymore.

Moving closer to her on the bed, she hesitated for a moment before she reached out for Buffy's hands and gently intertwined their fingers. Buffy gave her a soft squeeze before she lifted her head, her eyes locking on to Faith's as the tears continued to fall. Faith could feel what Buffy was thinking, what she was feeling and it was almost heart-breaking to not just feel, but see that Buffy was ready to give up, to stop fighting. Faith wasn't sure what compelled her to lean forward and place a soft kiss on her forehead. Buffy trembled as Faith's lips lingered, the tears still continuing to fall. Taking a deep breath, Faith placed another kiss on her cheek, tasting the saltiness of her tears as she pulled back and licked over her lips.

It was Buffy who kissed her, crushing her lips against Faith's as a hand slid behind her neck and pulled her closer. It was different than when the succubus had come to her and seduced her. She could feel the difference in just the way that Buffy's lips lingered on hers, not quite moving, frozen in place, the seconds lasting for what felt like hours.

Faith took a chance, kissing her back with a little more yearning, tongue dipping out, slipping in between Buffy's tightly pressed lips. She wasn't sure why she was kissing her or why Buffy was kissing her back. Was this a slayer dream or was this just her imagination, the mild painkiller helping to play on the fact that she wanted to see Buffy again.

As unexpected as it had began, Buffy pulled back with a soft groan, the tears still falling. She wiped them away, the feeling of hopelessness hanging heavy in the air between them again.

"It's not hopeless," Faith whispered.

"How do you know that is what I was thinking?"

"Cos I was thinking the same thing. It's not hopeless, B. I'm gonna find you. No matter what it takes."

"You're not looking in the right place."

"Where should I be looking? B?"

Again, Buffy lowered her head, her body shaking with every earth shattering sob she tried to hold in. "I'm fading, Faith."

"No, you're not."

"I am. I'm weak. Scared. Alone. I'm fading away."

"You're not gonna fade away, B. I'm not gonna let that happen."

"Then save me," Buffy said lowly, her eyes rising to look at her again. Her eyes, rimmed with tears and red, looked so desperate, filled with hopelessness and despair. "Save me, Faith."

"Tell me where to find you. How can I save you if I don't know where you are, B?" Faith asked her and she felt her fading away, the feel of her hands turning feather-light until she was no longer there. "Buffy? How can I save you if I don't know where you are?" Faith screamed out into the emptiness of the room.

The room darkened and transformed into a much smaller room, the bed now covered with an old, dusty and faded quilt. The only window had been painted out, just a chip near the corner allowed a small stream of light through. In the dim light, the stone walls dripped of water that came from the ceiling and Faith stood up from the bed slowly, wondering if somehow Buffy was showing her just where she was an attempt to help Faith in finding her so she could save her.

Faith walked over to the only door in the room, heavy and wooden, the latch almost rusted to the point where it took some strength to open it. She found herself stepping out into a hallway in what looked like a very old house, maybe even a castle considering the walls were stone. A few young girls walked past her, speaking rapidly as they turned the corner and disappeared.

Faith, not knowing why, followed the direction the girls had gone and was nearly knocked over by Xander as he ran out of one of the rooms. He didn't even seem phased by the encounter, muttering under his breath about cleansing the castle, freeing it of anything evil before they could rest easy again.

Shrugging it off, she continued down the hallway and turned the corner where the girls had, but it was a dead end and only a window stood at the end, it too painted out black.

"Evil begone," an old woman said from behind her. She was frail, hunched over, her fingers bony and crooked as she pointed to a doorway that hadn't been there moments before. "Evil lurks in the shadows of this godforsaken place. No human should've set foot here before a proper cleansing."

"Huh?"

"Hush, child," the old woman said to her and motioned for Faith to follow her through the now open doorway. "You fight evil. You've seen it. You've won against it, but have you ever seen true evil, child?"

"Like the First Evil?"

"No," she croaked. "Though I suppose it's just as horrifying."

The way the woman spoke, it sent chills down her spine. Faith couldn't move, she didn't have the power over herself to. Whatever was happening, she was being forced to be right where she was against her will. It was just a dream and the place she was in, it felt like it didn't exist. Still, she watched with bewilderment as the old woman chanted as she walked around the room, her voice chilling as she began chanting faster, her voice still almost too quiet to hear.

Nightmares usually didn't scare her. She'd had them her entire life. Normally having one or several in a night had her waking up with her heart racing, her body covered in sweat and the images, although still fresh in her mind, haunted her like a ghost that just wouldn't go away.

A low growling came from beyond the small white door in the corner of the room. The old woman approached it slowly, cautiously, the words she'd been chanting fading until a bloodcurdling scream escaped past her lips. Faith could feel the terror the woman felt and she was suddenly thrust in place of the old woman as the door swung open and she was hit by a force she couldn't see.

Coughing, she tried to wake herself up, her lungs feeling like they were filling up with fluid, feeling heavier and constricted with every breath she tried to take.

With a startled gasp, she woke, but the heavy feeling in her lungs was still there. Grasping at her chest and throat, she tried to take in a breath, but it burned. Faith let out a silent scream and black ooze poured from her mouth, covering her body and most of the small room.

Groaning with disgust, she crawled out of bed, the warm air feeling cool against her clammy, damp skin. Staggering to the bathroom, her heart racing, she fumbled for the switch, but it wasn't there. It was the first sure sign that she was still dreaming and after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she looked down at herself, expecting to be covered in the black ooze that had poured from her mouth moments ago, was entirely gone.

"Fuck, this is weird," Faith muttered as she made her way back to the bedroom. "It's just a dream, Lehane. Sooner or later your gonna wake up and laugh about this whole mess."

Where had Buffy gone from earlier? Was it even Buffy there with her, or had it just been a figment of her imagination? The rest of the dream sure felt real enough as it was, but she wasn't so sure about before. She wondered if the rest of the dream had thrown her off, making the beginning feel like it never really happened in the first place. She was starting to wish that it really hadn't happened at all.

"Faith? Faith, are you all right?" Giles called out as he came into the dark bedroom. "I thought I heard you scream?"

"Did I?" Faith asked, remembering how she had tried and nothing but black ooze had come out instead. Faith flipped on the bedside lamp and looked over at Giles. "This is just a dream."

"It's just a what?" Giles asked, looking at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Are you sure you're all right, Faith?"

"It's just a dream!" She yelled at him and when he took a step towards her, she shook her head and stepped back. "Stay away from me."

"You're sick."

"No. I'm dreaming," Faith muttered. "Go away. Go. Away."

"You're sick, Faith. You should rest," Giles said calmly as he pointed to the bed. "A sick slayer needs her rest. A sick slayer is useless. We can't have a sick slayer holding us back now, can we?"

Faith stomach churned every time Giles said the word "sick". She clamped her hands over her ears as he continued, saying the same words over and over again until it was nothing more than a booming voice inside her head.

Her lungs felt like they were filling up again and she gagged as she struggled to breathe. The booming voice turned into malicious laughter and she opened her eyes she hadn't realized she'd shut tight and the room was spinning around her. Eyes wide, she felt the black ooze seep out from her mouth and wrap itself around her neck, choking her even more so.

Terrified, she grasped at the liquid, her fingers sliding through yet not easing the pressure it had around her neck. Reminding herself that it was just a dream-a nightmare-had become lost as sheer panic set in. The last thing she heard was that malicious laughter and the last thing she saw was it coming from the old woman she'd seen before, pointing a crooked, bony finger at her as everything faded away.

Faith groaned as she opened her eyes, blinded by the sunlight streaming in through the windows. With a gasp, she sat up in the bed, the memories of the nightmare flooding back to her in an instant. She didn't allow the panic to settle in, instead she quickly dressed in clean clothes and headed downstairs to find Giles.

The house was eerily quiet, but it was early and the others were still sleeping. Faith walked into the kitchen, the table covered with books and papers filled with notes that noted dates and times, certain events. She spotted a flow chart taped to the wall, Andrew's handiwork of course. From the looks of things, the others had been up most of the night, trying to pinpoint the exact moment the demon had possessed Buffy.

Only they were wrong. The demon hadn't possessed her, it had taken her somewhere, locked her up and projected itself to look exactly like her. Faith groaned as she walked over to the chart on the wall, reading over the timeline they'd written out. It went as far back as six months, some of the things mentioned were small incidents, others were bigger ones like the incident when the younger slayers had been killed while out on patrol with Buffy.

"Good morning, Faith."

Faith turned to look at Willow as she walked into the kitchen. "Morning."

"You look much better."

Faith nodded, smiling for a second and she motioned to the chart. "You guys have been busy."

"We're still nowhere near figuring it out. It almost seems hopeless."

"It's not hopeless," Faith said softly. "It's not. It can't be."

The words were echoed, not in Willow's voice or her own, but in Buffy's soft, broken voice. Faith too felt broken, hearing her voice echoing in her head. The dream before it turned into a nightmare came rushing back to her. Buffy's hopelessness, her pleading for Faith to find her and save her, the kiss they had shared that Faith didn't know what it meant, if it meant anything at all.

"Faith? Are you okay?" Willow asked, the concern clear in her voice. "Faith?"

"She needs me to find her and save her."

"Find her? But you did find her, Faith."

"It's not her," Faith replied and she could feel a tremor ripple through her body. "It's not Buffy, Willow."

Willow shook her head. "Do you honestly believe that this demon has made itself to look like Buffy? Nothing we've found has even mentioned the fact that it has the ability to do something like that."

"If it doesn't have the ability to do that, it could've gone to a witch, got a spell or something," Faith said and Willow sighed heavily as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Come on, Willow, you're a witch, a powerful one at that. Stuff like that is entirely possible, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Kate," Faith said simply. "The witch back in Scotland, she was the one who cast that spell to help Buffy disappear. Whose to say she didn't cast another spell for the demon? Come on, Willow, you know I'm on to something here."

"Maybe," Willow replied quietly. "Maybe you are right. We have to explore every possibility, even if it seems incredibly impossible." Willow paused and she stared at Faith curiously for a moment. "How come you are so hung up on the fact that Buffy is somewhere else?"

"Because she told me she is."

"I guess I have a witch to pay a little visit to."

With a small smile showing she had a glimmer of hope that what Faith said was true, Willow, with a flick of her fingers, disappeared.