Chapter Eight
Blood. On her hands. Warm and sticky. Hands shaking as the blood dripped down to the floor. Her vision was blurred, the anger that drove through her like a freight train finally beginning to subside.
Sabine lay curled on the floor, shaking and sobbing as Calais tried to comfort her from the scene she had just witnesses, her emotions getting to the better of her in the heat of the moment. Kennedy lingered near the doorway, fear paralyzing her where she stood, the shock and awe in her eyes crystal clear even through the tears that threatened to fall.
The body that had materialized in front of her before she could get her hands on Sabine, lay motionless near her feet. Faith growled, a bristling feeling of power, of magic flowing through her veins. Staring down at Lucian's body, the realization of what she had done began to sink in. Whatever Sabine had done to her, whatever she had given her, angered the incubus and it had brought it forth, ready to kill her, to kill the witches and then Kennedy. Whatever Sabine had done to her had made it possible for her to rip the heart out of Lucian's body with her bare hands and it wasn't just the heart, but the very soul of the demon itself.
Slowly, the body began to sizzle, the sound filling the otherwise silent room. The true form of the demon began to appear before her very eyes, ugly and distorted, skin black and scaled like a lizard, horns protruding from its head, sharp teeth with blood trickling down them glistening in the candlelight.
"We need to-we must send it back before it returns," Sabine said shakily as she stood up with Calais' help. "You tore it from it's body, but the soul still lingers, waiting for the right moment to find its way back."
"Go away," Calais said through gritted teeth. "Now."
"Faith, come on," Kennedy said softly and she reached out for Faith, grabbing onto her arm and pulled her towards the door. "Come on, Faith, let's get out of here. Come on!"
Faith didn't move, her eyes locked on the body of the incubus as the two witches stood at either end of it. She knew she needed to move, but she couldn't, not until she knew that it was truly gone. When Kennedy pulled at her again, she turned to her and shoved her back, not hard enough to hurt her, just hard enough to get her to back off.
She still wasn't leaving there without any answers.
Watching as the witches chanted and performed a spell that had the demon's body go up in flames and then as suddenly as it had caught fire, the flames disappeared and not even a pile of ash remained on the floor. Both women looked drained as they turned to look at Faith.
"What part of go away did you not understand?" Calais asked her wearily.
"I'm not going anywhere until I get some answers," Faith growled and she looked at Sabine, the anger rising to the surface, bubbling hot in her veins as her heart raced wildly. "You. What did you do to me?"
Sabine and Calais exchanged a few heated words in Italian before Calais stood back and allowed Sabine to speak. "I gave you a gift, borrowed power. It is the only way you will be able to defeat them. As you just so disgustingly proved, it worked. Giving you borrowed power angered the incubus so much it brought it here. And you, why did you try to come at me?"
Faith shrugged. "I was pissed. You told me there was no catch. How is having borrowed power not a fucking catch?"
"If you had known, you would've fought it and you would be useless to us. It is your nature, the lingering darkness that clings to your soul, that makes you the one."
"The one what?"
"To kill them, to end their existence not just here, but in their own world."
"Hate to burst your bubble here, Sabine, but there's still one out there, maybe more."
"No, just one. The succubus is far more powerful. It was she who controlled the incubus, not the other way around. It was she who attacked you and it was she who took your annoying friend."
"Thought she was corporeal? How the hell did it ditch the body and attack me like that then?"
"The succubus has access to some powerful magicks, ancient magicks. We had thought when we became allies that we would understand where this magic came from, who was helping her. But," Sabine sighed heavily as she looked over at her sister, "we never quite got close enough to finding out the true source of her power."
Faith looked at the two, wondering if she could trust them. "Why do I get the feeling that killing the incubus was the easy part?"
"Because it was."
"Great," Faith groaned and she cracked her knuckles one at a time, her eyes not leaving either of the witches for more than a split second at a time. "So, what now?"
"We must join forces. We can help you just as you can help us. We're in danger now that I have given you borrowed power. The succubus will know her counterpart is gone and she will be very, very angry. It will not be you she comes for first, it will be us."
Staring at Sabine, Faith licked over her lips. "And what happens if I tell you to go fuck yourself and you're on your own? I don't care what she does to either of you."
"Then that borrowed power you need to kill that demon so you can find your annoying friend and the other slayer, I will take it from you and the power that makes you a slayer along with it. You will be helpless. Worthless."
Sighing heavily, Faith turned to Kennedy. "Call the others, tell them we're coming back and we got company."
"Faith-"
"Just do it, Kennedy."
Faith sat on the rooftop, the sounds of Willow and Kennedy arguing in the room just below sounding crystal clear, as if she was there in the room with them. She could also hear Giles having a rather heated discussion with the witches, drilling them for as much information as he could get out of them. She could hear Xander and Dawn, but they weren't talking. They were doing things she knew Buffy would kill both of them for if she knew that Xander was making moves on her little sister.
She had been up there since they'd gotten back to the house with Sabine and Calais in tow. She didn't trust them, not one bit, but being threatened the way that she had been, she knew she couldn't call their bluff, not after what Sabine had done to her.
Faith couldn't help but feel that if she hadn't decided to follow them, hadn't walked into their apartment, they wouldn't be where they were right now. Yet, something told her, something she felt deep down, that it was meant to happen and that there were forces at play beyond her understanding. Everything that was happening was supposed to happen and whether it was being controlled by Fate itself, or by a spell the witches had cast, it was playing out in the favor of good, not evil.
At least that's what she had to keep telling herself.
The incubus was gone, but they still had to deal with the succubus. They still had to find Andrew, wherever it had taken him and they had to figure out where Buffy was and how to free her from the mystical prison she'd been forced into. Groaning, she ran her hands through her hair and looked down at them. The blood, although dried, stained her skin and it fired something up inside of her, a feeling she hadn't felt in a very long time.
Lust for the kill.
Human, demon, vampire, it didn't matter. The lust was there, lingering, stronger than it'd been in a long time and almost impossible for her to ignore. She grit her teeth and clenched her hands into tight fists, trying to shake the feeling that was so very overwhelming.
The sky above started to darken as the sun nestled beyond the horizon. She could feel the slayer awaken inside of her, drawn to the night, to the hunt, the slay, the kill.
No, fight that feeling. Don't give in. You're better than that, stronger than that. You're doing this for Buffy and you're gonna save her, no matter what it takes.
Rubbing her throbbing temples, she tried to shake that feeling, the urge that came with it. The sound of the door to the roof being opened caused her to whip her head around. Giles.
"You all right, Faith?"
"Never been better," she said, the lie easily slipping past her lips. "They tell you anything useful?"
"Yes, although I'm not too sure I can trust them."
"Good to know I ain't the only one that doesn't trust them. What'd they tell you anyway?"
"They carefully explained their alliance with the demons and how that now, that alliance has been broken because of the spell that Sabine cast on you that has given you the power to defeat them," Giles said and he sighed heavily as he moved carefully to sit on the ledge next to Faith. "It will not last for long. It's imperative that we locate the succubus immediately."
"Something tells me that it's easier said than done, huh?"
"Unfortunately."
"I lied," Faith said as she looked up at the darkening sky. "I'm not all right, G. Far from it."
"I know."
Faith scoffed and tried not to laugh, but failed. Giles offered a friendly, warm smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She could feel herself waning, the strength keeping that lust for the kill at bay dissipating quickly. How much longer could she hold on, how much longer could she fight that feeling? Was it just because of the borrowed power that she was feeling these things, or was it something more, something that went far deeper than she could ever understand?
"What are we gonna do now?"
"We need to find the succubus," Giles replied and he dropped his hand away from her shoulder. "And you need to kill it."
"Where do we even start? Pretty big city, even bigger world."
Giles didn't say a word. She knew he had no idea where they would even begin to look for the succubus. They were right back to square one.
The lust for the kill was growing stronger and she couldn't hold back as she felt her skin prickle. Vampires nearby, lurking in the streets, preying on innocent humans for their next meal. Faith looked at Giles before she slipped off the ledge and fell the three flight down to the street below, landing effortlessly on her feet without so much as a stumble. Up on the roof, Giles watched in awe as she ran off down the dark, quiet street in hot pursuit of the vampires she knew were close by.
Taking a sharp turn down a short alleyway, she emerged on the other side, her boots thundering against the old cobblestone road. She could almost smell the vampires, not just sense them and she could feel the fear of the woman they had cornered. Four of them. Dark alleyway just at the end of the street. How she knew that, she didn't know, didn't question it either as she kept on running. When she heard the woman scream, it sent chills through her body. She had just seconds until they made that poor woman their dinner.
"Hey boys, starting the fun without me?" Faith grinned as she came to a stop just where the alleyway began and saw the four vampires and a middle-aged woman just a few feet away.
She didn't get any response from the vampires other than one staying behind to hold the woman against the wall while the other three came towards her.
"Not the chatty types are you? Get straight to it. Let's dance then, boys," Faith chuckled and she spun around with a round-house kick that sent the one closest to her flying backwards. Harder than what was normal. "Well, damn, this is gonna be wicked fun. You're in for a treat."
Ducking out of the lazy punch the vampire to her right threw at her, she used the momentum to sweep the other's feet out from under him. He hit the ground so hard it cracked his neck and he turned to dust. Not wasting a second to marvel at how easy it was to fight now with the borrowed power inside of her, she grabbed the stunned vampire by the front of it's ugly orange tank top and flung him towards the last one still holding the poor woman against the wall.
"Not that I'm complaining, but I'm used to you types actually fighting back."
The vampire growled and tightened his hold on the woman as she struggled to get away from him. Faith could not only see the fear she was feeling, she could practically taste it. The other one, still stunned from being thrown into the wall, rose shakily on his feet.
"Slayer! Evadere!" The vamp shouted at the other and he thrust the frightened woman at Faith and the two took off running.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Faith groaned as she helped the woman stay steady on her feet. "Sorry, lady, can't let them get away. Go, run, hide somewhere safe." Upon the woman's blank expression, Faith groaned with frustration. "Run!"
Faith didn't waste another second and she took off running after the two vampires. They had descended down the street and into another narrow alleyway and she could feel them near as she ran harder. Thinking quick, she jumped up to the fire escape that ran up the four story apartment building by the alleyway and she climbed up to the roof quickly, effortlessly.
Her blood was pumping hard through her veins, running hot with the lust for the kill. She wasn't letting the two vampires get away and she knew she would kill them, sooner rather than later. Walking along the edge of the flat roof, she peered down into the alleyway and saw the two vampires huddled behind an overflowing dumpster, talking quietly.
The building across the narrow gap was smaller and would provide less of a fall than if she were to jump from the roof to the ground. Backing up, she took off running and leapt over the gap and landed with a hard thud on the roof of the smaller building. She peered down at the two vamps and they were looking around frantically, as if they were trying to figure out where that sound had come from.
Faith looked around the roof and spotted a pile of broken wood, likely from a wooden skid and she grabbed a piece with a sharp edge and jumped down to the alleyway below.
"You know, the whole running away thing makes you look like cowards."
With her eye on the one with the ugly orange tank top, she lunged for him first. She tackled the vampire to the ground and effortlessly thrust the stake into his heart. The last vampire grabbed her from behind, but she was quick to react and flipped him over her, one hand grabbing his arm and twisting it clean in half. The vampire let out a bloodcurdling scream as it clutched at his broken arm.
"You're making this too easy," Faith chuckled dryly.
"Please," the vampire whimpered.
"What was that?"
"Please just kill me."
"What is with vamps these days? Begging me to kill them instead of fighting me and going out with some sense of fucked up honor you types have when it comes to fighting for your undead life against a Slayer."
The vampire moved to stand up and thrust his chest out. "Just do it. That's what you wanted to do in the first place, isn't it? Slay me and my friends?"
"You're not from around here are you?"
"Does it matter?"
"No, no it doesn't," Faith replied with a shake of her head. "It's been real."
Faith watched the vampire close his eyes as she rose the piece of wood in the air and plunged it towards his chest. The momentum of the wood piercing the heart was lost, the rush of the slay long gone since the vampire had begged for her to kill him.
Cracking her knuckles, Faith strolled out to the street. The power she felt coursing through her body almost electrifying. The borrowed power she'd been given-gifted-had her feeling like she was nearly indestructible. It had been proven that she was stronger and faster than she'd ever been before and she knew that that kind of power could consume her in the worst ways possible if she didn't control it and herself.
The night was calling to her and she could feel the presence of other vampires nearby. She couldn't ignore the call to do her duty. She took off running, the rush of her next slay already pulsing through her as she spotted two vampires lingering outside the doorway to a club.
Buffy whimpered as she rolled over on the small bed. Nightmares, again. Never-ending nightmares since she'd been locked away. She almost wished for another dream with Faith, as crazy as it sounded in her head and when she said it out loud, even in a feeble whisper. At least with those dreams with Faith there with her, she felt safe and the nightmares were left behind.
She hadn't eaten in a day, not since she'd caught Satsu bringing her food. Why was Satsu, of all people, bringing her food and since when was she magic and able to just appear there with food for her? Had Satsu been doing it the whole time the demons had her locked up in there? She knew Satsu was in love with her and there had been attempts made by her to make a move. Every attempt Satsu made, she'd brushed it off and tried to let her down easy, telling her she wasn't gay and that she was flattered, but not interested. Did her turning her down make Satsu turn evil or something?
Groaning, Buffy sat up slowly, the darkness in the room rushing all around her. It was too dark, always too dark, even with just that sliver of light shining through. She was grateful for that little bit of light, it gave her a somewhat sense of time, at least she knew when it was daylight.
Buffy gripped the chains and pulled, but her muscles protested. Weak and withering away from lack of use, poor nutrition and possibly magic as well. Her stomach growled and she tried to ignore it as she got up from the bed and grabbed the empty glass from the tray. The lingering smell of the chicken noodle soup had her salivating for more and she wished she'd at least saved the apple so she wouldn't be absolutely starving.
A thousand thoughts plagued her mind. What if Satsu never came back? What if she didn't get any food for a few days, a week? Could she really hold on that long? Drinking tap water, disgusting and sometimes tasting of dirt, would only keep her hydrated for so long. Walking slowly to the small bathroom, she filled the glass slowly, the smell of mud filling her senses and she struggled not to gag as she sipped the water.
Buffy turned as she heard clattering and she walked out of the bathroom, the soft light from the candle seemingly brighter than what she'd grown accustomed to. Satsu stood by the table, but she wasn't looking at Buffy. She was staring at the small candle, her hands gripping the edge of the table. Even from where Buffy stood, she could see how tense Satsu was.
"Why are you doing this?" Buffy whispered as she gripped the edge of the door frame. "Why are you doing this to me, Satsu?"
"I messed up. You weren't supposed to know it was me."
"Why?" Buffy pleaded. "Why, Satsu?"
"Are you hungry? I'm sure you are," Satsu continued and that's when Buffy noticed the sandwich on a plate near the candle, a banana and what looked like some kind of juice in a small glass. "I'd bring you something more, but it's all I can get away with and not have too many questions asked."
Satsu moved back as Buffy walked towards the table and she was just out of reach. Buffy expected her to do the whole disappearing act again, but from the way she was watching her, she wasn't leaving just yet. Unable to control herself, Buffy grabbed the sandwich and took a bite. It was ham, the bread was dry and the cheese a little too hard. No mustard either. But it was food and she practically devoured it whole.
Buffy reached for the juice and stopped short, swallowing the last bite of the sandwich roughly as she saw the small rose on the tray next to the plate. She looked over at Satsu and glared, wondering what it was she was really up to.
"What is this?" Buffy asked as she held the rose up. "Is this some sick attempt in romancing me? By locking me up and keeping me prisoner in my own castle? Nearly starving me every single day? Are you trying to trigger some kind of Stockholm syndrome and hope that I'll feel the same way you feel about me? Is that what this is?"
"It's a flower, a rose specifically. I thought you might want a little reminder of the world outside."
"You're sick."
"Perfectly healthy," Satsu chuckled and she ducked as Buffy threw the rose at her. "You know, I'm surprised you've held on this long. I thought you'd be begging to be let go, willing to lay your life on the line just to get out of here. Isn't that what you do? Do whatever it takes for the greater good? Aren't you one of those selfish people too?"
"Screw you."
"Apparently that will only ever happen in my dreams," Satsu chuckled, the dryness of her laugh chilling Buffy to the core. "There are three matches," she said as she tossed a well-worn matchbook at Buffy. "Use them wisely. Thought you could use a little light in here. All the darkness can't be too good for you, mentally, if you know what I mean."
Buffy felt her stomach lurch. Satsu was a psychopath, that much was given. How hadn't she seen the signs? There hadn't been any, that was the problem. As Buffy struggled to keep the sandwich down, she watched as Satsu pulled out a strange looking device from her pocket and within an instant she disappeared from the room. Buffy's hands were shaking as she grabbed the well-worn matchbook from where it had landed at the floor near her feet and she placed them in the pocket of her dirty sweatpants.
Tears stung her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was because she felt betrayed by someone she had considered one of her best slayers and a friend, or because she was angry, angrier than she'd ever been in a long, long time. If-no, when she got out of there, she was going to make sure that Satsu paid for what she had done to her. In any and every way that didn't include killing her.
Because killing someone wasn't who she was or something she did, even if they deserved it.
Faith brushed her hair away from her eyes as the dust around her settled. Hours had passed since she'd leapt from the roof, the slayer inside of her leading her to every vampire within a four mile radius. She had found a nest and as surprised as she was to find them all inside a large mausoleum in a cemetery instead of being out in the night, hunting for their next meal, it didn't stop her from flinging herself right in the middle, fighting each of them-even several of them at a time until she was the last one standing.
She'd gone in there without a weapon, fought them with just her hands, using what was around her to dust them. She'd ripped through their throats as if it was nothing and the power she'd felt every single time drove her to keep on going, to find more of them and to kill them all.
Brushing off the dust on her clothes, she headed for the broken mausoleum doorway and strode out of there with confidence, with power, with lust for the kill still so fresh and dominating.
"Faith?"
She spun around at the sound of Kennedy's voice. She stared at her, breathing heavily as she watched Kennedy cautiously approach her. With her hands raised, Kennedy came to a stop just a few feet in front of her.
"Faith, are you okay?" She asked, her voice wavering slightly as Faith growled softly at her. "Okay…I'm going to take that as a yes?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I've been looking for you. Following you," Kennedy replied. "Everything okay, Faith?"
"Five by five."
"You're running on borrowed power right now. Calais said it might…change you and after what I just watched, I believe it."
"You trust her? You trust them?" Faith asked and she let out a sharp laugh when Kennedy didn't say a word. "Why?"
"Because they aren't the bad guys, so to speak."
"You believe them then? All the little lies that spout from their mouths?"
"Faith-"
"What she did to me-"
"She did this so you could fight the succubus. She didn't do this so you could go on a slaying rampage."
"And I don't see what's wrong with ridding the world of a few vampires."
"A few, Faith? I've been following you for hours. You've single-handedly killed at least a hundred vampires tonight. Without, may I add, a weapon for most of it!"
"Jealous, Kennedy?" Faith asked, winking as Kennedy stepped back at her and scoffed in disgust.
"No. Worried."
"About me?" Faith asked in a sing-song voice that made Kennedy visibly cringe. "Since when do any of you care about me, much less are worried about me? You called me in to find Buffy, to bring her home. What's happening here is so far off from the point of what I was brought here to do that-"
"You're wrong," Kennedy spat at her. "We still need you to bring Buffy home and while I'm not her greatest fan, she has a lot of people who love her and want her to be back home where she belongs. Everything that is happening here? Unprecedented, sure, but it keeps bringing us one step closer to the end result. Now get your shit together and fight that borrowed power that's clearly making you live up to your old reputation of psycho slayer and use it as it was meant to be used, to fight the demon that is behind all of this!"
Faith curled her hands into tight fists, repressing the urge to punch Kennedy for saying those things. Along with feeling indestructible, her anger was concerning. Even she could see how the state she was in was worrisome. She was allowing the power to take control and it was changing her. She couldn't allow that to happen or else she'd lose everything she'd done over the years to change herself, to better herself from who she used to be.
"Or are you afraid? Too absorbed with this newfound power that all you see is the slay? The kill?"
Faith was silent, the anger rising inside of her, almost uncontrollable.
"I know you care about her," Kennedy continued. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't. Fight for her, Faith. Fight what you feel right now, fight that god damn demon who is behind all of this and bring Buffy back home where she belongs."
Faith opened her mouth, words failing to come out. The sound of growling from behind her distracted her. More vampires. Kennedy heard it too as she did and she pulled out two stakes from the inside of her jean jacket. She tossed one to Faith before Faith turned around to face the dozen vampires descending upon them, snarling and clearly hungry and not just for their blood. Hungry for the fight. For the kill. Just as she was feeling at that very moment.
Faith was about to lunge into the fight, to kill every last one of them with or without Kennedy's help, but she stopped when she saw the demon emerge from the middle of the horde of vampires, the demon wearing Buffy's body and a self-satisfying smirk.
"Hello, lover."
Faith growled and she gripped onto the stake tight, feeling the wood ready to splinter beneath her crushing grip. If it hadn't been for Kennedy shaking her head no, Faith would've charged at the succubus. It was a stupid idea, especially with all the vampires that surrounded her, flanking her, protecting her. Faith knew it wasn't time. Not yet. She'd have her chance.
"You've been busy tonight, I hear," the demon said, a slight growl making Buffy's voice sound strange, detached. "Killing a lot of my friends. Bad Slayer."
"Someone has to do it. Turns out that someone was me. What ya gonna do? Kill me like I killed a lot of your friends?" Faith quipped and she shrugged Kennedy's hand away when she grabbed her arm. "Come on, bringing a dozen vamps with you seems like a cowardly move."
"No, smart. I know you have borrowed power, power given to you so you have a small chance in killing me," she replied, smirking as two vampires stepped forward, growling, fangs practically salivating as they likely thought what it'd be like to taste the blood of two slayers. "Here's the catch, Faithy. You kill me and you have no chance in saving her. I'm not the only one you need to be fighting to save the day and play the role of a hero."
"Faith, don't," Kennedy whispered, reaching out for her again. "Don't."
"You're telling me all of this because?" Faith asked, waving at her to continue. When she didn't, Faith let out a sharp laugh. "You're trying to save your own ass, aren't you? You know, I killed him. Didn't even put up much of a fight. It was a lot easier than I imagined it'd be."
"Lucian was a lot weaker than I. You think it was he who was in control? Don't you know the woman is always the one in control, Faithy?"
"You're the one pulling the strings then. Huh. So, now that we're being all chatty, why don't you tell me why you let me go? Could've kept me locked up and tucked away like you've got Buffy."
"Ugh," the demon growled and she motioned to the vampires around her to back away. "Being her, wearing the likeness of her, didn't come without a price. A piece of her soul. I don't know, there was this…feeling and it was stronger than I, impossible to fight it, so I let you go."
The succubus took a few steps towards Faith and Kennedy and chuckled as she looked them both up and down, pure lust and seduction shining clear in her eyes.
"And I'm so happy I did. I wouldn't have been able to come to you, to fuck you, literally. You know," she chuckled again and licked over her lips. "You enjoyed it too. You wanted it, you wanted to know what it was like to be with her, even if it wasn't really her. I did you a favor, didn't I, Faith? I gave you a chance to know what it was like to be with her."
"Yeah, before you tried to fucking kill me."
"Details, details."
"Where is she?" Faith asked through gritted teeth. "Where are you keeping her, huh?"
"What, you think I'm going to just tell you where she is?" The succubus laughed and she clicked her tongue as she shook her head no. "It'll come at a price, Faithy. One I'm sure you'd enjoy if you pretend that I am really her."
"You're sick."
"I'm a demon," she smirked. "I crave the lust. I crave the passion. It's what drives me. It is my purpose, to seduce, to create such passion that the one receiving it can no longer fight me and allows me to fully enter inside of them."
"Like you did with Buffy."
"She fought," the demon replied, her smirk faltering. "She fought long and hard, but in the end, well..." she chuckled dryly. "Well, you know how that one ended, don't you? I don't need to bore you with the little details."
"Oh, please do," Faith said and she took a step closer to the demon. "What's going to stop me from killing you right now? You think I'm going to just keep you alive because you're the only one who knows where Buffy is? No. I'm willing to bet you aren't the only one who knows where Buffy is."
"Smart girl," she laughed again and she reached out and grabbed Faith by the shoulders. "You're right. I'm not the only one. But that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you anything. Not yet. So, about my offer?"
Faith glanced back at Kennedy and ignored the look she gave her to say no to what the succubus was asking of her. With a deep breath, she turned to look at her, trying hard to see just the demon and not Buffy standing there in front of her.
"Yeah. I'll do it."