I probably would have finished this earlier, but then I got slightly distracted by issue 34 of the season eight comics. Still, just over a week is much better than the gaps between the last few chapters! Anyway, enjoy! (Oh, and this picks up exactly where chapter 52 left off, so you may need to reread the last couple of paragraphs of that one to get your bearings).
To Buffy, time seemed to freeze. She experienced an interminable moment full of shock and uncomprehending horror, and then Angel fell forward into her arms and reality came crashing back in. The box had dropped to the pavement, its contents scattering across the street. The people walking down the sidewalk had stopped, faces full of uncertainty and concern. All Buffy could think was that Angel wasn't dust, but that arrow…it must have missed his heart by mere millimeters, and she'd never been more terrified in her life.
She would never remember how she'd managed to summon the presence of mind to gather the papers back into the box before she began to help a very unsteady Angel make it the several blocks to the high school.
"Dear God, what happened?!" came Wesley's voice almost the second they entered the library. Both he and Giles quickly abandoned their books and came towards them. Then he spotted the arrow. "Who did this?" he demanded.
"Faith," said Buffy. She held the box out to Giles. "Professor Worth's stuff," she said. Giles took the box while Wesley promptly moved to Angel's other side to support some of his weight, and together, he and Buffy soon got him to a chair. Then he was off again to retrieve the first aide kit and a knife.
"How can you be sure it was Faith?" he asked when he returned, passing Buffy the first aide kit and going to work on the arrow with the knife, just above the fletching.
"Who else would've been lying in wait that close to Lester's place?" asked Angel through clenched teeth. He held perfectly still while Wesley cut through the arrow shaft, suppressing the urge to wince with difficulty as sharp pain jolted through the wound and radiated outward with every jerk of the arrow, no matter how slight. Buffy did the wincing for him as she waited for Wes to finish, which he did a few seconds later.
"Okay," she said, gripping the arrow tightly close to his chest, "On three. One—" In one swift movement, she pulled it out.
Angel let out the hiss of pain he'd been holding in, then chuckled. "I knew you were gonna do that."
Buffy smiled rather reluctantly, and Angel sat still again so she and Wesley could begin cleaning the entrance and exit wounds. Giles soon drew their attention to the things he was learning from Professor Worth's reports.
Angel tried to focus on what the others were saying and participate in the conversation, which seemed very important, but it was difficult. He was feeling oddly lightheaded, and his left shoulder tingled unpleasantly, as if it was going…numb? He couldn't understand it; he had no circulation to begin with. What was more, his skin was starting to feel tight, clammy, and warm.
When Buffy had finished sponging away the blood and helped him back to his feet, it became apparent that something was very wrong. He swayed as the room spun sickeningly, and he couldn't focus on Buffy's alarmed features. The next thing he knew, he was sprawled across the floor, his strength completely gone, his bones aching, and every muscle in his body that wasn't currently numb feeling as if it had been mercilessly beaten.
[o]
"Should we phone the Council?" asked Wesley uncertainly. "They do have all the known toxins on file."
Giles glanced up from the poisoned arrow at the younger Watcher, who was pacing restlessly around the library. They had just returned from taking Angel to his apartment, where Buffy had remained, and it would only be a matter of time before the others arrived to help them research. "You know that the poison will be the least of our concerns if they discover what you intend to do with their information."
Wesley scowled. "They never found out what I was doing in Romania when I went there on research leave, and they won't find out about this now. Though I'm not sure I'd be quite as averse to letting slip what Faith's been up to for the past couple of months."
Giles was momentarily shocked by the implications of Wesley's remark, not to mention the strength of the bitter anger behind it, but he had to agree that Faith's actions had been consequence-free for far too long. And if Faith had been the only issue at hand, he wouldn't have lifted a finger to stop Wesley from turning her over to the Council. Unfortunately, however, she knew quite a lot about Buffy and her relationship with Angel, and had already proven that she would betray that information in an instant if her own situation was threatened, so Giles couldn't allow Wesley's wrath over what she had done to Angel cloud his reason.
"Telling them about Faith would bring them here very quickly," he said, "but how would you propose to keep them away from Buffy once they're in town? Do you disagree that they would want to investigate what aspect of your methods as Watcher led to Faith's actions, and whether Buffy has suffered any negative influence as well?" At Wesley's highly affronted expression, he went on quickly, "I respect your methods and openness very highly, and you've been doing quite a lot to counteract your lack of experience."
Wesley blinked, clearly unsure whether to be offended or flattered.
"Faith made her own choices," Giles continued, "and I certainly wouldn't presume to hold them against you, particularly when my own influence over her was not much less than yours, but you can't expect the Council to take the knowledge of a murdering Slayer lightly. Nor can you expect Faith to remain silent about Buffy and Angel if they apprehended her. Even if she deserves their retribution, she wouldn't be the only one to receive it."
Wesley dropped heavily into one of the chairs around the table in a defeated sort of way. "You're right. Perhaps they'll at least be able to tell us what we need to know about the poison."
"You plan to give them the impression that you have an infected vampire in custody and wish to study the source of his ailment further, yes?" said Giles shrewdly.
"Well, I can hardly admit to them that I'm trying to find a way to cure the vampire they think Buffy killed in January," said Wesley in a slightly aggravated tone.
"True," Giles agreed, "but can you be certain that they won't be so intrigued by your version of events that they'll want to take matters into their own hands?"
"But how are we to find out how to cure Angel without going to them?" asked Wesley in distress.
"I think you underestimate our resources," said Giles with a small smile.
[o]
Buffy did not take the news that they couldn't risk asking the Council for help well. She had spent the last hour with Angel, trying to keep him comfortable while his condition steadily worsened. The mood it left her in was not forgiving. "What's the point of working for these guys when all they do is sit on their hands halfway around the world, except when they feel like locking me in a house with a vampire?!" she demanded angrily. It didn't matter that the vampire in question had been Angel, because it wasn't as if the Council would have used him if they'd known more about their history together anyway. "Why should I follow their orders if they aren't going to help me when I need it, and when I have to hide the most important person in my life from them to keep us both safe?"
Wesley had no answer. He had been asking himself similar questions ever since his conversation with Mr. Giles.
"Call the Council," said Buffy. Her voice had returned to a normal conversational volume now, but the coldness in it was worse than if she was still shouting. "Tell them I'm done being their pawn. They can close up shop until the next Slayer shows up." With that, she turned on her heel and stalked out of the library, keen on helping Willow and the others with their ongoing research in the chemistry lab.
[o]
In different circumstances, Buffy knew she would have found the rosy sort of glow on Willow's countenance (and the less obvious, but still discernable glow on Oz's) highly intriguing and deserving of much discussion, but she had no emotion or attention to spare except for a small twinge of regret that the present situation was robbing her of the chance to fill this important best friend function.
"Did you find anything?" she asked.
"Finding the poison wasn't that hard," said Willow quietly. "It's a mystical compound. The Latin name translates roughly as 'Killer of the Dead'. Used on vampires."
Buffy felt a rush of hope. "And the cure?"
Willow's expression was sympathetic but devoid of optimism. "There aren't a lot of instances of it being cured."
"But there are some," Buffy pressed.
"One or two," said Willow. "Pretty vague accounts." She hesitated, then asked gently, "How is he?"
Buffy couldn't meet her eyes, much less answer her question. It was all she could do to keep from breaking down on the spot. Angel was dying.
"Hold it," said Oz unexpectedly, his eyes still on his book.
"You got something?" asked Xander, while Buffy clutched the edge of the table so tightly that it was in some danger of breaking.
"I'm not sure...," said Oz, his brow furrowing as he read the page more closely.
"Be sure," said Buffy.
He was, and what he had discovered wasn't pretty. It took some work to get it out of him. "The only cure for this thing is to drain the blood of a Slayer."
Buffy stared at him blankly for a moment, then nodded. "Good."
"Good?" Xander repeated incredulously. "What'd I miss?
"No, it's perfect," said Buffy. "Angel needs to drain a Slayer? I'll bring him one."
"Buffy," said Willow, "if Angel drains Faith's blood it'll kill her."
"Not if she's already dead."
[o]
It didn't take long for Willow, Oz, and Xander to find Faith's address. Xander briefly tried to get Buffy to think about what she was doing, but she'd already thought about it. Faith had been the one to shoot Angel in the first place, so she had no reservations in choosing him over her if only one of them got to live.
The address and Faith's dagger in hand, she made to leave the library, only to find her way barred by Wesley.
"You're not going to stop me, Wes," she said.
"Quite the contrary," he said. "I want to come with you."
Buffy shook her head. "This is between me and her."
"You and Faith are evenly matched—"
"But you're not. I know you want to help Angel as much as I do, but you go up against Faith, you're only going to get hurt. Or worse."
Wesley swallowed and looked at the floor.
"I'm sorry," said Buffy, and she obviously meant it. "Thanks for offering. It means a lot. I just can't take the chance that she'll hurt anyone else I care about. I have to do this alone." She paused until he looked back into her eyes, then said imploringly, "Look after him until I get back. I shouldn't be long."
Leaving Wesley standing there, worry and a small amount of bitter disappointment on his face, Buffy didn't regret her decision not to let him come with her. Despite what she had said, she knew it was very possible that Wesley's help could make her task much easier—but then, if "easy" was her first priority, she could simply use a gun. That thought made her shudder. No, it had to be one-on-one, and it had to be a fair fight. Even the dagger would be a last resort.
I'm not writing the Buffy vs. Faith fight scene. I can't compete with canon's version of it and I'm not going to try. If you want to see it, here it is: www. youtube. com/watch ?v=lCZ9ZgPolmA (get rid of the spaces). There might be a less crappy video of it somewhere...I know Hulu has all of season three right now, so you could watch it there. The only thing that might have been different from canon is the dialogue, but not by enough to justify writing the whole scene. Also, Doyle's still hungover at Wesley's apartment. He would have made this chapter unnecessarily complicated, and all he's interested in is getting Angel to L.A. He's not looking to be part of the Scooby gang.