Faith the Vampire Slayer:
The Master
8. Nightmares
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Faith was quietly making her way through a round access tunnel, stake in hand. The tunnel gave way to an underground chamber littered with candles. She descended a set of rough stairs to the floor below, aware of an ominous presence. It was the same tingle in the back of her neck as a vampire, but more insistent, stronger.
A loud hiss to her right startled her, the stake she carried slipping from her fumbling fingers. Faith felt as if she were moving in slow motion as a thin gray skinned vampire with pointed ears and red eyes advanced on her. Faith was soon backed against a wall as the vampire reached out with his hand and gripped her throat. His long pointed nails caressed her skin. Faith could only stare as the bat faced vampire leaned down for the bite.
Her world went red, then black.
Faith watched the scene before her. A scared brunette girl turned into a snarling savage fighter. The savage girl flung the vampire away. She leaped on top of him, raining pain down upon him – punches that shattered the stone floor when they missed bone and flesh, knees and elbows that sent joints in the wrong direction, and a hard boot that pulverized everything beneath it. Soon, the vampire was little more than a bloody mess.
Faith watched as Giles entered the chamber. She tried to warn him, but he couldn't hear her. He grabbed the savage girl's arm and tried to pull her up and hand her a stake. The savage girl flung the Watcher away. He hit the far wall with a wet crunch. His lungs rattled as he struggled for breath. He tried to reason with her, to calm her. The savage girl didn't care. Faith could only watch, screaming and helpless.
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"No! No!" Faith thrashed beneath the covers. "No…"
Giles called from the doorway, "Faith, wake up." He tossed a small foam ball at her headboard.
Faith's eyes snapped open, "Giles?" she asked weakly.
"It's time to get up for school," the Watcher smiled at her. He stooped to retrieve the ball from where it landed next to her bed. "You missed your alarm. Are you alright?"
"No. Uh, yeah! I'm fine," she sighed.
"You were having a nightmare," he said as he stood and stepped toward the door. "If you think it was a Slayer dream, or you just want to talk about it, we can discuss it in the car. Now, hurry, the bacon is getting cold."
"Just the bacon, huh?"
"Yes the beans will keep and the eggs know to bloody well behave themselves." He smiled at her and headed back downstairs.
Faith showered and dressed quickly. At the table, she gulped down her orange juice and piled her sausages, bacon, eggs and grilled tomatoes between slices of toast. She dipped it in her beans.
Giles blinked at her as he ate. Finally, he asked, "What are you doing?"
"Breakfast sandwich," she answered, speaking around the large bite she'd taken.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," he chided.
"We're in a hurry, right?" He nodded. "Faster this way."
"Ah," he said in feigned comprehension.
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"Hello? Doofus!" Cordelia snapped. She lowered her compact to glare at a boy looking over his essay. "You're in my light."
"Wendell, what is wrong with you?" Xander walked up to the pair chuckling. "Don't you know that she is the center of the universe, and the rest of us merely revolve around her?"
"Why don't you revolve yourselves out of my light?" Cordelia countered. The bell ringing saved the boys from responding. They took their seats as the girls arrived.
"Uh, Wendell was in Cordelia's light," Xander informed them.
"I'm so ashamed," the boy sporting a ponytail gave an exaggerated frown.
"Why is she so Evita-like?" Willow scrunched her nose.
"I think it's the hair," Amy grinned.
Willow smiled as well, "It weighs heavy on the cerebral cortex."
"Alright, take your seats. In a moment we will choose partners and practice what we read about in chapter five," Mr. Whitmore instructed the class. "Before we do, let's review. Isaacson's research led him to conclude that one of our most fundamental needs after food and shelter is to be heard. Mr. Sears, would you read the first two paragraphs on page seventy-eight – where Isaacson describes the rapid improvement active listening brought to some special needs clients."
Faith saw movement in the hallway, in the open door. Turning to look, she saw a young boy with dark brown hair staring shyly into the classroom. She was about to say something about him when Wendell screamed. Tarantulas were pouring out of his text book. Students adjacent to him, including Xander and Willow, joined in the screaming. They fled to the back of the class room.
"Please! Get 'em off of me! Help! Help! Get 'em off of me! Help me! Oh, please help me! Please!" Wendell chanted. He held perfectly still as the spiders crawled all over him. "Please help me!"
Faith moved over to him and delicately plucked the Tarantulas off of him. "Wuss."
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"You're awfully quiet this morning," Giles said as he pulled the Citroen into the school parking lot the next day.
"I didn't sleep well," his Slayer replied.
"Nightmares? I had to wake you twice. You were yelling in your sleep. Do you know what you were dreaming?"
"Not really," She looked at him and saw his disbelieving stare. Sighing she added, "I was fighting a really old vampire."
As they got out of the car Giles asked, "The Master, perhaps?"
"I think so. He was all pale and bat faced."
"Your training is progressing nicely, Faith. He remains trapped, and there is no reason to face him until you are ready," he reassured her.
Giving him a weak smile Faith said, "Thanks."
When the Slayer reached the hall that held her locker she was met by her friends. "Oh, Faith, we've been looking for you," Willow announced.
"We have?" Xander asked.
"Oh, about the spiders, did you talk to Giles about..." Willow started to babble.
"Oh, the spiders!" Xander spoke over her. "Willow's been kind of, um, what's the word I'm looking for? Insane about what happened yesterday."
"I don't like spiders, okay? Their furry bodies, and their sticky webs, and what do they need all those legs for anyway? I'll tell you: for crawling across your face in the middle of the night. Ewww! How do they not ruffle you?" the redhead asked.
"I'm ruffled. Done with bugs, remember?" He grinned. "It was pretty intense, but not as bad as the mantises."
"I guess," Willow sighed.
"Well, the Hellmouth, the center of mystical convergence, supernatural monsters: been there," he shrugged.
"Little blasé there, aren't you?" Amy quipped.
"I'm not worried. If there's something bad out there we'll find, we'll slay, we'll party!"
"I admire your confidence, Xan," the Slayer smiled.
"Okay, but we're still caring about the spiders here. Let's not forget the spiders," Willow blathered.
"Well, Giles said he was gonna look it up. We can hit the library before class," Faith started off in that direction. "Giles?" she called out as they entered.
"Maybe he's in the faculty room," Willow offered. After a moment the librarian stumbled out of the stacks, bewildered. "Hey, Giles!"
"Wakey, wakey!" Amy called to him.
"I was, uh, in the stacks. I got lost," Giles muttered.
"Did you find any theories on spiders coming out of books?" Xander asked, reaching around Willow's shoulder while wiggling his fingers. "Big, hairy, crawly..."
Willow let out a squeak and smacked him.
"It's funny if you're me," he told her.
Giles opted to ignore their antics, "I couldn't find anything, uh... particularly illuminating. Um, I think perhaps you'd best have a chat with Wendell himself."
"Will do," Faith nodded. "Are you okay? You seem out of it, but you were fine earlier."
"Oh, uh, yes. I'm fine, just tired, I guess," the Watcher smiled at her.
"Sorry about that," she returned the smile sheepishly.
"Quiet alright, and not your fault," he reassured her before returning to the stacks.
The teens headed off to find Wendell. He was sitting on a table in the quad outside.
"Hey, how are you?" Faith asked as they approached. He looked at her with a dazed expression. "You okay?"
"Good talking to ya, man," Xander patted the other boy on the back and turned to leave. Faith pulled him back.
"Do you guys want something?" Wendell asked after a moment.
"We just thought you might wanna talk about what happened," Amy said.
"You know, yesterday? With the spiders?" Willow clarified.
"I don't know what to say about that," Wendell shrugged.
Xander nodded, "There's nothing to say. You saw two hundred bugs, you Gonzoed, anybody would have."
"They're not insects. They're arachnids," Wendell corrected automatically.
"True, but I said bugs, not insects. That's a much wider category. And trust me we share your wiggins," the teen explained.
"I'm not afraid of spiders. I love 'em. They hate me," he shook his head.
"What do you mean, you love spiders?" Willow asked as the group sat down.
"I had the best collection in the tri-county area. Browns, tarantulas, black widows," his voice was filled with pride as he started explain but was filled with anger as he finished, "Then my folks shipped me off to wilderness camp. All my brother had to do was maintain their habitats. Instead he left their heat lamp on for a week. When I came home they were all dead. That's when the nightmares started."
"Nightmares?" Faith asked.
"It's always the same. I'm sitting in the classroom, teacher asks me to read something, I open up my book and then there they are. They're comin' after me. God, can you blame them after what I did?" Wendell rested his head in his hands.
"And that's how it happens? Every time?" Xander asked.
"Yesterday in class I thought I'd just nodded off again. But then everyone else started screaming, too," the other boy confirmed. The group of teens trooped off to Health class after the warning bell rang.
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Xander frowned at Faith as she dipped her broccoli in his nacho cheese sauce. "You know, that wouldn't be so annoying if we'd gone on a date."
"Isn't that what we're doing?"
"Uh, no," he shook his head. "This is school lunch in the quad, with our friends. Even I know this doesn't qualify as a date."
Amy and Willow nodded.
"So, I'm free Thursday night," the Slayer shrugged dipping another piece of broccoli.
"Hey, G-man," Xander greeted as the older man jogged up to their table.
"A girl was attacked in the basement," the Watcher explained as he caught his breath. "The custodian found her. Laura something."
"Egler?" Amy asked him.
"Yes, I believe so," the Watcher nodded. "Do you know her well?"
"Just to say hi to," Amy shrugged. "She's nice enough. She's a smoker, but she always makes sure the bathroom is empty before she lights up."
"Any witnesses?" Faith interjected.
Giles shook his head, "Only Laura."
"Here's hoping she saw what hit her," the Slayer slung her bag over her shoulder. "Amy, if we're not back …"
"Homework and notes for history," the witch finished.
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"Room 3016," Faith reminded Giles as she scanned the room numbers. Finding her room the pair knocked before entering. Faith grimaced at the cuts and bruises on Laura's face and arms. The girl looked up at them.
"Hey," Faith smiled as she set a 'get well' plant on the bedside table.
"Hi," Laura replied weakly.
"I hope we're not intruding, um..." Giles started. He took a quick glance around and found the name of the doctor in charge of Laura's care on a whiteboard.
"That's okay. I don't wanna be left alone," she assured him.
"You understand we're anxious to make sure this, this doesn't happen again," the Watcher said as sat in one of the available chairs.
Faith sat on the edge of the bed. "Can you tell us what happened?"
Laura nodded. "I was in the basement. I went down for a smoke. There was... someone there."
"Someone you knew or, or…" Giles hesitated it suggest the supernatural.
"I've never seen anything like it," Laura whispered.
"It?" Faith pressed. "Can you describe it?"
The girl floundered for a moment before tearing up and shaking her head.
The Slayer reached over and gripped her hand. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. The important thing is that you rest and heal up."
"Yes, Quite." Giles nodded.
"But, ah, if you remember anything, you can tell us. Even if seems weird," Faith added.
A nurse bustled in while Faith was talking, greeted Laura and began taking her vitals. "She needs her rest now."
The Watcher and Slayer started to leave when Laura said, "Lucky nineteen."
The pair turned around. Giles inquired, "I'm sorry?"
"It's what he said, right before... He said 'lucky nineteen'. That's weird, right?" the girl asked.
"Yeah, it is," Faith patted her leg. "Feel better."
"Take care," Giles added. Out in the hall he spotted Laura's doctor, "Is she going to be alright?"
"You family?"
"Friends," Faith responded.
"She's lucky. She'll recover just fine, with some physical therapy. She got off pretty easy," he murmured almost to himself.
"Easy?" Faith raised her eyebrows at him. "You have a different definition than I do."
"Well, the first one's still in a coma," the doctor indicated a room just down the hall.
"First one?" Faith asked not liking the sound of that at all.
"First victim," he clarified as they moved to peer in through the open door. "They found him a week ago. Exact same M.O. as the girl, only he's in worse shape. If he doesn't wake up soon..." the doctor trailed off and shook his head. "Somebody's gotta stop this guy."
"Somebody will," Giles all but growled.
As the pair left the hospital Faith grabbed Giles' arm, "I saw that boy just before the thing with Wendell."
"You've seen him at the school? Recently?" Giles asked for clarification.
Faith nodded, "A couple of other times too, but stuff always seems to happen and he slips away."
"He's been in a coma for a week. How can this be possible?"
"Answers are your territory. I just slay monsters," the girl quipped.
Giles favored her with an annoyed look. "There's astral projection…"
"Spirit walking while asleep," Faith pursed her lips. "A coma is like sleep, right?"
"Uh, well, um, in theory, but as usual, one doesn't have an inordinate amount of information to work with."
"Well, let's get you back to the library so you can look stuff up."
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Xander and Willow were headed to their lockers, ignoring the bravado of a group of wanna be toughs. "I'm just saying," Willow theorized, "Wendell had a dream and then that exact thing happened."
"Which is a fair wiggins, I admit," Xander nodded, "but do you think that ties in with Laura?"
"I dunno. Maybe she dreamed about getting beat up. We should ask Faith when she gets back from the hospital," the redhead shrugged.
The pair snickered as the doting mother of one of the toughs came in and embarrassed her 'little pookie'.
"It could be a coincidence," Xander offered as they entered their class. "Y'know, Wendell finds a spider's nest, and we all wig because he dreamt about spiders. So it may not be connected."
Instinctively, Xander froze at the first peal of laughter. A sudden dip in temperature and an odd sensation swept over him.
Willow glanced around frantically seeking the source of the students' amusement. Her best friend was presently only wearing his boxers. "Xander!" was all she could say before the boy bolted from the room chanting 'Gotta wake up,' and pinching himself. Willow dashed after him.
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Giles sat at the study table staring at a stack of newspapers. "This can't be happening. This can't be," the librarian muttered. The words were gibberish, but he had found an article with a picture of the boy from the hospital. Giles sighed in frustration as Faith returned from the stacks with a book on astral projection. "Read this for me," he pushed the paper at her.
"Twelve-year-old Billy Palmer was found beaten and unconscious after his kiddie league game Saturday. Doctors describe his condition as critical," Faith read aloud. "Check it out, the photo, he's number nineteen. Lucky nineteen."
Xander burst into the library pulling on his gym shirt, "Red alert!"
"Wh, where are your other clothes," Giles stammered.
"Oh, don't I wish I had the answer to that question," the teen snarled.
"Xander kinda found himself in front of our class not wearing much of anything," Willow grinned smugly.
"Except my underwear," he muttered.
"It's funny if you're me," she told him.
Xander frowned, "Nudity is a whole other level, Wills. It's a total nightmare."
Willow's eyes lit up, "Yeah, Xander! It's your nightmare! Like with Wendell, he had a recurring dream about spiders!"
Giles snapped his fingers, "I-I dreamt that I got lost in the stacks and I, I couldn't read. Of course!"
"You read like three languages," Faith snorted.
"Five, actually," he responded off handedly.
"So, our dreams are coming true?" Faith asked, paling slightly.
"Dreams? That would be a musical comedy version of this. Nightmares, our, our nightmares are coming true," the Watcher corrected.
"So, why is this happening?" Willow wondered.
"Billy," Faith and Giles answered together.
"Well, that explanation was shorter than usual," Xander snarked. He turned to Willow, "It's Billy!" He then back to the pair ton ask, "Who's Billy?"
"Astral-projecting-coma boy," Faith summarized their working theory.
"Worst superhero name ever," Xander said, deadpan. He received only sour looks as response. "Sorry."
"So, he's, he's accidentally bringing our nightmares to life?" Willow asked.
"Thanks a bunch, Billy," Xander groused.
"How can he do that?" the redhead pressed.
"Things like that are easy when you live on a Hellmouth," Giles informed them. "We need to find Billy and see if we can stop this."
"I'll go look for him, since I'm the only one that has seen him. You three, and Amy when she gets out of class, look up ways to counter astral projecting and the like," Faith said in her Slayer-in-charge tone.
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Out in the hall, she passed Cordelia trying desperately to run a comb through impossibly frizzy hair. Faith dashed through the teeming mass of students as they shambled to their next class. Finally, she spotted Billy headed to the gym.
When she arrived the Slayer found him on the bleachers, looking glum. "Billy?" she called out. The boy looked up at her as she approached. "Billy Palmer?"
He nodded in response.
Faith to a seat next to him, "I'm Faith. Hi."
"Hi."
"Do you know what's going on?" the Slayer asked.
"I'm sorry," Billy replied.
Faith put her arm around his shoulders, "Nah, it's not your fault, squirt. Do you remember what happened after your game?"
Billy ran his hands through his hair and scrunched up his face, "Something bad. I, I don't remember."
"Take it easy, don't stress out. You remember playing baseball?"
He nodded, "I play second base."
"And you're 'lucky nineteen,' right?"
"That's what he calls me," Billy whispered.
"Who?" the Slayer pressed.
"The Ugly Man. He wants to kill me. A-and he hurt that girl," Billy whimpered.
"Why does he want to kill you, Billy?"
"He's," Billy paused and Faith squeezed his shoulder gently. "He's here!"
A tall, hulking figure in dark clothing with a bald head and deformed, burnt face rushed at them. He swung wildly at Faith with a club like stump. Faith ducked below the swing, "Strike one." The Slayer landed a salvo of body shots before flipping backwards to avoid another swing. "Strike two." As she moved back in the club like limb arched up to knock her away. Faith spun to the side and used her momentum to execute a spinning wheel kick to his jaw. "Strike three."
The Slayer's grin slipped from her face as she saw that the ugly man was unfazed. In her momentary lapse he struck. Her world went red, then black.
Faith watched as the savage girl from her nightmares tore into the ugly man. She clawed at his face. She pounded at his chest. She twisted his limbs. It slowed him, but did not stop him. Faith turned and ran tailing Billy out the door.
"Billy!" She called to the fleeing boy as she wedged a hockey stick through the door handles.
"I'm sorry, I can't help it," the boy stopped to let her catch up.
"Not your fault. Who is he?"
"He's the Ugly Man," Billy replied.
Faith gave him a sad smile. "We have to find my friends. They're trying to find a way to stop this. To stop him."
"We have to hide," the boy insisted.
"He'll find us," Faith dismissed the suggestion.
"Yes, but we have to hide. That's how it happens. We hide, and then he comes," Billy explained.
Faith nodded, "We'll hide in the library."
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Amy checked her texts as soon as the bell rang. Willow had messaged her during class; whatever was happening, it was likely psychic in nature. The witch dashed to her locker to get the Scapulas of Protection as they would help ward off general bad mojo.
As Amy walked to the library she watched Cordelia being dragged into the chess club. She was wearing the worst outfit the witch had ever seen: a pale green ankle length wool skirt, a chunky belt and an oversized white blouse with a hideous deflated bow around her neck. It was a parody of frump. Amy couldn't help but laugh.
"Amy," a voice called out to her.
She looked about to see where it was coming from. The basement door shut softly drawing her attention. The witch opened it.
"Amy," the voice called out again.
"Dark creepy basement where a girl was nearly beaten to death? Nope!" Amy slammed the door. "No thanks, I choose life!" she turned and ran to the library. "I hate slasher movies, anway."
In what Amy could only describe as a spatial rift Willow was standing on a stage with guy that looked like Pavarotti. He would sing a line of Italian, and turn impatiently to Willow who would squeak.
Xander was brawling with a clown. Not even a demonic one, just a birthday clown.
Giles stumbled over to her, "Thank god you're here. We need to find Faith."
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Faith and Billy burst through a pair of doors that normally led to the hallway containing the library. Today, however, they just dumped them back outside on the other side of the gym, by the track field. A couple of students were playing a pick game of Baseball.
Billy stared intently at them.
"What's wrong, squirt?" Faith asked as she assessed their surroundings.
"When you lose, it's bad," Billy told her.
"Did you lose your game last week?" the Slayer asked.
Billy nodded, "It was my fault."
"How was it your fault?" she pressed.
"I missed a ball and I should have caught it," he turned back to the game.
"You missed one ball and the whole game was your fault?" Faith asked. "I have a hard time buying that. Were the bases loaded? Did no one else miss a ball, ever? Everyone hit tons of home runs?"
"He said it was my fault."
"Who?" Faith asked. "What moron thinks that the outcome of a kiddie league game rests solely on the second baseman?"
"Can we go another way to find your friends?" Billy asked uncomfortably.
"Yeah, sure. We can try around the cafeteria." Faith steered him in that direction as the ugly man rounded the corner and punched a student out. "Or not. This way!" She pushed Billy ahead of her through some shrubbery.
On the other side was a cemetery shrouded in a light fog. The night sky glittered overhead.
"Is this where your friends are?" Billy asked
"No," Faith sighed. "Library. If you need to run, head for the library. Got it?"
Billy nodded.
"Upside: I don't see the Ugly Man. Downside: I also don't know where the sun and the rest of the world went," the Slayer frowned.
Billy wandered over to a freshly dug grave with an open pine coffin inside. "Look at this," He called Faith over. "I guess we're gonna bury someone. I wonder who died."
"Nobody died," a dry voice answered from behind them. "What's the fun of burying someone if they're already dead?"
Faith stared in shock at the bat-faced vampire, "No."
"So! This is the Slayer! You're prettier than the last one," the Master chuckled.
"This isn't real. You're just a nightmare," Faith backed away. "Billy, run."
"You still don't understand, do you? I am free because you fear it. Because you fear it, the world is crumbling. Your nightmares are made flesh. You have little Billy to thank for that," the demon gestured at the retreating boy with one clawed hand.
"This isn't my nightmare," the Slayer moved into a fighting stance. "It's yours."
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"You are a lousy clown! Your balloon animals are pathetic! Everyone can make a giraffe!" Xander stood triumphant over his foe. "I feel good! I feel liberated!"
"Things are getting worse. In a few hours reality will fold completely into the realm of nightmares," Giles informed them.
"Thank you, Captain Buzz-kill," the teen returned as he pulled Willow from the stage and draped her scapula around her shoulders. "What do we do to stop it?"
"The only thing I can think is to try and wake Billy," the Watcher adjusted his glasses.
"So we rendezvous with our Slayer and high tail it to the hospital," the raven haired boy opened the door for the rest to troop through.
"Finding her in this mess will be easier said than done," Giles murmured as he frowned at the chaos before them. Nightmares from the tame to the truly horrifying were menacing the population.
"Not really," Amy countered. "We just look for the biggest piece of hell that broke loose and search that."
"Like that cemetery across the street. The one where it's night time?" Willow pointed to the front doors. The group ran out and through another spatial rift into the cemetery. "Whose nightmare is this?"
Giles dropped to his knees in front of an open grave. The head stone bore Faith's name. "It's mine. I've failed. In my duty to protect you, I should have been more c-cautious; Taken more time to train you. But you were so gifted. And the evil was so great. I'm sorry."
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Faith tried call out to them, but her words didn't reach them. The savage girl stalked toward her friends. Faith ran over to them. She tried grabbing them. She tried pulling them away. She tried pushing them. She tried yelling and screaming. The savage girl stalked closer.
Desperately she lunged at the savage girl; tackling her to the ground. Faith grabbed the savage girl's hair, "Stay away from my family!" she punctuated each word with a powerful blow.
"Oikogéneiá," the savage girl gasped. Suddenly she bucked beneath the Slayer. Faith fell forward as the savage girl seized her arms. With a twist of her hips she rolled them sideways. Now above Faith, she held the Slayer down with one hand. The savage girl pressed her other forearm against the Slayer's neck and growled, "Kakistos skótose tin oikogéneiá mou!"
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Xander turned motion caught his eye. "Faith!" he called out. The Slayer stood motionless a few steps from them staring blankly at Giles. "Are you okay?"
Giles stood quickly and pulled Xander back when he made to approach her, "She's not… It's not her, Xander. Get Willow and Amy out of here. Now."
"We aren't leaving Faith."
"That's not Faith."
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Faith's lungs burned. Her head pounded. Her vision dimmed. She punched ineffectively, scratched desperately. As instincts failed her Giles' training kicked in. Faith planted her feet and arched up. Tipping to the side she managed to dislodge the savage girl. Blindly, Faith shoved her opponent's head to the ground. She caught a glimpse of a small tribal tattoo on the savage girl's arm as she scrambled away.
"I won't let you hurt them!" Faith screamed. "I'm the Slayer! One girl in all the world with the strength and skill to stop the spread of vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. But I'm not alone! And I won't let you hurt them!"
{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}
Nightmarish seconds stretched out before the Watcher but the change he fears does not come. In fact, there was no change in his Slayer at all save for the evening out of her breath. Giles stepped closer, reached a tentative hand out to Faith. She did not react as he took hold of her wrist and felt for a pulse.
Steady but slow, her blood pumped through her veins. Her skin was warm, but only just. "Perhaps she astral projected trying to follow Billy!" Giles surmised. "Faith, you must return to your body! There, there should be a link between it and you. Please Faith, you must hurry!"
Xander looked deep into the Slayer's unseeing eyes, "Come on, Faith. Come back to me. We got a date on Thursday. I know a place that does the best barbecue."
Faith blinked repeatedly her eyes focusing a little more each time, "I love barbecue."
"Love you, too," Xander pecked her on the cheek.
"Time for that later," Giles admonished as he herded the teens out of the cemetery. "We need to get to the hospital and wake Billy. That should put an end to all this."
Faith nodded at her Watcher.
{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}
The hospital was chaos. Multiple grim reapers chased people with scythes. Patients foamed at the mouth. Windows were busted out. Paper was strewn everywhere.
Faith shoved passed a doctor near Billy's room, screaming at his hands. "What now?"
"Um," Giles staggered in and leaned down to the boy. "Billy!"
"That won't work," the boy said. He had appeared next to the window.
"You have to wake up," Giles told him.
"No. I told her. I have to hide," Billy insisted.
"Why? From what?" Giles asked.
"From him!" Faith growled.
The Ugly Man was making his way down the hall.
"I've been having an off day, but I think I can handle a rematch, slugger," the Slayer closed the distance rapidly. She bore him to the ground and captured his club arm in an arm bar. Planting her feet on his shoulder and ribs Faith pulled with all her strength.
It sounded like branches breaking. There was an underlying wet ripping noise. The monster thrashed as Faith kipped up, holding its arm in one hand. She slammed the blunt club down on its face.
"I-is he dead?" Billy asked.
"Not quite," Faith gestured him over, "You gotta do the honors, squirt."
"I, I don't..." the boy stammered.
"It's the only way to end it," Faith insisted.
Billy slowly moved around the bed and out into the hall. The Ugly Man lay at the Slayer's feet, bleeding profusely.
"No more hiding," Faith whispered.
Billy reached for the Ugly Man's neck. He peeled back his face like a rubber mask on a Scooby-doo villain and a bright light flooded out.
In the next instant everything was back to normal. The Ugly Man was gone, Xander and Willow were back in their regular clothes and the hospital was functioning.
"Hey," Xander said grinning, "he's waking up!"
"I had the strangest dream," Billy croaked. Amy offered him a glass of water. "And you were in it, and you... Who are you people?"
Faith came in and sat on the edge of his bed, "The cavalry."
"Let's get a doctor," Giles turned to leave.
"Oh! Huh. Billy's got company," an out of shape man in his forties stepped into the room. He took off his red baseball cap. "I'm his kiddie league coach. I come by here every day, just hoping against hope that he's gonna wake up soon. He's, uh, my lucky nineteen," the man stammered. "So, um, how is he?"
"Awake," Faith sneered at the man.
"What?" the coach asked.
"You blamed him for losing the game," Faith stalked forward. "So you caught up with him afterwards, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?" the man stammered, backing up with each word he said.
"You said that it was my fault that we lost," Billy spoke up.
The coach made a break for it but found his escape blocked by the other four. Xander grabbed him by the lapels and gave him a firm shake.
"It wasn't my fault," Billy continued. "There's eight other players on the team. You know that!" he slumped against the pillows.
"Good job, squirt," the Slayer smiled at him.
{FtVS}{FtVS}{FtVS}
"Faith," Giles called her into the living room.
"Yeah, G?"
"I, I'd like to discuss your nightmare, if that's, if that's alright."
"I guess. What did you wanna know?"
"Start at the beginning and tell me everything."
Faith fought valiantly against her tears as she described seeing herself attacking him. They fell as she described the terror of seeing the savage girl approach her friends. She furiously wiped them away as she told him about tackling the girl in desperation. "I'm not even sure how I got back in my body. One minute I'm yelling at her to stay away from you guys and the next Xander's telling me he knows a great barbecue joint."
"You conquered your fear." Giles gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.
"I'm still worried," Faith confessed.
"Yes, well, I shall look into it. Is there any other detail you might have?"
Faith thought for a moment. Nodding she told him, "She did say something. Taquitos skoda city echo yen ya moo."
"That is just awful, truly. Utterly terrible," Giles stared at her.
"Yeah, yeah. But do you know what it means?" the Slayer arched her eyebrows.
"Not a clue. Are you sure it was skoda and not skótose?"
"That sounds right," Faith admitted.
"Oikogéneiá, Perhaps?" Faith nodded. "It's Greek…although if I'm not mistaken taquitos is Hispanic in origin."
"It might not have been taquitos, then."
"Katistos?" Giles inquired.
"Yeah! That's it. What is it?"
Giles paled as a sudden realization hit him. "It's not an it but a who. He's a very fearsome vampire. The sentence should read Kakistos skótose tin oikogéneiá mou. Or roughly translated Kakistos killed my family. In Greek, Kakistos means 'the worst of the worst'. A vampire so old his hands and feet are cloven. His human guise has all but fled him at this point."
"Oh, well yeah that makes more sense." Faith said, nodding.
"Quite. I would have been hard pressed trying to figure out the riddle of 'Taquitos killed my family," He said, flatly.
"Maybe if we were researching Taco Bell." Faith offered. "You hungry? 'Cuz now I want Mexican food."