A/N: Welcome to the latest chapter!


Bring Me To Life - A Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel Crossover Event

Part 3 - Revisiting


The Story of the Human Race is War

- Winston Churchill


1630 Revello Drive - Sunnydale, CA

Later that Day


"Cross-block! Kick!"

"YAAH!" the echo of dozens of teenage girls sounded throughout the backyard of the Summers residence.

"Left-block COMBO!" Kennedy barked, marching along the line of Slayers-in-Training, or Potential Slayers, as she surveyed each individual girl. Examined their weaknesses, and their strengths.

"KY-AAH!" the girls roared back. The Potentials were lined up in rows, girls of many races, and so many different nationalities. England. France. Russia. China. South Africa. Australia. Peru. The Philippines. Tibet. The North American Wilderness. Japan. Iraq. Israel.

Potential Slayers - girls of different cultures, who normally would have never given each other the time of day; who would have grown up hating each other, in some cases even killing each other. They were here, now, though…working side by side.

Training with each other. Eating with each other. Preparing each other for the biggest task of their young adolescent lives: the battle for survival.

For themselves. For the Slayer legacy. For the fate of the world itself.

For total war. Against the ultimate evil.

The First Evil.

"All right, hold it!" Kennedy made a slashing hand signal. Immediately, the other girls ceased their actions, and fell into a military-like attention stance.

Kennedy walked up to one of the S-i-Ts, an Irish girl named Sandra, and crinkled her nose in disgust. "You call that training, Potential? That combo was weak!" Kennedy shouted into the stoic face of the younger girl, who was perhaps no older than fifteen.

"Ma'am! Sorry, ma'am!" the younger girl shouted back, her Irish brogue coloring her voice. "Me foot's fallen asleep from the angle I slept in last night, ma'am!"

Kennedy, nodding her head, smirked. "Oh, I see…do you know the kind of angle you sleep in when you die, Potential?"

"No, ma'am!" the younger girl barked back, her voice sounding slightly confused.

"Doesn't matter…'cause you're DEAD!" Kennedy yelled, leaning into Sandra's face. "We're not here to kiss your boo-boo! We're here to train for WAR!

"If you hurt, TRAIN HURT! If you're scared, TRAIN SCARED! If you're tired, TRAIN TIRED! If I EVER see you do another half-assed combo like that again, I will personally bury my foot SO far up your ass, your CHILDREN will be born tasting sneakers!"

The younger girl gulped, nervously, yet remained with her stoic face. "Yes ma'am! Sorry, ma'am! Won't happen again, ma'am!"

Kennedy returned to the head of the group. "All right! The rest of you, pair off with your usual partners. Exercise Number 657, Block-Roundhouse-elbow smash-arm throw! And I better see some DAMN good executions, or there's gonna be some MAJOR ass-kicking!"

The girls quickly formed into their pairs and began the exercises. Not far away at the Summers porch, Willow sat there, next to her new compatriot.

"So, whaddaya think?" the redhead asked. "Every S-i-T from around the world is holed up here in casa del Summers."

Faith sat there, looking pensive, taking in the scene before her. "Hmm."

"Hmm?" Willow echoed. "Is that a 'wow, we got a great army' hmm, or 'this-is-the-saddest-group-of-little-girls-I've-ever-seen' hmm?"

"More like a 'what-the-hell-are-those-girls-going-through?' hmm," Faith said. "Boy. This First guy must've really stuck it to you people, huh?"

"Well, technically, the First Evil doesn't have a gender," Willow sighed. "But yeah, the last six months have been pretty rough. Not just for those girls, for all of us."

"I can relate," the dark-haired Slayer nodded, thinking back to her actions in LA just a few days earlier.

Willow smiled teasingly. "Yeah, well, considering that up until a week ago, you were locked up in a maximum security prison while we've been fighting the ultimate Big Bad this whole time, I'd say you got off easy, little lady."

"Screw off, Rosenberg," Faith jokingly replied. "At least you haven't been thrown around by a giant walking, talking, horn-headed demonic slag-heap 'til your ribs broke, THEN gotten the living hell beat out of you by the psycho vampire alter-ego of your best friend, THEN had to fight for your life in a drug-induced mental mindwalk in said best friend's mind, while your Jiminy Cricket is said best friend's psycho vampire alter-ego. All in just the first hundred hours of freedom."

"Still think you got off easy," Willow chuckled.

It had surprised Willow how easily she had bonded with Faith in the long drive back to Sunnydale. Because all things considered, the former rogue Slayer and the powerful witch had never had a good relationship.

Especially considering how Faith had slept with Willow's life-long crush, Xander, and sided with the Mayor before and after his Ascension, not to mention stealing Buffy's body when she came out of an eight-month coma…and, of course, there was that whole bit where Faith had held a knife to Willow's throat and threatened to kill her, not the kind a thing a girl forgets.

But they had both convened in LA with a common goal: to save their friend Angel's soul and defeat his murderous alter-ego, Angelus. Coupled with the fact that they had a common enemy in the First, and that it had been three years since they last saw each other, the car had been a chatter-box all the way back to the Hellmouth.

Willow clearly saw that Faith had changed. Gone was the sleazy, care-free, hump-anything-that-walks vixen she remembered from high school. Well, more or less, anyway. Instead, she was calmer, less cocky, more sensitive to feelings…hell, Willow was even starting to like the Boston girl.

"Still," Faith returned her gaze back to the Potentials. "I'm getting the idea why B's über-freaked." She paused, looking out towards the sea of teenage Potentials. "Those girls look scared, Red. And if this thing's really trying to get rid of the Slayer sisterhood like you said, then they're gonna have to get real good, real fast."

"Buffy's theme of the day," Willow sighed. "Well, it'll get better. Now that you're here. I mean, I know you had that whole bit when you were, y'know, evil, but you're still a good fighter. A great fighter. I mean, you took down Angelus…and Angel's son, Connor. Not bad for someone who's been incarcerated for three years, huh?"

"Willow, what do ya think I've been doing in jail all this time? Sitting on my well-toned ass and baking cookies?" Faith asked incredulously. "Let me tell you…all of that stuff you've heard about women's prisons? All that crap on 'Oz' that they show on HBO? Add that, plus a couple of special knife weapons, and you'll be closer to the truth."

"Everything?" Willow's voice teemed with curiosity. There was a question that played on her lips. "So…in the shower…?"

"Big time," Faith snorted. "The first few weeks I was there, every lesbo and mullet-head was trying to make a fish diet outta me…had to put about ten of 'em in the Emergency Room before everyone else got the point that I was off the menu."

"Wow," Willow whistled. "Remind me never to hit on you."

"Not unless you want to get hit on," Faith smirked playfully.

Both girls chuckled, then paused, realizing the double-entendre of that last comment. Both shook their heads quickly.

"Wait, back up a second. Special knife weapons?" Willow raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Faith shrugged. "Some burly bitch named Deb tried to off me the day before I escaped. First time that's happened in a while…she snuck in some weirdo fancy knife. Not just any old knife, either. It had a gold handle, some rubies on it…looked pretty expensive."

Willow's inner alarm went off immediately. "Wait a minute," she said, opening up her palm, facing Faith. "The knife…did it look anything like this?"

As she said this, an image magically appeared in the Wiccan's palm. An image of a sharp, curved knife with a golden handle and rubies adorning the sides.

Faith's eyes widened. "That's it! Damn, Red, how did you know that?"

Willow sighed. "Uh, Faith, it looks like the First targeted you after all. That knife this 'Deb' person used…it's the exact same one the Bringers use."

Faith's eyes narrowed, realizing the implication of the statement. "So the First did try to off me," she mused quietly, feeling rather annoyed that no one had bothered to warn her that she might be a target.

"Like a burned out light switch," Willow said. "Yeah, uh, we should have warned you, I guess? Sorry. B-but…at least you made it here okay…unlike some Potentials who…weren't quite so lucky."

"It should have chosen someone better to finish me off," Faith said, maintaining a calm face, but a gleam in her eyes indicating smoldering rage. "'Cause now that I'm here…I'm gonna kick its incorporeal ass all the way back to where it came from."

"Assuming we ever find out where that might be," Willow sighed again.

"We'll find out," Faith said, a hint of optimism creeping into her voice. "And when we do…" she trailed off, gently pounding her left fist into the open palm of her right hand.

"You'll go all 'Chosen One' on its ass?" Willow smiled impishly.

"Like it was an overweight vamp with a limp," Faith nodded. "Say, I'm kinda thirsty. There anything to drink in the fridge?"

"There's soda, enough water to last for a year…oh! And we have some fruit punch squished in the back," Willow replied. "Help yourself."

"Will do," Faith nodded, standing up. "You sure the others aren't back yet?"

"Yeah. But they'll be back soon, though," Willow said. "Faith...watch yourself, okay? I'd rather you be with me when I explain that you're…you know…not in jail anymore, and you've come here to help us fight the First. In retrospect, it probably woulda been a better idea to let Buffy know where I was going and, uh, who I was bringing back..."

Faith wryly grinned. "Works in theory, Red. You want anything to drink?"

"No, thanks. I'm good," Willow smiled.

"No, Red. You're the best," Faith winked, before disappearing inside.

Willow barely had time to grin at Faith's unexpected compliment, before a girl's wailing called her attention back to the training Potentials.

"That's what happens when you don't move FAST enough, maggot!" Kennedy snarled. She stood over the fallen body of a quivering Potential, clutching her stomach on the ground in obvious pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sooo sorry, I'll do it better next time -"

Her sentence was cut off as Kennedy blasted her foot into the girl's stomach, making her squeal in pain and fright.

"What makes you think you'll GET a next time, Potential?" Kennedy barked down on her. "You try that in the field, and you're DEAD! You DON'T get second chances to do it RIGHT!"

Molly, the British Potential, spoke up, feeling concerned about the beating one of her peers was taking. "Kennedy, don't you think you're being a bit hard on her? I mean, this is verging on being barbaric -"

"SHUT UP!" Kennedy whirled on the pretty Slayer-in-Training. "You just focus on your exercise, Molly! And that had better be the last time you EVER address me by name while you're training!"

Rona had had just about enough. "Chill out, Kennedy!" the black Potential spoke up. "She wasn't even that slow to begin with. I get that you're in charge of the workouts, but you don't have the right to -"

"When I'm training the rest of you PISSANTS, I have the right to do whatever the hell I want!" Kennedy glowered at her fellow Potential. "You've got something to say about that, Rona?"

"Yeah, maybe I do," the dark-skinned girl stared back, unflinchingly, at the taller girl.

KR-AACK!

Rona crumpled like a sack of dead leaves onto the ground, clutching her jaw. The other girls gasped in horror as Kennedy cracked her knuckles, scowling over the black girl.

"That change your perspective?" Kennedy demanded.

"Kennedy! What the hell are you doing?" Willow asked, aghast at her girlfriend's behavior. "You're taking this way too far -"

"Stay out of this, Willow!" Kennedy snapped back at the object of her affections. "Just because we're dating now DOESN'T mean you can just stick your nose in business that doesn't concern you! This is Slayer business!"

Willow flinched at the harshness of the comment, obviously hurt.

Kennedy turned back to the rest of the Potentials. "Anyone else? Huh?" she challenged them, her fists up ready for an attack. "Anyone of you sorry bunch of pansy-asses think you can take me? C'MON! Speak UP, already!"

"Speaking," a female voice drawled from behind her.

Kennedy turned to find a girl she had never seen before standing near the porch, on the steps, just a notch or two below where Willow was standing. Dark hair, tight black leather pants, burgundy red top and a black jean jacket were her attire. Her arms were folded against her chest, but she casually leaned against the pillar of the porch. And the glint in her eyes displayed a sort of cockiness that could be almost intimidating.

"Who the hell are you?" Kennedy spat out in disgust.

Willow opened her mouth to tell her, but Faith shot her a look and shook her head. Getting the message, Willow closed her mouth and stayed silent.

"Not a pansy-ass, that's for sure, cherry," Faith said in a lazy drawl.

"What did you just call me?" the 19-year-old girl asked as she stepped forward, her fists balled at her sides.

Faith chuckled, shaking her head, clearly unimpressed. "Listen, uh…Kennedy, right? You might want to ease up on the attitude here, you know? I mean, look at 'em. You got those girls so scared they probably can't even pee right."

Kennedy's eyes narrowed. "I don't know who you are, or who in the hell you think you are, but I'm not taking instructions on how to run my training sessions from some leather-clad slut who couldn't find her street corner to work at!"

Faith raised an eyebrow. "Slut, huh?" she said, her voice still with that laid-back South Boston twang. "Well, you know where I come from…we've got a saying. 'One rotten apple spoils the bunch. Two rotten apples…and the picker's the rotten one'."

Kennedy's eyes widened in anger. "You got something to say to -"

"Just said it, sweet thang," Faith smirked.

Willow finally moved to break up the potential brawl between the two alpha females. "Hey, hey, hey!" the redhead interjected with a pleading look on her face. "Guys, come on, I-I-I mean…Kennedy, I'm sure that Faith was just offering some constructive, albeit slightly instigative, criticism. I mean, we all want to make these girls bet -"

"Faith?" Kennedy scoffed, interrupting. "What kind of granola-crunching, New Age crappy name is that? What, were Moonbeam and Charity taken already?"

Faith still didn't alter that lazy grin she'd managed to perfect over time. "Ooooh! We got us a wildcat on our hands here, Will." She took a step closer to the younger, slightly taller girl. "But you know what they say, hot stuff…."

Faith stopped only when she got within a hair's breath of Kennedy. "Don't go talkin' the talk if you can't be walkin' the walk."

"You want a piece of me, skankwad?" Kennedy's voice gained an edge.

"Hell, yeah…rookie," Faith emphasized the last part with as much irritating arrogance as she could muster.

Kennedy saw red. "Rookie, huh?" And then she lashed out with a strong punch at Faith's face…

…who simply ducked out of the way with effortless ease.

"C'mon, K! I've seen one-armed vamps punch faster than that!" Faith snorted.

Kennedy responded by throwing another punch, with the same useless result. Kennedy moved towards the Slayer, throwing a series of punches, jabs, uppercuts, cross-kicks, back kicks, sidekicks and roundhouse kicks. Faith nimbly avoided every attempt at physical attack, her grin never leaving her face.

The other Potentials watched in awe as this new girl, someone whom none of them had ever seen before, held her own, and maybe more so, against their trainer, the strongest of all the Potential Slayers.

Letting out a frustrated cry, the hot-headed S-i-T launched herself at Faith with a flying kick aimed right at the Slayer's head. Faith effortlessly ducked under it, resulting in Kennedy's foot connecting with…

…the bark of the big tree rooted in the Summers backyard.

Kennedy's foot was deeply lodged into the tree. Her eyes widened in surprise and her face reddened with embarrassment as she budged and pulled at her foot, attempting to get it free from the bark.

Faith casually leaned against the tree, chuckling. "Way to go there, rookie. That tree never knew what hit it! Ever consider a career as a lumberjack? I'd bet you'd really be a terror up in the Great White North -"

Kennedy grunted angrily as she dislodged her foot and resumed her fast-paced, but futile attack on the more experienced, powerful Faith.

Willow shook her head in embarrassment for Kennedy. Her girlfriend honestly didn't know who and what she was up against. When at the top of her game, Faith could tangle with the best of them - Buffy, Angel, even the Beast - and have a shot at winning. As good as Kennedy was for her age, there was a reason why she was a Potential Slayer…and why Faith was The Slayer.

The younger girl began to slow down, obviously getting tired keeping up with Faith's high-energy pace. Eventually Kennedy tried a backhanded forearm, which Faith caught with one hand.

"My turn, now," Faith grinned wickedly.

She gave a swift kick to the girl's left kneecap, causing Kennedy to cry out in pain. Faith followed up with a quick twist of the girl's right arm she'd blocked, bending it back - not enough to break it, but enough to cause Kennedy uncomfortable pain. Faith then sent two hard, swift roundhouse kicks to the girl's stomach and upper torso before flipping Kennedy onto her back.

Kennedy was obviously dazed, Faith noted. "Maybe you oughta think about calling it a day, huh, K?"

Kennedy flipped up on her feet, and threw a wild sidekick at the girl. Faith caught it, again. "Girl's got spunk -"

And then she swept the other leg out from under her, knocking the Potential back down, groaning in pain.

"But not a lotta brains," Faith shrugged.

No sooner had the words left her mouth, than a powerful blow smashed across her face, crumpling the curvaceous brunette Slayer to the ground.

Faith shook her head quickly, before looking up at her attacker. When she saw who it was, all she could do was smirk.

"Hey, B," Faith grinned slyly, wiping a trickle of blood away from her nose. "Been a long time."

Above her, standing with her arms folded across her chest, stood an intimidating, scowling Buffy Summers. Faith made a mental note as to how Buffy still had a killer fashion sense. Decked out in her gray silk shirt, tight black jeans and platforms, Buffy had a look easily made for either "Bronzing it" with her friends, or patrolling for vamps.

"For some of us, maybe," the blonde Slayer said dangerously.

The two former foes stared at each other from their respective positions for a while, a number of expressions passing across the blonde's face before she turned to face Willow; and upon seeing the redhead's expression of combined guilt and apprehension, Buffy rolled her eyes, made an educated guess and then extended her hand to Faith. The dark-haired Slayer accepted with ease.

"Well, it's nice to see you started off the same way you did in Sunnydale the last time," Buffy sardonically told her sister Slayer. "Causing fights and leaving a mess in your wake. In MY house. Again." The Slayer's eyes slid to the busted open tree trunk.

"Hey, hey, I didn't actually start anything," Faith raised her hands defensively. "G.I. Jane here attacked me."

"That is SO not true!" Kennedy said, lifting herself off the grass, clutching the small of her back. "She started it, Buffy! She came after me! Willow can back me up, she saw everything!"

All eyes turned to Willow, whose expression resembled something of a deer trapped in headlights. "Huh?" she squeaked out.

"Willow? Is that true?" Buffy looked to her best friend for the deciding vote.

Willow's mouth curved up into the right corner. She had her 'thoughtful face' on. She had learned how to perfect many faces over the years. Like her 'resolve face' and her 'cranky face'.

"Well, uh…you DID kinda throw the first punch, Kennedy," Willow said hesitantly. "Not to mention your beating up on the trainees..."

"Willow!" Kennedy exclaimed, shocked.

"Told ya," Faith smiled.

Buffy sighed. "Okay, whatever. Can we please NOT smash any more things on my property while we're preparing for the ultimate battle?"

"Buffy, are you just going to let some Potential slut-bag walk in here and treat me like that?" Kennedy demanded hot-headedly.

Buffy and Faith exchanged a look with each other, before both started snickering slightly. Kennedy was confused as to what they found to be so amusing, while she was aching all over.

"What the hell is so funny?" demanded the irritated Potential.

"Look, Kennedy? Next time you try starting a fight with someone - first off, make sure she's not a Slayer," Buffy snorted.

Kennedy's jaw dropped and her eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of their sockets. She did a very good impersonation of a fish out of water, actually.

"A Slay…d-d-did you just say -" the normally bold girl stammered.

"Yeah, Potential. As in Slayer, comma, THE," Faith smirked.

The other Potentials let out a gasp and murmurs ran through the crowd of underage girls.

"No, no way," Kennedy shook her head in denial. "There is no way in hell this piece of…this trailer-park white trash can be a Slayer!"

Buffy stepped closer to Kennedy, her grin instantly gone and her taking-care-of-business face slipped on. Kennedy had to gulp at the expression on Buffy's face.

"Faith and I aren't exactly friends, not anymore. But whatever she may have done in the past, she's still one of the Chosen crowd, just like me. So I strongly suggest you NEVER address a Slayer like that again…Potential," Buffy said, her voice hard like tempered steel.

"Listen carefully, Kennedy. You're not in charge here; I am. You're only in charge of training the Potentials, and even that's only until I say otherwise. I'm all for you helping out….but don't think for one second that I'm going to take any attitude from you. I didn't take it from the Council, and I'm certainly not going to take it from some girl who I could beat the crap out of just as easily as any vamp I meet at night," Buffy said in a no-nonsense tone.

"But I -"

"I'm still talking!" Buffy snapped, cutting her off. "Because I didn't appreciate how you stood up and said your piece the other night…about me being out of line? When I was addressing everyone to raise their game, after Chloe killed herself? Plus you tangling with Faith - maybe you don't get how close you came to a humiliating ass-kicking...but you should."

Kennedy stared back at her, still defiant but acknowledging someone else now had the power in this situation. Buffy continued, "The only one out of line here is you, Kennedy. Beating up your trainees? Mouthing off to me? Insulting someone you just met, and don't even know? All that stops right here, right now. You're in serious need of a reality check. And here it comes."

Kennedy looked on, listening intently, but her voice betraying nervousness. "What do you mean? What are you saying, exactly?"

"That I want you to focus more on your own training. You're the strongest of the girls here. Which is why you need to start developing faster, if I'm going to be able to count on you in battle." Buffy sighed. "Effective at the end of this session, you are no longer in charge of training the Potentials."

Kennedy took a step back, shocked. "Wh-what? You, you can't -"

"Can. Did." Buffy's tone of voice left no tone for argument. She glanced at Faith, and seemed to be satisfied with what she saw there. Turning back to Kennedy the senior Slayer said, "As good as you've gotten these girls, Kennedy, it's not enough. Not for what we're going up against. I need you, ALL of you, to start taking the training up to the next level. Which means I need someone else to train you and the rest. Someone with more experience. Someone who's a REAL Slayer."

"You?" Kennedy asked, her voice starting to thicken with hurt.

"Not me," Buffy shook her head. "I've got too much else happening right now, too many other things to do and prepare for."

Kennedy's eyes widened and she emphatically shook her head. "No…no, no, no, no, NO! Buffy, you're not gonna -"

But the elder Slayer was way ahead of her. "Everyone!" Buffy announced to the rest of the girls, who stood at attention. "I'd like you to meet your new trainer…" She turned to her sister Slayer. "Faith. The Vampire Slayer."

Faith stood there, speechless, as all eyes were trained to her. The brunette took a moment, surveyed the crowd, before grinning and saying the only thing she could thing to say at the moment.

"Wicked."

And despite knowing that Kennedy would freak out later on when they were alone, Willow couldn't help but to shake her head and smile.


Training had finished early for the day, it was decided. Afterwards Buffy, Willow, and Faith entered the kitchen of the Summers home, where Xander was busy making sandwiches for himself and Dawn.

Needless to say, when he saw Faith, Harris dropped the sandwich in shock.

"Faith. FAITH! Buffy, look out! Faith's escaped from jail!" he tried to warn his hero.

"You can relax, Xander," Willow chuckled nervously. "She's, uh…Faith's on our side now."

Harris blinked. "Really? Gosh, switching sides again?" Xander suddenly sneered, placing his hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Well, that makes me feel so much better. But hey, Faith, do me a favor? When you decide to go evil again, drop me a memo or something so that I know to lock my doors at night."

"Aw, gee. There was a time you didn't complain about being alone with me, boy-toy," Faith drawled, a seductive tone in her voice. "Even if it was only for around seven minutes or so."

Xander's face reddened and he scooped up the sandwich he'd dropped, nervously taking a big, Shaggy-sized bite of his sandwich. There was nothing he could say that would help there, and he knew it.

Buffy turned back to Faith. "What are you doing here, Faith?"

Faith raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "Uh…helping you out?"

"You're supposed to be in prison," Buffy pointed out, her voice even. "Somehow, I'm thinking Stockton Penitentiary didn't just decide to let you out for a leisurely stroll around town and some rasslin', while you're serving twenty-five-to-life for Murder Two."

"Alright, okay, so I had to bail," Faith sighed, before quickly adding, "But it was only because Angel needed my help."

Buffy's eyes widened at the name. Even just the mention of her ex-lover's name could make her heart start pounding a little quicker, her skin a little warmer.

"A-Angel?" she asked, stunned. "He's in trouble?"

"Was in trouble," Willow said quickly and reassuringly. "Faith…I…we helped him out."

Confusion set on Buffy's face, and then it hit her. "LA. That's where you went two days ago." Her face soured. "Thanks for telling me about that, by the way. Way to keep me informed, Will!"

Willow fought the urge to cringe. "Well, I-I know that it was wrong, and-and that it goes completely against the first commandment in the Code-of-Best-Friends Handbook - but you said it yourself, Buffy. This is war time. You have to be focused. And we both know if I'd told you that Angel was in trouble, the first thing that you would've done was go to him. Leaving everyone here wide open for an attack by the Bringers."

Buffy took all of this in, and reluctantly nodded. She hated to admit it, but Willow was right. That would have been her first impulse. Whenever Angel was mentioned, even after all this time, she still had a tendency to get loopy. It was like Kendra had told her years ago: concern for Angel clouded her judgment.

"Is he…okay?" Buffy asked slowly.

Faith responded, "Angel? He's fine. He says 'hey'."

"Really?" Buffy felt a small smile appear on her lips.

Xander rolled his eyes. "Great. First Faith shows up, now greetings from Dead Boy. Add in all the insults from Anya, and it's just makin' this my best day ever!"

Ignoring him, Buffy turned back to Faith. "Look, Faith. It's not that I don't want you here…" Then Buffy rethought that statement. "Well, actually, I don't, but that's beside the issue. Now that you're here, we've got this whole other problem on our hands. You're an escaped convict. If the police come barging in here, find you holed up with a bunch of girls with weapons all over the place? Not going to go well. Especially for me."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Buffy," Willow said far too easily and quickly.

The blonde Slayer turned to her best friend. "Why's that, Will?" she asked suspiciously.

Willow fidgeted a little, something she did when she was nervous. Or when she knew she'd done something wrong. "W-w-well, I sorta…kinda…hacked into the Sunnydale and LA police department computers, deleted all their records on Faith and destroyed her file at Stockton as well, before we headed back to town. Angel gave me the names of some people who'll take care of the paper trail, too."

"WHAT?" Xander and Buffy exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah," Faith chortled. "Free as a bird, people. And loving it."

"Great googley-moogley, Willow, have you gone insane?" Xander blurted out. "You just gave Psycho Slayer a get-out-of-jail-free card!"

"Willow, what were you thinking?" Buffy disbelievingly asked.

"I was thinking - that we need her. And that that's more important than paying her debt to society," Willow said, her resolved face on. "Buffy, Faith helped Angel out of a serious jam. She even saved his life, and almost got killed while she was doing it! And besides, if we want to take the First Evil out of commission, if we want to survive, we need the best warriors we can get. And Faith is one of the best there is!"

Willow paused, before saying, "Look, Buff, I know you have issues with Faith, and rightfully so, hell, so do I…but that doesn't matter now. We're fighting for our lives here. So, if you have problems with this, you're-you're just going to have to deal with them, face them. We need her, Buffy." Willow looked outside to the rest of the girls, who were idly standing around, chatting. "They need her."

"For what? Lessons on how to get strangled, if they turn up at her hotel room at the wrong time?" Xander's voice was dark and cold, as he glared at Faith.

Buffy noticed Faith look away at that, she too was reminded of that night when everything had gone so terribly wrong. "Now's not the best time for us to get into that, Xander -"

"If not now, then when? 'Cause some of us don't have Slayer strength to defend ourselves, Buffy," Xander insisted, before he relented at the look the blonde was sending him. "Alright, look, I trust your judgment - if you think she should stay, then that's good enough for me. Just think about it real carefully, okay?"

Buffy stared at Xander, then Willow for a moment, and then Faith. After a short time to digest everything that had just happened, she nodded.

"Fine," Buffy said. "You can stay, Faith. But, you're on a very short leash. You have almost no leash. You mess up just once, you give me ANY reason to think I can't trust you under the same roof as my family, friends and the Potentials…and you're out faster than Mariah Carey's last album."

Faith nodded. "Hey, don't sweat it, B. I'm one of the good guys now."

"For now," Xander snidely tossed at her.

A flip-flop of tennis sneakers preceded Dawn's entrance into the kitchen. "Hey, Xander, where's my sandwich? I haven't eaten anything in -"

She stopped when she noticed Faith standing in the kitchen, opposite her sister.

"Faith?" the female teen exclaimed. "Buffy, look out! It's Faith! She's escaped!"

Buffy turned towards her younger sister. "I know, Dawnie. It's - complicated. Uh, I guess Faith is…going to be staying with us for a while..."

Dawn looked like she was going to explode. "WHAT? Buffy, are you high on crack or something? She can't stay here! Or need I remind you that the last time Faith came to our house, she tried to, oh, I don't know…kill me AND Mom!"

"I know," Buffy said, her memories adjusted from the truth of what had really happened back then, just like everyone else's. "I know. But we need all the help we can get, Dawn. You know that. Besides, Faith knows she's on a short leash. Right?" She gave a poignant stare to the dark-haired Slayer. "Promise to behave?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die," Faith recited the schoolyard promise.

"You're not the only one," Dawn sarcastically spat at her.

"Well, check it out; the brat's all woman-sized, now, huh?" Faith grinned. "Man, I have been away too long."

Dawn stared at Faith for a moment, before turning back to Buffy. "I really hope you know what you're doing, Buffy." She sent one last icy look at Faith before leaving the room.

Shrugging off the awkward feeling creeping up on her, Faith let out a small whistle. "Guess Dawnie's not on the welcome-home wagon, huh?"

"Wagon? There's a welcome wagon? Where?" Xander spat out one last parting shot, before exiting the kitchen with his sandwich in hand.

Willow was quick to try and smooth things over. "They'll come around, Faith. They, uh, just need some time to adjust and get to know the new and improved, non-homicidal you."

Faith sighed, a trace of sadness in her eyes. "How about twenty-five-to-life? That enough time, you think?"

"Well, maybe with good behavior?" Willow smiled brightly. And Faith's amused chuckle came right back on her face.

At the same moment, Andrew entered the room, stopping short when he saw Faith.

"Willow, there's a…wow…heh, you're pretty," the blonde geek almost stammered incomprehensibly.

Faith looked at Buffy, who shrugged. "That's Andrew. You'll get used to him. Or not. Take your pick."

After a few moments, when the girls noted that Andrew wouldn't stop staring at Faith, Willow took the initiative. "Andrew? You had a message for me or something?"

"Huh?" Andrew finally snapped out of his daze. "Oh…oh, yeah! That Fred guy is on the phone again. Said it's urgent."

Willow's eyes widened and looked to Faith, before quickly nodding. "Oh…OH! Fred. Right. I got it. Thanks, Andrew."

"Could you take him with you?" Buffy pointed at the sci-fi nerd.

Willow rolled her eyes and dragged Andrew out of the room, while he whimpered at being taken away from the vision of loveliness that was Faith.

Faith turned to Buffy, the smirk gone, her face totally serious. "Look, B, I don't want to be causing any more tension around here. God knows you have enough of that to deal with, so I can just be on my way -"

"No." Buffy shook her head, sighing. "No, it's…just a little unexpected that you popped in here when you did. But…I'm okay with the fact that you're here, Faith. It's…okay."

"Good," Faith said, turning up a smile. "By the way, you look great. Nice to know the years have been good to some of us."

"If only by looks," Buffy said dryly. "Aside from my mom dying, ME dying, working crappy minimum wage jobs until I got lucky with the high school counselor gig, and losing several friends in the last few years, yeah, everything's peachy."

"Well, look at it this way - things can only get better," Faith offered. "God knows it couldn't get much worse than it's been over these last few weeks, with that Permanent Midnight thing in LA."

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, well, I hope not. If there's one thing I'm not up for right now, it's more surprises."

As if on cue, Willow re-entered the room. She had on a very grave face.

"Willow?" Buffy asked, noting her friend's look. She took a step closer. "Will, what's wrong?"

"Buffy…I was just on the phone with Fred."

"Who's this Fred guy?" Buffy wondered, recalling what Andrew had said just now.

"Nah, Fred - it's short for Winifred. She's a friend of Angel's. In LA," Faith explained.

Buffy's face morphed from concern to slight panic. "Angel? I-is he okay?"

"No. Buffy, Faith, we need to gather the others. Dawn, Giles, Anya, Spike, Xander, all the Potentials. We need to go to LA. Now."

"What?" Buffy demanded.

"Willow, what's happened to Angel?" Faith asked, the worry written all over her face.

The Wiccan's eyes locked with Buffy's. "Fred said something about…the End of Days. That it's coming. No, that it's practically here already. And it concerns what's been happening here in Sunnydale."

The look in the blonde Slayer's eyes was filled with dread, and understanding. So with that, she proceeded to do what she did best in times like these. Take command.

"All right. Willow, find Spike. Tell him to get dressed and get that Winnebago we used way back when, ASAP. Faith, round up the Potentials in the living room, tell them I've called an emergency meeting. I want everyone ready to go, and I want it five minutes ago."

"I've already notified Giles," Willow said. "He's grabbing all his research and magic stuff and putting it in his car. Xander, Andrew and Dawn will take care of loading the van with supplies, weapons, the whole nine yards."

"Good. That leaves us my car and Xander's. But that won't be enough to transport thirty-odd Potentials between them -"

"Ooh! Why not contact Principal Wood?" Willow suggested. "He's got access to some school transportation, like the school district bus. Maybe he can lend it to us. That should be enough to hold the rest of the girls."

Buffy smiled at Willow. "Good idea. Thanks, Will."

"Looks like we're road-trippin', huh, B?" Faith said lazily, rotating her neck muscles.

"Looks like," Buffy said absently, as she exited the room. But she could feel something in the pit of her stomach nagging at her. She could feel it. The same exact feeling she'd gotten in her stomach, right before her final battle with Glory. A terrifying feeling that somehow, the worst was yet to come, that she hadn't even begun to fight yet…

That the End was near…and it was nearer than she thought.

But at least this time, she had Angel waiting for her on the other side. She just had to make it to Los Angeles.

Buffy suddenly raised an eyebrow at that. She didn't know what was more terrifying…going down to LA to face the apocalypse…or going to face the one being on Earth she loved more than anything she would ever love in this life…

God, isn't being the Slayer great? Buffy mused sarcastically to herself.

TBC…