Bring Me To Life – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel Crossover Event
Part 53
I Found
I'll use you as a warning sign
That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind
And I'll use you as a focal point
So I don't lose sight of what I want
And I've moved further than I thought I could
But I missed you more than I thought I would
And I'll use you as a warning sign
That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind
And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be
Right in front of me
Talk some sense to me
And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be
Right in front of me
Talk some sense to me
—"I Found", Amber Run
Sunnydale, CA—Summers Residence, Dawn's Room
4:49 p.m.
Countdown to End of Days: 14
As the last of her tears dried, Dawn lay quietly on her bed, feeling numb and cold for reasons that had nothing to do with the weather.
She still couldn't get it out of her head. The vineyard. Matthew. Caleb. Her feeling of helplessness. The knife cleaving brave little Matthew's stout heart asunder. His empty, vacant eyes as he fell to the floor, blood leaking out of the boy like so much spilt juice.
The First/Anna's cruel words echoing in her mind like a funeral gong.
You never really mattered in the first place...never mattered in the first place….
"Dawn...please, you haven't eaten all day," Molly urged her quietly from near her bed.
"Yeah," a concerned Vi added softly. "Come on, Dawn, this isn't good for you."
"I'm fine," Dawn croaked out, morosely, still curled up into herself.
It had taken some coaxing, but the girls had managed to convince Dawn to let them inside. Dawn only agreed because after a while, her own tortured thoughts became too much for her to deal with alone. Part of her really, really wished Connor was still here, that she hadn't pushed him away earlier. She really needed for him to take her into his arms and just hold her, lose herself in his strong embrace, feel safe in his arms. But part of her also didn't want him to see her like this, so miserable, so sad, so...so weak…
Biting her lip, Amanda, Dawn's classmate and the closest friend among the three Potentials to her, softly placed a hand on her shoulder from the other end of the bed. "Dawn...what happened to Matthew wasn't your fault."
Dawn turned on her side and eyed the sometimes-shy Amanda with a blue-eyed glare that could chill water. "Don't, Amanda. Please...just don't."
Surprisingly, Amanda stood her ground, sucking in a breath and furrowing her brow. The self-professed "band camp geek" had to do a lot of growing up quickly in the last few weeks and months since discovering that deep in her blood ran the potential to become the next Slayer, guardian of the Hellmouth. "No, listen. Look, we all loved Matthew, and we're all going to miss him. But he made a choice. It was your life or his, and he chose to protect you. That was his choice. Maybe we can't bring him back, but...we can make sure that he didn't die for nothing."
Dawn knew her friend was right deep down inside, but she couldn't help the guilt she felt. "I...I just can't stop thinking about what would have happened if I wasn't there. If Connor and I never came. Maybe Matthew would still be here. Maybe…"
"Maybe I'd be dead," Molly interrupted her, a shaken look in the pretty British Potential's hazel eyes as she thought about it. "Dawn, we both saw how bloody strong that Caleb creep was. He...he would have killed me if you, Connor and Matthew weren't there. I was so scared...I-I wasn't ready to die." Her eyes looked gratefully at Dawn. "You guys saved my life, Dawnie...I won't forget that. Ever."
Vi placed a comforting hand on Molly's shoulder, the thought of losing her English friend making her emotional. Molly gave her a watery smile, gave her hand a grateful squeeze. "Thank you, Violet."
Despite her sadness, Dawn scrunched her brow at the name. "'Violet?'"
The pretty redheaded Potential merely shrugged. "Well, yeah. That's my full name. You didn't think my parents would just make 'Vi' my whole name, right?"
Dawn felt a brief chuckle escape her lips, yet almost immediately felt guilty. Here she was, laughing, while that brave little boy Matthew was lying dead somewhere.
"Guys...thank you, really," Dawn started, softly, as she wiped her watery eyes. "But I...I just...There's a lot going on with me right now. Losing Anna, losing Matthew, what happened to Xander...I have all this power in me, and I couldn't do anything to protect people I care about."
Amanda shook her head. "Dawn...if you hadn't been there, maybe Molly would have died. Or Vi. If you hadn't been there for me back when I first realized I was a Potential, maybe that vampire I trapped in the swing choir room would have killed me. And if it wasn't for you...maybe Cordelia would be dead. Or evil. Or...both, maybe." The tall, but pretty brunette Potential grabbed Dawn's hand, looking deep in her blue eyes. "Remember what I told you that night you and I fought that vampire? When you told me you didn't know what you were doing?"
Dawn slowly nodded, her big blue eyes becoming pensive as she recalled that night. She remembered, all right. "You said…'You're getting it done.'"
Amanda nodded back, smiling in encouragement. "You still are. If we don't save the world...nothing matters. Matthew giving his life for yours won't matter. And I don't know about you, but I'm not having that. I loved that kid as much as you did. So let's make sure we make his life count. Let's get it done."
At those words, Dawn felt the flame of resolve slowly flicker back in her chest. Her eyes grew determined. She looked around at her new friends, a mixture of gratitude and purpose in her face.
All her life, evil had been knocking Dawn down. Harmony, Glory, Caleb...This time, she decided firmly, she's let evil know that Dawn Summers could knock it back down, too. Hard.
"Okay...for Matthew," Dawn said quietly, but firmly.
The other girls nodded. "For Matthew," they echoed back.
The sudden sound of footsteps came echoing through the hallway, drawing Dawn's attention to her doorway…
...where an out of breath, pale Andrew slumped, catching his breath. "Man, you guys need to get a shorter flight of stairs," Andrew panted.
Dawn eyed him curiously. "Andrew, what is it?"
Catching his breath, the gangly blonde nerdling looked at the pretty brunette Summers girl urgently. "Dawn, I think I need your help."
Shaking her head, Dawn cast a tired glance at the man-child. "Andrew, for the last time, I don't even watch 'Dragonball Z', I don't know what a Golf Ku is, so I wouldn't know how to play your stupid game, and this isn't a good time. So if you don't mind—"
"No, not that!" Andrew interrupted her. "And FYI, it's pronounced 'Goku', greatest Saiyan ever, but I digress." His eyes grew serious. Serious enough for Dawn to actually take him seriously, for once. "It's about Spike."
At that, Dawn's eyes grew wide. "What? What about Spike? I-is he okay?"
Andrew gravely shook his head. "No. And neither is Faith, but you probably knew that."
Now Dawn stood up, a troubled look on her face. "Wait a minute, Faith? What happened to her?"
Amanda eyed her in a mixture of amazement and solemnness. "Oh my god...they didn't tell you."
Dawn felt a sense of dread creeping into her. "Tell me what?"
Molly was the one who decided to break the news. "Dawn...Faith never made it out of the vineyard last night. She...she was left behind during the retreat."
No...Oh my God, Faith… "What?" a wide-eyed, shocked Dawn yelped.
Vi sadly nodded. "Yeah. I heard them talking this morning. We're not sure if she's still alive or…" Vi couldn't finish. There was no need for her to. They all knew what was on the end of that 'or'.
Dawn shook her head. This was terrible. Weeks ago, she wouldn't have cared much whether Faith had lived or died after all the terrible things she did to her sister, her mother, her friends and herself years ago. But so much had changed in the last few days. She had grown to like Faith again, just like she had when the brunette bombshell had first arrived in town years ago, Faith treating her like a grown-up during a time when most had babied her, the new Slayer slowly growing into the fun, cooler big sister Dawn wished Buffy could be to her back then. Faith had slowly re-earned Dawn's trust, and her friendship.
And now she might be dead, too...just like the others…Oh, God...
"No," Dawn said suddenly, her eyes deep in thought. "No, Faith couldn't be dead. Um, all that would do is activate a new Slayer, right? Has...has anyone of the Potentials been any...well, stranger than normal?"
Vi thought about it. "Well, Chao-Ahn's been dumping the milk we keep giving her in the sink and giving us the evil eye afterwards. That's...something?"
Molly gave her a deadpanned look. "Gee, let the underworld tremble."
Dawn ignored the banter, focused on the problem at hand. "It wouldn't make sense for Caleb and The First to kill Faith. All that'd do is power up a new Slayer, and that wouldn't be convenient for them."
"Um, unless they wanted to take out the people with the most experience," Amanda offered hesitantly. "I mean, let's face it...it's not like any Potential we've got here is ready to become the new Slayer."
Andrew eagerly nodded. "Yeah! Like a board game. Or D&D. Well, maybe not D&D, but definitely like 'Warhammer.' You pick off the strongest players until all there's left are the level 1 noobs."
Molly didn't take kindly to that comparison, glaring at Andrew. "Call us 'noobs' one more time. Please. I wouldn't mind getting my share of dummy practice today."
Yet Dawn shook her head, not buying it. "No. No, there's more value in them holding the Slayer who can pass on their power in their control. They hold her, they hold the power. They'll want to keep her alive. That means there's still time to rescue her. Aren't Buffy and the others doing something about this? Or-or Spike?"
The troubled gaze Andrew gave Dawn provided the sinking feeling in her stomach a new level to sink to. "Um...about that…"
Sunnydale General Hospital – 5:37 p.m.
Emergency Room
Days Left Before the End of Days: 14
Willow, Cordelia, and Oz tiredly sat around the small table in Xander's room, playing another round of Poker to keep their minds occupied while they each kept an eye on the still-sleeping Xander.
The now-one-eyed Scooby Gang co-founder still had not awoken from his drug-induced slumber.
"Three jacks," Cordelia declared, putting her hand on the table.
"Not bad, Cordy," Willow nodded, impressed. Then she smiled impishly, showing her own hand. "Just not good enough. Three queens."
Cordelia groaned at having lost her third hand in a row, yet flashed a wane smile at the perky redheaded witch. "Guessing that's probably your favorite hand, isn't it, Willow?"
Willow gave her a smug grin of her own. "And proud of it," she preened.
"Three kings," Oz simply declared, laying his hand on the table, stunning both women.
Willow was flummoxed. "Whaa...Oz, how did you…?"
He allowed his stoic face to crack in a grin at her. "What can I say? Natural poker face."
Willow tried to glare at him, but could only smile ruefully. The moment was so typically...Oz, she realized with her heart suddenly growing fonder of the short, yet handsome werewolf.
Cordelia gave a small laugh at the moment. "Wow. Would you look at us? All these years later and here we are. The last survivors of ol' Sunnydale High."
Willow chuckled and shook her head. "Man. If the 16-year-old versions of us could see us now…"
"It'd create a time paradox?" Oz suggested with a smirk.
They all chuckled at that, while Cordelia gave Willow an approving glance. Now she was beginning to understand what she saw in the often-monosyllabic Dingoes Ate My Baby guitarist.
Yet as Cordelia laughed softly, her smile still grew a little watery, sad. So many emotions were coursing through her. Seeing Xander there, looking so frail, so helpless, so pale...it just wasn't right. He should be here. With them. With her. Laughing, making his offbeat, strange jokes. Doing that silly Snoopy Dance that she secretly loved. God, how much she needed him to do that damn dance again. How much she needed...him...
Suddenly, something bubbled out of her that she couldn't stop. "We...we don't talk anymore."
Willow and Oz exchanged puzzled looks. Guiltily, Willow fidgeted. "Well, um, yeah, look, I know , but things have been a little crazy up here the last few months, what, with the Glory thing, and Buffy coming back, and then there was the whole magical junkie phase I went through…"
"No, not us," Cordelia explained, a sad, wistful look in her eyes. "Although, yeah, it wouldn't hurt if you pick up the phone every now and then. I...I mean Angel and our...our family."
The depressed, beautiful Seer sighed. "Wes. Gunn. Fred. Lorne. Connor...We've just been so messed up. For so long. It's like...like ever since Darla walked into the hotel all Gucci-footed and pregnant, our lives just haven't been the same. Hell, maybe it goes back further than that if Jasmine was really just screwing with us this whole time. It's like...like there's this growing space between us. All of us. Gunn and Fred. Angel and me. Wesley and...all of us. They're my family, Will. Just like you guys were when I was here. And we're...we're breaking apart." She looked down, misery hovering over her like a dense fog. "It's like...we can save the world a hundred times, but…"
"...but you can't save your own world," Willow murmured knowingly.
Cordelia looked up at the little redhead in surprise. She got it.
She's all laid up in bed with a broken heart
While I'm drinking Jack all alone in my local bar
And we don't know how, how we got into this mad situation
Only doing things out of frustration
Trying to make it work, but man, these times are hard
Willow sadly nodded, laying her cards down, both literally and figuratively. "Things here haven't been much better, either. Last year was so...so brutal. So hard. Buffy wasn't adjusting well to being back from being...well...away…"
To this day, Willow couldn't bring herself to say "dead," no matter how many times Buffy scolded her about it. For all the things Willow Rosenberg's brilliant mind could process, a world without her best friend, without Buffy Summers, was something that she'd never be able to compute. "And, and I couldn't even see it. I was so caught up in my own crap, losing Tara, my addiction to magick, coming to grips with me not being able to fix everything...and on top of that, Giles leaving, Xander and Anya's wedding being called off, Dawn becoming a kleptomaniac, and Spike going full-on psycho stalker on Buffy. We nearly fell apart, too, and that was before I nearly destroyed the world. And just when we were starting to finally heal, finally be...us again…"
"The First decides it wants to party and pick at the scabs at the same time," Oz finished for her.
Willow looked at him, sadly, but nodded. Oz was just as quick on the uptake as her, something she had missed about him.
Cordelia bit her lip. Her life left in shambles thanks to Jasmine and The First, her family in tatters, her oldest friends struggling, the guy she lo...um, the guy she cared about hanging on by a thread in a coma...if somebody had told her that growing up would have been this painful back when she was ruling Sunnydale High within the palm of her perfectly manicured hand when she was 16, she might have been tempted to let that creepy meathead vampire Luke eat her back during The Harvest.
"God, it's been so hard," Cordelia sighed, shaking her head as let her eyes wander to the ceiling, as if the heavens held the answers for her.
Willow sadly nodded. "I know, Cordy...I know."
She needs me now, but I can't seem to find the time
I got a new job now on the unemployment line
And we don't know how, how we got into this mess
Is it God's test?
Someone help us, 'cause we're doing our best
Trying to make it work, but, man, these times are hard
"Still...you're lucky. Both of you," Oz said simply, drawing looks of confusion from both women.
The laconic werewolf shrugged, but his green eyes were warm, wistful. "Even when it's hard, you still have people to lean on. You're in each others' lives. Can't tell you how much I missed that. The two, three years I was with you guys...I think they were the happiest of my life. It was nice to know there were people out there who knew me, knew who I was, what I was...and accepted me anyway."
He looked regretful as he looked away for a moment. "Leaving all of you was...it still is...the hardest thing I ever did. It was like leaving home, but for real. But funny thing? Whenever it got hard out there, when I was on the road? Whenever I was at the end of my rope, or when things seemed bleak or I felt as low as I could get, you know what got me through that? What gave me strength?"
But we're gonna start by
Drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Shit talking up all night
Saying things we haven't for a while, a while, yeah
He took out a Scooby-Doo Pez dispenser, the one he normally hung on his van, laying it on the table. The wide-eyed gaze in Willow's eyes and the tiny gasp of recognition she let loose told him she remembered her gift to him, making him smile warmly. "It was you guys. All the time we spent together. Fighting, researching, the Bronze, all the little moments with each other...all of it reminded me that no matter how far away I was, or how bad it got, I wasn't alone." He looked at Willow tenderly. "Not if I don't want to be. I mean, look at us now. All these years, all this time, and when one of us needs help...here we are. Together."
We're smiling but we're close to tears, even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we're meeting
For the first time
Ooooooh
Ooooooh
Ooooooh
Willow felt her heart move deeply at his words, gazing at the only boy...the only man...she had ever truly loved with a wistful affection. Oh, Oz…
Cordelia couldn't help but to smile at him in amazement. "I...I think this is the longest I've ever heard you talk."
Oz gave her a small smirk. "Yeah. My throat's parched now."
The redhead with the world-rending power inside her felt a genuine laugh escape her, and it was infectious, the troubled Seer and the lonely werewolf laughing with her, sharing a much-needed moment of levity, appreciating how far they've come, how far they'd moved, and yet how close they still were.
Scoobies to the core. Family until the end…
A small cough directed their attention to Xander's bed...as their wounded friend began to stir awake.
A wide-eyed Willow gasped. "Oh my God!"
"No way," a surprised Oz uttered.
"Xander!"
No sooner did the words leave her mouth than did Cordelia, feeling a gasp that somehow mixed in with a desperate cry, fly to his bedside, her hand gently cradling his face. "Oh, my God, Xander! You're awake! Are you okay?"
Xander's vision was blurry, distorted, but shapes started to form in his one good eye, giving way to light...and revealing the beautiful face of Cordelia hovering over him. "C-c-...Cor?" he weakly rasped out.
"Xand!" his lifelong friend Willow blurted out in relief as she grabbed Oz's hand and quickly ran over to the bed, her eyes clouding with tears at the sight of him. "Thank Hecate! How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Water, or-or-or something?"
Xander could only look around slowly, the drugs and painkillers in him still making his movements grueling.
"Hey, man," Oz smiled warmly at his old friend. "You gave us a pretty big scare."
Xander wanted to make a joke back at Oz, wanted to hug Willow, wanted to hold the teary-eyed Cordy in his arms and assure her he was alright. He wanted to do all those things...but he couldn't.
His mind tried to recall exactly what happened before he lost consciousness. And then it started to come back to him. The vineyard raid. Cordy, in trouble, at the mercy of that bastard Caleb.
Caleb...
And then that's when Xander noticed the pain around his left eye...or...where his left eye was supposed to be.
"Guys?" Xander asked quietly, a sense of fear and dread overcoming him. "What...what happened to my eye?"
His question, asked so innocently, wiped the relieved smiles off their faces. Xander felt the dread build as he saw Oz look away sadly, saw the tears in Willow's usually dancing green eyes spring to them instantly, saw Cordelia's soft hands fly to her mouth to muffle a sob that escaped her throat.
"Xand…" a misty-eyed Willow began to say, but couldn't talk through the golf ball-sized lump in her throat.
"No," Xander choked out, feeling his one good eye begin to mist in disbelief. "No…"
"Xander...Oh, God, Xander, I'm sorry. So sorry," a tearful Cordelia sobbed, tears running down the perfect curves of her cheeks, as she leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck, brokenly crying into his shoulder. "I'm sorry…"
Feeling a lone tear streaming down his cheek, Xander let his arm wrap around a crying Cordelia, as a tearful Willow joined them followed by Oz, the four friends holding each other in comfort.
Xander wanted to take that comfort and share it. Lose himself in it. He really did.
Yet deep in his heart...he knew.
He just knew.
That nothing would ever be the same again….
Oh, these times are hard
Yeah, they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me, baby
Oh, these times are hard
Yeah, they're making us crazy
Don't give up on me, baby
Sunnydale, California—Summers Residence, Basement — 6:38 p.m.
Days Left Before the End of Days: 14
Spike awoke suddenly with a startled look on his face.
He last remembered blacking out after a particularly brutal round of torture that Faith had endured at the hands of those damn pale-faced demons.
Whatever it was that Pearl and Nash had done last to Faith had knocked him for a loop.
The demon in him begrudgingly tipped its hat to Pearl. She might be one clingy, vicious bitch, but she sure as hell knew her way around a torture chamber...
Suddenly, he grew worried. "Faith? Faith, talk to me, luv...you still there?"
Sunnydale, California - Shadow Valley Vineyard, lair of The First Evil
Faith's cell
Taking in long, steady breaths as she stirred awake in her chains, Faith groaned, but let out a hoarse laugh. "Still kickin', Blue Eyes."
Spike smiled in relief, despite the grim situation. "Thatta girl. You just hang in there, you hear me?"
As she looked at the chains holding her wrists in place, Faith weakly chuckled. "Man, that's one sick sense of humor you got there, Spike."
Realizing what she meant, Spike couldn't help but laugh sardonically. "Right...not what I meant, but...well, you know what I meant, luv."
Faith smiled shakily. "Yeah, I know...it's just...gotta have something to laugh about, considering the circumstances."
Spike sadly nodded. "Yeah. I get it." He felt his left side burning. "What the hell did Pearl and that wanker brother do last time?"
Reminded of the burning, blood-caked wound in her side, Faith winced. "Remember how they said Jesus Christ got speared in the side at his crucifixion?"
"Yeah…?" Spike said, a hit of dread forming in his gut.
"Well...Nash decided to give me a first-hand demonstration," Faith said, coughing as she recalled it. "Guess he didn't take it kindly to my turning down his offer to sleep with him for my freedom. If I recall, my exact words were 'I'd rather dry hump a cactus covered in glass shards and sand paper before I'd let you touch me.' Kinda proud of that one. Colorful."
Spike's cold blood simmered in his veins at the thought of it. He made a mental note to make Nash eat every one of his fingers once he got out of these damned chains. "I'll bloody well tear his arse a new one first chance I get," he vowed coldly.
Faith smiled weakly. "Honestly? I'd pay good money for that right about now."
Spike smiled back, despite his own pain as he slumped against the wall he was chained to. "I'll make sure you get your money's worth."
Faith laughed again. Then she got sober, solemn. "Spike? Look...I'm getting a bad feeling up here…if...things don't turn out so good for me—"
"Faith, don't," Spike insisted quietly. "Don't do that, luv. You're gonna get through this, you hear me? We're gonna get you out of there, if it's the last thing I—"
"Look, just shut up for a sec, would ya?" Faith gruffly silenced him, but with a pleading note in her voice. "If I don't make it...I...I need you to do something for me."
How could he deny her?
"Name it, pet," he softly whispered.
Faith looked up at the harsh lights in her cell, felt her eyes mist a bit. "In my duffel bag...there's...there's a couple letters I wrote. While I was in jail. Had a lot of time to think there. About...about everything. The things I did, good and bad. The people I hurt...the people I wronged...the…" Faith's voice grew thick with emotion. "...the people that meant a lot to me…"
She sucked in a deep breath, blinking hard so her eyes wouldn't let loose any tears. "So I started writing some things. Things I wanted to say to them…real deep shit, you know?"
Spike swallowed thickly. He could feel her feelings through the bond that the Prokaryote Stone allowed them to share. She felt...regret. Shame. Sadness. The feeling of time running out on her.
And it hurt. God, did it hurt him to see how deep her pain ran.
And he hated this. It felt like...like he was saying goodbye to her.
And he had only just found her.
Spike nodded numbly. "Yeah...I get it."
"There's...there's four letters," Faith said quietly, ignoring the ache in her wrists where the chains were digging into her skin. "One's for B. Buffy. Give it to her. Another one's for Angel. Long and short of it, it's a thank-you letter to him. But it's for his eyes only. The next one's for…"
She swallowed hard, her lip quivering as her eyes burned with emotion. "...it's for Olivia Worth."
Spike felt his brow scrunch. "Who's Olivia Worth?"
"She's...she's the daughter of a guy I…" Faith's eyes lowered in shame. "...that the Mayor had me kill. His name was Lester Worth. A professor. Good guy...was actually kind of a sweetheart when he let me in that day. Real nice, y'know?" Faith's eyes stung, yet she chuckled dryly as she recalled how nice he was. Completely unaware that he had politely invited the one who would end his life into his apartment.
Her laugh faded and her lips trembled again. "He...um...he begged me not to...y'know…before I..." She couldn't finish, a lump forming in her throat as she recalled that awful moment of plunging that knife again and again into the helpless, aging man's back, his chest, his heart.
Her teary confession brought back old, cold memories for Spike. Awful ones. How many times had he heard people beg him before he killed them? Hundreds? Thousands? He remembered them all. His soul wouldn't allow him to forget. It was no wonder why their horror-filled faces and their screams and pleading drove him to the brink of insanity months ago.
Their faces haunted him all the time. He just found other things to do, other ways to be useful, for good. Kept him from going bug-eating mad again.
Silently, he waited for her to continue.
"She...she drops flowers by his grave every year. Angel told me that once. She...she probably hates me, and she should," Faith sighed, hating herself at the thought of it. Of being the one who caused that woman so much pain simply because she was so desperate for love and a father's affection that she let a sociopath with a friendly smile turn her from a protector into a murderer, a tool of evil.
"The letter's for her. It tells her how awful I feel. And that I'm sorry, so, so sorry about her dad…Hell, she'll probably tear it up and toss it in a fire, for all I know. But she should know just how sorry I am...hell, hopefully it'll give her peace."
Spike could only quietly nod.
"And the last one...that's for you, Spike," Faith smiled. "Just...just some stuff I've been thinking about lately. About you. About me...about us." She chuckled softly. "God, I sound so sappy, huh?"
Spike felt a great ache in his chest where his unbeaten heart lay. She really was trying to say goodbye, and he wasn't ready to say it. He didn't want to, damn it! He was just starting to get used to having her around.
"No. Not sappy at all, Faith," Spike sadly smiled. "But you can tell me yourself. On our next date. I'm here with you. Right now. I swear, pet, we're gonna get you outta there, you understand?" His voice grew tight in determination. "Just hang in there, pet, we'll have you home real soon."
The often-solitary brunette Slayer could tell through their bond that he really meant that. As impossible as it seemed, as much as it felt she was looking at the gallows in the distance and the sands were running out on her hourglass...Spike wasn't giving up hope on her.
And the thought sent a warm feeling through her chest. "I...I believe you...well, I believe you believe it, anyway," Faith laughed quietly.
Watching Faith from outside the cell, The First, Caleb and their minions marveled.
"Gotta give that girl credit. She might be filthier than a hog in slop, but she can take a lickin'," Caleb mused with some amusement.
"Impressive. I thought she'd be dead by now," Pearl nodded with some consternation.
Warren gave a cold, toothy smile. "I can arrange that. Just give me a few minutes alone with the bitch."
"Step one foot in that cell, Mister Mears, and the parts I have removed from you won't be able to be replaced by any kind of magick," The First/Jasmine promised him. The words were enough to make the skinless human genius shrink back a bit.
"I don't want her dead...not yet," The First/Jasmine said. "I want her broken." It/She turned to the other minions in the room. "And while we're at it, I want to know where the hell Angel is. Where are we on that?"
"Not well, I'm afraid," Ethan Rayne admitted. "I'm exhausting all my resources, but I haven't been able to find him. It's as if he fell off the face of the earth."
"Then check the earth's other parts. Its arms, its feet, hell, its groin, if you have to," the ancient being coldly ordered. "I know where Buffy and her other little friends are hanging about, but Angel is too big a piece to be left unaccounted for. Find him. Now. Skip sleep if you have to, but I want him found."
As the others eagerly departed to obey its command, Caleb remained by its side. "And what do we do about Miss Congeniality over there?" Caleb asked, motioning to the chained-up Faith inside her prison.
The First/Jasmine thought about it. Then flashed a chilling smile. "Like I said, I want her broken. Sometimes, you need the right tool for that."
Her/its smile grew more wicked. "Send in Drusilla."
Sunnydale, California—Summers Residence, Basement — 7:07 p.m.
Days Left Before the End of Days: 14
"Spike?"
The sound of a familiar voice drew Spike's attention as he looked up to the basement door from his cot, where he sat chained.
Down came a wide-eyed Dawn, bounding down the stairs in a hurry, Andrew in tow.
Spike had to smile a little. "Hey, Nibblet. Not...exactly a great time," he winced.
Dawn eyed the chains holding him warily, before catching sight of his exhausted, almost beaten-down condition. "Oh my God. Who did this to you?"
Spike painfully coughed. "Well, the chains you can thank you big sis for...with a middle finger on my behalf, if you see her, by the way." He coughed again. "Seems she thinks I can't be trusted to make my own decisions when it comes to getting Faith the hell out of that hellhole she's stuck in. And the rest of me wasn't her doing. That's Caleb, Pearl, Nash and the rest of The First's ghoulies doin' a conga line of pain on Faith. Only they hit me with some kind of whammy what makes me feel the same pain Faith's going through."
Dawn looked at him in surprise. "Faith? You mean...she-she's alive ? ?"
The peroxide blonde vampire ruefully smiled, as Dawn checked him for bruises. "Yeah...she's a tough one, Platelet. Though we're short on time. How's the rescue plan goin'?"
The way the young brunette's eyes fell along with Andrew's told Spike the whole story. He cursed under his breath, cursed Buffy's name as much as a tiny part of him protested. "Damn it. Damn it to hell."
Dawn hurriedly tried to assure him. "It's okay. Spike, we're going to find a way to get you out of here. Well, Andrew and me, anyway."
"Wait...so you can feel everything that Faith is going through?" Andrew asked, amazed.
"'Fraid so, Spanky," Spike drawled.
Andrew went wide-eyed. "Wow...that's almost...well, it's kind of romantic, when you think about it. Star-crossed lovers sharing a bond through time and space, it's like Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in 'Ghost'—"
At that, Dawn turned to the sci-fi geek angrily. "Really? You're going to start with the geeking out crap now?"
Andrew shrunk back, apologetically. "Right. Bad time, sorry."
Spike gave Dawn a grateful look. "Thanks, L'il Bit. If I had the strength, I might be tempted to just eat him."
Allowing herself a brief smile at his joke, Dawn got serious again, the look in her eyes urgent as she put her hands on his cheeks. "Spike, please...let me help. If Faith's alive, then there's still time to rescue her. Just tell me what you need me to do."
Faith's eyebrows scrunched as she dangled from her chains. "Spike? Who's that you're talking to?"
Dawn looked up in surprise, a horrible image coming into her mind's eye.
Faith. Alive, but barely. In a dungeon, alone. Bruised, bleeding and her clothes torn and stained with blood.
The Key swallowed, letting out a shaky breath. "Faith?"
Recognizing the voice, Faith weakly smiled. "Hey, brat. Kinda caught me at a bad time."
Dawn gasped in horror, though not fully aware of how she was able to see Faith like this, or communicate with her. Maybe it has to do with my Key-ness or these new powers, or-or-or something. Doesn't matter, Dawn, focus! "Oh my God. Faith, are-are-are you okay?"
The battered, yet still lovely Faith raised an eyebrow. "Can you see me?"
Dawn gulped. "...yeah?"
"Do I look okay?" Faith asked matter-of-factly.
Right. Stupid question, Dawn realized gravely. "No."
Faith chuckled softly, though it hurt her ribs to laugh. "Smart girl. Always figured you had the brains in the family."
Dawn looked at Spike urgently, a pleading look in her eyes. "Guys, please, let me help. I can help you!"
Spike sadly smiled at her. "Not much you can do, Platelet. Unless…"
An idea suddenly came to the vampire's mind. Looking at Dawn intently, he asked, "Dawn, do you know where Buffy keeps the keys to these damned chains?
Faith looked up in confusion. "What chains?"
Spike cursed inwardly, realizing Faith had no idea that he was chained up in the basement because Buffy had forbidden him from storming the vineyard himself to rescue Faith. He had intentionally left that out. Knowing that there was no plan in action to mount a rescue might very well snap the last bit of hope Faith had, he realized early on, so he kept that to himself for now.
"Uh, nothing! Nothing to worry about, pet, all good over here," Spike assured her. He looked at Dawn again, urgency in his blue eyes. "Well, do you?"
Not quite understanding what was happening, but eager to help, Dawn nodded quickly. "Um, yeah...yeah she keeps them in her bedroom drawer. Top shelf. I-I saw them a few times when I was sneaking into her room to...well, borrow some things when I was going through my klepto phase last year." She blushed in embarrassment at that admission.
"I guess crime does pay after all," Spike said in relief, before he leaned in, fully serious. "Alright,Bite-sized. Here's what I need you to do…"
To Be Continued...
Next: Angel must choose—happiness with Buffy, or certain death to reach Hope's Dagger?
Tensions come to a head between Buffy and Dawn. The First makes a move that will rock Sunnydale to its core…and a surprise you won't want to miss!
A/N: The lyrics in the hospital scene come from the hit song "For the First Time," by The Script. And the dialogue between Faith and Spike was inspired in part by the song "I Found," by Amber Run, one of my favorite songs of late. I highly recommend listening to it during that scene.
More to come later this month! Happy Memorial Day!
Best,
Jean-theGuardian
