DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Buffy The Vampire Slayer stuff belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Warner Brothers. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. All other characters that appear belong to me. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer. There is some subtext in this story. If this kind of stuff is not legal where you live, if you're under 18 or if you don't like the notion of two women being in love, then you should read no further. This story is a sequel to Relations.

Hope of Deliverance
By Kristjan Brezovnik

Mrs Chase stood in the kitchen, leaning at the doorframe, sipping coffee and observed Faith and Cordelia as they played with Alice. She had had a strange feeling lately and she was wondering if it was correct.

"Maria," she said, still looking at the three girls.

"Yes, Mrs Chase?" Maria said and came closer.

"Is it just my imagination or are Faith and Cordelia treating Alice as if she was their own daughter?"

Maria looked at her, surprised, and then back at the girls.

"Yes, I think so too," she said, having noticed their behavior before.

Mrs Chase took another sip, thinking.

"Perhaps I should let them take more responsibility for her," she then said, "so that they will know what it's like to be a mother, since they won't have any children themselves."

Maria raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"But no too much," she said, "they are still teenagers."

Mrs Chase smiled. Sure, they were teenagers, but they were already saving the world every night. She nodded, agreeing with Maria. They might be saving the world, but they didn't need additional responsibilities, they had enough of them already.

"I will include them more in the things that concern Alice, but I won't let them take all the responsibility and the worries," she said.

Suddenly Cordelia jerked and froze and a fraction of a moment later Faith did the same. Alice looked at her sisters, confused and a bit scared. Mrs Chase noticed that and she came closer.

"Cordelia? Faith?"

The girls didn't respond for a couple of moments and then looked at each other, groaning and rubbing their heads.

"Have you any idea what this was about?" Faith asked Cordelia.

Cordelia shook her head.

"No."

"Girls?" Mrs Chase said.

The girls looked at her.

"Mom?" Faith asked.

"You two just… I don't know. It was like you weren't here."

"Oh," Cordelia said. "I had a vision and Faith saw it too."

"A vision?" Mrs Chase asked, curious. She had been told that Cordelia was a Seer and that Faith could see the visions, but she had never seen her have one before. "What was it about?"

Cordelia shrugged.

"I have no idea. There were two… persons. One was a reporter, I think, and the other… I have no idea what he was, he was just… black."

"Black?"

"Yes. Like darkness shaped like a man."

"We better tell Giles," Faith said.

Cordelia nodded.

"I'll call him."

"Faith!" someone called over the usual noise in the Bronze.

Faith looked.

"Dawn!"

Dawn quickly came closer.

"I need your help," Dawn said and Faith saw that she was worried and tired.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know, but the entire demon population is acting weird and they're all getting violent. I'm constantly getting this urge to kill and I nearly fed on a woman just five minutes ago."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Lock me up or something."

"Lock you up?" Faith said, surprised.

"Yes. I don't know how long I can fight this and I don't want you to kill me when I succumb."

"Okay. Get your stuff and meet me at the old mansion. You know where it is?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'll see you in an hour."

"Okay," Dawn said and left.

Melissa Jenkins sat in her car park near the Bronze and watched the crowd of people going in and out. She had learned that the Slayer was in Sunnydale, but she didn't spot her yet. Some of her sources told her that the Slayer had died, but some claimed that she was in this God-forsaken town. She didn't know which was true and she knew that both might be true, one Slayer died and another was sent by some secret organization called the Watcher's Council to replace her. She was determined to find out and expose her for the vigilante that she was.

In the years since she had first encountered the Slayer and the demons, she had been mocked, but when people didn't believe her, she stopped trying to persuade them and decided to find the evidence first, hard evidence. She had considered a career in CIA, but she had finally decided to become a reporter, it was easier to make people talk. And all her years had finally paid off when she had heard about the mysterious happenings in Sunnydale, when their school was destroyed.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a girl came out, looked around and then followed a couple. She wasn't the woman she had expected, in fact, she hadn't seen the woman anywhere near the Bronze, but she had a feeling that this girl might be the Slayer. She got out of the car and followed her, camera ready.

When they got to a dark alley, the couple started to kiss and then the man screamed. The girl she believed was the Slayer yelled something and the other girl let go of her date. Melissa wasn't quite sure, but the girl looked like a vampire. The boy, of course, ran away as fast as possible and the Slayer engaged the vampire and quickly dusted her.

When it was all over, Melissa quickly hid and checked what she had recorded. It was perfect, the Slayer in action, but she needed more, preferably with some other species of demon.

She peeked from her hideout to see where the girl had gone. It took her a moment to find her. She waited for a while and then followed her all the way to a cemetery, where the girl dusted a trio of newly risen vampires. Then a pathetic looking demon approached the girl, but the girl didn't attack him, instead, she talked to him like she knew him.

"Violator," Faith said when she saw the demon.

"You're Faith, right?"

"Yes."

"And the other is Buffy?"

"Right again."

"What kind of name is that, anyway?"

Faith shrugged.

"Beats me."

"There's another, rising over there," Violator said and pointed at a grave.

Faith looked and then went to the grave and staked the vamp.

"Thanks," she said. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I just wanted you to know that whoever I'm waiting for is near."

"In Sunnydale?"

"Probably."

"And you still don't know who that is?"

Violator shook his head.

"No."

"Damn. Oh," she said, remembering the vision, "my girlfriend had a vision."

"A vision?" Violator said, surprised.

"Yes, she's a Seer."

"I see."

"Anyway, she saw two persons, one was a reporter, we think, and the other was, I don't know, just black. Darkness shaped like a man."

"Darkness," Violator said.

"You know who I'm talking about?"

"Darkness."

"Darkness?"

"Yes."

"Is that his name or something?"

"Yes."

"Very imaginative," Faith commented dryly.

"But accurate," Violator said.

"Who is he?"

"Darkness."

"Yes, you said that."

Violator shrugged.

"That's what he is. I heard that he had taken my place after I was banished."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yes."

"Damn. Do you have any idea why he's here?"

Violator shrugged again.

"He might be after me."

"Do you know how we can defeat him?"

Violator shook his head.

"I could, but I haven't fought a serious battle in millennia."

"Would two Slayers, three witches and a couple of others help?"

Violator considered the idea.

"That would depend on how strong the witches are."

"Pretty strong."

"Then we might have a chance. But he will not be alone, he will have the local demons helping him."

"We can take care of them."

"Good." He thought for a moment. "Can your witch friends contain him?"

"Contain? How?"

"He is darkness. They would have to force him to keep his material form so I can fight him."

"Oh. I think they could do that, but I'll have to ask. Anyway, why don't I just tell them to come to the park tomorrow so you can get to know them?"

"Yes, that would be a good idea."

"Good. I'll… Oh, one other thing. Apparently there's something weird going on with the local demons. An informer of mine told me that they are all acting weird and that they're all getting very violent. I just fought a vamp and she looked like she was crazy or something. And my informer also looked like she was barely holding back. Does this have anything to do with Darkness?"

Violator nodded.

"Yes. The stronger he gets, the greater is his control over the demons. And the more demons he controls, the more power he has."

"Damn. Does he have any effect on you?"

"No."

"At least one good news." She sighed. "I'll see… Oh, em, I was wondering. Em, you said you're trying to get a job in Heaven."

"Yes."

"Do you, em, regret what you have done? I mean, you already said you don't care about the mortals."

Violator thought.

"I never thougth about that," he then murmured. "I just did what I was good at, until that became boring." He thought for a moment. "I don't know."

Faith sighed.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

Violator nodded.

"Good night."

"Night."

After they split, Melissa followed the Slayer. The Slayer apparently didn't have any particular destination, in fact, it looked like she was on patrol. She followed her through several cemeteries, observing as the Slayer staked several newborn vampires.

Finally, about an hour later, the Slayer carefully approached an old mansion, obviously wary of a trap. Melissa followed her even more carefully. She went to one of the windows and peeked inside where the Slayer was talking to a young woman and then locked her up. Melissa was surprised when the young woman agreed to it. The Slayer was obviously concerned as she made sure the woman couldn't escape.

The Slayer then left and Melissa hesitated for a moment, considering whether she should free the woman. She decided against it since the woman allowed herself to be chained. She continued to follow the Slayer.

As Violator strolled through the town, avoiding people, he came across three vampires who were making fun of a demon. Violator observed them for a few moments and then decided to intervene, noticing that the demon, who looked almost as pathetic as he did, was terrified of the vampires. But when he got closer, he suddenly realized that the demon was actually not a demon at all, it was a mortal girl, even though she looked like a monster. But luckily for the girl, the vampires were having too much fun to notice that.

"Leave her alone," he said when he got close enough.

The vampires turned and burst into laughter.

"What happened to the good old scary demons?" one of the vampires said when they stopped laughing.

Violator rolled his eyes.

"We're still scary, even though we look like this."

"Oh? And what are you going to do, beg us to death?"

The vampires started laughing again.

"No, I'm going to tear you to pieces," Violator said and the vampire started to laugh again.

Violator rolled his eyes and decided to end the conversation. He moved and one of the vampires was dust before the other two stopped laughing. He grabbed the second vampire, who screamed. The third vamp tried to help, but Violator kicked him in the head and the tore off the head of the second vampire. The third vampire realized that Violator was more dangerous than he looked and decided to flee. Unfortunately for him, Violator was on top of him in a moment and he too became dust.

Violator then turned to the girl.

"Hello," he said, feeling a bit awkward. "I won't hurt you," he said when the girl started to back off.

Violator considered stopping her, but he knew she was afraid of him, so he let her run away.

Melissa followed Faith around for a while, thinking about the woman in the mansion and the weird demon from the cemetery. Suddenly something hit her in the head and she went sprawling to the ground. She turned around, massaging her head, and was froze when she saw a demon approach her.

"Help!" she screamed and started to back off.

She hoped the Slayer would hear her, but she doubted it. The demon came closer and just when it was about to grab her, someone kicked it in the head. Melissa was relieved, thinking it was the Slayer, but she was surprised when she saw it was not. She observed the fight, worried, but she quickly noticed that the girl clearly knew what she was doing and that she was not afraid of the demon. And then the Slayer joined her and together they quickly killed the demon.

"You okay, B?" the Slayer asked the other girl, who nodded.

"Yeah, no sweat." She looked at the dead demon. "Like doomsday isn't enough."

"It gets worse."

Buffy's face fell.

"How? Two doomsdays?" she asked, exasperated.

Faith grinned.

"Sort of. I'll tell you later."

She looked at the woman on the ground.

"You okay?"

Melissa nodded.

"Yes," she said in a shaky voice.

"You shouldn't go out at night," Buffy said, "it's dangerous."

Melissa noticed that they were eyeing her camera suspiciously.

"I'm an ornithologist. I study nocturnal birds."

"I suggest you study them in some other town, Sunnydale is not very safe."

Melissa nodded, heartily agreeing with her.

"I suggest you keep to the main streets," Faith said.

"I will," Melissa said.

"Good." She looked at Buffy. "Let's go to Giles, I have some bad news."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Buffy said and they left.

Melissa stared after them, confused. The way the other girl had handled the demon, it looked like she was the Slayer, but there was supposed to be only one Slayer at a time. And who was Giles? The Watcher? She quickly got up and followed them.

The next evening, Faith took the three wiccans to meet Violator.

"Well, guys, this is Violator, the former number two of Hell. Violator, these are Lara, Willow and Tara."

"Ladies," Violator said and nodded. Then he cocked his head. "Yes, witches," he said. "And pretty strong ones as well," he added thoughtfully.

"I'll leave you so you can make a plan," Faith said. "We'll meet at Giles' later."

"Okay," Willow said and Faith left.

Melissa was following the Slayer again. She was pretty certain that the man the Slayer called Giles was her Watcher. She was also surprised when she saw how many people came around his house. She thought the Slayer worked alone, but this one apparently had a whole team to do research for her.

She followed the Slayer as she went out with other three girls and she was surprised when she saw that they were meeting the demon she had seen the Slayer talk with the previous night. She was even more surprised when the Slayer left the girls alone with the demon. She hesitated for a few moments, trying to decide between following the Slayer and finding out what would happen to the three girls. But since the demon showed no interest in harming the girls, she decided to follow the Slayer, who went to check up on the woman she had chained the previous night before going on the usual patrol.

Renee and Monique had decided to go to the movies that evening.

"I think Lucy's the coolest," Monique said.

"Yeah, but I liked Drew better," Renee said. "She was more… I don't know."

"You relate to her," Monique said.

"Yes, I guess so," Renee agreed. "What did you think of Cameron's character?"

"A bimbo!" Monique said and they burst into laughter.

"Yes, I thought so too. But you have to admit that they're all cute."

"Yes, real angels."

They burst into laughter again.

"Anyway, I'm going home," Renee said when they stopped laughing.

"Already?"

"Yes. Hope's been feeling kinda… I don't know, like she's afraid of something."

"You think it has to do with this Darkness guy that Faith mentioned?"

Renee shrugged.

"I don't know. Could be. I'll have to… What's that?"

Monique looked at where Renee was pointing her finger and saw a cloaked figure.

"I don't know. A demon of some sort?"

"You got a stake?"

"Never leave home without one," Monique said with a grin and took out her stake.

Renee grinned back.

"Yes," she agreed and took out her own.

They slowly approached the cloaked figure, stakes ready.

The figure suddenly turned and they stopped, surprised. They saw it was a female demon, feeding on a cat. But the demon was probably more afraid of them than they were of it. They continued their approach and the demon started to back off. Renee noticed that the demon was clutching something, a ragged toy horse, in her arms. She suddenly stopped as she recognized the demon.

"Renee?" Monique said, not taking her eyes off of the demon.

"I know her," Renee said.

"What?" Monique said, surprised, and glanced at her.

"I know her," Renee said and lowered her stake.

The demon finally turned and started to run away.

"Kara!" Renee called after her and the demon stopped, surprised, and turned around.

"Who?" Monique asked, but Renee didn't answer.

"Kara, it's okay, we won't hurt you," she said and slowly approached the girl, putting her stake away. "Put the stake away," she told Monique.

Monique hesitated for a moment and then put the stake away.

"I know who you are," Renee said, extending her hand. "My name is Renee. I am the mother of the baby your master wanted to kidnap. I know you would have helped her and you have, in another time line. Thank you." She paused for a moment. "And now I want to help you. Come with me."

She stopped several paces from the girl, who wrapped her face in her cloak when Renee got closer.

The girl stared at Renee and her extended hand and hesitated. She couldn't make sense of what Renee had told her, but she felt that Renee was not angry with her and that she wanted to help her. No one had wanted to help her before. No one could, until now. She had waited for the sorcerer's return for a while, but when the sorcerer didn't come back, she knew that he was dead and she was free. And freedom scared her. It had taken her a while to gather the courage to leave the sorcerer's lair and enter the world. She was almost overwhelmed by its beauty and the plethora of new sensations she was experiencing.

She was a bit lost when she realized she was free to do whatever she wanted. She didn't know what she wanted, the sorcerer had always told her what to do. Then the baby came to mind, the special baby which the sorcerer wanted to kidnap. She didn't know why, but she knew that it was wrong to kidnap babies. The sorcerer had told her that the baby was very special, a powerful witch, and she hoped that the baby could help her.

Then she realized that she didn't know where the baby was. She was depressed for a while, until she remembered that the sorcerer had used a location spell. She knew she couldn't repeat the spell, but fortunately, she remembered the map.

It had taken her months to find the town, but now here she was and the mother of the baby she was looking for was offering her help. She hesitated for a moment and then approached Renee and took her hand.

Renee smiled.

"Come, let's get you to safety," she said.

"Renee?" Monique asked, wanting an explanation.

"This is Kara. She was the slave of the sorcerer who wanted to kidnap Hope. In the other time line, she tried to help Hope and the sorcerer tortured and killed her for that. She was his… lab rat."

"Oh." She thought for a moment. "You want to take her to Giles?"

Renee nodded.

"Yes. She should be safe there and perhaps we could even find out who she is."

Faith was nursing her left arm as she was returning to Giles. The patrol was not very busy, but the vampires were all ferocious and one of them got lucky.

"Faith!"

She turned when she heard someone call her name.

"Hey, guys," she said when she saw it was Renee and Monique and another person. "How was the movie?"

"Okay," Renee said. "Everyone is copying Matrix nowadays."

Faith grinned and looked at the cloaked person.

"Who's that?"

"Kara. She was the slave of the sorcerer who tried to kidnap Hope."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

Faith looked closer and frowned.

"Why does she look like Frankenstein's monster?"

"The sorcerer experimented on her."

"Son-of-a-bitch."

"My thoughts exactly," Monique said.

"You taking her to Giles?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Faith. So the Slayer's name was Faith. Melissa observed the Slayer as she talked to three girls, at least she though the cloaked person was a girl. Then she followed them to Giles' house. She peeked through the window and wished she could lip-read so she would know what they were talking about. And then the cloaked person removed the cloak. Melissa was surprised. The Slayer was supposed to kill demons, not be friends with them. Well, she knew the Slayer killed demons, but this was the second demon she had seen that she was not attacking. She was confused.

Then an idea hit her. She could go to the Bronze and try to find out more about Faith. She was surprised she didn't think of that sooner.

"Faith," Giles said when he opened the door. "Are you okay?" he added when he noticed that Faith was nursing her arm.

"Yeah, fine. The vamps are getting wild. That's Kara," she said, noticing that he was looking at Kara, curious.

"She was the slave of the sorcerer who tried to kidnap Hope," Renee said. "He… experimented on her and that's why she looks like… well…"

"Like Frankenstein's monster," Faith helped her out.

"Yes."

"I see."

"Come, you can sit down," Renee told Kara and led her to the sofa. "Are you hungry?"

Kara hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"Giles, do you have something to eat?"

"Yes, I do," Giles said and went to the kitchen.

"Where did you find her?" Willow asked.

"In the park. We thought she was a demon, but when I saw her toy horse and got a closer look at her, I knew who she was. She… She helped Hope in another time line."

"Oh."

"You talked to Violator?" Faith asked Willow.

"Oh yes. He has a… a weird attitude for a demon."

"You can say that again," Faith agreed with a grin. "Did he tell you what you have to do?"

Willow nodded.

"Yes. He gave us a few tips. We're meeting him again tomorrow."

"Oh."

"Willow," Renee spoke, "do you think you can find out who she is?"

Willow looked at her and then at Kara.

"I can try, but I'll need more information."

"I'll bring Hope over tomorrow," Renee said.

"Okay. And then I can look up all the children that disappeared between ten and twenty years ago."

"You think she was kidnapped?" Monique asked.

"I don't think she is the sorcerer's daughter."

"Good point."

"Here we go," Gils said as he returned with a plate.

He put on the table, but Kara didn’t move.

"You can eat," Renee told her.

Kara hesitated for a moment. Then she kneeled in front of the table, put her toy horse beside her and slowly removed her cloak. Everyone gasped and she looked up, frightened, but when she saw Renee smiling at her encouragingly, she started to eat.

Everyone noticed that she was starved and the conversation just died out for a while.

"Can she stay here?" Renee then asked Giles.

"Eh?" Giles said, startled. "Oh. Em, I can't see why not. But I'm afraid I have no clothes for her."

"I have some that might suit her," Willow said. "I'll go get them."

"Oh, wait," Faith said. "How are Adam and Spike?"

"Adam doesn't seem to be affected and Buffy tied up Spike."

Faith grinned.

"Thought so."

"I'll go now."

"I'll go with you," Tara said.

Willow smiled.

"We'll be right back," she said and they left.

Melissa was still confused. Before going to the Bronze the previous night, she thought of the Slayer as some sort of vigilante, but after talking to people there, they were all praising her, even though none of them knew what she was. They praised her simply for saving their lives and for making them feel safe. She was their hero. But what was even more confusing was the fact that there were apparently two Slayers, Faith and someone named Buffy. Unless, of course Buffy had died not long ago, but that was unlikely as most of the people spoke of her in the present tense. Which meant that there were two Slayers. Then she remembered the girl who had saved her life the previous night. Faith had called her B. Short for Buffy? Could be. The girl certainly fought like a Slayer. It was time to do some research again.

The next day, Monique, Lara and Raelee escorted Renee as she took Hope to Giles.

"Easy, baby," Renee said, smiling, when Hope wanted her to give her to Kara. She looked at Kara. "Kara, this is Hope, the baby your master wanted to kidnap."

Kara stared at Hope wide-eyed and Renee could see that she wanted to touch her but was afraid to.

"She wants you to hold her so she can talk to you."

Kara looked at her, surprised, and backed off. Renee smiled.

"It's okay, I know you won't hurt her. Go on," she encouraged her and offered her Hope.

Kara hesitated and the slowly and awkwardly took Hope, staring at her curiously.

"She will touch your face and then you two can talk. Don't be afraid, she won't hurt you."

Hope touched Kara's face and babbled something. Kara jerked, surprised, but Hope quickly calmed her down and then they talked. Everyone quietly waited for the conversation to end. Slowly, tears started to run down Kara's cheeks as Hope told her what might have happened had the sorcerer succeeded in kidnapping Hope. Hope then asked her to remember her childhood and Kara shared her memories with her.

When they were done, Renee let Kara hug Hope tightly for a while. Then she wiped Kara's tears and Kara jerked, surprised. Renee smiled at her and Kara shyly smiled back.

"That's better," Renee said encouragingly.

Kara then gave her Hope back.

"Okay, baby, tell me," Renee said and Hope touched her face and shared with her what she had learned from Kara.

"Anything useful?" Monique asked when Hope had told her all she knew.

"Yes, she has a twin sister."

"Kara?"

Renee nodded.

"Yes. If I got this right, she didn't live very far from her home. The sorcerer kidnapped her one day when she was little and she was raised by a… I don't know what it was, but it wasn't very friendly. And she wasn't allowed to speak. The sorcerer…" She shuddered. "Well, like I said, she was his lab rat." She took a deep breath. "Anyway, when the sorcerer didn't come back, she decided to find Hope. She didn't know what to expect, but she hoped that Hope would help her." She shook her head. "It's a miracle she found us."

"She lived near her home?" Willow asked.

"Yes."

"Do you know where that is?"

"No, I'm not sure. Somewhere north, I think, maybe Washington state."

"Then perhaps we could also examine the sorcerer's place," Tara said. "Maybe we can find a way to help Kara."

"Yes," Willow agreed. "And it would be better we get the books, we wouldn't want them to fall into the wrong hands."

"Yes," Giles agreed.

"I'll go… Is Kara her real name?"

"Yes," Renee said.

"Oh. Then it should be simple. I'll probably know who she is in an hour or so."

"Already?"

"Yes."

"Wow." She looked at Kara. "Everything will be okay. And if we don't find your family, well, we'll think of something."

Kara nodded shyly.

Melissa sat in a café from which she had a good view of the park, particularly the place where the Slayer took her sister every day. She was pretty confused about that fact, she though that the Slayers lived with their Watchers. But what was really confusing was the fact that when she talked to people, some praised a girl named Buffy and some a girl named Faith. That could mean that there were two Slayers, but she was told that there was only one Slayer per generation. She was also confused that the Slayer apparently had many friends who knew what she was. And then there was the fact that the Slayer didn't kill all demons and even seemed to be on a friendly basis with some. Somehow, she needed to confront the Slayer and find out the truth, but she had no idea how.

She took another sip and frowned when she saw the Slayer pass by. Their eyes met and she quickly looked away, at the same time cursing herself for doing so. The Slayer passed and Melissa hoped she didn't make her suspicious.

When Faith and Alice took Alice out in the afternoon, they passed a café. Inside, Faith noticed, was the woman who said she was studying nocturnal birds. She wouldn't have even noticed her if the woman hadn't turned her head quickly when their eyes met. That aroused her suspicion, especially when she remembered the camera. What if she was the nocturnal bird? She decided to find out.

"Cordelia," she said when they got the carousel, "watch Alice."

"Where are you going?" Cordelia asked.

"There's this woman in the café over there that I think is spying on me."

Cordelia glanced at the café.

"Why?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out."

"How?"

"I'm going to pretend I'm going after a demon."

"And you think she will follow you?"

Faith shrugged.

"We'll see." She looked at Alice. "Alice, I'll be right back. Cordelia will look out for you, okay?"

Alice nodded.

"Okay," she said and went to the other children.

"Okay, let's see if I'm right," Faith said. "Look, a demon," she said and they looked. "Just for the show," she said, grinning, took her stake and slowly ran away.

In the café, Melissa noticed the Slayer taking her stake and running away. She was confused, she thought the demons only ran around at night. She grabbed her camera and ran after her.

Faith ran slowly, pretending she was scouting. She ran to the nearest cemetery and waited. When she saw the woman arrive, she entered a tomb she knew led to the sewers and hid in the stone coffin. Then she waited for the woman.

Melissa saw the Slayer enter a tomb. She waited for a while, but when the Slayer didn't come out, she decided to follow her. Inside, she quickly discovered the passage to the sewers and went through. Everything was quiet and she started to have second thoughts about continuing.

When Faith heard that Melissa had entered the sewers, she got out of the coffin and followed her. She let her make a few turns before she caught up with her.

"Boo," she said, lying her hand on Melissa's shoulder.

Melissa screamed and turned, scared.

"Got lost?" Faith asked, grinning.

"What?" Melissa said, still shocked. "Hey," she protested when Faith grabbed her camera.

"Let's see what kind of birds you're studying."

"Give it back!"

Melissa tried to get the camera back, but Faith turned around and started walking back out of the sewers. Melissa, not wanting to stay alone in the sewers, followed her nervously. Faith played back the tape and saw that Melissa had indeed been following her around. She didn't like it.

"Interesting birds you have here," she said when they got back to the tomb and turned to face Melissa. "Who the hell are you?"

Melissa swallowed.

"I'm a reporter."

"Got any ID?"

Melissa took out her wallet and showed her her ID.

"Okay. Now, why are you following me around?"

"Because you're the Slayer."

"What?" Faith said, surprised, and frowned. "Okay, and what if I am a Slayer? What's it to you?"

"I want to expose you."

"Oh brother," Faith said, rolling her eyes. "Why?"

"Because you're a vigilante. People deserve to know about demons and the Watcher's Council is hiding the truth from them. You're a threat to the world."

Faith sighed.

"Okay, who did she fail to save?"

"What?" Melissa asked, surprised.

"You sound bitter, so I'm guessing that a Slayer failed to save someone close to you."

Melissa stared at her, angry that she was taking it so lightly.

"My brother," she said.

"Sorry about that, but we Slayers aren't omnipotent, we can't save everyone."

Melissa bit her teeth, having to admit that Faith had a point.

"Still, people deserve to know."

"People don't want to know. Even my mom prefers to know only the basics."

"She knows what you are?" Melissa asked, surprised.

"Of course. She knows what I am and what I do, but the less she knows, the calmer she is."

"And she lets you go out at night?"

"Yes. She knows that what I do is important. I know she'd prefer I didn't go out, but she supports me." She hesitated for a moment. "She's proud of me."

Melissa stared at Faith thoughtfully. She had never thought of the Slayer as someone's daughter.

"Why don't you tell me what you think you know and I'll correct you," Faith offered, feeling that she had a chance to convince Melissa not to expose them.

Melissa considered the idea for a moment. All her information was old and second-hand, getting information from the Slayer would be priceless.

"Okay," she agreed and thought for a few moments about where to begin. "Well, I know that there is a secret organization called the Watcher's Council, which appoints Slayers and their Watchers. There is one Slayer per generation and you are currently her. Your Watcher is Mr Giles. And, of course, there are the demons."

"Almost right," Faith said. "There is the Watcher's Council, but they don't appoint Slayers, only their Watchers. Slayers are chosen by someone in Heaven. I think. When a Slayer is killed, another is called. And don't ask me why a Slayer has to be a teenage girl with other things on her mind."

"A teenage girl?" Melissa asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"Always?"

"Yes."

"But the Slayer I saw was a woman."

Faith shrugged.

"She was either a very good Slayer or she only looked older than she was. Anyway, Giles is my second Watcher. Well, actually he's not a Watcher anymore, he got fired, but I still consider him my Watcher."

"He got fired?" Melissa asked, surprised.

"Yes. He cared too much about Buffy."

"Buffy. That's the girl who saved my life?"

"Yes."

"Em, is she a Slayer?"

"Yes."

"But how? I thought there was supposed to be only one Slayer."

"There used to be, until Buffy got killed."

"But she's still alive," Melissa said, confused.

Faith shrugged.

"CPR does miracles. Anyway, apparently she was dead enough for another Slayer to be called."

"You."

"Nope, Kendra. She got killed after a couple of months, I think, then I was called."

"Oh," Melissa said, thinking over the fact that some Slayers had a very short life span. "Em, how did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That you were a Slayer?"

"I didn't, my Watcher told me."

"How did he know?"

"It was a woman and I don't know."

"Why did they assign you another Watcher?"

Faith bit her teeth.

"Because my first Watcher got killed, in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do anything about it."

"Oh."

Melissa observed Faith noticing that the subject was obviously painful to her.

"Anyway," Faith continued, "people don't want to know about demons because they don't want to be reminded all the time what they might become or what might kill them. And if you're a reporter, you should know how some people would react, it would be the Inquisition all over again."

Melissa thought about it.

"Yes, I guess so," she admitted. "Tell me something. Why don't you kill all demons?" she changed the subject.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you talking to a demon at one of the cemeteries and I saw you take one to your Watcher."

"Oh. Well, not all demons are bent on killing people or destroying the world. Some just want to be left alone. The demon from the cemetery is Violator."

"You know his name?" Melissa asked, surprised.

"Yes. He used to be number two in Hell, but he was banished. He's now looking for a job in Heaven."

Melissa gave her a blank look.

"You're kidding, right?"

Faith grinned.

"Nope. And yes, I did try to kill him." She shrugged. "He wiped the floor with me."

"He defeated you?"

"Yes."

"And he let you live?"

"Yes."

Melissa considered the fact for a few moments.

"And the one you took to your Watcher?"

Faith smiled.

"That's no demon, it's a girl, Kara."

"But she…"

"Yes, I know, she looks like Frankenstein's monster."

"Yes."

"That's because she used to be a slave to this really evil sorcerer and he used her as a lab rat."

"Oh." She thought for a few moments. "Em, what about that woman you chained in the mansion?"

"Dawn? She's a vampire."

Melissa frowned.

"A vampire? Why don't you kill her?"

"Because she's my informer, she tells me when the demons are up to something bad. It was her idea to chain her."

"Why?"

"Well, there's this really bad demon coming to town, Darkness. He's aiming for the number two position in Hell and he's making all the local demons very ferocious. Dawn wanted me to chain her so she wouldn't kill anyone."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. By the end of the week, Earth may go to Hell. Literally. Having a whole bunch of nosy reporters, trigger-happy military and panicked people around won't help us save it. They can't help us because they don't know the first thing about demons."

Melissa had to agree that Faith had a point. She suddenly realized that the fate of the world lay in Faith's ands. And Buffy's. It was a huge responsibility, one she wasn't sure she could handle. She didn't envy them one bit.

"Yes, you're right," she said.

Faith thought for a moment.

"I can take you to Giles, perhaps he can tell you something about that Slayer you met," she offered.

Melissa considered the offer. She didn't know anything about that Slayer, except that she had failed to save her brother.

"Okay."

"Good, come. I have to get my sister first."

"Everything okay?" Cordelia asked, eyeing Melissa suspiciously, when she and Faith came back.

"Yes. I'm taking her to Giles."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Do you want to come along?"

"Yes."

They went to Alice.

"Come, Alice, we're going to Mr Giles, you remember him," Cordelia said. "We can come back later."

"Okay," Alice said and said goodbye to her playmates.

Faith and Cordelia took her hand and they left.

"Faith…"

Giles trailed off when he saw Melissa.

"Giles, this is Ms Jenkins," Faith said and let go of Alice, who went to Hope. "She's a reporter and she knows about Slayers and Watchers."

"Really?" Giles asked, a look of panic creeping across his face.

"Yeah. A Slayer failed to save her brother and now she's bent on vengeance."

Melissa jerked when Faith said that. It had never occurred to her that she wanted vengeance, she had always considered Slayers as vigilantes and bad people, not as heroes. Now she wasn't so sure anymore.

"I see," Giles said.

"Can you tell her something about that Slayer?"

"Yes, of course." He turned to Melissa. "When did you meet her?"

"1983."

Giles thought.

"Em, yes. That would be Adrienne. She was called in 1982 and died in 1987."

"How old was she when she was called?"

Giles thought.

"Fifteen, I believe."

Melissa gulped. The Slayer was only a couple of years older than her. Well, she would be, if she were still alive.

"She looked older," she said.

"Yes."

"How… How did she die?"

"A demon killed her."

"I got it!" Willow called from her computer. "I know who Kara is."

"Really?" Giles asked.

"Weren't you supposed to be looking for spells?" Faith asked her.

Willow looked at her.

"I was doing this search in the background."

"Oh. So, who is she?"

"Kara Blanchard. She disappeared in 1988. I'll print this later." She looked at Renee. "You were right, she is from Washington state." She looked around. "Where is Kara?"

"Eh, in the kitchen," Giles said.

"Tell her… Oh," she stopped herself when she remembered that Melissa was there.

"She's seen her," Faith said when she realized why Willow had stopped talking.

"She has?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"I'll get her," Giles said and left.

He soon returned with the girl and Melissa saw that she was indeed just a girl. She looked completely different all cleaned up and in new clothes and the toy horse she was clutching gave her an air if innocence.

Kara approached Willow, nervous.

"Look, this is your family," Willow said and pointed at the picture on the screen.

Kara stared at it, trying to remember. It took her a while, but she finally recognized her parents. She slowly touched the screen, afraid that the picture would disappear, and tried to say something, but no sound came out of her mouth. A tear slipped down her cheek.

"It's okay," Willow said, smiling encouragingly. "You'll go home soon."

Kara looked at her and then bowed her head and went to the sofa, afraid of what her parents would think of her because she looked like a monster.

Alice observed the strange girl. She was a bit frightened by her appearance at first, but she quickly noticed that the girl was also afraid.

"Why is she like that?" she quietly asked Renee.

Renee looked at her.

"She was mistreated."

Alice thought about it, trying to understand what the strange girl must have gone through to look like she did.

"Can I talk to her?" she asked.

Renee smiled.

"You can, but she won't answer."

"Why?"

"She wasn't allowed to speak and she probably forgot how."

"Oh."

Hope cried and Renee focused on her.

"Hey, baby, it's okay, Mommy's here."

"What's wrong?" Faith asked.

Renee glanced at her.

"I don't know. She's been crying more and more often lately and every time she cries longer."

"Why don't you ask her?"

"I did, but all I got was…" She trailed off as realization hit her. "Shit, I'm so stupid!"

"What?"

"Darkness! All I was getting was darkness. She's trying to tell me that Darkness is coming."

"We already know that."

"Yes, but the intervals, it's like the closer he gets, the more often and longer she cries."

"How often does she cry now?"

"About every hour."

"Then he's really getting closer."

"Yes. I'll tell Mrs Dion to excuse me from school so I can be with her all the time."

Faith nodded.

"A good idea."

"We'll do the protection spell again," Willow said.

"Eh, Ms Jenkins," Giles spoke, "if you have any questions, we can talk in the kitchen. Would you like some coffee or tea?"

"Tea, please," Melissa said and followed Giles out.

Alice slowly got over her fear of Kara and even though Renee had told her that Kara didn't talk, she decided to talk to her, knowing that she could listen. She wanted to make her less afraid.

"Hello, I'm Alice," she introduced herself. "I'm three years old," she added and sat beside Kara, who stared at her, curious and a bit frightened. She thought about what to say. "Do you want to hear a story?"

Kara hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"I'll take her home," Renee said, cradling the still crying Hope.

"I'll walk you to the park," Faith said and turned to Alice. "Not," she added with a smile when she saw that Alice was busy talking to Kara. "I guess I'll go talk to Ms Jenkins then."

"Okay."

There was a strong knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Faith said. "Step in front of Alice and Kara."

Monique, Renee, Lara and Raelee moved and Faith opened the door.

"I thought I'd find you here," Violator said as he entered and took off his cloak.

"How did you know?"

"I followed you around."

"Oh."

"Darkness is here, I can feel him. I think he is…" He trailed off when Renee turned around and he saw Hope. "Yes, she is special," he said and Hope stopped crying for a moment and stared at him.

"She knows who you are," Renee said. "She wants to talk to you," she added when Hope touched her face.

Violator approached and let Hope touch his face.

On the sofa, Alice and Kara stared at the Violator, both scared.

"He's okay, girls," Faith said. "He's a friend. He will help us save Hope."

"Why is he like that?" Alice asked.

"Because he is a demon. Don't worry, he's not evil, not anymore."

Giles, followed by Melissa, came from the kitchen.

"Who…" He trailed off when he saw Violator. "Who is that?" he asked, alarmed.

"Violator," Faith said.

"The demon?" Melissa asked.

"Yes."

"Thank you, little one," Violator said when Hope stopped talking to him. He turned to Giles. "Mr Giles, I presume."

"Eh, yes," Giles said, not quite sure what to make of the demon.

"I am Violator."

"Em, hello," Giles said, slightly nervous.

"He says Darkness is already here," Faith said.

Hope started crying again and Renee hugged her tightly.

"Shh, baby, everything will be all right."

"Have you found the spell?" Violator asked Willow.

"Yes, but there are several versions."

"Ah yes. Show me."

"I'll take Hope home now," Renee said.

"Okay," Faith said. "See you later."

Renee got up and Monique, Lara and Raelee scrambled as well.

"Bye," Raelee said as they left.

"Bye."

"So, did he answer all your questions?" Faith asked Melissa when the girls were gone.

"Eh? Oh. Some."

Faith looked at Giles.

"Giles, any idea what exactly we're supposed to do tonight?"

"Well, the wiccans will perform the spell and Violator will fight Darkness. The rest of us will have to protect the wiccans from vampires and other demons."

"Any idea about the numbers?"

Giles shook his head.

"I'm afraid not."

"You think Xander might get us a couple of Uzi's?"

"I don't know."

"I'll go ask him when I take Alice home."

"Okay."

"Is there anything I can do?" Melissa asked, and Faith looked at her, surprised.

"I thought you wanted to expose us or something. You know, I'm a vigilante."

"Well, I guess I was wrong. But since the world is about to go to Hell, I might at least do something to try and stop it."

Faith grinned.

"That's the spirit. Can you handle an Uzi?"

"An Uzi? I don't know, I've never used a weapon before."

"Well, it's easy. You can shoot at the demons in the distance and we'll take care of the demons that come close."

"Will it kill them?"

"Some. But it will slow them down."

"Oh. Okay."

Evening came all to quickly and everyone, including Melissa, was gathered around Monique's house. Inside, Hope started crying even more violently and Renee was worried sick.

"Mom, Dad, go check around the house. Make sure nothing comes in," Monique said.

Mr and Mrs Dion nodded and left. Monique went to the window and looked out.

"Anything?" Renee asked.

"Not yet," Monique said and looked at Hope. "Poor baby," she said and Renee nodded. "Can you, I don't know, meld with her? You know, take some pain away from her?"

Renee frowned.

"I don't know." She looked at Hope and caressed her. "I'll try. Baby? Baby, look at me," she said and Hope looked at her. Renee pressed Hope's hands against her own face. "Show me," she said and gasped when she felt Hope's pain.

"Renee?" Monique asked, worried, when Renee's head fell forward. "Renee?"

She shook her, but Renee didn't respond. She considered what to do, but nothing came to mind. She was surprised when Hope stopped crying and she noticed that Hope and Renee both seemed to be in some sort of trance.

She went to the window and looked out, where all hell broke loose. If they failed, she and her parents were the last line of defense. Which meant that they were dead.

Outside, the three wiccans were waiting. Their eyes were glowing from the power that Hope had given them. They were ready. Then the demons attacked and Melissa started shooting at them. She felt a bit awkward and scared at first, but she quickly calmed down and started shooting more accurately. She quickly noticed that she could kill several kinds of demons, while others merely walked on or went down, but survived. She concentrated on the demons that she could kill and only fired on those that she couldn't when they were threatening one of the children. She shook her head. They weren't just children, they were grown-ups, an army, and the fate of the world lay in their hands.

But what she didn't see, was the person standing in the shadows, watching. It was Gabrielle. She observed the fight, but her attention was on Violator, who was helping the mortals dispose of the demons. Soon, she would see if he was ready.

Then, finally, Darkness came. The three wiccans immediately started to chant. Darkness tried to change his form and attack, but he couldn't. He quickly realized who was responsible, but Violator attacked him and he was forced to defend himself. Still, he used his powers on the wiccans, causing them pain. Lara was the first to falter. Raelee noticed that and she was quickly by her side.

"I'm here," she said softly and took her hand.

She gasped when she felt power flow through her body. She felt like she was being drained, but at the same time, she was getting stronger. She didn't understand it and she didn't even try, but she was aware that Lara had regained control and that was all that mattered.

But that little interlude gave Darkness enough strength to seriously injure Violator. Still, Violator didn't back off, he continued to fight, even though he knew that he would die.

In the shadows, Gabrielle saw Violator was about to die. He was a strange demon and he had proven that he indeed had angelic qualities. She waved her hand and everybody froze. A light appeared in the sky and Gabrielle looked at it.

"I believe he has passed the test," she said.

"Bring him to Heaven," a soft voice spoke from the light.

Gabrielle nodded and the light disappeared. She then waved her hand again and Darkness disappeared and everybody started to move again, but stopped, confused, when they saw that Darkness and the demons were gone.

"Eh, what the hell just happened?" Faith asked, looking around warily.

"I don't… Who are you?" Buffy asked when she saw Gabrielle.

Gabrielle smiled.

"I am Gabrielle."

She looked at everyone and then closed her eyes. Nothing happened for a moment, but then light enveloped her and she turned back into her angelic form, a gorgeous woman in a white gown with white wings. Everyone gasped.

"What… What are you?" Cordelia asked.

"An angel," Lara said.

Gabrielle looked at her, smiling, and nodded.

"I am archangel Gabrielle," she said.

"So Lara was right about you when we first saw you," Raelee said.

Gabrielle nodded.

"Yes, she recognized what I was."

She looked at Violator, who was lying on the ground, mortally wounded, and went to him. She put her hand over his wound and the wound healed.

"Thank you," Violator said and Gabrielle smiled.

"You have passed the test, Violator," she said and got up. "You may join our forces."

Violator was speechless. Gabrielle smiled, laid her hands on his body again and concentrated. Nothing happened for a moment, but then Violator's form started to change and he started to grow and grow. And grow.

"He's… huge," Xander said as he stared at the demon, who kept transforming.

"He was Violator," Gabrielle said.

Violator finally stopped growing at thirty meters, but his wings and other assorted spikes continued to grow. When he was finally back to specs, Violator stretched and roared. Everyone except Gabrielle put their hands over their ears.

"Sorry," Violator rumbled.

"Em, just out of curiosity," Faith said, "how strong is he in comparison with, say, the demon Mayor Wilkins wanted to become, Acathla or the Judge?"

"He is a hundred times as strong as all of them together," Gabrielle answered. She smirked. "Would you still fight him if you had to?"

Faith and Buffy gave her the what-kind-of-question-is-that look.

"Of course," they said in unison.

Gabrielle smiled.

"Of course," she said.

"It's questionable though," Xander said, still staring at the demon, "whether we would survive to tell about it."

"We wouldn't," Anya said.

"How did you defeat them?" Violator asked.

"Who?" Buffy asked.

"We blew them up," Faith said. "Except Acathla," she added and Buffy bit her teeth.

"I will tell you later," Gabrielle said, noticing Buffy's discomfort.

"Em, Gabrielle," Faith said, "I have a few questions."

Gabrielle smiled.

"I'm sure. Ask."

"Number one, you're… female."

Gabrielle's smile widened.

"Yes."

"But I thought archangels were male. You know, Gabriel, Michael, Rafael."

"No, most of us are female."

"So it's Gabrielle, Michelle and Rafaela?"

Gabrielle smiled.

"Yes."

"And God is actually Goddess?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Em, about religions. You're, what, from the Bible? Does that mean the Christians are right?"

Gabrielle shook her head.

"No. But it doesn't mean that they are completely wrong either. Most religions have some truth in them, but that truth is often disguised by the customs of the times in which their holy books were written. Like my name, for example, and the fact that God actually prefers female form and that Devil is actually the other half of Goddess." She smirked. "Or the fact that Lucifer is actually one of the male archangels and not Devil. His name means the bearer of light."

"You're kidding!" Buffy said.

Gabrielle smiled.

"A lot of things in the holy books were also made up so that those higher up in a religion's hierarchy could control the rest. Goddess doesn't interfere in affairs of religions, but there are places where her energy is available to mortals, especially those with special powers," she said and looked at the three wiccans.

"Oh."

Gabrielle smiled.

"It doesn't matter what you believe. What matters is what you do."

"I can live with that," Faith said.

Gabrielle smiled.

"Em, what is Goddess' true name?" Willow asked.

"Goddess has many names, but her true name is not for mortals to hear, it would be abused," Gabrielle explained.

"Oh."

"Em, if Goddess is the big boss, then what are Powers That Be?" Cordelia asked.

"What do you think?" Gabrielle said, smirking.

Cordelia looked at Faith, who shrugged.

"By the way, your bond was not meant for mortals, not yet," she said and both girls froze, holding their hands, afraid that she would separate them, but Gabrielle merely smiled. "Don't worry, you won't be separated," she said and the girls relaxed.

"Em, I have a question," Tara said nervously and Gabrielle looked at her. "About… About… lesbian love."

Gabrielle smiled.

"Love is love, it doesn't matter if you love another girl," she said and Tara blushed. She looked at Faith and Cordelia. "In case you've been wondering, your vows are worth as much as any marriage."

Faith and Cordelia looked at each other, excited.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Cordelia then asked skeptically. "I mean, considering the number of divorces."

Gabrielle laughed.

"I assure you it's a good thing."

"Good."

Gabrielle looked at Melissa.

"Your brother is okay," she said.

"What?" Melissa said, surprised. "You mean…"

Gabrielle smiled.

"Yes." She looked around. "Before we go, you have all earned a gift."

"What kind of gift?" Xander asked.

Gabrielle smiled.

"A very special one. You will all get what you need."

Xander raised an eyebrow.

"Then why am I not ecstatic about it?"

"Because you're watching Xena too much," Gabrielle explained with a smirk.

Xander did a double take.

"Oh," he said, not quite getting it.

"You're watching Xena?" Anya asked him, slightly jealous.

Gabrielle smiled, shaking her head, and then waved her hand. Then she turned to Violator.

"Come."

"Wait, that's it?" Xander asked.

Gabrielle looked at him.

"Yes."

"What did I get?"

Gabrielle smiled.

"You'll have to find out that for yourself," she said.

Xander stared at her, confused, and Gabrielle laughed. Then she took Violator's hand and started walking. A portal appeared out of nowhere and they walked through.

"I have a bad feeling," Anya said.

"Reminds you of your job?" Xander teased her.

"That was a serious job," Anya said.

Buffy smiled at their bickering and turned to Faith and Cordelia.

"What vows?" she asked.

Cordelia glanced at Faith, who shrugged.

"Well, we kinda swore we would love each other until death do us part," she explained and showed her her ring.

Faith did the same.

"They're identical," Buffy observed.

"Actually, this is one ring, split down the middle."

"Oh."

"You do this every day?" Melissa finally asked and everyone looked at her.

"More or less," Faith said.

"So, you gonna blow the whistle?" Xander asked.

Melissa looked at him and then shook her head.

"No, I… No."

"How come?" Buffy asked.

"Because I don't think the people would believe me, in spite of the tapes. And, well, what she, you know, Gabrielle, said, well, it made me think. And if I told people what I heard, it would wreak havoc with religions and, well, I don't think people are ready to know what we know."

Buffy nodded.

"And besides, the government knows about demons."

"What?" Melissa said, surprised.

"They have a part of the military on it, an organization called the Initiative. They perform experiments on the demons and are more or less a major pain in the ass, you know, they want to make a perfect soldier. I don't think the government would appreciate you snooping around their top secret stuff."

Melissa nodded.

"I'll have to be careful."

"Yes."

Melissa sighed.

"I think I'll go home. If I hear anything that you might want to take care of, I'll let you know."

Buffy nodded.

"Okay. Thanks."

Melissa laughed.

"Thank you, I should say. After all, you just saved the world."

Buffy shrugged.

"All in the line of duty," she said and smiled.

Melissa smiled back.

"Yes, I guess so. Anyway, I'll destroy the tapes, unless you want them for your archive or something."

"I don't know," Giles said, uncertain.

"I can edit the tapes, remove us from the picture," Willow said.

"Okay, we'll see," Giles agreed.

"Good. I'll bring them over tomorrow and then you can answer some more of my questions. Tonight, I'll just grab a shower and hit the bed. And hope I don't have a nightmare."

"You'll get used to it," Willow said.

Melissa smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll see you tomorrow, Mr Giles."

"Yes," Giles said.

"I guess all's well that ends well," Xander said.

"For now," Cordelia said.

"Giles, we're going home," Faith said.

Giles nodded.

"Yes. I believe this was it for tonight."

"I hope the demons agree," Xander added, looking around.

"They better," Faith said. "We'd hate if they interrupted our quality time."

Cordelia smiled affectionately at her.

"Definitely," she agreed. She stretched. "Remind me to call Angel when we get home. I'm staying home tomorrow."

Faith smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Come, let's go free Dawn first and then…"

She finished the sentence whispering in Cordelia's ear and Cordelia blushed and coughed.

"Let's get out of here," she said.

"What happened when I touched you?" Raelee asked Lara as they walked home, holding their hands. "I felt… I don't know, like I had your powers."

Lara glanced at her.

"You had," she confirmed. "You shared your personal strength with me and I shared my powers with you."

"Wow. It was so… strange. And great. I felt like I was a part of you."

"I felt like that too," Lara agreed.

"You think that's how Faith and Cordelia felt when they were merged?"

"I don't know. Their link is much deeper."

"Oh." She thought for a moment. "You think we can do it again?"

Lara thought about it.

"I don't know. We can try."

Raelee nodded.

"Okay. But not tonight, you're tired."

Lara shook her head.

"No, I'm not."

"But you were tired," Raelee said, "I felt it."

Lara nodded.

"I was, but Gabrielle restored my strength."

"Oh. So that's why I'm not feeling tired."

"Yes."

Raelee smiled.

"Oh! Em, do you want to be my Valentine?" she asked and blushed.

Lara looked at her, surprised, and then smiled.

"Yes."

Raelee smiled back.

Then let's go to your place and talk about what we're going do to after the Valentine Dance.

"Okay."

In the house, Monique noticed that Renee and Hope had calmed down. She looked out the window and saw that the fight was already over. Faith noticed her and gave her a thumbs-up. She nodded and went to Renee. She was about to wake her up when Renee woke up by herself.

"How do you feel?" Monique asked her, worried.

"My head hurts," Renee said and groaned. She looked at Hope. "Hey, baby, how do you feel?" she cooed her.

Hope touched her face and babbled something.

"Yes, my head hurts too," Renee agreed. "Now, it's time to go to bed."

Hope babbled something.

"Yes, Mommy will be there too, but first I have to get a shower. Auntie Monique will hold you, okay?"

Hope babbled something and Renee smiled.

"That's my baby," she said and looked at Monique. "Can you hold her so I can grab a shower?"

"Sure," Monique said, smiling, and took Hope. "Come, girl, let's go upstairs," she said and went upstairs, Renee following her. "Don't worry, Mommy will be with you soon." She looked at Renee. "One evil less, I guess."

"Yeah. I wonder what was going on out there."

"Well, there were a lot of demons and that black guy, Darkness. I didn't watch, but as far as I could see, the demons are all gone, which means we've won."

"I guess we'll have to hear the whole story tomorrow."

"Yeah."

Renee took a deep breath.

"I wish Hope was a normal baby. I mean, I don't mind her being able to talk to me and stuff, but life would be a whole lot easier without the entire Hell after her."

Monique smiled.

"True, but life would be so much more boring then."

Renee snorted she said and started to undress.

"I could use some boredom."

Monique smiled.

"Me too," she agreed and looked at Hope. "And you too, right, girl?"

Hope babbled something.

"Thought so."

"I'll go get that shower now," Renee said and left.

"Okay."

The End