disclaimer on first part
It had been oddly anticlimactic. Finding a lone man coming out of a bar, luring him into an alley, then beating him and taking his wallet; the first time, there had been a little flicker of excitement, but after that, it got old fast. She had managed to collect enough for a bus ticket and a few meals before she got too bored, and then had gone off to deal with her wardrobe situation. Though the register had been empty, the shoe selection had been fabulous, and the clothes hadn't been too bad. The hamburger platter at the diner had been exquisite, and the coffee - man, six months without caffeine was way too long. Now, refreshed and rejuvenated, she looked herself over in the dirty motel mirror. Already, she could see the flesh coming back onto her bones, and feel her full strength returning to her body.
"Slayer powers, activate!" she said, gently clinking her newly purloined ring against her mirrored fist. Faith looked around the room. It was small, dingy, and smelled like home. The smart girl would move to a different place, and Faith lay back on the bed as she considered the issue. Though she did feel much more like her old self, the actions of the evening had tired her out, and the room was already paid for. Faith yawned. Besides, they kept all the Watchers in England, so even if they hurried, they couldn't possibly get to her until mid-morning, at least.
Faith yawned again, curling up on her side and pushing off her shoes. Just a few hours, a nap, really. Then she'd get the hell out of Dodge and start her new life somewhere very not Sunnydale. I'll need a new name, she thought sleepily. Something snazzy.
Faith's eyelids flickered, and she was suddenly awake without having noticed she'd fallen asleep. She held perfectly still, not opening her eyes, and listening intently for the sound that had woken her. There it was again: a slight scratching, coming from the door. Faith's eyes blinked open - she was still alone in the room. Quickly, she slid from the bed and stood behind the door. The cheap motel lock clicked, and the door swung open. Faith held her breath - the light was still on, and whoever was at the door would be able to see the room was empty and the bed rumpled, but still made. Through the crack between the door and the jamb, she could see movement, but not much else. Come on, she thought. I haven't got all night.
A man's head appeared, looking into the room. Faith reached forward and grabbed the man by the hair, slamming his head against the door and the door against her braced bare foot. Wincing, she yanked the man sideways and threw him to the floor. He tumbled to the ground with a satisfying thud, and lay there, moaning. Before she could savor her triumph, Faith saw another figure come through. This one was a woman, and she was carrying some small handheld device that Faith could not immediately identify. Faith kicked the door at the woman, who dodged it, giving Faith the chance to slip by and into the room. Behind the woman was a third person, another man, who Faith could not get a good look at.
The woman stepped over her fallen partner and addressed Faith, who stood, balanced on the balls of her feet, next to the bed. "Do not resist us, Slayer. The Council has sent us to retrieve you, and it's in your best interest..." The woman ducked to avoid a shoe flung by Faith, and then advanced on the Slayer. Faith caught the wrist of the hand holding what she had realized was a taser, and squeezed as hard as she could. She could feel the bones of the woman's wrist rub together before they snapped, and she smiled as the taser dropped to the ground.
"It's in my best interest," she said, bringing her knee up into the woman's gut, "to kick your ass from here to Sunday." The woman coughed and bent over, but then rammed her head into Faith's midsection, driving her back onto the bed. The women struggled together for a moment, and then Faith got one hand free. With a quick motion, she brought the heel of her hand up, hard, into the woman's nose. Bones splintered and slipped, and the woman fell limp, slumping on top of Faith. Faith shoved the dead body to the floor and sprang off the bed. The first man had gotten to his feet and was standing, shakily, next to the second one, who had retrieved the taser from the floor.
"You know, I had heard you could kill someone like that, but I'd never actually tried it. Okay, which one of you wants to live long enough to tell the Council to leave me the hell alone?" The men looked at one another, and then back at Faith. She sighed. "I'll pick, then. Eeny, meeny..." The one with the taser moved towards her. She allowed him to get within arm's reach before dropping down on one knee and scooping his legs out from under him. He fell forward, over her back, and she flipped him hard to the floor. Before he could rise, she stepped firmly on his wrist, and then delivered a sharp kick to his head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the first man begin to move towards her. Smoothly, she leaned down, plucked the taser out of the other man's hand, and brought it around into the belly of the first. She pressed the button, and the taser made a lovely zapping noise. The man hit the ground and fell, face-down, across his male partner.
"Just like riding a bicycle," Faith said quietly to herself. She was trembling all over as she gathered her new clothes together and slipped her shoes back on her feet. Too much excitement for one evening, she thought. Time to fly. She flicked off the light and pulled the door closed behind her as she went out into the stormy dawn.
*****
Buffy was just plain tired. She had actually gotten some decent sleep the night before, despite Faith, but hearing about the other Slayer's disappearance had just exhausted her. She lay back on Giles' couch, one arm flung over her face, as he concluded his phone conversation with the Council's home office. "She's gone," he said as he hung up the phone.
Buffy nodded under her arm. "I heard that part. What happened?"
Giles stood at the end of the couch, slowly cleaning his glasses on his sweater. "They apparently contracted out, to get someone on the job as quickly as possible. Three people went in, and one got killed." Buffy sat up with a start.
"She killed...why am I surprised?" Buffy thumped one hand against the back of the couch. "Didn't they know what they were dealing with?"
"Apparently not. I blame the Council for this, they acted precipitously." Giles replaced his glasses and gazed across the room. "Needless to say, they didn't take my warnings very seriously. I should have been more clear."
Spike slouched into the room, looking rumpled and cross, and poked Giles in the back. "Some of us are trying to get some sleep, you know. What's the ruckus?"
Giles glared over his shoulder at the vampire. "None of your business. If you want peace and quiet, I suggest you find a nice crypt." He turned and walked away, and Spike shrugged before batting Buffy's feet out of the way and sitting on the couch. He regarded the Slayer, who had returned to her prone position, and was picking at a loose thread on the couch back.
"What's the matter now, blondie?" he asked her. She ignored him and tugged the thread harder, beginning to unravel a portion of the fabric. "C'mon, you can tell your Uncle Spike. Is it...the other Slayer?" he asked casually. The thread broke off in Buffy's hand.
"How do you know about her?" she snapped.
Spike smiled, leaning his head back against the couch.
"I'm dead, girl, not deaf. Besides, I had heard a bit about a second Slayer before I came back to town. I thought it was just some rumor made up by demons with nothing better to talk about, but apparently it's true. As if one of you wretched girls wasn't bad enough," he added, glancing back at Buffy.
"You think I'm bad," she sighed, swinging her legs down and getting to her feet. "You don't even know how lucky you are."
"Well, maybe I can help you, then," he said quickly, following her towards the door.
"How? Carry my purse?" Buffy leaned across the kitchen counter to address Giles. "I'm going to start looking for her. Tell the others to keep an eye out - if she's smart, she'll head out of town, but smart's not her best quality. Psycho's really her best quality, followed by crazy."
"Call in and let me know how it's going," Giles responded. Buffy nodded as she headed out the door. The storm that had gathered the night before had not yet moved on, and some leaves blew in the door before she closed it.
Spike perched on a stool at the counter and watched Giles make tea. "You know, you're really missing an opportunity here," he said, fiddling with a stray spoon. "You need manpower, and I need something to do." Giles looked curiously at Spike.
"Why would you want to risk your neck helping us?" he inquired.
Spike snorted. "Because my favorite thing in the world is having two Slayers running around town, especially since one of them doesn't know about my...special circumstances. Look, I'm not offering to fight the girl, just to poke around some. Ask a few questions, see if anyone knows anything. I have contacts Buffy doesn't; they might be helpful. You do plan on shipping her out of town once you find her, right?" Spike started tapping the spoon rhythmically on the countertop until Giles snatched it out of his hand.
"Yes, we do. Fine, if you want to help, you can. But watch your back and stay out of her way - she'll kill you if she catches you."
Spike blinked sweetly at Giles. "I didn't know you cared."
"I don't, but you can't tell me anything if you're dust." Spike hopped off the stool and retrieved his coat.
"Good point. Okay, captain, you tell me what I'm looking for, and I'll report like a good little soldier." He shrugged the long leather jacket on and smoothed back his hair. Ah, for a mirror, he thought. Tonight's going to be a good night.
*****
The fucking rain is really, really the limit, Faith thought. It was bad enough to have to leave her warm room at an ungodly hour of the morning, bad enough that she wasn't sure enough of her situation to be comfortable just hopping on a bus, or even hitching out of town. She had slept out before, under an overpass, in an abandoned building - you got used to it pretty quick, when you had to. But the rain! She was wet through, from her soggy hair to her squelching shoes.
"It's Sunnydale, dammit!" she yelled at the overcast sky. "Get with the program!"
She had no idea what time it was, only that it was well after dark. She had been on the move almost all day, with only a short nap wedged in behind a dumpster to take the edge off her exhaustion. She hadn't even grabbed much to eat; it seemed like every other restaurant she looked into had a cop chatting up the staff, and she had to assume they might be on the lookout for her. Finally, she had stolen some cheese and bread from a supermarket, and was now feeling a bit bloated and unhappy from her meal. Worst of all, she was sure she had just seen Buffy coming out of one of the bars in the run-down part of town, exactly the kind of place Faith felt most comfortable hiding.
"Why can't she just let it go?" Faith asked herself as she huddled on a fire escape in an alley behind a burned-out building. In that vantage point, she only had a little cover, but at least she could see anyone coming before they got too close. And someone was coming, though it wasn't Buffy, or any of her cohorts. This man was blond, of the fake variety, and wore his long leather coat with a certain cool style.
"You know, that coat might look good on me," she said to the man as she dropped down in front of him. "What say you hand it over, wallet too, and consider this a valuable lesson about personal safety." He stopped a few feet away and looked her up and down, slowly, before resting his gaze on her face. He was handsome, in a cold kind of way.
"You're too short for it," he answered calmly, his accent marking him as a Brit. Faith took three steps back, shaking her head slowly.
"What do I have to do to make my point to you people?" She pulled the taser out of her waistband and held it at her side. "Write, 'Leave me the hell alone' in your blood on the wall?" The man pulled his hands out of his pockets and raised them to his sides, miming defeat.
"Keep calm, girl, I'm here as a friend. Let's try and be civil."
Faith laughed. "Well, that's nice to hear. I was just sitting out in the rain thinking, 'Now where did I put all my friends?'" Her mocking smile turned quickly to a glare. "Now, are we going to stand here chatting all night, or am I going to kick your ass?"
"Why the rush - got somewhere to be?" The blond man smiled. "No, you don't, do you, or you wouldn't be crouched on a fire escape in the middle of a rainstorm." He dropped his hands to his sides and took another step towards Faith. "Let's start with introductions. You're Faith, and you've been a bad, bad Slayer. You've got no friends and a lot of enemies, including one little blonde moppet named Buffy."
"Moppet? Muppet, maybe; she's got the Council's hand so far up her ass I'm surprised she can swallow." Faith grinned. "And who are you, then? My super-secret new friend, who can solve all my problems if only I'll go quietly? I don't think so, freak." With that, Faith launched herself at the man, who put up no resistance. He tumbled to the ground under her onslaught, only moving to cover his face with his arms and curl into a ball. She stopped attacking when she realized he was not fighting back, stepping away from his prone body in confusion.
"What are you, some kind of Quaker? Get up and fight like a man. Hell, fight like a schoolgirl, just fight back. Otherwise it's really no fun for me." She stood over him, watching as he uncurled and sat up, wiping mud off his face.
"Sorry to disappoint. We have a lot more in common than you think, Faith, if you'd just listen for one second."
"Yeah, you're a lot how I imagine I would be if I were totally pathetic." Faith glanced around the alley, wondering if the man had partners who might be creeping up, but she saw no one.
"You are pathetic," the man replied, then ducked the kick she threw at his head. He slid backwards a few feet before getting up, just out of her reach. "Face it, pet, you are. I mean, look at you - you're the Slayer, for God's sake, and you're hiding in an alley like a common pervert. You deserve better than that, don't you think?" He ran his hand through his hair, then shook off some mud. "Both of us deserve better."
"Yeah? You have something in mind?" Faith relaxed a bit. This one was a puzzle, but didn't seem dangerous - yet. If she had to, she could zap him and be up the fire escape before anyone could lay a hand on her.
"As a matter of fact, I do. I'm a bit stuck at the moment, a lot like you. No friends, a lot of enemies, and nobody to watch my back." A slow, wicked smile spread across his face. "I think you and I could come to a nice little agreement, a little tit for tat."
"Oh, and I supply the tit? Nice try, but no." Faith stuck the taser back in her waistband and leaped up, swinging easily onto the lowest level of the fire escape. "Go find some poor lost girl to run that line on and leave me alone."
Below her in the dark, the man laughed. "Sorry, pet, that's not what I meant. You're not really my type."
"Why not? Too tough for you?" She peered down into the alley, but the man was hidden by a shadow.
"Too warm," he replied, stepping forward into the weak streetlight and turning his face up into the rain. What had been smooth skin was now demonically furrowed, and yellow vampire eyes blinked up at her. "I like my girls a bit more chilled, if you get my drift."
"Well, I'll be damned. I thought you were giving off a creepy vibe." Faith leaned casually over the edge of the fire escape. "Should I know you from somewhere?"
"Maybe. Name's Spike; I used to run this town." Spike's face slipped back into its human form.
Faith sat, her legs swinging a few feet above Spike's head. "Buffy mentioned you a couple of times, but she made you sound real bad-ass."
Spike groaned. "No need to rub it in. Let's just say I've temporarily chosen the quiet life. No, not chosen, more like had it forced upon me by some nasty little mortals who couldn't mind their own business." He kicked the wall. "Stupid creatures. I'll eat their hearts, soon as I'm feeling a bit better."
Faith let him sulk for a minute before knocking a shower of rust onto his platinum hair. "So, you can't fight?" He nodded sullenly, brushing the rust off his head. She smiled. "Man, someone whose life sucks even more than mine. You can still suck, right?" When he did not answer, Faith started to giggle hysterically. After a few minutes, dampened by the rain, she stopped laughing and wiped the tears out of her eyes. Spike was pacing back and forth below her. "Are you still here?"
He looked up at her, eyes narrow. "Are you done acting like a six year old? We can help each other, Slayer."
Faith grinned, slipping down to stand in front of Spike. "You've already helped me tons; I haven't laughed like that in years. Other than that, you seem pretty useless." She whipped the taser out of her waistband and pressed it to his side - zap! Spike hit the ground like a ton of bricks, reducing Faith to laughter again. "Beautiful! Maybe I'll keep you as a pet. Would you like that, Spikey-wikey?" As he began to struggle to his feet, she lunged for him again, giggling as he tripped over his coat trying to get away from her.
"Dammit, woman, will you just calm down! Tell me this," he sputtered, keeping his distance from the taser. "Where did you sleep last night? After you fled your motel, I mean." Faith wrinkled her brow in confusion, but didn't answer. "Let me guess, then," Spike continued more calmly. "In an alley somewhere, or an abandoned building, or maybe my favorite, in a crypt. If you slept at all, that is. Where will you sleep tonight? How do plan on getting out of town, and where are you going to go? If you think you can run from the Council all on your lonesome, you'd better think again, sweets."
Faith made a quick move towards Spike, causing him to scuttle even farther away, but this did not make her smile. "I can take care of myself; I don't need someone to hold my hand. Especially someone who's going to need me to play big sister for him, and keep away all the bullies." Silently, Faith thought about Spike's offer. Her experience last night was not one she wanted to repeat, but the Council would surely have spies all over the place, just waiting to hear about a girl with Slayer powers, yet not their blonde baby. She had dreaded going to sleep that night, dreaded being alone again.
Spike watched Faith's face as she thought. Buffy had been right; the woman was a wreck. She was disheveled and muddy, reminding him of a stray cat he and Dru had once adopted, until Dru decided the cat was whispering horrible things into her ears during the day, and nailed him to a wall. Spike was sure of one thing, though: the girl had potential for serious destruction, someone that could match his own evil passions, maybe teach him a thing or two. Maybe she could even be convinced to help him get his lost powers back - no need to bring that up right away, though. Lead her into it slowly, like a baby into a well. And if it didn't work, if she staked him...well, he wasn't getting very far without her, anyway.
"You're not offering me enough," she said suddenly. "Not enough to make you worth my time."
Spike shrugged. "Safe places to stay, contacts all over the world, over a hundred years of experience in lying, hiding, stealing and generally making a pest of myself, and that's not enough? Sorry, duck, that's all I have." He turned his back and began walking down the alley towards the street. Before he got far, he could hear her coming up behind him, fast, and he ducked down and to the side. Not quick enough, though; Faith grabbed his arm and flipped him up and over, and he came down hard on his back. When he opened his eyes, she was standing over him, looking flushed and triumphant.
"I want you to turn me," she said, grinning. "I want you to bring me over to your side."
Spike blinked for a minute, looking dazedly up at the beautiful, vicious young woman above him. Stalling for time to think, he coughed and rolled on his side. She stepped away, and he rose awkwardly to his feet.
"Sorry, pet, I don't think I get you. You want me to what?"
Faith stepped forward slowly and put her hands on Spike's shoulders. He flinched slightly but did not pull away, and she leaned up to whisper in his ear. "I want you," she said quietly, "to make me," she continued, breathing a warm breath into his cold ear, "a vampire." She bit down gently on his earlobe, and a shudder passed through his body. Faith pulled back, her dark eyes gleaming and her cheeks wet with rain.
Spike's gaze slipped over her face wonderingly - the girl was amazing! In all his years, he had never had someone come to him like that, knowingly, and ask him such a thing. The lunatics had, and the romantics, the ones who thought vampirism was all languid passion and pale skin, but never like this. And a Slayer! It would be even better than killing her. But of all the times...
He smiled weakly. "I'd love to, Faith, believe me, but I can't. I can't harm anyone, which means no biting, no drinking, and so no vamping. Besides," he added thoughtfully, "what would happen to a Slayer who became a vampire? You might not make the transition."
Faith's smile widened, became positively carnal. "I know exactly what would happen to me. I read about it in one of Giles' stupid books, once when I was stuck with nothing better to do." She stepped away from Spike and did a little pirouette, flinging her arms above her head and stretching into the rain. "I'd become a Paradox - that's what the Watchers call it. A Paradox keeps all her Slayer powers, and adds the vamp stuff on top - I'd be stronger, faster, and even heal quicker than I do now. And I wouldn't have even the smallest bit of soul left to bug me." She stopped her dance and bounced back to Spike. "I wouldn't be the first one - the Slayer I read about became a real hard-core bitch when she got turned. But I bet I'd be the baddest. That would show them," she added quietly, to herself. "I'm nobody's slave."
"You're certainly not," Spike murmured, smiling to himself. "But that doesn't get around the problem, my problem. I can't turn you if I can't bite you."
Faith chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "Which is important, the biting or the drinking? Because if it's the drinking, I can find you a sharp knife and a cup, and we're in business."
Spike grinned. "More like a kitchen sink, pet, but that would work. You'd have to do it yourself, though; the cutting, I mean. Feel up to it?"
"I can do what I have to do, to get what I want," she answered. "And I want it now. Let's go..." Spike's shaking head cut her off.
"Not tonight, it's too close to dawn. I want us to get a head start out of town, not rush out like drunks at closing time. I have a safe place to stay tonight, and I can give you a one as well. It's not dayproofed, but you should be fine there, it's out of the way." Faith's pout made him smile, but he held firm. "Sorry, sweets, but it's better this way. One more day in the sun, if there's a sun," he said, glancing up at the clouds. "Then eternity in the night."
"I was never a morning person," Faith said, shrugging. She looked at Spike, her head tilted to the side. "What makes you think I won't just kill you as soon as I get turned?"
"What makes you think I won't let you bleed to death in the sink?" Spike answered playfully. "Absolutely nothing. Makes it more exciting, doesn't it?" Thunder rolled above them, and the rain began to come down in earnest. The two conspirators ran for cover beneath an old awning, seconds before lightning struck the old fire escape. Faith's laughter spiraled up over the sound of the storm, until it was lost in the thunder.
*****
Willow gnawed thoughtfully at a fingernail. "Well, maybe she managed to sneak out of town - she's a practiced sneak, you know. I bet she could sneak into a sneak's convention."
Buffy stopped her pacing around Giles' living room. "I doubt it. She's got the police looking for her, some Council goons, and us." She ticked the list off on her fingers. "That's a lot of people, and she's on her own. No, I think she just found a place to lie low for the day, but she can't hide for long. She has to come out sometime, to eat, if nothing else. I'll hit all the bars again tonight."
Willow got to her feet. "Okay. I'll go back to the magic shop, and check out the bus station and center of town. I'll go by the school, too - maybe she's hiding out there."
"Good idea, Willow, but I'll go with you there, just in case." Buffy started to scribble a quick note to Giles on the back of an envelope.
"Where is Giles, anyway?" Willow asked. "And where's Spike? Shouldn't he be cowering around here somewhere?"
"Someone from the Council is flying in tonight, and Giles wanted to meet him at the airport. He thinks the Council's not taking Faith seriously enough, so I guess he wants to pound on the guy a bit - verbally, of course," she added, when Willow looked surprised. "And Spike's out 'helping us' find Faith."
"Helping us? What does that mean?" Willow asked, tugging on her red raincoat.
"It means he's found somewhere else to hide." The girls exchanged a smile, and then both jumped as the phone rang. Buffy snagged the receiver. "Giles' phone." She listened for a minute, as her smile turned serious. "Where? Okay, you stay there, stay out of sight - I'm on my way."
"Ddi someone find her?" Willow asked as Buffy hung up. The Slayer nodded.
"That was Spike - surprise surprise. He says she's down by the docks, skulking around a freighter. I guess this is it. You stay here," Buffy raised a hand to cut off Willow's protests. "She's way too dangerous for us both to go, and I'll be happier if I know you're somewhere safe."
Willow made a pout, but didn't argue. She was still a bit scared of Faith, and was unsure she could be of help fighting the rogue Slayer. "If you need help, call me - I'll come running with spells a-blazin'."
"I know you will, Will. If things start going bad, I'll just point her at Spike - I think he counts as an acceptable loss." Buffy grinned and put on her coat. The rain had finally tapered off during the day, and the sunset had not only been visible, but quite glorious - still, a crisp breeze blew through town, and Buffy was tired of being cold.
"I'll tell Giles where you went," Willow called to her friend's departing back. "Kick her butt!" Buffy's laugh reached back to Willow's ears, making her smile as she closed the apartment door.
*****
Spike was lurking in the shadow of a stack of cargo containers when Buffy arrived; he gestured her frantically to his dark nook. "What took you so long? I could have been dust by now, you know."
"So sorry, your well-being is usually my first concern. Where is she?"
Spike peered out, pointing vaguely off to the left. "I saw her go down that way, about twenty minutes ago. Who knows where the hell she is now, though." He began to walk off, towards the highway, but Buffy stepped in front of him.
"Not so fast. I need you to show me where she went, better than 'that way'."
Spike frowned. "Are you trying to get me killed?"
Buffy gave him her brightest smile. "I consider it a hobby. Come on." She yanked him by the arm until he joined her, slouching along uncomfortably at her side.
"All right, I'll show you, but then I'm out of here. I have an urgent appointment with the rest of my life," he murmured. They walked along the containers, Buffy on full alert for any noises or movement. All was quiet, except for the whisper of the wind between the crates. A few clouds scudded over the moon, leaving the two in momentary darkness.
Spike stopped, pointing to an alley between two buildings. "I saw her go that way," he muttered to her. "But that's it - I've done my part." Buffy peered down the alley. She saw no sign of Faith, but there were various boxes piled up along the walls, any one of which could have hid her. At the other end of the alley was a small abandoned shed - possibly Faith's hiding place. A cold chill crept slowly up her back.
"Feels like a trap," she said softly to herself. It would have been easy for Faith to notice she had a tail, and lure him to ground she was ready to defend. Spike snorted.
"It may well be, but it's not a trap for me, so I don't care." He stepped back and away from Buffy. "I'm sure if you want to run for reinforcements, she'd be perfectly happy to wait for you here. Or not; not my problem." He stood, watching her as she thought.
"No. This ends here," she said quietly, stepping forward into the alley. The pavement was wet from the recent rain, but not very muddy, so there were no footprints visible. Buffy kept glancing anxiously upwards, half certain that Faith would spring on her from above, but there was no movement from anywhere. She had gone about fifteen feet into the alley when she noticed Spike was still standing where she had left him.
"You don't have to stick around for this," she called softly to him. He smiled his mocking smile at her.
"What, and miss the show?" he asked, in a normal speaking voice. After the whispering, his voice seemed tremendously loud, echoing off the walls of the alley. Immediately, Buffy turned and began to run towards Spike. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she knew it was not good, not good at all.
Before she got ten feet, she was hit from behind and sent to the ground. She tried to roll smoothly to her feet, but the hit had been too hard. Instead, she slid awkwardly along the wet pavement, only managing to turn over to face her attacker.
"Hey, B, were you looking for me?" Faith was laughing as she leaned forward and picked Buffy up by her collar, tossing her against the wall. Buffy flew through the air like a child's ball, hitting the brick wall with a solid thump and sliding to the ground. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and struggled to her feet.
"Well, I guess Spike finally found a friend - just when we thought we were going to have to buy him a dog. Did he leave out the part about being a vampire, or are you just too corrupt to care?" Buffy lunged at Faith, who made no move to avoid her. As their bodies collided, Faith grabbed Buffy and spun sideways, flipping the blonde Slayer into a pile of broken metal poles. Buffy grabbed one of the poles and leaped to her feet.
Faith was still smiling, not the cynical grin that Buffy had gotten used to, but an almost childishly happy smile, joyous and alive. That, more than anything else, unnerved Buffy. Faith put her hands on her hips and addressed the Slayer. "Corrupt? I guess you could say that, Buff. I like to think of it as...improved." Her face shimmered, and shifted into a new and horrifying form. It was not quite vampiric, but definitely inhuman; Faith's eyes glowed a dull red, and she ran a pointed tongue over her protruding fangs. Buffy's heart stopped.
"Paradox," she whispered, almost unable to say the word aloud.
"Surprise!" Faith called out happily. "Well, what do you think of my new look?" Buffy said nothing, her thoughts going in all directions at once. Why hadn't she stayed with Faith that first night? Why hadn't she waited for backup? She didn't know. One horrible thought kept floating to the surface, though she tried desperately to keep it down: there was no way she was getting out of that alley alive.
"What's the matter, sweetie, cat got your tongue?" Faith sauntered a few steps closer to Buffy. The Slayer cowered against the wall, and then leapt towards the Paradox, thrusting the jagged end of the metal pole deep into her stomach. Faith stepped back under the attack, pulling far enough away so that the pole slid back out, bloody and smeared dark.
Faith frowned at Buffy. "Now, that wasn't a very nice thing to do to your old buddy Faith, was it?" She tugged up her stained top with one hand, exposing the wound Buffy had made. Buffy watched, sickened, as the hole closed up before her eyes. Faith was smiling, and she patted her bloodstained tummy with her other hand. "Neat trick, huh?"
Spike sighed. "I thought you brought her here to kill her, pet, not play tag. I appreciate the torture, but we have to be practical. Just off the bitch and let's go."
Faith glanced over at the vampire. "Bite me - oh wait! You can't, you pathetic freak. Shut up and let me have some fun." With a sudden motion, Faith grabbed the pole out of Buffy's hands. Buffy made a break for it, down the alley and away from Spike, then made a sharp cut to the side and scrambled quickly to the top of a large wooden crate. She snapped off a long spar of wood, feeling more confident with a stake in her hand.
Faith stood below in the alley. "Ooh, going all Slayer-y on me, are you? I'm so scared now." She made an exaggeratedly horrified face. "Oh, mighty Buffy, please don't hurt poor me! I'm just a little girl - we can still be friends!" Sliding the pole down in her grip, she hauled off and gave the crate a mighty whack, cracking a number of the supports in one hit. "Coming down!" she yelled up at Buffy, hitting the crate again.
Buffy stumbled, looking around for another avenue of escape. There was only one, so she gathered her strength and leaped, trying to clear Faith's head and hit the ground running. It was hopeless. Though Faith had been mid-swing, she easily corrected her aim and swiped Buffy out of the air like a drifting feather. The Slayer felt her ankle crack as she hit the ground, and she lost hold of her stake as she slid across the pavement. More clouds were drifting over the moon now, and thunder rumbled off in the distance. Buffy limped to her feet once more, leaning against the wall, and waited for the next attack.
Faith approached slowly, swinging the pole casually in one hand. "Scared yet, B?" Buffy said nothing, and Faith lunged, too quickly for Buffy to react. The pole stopped just inches away from Buffy's throat. "How about now?" Faith asked gently.
"Okay, okay. You're really butch, you're big and strong, blah blah blah." Buffy drew in a shaky breath. "But you're still a psychopath who couldn't make it as a Slayer, and you're still going to die alone and abandoned. Maybe not as soon as you should, but it'll happen. I feel sorry for you." She closed her eyes as Faith drew back the pole, and thought of home. Of her mother, her friends; a calm settled over her.
But the blow did not come.
Carefully, Buffy opened her eyes again. Faith was still there, just a few feet away, her features rearranged into their human form. "Everybody dies, B," she said calmly. "Maybe even me, someday. Death is easy. It's living that's hard - I learned that a long time ago." She held the pole at her side and walked a few steps away.
"Kill her, Faith," urged Spike. "She's a bloody nuisance, and a threat to us both as long as she's alive."
Faith shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I'd rather let her live, knowing what she knows now." The Paradox turned to face the Slayer. "Knowing that I'm better than her, that I always have been, and that there's nothing she'll ever be able to do about it."
Buffy gave a scornful little laugh. "That again? God, Faith, get over yourself. Stronger doesn't make you better, no matter how many times you say it."
Faith returned with a laugh of her own. "Yes, it does, B, and now I'm sure about it. When you came into your Slayer powers, did you get an extra conscience? No - you got stronger, faster - better! It isn't some sort of moral power that makes you a Slayer, it's what you can do. And you can do a lot, but I can do more. Better than that, I can do what I want, and you're stuck in your tiny little life. Go to class, kill a vamp, suck up to Giles...you're the one I feel sorry for." She smiled, almost sweetly, and came to stand in front of Buffy. Reaching out with her free hand, she placed it over Buffy's throat and leaned forward to give Buffy a kiss. Buffy tried to turn away, but the pressure on her throat increased, and she began to black out. Faith's lips met hers, gently, and then Buffy felt an intense pain as Faith thrust the pole into her side.
Buffy gasped and slipped to the ground as Faith stepped away from her, removing the pole and leaving a bloody, gaping wound in her side. "Something to remember me by." Faith smiled down at the Slayer, then turned and walked towards Spike. "Okay, we can go now. I'm done here."
"You sure? You don't want to kick her again now she's down?" he muttered, glaring at the Slayer. Faith ignored him, tossing the pole to the ground.
"They'll find you," Buffy said, taking a deep, painful breath.
"I hope they do," Faith replied. "You might want to invest in coffins, because sales will be going up." Rain began to fall, and Faith looked up at the sky. "Can we go somewhere dry, Spike?"
"As long as it's not sunny," he replied, as the two left the alley. Buffy was alone, blood soaking into her clothes. She didn't think it was going to be fatal; in a minute, she would drag herself to her feet and stagger out to the road for help. Just a minute to rest. She was trembling now, for the first time since she had entered the alley, trembling so hard her teeth chattered. It's the cold, she thought, but she didn't feel cold. She felt alone, and sick; her throat tightened and suddenly she was sobbing uncontrollably. She lifted her face up to the rain and let it wash her bitter tears from her face.