The Varos Triad
Part One:-
Disclaimers:-
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all the characters belong to Joss
Whedon, Warner Brothers and anyone else who own them - and that does
not include me. I am making no profit from this - I'm just borrowing
them to write a story and entertain.
Author:- Steff
Information:-
This may seem a little weird but I have never watched Buffy the
Vampire Slayer. I have, however read a ton of fanfic and been
totally enthralled by it. So much so that I wanted to write a story
myself. With that in mind, I can safely say that there should be no
spoilers in here! Please remember that I have no idea about canon
though - so if I put Buffy living at home with her mum, then don't
worry about it too much. It's the characters that I'm borrowing not
the plotlines!
Having read a fair bit of fiction, I have set this approximately
three years after Faith confesses to the police in LA. I have not
included the Dawn/Glory storyline as that just confuses the hell out
of me. Any other glaring errors should just be glossed over - just
enjoy the story (I hope!)
Rating: PG-13 I think - but if anyone thinks it should be higher
let me know.
Pairing: Faith/Cordelia along with W/T A/X
Feedback: Yes please. Steff
______________________________________________________________
The only good thing about the rain was that it made the streets
glisten, thought Buffy darkly as she and her companions hurried
through the precipitation on their way to The Bronze. She tugged her
dark brown jacket round her more closely and felt the comforting dig
of a stake as it nudged her in the back. A girl could never be too
prepared. Riley swung an arm round her and she leaned in close,
sheltering from the drizzle but she could not glean any warmth from
his body. Buffy wondered absently if it was for physical reasons or
psychological ones. Ever since his return, the blonde slayer had
pondered over their relationship and was beginning to think that
perhaps she had lost the feelings she once harboured for the ex
Initiative member.
Willow and Tara were right behind them, holding hands and walking
briskly, heads bent slightly against the poor weather. As a group,
they hadn't visited The Bronze for some time and it had been Xander's
eager suggestion that they rectify that scandalous oversight as soon
as possible. He and Anya flanked the two wiccans in a move that
surprised everyone. Anya was usually inseparable from the dark
haired man.
The small, blonde slayer had agreed to a night out but knew that she
would have to cut it short and go patrolling. Demon and vamp
activity had both escalated dramatically in the last month, yet they
were still no closer to finding out why. She also had a niggling
thought in her head that she was using the increase to keep her
distance from Riley.
As they continued down the street, Buffy and the scoobs heard the
roar of engines behind them and realised as the noise crescendoed
that the sounds belonged to two motorbikes, both of which were
obviously going ridiculously fast.
Even as the group looked up, they saw the approach of the vehicles.
The motorbikes were neck and neck in the middle of the road and the
riders seemed intent on beating the hell out of each other, despite
the fact that the bikes were both veering dangerously as each punch
was swung.
"Wow," breathed Xander. "Real life Road Rash," he remarked in awe,
referring to one of his older play station games.
The small slayer stopped and watched the incident closely and as the
two combatants roared past she realised that her slayer sense was
going off the scale. The gang watched as the bikes continued down
the street before ploughing into a row of small trees, catapulting
the two riders into the nearby cemetery.
All of them remained motionless for a fraction longer before Riley
broke the spell and began jogging toward the cemetery. With his
movement, the others quickly shook themselves out of their reverie
and ran after the tall man, Buffy instinctively taking the lead as
soon as she caught him up.
As they approached the graveyard, the gang could see that the fight
had not abated. The two fighters were physically uneven. One
towered over the other and was almost as broad as he was tall. His
face was misshapen and had an unearthly green hue, glowing
iridescently with the light emitted from the gibbous moon reflecting
off it. The other was lithe and sleek, dwarfed by the demon's
height. The fighter was totally decked out in black leather and
heavy black boots. Despite the physical differences, there appeared
to be no mismatch in ability and the two pugilists continued with
their onslaught into each other in a spectacular fight and the scoobs
came to a halt to watch, mesmerised by the sheer brutality of the
battle before them as the opponents exchanged blow after vicious blow.
The smaller fighter still wore a crash helmet, but it was suddenly
grabbed and yanked off, releasing a waterfall of dark brown, tousled
hair that cascaded gently over the combatant's shoulders. With its
release, both Xander and Willow got an uneasy feeling of recognition
but for Buffy, the long dark hair merely confirmed the identity of
the fighter.
"Faith."
The others glanced round at Buffy and then shared nervous looks as
she breathed the name of the rogue slayer but their attention was
drawn back to the fight as Faith continued to slug it out with her
opponent.
Her newly released hair accentuated the sudden movement of her head
snapping round as the big fighter swung the newly acquired crash
helmet straight into her jaw, sending the slender figure flying over
two gravestones and crashing onto the ground.
All the scoobs winced at the ferocity of the connection but their
faces became round in astonishment as the fallen fighter sprang back
up and attacked once more, barely acknowledging the previous blow.
"She's in good shape," commented Buffy neutrally as they continued to
watch the battle.
Tara stared at her. "Aren't you going to help her?" She queried.
She had heard about Faith's exploits in great detail from Willow and
the others but she was not prepared to watch anyone suffer at the
hands of a demon, whatever their history.
"No," returned Buffy in an icy voice that brooked no argument.
Willow and Xander both nodded their heads in agreement.
Tara wanted to say more but returned her attention to the fight as
she wracked her brains for a spell that might assist Faith. Her only
experience with Faith had been when she had been cruel to her whilst
occupying Buffy's body. Despite the hurtful words that had made Tara
feel extremely uncomfortable at the time, the blonde witch firmly
believed that Faith was not pure evil. She had no reason to hate the
woman and would not jump on the bandwagon and join in her
condemnation.
Faith swung her leg round to deliver a crunching kick to the demon's
jaw and quickly followed it up with a sharp right jab. Her head was
still spinning from the hit to her face but she was in automatic
fighting mode now and would not appreciate the full extent of her
injuries until the adrenaline rush wore off. She could hear the
demon's breathing becoming laboured and dodged a wildly swinging
attack from one of his huge fists. As she ducked, she swept a leg
out and connected with his right shin, prompting an enraged howl of
agony from the demon. He threw his fists at her again and Faith had
to work hard to bob and weave, avoiding his attacks and wearing him
out.
After connecting a powerful roundhouse kick to the demon's chest, the
rogue slayer yanked a bowie knife out from her right boot as he
reeled back before circling him cautiously. There was still plenty
of fight left in the huge monster, and now that Faith had advertised
that she was tooled up, she suspected that he was going to play hard.
Her suspicions were confirmed as the massive demon came thundering
towards her. She blocked his first punch easily but was swamped by
his sheer bulk and the two of them went rolling to the floor in a
tangle of arms and legs.
Buffy remained motionless as the two fighters crashed to the ground.
She watched carefully as they traded jabs and elbows, neither one of
them able to put any real force into their attack. Suddenly, Faith's
knife glinted in the moonlight before being buried deep into the
demon's chest. It let out a howl of indignant rage before slumping
onto the ground, it's sticky black blood hissing and steaming as it
escaped its body.
Faith retracted the knife and wiped the blade on the clothing of the
fallen demon before sheathing the weapon. She dragged herself to her
feet, and then perused the body that was melting slowly into the wet
earth of the graveyard.
Xander frowned as he watched the demon disappear and wracked his
brain for a throwaway comment but he was still reeling from the shock
of Faith's return to force any words out of his already open mouth.
The lithe brunette knelt down next to the steaming mass and rummaged
through the demon's clothing methodically before pulling out a small
object. Her teeth gleamed in the moonlight as she smiled, pocketing
the object in triumph before dragging herself back to her feet, only
now groaning at the injuries she had sustained during the encounter.
The taller slayer turned round to face her audience and looked at
them carefully before speaking. "Thanks B. Couldn't have done it
without you."
Her statement caused Buffy, Xander and Willow to remember their first
encounter with Faith outside the Bronze and all three stiffened. The
blonde slayer sneered at the sarcastic comment and stepped forward to
face her nemesis. "Shouldn't you be in jail?" She accused.
"Done my time, B," replied the Bostonian. "I was released last year."
"Since when has a murderer only had to serve three years?" Exploded
Willow from behind Buffy.
"It's a long story Red," replied Faith. "And I'm sure you ain't
interested anyway."
Buffy took charge once again. "What are you doing here Faith?
You're not wanted."
Faith smiled again, but it failed to reach her eyes. "Just doin' my
job, B."
Buffy snorted at the remark. "You mean murdering people again."
"Last time I heard, people didn't melt into the ground when you
stabbed 'em," rejoined Faith, starting to feel a little cornered by
the interrogation. Truth be told, she had never intended to come
here but the damn demon wouldn't give up the fight and she had chased
him all the way from LA to retrieve the artefact it had in his
possession.
"No, you dispose of those bodies in a different way," retorted Buffy
bitterly.
Faith's mask of indifference cracked just for an instant and a look
of painful remorse ghosted across her features before her barriers
once again asserted themselves. Tara was the only one to notice the
emotion and examined the aura surrounding Faith. It was plain to see
that the woman had changed. Her aura was less chaotic, with a more
balanced feel to it. The blonde witch could not sense any evil
radiating from her.
"Just get out of here you psycho," threatened Riley, moving up to
stand just behind the blonde slayer.
Faith barely spared the man a look before returning to staring at
Buffy. "I'm done with all that shit B," she began.
"I told you last time I saw you Faith, do not apologise to me,"
warned the smaller slayer. She had unconsciously adjusted her feet
into a fighting stance and had tensed her muscles, prepared for
another fight.
Faith saw the movement and sighed inwardly. Just returning to the
outside world had been hard enough. Making up for her previous
wrongs looked like it was going to be impossible. As she was about
to reply, she felt her cell phone vibrate in her top left hand
pocket. She had put the phone there before setting off after the
demon but had been unable to field the calls. It had been buzzing
periodically for the last two hours. Automatically, she shoved her
right hand into her jacket to retrieve the phone.
Buffy saw Faith reach inside her jacket and reacted purely on
instinct. Already on the balls of her feet, she sprung forward and
knocked Faith to the floor, holding onto Faith's right forearm with
her left hand so that she was unable to retrieve the weapon she was
concealing in her jacket. Her right hand whipped back and then
punched the chestnut haired girl in the jaw hard.
Faith winced as Buffy struck the same spot as the crash helmet had
hit her only moments before. She looked up at Buffy, who had
straddled her and moved her knees up to pin the younger slayer onto
the ground by her shoulders.
"B, is there some law in Sunnydale that prevents people from
answering their phones?" Faith asked carefully, forcing herself not
to struggle back and perhaps provoke another attack.
"Huh?"
"My phone just buzzed, B. I was trying to answer it," Faith
explained slowly, trying desperately not to allow any more sarcasm to
creep into her intonation.
Buffy jammed her hand into Faith's jacket and rummaged round till she
located a hard object in the inside pocket. She yanked the thing
free from the jacket and stared at it momentarily. A second later,
she had the decency to blush before getting up slowly. As she
released the Bostonian, her mask of hatred returned. "Pardon me for
not believing you, *F*," she retorted icily as she returned to stand
with the scoobies, tossing the cell phone at Faith when she was level
with them.
Faith sat up slowly, rubbing her jaw gently before picking up the
phone that had bounced into the dirt. She glanced at the display and
realised that she had missed 24 calls. Tapping in a number she knew
by heart, the dark eyed slayer stood up as she waited for the other
end to pick up, noticing that Buffy and the others were scrutinising
her carefully.
"Hey, it's me," she announced into the receiver when the connection
was made. There was a fractional pause before she continued. "Guess
where I am."
There was a longer pause this time before Faith's face split with a
rueful grin. "Jeez, you'd think I'd have learnt not to play that
game with a seer by now."
Buffy and the scoobies looked at each other in surprise. Faith
appeared to be totally at ease with whoever she was talking to. They
were then startled by a soft chuckle of genuinely amused laughter
before Faith continued. "I know. Is dead boy there?" Faith looked
at the others with an unreadable expression as she waited. The
scoobs made the connection. She was talking to someone in the office
in LA. Buffy was feeling uneasy about Faith's behaviour. For
someone who had subjected an ex-watcher with the five basic torture
groups and tried to kill Angel, she was conversing with them in a
remarkably relaxed manner.
"Hey Soul boy. What's the what?" There was another pause as she
listened to Angel. "I've got the artefact but my bike's fucked. I
won't be able to get back to you tonight." Faith started to pace as
she listened to Angel reply, looking nervously at her audience. Tara
instinctively smiled sympathetically, realising that Faith's nerves
were of their making and wanting somehow to put the young woman at
ease. Faith's eyebrows rose slightly at the gesture before a tiny
smile tugged at the corners of her mouth in a grateful response.
Noticing the look, Willow stepped closer to Tara and snaked a
protective arm around the blonde wicca. Tara was just too trusting.
"Er, I dunno Soul boy. I'm not exactly Miss Popular round here,"
Faith was protesting. "Oh yeah, I've already bumped into her," she
verified. The brunette stopped her pacing abruptly as she continued
to listen. "I don't think that's gonna be a good idea," she hedged
as she looked up at the group. Finally, she extended her arm and
offered the phone to Buffy. "Angel wants to speak to you," she
explained.
Buffy snatched the phone and held it to her ear. "Look Angel," she
began without preamble. "I don't know what stunt she's pulled on you
but I don't buy it. I don't want her here." Buffy stopped and
allowed the brooding vampire to speak. "No, I don't *own* Sunnydale,
but I'm sworn to protect people from evil. She just happens to be a
human evil.."
Faith blinked at the words but steeled her face into a blank look.
"Just tell her to stay put there then. If she starts parading round
town I'm gonna kick her ass back to Boston." Buffy ended the
conversation by throwing the phone back at Faith.
"Hey, it's me again," Faith spoke into the receiver in a hushed
tone. She turned away from the group as Angel spoke to her. "Okay,
but I'm not dusting...Yeah you too big guy, bye." She ended the call
and returned the phone to her jacket. The dark haired slayer then
swung back round to face the others.
"I don't know how you've managed to fool Angel, but be warned," Buffy
spoke in an almost growl. "Do not attempt any of your old tricks
here, Faith. I won't mess up next time." With that she ground on
her heel and stalked off, Riley following quickly after shooting
Faith a venomous look.
Xander paused before speaking for the first time. "Stay away from me
and my friends," he warned simply before slipping an arm round Anya
and leading her away from the cemetery.
Faith turned to Willow and Tara, bracing herself for the next
onslaught. She did not have to wait long. "I won't be messed with
again Faith," Willow hissed. "And I won't need a shovel. I have far
more power than any physical instrument can provide and I'll use it
against you if you cause any trouble." She put her hand into Tara's
and tugged at her to get her moving.
To Faith and Willow's surprise, the blonde witch released her hand
from the grasp momentarily and stepped forward. "I can see the
change," she told Faith cryptically and offered the dark girl another
smile before returning to Willow's side.
The auburn haired girl looked at Tara in surprise. "What's all that
about?"
"You'll see," replied Tara enigmatically and followed after the other
Scoobies as Willow shot Faith a final hard stare before falling in
with Tara.
"Well, that went well," remarked Faith to herself. Sighing, she
trudged over to where her bike lay in a tangled heap with the other
motorcycle. She rubbed her neck absently as she surveyed the mess
before yanking the bike back onto it's wheels. The front forks were
bent and the handlebars and mirrors had taken a good bashing but
other than that, the bike was reasonably sound. Fighting against the
pull of the bike, Faith began the long walk up towards Angel's
mansion.
To be continued...
Part One:-
Disclaimers:-
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all the characters belong to Joss
Whedon, Warner Brothers and anyone else who own them - and that does
not include me. I am making no profit from this - I'm just borrowing
them to write a story and entertain.
Author:- Steff
Information:-
This may seem a little weird but I have never watched Buffy the
Vampire Slayer. I have, however read a ton of fanfic and been
totally enthralled by it. So much so that I wanted to write a story
myself. With that in mind, I can safely say that there should be no
spoilers in here! Please remember that I have no idea about canon
though - so if I put Buffy living at home with her mum, then don't
worry about it too much. It's the characters that I'm borrowing not
the plotlines!
Having read a fair bit of fiction, I have set this approximately
three years after Faith confesses to the police in LA. I have not
included the Dawn/Glory storyline as that just confuses the hell out
of me. Any other glaring errors should just be glossed over - just
enjoy the story (I hope!)
Rating: PG-13 I think - but if anyone thinks it should be higher
let me know.
Pairing: Faith/Cordelia along with W/T A/X
Feedback: Yes please. Steff
______________________________________________________________
The only good thing about the rain was that it made the streets
glisten, thought Buffy darkly as she and her companions hurried
through the precipitation on their way to The Bronze. She tugged her
dark brown jacket round her more closely and felt the comforting dig
of a stake as it nudged her in the back. A girl could never be too
prepared. Riley swung an arm round her and she leaned in close,
sheltering from the drizzle but she could not glean any warmth from
his body. Buffy wondered absently if it was for physical reasons or
psychological ones. Ever since his return, the blonde slayer had
pondered over their relationship and was beginning to think that
perhaps she had lost the feelings she once harboured for the ex
Initiative member.
Willow and Tara were right behind them, holding hands and walking
briskly, heads bent slightly against the poor weather. As a group,
they hadn't visited The Bronze for some time and it had been Xander's
eager suggestion that they rectify that scandalous oversight as soon
as possible. He and Anya flanked the two wiccans in a move that
surprised everyone. Anya was usually inseparable from the dark
haired man.
The small, blonde slayer had agreed to a night out but knew that she
would have to cut it short and go patrolling. Demon and vamp
activity had both escalated dramatically in the last month, yet they
were still no closer to finding out why. She also had a niggling
thought in her head that she was using the increase to keep her
distance from Riley.
As they continued down the street, Buffy and the scoobs heard the
roar of engines behind them and realised as the noise crescendoed
that the sounds belonged to two motorbikes, both of which were
obviously going ridiculously fast.
Even as the group looked up, they saw the approach of the vehicles.
The motorbikes were neck and neck in the middle of the road and the
riders seemed intent on beating the hell out of each other, despite
the fact that the bikes were both veering dangerously as each punch
was swung.
"Wow," breathed Xander. "Real life Road Rash," he remarked in awe,
referring to one of his older play station games.
The small slayer stopped and watched the incident closely and as the
two combatants roared past she realised that her slayer sense was
going off the scale. The gang watched as the bikes continued down
the street before ploughing into a row of small trees, catapulting
the two riders into the nearby cemetery.
All of them remained motionless for a fraction longer before Riley
broke the spell and began jogging toward the cemetery. With his
movement, the others quickly shook themselves out of their reverie
and ran after the tall man, Buffy instinctively taking the lead as
soon as she caught him up.
As they approached the graveyard, the gang could see that the fight
had not abated. The two fighters were physically uneven. One
towered over the other and was almost as broad as he was tall. His
face was misshapen and had an unearthly green hue, glowing
iridescently with the light emitted from the gibbous moon reflecting
off it. The other was lithe and sleek, dwarfed by the demon's
height. The fighter was totally decked out in black leather and
heavy black boots. Despite the physical differences, there appeared
to be no mismatch in ability and the two pugilists continued with
their onslaught into each other in a spectacular fight and the scoobs
came to a halt to watch, mesmerised by the sheer brutality of the
battle before them as the opponents exchanged blow after vicious blow.
The smaller fighter still wore a crash helmet, but it was suddenly
grabbed and yanked off, releasing a waterfall of dark brown, tousled
hair that cascaded gently over the combatant's shoulders. With its
release, both Xander and Willow got an uneasy feeling of recognition
but for Buffy, the long dark hair merely confirmed the identity of
the fighter.
"Faith."
The others glanced round at Buffy and then shared nervous looks as
she breathed the name of the rogue slayer but their attention was
drawn back to the fight as Faith continued to slug it out with her
opponent.
Her newly released hair accentuated the sudden movement of her head
snapping round as the big fighter swung the newly acquired crash
helmet straight into her jaw, sending the slender figure flying over
two gravestones and crashing onto the ground.
All the scoobs winced at the ferocity of the connection but their
faces became round in astonishment as the fallen fighter sprang back
up and attacked once more, barely acknowledging the previous blow.
"She's in good shape," commented Buffy neutrally as they continued to
watch the battle.
Tara stared at her. "Aren't you going to help her?" She queried.
She had heard about Faith's exploits in great detail from Willow and
the others but she was not prepared to watch anyone suffer at the
hands of a demon, whatever their history.
"No," returned Buffy in an icy voice that brooked no argument.
Willow and Xander both nodded their heads in agreement.
Tara wanted to say more but returned her attention to the fight as
she wracked her brains for a spell that might assist Faith. Her only
experience with Faith had been when she had been cruel to her whilst
occupying Buffy's body. Despite the hurtful words that had made Tara
feel extremely uncomfortable at the time, the blonde witch firmly
believed that Faith was not pure evil. She had no reason to hate the
woman and would not jump on the bandwagon and join in her
condemnation.
Faith swung her leg round to deliver a crunching kick to the demon's
jaw and quickly followed it up with a sharp right jab. Her head was
still spinning from the hit to her face but she was in automatic
fighting mode now and would not appreciate the full extent of her
injuries until the adrenaline rush wore off. She could hear the
demon's breathing becoming laboured and dodged a wildly swinging
attack from one of his huge fists. As she ducked, she swept a leg
out and connected with his right shin, prompting an enraged howl of
agony from the demon. He threw his fists at her again and Faith had
to work hard to bob and weave, avoiding his attacks and wearing him
out.
After connecting a powerful roundhouse kick to the demon's chest, the
rogue slayer yanked a bowie knife out from her right boot as he
reeled back before circling him cautiously. There was still plenty
of fight left in the huge monster, and now that Faith had advertised
that she was tooled up, she suspected that he was going to play hard.
Her suspicions were confirmed as the massive demon came thundering
towards her. She blocked his first punch easily but was swamped by
his sheer bulk and the two of them went rolling to the floor in a
tangle of arms and legs.
Buffy remained motionless as the two fighters crashed to the ground.
She watched carefully as they traded jabs and elbows, neither one of
them able to put any real force into their attack. Suddenly, Faith's
knife glinted in the moonlight before being buried deep into the
demon's chest. It let out a howl of indignant rage before slumping
onto the ground, it's sticky black blood hissing and steaming as it
escaped its body.
Faith retracted the knife and wiped the blade on the clothing of the
fallen demon before sheathing the weapon. She dragged herself to her
feet, and then perused the body that was melting slowly into the wet
earth of the graveyard.
Xander frowned as he watched the demon disappear and wracked his
brain for a throwaway comment but he was still reeling from the shock
of Faith's return to force any words out of his already open mouth.
The lithe brunette knelt down next to the steaming mass and rummaged
through the demon's clothing methodically before pulling out a small
object. Her teeth gleamed in the moonlight as she smiled, pocketing
the object in triumph before dragging herself back to her feet, only
now groaning at the injuries she had sustained during the encounter.
The taller slayer turned round to face her audience and looked at
them carefully before speaking. "Thanks B. Couldn't have done it
without you."
Her statement caused Buffy, Xander and Willow to remember their first
encounter with Faith outside the Bronze and all three stiffened. The
blonde slayer sneered at the sarcastic comment and stepped forward to
face her nemesis. "Shouldn't you be in jail?" She accused.
"Done my time, B," replied the Bostonian. "I was released last year."
"Since when has a murderer only had to serve three years?" Exploded
Willow from behind Buffy.
"It's a long story Red," replied Faith. "And I'm sure you ain't
interested anyway."
Buffy took charge once again. "What are you doing here Faith?
You're not wanted."
Faith smiled again, but it failed to reach her eyes. "Just doin' my
job, B."
Buffy snorted at the remark. "You mean murdering people again."
"Last time I heard, people didn't melt into the ground when you
stabbed 'em," rejoined Faith, starting to feel a little cornered by
the interrogation. Truth be told, she had never intended to come
here but the damn demon wouldn't give up the fight and she had chased
him all the way from LA to retrieve the artefact it had in his
possession.
"No, you dispose of those bodies in a different way," retorted Buffy
bitterly.
Faith's mask of indifference cracked just for an instant and a look
of painful remorse ghosted across her features before her barriers
once again asserted themselves. Tara was the only one to notice the
emotion and examined the aura surrounding Faith. It was plain to see
that the woman had changed. Her aura was less chaotic, with a more
balanced feel to it. The blonde witch could not sense any evil
radiating from her.
"Just get out of here you psycho," threatened Riley, moving up to
stand just behind the blonde slayer.
Faith barely spared the man a look before returning to staring at
Buffy. "I'm done with all that shit B," she began.
"I told you last time I saw you Faith, do not apologise to me,"
warned the smaller slayer. She had unconsciously adjusted her feet
into a fighting stance and had tensed her muscles, prepared for
another fight.
Faith saw the movement and sighed inwardly. Just returning to the
outside world had been hard enough. Making up for her previous
wrongs looked like it was going to be impossible. As she was about
to reply, she felt her cell phone vibrate in her top left hand
pocket. She had put the phone there before setting off after the
demon but had been unable to field the calls. It had been buzzing
periodically for the last two hours. Automatically, she shoved her
right hand into her jacket to retrieve the phone.
Buffy saw Faith reach inside her jacket and reacted purely on
instinct. Already on the balls of her feet, she sprung forward and
knocked Faith to the floor, holding onto Faith's right forearm with
her left hand so that she was unable to retrieve the weapon she was
concealing in her jacket. Her right hand whipped back and then
punched the chestnut haired girl in the jaw hard.
Faith winced as Buffy struck the same spot as the crash helmet had
hit her only moments before. She looked up at Buffy, who had
straddled her and moved her knees up to pin the younger slayer onto
the ground by her shoulders.
"B, is there some law in Sunnydale that prevents people from
answering their phones?" Faith asked carefully, forcing herself not
to struggle back and perhaps provoke another attack.
"Huh?"
"My phone just buzzed, B. I was trying to answer it," Faith
explained slowly, trying desperately not to allow any more sarcasm to
creep into her intonation.
Buffy jammed her hand into Faith's jacket and rummaged round till she
located a hard object in the inside pocket. She yanked the thing
free from the jacket and stared at it momentarily. A second later,
she had the decency to blush before getting up slowly. As she
released the Bostonian, her mask of hatred returned. "Pardon me for
not believing you, *F*," she retorted icily as she returned to stand
with the scoobies, tossing the cell phone at Faith when she was level
with them.
Faith sat up slowly, rubbing her jaw gently before picking up the
phone that had bounced into the dirt. She glanced at the display and
realised that she had missed 24 calls. Tapping in a number she knew
by heart, the dark eyed slayer stood up as she waited for the other
end to pick up, noticing that Buffy and the others were scrutinising
her carefully.
"Hey, it's me," she announced into the receiver when the connection
was made. There was a fractional pause before she continued. "Guess
where I am."
There was a longer pause this time before Faith's face split with a
rueful grin. "Jeez, you'd think I'd have learnt not to play that
game with a seer by now."
Buffy and the scoobies looked at each other in surprise. Faith
appeared to be totally at ease with whoever she was talking to. They
were then startled by a soft chuckle of genuinely amused laughter
before Faith continued. "I know. Is dead boy there?" Faith looked
at the others with an unreadable expression as she waited. The
scoobs made the connection. She was talking to someone in the office
in LA. Buffy was feeling uneasy about Faith's behaviour. For
someone who had subjected an ex-watcher with the five basic torture
groups and tried to kill Angel, she was conversing with them in a
remarkably relaxed manner.
"Hey Soul boy. What's the what?" There was another pause as she
listened to Angel. "I've got the artefact but my bike's fucked. I
won't be able to get back to you tonight." Faith started to pace as
she listened to Angel reply, looking nervously at her audience. Tara
instinctively smiled sympathetically, realising that Faith's nerves
were of their making and wanting somehow to put the young woman at
ease. Faith's eyebrows rose slightly at the gesture before a tiny
smile tugged at the corners of her mouth in a grateful response.
Noticing the look, Willow stepped closer to Tara and snaked a
protective arm around the blonde wicca. Tara was just too trusting.
"Er, I dunno Soul boy. I'm not exactly Miss Popular round here,"
Faith was protesting. "Oh yeah, I've already bumped into her," she
verified. The brunette stopped her pacing abruptly as she continued
to listen. "I don't think that's gonna be a good idea," she hedged
as she looked up at the group. Finally, she extended her arm and
offered the phone to Buffy. "Angel wants to speak to you," she
explained.
Buffy snatched the phone and held it to her ear. "Look Angel," she
began without preamble. "I don't know what stunt she's pulled on you
but I don't buy it. I don't want her here." Buffy stopped and
allowed the brooding vampire to speak. "No, I don't *own* Sunnydale,
but I'm sworn to protect people from evil. She just happens to be a
human evil.."
Faith blinked at the words but steeled her face into a blank look.
"Just tell her to stay put there then. If she starts parading round
town I'm gonna kick her ass back to Boston." Buffy ended the
conversation by throwing the phone back at Faith.
"Hey, it's me again," Faith spoke into the receiver in a hushed
tone. She turned away from the group as Angel spoke to her. "Okay,
but I'm not dusting...Yeah you too big guy, bye." She ended the call
and returned the phone to her jacket. The dark haired slayer then
swung back round to face the others.
"I don't know how you've managed to fool Angel, but be warned," Buffy
spoke in an almost growl. "Do not attempt any of your old tricks
here, Faith. I won't mess up next time." With that she ground on
her heel and stalked off, Riley following quickly after shooting
Faith a venomous look.
Xander paused before speaking for the first time. "Stay away from me
and my friends," he warned simply before slipping an arm round Anya
and leading her away from the cemetery.
Faith turned to Willow and Tara, bracing herself for the next
onslaught. She did not have to wait long. "I won't be messed with
again Faith," Willow hissed. "And I won't need a shovel. I have far
more power than any physical instrument can provide and I'll use it
against you if you cause any trouble." She put her hand into Tara's
and tugged at her to get her moving.
To Faith and Willow's surprise, the blonde witch released her hand
from the grasp momentarily and stepped forward. "I can see the
change," she told Faith cryptically and offered the dark girl another
smile before returning to Willow's side.
The auburn haired girl looked at Tara in surprise. "What's all that
about?"
"You'll see," replied Tara enigmatically and followed after the other
Scoobies as Willow shot Faith a final hard stare before falling in
with Tara.
"Well, that went well," remarked Faith to herself. Sighing, she
trudged over to where her bike lay in a tangled heap with the other
motorcycle. She rubbed her neck absently as she surveyed the mess
before yanking the bike back onto it's wheels. The front forks were
bent and the handlebars and mirrors had taken a good bashing but
other than that, the bike was reasonably sound. Fighting against the
pull of the bike, Faith began the long walk up towards Angel's
mansion.
To be continued...