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 Love and Devotion.

Help Me
By Kristjan Brezovnik

"Hey, guys," Faith greeted her friends when she and Cordelia came to Giles' after having returned from their vacation.

"Hi," Buffy said. "Had a good time?" She looked at Faith. "I mean, besides our trip into the past."

Faith and Cordelia both flashed a big smile.

"Oh yeah," Cordelia said.

"Though we won't go into details," Faith added and glanced at Cordelia, who blushed.

"Definitely not," Cordelia agreed.

"Did you make the Mile High Club?"

Faith and Cordelia looked at each other, grinning.

"Several times over."

"Yeah," Faith confirmed. "I think a guy nearly got a heart attack because of it."

Everyone laughed.

"Talk about horny."

"You have no idea," Cordelia said.

Faith looked around.

"Where's Willow?" she asked Tara, ending the conversation.

"Right here," Willow said as she entered the room. "Welcome back."

"Thanks." She hesitated for a moment. "Can I talk to you three for a moment? Alone?"

"Sure," Willow said and looked at Tara and Lara for clues, but they didn't know what Faith wanted to talk about.

They followed Faith into the hall.

"Em," Faith started hesitatingly, "this is going to sound strange. Do you also perceive me as half a person?"

Willow and Tara looked at one another, confused.

"I had a feeling that something was strange about you and Cordelia," Lara said.

"Willow? Tara?"

"Well," Tara started, "normally you look okay, but when I borrowed power from Hope, I did notice that there was something strange, but I couldn't pinpoint it."

"Yes, me too," Willow agreed, remembering. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, the witch who called me and Buffy back in time, Elizabeth, she said that she felt like I was only half a person."

"Oh."

"I guess it has to do with the fact that I was in her time and Cordelia was not and so it was easier to notice."

Willow shrugged.

"Could be."

"Okay, let's go back."

"Faith," Cordelia said when Faith and the three wiccans returned, "you're going to love this. Raelee said that she and Lara had seen a vampire drinking the blood of other vampires and then killing them."

Lara nodded.

"You're kidding, right?" Faith said.

"No," Raelee said. "We've seen her do that twice and she saved a man from a vampire once."

Faith shrugged.

"Looks like vamps have a new problem."

"But we still need to find out who and what she is," Giles said. "She could be more dangerous than other vampires."

"Looks like patrol tonight, B," Faith said, looking at Buffy.

Buffy nodded.

"Yes."

While the two Slayers were looking for the strange vampire, the strange vampire was looking for prey and she found it. The prey was not meant to serve as food, it was a demon. The vampire attacked it and after a brief fight, in which she suffered a minor blow to the head, killed it. She was still a bit dazed when a potential meal came in sight. It was not a vampire, but the vampire didn't care, she was hurt, tired and hungry and the hurt, lost-looking girl would do nicely. She seemed to have second thoughts, but she could smell the girl's blood and the hunger won.

The hurt, lost-looking girl wasn't exactly lost, but she didn't want to be where she currently was either. She was hurt, however. She had been avoiding people for so long, trusting no one, yet the people who were after her had still managed to find her and they had shot her. Her leg hurt and she knew she would have to rest soon. So when she heard noise behind her, she knew that someone was following her. She took a gun from her jacket and gripped it tightly, scared, hoping she wouldn't have to use it.

She stopped to gather some strength and then turned, hiding the gun for the moment. What she saw was just another girl and she relaxed, but as the girl came closer and she saw the girl's weird face and the insane look in her eyes, she got worried. She waited, but the girl kept coming. She pointed her gun at the girl.

"Stop or I'll shoot you."

The strange girl stopped for a moment and then continued.

"Stop!"

The strange girl, a vampire, growled and attacked with astonishing speed. The would-be lunch reacted instinctively, her finger squeezing the trigger. The vampire stopped for a moment, seemingly surprised, and looked at the wound. Then she looked back at the food and growled again.

As the vampire attacked again, the girl fired again and again, but the vampire kept coming. When the vampire got close enough, the girl attacked her with her fists and the vampire soon started to back off, tired from the wounds and from the food's expert attack. The girl didn't pursue. When the vampire was gone, she collapsed, exhausted from the fight. Her leg started to throb, reminding her that fights were absolutely out of the question for a while.

She was still thinking about the incident when three more girls came running. She looked at them, scared, and pointed her gun at them.

"Whoa," Faith said, "relax, we're here to help."

"Stay away," the girl said.

"Okay," Faith said and glanced at Lara and Raelee, who also stopped. "So, what happened?" she asked the girl.

The girl stared at her for a moment.

"I… I don't know. I was attacked by… I don't know what. Some kind of freak. I shot her a couple of times, but she kept coming."

"A vamp," Faith said quietly, so that only Lara and Raelee could hear her.

"What's your name?" Lara asked.

The girl looked at her.

"Kye," she said.

"So, Kye, are you going to use that thing?" Faith asked her, nodding at the gun.

Kye gulped. Her hand was already shaking and it wasn't just from fatigue.

"Yes," she said.

"She's lying," Lara said.

"How…"

Faith noticed the look in Kye's eyes as she trailed off and she turned around.

"Damn," she said when she saw a Polgara demon and a couple of vamps approach, searching for a kill. "Lara, Raelee, you take the vamps, I'll take the demon."

The two girls nodded and Faith wanted to give Raelee her stake, but she had her own. Faith grinned and attacked the Polgara demon.

Kye observed how the three girls expertly handled the monsters. She was surprised that they used such primitive weapons as stakes, but it appeared to be working. She noticed that the one who was obviously the leader was obviously a superior fighter and she handled the monster more or less without problems. The other two girls, however, didn't seem to be very good fighters, but for some reason the monsters they were fighting just moved through the air, then froze and were staked by one of the girls. She was surprised when the two monsters turned into dust.

Then another girl joined the party and helped Faith kill the bigger monster. Kye noticed that she was also a superior fighter. This was getting really weird and she really wished she was somewhere else.

"I was looking for them," Buffy said when the demon and the vamps were dead. She glanced at Kye. "Who's she?"

Faith shrugged.

"Kye."

Lara then approached Kye and Kye pointed her gun at her.

"Stay away," she said, scared, her hand trembling.

"I want to help you," Lara said.

"Stay away," she warned her. "Please."

Lara stopped.

"You need help," she said. "I can help you."

"No, I…"

She trailed off as her mind fought her body for control. The body won and Kye passed out. Lara then approached her and kneeled beside her. She took the gun and put it aside. Then she put her hands over Kye's wounds and concentrated. Slowly at first, the wounds began to close.

When they were all healed, Lara kept holding her hands over Kye's body. Her friends observed her, curious as to what she was doing, and waited. Finally Lara slouched, exhausted.

"Lara?" Raelee said worried and kneeled beside her and supported her.

"She was addicted," Lara explained. "She is fine now, I removed the drug from her body."

"Buffy, you mind if I take her to Angel's old place?" Faith asked.

"Sure."

Faith picked up the gun and made sure the safety was on. Then she put it into Kye's lap and picked her up.

"Lead the way," she said and glanced at Lara and Raelee. "You guys gonna be all right?" she asked.

Lara nodded.

"We're going home," Raelee said and helped Lara up.

"Okay. See you."

As the girls each went their own way, they didn't know that they were being watched by curious eyes.

"Oh, Buffy," Faith said as they walked.

"Yeah?" Buffy glanced at her.

"I talked to Cordelia."

"About?"

"Well, you wanted to know how I can feel her."

"Oh. And?"

"She said I could tell you." Faith paused for a moment. "It started when I was in coma after you… well, stabbed me. I could suddenly talk to her in my coma, although it took me a while to gather courage and talk to her. When I woke up, we couldn't share dreams unless one of us was unconscious. Then, after we were trapped by those white demons and we merged, we started to share dreams and after Cordelia became a Seer, we sort of share powers. She is stronger and I can see her visions. And we can feel when one of is hurt. Hell, we can feel each other's presence all the time."

Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"Lucky you," she said.

Faith smiled.

"Yeah."

"Mom."

Mrs Chase smiled.

"Hi, Faith."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Em, there's this girl, she's on the run." She paused for a moment. "She's what I could have become if it weren't for Cordelia and I'd like to help her prove her innocence."

Mrs Chase observed her daughter for a few moments.

"Okay. Where is she?"

"I think it's best if you don't know."

Mrs Chase nodded, understanding.

"Does she need fresh clothes? Food?"

"Yes," Faith said, glad that her mom had reminded her. "She's about my size, I'll take her some of my clothes. Or Cordelia's. I'll ask her."

"I'll tell Maria to prepare some food."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom," Faith said and went to her room.

When Kye woke up, she felt much better. In fact, she hadn't felt that good in months. She opened her eyes and looked around, noticing that she was in some sort of apartment. She frowned and sat up.

"Good morning," Faith said, sitting on a chair.

Kye looked at her, surprised. She looked around for her gun and found it lying on the chair next to the bed. She picked it up, quickly checked the ammo and then pointed it at Faith.

"Where am I?" she demanded.

"In a safe place. I brought you some food and a change of clothes. The bathroom's over there."

Kye looked around and saw the clothes and a packet which she figured contained food. She looked back at Faith suspiciously.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you remind me of me. Now, why don't you wash yourself, change your clothes and eat and then we'll talk. If I wanted to turn you in, I would have done that yesterday," she added when Kye hesitated.

Kye didn't know whether she could trust Faith, but she had to admit that Faith had a point and that she could have turned her in while she was unconscious. She hesitated for a while and then got up. She was surprised when her side and her leg didn't hurt. She looked through her torn shirt and pants and saw that the wounds were gone and that there were only scar left. She looked at Faith, confused.

"I thought I was shot," she said.

"You were," Faith confirmed.

"But… What happened to the wound?"

"A friend of mine removed it."

"How?"

Faith smiled and waved her hand.

"Magic."

Kye stared at her for a while and then undressed, all the while keeping the gun pointed at Faith, who calmly sat and waited. When she was in her underwear, Kye checked the clothes Faith had brought. She saw that it was a complete set. She took the underwear and then hesitated, not sure what to do with Faith.

"I'm not going anywhere," Faith said.

Kye hesitated for a few more moments and then went to the bathroom. She stopped by the door and waited for a while, to see what Faith would do. When Faith didn't move out of her chair for a minute or so, Kye went to the sink to wash herself.

When she returned back to the room, Faith was still sitting in the chair.

"Feeling better?" Faith asked.

Kye nodded, went to the table and started to dress herself. She kept the gun in her hand for a while, but then she put it on the table, keeping an eye on Faith. When she was dressed, she unpacked the food. Her eyes widened when she saw all the food and she started to eat ravenously. Faith smiled.

When Kye was done, she leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment, before remembering that Faith was still in the room. She looked at her, but Faith was merely watching her, amused.

"Did you like the food?" Faith asked.

Kye nodded.

"Thank you," she said after a few moments of hesitation.

"You're welcome. Now, let's talk about you."

Kye gave her a suspicious look.

"What about me?"

"I want to help you."

"Why?"

Faith sighed.

"Because I know how you feel."

"You know shit!" Kye said angrily and got up.

"I do know. I know what it's like to be alone, no family, no friends. And when you finally meet someone who wants to help you and be your friend, you push them away, afraid you're going to lose them. And you hate them because you hate yourself for not being like them." She paused for a moment. "Since you have a gun, I guess you either killed someone or people think you did." She paused again. "I also killed, more than once. I had betrayed my friends and because of me, this town was nearly destroyed. If it hadn't been for my girlfriend, I would probably have become like you." She frowned. "No. Actually, I would probably be dead."

"Well you're not my girlfriend," Kye said, afraid to let Faith close.

"No, but I'd like to be your friend. If you'll let me."

She paused for a moment and reached into her pocket. Kye immediately pointed her gun at her. Faith smiled.

"I don't have any weapons," she said and slowly pulled her hand out, holding some money. "You have a choice," she said when Kye looked at her questioningly. "You can take the money and run," she said and extended her left hand. "Or you can stay and let me help you," she finished and extended her empty right hand.

Kye stared at her, speechless. She knew that either way, Faith would help her. She wanted to take the money and get the hell away from Sunnydale before the cops caught up with her, but a part of her wanted to stay. She was scared and she remembered what Faith had told her about herself. She was feeling exactly the same. She stared at Faith, who was patiently holding out her hands. She pushed her fears away and tried to think logically. If she took the money, she could leave and hide and no one would know where she was. And she would be alone. On the other hand, if she accepted help, she would have a shelter, help, food. The only problem was whether she could trust Faith. And her friends. She realized that that wasn't the problem. The problem was whether she could gather the courage to let Faith help her. She had been on the run for so long and she didn't want to run anymore, she wanted it to end. She gulped and picked the empty hand.

Faith smiled, relieved, and put away the money.

"Now what?" Kye asked.

"Now you tell me what happened so we can figure out what to do about it."

Kye took a deep breath and nodded. She let go of Faith's hand and went back to her chair.

"I don't know," she said after a few moments of thinking. "I was out in a club, but then next thing I remember is waking up in some house next to a corpse with this gun in my hand." She hesitated. "And I think they put me on drugs, real drugs, like cocaine. I still feel the urge to get high, but, fortunately, I don't know where to get drugs. Anyway, soon after I woke up, two cops came in and wanted to shoot me. They didn't even tell me to surrender, they just started shooting, so I ran. It wasn't until later that I remembered I had a gun." She paused. "I've been on the run since."

"How long?"

Kye thought.

"Over a year."

"And your family?"

Kye shrugged.

"They probably don't care. And besides, the cops are probably watching them."

Faith nodded.

"You have any idea who you were supposed to have shot?"

Kye shrugged.

"I think his name was Robertson. He was someone important."

"Do you know who the cops were?"

Kye shook her head.

"But I did hear one of them call the other Davies."

"Okay, it's a start. I'll have a friend of mine check it out. In the meantime, you stay here. I'll come back in a couple of hours. You want anything for lunch?"

Kye considered the idea.

"A pizza?" she then asked hopefully.

Faith grinned.

"Sure. See you in a couple of hours. And please don't go out, someone might see you. And lock up after me."

Kye nodded and Faith left. Kye stared at the door for a while and then locked it up.

After her own lunch, Faith returned to Kye with a pizza and Kye immediately attacked it.

"Easy, it's not going anywhere," Faith said with a smile.

Kye mumbled something in return, but Faith didn't understand.

"Anyway," Faith continued, "a friend of mine is checking out the names. You'll go with me in the evening."

Kye stopped eating.

"Where?"

"To another friend of mine. If we can find out who's after you, we can make a plan to stop them."

Kye nodded and continued eating. Faith quietly observed her and waited.

"Thanks," Kye said when she was done.

"No problem."

Kye sighed.

"I haven't felt this good in months." She thought for a moment as she recalled the events of the previous night. "Em, about yesterday. What… What were those… creatures?" she asked carefully.

Faith hesitated for a moment and then decided to tell her the truth.

"The big guy was a Polgara demon and the small guys were vampires."

"Vampires?" Kye asked, surprised. "But…"

"You thought they didn't exist."

"Yeah," Kye confirmed.

"So did I. But they do and they can be a real pain in the ass."

"You seem like you can handle them."

"Usually, yes. But occasionally a big demon comes along and makes a mess." She paused for a moment. "I used to work for one for a while," she admitted.

Kye raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"Do vampire have two faces?" she asked instead.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, just before you showed up, I met another vampire. At least I think she was a vampire. Anyway, this vampire kept changing her face like… like… she was fighting something. When she had a human face, she tried to leave, but when she had the other face on, she wanted to kill me."

"What did she look like?" Faith asked, hoping this was the same vampire she and Buffy were looking for.

Kye thought.

"Long black hair, dark eyes, pale skin, 501s, white teddy and a red jacket of some sort."

"That's her," Faith said, excited.

"Who?" Kye asked, confused.

"The vamp we've been looking for."

"Why?"

"Because she kills other vamps and seems to protect normal people." She thought. "Fighting, hmm? I'll be right back, I gotta find a phone. Lock up."

Faith left and Kye stared after her, confused.

When Faith returned, she told Kye a bit about the strange things going on in Sunnydale and Kye told her a bit about herself. When the sun set, she took her to Giles' house.

"Hi, guys," she said, kissing Cordelia. "This is Kye. Anything new?"

"Willow's found a whole bunch of guys named Davies, but only one connected to a guy named Robertson."

"And the vamp?"

"Still looking."

"Okay." She looked at Kye. "Come on."

Kye followed her, feeling uncomfortable about being among so many people who knew that she was a wanted person.

"Will?"

"Hi."

Willow clicked with the mouse a bit and called up a photo.

"That's him," Kye said. "He was shooting at me."

"And this one?" Willow asked and called up another photo.

"Yes, he was with him."

"And this is the victim?"

Kye looked at the next photo.

"Yes."

"Looks like you got yourself in some serious mess," Willow said. "James Robertson used to be a big cheese at DEA Internal Affairs. Derek Davies and his partner Rocco D'Amato are also DEA, I downloaded their files and checked their bank accounts."

"Let me guess, they look dirty but no one could prove it," Faith said. "And Robertson was onto them."

"Exactly."

"So they snatched Kye, drugged her and made it look as though Robertson gave her drugs and then she shot him. And then they came and tried to shoot Kye."

"Probably."

"Nasty bastards. We better…"

"Hey, I found something!" Anya called.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Well, according to this book, a Slayer was killed by a vampire in the late 10th century."

"So?" Faith asked. "That's how Slayers usually die."

"Yeah, but this one's body disappeared from the crypt. And according to this, there were reports of a vampire killing other vampires."

"Gives a whole new meaning to the term Vampire Slayer," Xander said.

Faith grinned at that, then frowned.

"So if this vamp's a turned Slayer, does that mean another Slayer will be called when we kill her?"

Giles thought for a moment.

"No, I don't think so. Technically, she is dead, or rather undead, and another Slayer has already been called."

"Oh."

"What's a Slayer?" Kye asked curiously.

Nobody answered for a moment.

"Apparently some higher power thought it would be nice to recruit teenage girls to fight vamps and other demons. Buffy and I are Slayers."

Kye looked at Buffy and then back at Faith.

"And what does that mean?" she asked, giving Faith a blank look.

"It means that we're stronger, faster, have better senses and heal faster."

"Oh."

"Wait," Buffy said and looked at Faith. "You said she said that the vamp looked like she was fighting something."

"Yeah?" Faith said.

Buffy looked at Giles.

"Could it be possible that the demon couldn't completely take over her body because she was a Slayer?"

Giles thought about the problem.

"Well…"

"What about Angel?" Xander asked. "I mean, he has a soul, but he's so not like that Slayer."

Giles thought some more.

"Well, I think that when a person becomes a vampire, the demon takes over the body. When Angel got his soul back, well, one could say that the soul possessed the demon."

"So the soul's in charge. Like the demon was in charge before?" Buffy asked.

"Yes."

"And the Slayer?"

"It would appear that the soul hasn't left the body when the demon came and that she is fighting it."

Everyone was quiet for a while, thinking.

"I get killed, make sure you stake me," Faith finally said.

Buffy nodded.

"Me too."

"So this Slayer drinks vamps' blood to satisfy her demon side and then stakes them to satisfy her Slayer side," Xander ventured.

"Yes, I think so," Giles said.

"What's her name?" Faith asked.

Anya checked the book.

"Anna."

"So she's, like, over a thousand years old," Xander said.

"Yes."

Xander shuddered.

"Talk about Hell on Earth."

The bell rang and Giles went to the door.

"Dawn," he said.

"I have news. About the vampire who is killing other vampires."

"You do?" Faith asked and came closer.

"Yes. I saw where she was resting yesterday."

"Alright! Come on, B, we gotta find a Vampire Slayer." She gave Cordelia a passionate kiss and then looked at Giles. "You try to make some plan about how we're gonna catch those DEA guys."

Giles nodded.

"We will."

Buffy and Faith left with Dawn and Giles closed the door.

"Does this mean we can stop looking at these ugly demons?" Xander asked.

"Hey!" Anya said with a glare.

Xander smiled sheepishly.

"Present company excluded."

Kye frowned and looked at Willow.

"She's a demon?" she asked quietly.

"Was," Willow explained.

"Oh."

"Relax, she's harmless. Mostly."

Kye smiled and looked around. There were quite a few people present, mostly girls, and she recognized Raelee and Lara. She remembered her wound and the fact that Lara wanted to help her and she guessed that it was Lara who had healed the wound. She went to her.

"Hi," she said, a bit nervous.

"Hi," Raelee said.

"Sorry about threatening you with the gun," Kye told Lara.

Lara smiled briefly.

"It's okay."

"Did… Did you heal me?"

Lara nodded.

"Yes."

"Thanks."

Lara smiled again.

"You are welcome."

"So, how about we do some planning," Xander said.

The two Slayers followed Dawn to the place where she had seen the turned Slayer.

"We're close," Dawn said. "She…"

"There she is," Buffy said and pointed.

"Let's get her." She looked at Dawn. "Thanks."

Dawn nodded and hid herself, not very eager to engage the weird vampire, but deciding to remain behind in case the Slayers needed help. She wasn't very enthusiastic about it, but that vampire was a threat to her as well.

Buffy and Faith ran to Anna, who was just finished feeding on a vampire and was about to stake her.

"Hey!" Faith called.

Anna glanced at her and then staked the vamp.

"Go away," she said, her face returning back to normal.

"No can do," Buffy said.

"Please, I have no wish to kill you," Anna said and Buffy and Faith were both surprised by her pleading tone of voice. "Go."

"We can't," Faith said. "We' re Slayers. Like you."

Anna stared at them for a moment, surprised, and then morphed back to her game face.

"You…" she started, but changed back to normal. "Kill me," she said. "Please."

Buffy and Faith looked at one another, surprised. But before they could respond, Anna's face changed again and she ran away.

They quickly ran after her and cornered her in an alley. Anna turned around and concentrated. Buffy and Faith stopped and approached her carefully.

Suddenly they were flung backwards by invisible force.

"I was a witch!" Anna called, momentarily changing back to normal, as she ran past them.

"Shit," Buffy groaned as she sat up.

"You can say that again," Faith agreed. "Looks like we have a bigger problem."

"Yeah. Let's go back."

"You're back so soon?" Giles asked as he opened the door and saw the two Slayers.

"Yeah," Faith said as she walked past him.

"What happened? Did you find her?"

"Oh yeah," Buffy said.

"And?"

"She's a witch."

"What?" Giles said, alarmed.

"Lara, we'll need your help," Faith said.

Lara nodded, leaning on Raelee.

"Witch?" Kye said. "They really exist?" she asked Willow.

Willow smiled.

"Actually, we prefer the term wiccan," she said.

"You're a witch too?"

Willow nodded.

"Me, Lara and Tara."

Kye didn't respond, finding that life was getting weirder by the minute.

"And she did look like she was fighting the demon inside," Faith said. "When she was normal, she wanted us to kill her, but when she changed to her game face, she ran away."

"Can't she kill herself? Xander asked.

Faith shrugged.

"Probably not. She has to fight the demon all the time and the demon won't allow her to kill herself."

"Oh." He frowned. "She must be insane by now."

"Any luck with the plan?" Buffy asked, ending the depressing conversation.

"Plan?" Xander said. "Oh. Not much."

"What have you come up with?" Faith asked.

"Well," Giles said, "we have agreed that we have to make them confess."

"I'm with you on that. How?"

"We thought about using a truth spell."

"Yeah, that could do." She looked at Willow. "You up to it?"

"Yes, it's not a difficult spell."

"Okay." She looked back at Giles. "That's it?"

"No. We have agreed that we should record the whole confession."

Faith thought about it.

"We'll need to set them up and use Kye as a bait."

"I'll get the camcorder," Cordelia said.

"Wait, I have a better idea," Buffy said. "We record and have the cops watch it at the same time."

"How?"

"Well, we have this small, portable TV in the basement. If we can get enough cable, we can hook it up to the camcorder."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"That might take a lot of cable. Not to mention that we need another cable for power."

"The TV runs on batteries and can be plugged into the car lighter spot."

"That still leaves us the antenna cable." She looked at Xander. "You think you can get it?"

Xander thought about it.

"I'll have to know how much we need."

Faith nodded.

"We'll know when we decide where the setup will take place."

"Okay."

"So, that it for tonight?" Buffy asked and looked at Giles.

"Yes, I suppose so," Giles said. He looked at Kye. "You are welcome to stay here, if you want. I have a spare bed."

"I… Eh…" Kye started, surprised.

"At least you won't be alone," Faith said.

Kye considered the offer.

"Okay," she finally agreed.

The next evening, Monique and Renee went to the Bronze to see if the two corrupt DEA cops were already in town. They didn't expect them yet, but they decided to check anyway. They were surprised when they saw the two cops walking around the Bronze, showing Kye's picture to people.

"Let's go," Renee said.

Monique nodded and they left.

"They're here," Monique reported when they got to Giles'.

"Already?" Xander said.

"Yes. Looks like your wound helped them find you."

Kye nodded.

"Yes."

"So what do we do?" Xander asked.

"Call the good cops and wait," Anya said.

"Oh."

"Think Willow can send them an anonymous tip per e-mail?"

"Sure."

"Good." She got up. "Come now, we have some business to take care of," she said as she passed him.

"Business?" Xander asked, confused, and got up. "What business?"

"I'll tell you on the way."

"Okay." He looked at Giles. "Gotta run now."

"Yes, of course," Giles said, not looking up from the book he was studying.

"Tell the others," he told Monique and Renee. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Monique and Renee stepped closer to Giles.

"So, is there anything we can do?" Renee asked.

Giles looked up from his book.

"Eh? Oh. No, thank you." He thought for a moment. "But you can stay and keep Kye company, if you wish."

"Sure," Monique said and they joined Kye, who was watching TV on the sofa.

"What happened to your nose ring?" Renee asked, noticing its absence.

Kye rubbed her nose.

"I removed it. I never liked it anyway."

"Then why did you have it on?" Monique asked.

Kye shrugged.

"To annoy my parents, I guess. We're not on good terms," she explained, noticing their looks.

"Oh."

"So, em, are you two a couple?"

Monique and Renee looked at each other, surprised.

"No," Monique said. "What made you say that?" she asked, curious.

"Well, you two are always together, but you don't strike me as sisters."

"Oh. Well, no, we're not sisters and we're not a couple either. We're just friends. Best friends. The reason we're always together is that she lives with me."

Kye raised an eyebrow.

"How come?"

Monique looked questioningly at Renee.

"I… I was raped last year," Renee said quietly, "and I got pregnant. My parents wanted my to have an abortion, but I wouldn't, so they threw me out. Now we live with Monique and her parents."

"We?"

"The baby and me."

"Oh. Boy or girl?"

"Girl."

Kye thought for a moment.

"I have a younger brother," she then said. "He can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but we're usually best friends." She paused for a moment. "I miss him."

"Don't worry, this will be over soon," Monique said, "and then you can see your brother again."

Kye sighed.

"I hope so."

About an hour later, Buffy and Faith came back.

"Any luck?" Giles asked.

"A total bust," Faith said.

"She moved," Buffy added. "Dawn's on a lookout for her."

"Good."

"Any idea how we can kill her?" Faith asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Willow, Tara and Lara are over at Lara's and they are studying their books. I don't know the details, but apparently Lara would hold Anna and then Willow and Tara would counteract her spells so you two can kill her."

"I hope it works."

"Oh, guys, we spotted the two cops at the Bronze looking for Kye," Renee said. "Anya said we should call the cops, the good cops. She said Willow should send an anonymous e-mail."

"I'll tell her," Buffy said.

"I'm going home and have some quality time with Cordelia," Faith said and flashed a big grin.

"We should go too," Renee said.

"Yes," Monique agreed, nodding.

"See you tomorrow," Faith said to Kye.

"Okay. Night."

"Night."

"Hey, guys," Faith greeted Heidi and Dennis when they came to the park.

"We thought we'd find you here," Heidi said, smiling.

"How was your vacation?" Monique asked.

"Great," Dennis said. "We went all the way to Lake Superior."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was wonderful."

"I bet."

"Why is the police so busy?" Heidi asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how they usually look the other way when something happens, even I noticed that by now. We passed a shop and there were a couple of cops looking for someone."

"A girl?" Faith asked.

"I don't know, I didn't see."

"Oh look, there they come," Renee said and everybody turned.

"Who?" Dennis asked.

"The two DEA cops that set up Kye."

"Who's Kye?"

"Some girl we came across. Those two drugged her and set her up with a murder. Now they want to kill her. We're gonna set them up."

"Oh."

"If they ask, we've never seen her before," Faith said.

"Okay."

"How did you spend your vacations?" Heidi asked.

"Me?" Faith asked.

"Well, everyone," Heidi said and waved her hand.

"Oh." Faith took Cordelia's hand. "Well, Cordelia and I went to the Bahamas. We spent a whole week alone and then Mom and Alice joined us. It was…"

"Heavenly," Cordelia finished for her and they kissed.

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "Buffy and I also spend a whole month in 1692, helping a witch get her Slayer girlfriend off the stake."

"What do you mean?" Dennis asked, confused.

Faith smiled.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later."

"Okay."

"The rest of us stayed at home," Monique said.

"You didn't go anywhere?" Heidi asked.

"Nope. And besides, someone has to keep the demons in check," she added with a grin, glancing at Faith.

Faith grinned back.

"Your selfless help is greatly appreciated," she said and bowed.

Everyone laughed, but they stopped when the two DEA cops came closer.

"Hello, everyone," Davies said as they showed them their badges, "DEA. We're looking for this girl," he said and showed them a picture of Kye. "Anyone seen her?"

Everybody pretended to carefully look and then shook their heads.

"Nope," Renee said.

"Well, if you do, call us."

He took out a card and Faith took it.

"We will," she said.

"Good."

The cops left and Faith crushed the card.

"We'll call you, all right," she murmured.

"Hey, everyone," Xander said as he and Anya came around.

"Hi, Xander," Faith said.

"Weren't those two men that just left the DEA cops?"

"Yep."

"Thought so. Anyway, we found a nice place for the setup."

"Where?"

"At the warehouses. We were just going to get the cable and then we can do it."

"Okay."

"You got the camcorder?" he asked Cordelia.

"Yes."

"We'll set them up tomorrow," Faith said. "Tonight, we're going to help a Slayer."

"The vampire?"

"Yes."

The evening was boring, but Faith had a feeling that somehow Anna would find a way to them. And she did, although by that time the two Slayers and the three wiccans were about ready to go home.

"There she is," Lara said suddenly and everyone looked at where she was pointing.

"Okay, everyone hide," Faith said. "Lara, Willow, you ready?"

Lara and Willow nodded and everyone else hid. Lara then pretended she was drinking Willow's blood. Faith noticed that Anna soon spotted them and was running to help.

"Now!" Buffy called when Anna came close enough.

Lara let go of Willow and Anna stopped, wary. Faith, Buffy and Tara stepped out of hiding.

"Help me," Anna said, momentarily turning back to normal, and then started to back off.

Lara immobilized her and Faith and Buffy attacked her. The demon quickly grasped the danger and used Anna's witch powers, but Willow and Tara were ready. Still, it took them a while to neutralize her defenses enough for Buffy to stake her. The demon gasped and changed back to normal.

"Thank you," Anna whispered before she turned to dust.

Everyone was quiet for a while, staring at the dust.

"That was so not fun," Faith finally said.

"Definitely not," Buffy agreed and shivered.

The next day, Willow sent the e-mail and everyone waited for the cops to show up.

"They're going in," Buffy reported over her walkie-talkie when she saw the two corrupt DEA cops sneak toward the back of the warehouse.

"Understood," Xander responded. "Stand by."

"They're coming," Xander reported from his position.

Faith nodded and looked at Willow and Tara.

"We're ready. As soon as they step into this circle, they will have to speak the truth."

"Okay. Lara?"

"I'm ready," Lara said, holding Raelee's hand.

Faith looked at Kye.

"You ready?"

Kye took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yes. Let's do it."

Monique came running in, Renee right behind her.

"They're on their way."

"Okay, step back. Xander."

"Got you."

When Buffy heard the word, she went to the police line.

"Excuse me."

"Sorry, kid, no civilians allowed on the premises," a cop who intercepted her said.

"I know, but I'm sure your superiors would like to see what is going on in there."

The cop frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"See this TV? I plug it in and you'll be able to see what is going on in there."

"Yeah, right."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"See that cable running out that window?" she said and pointed at one of the windows. The cop looked. "It's connected to a camcorder. When I connect it to this TV, you'll be able to see what is going on."

The cop hesitated for a moment. There was a risk he would make a fool out of himself, but he couldn't imagine why Buffy would pull a stun like that. On the other hand, he could be commended.

"Okay, come."

He lifted the line and Buffy followed him.

"Excuse me, Sir," he said and spoke briefly to his superior.

The man looked at Buffy skeptically.

"Plug it in," he said, hoping she wasn't lying.

Buffy put the TV on the hood of a car, picked up the hidden cable and plugged it in.

"Xander?" she asked.

"They're… here," he finished with a whisper.

"Okay, here we go," Buffy said and turned of the TV.

The channel was already set and the cops were surprised to see the interior of the warehouse. The chief cop looked at Buffy suspiciously.

"How did you…"

"Shh, look."

"What the fuck?" someone swore. "What the hell are they doing in there? I told them to stay outside."

"I believe it's about to get interesting," Buffy said.

In the warehouse, the two DEA cops spotted their prey and they slowly approached her. But when they were standing in the circle, Faith appeared beside Kye.

"Hello," she said.

"Who the fuck are you?" D'Amato asked, surprised.

"I'm a witness. And so are they."

The two cops followed Faith's gesture and saw eight other girls and a boy standing around the warehouse.

"What the hell's going on?" Davies said.

"I think you know," Faith said. "And somehow I think you'll have a hard time explaining to your superiors so many corpses." She grinned. "Tell me, what really happened that night when Robertson was killed?"

"We snatched the little bitch from the street and drugged her. Then D'Amato shot Robertson…"

"Shut up, Davies," D'Amato warned him and Davies looked at him, confused.

"Go on, D'Amato, I'm sure you can tell me what happened just as well."

D'Amato looked at her, confused.

"I shot him and Davies brought the bitch in and gave her Robertson's gun. The drug was wearing off and we waited…"

"Shut up, damn it," Davies swore and looked at Faith. "What's going on here?"

"Twenty questions," Faith said with a smile. "But I believe you weren't quite finished about what happened that night. Go on."

"We waited for the bitch to come around and then we entered and wanted to kill her, but the bitch knocked us aside and ran away. We've been trailing her ever since."

Faith smiled, but the smile turned to evil grin.

"Thank you," she said.

"What the fuck is going on here?" D'Amato asked.

"Well, like Dom would say, 'Smile, you're on Candid Camera'," Faith said and pointed up.

The two DEA cops looked up and saw Xander, who waved at them. Davies tried to shoot him, but his shot went wild when Lara nudged his gun.

"Ain't payback a bitch?" Kye said.

D'Amato tried to shoot her, but his shot went wild as well.

Before any of the two DEA cops could do anything, the cops came in, weapons ready. The two corrupt cops considered defending themselves or running, but when they saw that there was no way out, they dropped their weapons and raised their hands.

Faith looked at Kye.

"Your turn," she said.

Kye nodded and threw the murder weapon away. Then she kneeled and put her hands above her head. Faith stepped aside.

The cops arrested Davies and D'Amato and took them away. The DEA chief came to Kye. He glanced at Faith, shaking his head.

"That was a dangerous stunt you pulled," he said. "And how the hell did you get them to confess?"

Faith shrugged.

"I guess I'm so cute they couldn't resist me," she said and blinked her eyes.

The man did a double take and then looked at Kye, deciding to ignore that.

"Well, young lady, it looks like you're off the hook," he said and offered her his hand.

Kye took it and got up.

"Does this mean I can go?"

"Not yet, we still need to take your statement." He looked at Faith. "And we'll need your statement as well and those of your friends." He turned around and looked at the gun. "Is this the murder weapon?"

"Yes, I think so," Kye said.

"Get someone here to pick up the murder weapon!" the man called and looked back at her. "Your parents are outside. You can go to them, but don't leave, we still have questions."

Kye nodded, but she didn't look very excited.

"Have you been taping this?" he asked Faith.

"Yep." Faith looked up, but Xander was already on his way down. "There," she said and pointed at him.

The DEA chief went to Xander, who first looked at Faith, and, when she nodded, gave him the tape. Then Xander came to her.

"Here," he said and gave her the camcorder.

"Did you get a good view?"

"Oh yeah," Xander said and grinned. "Saw everything, heard everything." He shook his head. "Good thing we had Lara along or he'd kill me."

"Yeah. Let's go out." She looked at Kye, who was still standing there. "You okay?" she asked.

Kye hesitated for a few moments.

"I'm not on good terms with my parents," she said.

Faith nodded, understanding.

"They came here," she said, "which means that they care."

"Or they'll just yell."

"You won't know until you go meet them."

Kye sighed and nodded. Then she headed out. Faith and Xander followed her. When Faith looked around, she saw that their friends were also following and she waited for Cordelia.

Outside, Buffy was already giving her statement and Kye's parents and her younger brother were nervously waiting for Kye. When they saw her, they immediately ran to her. Kye stopped, nervous, when she saw them. But her fears were proven baseless when her father hugged her and her mother both of them.

"How are you, honey?" Kye's mother asked.

Kye mumbled something and they both let go of her.

"I'm fine," she repeated, not used to seeing her parents so emotional and happy to see her.

"We're so glad that you are okay. We were worried sick."

"Em, I need to go make a statement," Kye said, not sure what to say.

Her mother nodded.

"Of course," her father said.

Kye looked at her brother and smiled at him.

"Hey."

"Hey," he said back, smiling.

"I'll be right back."

Kye went to talk to the cops and her parents stared after her.

Faith observed the reunion, holding Cordelia's hand, and she sighed. She knew Kye would need emotional support, but she wasn't sure her parents could provide it and her brother was too young. She decided to give them a piece of advice. Cordelia followed her.

"Hi," she said. "You're Kye's parents, right?"

"Yes," Kye's father said.

Faith glanced at Kye.

"She's gonna need emotional support," she said. "But don't push her, don't try to force her to talk to you, let her do it on her own time. And when she does, listen to her. I know you weren't on the best of terms with her, but try to understand her. She's been through hell and she's gonna need all the help she can get. If you screw this up, she will be in deep shit." She paused. "I know it, I've been there myself. It nearly cost me my life," she added quietly, glanced at Kye again and then left, Cordelia quietly following her.

Kye's parents stared at her, surprised. They didn't like to be lectured by teenagers, but they had to agree that she had a point, not to mention that she obviously spoke from experience. They wanted to stand by Kye's side as she was giving her statement, but they decided to wait and let her tell them the whole story when she was ready. They knew that their relationship with their daughter wasn't good and they hoped that they would be able to improve it. They would have to be patient.

The End