Chapter Fifteen

Buffy was afraid, more afraid than she could ever remember being. Faith was currently standing next to Spiran, his hand firmly holding her by the throat, and her eyes were showing none of their usual fire. Buffy could feel herself descending into a first-class panic, and she struggled to stay in control. She had to stay in control, no matter what.

Faith looked dazed and not quite there, probably because she wasn't. Or was. Whatever. All Buffy knew for sure was that one minute Faith was fighting by her side, and the next she was strolling over to Spiran like they were old friends.

At first it seemed as if Faith would fight him off. Her body moved towards him, but it was a jerky, almost uncoordinated journey. She displayed none of the innate grace which normally infused her every move, in fact it looked like she was unsure just how to get her muscles to respond.

But then she was with him, offering not the slightest hint of resistance. A part of Buffy clung to the hope that it was all an act, a reckless but clever way to allow Faith to maneuver herself into striking distance, but one good look into her eyes ended that hope. Faith was under his spell, fully and completely, and Buffy could not get to her.

She fought her way closer, and as she neared, Spiran began laughing:

"And here comes the hero to save the day."

It had all started off so well. Well maybe "well" wasn't exactly the best word. Their meeting before sundown had been productive, and it had given them their plan. As plans went, it was a good one. Crazy, stupid, risky, but good. By the time they got it all worked out, they were in total agreement: it was just what they needed.

They'd approached it all wrong at the start. The original strategy had been for Buffy and Faith to close the Hellmouth by themselves. Willow had been valiantly trying to teach them the words they would need to work the spell, but they weren't having much success. It was Buffy who finally stated the obvious
"Damn it! This isn't going to work. Assuming we can ever get the words down, how are we supposed to fight while we're trying to do magic?"

"Perhaps you girls could...I don't know."

"Great Giles, that's just great!"

"Maybe we can stay outta sight while we work the mojo, then..."

Willow shook her head at Faith's suggestion:

"But you guys are going to have to be near the opening for the spell to work. It doesn't seem too likely that there'll be a big hiding place right where you need it to be."

Buffy began pacing back and forth:

"Giles, they're going to wipe us out before we can say five words."

"It looks grim I admit, but Buffy this spell is our only real chance to seal..."

"'Real chance'? It's no chance. It's chance of none. Just call us chanceless with this chance. We need to..."

"Might have an idea."

"Faith?"

"Up to you guys to figure, but thinking maybe we're focused on the wrong deal."

Giles' glasses came off as he massaged the bridge of his nose:

"Yes? How so?"

All eyes were on her, and she looked incredibly uncomfortable as she continued:

"Seems to me we gotta get Red in here. No way me and B can do the spell, not and kick ass at the same time."

"Hey yeah, Willow and Buffy could just lower the barrier!"

Giles began cleaning his glasses as he thought it through:

"I'm afraid Dawn, that's not quite a viable option."

"But she's right Giles. If we did that, Will could do the spell and the rest of us could help Buffy and Faith fight the vamps."

"Xander honey, that's such a stupid idea."

"This guy's tough, I get it, but we've handled a million bad guys before and..."

"I've been around well over a thousand years and Spiran is by far the most powerful vampire I've ever seen. He might just be the most powerful ‘anything' right now."

"Anya's right. The barrier gives us a slight cushion in the event the Hellmouth opens wide. We can't lower it unless we've at least a reasonable chance of..."

"Okay Spiran bad, Spiran very bad. But right now our best plan has Buffy and Faith taking on fifty vampires, The Brothers and Spiran while they try to close the Hellmouth using a spell they can't even pronounce. The Buffster's right, that's no chance or plan."

"Giles, there's no way Faith and I can handle all of that. Maybe we can pick some of them off over the next few days...Will, how long can you hold the barrier?"

"It turns out only a day or two at best."

"That's nowhere near long enough. Giles, what about blowing them up again?"

"I think that's unlikely to work a second time. They will surely have guards in place to prevent such a recurrence."

"G-man, there's no way to get Red in here? No special gizmo she can use, no freaky mystical..."
"No, there isn't. Unfortunately one can't just transmute oneself whenever the fancy strikes. There are of course numerous laws and many assorted.........Oh good Lord..."

Buffy's head snapped up, her eyes riveted to Giles.

"Giles?"

"..."

"Giles, you're making that face you make. What is it?"

"...There is a way...Buffy, there is a way!"

"Great, so why with the scary face?"

"Because it's incredibly dangerous...Willow, have you ever heard of ‘The Emerson Ride'?"

Willow's face screwed up in concentration.

"It sounds kind of familiar, isn't that......Oh."

"Yes, ‘oh'."

The exchange left them silent, but Buffy wasn't allowing any more quiet time:

"It's nice you two know what you're talking about, any chance you could fill the rest of us in?"

"What? Oh yes, of course. ‘The Emerson Ride' is a mystical, shall we say ‘journey'?"

"You can say whatever you want, just explain."

"It was invented, for lack of a better term, by a crazy old mystic named Hans Emerson. The short of it is that he would seek out fissures or pockets of mystical energy, and then ride along their streams to their final destinations. He was quite successful at it, recording nearly a dozen such journeys in a three year period. No one knows exactly when he stopped."

"Fuck, can bet this doesn't end good."

"On his last journey, it seems something went wrong. No one knows for sure of course, but it's likely that he got lost or miscalculated or perhaps the energy stream was just too powerful. Whatever the reason, he was never heard from again."

Buffy looked nothing but confused.

"Okay, definitely a fascinating story, but what does it have to do with us?"

"I can do it."

Buffy turned to look at Willow, her confusion still obvious.

"Do what? What energy thing is there for you to ride?"

"...I can ride the Hellmouth."

"What?! Are you crazy?!"

Giles stepped forward:

"Buffy, perhaps Willow..."

"No Giles, no. We are not even considering this! It's way too crazy to even..."

"Buff, just hear me out. I..."

"Oh I did, I just heard you out of your mind! You want to ‘ride' the Hellmouth? Well the answer is ‘no'."

"We might not have a choice and..."

"We have a choice. There's always a choice."

"...Faith's right, I need to get in there."

"Not like this! There has to be another way that doesn't involve you bodysurfing the Hellmouth."

"Well there isn't."

"Okay then, fine. We'll just go with the original plan."

"You mean the one that has you guys outnumbered fifty to two? The brilliant plan that gets you slaughtered, lets the Hellmouth open, and ends with everyone in the world dead?"

Buffy was on her feet, her anger propelling her as close to the barrier as she could get.

"That was the plan a minute ago, a plan you were all, ‘Yea, go team, go plan' about."

"Well that was all we had then. And what about the spell? You can't even..."

"Faith and I will do the stupid spell, okay? We'll..."

"You'll get killed, is what you'll do."

"Maybe, but there's no way you're going to do anything like..."

Now Willow moved forward until she was standing nose to nose with Buffy:

"You can't just tell me what I can and can't do! Since when are you the official decider of me?!"

"Since you went completely insane about two minutes ago!"

"We need to talk about this Buffy. We can't just ignore a..."

"We did talk about it, and we said it's a stupid idea."

"No, there was just you going all "Oh hey, look at me..."

"Girls please, this is accomplishing nothing. Might I suggest we all calm..."

"...I'm the Slayer, the big boss of everyone!"

"I am the Slayer and I..."

"And I'm the Slayer's best friend!"

"I know that, and that's exactly why you are not doing this!"

"You're not the boss of me!"

Xander eased his way up next to Willow:

"Will, Buff, come on. We need to..."

"You can say whatever you want to Willow, but you..."

"B."

"...are not going to risk..."

"B!"

"What?!"

"Just calm down and let Red talk. We can..."

"No! She's not going to..."

Faith looked at the others:

"'Scuse us."

She pulled Buffy away roughly, marching her off until she thought they were out of earshot.

"Let go of me!"

"B...Buffy, stop it."

"Stop what?!"

"Stop being an asshole."

"I'm not! I..."

"Yeah, you are."

"Why, because I don't like the crazy plan my best friend has to kill herself?!"

"No, because you won't shut up and let anybody hear it."

"It's insane, Faith! It's a bad plan, a dumb plan!"

"Maybe, but she's got a right to talk about it."

"Well I've heard more than enough! There is no way..."

"Shut up!!!"

Buffy looked pissed, but she shut up.

"I know how you feel, okay? The plan does sound nuts, but Red's smart, so's Giles. There must be something to it, yeah?"

Buffy was glaring, but at least she wasn't yelling anymore.

"Listen, let's head back over there and let her and Giles hammer it out. When they get done, if you don't wanna do it, I'll back ya one hundred percent. Can be your call, but we gotta look at all the options, right?"

Buffy said nothing for a minute as she stared at the ground.

"...Yeah okay, you're right."

"Holy fuck, you kidding me?!"

"What?"

"Now I wanna get this straight...You, Buffy Summers of your own free will, you're saying I'm right?"

Buffy began laughing.

"I can't fucking believe this. Course I got no witnesses."

"Shut up, you idiot."

Faith smiled:

"Now see, that's more like it. Everything's back to normal."

"Come on, let's go hear the cra...new plan."

When they reached the barrier, Willow had calmed down as well. Everyone looked relieved to see that Buffy was much more reasonable, and Giles jumped right in:

"So, where were we? Willow, you would be willing to consider attempting such a dangerous journey?"

"Yes, I think I can do it and stay safe. I don't remember every little detail but..."

"Nor do I, but we will rectify that as soon as Xander and Anya return with the necessary books."

"I do know I'll need to do a couple of protection spells, and then I'll have about a thirty second leeway to jump in."

"Into the Hellmouth?"

"No Buffy, not into the Hellmouth...just into the Hellmouth."

"Right, well that sounds just great to me. Everybody?"

"Buffy's right, Willow. I thought we agreed nobody was jumping in?"

"I know Dawnie, but this isn't the same thing at all."

"Really? Because over here on this side of the barrier, it sounds exactly the same."

"It's not! Okay, maybe it sort of is...but I know I can do it."

Faith put a reassuring hand on Buffy's arm as she spoke up:

"Based on what, Red?"

"Willow, perhaps I should have a go?"

"Sure, by all means."

"Thank you. Willow will enter the Hellmouth yes, but ‘The Emerson Ride' would allow her to coast along on top of its energy. It would be much like riding a wave, cresting with it, and then leaving before it crashes."

Buffy's question was asked with what could only be described as an ominous calm:

"What happens when it crashes?"

"If Willow were still with it, she would be taken down into the depths of the Hellmouth, not a scenario we wish to entertain."

"Well whether we wish to or not, what happens if that happens?"

"It won't Buffy, I'll get out before then."

"Giles?"

"She must exit before the energy stream arrives at its final destination. Otherwise she'll lose control and be flung down into Hell...with no hope of escape."

"Oh, is that all? Gee, why did I ever think this was a crazy idea?"

"But that's not what's going to happen. I'll follow the energy signature, and I'll know exactly when I need to leave."

"How sure of a thing is that? Red, seems pretty easy for you to get lost like the nut who took all the joyrides."

"I won't. There'll be this trail, like a groove in between, and I'll follow along inside of that."

Giles spoke up, his voice ringing with confidence:

"I agree with Willow on this part of it. She's an incredibly powerful witch, staying on target should pose little problem."

Willow smiled:

"See Buffy, Giles agrees this is a..."

"However, there is a serious, potentially deadly obstacle in our path."

Buffy looked like she wanted to hit something:

"Oh, definitely color me surprised. What is it?"

Giles looked at Willow who was no longer smiling.

"Shall I tell them or do you wish to?"

"Is there a third option?"

"Willow..."

"I'll do it, Giles. There's a little problem...I won't be able to get out."

The look on Buffy's face was totally incredulous:

"Okay seriously, I cannot be the only one who sees how crazy this whole thing is?"

"I for one am definitely seeing the crazy, and you guys promised that no one was jumping in."

"Gotta agree with Squirt, seems way nuts. Maybe me and B should just..."

Willow sounded almost desperate as she rushed on:

"But I can get out with help. That's where you come in, Buffy."

"Me?"

"Yes. You're going to have to pull me out."

"Will..."

"I should be able to get my hand out through the opening, so all..."

"No."

"...you'll have to do is grab me and pull me clear."

"And if I don't?"

"Well, let's just say it wouldn't be good."

"No, let's just say the situation's never happening."

"It would be incredibly risky Willow, and Buffy would only have the one chance. The forces emanating from the Hellmouth at that point would be exceedingly powerful, perhaps too powerful even for a Slayer."

Buffy's sarcasm was lost on no one:

"Oh, this just gets better and better."

"But I can help! I can do a spell that might make it easier for you to pull me out. I know we can do this."

"Willow..."

"It will not be easy, and if Buffy should miss..."

"But she won't miss."

Buffy anger was palpable:

"Okay, let's recap what we know: Willow is going for a dip in the Hellmouth and Faith or I have to grab her and pull her clear before she gets sucked down into Hell forever. Did I leave anything out?"

"...Um...Kind of."

"What...Willow?"

"...You'll be the only one who can sense me. It's because of the spells and stuff, but you'll be the only one who'll be able to see my aura."

"Your ‘aura'? Again with the ‘what'?"

"I'll have to mask my energy so The Brothers can't pinpoint me, and the forces in The Hellmouth will mess everything up. Because we're so close, you'll be the only one with a chance of getting me."

"Now there's just ‘a chance' of getting you?! Giles?"

"I'm not happy with this either, but unless something contradicts what I remember, we've nothing else that seems at all likely to succeed. I believe we must take this risk... Willow, are you quite certain you want to do this?"

"Well ‘want' isn't exactly how I'd put it, but yes. I don't see how we can not do it."

Buffy asked the question on everyone's mind:

"But Will...what if I don't get you?"

"You will."

"But what if I don't?"

"You will."

"How can you be so sure?"

Willow looked at her as if she were insane:

"Because you're Buffy, Buffy."

Buffy heard the snort of laughter from Faith and whirled to face her.

"Told ya, B."

"Don't be so smug. Besides, this is all your fault for insisting we find a way to get her in here."

"Hey, was you who insisted I sit in. As for the other, facts is facts B. Ya are who you are, just gotta deal."

Buffy smiled then, how could she not?
"All right guys, how does this work?"

"I'll go to the school, do my own little opening spell, and when they start bringing the Hellmouth to them, I'll come along. You'll grab me, you guys will kill them, and I'll close the opening. Then it's home for take-out and movies."

"Red, am I missing somethin'? If you open the Hellmouth on your end..."

"It won't be a real opening, more of a mystical thing. It'll allow me to enter, but it'll seal up right behind me. There won't be any time for anything to come out, just time for me to get in."

"So not making another problem then?"

"Nope, that part I can guarantee."

"Guarantees are of the good. How am I going to know when you're coming?"

"There'll be like this huge energy surge when I jump in, you won't be able to miss it. They won't either, but they won't be able to stop me. They'll still be a little on the drained side of the force, and they wouldn't be able to sense me anyway. You'll just need to get to me and help me out."

"Not trying to rain on the parade, but I thought the opening was gonna be small at the start?"

"It will be. I'll just be able to get a hand out and Buffy's going to have to pull me through. The downside to that is that it will make the opening bigger, and not in a tidy way. It'll start expanding pretty quickly, so we're going to have to close it a lot faster than we'd planned on."

"Another negative is that the barrier shall not remain in place for long. All Willow's efforts will be concentrated on closing the Hellmouth...Ah, here they are."

Xander and Anya climbed out of the jeep with several books between them.

"We come bearing gifts. Are my bestest best buds all friendly again?"

"Yep, all back on track. Anya, can I have that green one?"

"Sure Willow, please feel free to take them all."

"Here Giles, these are yours. I'm glad you guys made up, you were upsetting Dawnie."

"No they weren't! I mean they were, but it's not like I was bawling about it. I'm not a little kid anymore."
Anya ruffled Dawn's hair in what was for her, an affectionate manner:

"I don't think age has anything to do with it. Xander cried when we got to the house. He was talking about how someone was probably going to have to go into the Hellmouth, and he just got all choked up."

"...Thanks for sharing that with everyone, An."

"It was okay? That's a relief because right in the middle of it, I thought maybe I was sharing inappropriately again."

"Yeah, you've been working really hard to know where the boundaries are."

Anya beamed at him:

"Yes I have, and I think I've made a lot of progress. For example, I know not to tell them that I had multiple..."

"Here it is! A moment please...Yes, we're spot on! There seem to be no surprises here, but Willow, we shall need to go over the necessary spells very closely. We've no margin for error at all."

"And what can the rest of us do while the ladies do their thing?"

Giles never looked up as he began searching through another book:

"Actually quite a lot, Xander. We shall assist with vampire control once the barrier doesfinally collapse, and it's also very likely we'll be able to aid Willow in her attempt to close the Hellmouth. There will be plenty for everyone to do."

"Hey, does this mean I get to use the stun gun?!"

"No!"

"But Buffy, I'm going to be right in the middle of it and..."

"No Dawn, and that's final."

Dawn didn't look happy, but she could tell Buffy was serious.

"Fine. But it's sure going to be ironic if I end up saving all of us with it."

"So me and B wanna whittle'em down before the barrier takes a dive?"

"Yes, then you will be backed up by a rather motley cavalry."

"I'm cool with it, but the odds are still fifty to two. Throw in their big guns and...."

"Spiran and The Brothers will be temporarily out of the fray. You girls need only keep them at bay until Buffy extracts Willow from the Hellmouth."

"Well I must say this is a much better plan than the original one. Now there's at least a small chance we won't all die. I like it!"

"Me too, An. The whole gang's together, just like it's supposed to be."

Faith felt an unexpected happiness welling up inside her as Xander said that. He was looking straight at her and grinning his goofy "Xander" grin. It was a familiar look, but not one Faith had ever seen directed so warmly at her. She could do nothing except smile back, her heart feeling years younger.

"You know, if I had the stun gun, I might be able to..."

"Dawn Summers, that's enough! You are not getting the stun gun. You can have a broadsword though, now will you please be quiet?"

"Really?! I can have a broadsword?! Oh man, I am so going to kill these guys! I'm going to...Shutting up now."

The Hellmouth was opening at midnight, just a few short hours away, and they spent the next half hour trying to cover all the bases. There seemed to be a million particulars to go over, but they were finally forced to give it up and go their separate ways, for now.

As they made their preparations to leave, Buffy and Willow hung back. They stood on opposite sides of the barrier as they stared at each other affectionately.

"Will, are you sure?"

"Yes."

"For sure?"

"I'm sure. The absolutely surest of the sure."

"...God, what if I don't get you?"

Willow began laughing like a nut.

"Will, this isn't funny!"

"I know, but Buffy there's no way you won't get me. I'm not worried about that at all. I'm worried about going all ‘grrr'."

"You won't, I know you won't. You're going to close the Hellmouth, and when it's all over, you're still going to be you."

"But what if..."

"Hey, there is no ‘what if' here. I'm giving you my personal ‘Buffy Summers Guarantee'."

"Okay, that makes me feel better. It's kind of ironic, isn't it?"

"What?"

"We've got total confidence in each other, but in ourselves? Not so much."

"Yeah...Is ‘ironic' the right word?"

"I'm not really sure. I always get it mixed up with..."

"Me too, and that song sure didn't help."

"No, ironically it just made things even more confusing."

"Dawnie used it right before, right?"

"Yeah, I think."

Progress made, and then it was lost, just like that.

"God, what if I don't get you out?"

"Well look at it this way, at least I'll have good company in Hell."

"'Good company'?"

"I know if you miss, you'll come in after me. Then the Hellmouth will seal closed, and we'll both be trapped forever."

"...Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"That's what I was shooting for. Kinda ironic, don't you think?"

They both laughed then.

"I love you Willow."

"I love you too. See you in a few hours."

"Up close and personal."

"Yep! Then we're gonna kick some major......some major booty!"

"Will, I think if you're going to be jumping into the Hellmouth, you're allowed to say ‘ass'."

"Probably, but it just seemed wrong somehow, you know?"

"I know."

They turned to walk away, but Willow's voice stopped them:

"Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"If something...If I do lose control..."

"You won't."

"But if I do..."

"I'll be there."

"But Buffy...if it gets bad...I wouldn't...I mean, if I got thrown into the Hellmouth, well that's a way I could be stopped."

"It won't come to that."

"But just in case, okay?"

"Okay, just in case. But if that happens, I'm still going in with you. And I'm really not all that keen on spending eternity in constant torment. I was kinda hoping we could hit the mall tomorrow."

Willow laughed:

"Boy, this sure is lots of fun."

"Oh yeah, first-class tickets on the big old train marked ‘Fun'."

"We'd better go. Be careful Buffy."

"I will be. You too."

And that was that until it came time to actually set the plan in motion. It had all started off so smoothly, and she should have known better right then and there.

Buffy and Faith had timed their arrival perfectly, showing up just as the Hellmouth was opened. The unavoidable risk they'd taken by being so close to it when the spell was cast, was just as Giles had predicted. They experienced a momentary dizziness, and then it was all just business as usual.

They began fighting, maneuvering their way closer to the opening. The Brothers and Spiran seemed drained, but there was no time to take advantage of their weakness. They had to concentrate on holding their ground until Willow appeared.

The relative smallness of the room and its partially collapsed state worked in their favor. Their enemies could not attack all at once, and Buffy and Faith were dusting vampires left and right. Then the room went supernova for an instant, and Buffy turned to face the opening.

Spiran struggled to his feet:

"Something's happening!"

But it was too late, Buffy was already moving. She leapt high over a charging vampire, staking another as she landed. Suddenly Willow's hand appeared, and Buffy picked up speed. An enormous vampire stood between her and her goal, and she knew she had no time to fight him. She yelled for help:

"Faith!"

Faith spun and saw nothing at the opening. There was just a mass of swirling light and energy and no sign of Willow, at least not to her. But she knew Buffy saw her, and she knew time was short.

She kicked the vamp standing in front of her in the balls, effectively doubling him over. She then jumped onto his back and hurled her axe over the group of bad guys that were now rushing her.

Buffy never hesitated, and she was already diving through him as the vampire blocking her way turned into dust. Faith saw her reach down and pull back straining, and suddenly there was Willow. She looked a little disoriented, but then she was shaking it off. Buffy had already turned from her and was fighting to keep the pressure off until Willow could get her bearings.

Relieved, Faith rammed her stake through the back of her undead ladder and landed lightly on the floor to confront her own difficult situation. A grin slid its way across her face as she saw that she was now surrounded. She pulled out another stake, one for each hand, and her grin became something else.

"Gee, not lookin' good."

"Yeah, we've got you outnumbered, Slayer."

"Oh yeah, guess ya do. But see, I meant it doesn't look good for you guys."

They charged and Faith met them head-on. In just minutes, only one vampire remained.

"Get what I'm saying, asshole?"

He roared with anger and ran at her, but he was dust before he'd taken a second step. She didn't even bother watching him explode as her stake found his heart. Her gaze was already scanning for Buffy and Willow, and what she saw made her laugh.

Buffy being Buffy, was using everything around her to hold her ground. Rubble was flying and vamps were falling and dusting all over the place. They kept trying to get past The Slayer, but she wasn't cooperating because that's where Willow was, calmly chanting in Latin with her eyes closed.

Spiran was leaning heavily against a wall, but he barked out an order to The Brothers:

"The witch! Stop her!!!"

The Brothers linked hands, and Faith started for them. She didn't know what they were going to do, but she knew it couldn't be good. She also knew she had to get to them before they...She didn't make it.

There was a crackling sound, and then ugly yellow bolts of what looked like lightning, were sailing directly at Willow. Buffy yelled out a warning, but it was all happening too fast. Willow was just seconds from being incinerated and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Well, except for Willow. She never stopped chanting, she never even turned her head or opened her eyes. She merely raised her left hand, and the yellow bolts were somehow on their way back to The Brothers. They screamed as they burned and then they were gone, not even a pile of ash remaining to mark their passing.

Faith couldn't believe it. The way Giles had talked them up The Brothers were wicked powerful, even as vampires, yet Willow had just taken them out without so much as a glance. Speaking of Red, that was now a real loose description.

Her hair color kept changing, first red, then black, then white, then all three at once which looked way funky. In fact, Faith was getting sick of looking at her, and of course there was still Buffy to stare at.

All her focus was on defending Willow, and of course that meant she hadn't done a thing to help Faith. Shit, that's just how it was, second-class Slayer over here. Buffy and her buddies didn't give two shits about her. Never had, never would.

Yeah okay, so she'd killed a guy, big fucking deal. How many assholes had she saved by now? Scales were tipped way the fuck in her favor, but oh no. Nothing was ever gonna be right or good enough for Little Miss Perfect. She wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than a big ass breakdown, all complete with a buncha bawling and pleading for help.

Well it wasn't gonna happen, she didn't have time to feel bad. The guy was dead, was his own stupid fault. Ya hang out in a dark alley where a Slayer's doing her business, better stand the fuck back or start throwing down. It was an accident sure, but the way she saw it, she did the world a favor. Dumb fucking idiot needed killing. Stupid bastard was just taking up space.

But the point was, if she needed somebody to watch her back, there wasn't gonna be anything coming from Buffy. No loyalty, no real concern, nothing but her perfect and oh so pretty little matching outfit, as Her Highness rolled outta her picture perfect life to visit the shit side of town. Taking her dainty little steps so the filth didn't mess up her shoes as she tried so hard to help the less fortunate, the scum of the earth.

God knows there's no time to pay any attention to the trashy Slayer. Don't even look twice, Blondie. Just miss every signal ever sent your way, ignore it when you feel whatever this is flowing between us. No sense wallowing in the dirt, is there baby?
It's all great B, all cool with me if ya wanna run off to screw a corpse. Everybody knows even a dead guy's gotta be better for ya than a slutty dyke who keeps mooning around making an ass of herself. Yeah, it's all good.

Can't tell ya how fantastic it is to be in love with the poster girl for straightness. Throw in all the perfection and goodness, oh yeah like a match made in heaven. Figure we gotta be soul mates or something.

So fucking far outta my league it's like we don't even play the same game. And I know you B, you're gonna be more than happy to show me over and over again that I don't stand a chance with you. For the rest of my life it's gonna be you way up there and me way the fuck down here, just begging for scraps. Just like some fucked up dog waiting for anything you'll toss my way.

Well fuck that and fuck you. I don't need that shit. You and your little Scooby pals, always looking down your lucky ass noses at me. Fuck all of you, just shove it. Wanna play it this way? Works for me, I been playing all my life, and this time it's gonna be me on the winning side.

Fuck right and wrong. This is win or lose, and I'm all done with losing. ‘Sides, not like "right" ever did shit for me, might as well give "wrong" a shot. And just look at him, guy's just flat-out lovable. What can ya do?
Yeah sure he's a little weird, got a shitload of hang-ups and stuff, but he's okay. Never once tried to get in my pants, never does nothing but hand out the attention and respect. So he's got a few plans sittin' on the shady side, shit we all got some kinda deals going down. Least he's honest about it.

Guy acts like a dad, and no fucking way do those ever come around. Been great to me, and the big shocker is that he really loves me. Don't know how it happened, but it did. No lies, no games, ain't gotta jump through hoops for it. Just gotta be me.

And I can do loyal, fucking know I can...unlike some people. So I'm gonna pay him back in spades and she can kiss my ass, they all can. But ‘specially her. Ya don't wanna love me? Then fucking don't, you fucking bitch. Gonna be way happy to...

*Faith!*
Wow, she sounds all worked up. What is it now? My shirt too tight? I got ahold of the wrong fucking fork? Maybe I said the wrong thing again, hit a little too close to the truth? Well don't you worry, ya prissy little cunt. You can make all the fucking comments ya wanna when I rip your guts out and...

"And here comes the hero to save the day."

"Faith!"

"I'm sorry, but Faith is with me now."

"Fuck you."

"My, you're such a rude young woman. I hate to see that, but your generation just doesn't seem to appreciate the..."

"Faith, don't listen to him!"

"Gosh, all this yelling from such a little scrap of a girl. I'm glad my Faith isn't like you."

"Fight him, I know you can do it!"

"So tell me Buffy, how's the back? All better now?"

"..."

"I've missed you."

"You son of a bitch. Let her go."

"Language. You know, they say profanity is the last refuge of the ignorant."

"Faith, listen to me!"

"Scream all you want, you know how much I love hearing you. As for Faith? She belongs to me now. We've reached, well I guess you could call it a meeting of the minds. She's feeling quite...ah, ah, ah...Anymore of that and I'll be forced to snap her neck."

Buffy froze.

"This is all so familiar, it's reminding me of something, now what could it be? Oh yes, I remember now. So tell me Buffy, have you killed any little kids lately?"

"..."

"My, my Slayer, you look all upset. Something I said?"

"Fuck you."

Spiran laughed and tightened his grip on Faith:

"Your favorite refrain. I guess you'll never change, will you Buffy?"

"Let her go."

"No."

"Faith!"

"Want to see a neat trick? Watch this...Faith, I'm thinking Buffy is getting a little too dangerous, what with ‘The Ascension' just around the corner and all. I was wondering if you might be interested in taking her out of the picture."

Faith's eyes lit up, shining with hate, anger, and insanity.

"Sure thing Boss."

"Okay, but first I need to work out the details. No sense putting my little firecracker at risk unnecessarily."

"Cool, just gimme the word. Been itching to show her what real pain's all about."

"He's not the Mayor, Faith. We're not back there."

Spiran held Faith tightly around the neck, so relaxed he looked like he was standing on a yacht. Buffy stood before him, her body tense and begging to spring into action as she forced it to remain still and do nothing.

"It's interesting. I've been doing this for well over two hundred years, you wouldn't think anything could surprise me anymore. But take our Faith here. I slid right in, no obstacles at all. I think it has something to do with the time you and I spent together, but who really knows? The important thing is not only can I make her see things, I can also control her, at least the part of her that was evil. I've never done anything remotely like it, and I must tell you Buffy, it's incredibly exciting and more than a little sexy."

"You are so going to die."

"Did you know that she loves you? She always has. You met in...Faith, just relax now...ah, there it is. You met in an alley and the second she saw you, she fell head over heels. It almost makes you believe in destiny, doesn't it? But then love didn't run smoothly for you Slayers, not even close. It's such a thin line between love and hate for all of us, but with you girls it barely even exists. All that passion and it could have gone either way. My poor little firecracker, she just didn't know how to handle it."

"Faith!"

"She's got this huge section that's just for you. It's filled with all of it, the hate, the shame, the regret, the guilt, the anger, the joy, the happiness, the wonder, and always the love. It's the whole package of human emotion, and it's all just for you."

Buffy's anger and hatred were urging her to attack, but she stayed where she was.

"But there's something new, something she's sealed off from me...I wish I had more time to dig it out of her...But alas, this is the part where you and I make a deal. Now I must confess, I believe I've fallen for you myself. The sound of your screams, the smell of your blood, the way you cry yet refuse to break. It's intoxicating Buffy, so I'll tell you what I'm willing to do. I will let her go unharmed if you agree to come with me."

"What?"

"You for her Buffy...Now, now Faith, stop trying to fight me."

Faith's body had tensed, each muscle clearly defined. A small whimpering noise was escaping from her lips, her eyes were closed, and sweat was shining on her face.

"Faith, I said stop fighting me...There's my good girl."

She was all relaxed again, her eyes dazed yet somehow glittering with an intense hate.

"In case you're curious Buffy, she's having bad thoughts about you right now. Naughty thoughts, all bloody and violent, yet deliciously sexy. Oh the things she wants to do to you...Your Faith, my dear Slayer, is crazy as hell."

"Fuck you."

"And look, here comes your witch. I think she's gearing up to send a very powerful spell my way. Sorry Willow, but I'm fully protected from all...AARRGGHH!!!"

The blast knocked him backwards and Buffy rushed him. Before she could reach him, he quickly regained and tightened his grip on a suddenly struggling Faith.

"Stand back Slayer or she's dead...Now!"

Buffy stopped advancing, her eyes on Faith's. They seemed clearer, more present, more like Faith. Buffy's heart began racing, was Faith coming out of it?
"Yes, she's resisting me again. She's very much like you in some ways, stubborn, brave, and oh so annoying. Now if you please, do be so kind as to tell your witch she must cease and desist, otherwise I will kill this filthy little slut."

Buffy gestured at Willow to stand down.

"And no more trying to close the Hellmouth either, Ms. Rosenberg. Let's just let nature take its course, shall we? Ah, and here comes the rest of the gang."

Everyone crowded around behind Buffy, uncertain what to do, but ready to do whatever was needed. The problem was that at this point, no one seemed to have a clue just what that might be.

"You sir, must be the esteemed Rupert Giles. Your name is quite well-known in my world, but it's through Buffy that I've come to feel as if I know you. Yes your charge would cry for you, struggling all the while to make you proud. Sometimes she would scream in agony as she begged you to save her. It was all so very touching when she thought of you as her father, but then she'd remember how you deserted her just like the real one did. I wish you could have seen her face when she..."

Giles started forward in a rage, but Buffy's strong hand on his arm stopped him.

"Now now, old chap. This isn't the time to let the Ripper loose. Say, is that sweet little Dawnie back there? Did you know that your sister sobbed for hours on end over you? She could never see your rather gruesome end without breaking. She would...Faith!"

Faith was restless now, her moans nearly constant as she struggled weakly. Her eyes were shut again, her muscles straining as she stood frozen at Spiran's side.
"Let her go. You can't get out of this."

"I beg to differ, Buffy. Your witch has to refrain from closing the Hellmouth, so it should open fully in mere minutes."

"If it does, you'll be the first one in it."

He threw back his head and laughed delightedly.

"My God, you are magnificent. But surely you'll admit...Young and foolish Xander, unless you'd like your heart torn from your chest for real, I'd advise you and your demon whore to return to the rest of your group. So loyal and oh so brainless...Buffy, please discipline your most faithful puppy."

When she didn't respond right away, Spiran twisted Faith's neck just enough.

"I won't ask again."

"Xander, Anya."

They returned to their spot behind Giles.

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