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Everything Is Different Now	By : Declan Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > FemmeSlash - Female/Female > Buffy/Faith Views: 7516 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy The Vampire Slayer Television Series. Joss Whedon does. This is done for simple fun, I'm not making any money from this.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Picking Up The Pieces: Part 1 (Fresh Wounds, Open Graves)

It took a long time to make the trip across town to Giles’ place; Faith was semi-conscious and staggering for most of the way, meaning that both Buffy and Xander had to help keep her steady. Faith’s dislocated shoulder was bad, too bad to be popped back into place with a simple grunt and push like last time. Even so, Buffy was more than a little wary when Xander broke off to call his place on a nearby payphone. She watched Faith carefully as Xander told Giles the basics. He explained some of what went down at the Initiative but said he’d give the Watcher the full picture when he got back over to his place, found his manacles and had them at the ready for when they arrived.
‘Probably an interesting conversation’, Buffy thought absently as she watched from a few yards away.
Next to her Faith was still hunched over, leaning back against a low wall and cradling her shoulder. To any passerby, Faith just looked like a college student, one who looked a little the worse for drinking. Afternoon drinking, but whatever.
Luckily Faith was also in no mood to give Buffy anything more than the occasional dirty look, for which Buffy was grateful. The way her mind was whirling and her body was aching, she barely in any shape for another squaring off with the other slayer.
Walsh’s incredibly dangerous project was out on the loose somewhere, Riley had been hauled off to some dark, secret medical place, and Buffy was standing next to the girl who hours earlier, had held her Mom hostage and tried to bring Buffy into Initiative custody.
No wonder Buffy was having trouble absorbing all this new information: she was close to spacing, big time.
Xander appeared next to her, his face wearing his patented frowning puppy-dog expression. “Giles is on his way over now. He sounded freaked. British-freaked, but still, I had to repeat a couple of things.”
Buffy pulled her hair out of its uncomfortably tight bun and ran her fingers through it. “I know its not ideal Xander, but there’s nowhere else. We need somewhere to keep Faith that’s minimum safe distance and discreet. Giles’ is the best place I can think of, and thanks to his Spike experience, he’s used to having a houseguest.” Her attempted jokey tone fell flat and she looked at her friend, “You get that, right?” she asked softly.
Xander looked at her, and then glanced warily at Faith. “...I guess.”
Buffy tried to sound a bit more confident. “Then let’s go.”
They made the rest of the long way there in tense silence, with Buffy half-supporting Faith as she walked, her breathing laboured by pain. As late afternoon tipped into early evening, Buffy found herself occasionally murmuring, “Almost there”, out of automatic concern for Faith, earning a few strange looks from Xander as a reward.
Giles opened the door as they approached his apartment and ushered them inside. “Thank goodness I have habitually indifferent neighbours. Now tell me what happened?”
Buffy led Faith over to the couch and gently helped her down. She stiffly ignored the butterflies in her stomach that resulted from being so close to the other girl for so long. Bodies pressed up against each other, the occasional hint of scent from hair or skin. It was all too confusing.
Xander regarded Giles seriously. “What happened was the monkey-poop hit the spinning blades in a big way. We all got, what would be the word, demolished by some patchwork freak of a science project.”
Giles shook his head impatiently and looked over at Buffy. “Tell me what happened?”
She craned her head back. “Pretty much what Xander just said. 314? The secret project? It turns out Walsh’s brainchild is a seven foot super-demon-robot-corpse-thing that fights like the Terminator. It came back to the Initiative to download some files and stopped by to speechify at us. Then it killed a bunch of people. It was what killed Walsh. And Angleman too.”
Giles now seemed to be following what she was saying. “And Faith? What is she doing here?”
Xander nodded in exaggerated thoughtfulness. “Good question.”
Buffy shook her head. “The Initiative didn’t want her anymore. She’s badly hurt, courtesy of Adam.”
Giles raised an eyebrow. “Adam would be?”
Buffy shrugged a little. “The cyber-demon thing. That’s what Maggie called it.”
“So, it seems like Maggie Walsh wasn’t aware of dramatic irony then”, Giles replied dryly.
Faith finally spoke up through gritted teeth, “...B, you need to grab hold of my arm.”
Buffy’s brow creased. “What? Why?”
Faith looked at Buffy sideways. “You need to grab my arm, pull it towards you, then jam your knee under my armpit and pull up and away.”
Buffy’s fingers drifted down over Faith’s shoulder, trying to discern how bad the injury was. “Faith, that’s maybe not the best idea okay, you need–”
Faith cut her off savagely. “I need somebody to grow a pair and do it already. One firm tug’ll do it.” Faith gave Buffy a hard stare that also had the shadow of an appeal in it, “This thing hurts like a mother...”
Buffy clenched her jaw in frustration. “Fine. Just... don’t try anything or I’ll make you wish you’d stayed in that coma.”
Gently but firmly, Buffy grabbed hold of Faith’s left arm and pulled it towards her, securely clamping it against her chest with both hands. Faith let out a strained grunt and rolled her head like she was in pain but otherwise stayed still, her head turned away from Buffy. Sitting sideways on to Faith, Buffy raised one leg and tightly wedged her knee against Faith’s side, high up on her ribcage. Then Buffy braced herself, tensed her leg muscle and slowly leaned back. She heard Faith’s breath catch in her throat and winced in sympathetic response. Then came the quiet sound of bone grating and shifting, and then finally a small clicking-pop as something moved and Faith cried out in a mix of pain and relief.
The dark haired girl slumped forward and leaned her forehead against Giles’ coffee table, her breathing heavy and ragged. Buffy automatically went to put a hand on Faith’s heaving back, to comfort her, an instinctive show of tenderness. But then she stopped herself, checking her fingers as they hovered between Faith’s shoulder blades, before pulling her arm back. Instead Buffy’s hand went cautiously to her back pocket and grabbed hold of the taser, debating whether to use it now or wait for Faith to make a try for her.

“...Thanks”, Faith sighed, and then her eyes fluttered shut as she passed out, slipping sideways off the couch and sprawling on the floor space between it and the table.
Buffy turned to Giles. “Did you get the chains?” Giles gave a curt nod. “Good. Xander help me get Faith into the bathtub so Giles can secure her.”
Xander moved closer then hesitated as he looked down at Faith.
“Now! We have to do it before she wakes up.” Buffy grunted as she hauled Faith’s dead weight up and over to the bathroom.
She couldn’t wait for this day to be over. Then she’d just have tomorrow’s problems to deal with.

*~~*
As night fell upon Sunnydale, the dead soldiers quietly set to work.
With drone-like efficiently the men split up; two of them moved through Shady Hills cemetery and broke into one of the more spacious crypts they found there. The rest headed unerringly for the nearby hardware store. They went in through the locked front door, which they quietly disabled, and took all the shovels, hammers and axes they found on display. In the back, they found a few pickaxes as well as some more heavy-duty tools used in construction, which they also took.
They returned to the cemetery in time to witness their master emerge from the nearby woods. Kurenos had left a trail of decay behind him as he moved through the undergrowth, everything near him, from trees to blades of grass to worms crawling in the earth, shrivelled and died in his presence.
He didn’t need to simply touch anymore, he was growing stronger.
As he disappeared into the crypt that would become his new home, he silently directed his followers to their new tasks. Two men followed him inside with their acquired pickaxes and, at his command, started working the ground in one dank corner, their tools quickly gouging deep furrows into the old stone.
They would create a hole, an access point to the caves and tunnels that lay beneath. That would be a place to hide from prying eyes when the day came upon them again.
Outside the rest of the dead men took up their shovels, picked graves, and started digging. They moved swiftly and were tireless in their work. They dug faster than any normal man would, and came upon their prizes much quicker.
Dead bodies.
Some of the remains were mouldering, some were fresh. All were removed from their resting place in the ground and taken inside the crypt.
Anyone outside the cemetery wouldn’t have heard much noise, for the men worked in complete silence. There was no talking or breathing, no sounds of exertion, just the muted thud of earth being shifted about and the occasional sharp crack as the uncovered coffins were broken into.
Nor would anybody have seen anything. The night itself was especially black, the moon and stars hidden behind brooding clouds. And the men needed no light to see by, what they desired they simply sensed, deep in the earth.
The only illumination that could occasionally be seen was a muted flickering from one of the crypts, as if a flaming torch was being uncovered and then hidden again as it flared up.
A torch with a blue flame.

*~~*

The next day Willow and Buffy made their way to Giles’ following afternoon classes. He had called a general Scoobie meeting, which essentially meant debating over Faith, Adam and the Initiative all rolled up in one dangerous nightmare-package.
If it had been an actual nightmare, Buffy would’ve been cool with it, given the lack of sleep she’d gotten last night. But this morning has relentlessly arrived and reality had set in. Hard choices had to be made and Buffy was at a loss about what to do.
She thought about Faith, chained up at Giles’ place, her fate in Buffy’s hands, maybe waiting for an opportunity to break free and escape, or do something else, something worse.
Buffy wasn’t sure what to think about Faith anymore. In the space of just over two days Faith had seemed to swing back and forth between dangerous enemy and possible ally. Buffy had seen heartfelt guilt and sorrow in the other girl, but also that familiar, intense anger and hate. She didn’t know what side of Faith she would see when she arrived today.
And then there was Riley. Over the past couple of days she’d seen another side of him too, also dangerous and unstable and also just as vulnerable. And now he was gone.
How was this in any way fair? Two people she cared about, two people who she had confused, intimate feelings for, and both of them were, in their own way, lost to her. At the same time.
Buffy’s life sucked. More than usual.
Willow tried to fill the awkward silence as they walked along the street leading to Giles’. “Are you okay, Buffy? You look kind of tired.”
Buffy sighed wearily and adjusted her shoulder bag. “It kinda goes with the whole package of actually being tired, Will. Didn’t get any sleep at all last night. Only so many hours in the day to worry about stuff.”
Willow eyed her compassionately. “Any word about Riley?”
All in all, Buffy’s worries had been about fifty per cent Riley and fifty per cent Faith. She didn’t know if that made her sensible, or conflicted, or just a horrible girlfriend. But she obviously couldn’t tell Willow about the other stuff. “Nothing. Maybe it’s too soon. The Initiative has probably got him locked up in a medical ward... And I can’t get near him. Not until I come up with a better plan than just storming in and getting us all shot.”
Willow gave a sympathetic smile. “Yeah, you might wanna work the kinks out of that one.”
Buffy shook her head. “I mean, I’m worried about him. He was getting really unstable at the end there.” Buffy wondered how much those drugs had affected Riley’s behaviour. What he’d done, and what he’d said to Buffy the other day – how much of it had been Riley’s actual thoughts, brought to the surface, and how much of it just sickness? “He needs help, and I’m shut out.”
Willow tried to reassure her. “You’ll find a way. It’s just gonna take a little time.”
Buffy hugged herself as that familiar sense of being overwhelmed threatened to engulf her, the one that had plagued her most of last night. “Time that I don’t have. It’s not like I can spend all my energy going after the Initiative now. Not while Faith is holed up at Giles’, she needs to be... handled somehow. And then there’s Adam out on the loose somewhere.”
Willow made an unhappy worried face as they walked down the steps into Giles’ courtyard. “He’s really that big a threat?”
Buffy remembered the other day. How tired she’d been. How powerful and ferocious Adam had seemed. And how easily he’d beaten her, not to mention what he’d done to Faith and Riley, hurting them both so badly, and how she’d felt when she’d heard them both cry out in pain...
She stood next to one of the benches outside Giles place and before sitting down, shaken at the thought. “I could barely fight him. I was like Maggie designed him to be the ultimate warrior. He easily took on Faith and me. He’s smart, and fast... He gave those commando guys the slip no problem.”
Willow sat with her, looking concerned. “There’s got to be a flaw...”
Buffy smiled sadly. “I think the part where he’s pure evil and kills randomly was an oversight...”
“You do have you hands full with all that pure evil lately.”
Buffy pouted and held up her hands. “I need bigger hands. Like catchers mitts with fingers like bananas.” She let her head fall forward into her palms and pressed her fingers against her temples, “I shouldn’t have let them take Riley. We should’ve all gotten out of there together. He needs somebody with him he can trust, who he can count on...”
Willow put a slender hand on Buffy’s shoulder. “I’m sure he’s okay.” She didn’t sound sure at all.
Buffy raised her head again and shook it slightly. “There’s no way he can be. Everything he’s believed has been taken away; he’s got nothing to hold on to. To lose all that hope you have in someone, it can be... can make you feel very lonely.”
Willow raised her eyebrows. “Someone?”
Buffy blinked and then sighed again. “Sorry, I meant something. Just tired.” Tired of thinking about Faith, thinking about how she was going to fix this. She looked sideways at Willow, “We should probably get inside, don’t want to keep the others waiting.”
Willow got up with her. “Yep, let’s get this over with.”
They both stood up and quickly headed inside Giles’ place. Buffy braced herself for seeing Faith again; after her shoulder had been fixed Buffy hoped she’d be in a better mood to talk.
Buffy saw that Xander and Anya had already arrived and were sat on the couch. Giles was leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping from his ‘Kiss the Librarian’ mug.
“Hello Buffy”, Giles greeted her warmly as she entered. He smiled at Willow, “Willow.”
Willow greeted him as she took off her book bag. “How is everything? Nice and quiet I hope.”
Giles nodded as he put his tea to one side. “Last night was calm enough. I gave Faith a few blankets so she could make herself more comfortable. Other than that she hasn’t made any sounds.”
“I’m betting your glad that you bought the grade ‘A’ manacles, huh, Giles,” Xander joked lightly, “The ones that are recommended by four out of five... uh, well, y’know, I can’t think a profession that’s not evil or pervy, but one of those.”
Giles sighed in reply. “Yes, well, while I have every confidence that those chains could hold a vampire almost indefinitely, I am less confident about them containing a slayer. Faith is quite a bit stronger than Spike and what’s more, unlike him, she has no desire to be in our custody. We need a more permanent solution.”
Willow was quick with a suggestion. “What about the police? Aren’t they’re looking for her because of, y’know, all the horrible murders and stuff.”
“Judging by the news, the police don’t seem to be actively searching for her anymore, for whatever reason.”
Buffy shook her head unhappily. “I don’t think they could hold for long, Will. They wouldn’t know how to handle a slayer, even if they knew they existed.”
Anya wondered aloud. “Besides, didn’t she escape from super-secret jail last time? Regular jail wouldn’t slow her down at all.”
Xander didn’t wait long to correct his girlfriend. “Ah, you obviously haven’t heard. Faith was let out so she could go and bring Buffy in for one of Walsh’s schemes. And looking at Adam, I’m guessing her schemes are generally of the insane variety.”
Willow looked at Giles. “What about the council then?”
Xander spoke up. “Been there, tried that. Not unlike smothering a forest fire with napalm, as I recall.”
Giles agreed. “Yes, although we, ah, mustn’t forget the men the Council sent are still out there, biding their time. If they were to find Faith here...”
Buffy nodded and finished the spoken thought. “Lots of badness, possibly casualties. Nothing good.”
Giles looked solemn. “Perhaps there’s some sort of rehabilitation we haven’t thought of yet. You said yourself Buffy that Faith was willing to listen to reason.”
“Well, she was before.” Buffy looked over her friends. “Guys, we should also remember that Faith fought against Adam last night, for whatever reason she was trying to help out.”
Xander smirked as he gently touched the back of his head. “Really? ‘Cause I gotta say Buffster, my head remembers otherwise. Faith was pretty eager to dish out damage to anyone.”
Willow nodded seriously. “That sounds like Faith alright. Looks like Walsh set her to default ‘destruction mode’.”
Buffy frowned at that. “She’s not a robot, Will. Walsh manipulated her because she thought that I’d turned her in. Y’know, Walsh? Psychology professor? Probably pretty good with playing the mind games.”
Willow nodded. “You’re right Buffy, Faith isn’t a robot. She made choices, all of them bad ones. She chose to believe the wrong people instead of her friends.”
Buffy shook her head adamantly. “She chose to believe a stranger instead of the girl who tried to kill her and then apparently set her up to get captured. I can’t exactly blame her for that. Can you?”
Buffy saw Willow flinch at her tone and the implied blame that lay underneath. If Willow was reminded that she was partly responsible for starting all this, then that was fine with Buffy.
Xander let an edge of exasperation enter his voice. “I can’t believe you’re defending Faith after she went after your mom like that. Walsh didn’t make her do anything. She told Faith exactly what she wanted to hear, just like the Mayor did.”
Buffy looked crossly at her friend. “We don’t know who was told what. All I’m doing is not jumping to conclusions about stuff. That’s how this whole mess got started in the first place.”
Xander made a sarcastic face. “Oh? Sorry, I thought this whole mess got started when Faith murdered a guy and then tried to blame you for it.”
Buffy scowled at Xander, she felt a rush of anger. “What did you just say?”
Xander was about to reply when Giles interrupted sharply. “That’s enough, all of you.”
After a pause from everybody he sighed heavily, “Obviously a lot has happened over the past few days. Some of it merely troubling, but a lot of it has been deeply disturbing. It is not surprising that we’re all tired and on edge, but we must prioritise the dangers we face. To that end,” Giles looked steadily at Buffy, “Buffy, you’ve spent the most time with Faith since her, ah, reawakening, and you also saw what happened last night. Why don’t you go and talk with her now, try and assess her state of mind.”
Buffy hadn’t exactly been looking forward to talking with Faith, but right now she found that she needed a break from all this other debating. It seemed like Xander and Willow had both jumped off the ‘help Faith train’. She nodded. “Alright.”
Giles nodded in satisfaction. “Afterwards we can discuss Adam and this mystery woman that have both made their presence felt.”
Right, the mystery woman who summoned that demon and has a creepy interest in Faith, with everything else that had happened she’d slipped Buffy’s mind.
With a last glance around at her friends Buffy headed down the hallway to the bathroom where they’d dumped Faith the night before. Hesitantly Buffy stood at the door, trying to make herself more steely and resolved, before unlocking it and stepping inside.
There was the dull jangle of chains as Faith swiftly sat up in the bathtub and watched as Buffy entered and closed the door. She was chained the same way Spike had been, hands and feet manacled together, the links then stretched taut and attached to a secure fixture behind the sink.
The only difference in the situation is that Giles had given a few blankets for Faith to sleep on; consequently she’d looked a little more comfortable than Spike had been, although just as unhappy.
The brunette still had some shadowy bruises around the right side of her face, and her left cheekbone seemed to bulge out slightly.
Inwardly Buffy flinched at the damage she’d done. She’d been so angry at Faith, seeing her mom scared like that, in her own home. That Faith could’ve done that to somebody who had always treated her decently...
Buffy leaned back against the sink and stared at Faith for a moment, calming both her own thoughts trying to gauge the other girl’s mood. “How are you doing?”
Faith smiled through her scowl. “Five-by-five. Shoulder’s all back to normal, ass is kinda numb though. Oh, and,” Faith grimaced as she pulled on the chains, “these are really starting to piss me off.”
Buffy didn’t react to that. “It’s just a precaution. We can’t risk taking any chances”, she said softly.
Faith smile turned bitter. “Yeah? Guess it’s only fair right? I remember the last time you were the one in chains. Didn’t end too well though.”
Buffy nodded. “And a lot has happened since then. But I still want to help you, Faith.”
Faith pulled at her restraints as she leaned forward. “Then help me out of these chains already.”
Buffy ignored the request. “Tell me why you were at the Initiative? Why go back there?”
Faith sighed as she sat back. “Why do you care?” she grouched as she stared into her lap, rubbing gingerly at her wrists.
Buffy thought about it. She kept her voice as steady as she could while she watched Faith’s face for a reaction. “I’m just trying to get the timeline down here. I mean, you go to my house, after Walsh releases you to go bring me in, you take my mom hostage, terrorise her for a while, then after we fight you run off, beat on a few Initiative soldiers –”
Faith’s head snapped up. “Hey, they were gunnin’ for me alright. Somebody out there wanted me shot full o’ holes. Probably your little boy-toy...”
Buffy shook her head. “Riley would never...” Buffy remembered that he’d been shooting at Faith with little hesitation, “More likely that Angleman did it to... maybe cover things up.”
Faith wrinkled her nose, which Buffy found distractingly cute. “Nah, he and Walsh were on the same page about all that science-geek crap, he wouldn’t want me snuffed, even if his pet project escaped.” Faith narrowed her eyes in thought, “Your boyfriend though, acting real twitchy last time I saw him. Looked like he was coming close to losin’ it.”
“Leave Riley out of this. And anyway you’re one to talk”, Buffy snapped defensively. She mentally scolded herself for so easily returning to old habits, but what was with Faith always getting at Buffy’s boyfriends? Oh, right. Jealousy...
Faith smiled as she realised that she’d struck a nerve and shifted in the tub, “You want me to answer anymore of your questions, what I found out when I holed up was in that place, then I’m gonna want food. Plus I need a shower and new duds – these are getting kinda stiff.”
She shrugged her shoulders and gestured to her hands, giving a little wave, “Which means, unless you wanna scrub all my hard to reach places B, you’re gonna hav’ta give me a little freedom, y’know.”
Buffy frowned at that. Uncuffing Faith wasn’t a good idea at all, but there wasn’t any other practical solution. Humans weren’t vampires after all; they needed more taking care of.
And Buffy couldn’t really imagine herself soaping down a scantily clad, still-manacled Faith...
Buffy flushed at the unwanted, and very vivid, images that suddenly flashed through her head and straightened up. “Uh, fine. I-I’ll...I can get a hold of some of your clothes.”
“Yeah? Try looking in your closet.” Faith said pointedly.
Buffy flinched at her tone. “R-Right... I was keeping them for you, y’know, for when you woke up.”
Faith went back to scowling at her chains. “Whatever.” And Buffy saw Faith’s defensive walls come back up.
Without another word, Buffy left the bathroom, turning the key and locking the door behind her. In the living room, everybody was intently watching the television with their backs to her, the channel tuned into the new as some female reporter was dryly stating some, probably horrific, event.
Buffy rubbed at her forehead tiredly. “Oh no, what is it now? Murder? Monster sighting? Hanson reunion?”
Giles turned to her, his face crinkled in thought smoothed into a comforting smile. “Ah, no Buffy, fortunately nothing so horrific. Just macabre, that’s all. One of the cemeteries was desecrated last night, several bodies have been disturbed... removed.”
Buffy raised her eyebrows. “Grave robbing? How many graves?”
“Twelve so far, that’s why it made the news, over at Shady Hills,” Willow said, looking at Buffy with a concerned expression. “So, what’s the word on Faith?”
Buffy saw Xander turn to cautiously regard her as well. “She’s... willing to cooperate. She says she has info about the Initiative, things she discovered while she was in there. Could be useful.”
Buffy shrugged like it was no big thing, although inside she was more that a little glad. If Faith could work with them, then maybe trust could be built up on all sides. Slowly built.
“She wants me to get some on her things, fresh clothes, and she’s hungry, so maybe Giles could you bring her something?”
“So that’s it? Just like that she’s working with us now.” Willow’s tone was aggrieved.
Buffy took a calming breath. “It’s no different from the arrangement we had with Spike.” She reasoned.
Willow scowled in response. “Apart from Spike having a chip and being unable to actually harm anything, Buffy. Faith can still kill things just fine. Also she likes to kill things, which should be more troubling to you that it seems to be.”
“She isn’t able to hurt anything right now.” Buffy said through gritted teeth. “And if you’ll let me finish I am going to take precautions. Willow, I want you to research into any sort of spell that can stun or disorient Faith if she should get free. Something non-lethal that will help me take her down if I need to.” Buffy stalked over to her shoulder bag and took out the taser that Faith had used on her. “Xander, you take this for protection. It’s powerful enough to hurt a slayer, so it’ll be useful if Faith tries anything.” She walked over and handed it to him, “But only if she tries anything. Nobody goes in that room unless I’m here.”
Buffy looked over at Giles. “Any chance you could dig out the tranquilizer gun we used on Oz?” She didn’t like mentioning Oz in front of Willow and was usually more sensitive but...what the hell.
Giles nodded. “I’ll unpack it from storage.”
“Do that. I’m going to get Faith some clothes and then I’m going to look into this...” she gestured at the TV, “latest mysterious happening. See if a clue walks up and hits me in the face.”
She looked over at Giles, “Is anything springing to mind?”
Giles took off his glasses as he scratched his forehead. “Nothing definite, perhaps our sorcerer friend is concocting some other delightful mischief to occupy Sunnydale–”
Xander snapped his fingers. “Or it’s Adam.”
That was a bit of a leap. Buffy made a face. “Huh? Did I miss something?”
Xander waved his hands. “Y’know, like he’s building himself a buddy or a Frankenstein army or something. Could be?”
Anya raised her eyebrows and smiled broadly. “Or maybe a corpse wife. Depending on if any of the missing bodies are women.”
Willow’s face contorted in disgust. “Ew, what kind of sick freak would... Oh, wait, we went to school with one. Forget I said anything.”
Xander shrugged. “Hey, the guy is part marine. And we all know what soldiers like to do –”
Buffy cringed and waved her hands for him to stop. “Okay, stop talking. I’m glad I missed that.” She shook her head in mild bewilderment, “I’ll look for any indication as to who might be doing this, although I’m actually praying for zombies at this point.”
As Buffy walked towards the door Giles called out. “Buffy, we’ve yet to discuss what I found out about –”
Buffy waved him off wearily; she wanted to get gone for a while. “Later Giles, when I’ve returned with pants... and stuff.” With that she left.
‘One thing at a time, that’s all I ask.’

*~~*

Catherine Morley murmured the complex litany of words under her breath and felt the weight of the world press around her as she appeared in the warehouse. A small gesture with her hand and a displacement of wind whipped up out of nowhere. She made herself known.
The three men, who had been busying themselves drinking, smoking and playing cards (just like any good off-duty soldier), stopped what they were doing and looked at her, all wary. The one called Collins quickly got up and strode over, doing his best to hide his agitation.
“Where the hell have you been?” He snarled under his breath, “Gone for all of a day without any sign of you. Us busy with our thumbs wedged up our-“
She didn’t have time to sooth his ego. “Tonight.” She interrupted coldly, her transformed voice crackling with power, “The transport will be travelling through town late in the evening. I know how many guards there will be and where will be best for you to strike.” Now that the Initiative was in chaos, they would be unable to react to an attack on one of their transports. Losing too many men, not to mention their leadership, meant that they were in disarray. And, if the news were anything to go by, the slayers would still be occupied with Kurenos.
Morley had thought that their Watcher would have been better informed. Sloppy.
Collins wasn’t mollified. “That’s not good enough. Neither me nor my lads like being kept in the dark. Now, we’ve got our orders and we’ve kept up our end, giving you that body and laying low.” He shook his head through a wreath of cigarette smoke, “No more. I want answers.”
Morley’s lips curled into a smile at his temerity. “Such as?”
“Like who in the bloody hell are you, and what do you want with the slayer?”
Morley thought for a moment, before deciding to indulge him. “I am simply old. Old enough to know all the patterns and energies at work in the universe. Old enough to know what the most important force in the universe is. Would you like to know what that is?”
Collins features were fixed with hostility. “I haven’t got time for some bloody cryptic nonsense-. “
“Love. Love is the force that drives everything of worth or of value towards something else. Love of a person, an ideal, a philosophy. I am simply...guiding the slayer towards her true purpose, her love.”
Collins eyed her suspiciously. “Towards the council?” Morley simply inclined her head and acknowledged his assumption. His eyes were calculating. “It’s fifty-fifty whether this slayer is even salvageable. The terrible things she’s done. I’d imagine you’d know all about that.”
Morley’s voice became slyly complimentary. “But I know you are bound by love of duty and will try your upmost for the Council. And Faith...well, Faith’s path has always been about love and how it was denied to her. Being fulfilled is where her destiny lies. Believe in that, if nothing else.”
Collins blew out a last breath of smoke and flicked his cigarette past her dismissively. “It’s never simple with you wizard-y types is it? Fine. If its tonight they we best get organised. I want the number of men and what they’ll be armed with, the entire route through town and any indication of what the Initiative response time might be.”
She gestured to the nearby table where a map of Sunnydale laid spread out. “As you wish.”

*~~*

Buffy returned to find that everybody but Giles had left. “Where did all the people go?”
Giles gestured towards the door with the tranquilizer gun. “Willow said that she had to get to her, um, Wicca group and Xander and Anya were... getting restless.”
Buffy smiled knowingly as she handled the backpack full of Faith’s things. “They were annoying you weren’t they?”
Giles gave a small sigh of defeat. “I-I simply suggested that Xander might make himself useful by examination the area around the cemetery... and to please, dear god, take Anya with him when he went.” He smiled ruefully at Buffy, “He seemed quite eager to leave.”
Buffy exhaled loudly in resignation. “I’ll bet. Did he at least leave you the taser?”
Giles showed her his other hand, which clasped the taser. “Yes, yes. I’m armed to the proverbial teeth, as it were. Nothing to be concerned about.”
Buffy moved closer and glanced sheepishly at her Watcher. “Are you sure about that? You don’t want to tell me I’m being stupid or irrational or anything? Because lately I’m feeling a little... unsteady, like everything’s going wrong and it’s because I’m not thinking clearly.”
Giles put down the rifle and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “In times like this it’s best not to do anything rash, and that’s what you’re doing. You’re trying to assess things, to gain some perspective, and I believe that is the sensible course of action to take.”
Buffy looked unhappily down at the floor. “My friends... They just want me to get rid of Faith or something. Like’s its no big thing to them.”
Giles nodded in sympathy. “Buffy, even before the, ah, wish, they didn’t know Faith like you did. That was partly circumstance and partly Faith’s own doing. She cut herself off from attachments. But you and she are connected in a way few can ever experience. And now... You can’t expect them to understand at the moment, but in time they will come around.”
Buffy gestured helplessly. “I don’t expect them to trust Faith. Possibly ever. But can’t they at least trust that I know what I’m doing.” Buffy pouted despite herself, “Because, y’know, I usually do.”
Giles caught her eye. “Give them time Buffy, and use that time to see if Faith... if she can prove willing to be an ally.”
Buffy straightened up slightly. “Right. I can do that. See, I have clothes. Clothes that prove that we’re on her side.”
Buffy remembered another circumstance not too dissimilar to this, her own words echoing back to her.
‘So I'll go to Faith's place and get her some of her clothes and stuff. That way she'll see we're on her side…’
The night at Angel’s mansion, Faith bruised and in chains. Distrustful of their help. Buffy still optimistic that there could be a way to save her. Just an eerie resonance or was history doomed to repeat itself?
Shaken by the thought Buffy asked Giles. “Any word of those Council guys, ‘cause they could seriously mess things up if they showed right now.”
Giles looked grim. “If we’re fortunate then they may think that Faith has absconded, since the police have been unable to locate her... But more likely they’ll be scouring the town’s darker side for clues to her whereabouts.”
“And how likely is it that they’ll come back here?”
Giles thought about it as he took the key to the manacles out of his pocket. “I shouldn’t think it would be wise for Faith to linger here for more than a couple of days.”
“Okay, it’s so nice to have a looming deadline.” Off Giles’ look she nodded patiently, “I know, I asked, you told. That’s how it works. I should go and talk to her again, she if her mood’s improved.”
Buffy took the key from Giles’ hand and went to head down the hallway when Giles spoke up again. “Catherine Morley.”
Buffy turned and raised her eyebrows questioningly.
“I believe that’s the name of your hooded friend from the other night. The one who raised Kurenos,” Giles settled back against the table, “She is... or rather was a Watcher a very long time ago. A sort of cautionary tale if you will, for young trainees of the academy to whisper about on occasion.”
“A former Watcher, huh?” Buffy moved a little closer so that there wasn’t a chance that Faith might overhear. “So what does she want with Faith? I mean, she mentioned that her master might want something from Faith, or for Faith to do something.” Buffy tilted her head and frowned, “Did I mention that she was cryptically vague, or vaguely cryptic, whichever.”
“It is said that Morley seeks vengeance on the Watcher’s Council for some... slight against her.”
Buffy shook her head in wonderment. “Wow, I couldn’t imagine why anybody would want payback on that swell bunch of guys.”
“Yes, very droll. But accounts in one of the Watcher’s diaries seem to indicate that she has interfered in the life of a slayer previously. That, ah, she tried to manipulate events for her own purposes.”
Buffy shook her head questioningly. “What purpose?”
“Well, it’s all a little imprecise and long-winded, but basically, a sacrifice. A sacrifice to put something sinister in motion, but the account doesn’t mention what.”
Buffy stepped closer and hissed. “It’s gotta be the djinn!”
Giles nodded in agreement. “Undoubtedly.”
“Totally. We know it’s imprisoned and probably wants out, so Faith is its ticket somehow.” Buffy thought about it, “But if it were that simple, then what was all of last year about. Why grant my wish and not Faith’s? Why not go into her dreams and get her to wish, manipulate her or something?”
“Clearly there is more to it than that, and until we learn more about the djinn and the true scope of its history and powers then we are somewhat in the dark. However, thanks to our friends in the council I now have an idea where to start looking – there is a book that will give us much needed answers, and I may be able to obtain it.”
Buffy nodded, feeling a little bit of relief creep back into herself. Information was good; it gave that nice, safe illusion of control. She missed that feeling a lot lately. “Right. You look into that. All we need now is to get Faith on our side. Cool.”
Gesturing to the backpack, Buffy walked back to the bathroom and unlocked it. “I hope you’re decent, I come bearing clothes.”
She opened the door and saw Faith still lying in the tub, knees drawn up and hands resting on her thighs. “Gosh B, I was just gonna start on my aerobics, but I guess it can wait for you.” She smirked and sat up a little, “Hope you gotta key in that backpack o’ yours.”
Buffy nodded absently as she opened up the backpack and brought out some clothes. She hadn’t picked anything fancy; just jeans, a motor city t-shirt that she knew that Faith liked, plus some underwear that Buffy had felt all squirmy when handling.
Buffy took out the stack and placed it on the seat next to the bathtub. She straightened up and fixed her eyes squarely on Faith, who was watching her intently. “Before I uncuff you I should mention a couple of things; there’s a Councils operations team in town looking for you. Giles says they’re very dangerous, handle all the murky stuff and they want to take you back to England for, well it’s not specific, but I’m betting it won’t be pleasant for you. If you try and escape then they’ll find you. But while you’re here then you’re safe for a bit.”
Faith tilted her head and smiled sweetly. “Shucks, B. You’re always lookin’ out for me.” She paused and thought about it, “So, those Watcher guys have assassins on payroll, sweet bunch o’ guys, huh?”
Buffy shrugged and muttered. “You should’ve seen the surprise birthday they threw for me...”
Faith squinted in confusion. “Huh?”
“Nothing. Just don’t try anything. You do and you can kiss goodbye to the last of my good will and I’ll hand you over to them myself. Got it?”
Faith shrugged easily. “Cool it, B. You let me freshen up and we’re square.” She smiled knowingly at Buffy, “I won’t try nothin’, long as you don’t go takin’ advantage of me.”
Buffy huffed weakly and rolled her eyes. Then she cautiously reached down into the tub and unlocked the cuffs. She straightened up, feeling her body tense on instinct as she saw Faith flex her fingers and stretch out her arms.
Buffy pulled the chains away from the other girl and draped them over her shoulder. She took a couple of steps back towards the door.
“Okay, you’ve got ten minutes to freshen and change, then I come back in and secure you. So hurry.”
Without waiting for an answer Buffy quickly left and locked the door, trying to stop the soft, warm, squirming nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach she felt every time Faith smiled at her. Feeling her skin flush slightly every time Faith’s husky voice drifted into her head…
‘She’s not the girl you knew.’
But if Buffy really thought that, then why was she trying so hard to help her. Faith’s softer side must be in there somewhere, under all those damaged layers, the scabs and bruises and hurt, and Buffy would do her best to try and find it.
She didn’t want to even consider the alternative.

*~~*

Xander peeked into the now empty cemetery. The local reporter had apparently taken off and there was no sight of Sunnydale’s finest. The only sign they had visited was a roped off area indicating the mass of dug up graves. The whole thing looked a mess.
Xander guessed that the police had done the bare minimum (Exhibit A: Faith the incredible unsubtle fugitive) and they were now probably patrolling that dangerous area of the high street between the Espresso Pump and the donut shop.
Thinking of donuts, Xander’s stomach rumbled in response. He shouldn’t be hunting out corpse clues on an empty stomach... uh, on second thoughts.
“Are the cameras gone already?” Anya asked. She sounded mildly put out that she’d missed the whole media event.
Xander relaxed a little now he wouldn’t have to lie to get past any official types. “Yep. Only five minutes of air time for the inhuman interest story. This is Sunnydale after all.”
“Well, it can’t really be all that serious then can it?” Anya decided, “I don’t see anything shady, let’s go.”
Xander quashed his irritation. “Anya, could you just hold on a sec. I’m trying to be useful here, okay? We find out any info, that’ll be helpful to Buffy, and that’s good.”
“If she were paying you maybe. Otherwise I don’t see how it contributes –”
Xander held up a hand to make her stop, like he’d heard some small sound and now wanted quiet. He hadn’t, but the silence was still useful. “I’m gonna get a closer look, Aan. You stay here and keep a look out.
Anya thought about and then nodded. “Okay, just be careful of the zombies. Try to come back in one piece. The important piece.”
Xander gave a dismissive wave. “There aren’t any zombies Anya. Besides, it’s broad daylight; I’ll see ‘em coming a mile off.”
‘There coming to get you Barbara...’
Xander shuddered; he had to remember that zombies didn’t work like that... unless commanded to by their zombie master. Like that hooded wizard lady or the demon that Buffy killed...
Great, this whole stupidly lethal attempt to take his mind off Faith and all his confusing lingering thoughts about her was definitely one of his dumbest ideas. But it wasn’t like he could stay in Giles apartment, not with her just... next door, it was too weird.
Seeing Faith at the Initiative, looking beat up but mostly just smiling and confident and beautiful had been a shock. And then the whole dislocated shoulder thing after had brought back that night so strongly for him.
‘Don't worry, I'll steer you 'round the curves.’
Faith smiling down at him. The feel of her on top of him, kissing him, grinding against him, clenching around him. Her boobs. Then Faith tossing him out on his ass half-naked… Her boobs.
Xander shook his head, also remembering the other, much more lethal encounter. The strength in her fingers as they tightened on his throat. That looks in her eye like she was getting off on it. The two memories were like night and day, belonging to two completely different people. Only Faith was both, sinful and psychotic, one and the same, and dangerous. How could Buffy even begin to trust somebody like that?
And now with Buffy acting like Faith would be around for the duration, plus Anya’s growing curiosity about his ‘ex’ meant that any diversion had sounded good.
Besides, Xander was Scooby gang guy, just because he wasn’t bumming around on campus all day, he was still a vital part of the team. So he wasn’t big-knowledge guy, or magic-witch girl, or super... anything. He could still help.
This, right here, was helping. He was gonna help their asses off.
Xander cautiously peered over one of the heaping mounds of earth, spotting the occasional shard of splintered wood sticking out amongst the soil, all flat and polished like bits of a coffin. The huge piles of dirt and broken coffins suggested things dug up rather than things rising up. And it looked like a group of people were doing the digging too. Jagged holes in the ground pointed to people digging as fast as possible, maybe looking for something?
Counting the separate piles, Xander saw that some of them seemed to merge with each other, like a lot of these holes had been dug simultaneously.
‘Hey, check out logic-guy. Logic-guy and his special observing powers, which means I have something to tell Buffy. Go me.’
Maybe a cult or something was looking for an object buried in specific coffin but didn’t know which one. They were after an amulet or a magic ring... or a map to a haunted gold mine.
‘You suck at this Harris.’
Xander heard Anya shout. “Xander, somebody’s coming!” He winced at her noisy announcement. Didn’t she know what Psstt! meant?
He turned around to see two men walking over to Anya, from a distance both of them looked like Initiative soldiers and they walked with that brisk but stiff movement that he recognised in military guys.
But... something was off.
The late afternoon was quiet: the sun hung low and lazy in the sky and everything seemed peaceful. Vaguely, Xander wondered where they’d come from, since they were walking towards them from the centre of the cemetery, where they seem to have just appeared, not by the edge near one of the gates. Weird.
And there was something in the way they walked that looked off to Xander, a certain sense of urgency. Not like they were going to talk to them or ask them to move along, but like they were going to do something. It was a subtle difference that Xander recognised from many a high school bully. The ‘eager to cause pain stride’ he called it.
Surprisingly, Xander didn’t freeze or panic, he knew he was only two minutes walking distance from the nearest occupied street and the cemetery had about half a dozen exits. He’d just grab Anya and walk in the opposite direction, just like any ordinary rubber-necker would.
Xander quickly moved to edge of the cordon and ducked under the barrier. “Hey, Anya, we’re done here. Come on, we’ll go this way.” He casually gestured to a gate off to their right, about fifty feet away.
Anya gave him a slightly puzzled look but walked over to him anyway. “Those men are moving very purposefully over here. I’m not sure I like it.”
He grabbed her arm and started moving around the patch of disturbed graves. “Me neither. Let’s skedaddle, possibly amscray.”
“You’re babbling Xander. Making up words is not a good sign. Do you think they know that I’m a former vengeance demon? Did Faith tell them in order to get me out of the way? I wouldn’t put it past her you know.”
Xander nodded in agreement even as he skirted the far corner of the barrier and headed towards the path that would lead them out of the cemetery.
Then the two men broke into a run, not a jog, but a proper Tee-one thousand burst of urgent speed, straight in their direction.
‘And there it is; blind panic, my old friend.’
Xander roughly pushed Anya in front of him. “Run, go. Now!” He shoved her forward even as he picked up his feet and ran himself. Skirting a tombstone before he was pounding down the path towards the exit, he snapped a quick look off to his right to see one of the men leap the barrier and jump over one of the empty graves. The other one cut to far right, possibly to head them off.
In desperation, Xander poured on the speed. He was a natural at this, the whole running for his time thing, he was born to it. It was his gift, his –
Somebody slammed into him from the side and he tumbled to the ground. The soldier who had tackled him rolled and came up on his knees a few feet to his right. There was a scuffing sound as Anya turned back a dozen yards up ahead. “Xander!”
“Go on! Go!” Xander waved his arm even as picked himself painfully up off the ground. He guessed this is why linebackers were paid so much, because of the pain.
He winced and saw the other soldier closing the distance.
The soldier who tackled him circled towards him, blocking any escape. “I warn you, I have powerful friends. Literally powerful. One of them could probably pull your head off and the only down side would possibly be damaging her nail polish.”
The man took a step forward but didn’t say anything. Probably because he couldn’t: he had a large gash across his throat about an inch above the collar of this blood stained uniform.
Xander grimaced and nodded. “Looks like you’ve already got a little damage there already. Probably make it easier for my friend to... y’know. Just saying.”
The soldier lunged at him and Xander took a quick step back and tried to push him away, knocking his arms as the man grabbed at his throat. The guy was swift and reversed his grapple to seize Xander’s elbow and twist it behind his back. Xander struggled and bent as much as he could but the man pulled him back into a hold, Xander felt his socket strain painfully.
“Hey, no fair. Zombie’s aren’t supposed to know wrestling moves unless there are Luchadores involved, and I don’t see any colourful masks.” He gritted his teeth as the man pushed him stumbling forward and the second soldier approached, quickly pulling a knife.
Xander struggled with everything he had, vaguely envisioning dislocating his shoulder and then judo throwing the zombie-commando on his ass.
‘Any second now...’
The second soldier drew closer, his dead-clouded eyes focused on Xander as he drew back his blade.
Suddenly the man behind Xander was catapulted forward, losing his grip on Xander’s arm and sending them both lurching forward off balance. Xander regained his quicker, stopped dead and gave a swift kick to the first soldier’s knee so he faltered still further and collapsed against his undead pal, impaling himself on the knife. Both zombies staggered under their combined weight and folded to the ground, struggling to get up again.
Xander turned on his heel to see a wide-eyed Anya holding a stone urn in a death grip. She took a step backwards and hesitantly dropped it to the ground. Xander bounded over to her and grabbed her hand, giving one last glance as the two soldiers he turned to run.
“That’ll teach you to mess with me when I’ve got a... girl.” With that Xander turned and ran for Giles.
He’d found a clue.

*~~*

Playing it safe Buffy had given Faith a little over twenty minutes of privacy, listening to the hiss of the shower from out in the hallway as she tried hard not to think of Faith in the next room, with the steam and the water and the possible soaping...
Buffy shook her head out of her thoughts. ‘It’s just because I’m tired, that’s all. My willpower has taken a pounding. I get my proper rest and I won’t be thinking about... those things.’
So Buffy had busied herself by preparing a sandwich for Faith, a pretty surreal experience. But offering food had gotten Faith to open up last time and if Buffy wanted to question her about the Initiative, and maybe even gather some information on Adam, then this was the best way to start.
Buffy heard the squeak of pipes as the water turned off and the soft thumping of Faith climbing out of the bath. Fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater, she decided to count to twenty before knocking on the door.
‘Do not touch the handle until Faith tells you to come in.’
Finished with her sleeve, Buffy idly pushed the food around the plate she was holding; a ham sandwich, an apple and three cookies; no soda though, just a bottle of water. Giles really needed to stock up on more snack foods if Faith was going to staying here for any length of time.
Buffy took a nervous breath and softly knocked on the door. “Faith, you decent?”
Buffy heard a grunt of annoyance and then Faith spoke up. “Sure.”
Buffy unlocked the door and entered the bathroom, warm and damp and hazy with the heat from the shower. Buffy tensed up, half expecting Faith to try to jump her and escape, but then she saw Faith clad in nothing but a fresh bra and panties, turned away as she busily finished drying her hair.
Buffy froze up, as her eyes locked on Faith’s side profile, taking in the sight of her glistening skin, the slick black fabric stretched across her butt, her slim hips and the curve of her back as she turned towards the door.
Buffy quickly averted her eyes. “I thought you said you were dressed”, she uttered, managing to keep the tremor out of her voice.
“You asked if I was decent, which I’m not. Never have been,” Faith smiled widely as she lowered her towel, “I figured you knew that and were just being all polite.” She shrugged, a motion that did distracting things to her bra-clad breasts. “Musta forgot that you were a tight-ass prude as well.” Her tone was light and teasing but Buffy caught the undercurrent of aggression in it. Faith had gone back to trying to bait her.
Scowling in annoyance, she put the plate to one side, watching for any sudden move from Faith, but the other girl was busily stepping into her jeans and pulling them up her legs.
Buffy straightened up. “Okay, you’ve washed up, gotten some clothes and there’s the food. Enough hoops Faith, no more jumping until you give me something useful.”
Faith grinned as she pulled the jeans up over her backside and buttoned them slowly. “Give me a chance to put a shirt on, B.” The movement of her hands drew Buffy’s eyes to the sight of her waist, and the faded pink scar above her waistband; the stab wound. Buffy flinched at the sight of it and raised her eyes to Faith’s chest, then quickly to the wall opposite.
‘I am the worst prison guard ever.’
But Faith seemed content not to cause trouble; she languidly picked up her t-shirt and pulled herself into it, with minimal amount of wriggling involved. With most of her skin now covered Buffy forced her gaze back to the Bostonian. “See, you don’t hav’ta ‘avert your eyes’ no more.” Faith shook her head slightly in pity, before sitting back on the lavatory seat and reaching for her food.
Buffy pressed her lips tightly together. “You might want to take this a bit more seriously Faith. You’re in a bad situation at the moment, and your running out of friends.”
Faith’s smile faded, a ghost of it lingering on her face. “Is that what we are, B? Friends? I don’t remember us ever being that solid.”
Buffy paused and looked away from the other girl, feeling the now familiar sadness tinged with remorse when she remembered all the missed opportunities of the past. “Then I guess we both have regrets, right? You know it and I know it, but right now, we need each other.”
Faith munched on a cookie even as she rolled her eyes. “Is that right?”
Buffy looked at her. “Yes. The police, the Watcher’s Council, this Adam guy... plus there are other threats too. If you’re smart then you’ll see it’s not the best idea being alone right now.”
Faith thought about it for a moment. “Cops aren’t a problem anymore, and that Adam guy’s nothin’ t’do with me. No reason I can’t blow town and take my chances elsewhere.”
“Is that really what you what? You’re still not giving me a straight answer as to why you went back to the Initiative.” Buffy shook her head in exasperation, “I keep telling you it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Faith smirked. “Yeah? Well, the shackles say otherwise, B.”
Before Buffy could respond, she heard the sound of the front door opening and loud scuffling sounds as people hurriedly entered.
“Giles, we have a problem. Is Buffy back yet?” It was Xander.
Buffy frowned absently at Faith before calling out. “I’m here Xander. I’ll be out in a sec.” She looked at Faith, then at the nearby manacles. Faith just smiled sweetly and bit into her sandwich. “Your call, B. You gonna put your money where your mouth is?”
Buffy gave Faith a pointed look. “Stay here.” Wondering if she was making the right choice, she left the bathroom and closed the door behind her, locking it with a key.
‘Might be crazy, but I’m not stupid.’
Buffy headed into the living room to see a flushed and exhausted Xander. He looked like he’d been running flat out. Giles had fetched a couple of glasses from the kitchen and was busily pouring Anya some water.
Xander nodded in Buffy’s direction before moving over to the couch. Buffy crossed her arms in concern and followed after him.
“Xander? What did you find out?”
“A whole bunch. In the cemetery,” Xander gulped as he clutched at his side, “Dead guys dressed up like Initiative soldiers. Or at least one of them was dead, had a pretty convinced stab wound on his throat.”
Buffy nodded. “So it is zombies.”
“Or perhaps another one of Maggie Walsh’s escaped experiments?” Giles wondered out loud as he came in behind them both. Anya scurried past him with some water.
“Zombies.” Xander gestured wildly as he caught his breath, “Running at me in broad daylight. I mean, most of me was scared but the Romero purist in me was just offended. I mean, c’mon; fast zombies.”He threw up his arms and sat down on the couch.
“It was awful.” Anya sat next to him and rubbed his arm comfortingly. “Luckily they weren’t going to eat you. Just stab you to death.”
“I’m glad you’re okay, “Buffy turned to Giles and frowned. “Well, speedy dead guys are a new thing. Any theories?”
Giles shook his head. “In my experience zombies are decaying corpses animated by magic; they are not in the habit of ‘running down their prey’ at a sprint. They’re too slow, too clumsy. Maybe if the magicks controlling them were sufficiently powerful...” He looked uneasily at Buffy.
Anya sighed impatiently. “Maybe they weren’t zombies.”
Giles busily chewed on his glasses and went to his bookcase. Buffy looked over at Anya. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, maybe they aren’t one hundred per cent dead. They could be Sqweska demons – those little worm-things love taking a dead body for a ride. Or revenants, damned souls animated by demonic energy.”
“Oh dear lord.” Muttered Giles in sudden realisation and began hurriedly searching for something specific, Buffy recognised it as his ‘eureka panic’ mode.
Anya looked a little sourly in his direction. “I was just trying to be helpful.”
“I think you might’ve been,” Buffy murmured as she watched Giles flick through one of his leather-bound books, “I’m guessing it’s worse than zombies.”
Giles evidently found the page he wanted. “Here: ‘Known in most informed occult circles as The Reaper of Death, Kurenos goes by many other pseudonyms, the Bringer of Decay, Lord of the Barren and Prince of Resurrection.” Giles flipped through a few pages before continuing, “The demon has the ability to drain the life-force from any who come into contact with him. The victims of the demon must be completely burned or they will rise once again when touched by the demon’s necrotic energy.” Giles slammed the book shut in frustration, “Blast!”
Buffy frowned. “So, are you saying that these Initiative guys are still active even though goat-boy is toast?”
Giles shook his head, seemingly trying to collect his thoughts.
“Well that’s good. Right?” Xander prompted.
Giles leaned back against the bookcase, his whole body agitated. “It stands to reason that if these precautions must be taken to dispose of corpses simply infected by necrotic energy then they must also apply to the source of the energy; the Prince of Resurrection, namely his own.”
“That’s a lot worse.” Xander stated glumly.
Buffy threw her arms up in exasperation, she didn’t need this. “But I killed this guy already. I slashed him into itty little bite-sized pieces, did you see my outfit? Totally wrecked by gunk.”
Giles was rubbing his forehead.” It makes no difference; Kurenos must have risen later after fully regenerating himself. Draining the, ah, energy from his surroundings to do so.”
Buffy sighed in sad realisation. “And I left him in the woods. He’s probably ‘Reaper of the Squirrel Population’ by now.”
“I fear it’s far worse than that,” Giles stated grimly, “I think there’s a real possibility that Kurenos is in the process of building an army.”
Xander tried to be optimistic. “Twelve isn’t exactly an army.”
Giles’s voice was flatly bleak as he explained. “Oh, that was only one night. Those twelve and whomever else Kurenos has are now his foot soldiers, they can dig twice or three times as many graves, swelling their numbers. And as his power grows, he won’t have to wait to have them brought to him, he’ll be able to will them into existence with a thought.”
“Add to that the numbers in all the cemeteries in Sunnydale, any innocent passers-by who aren’t as fast as you guys, plus any wandering vampires...” Buffy trailed off in realisation, “God, I’m so sorry Giles.”
Giles looked at Buffy. “It isn’t your fault Buffy, you could only act on the information I gave you. That’s my job... was my job.” He dropped the book onto one of the small piles around the bottom of the bookshelf and rubbed his forehead. His face was strained with worried realisation.
“Hey, look everything’s been pretty crazed lately, right.” Xander’s voice was positive and he stood up and looked at both of them, “So we missed something, no big. Buffy can kill Necro-boy again; just wear your most expendable outfit.”
Buffy resisted the urge to shudder; she didn’t relish the thought of taking the demon on again, not without Riley’s help...
Giles’ voice was edged with warning. “Kurenos is powerful, Buffy. He’ll be stronger than before and now, what with his followers... I’m afraid that you might not be able to face him alone.”
Buffy thought for a moment before looking in the direction of the bathroom. “I won’t be”, she said firmly.
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