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What are we gonna do now?	By : norwalker Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > FemmeSlash - Female/Female > Buffy/Faith Views: 3568 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
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What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 16

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Cordelia Chase is walking down the hall of Wolfram and Hart, heading towards the elevator.

She looks every bit the model of the modern young businesswoman. Smartly, but conservatively dressed. All her clothing is obviously designer, no off the rack stuff for Queen C, ever(even if Cordy doesn’t live here anymore, her fashion sense remains.) There is a smile on her face, and the only thing that reveals her nervousness is the way she is running her thumb over her clenched fingers as she waits for the elevator arrive.

Once inside the conveyance, she opens her purse and removes a glowing crystal. She turns away from the doors of the elevator, and pushes a panel in the back wall. Inside is a base to put the into, along with a keypad. The characters on the keypad are not English, nor any known living language. She inserts the crystal, types out a code, and the panel closes. The elevator then begins to move.

When the doors open, it's obvious we’re no longer inside the offices of Wolfram and Hart. As a matter of fact, it's not certain we are still on our plain of existence. The space is dark, lit only by a globe suspended in air, glowing a dull red. It's pulsating . as if it contained a life of it’s own. Even though there is no evident ‘floor’ to this space, Cordelia(for want of knowing exactly who this is, exactly) walks confidently to the globe. She places her hand upon it, and chants low beneath her breath. Out of the mass of darkness forms a shape…roughly humanoid, but not constant, it's always changing. Contained within this shape is more of the red energy, which swirls around in random patterns. The form is large; it's cleathrethree times the size of Cordelia.

Cordelia, in the space of the forming, has changed. Her clothes are no longer resembled a business suit, but rather the robe of an acolyte. The robe itself is black, with red shot through it, representing the being before her. Her face is covered, and only her eyes, deep back are visible. They glow red. She puts her hands out in a supplicating gesture.

“ Master. I have come to report the progress of thy plans. Things go well. We have obtained the sword of Danacles, and the cursed orb of Charnok. We have yet to locate the Amulet of Ankarath, but we have our best out searching. Evidently, these dwellers are more clever in hiding things than we thought, but it’s only a matter of time before we have it.”

More in her mind, than heard, the Being replies. “ Time? Time is precious. For too long have we been trapped behind the portal protecting this dimension. Too long have we been banished to the coldness of our existence. Find the Amulet, quickly. Signs point to an alignment, one that only happens once in every millennium. I do not have the patience to wait another thousand years for this time to come again. How goes the rest?”

“The Dark force is being trained well. The irony is that it was trained br enr enemies, in their techniques. This will give us a tactical advantage. And we have many mystics and shamans working to enhance their powers, and alter their desires to our own. They will make a great addition to our army. And, when the time is right, they will make great vessels to host the Chaos, and give them physical form.”

“And the one called by various names? Angel, Angelus, Liam? How does he progress”

Cordelia was silent here. The planned corruption of Angel’s soul wasn’t going as well as expected. She(it)knew the dangers of failure, and wasn’t eager to incur the Being’s wrath. “ It comes along, just more slowly than anticipated. He is resistant to the spells, and they are having to be reconstructed to work better against him. These souls these creatures carry … are bothersome. But in the end, he will be ours.”

“ See that he is. He is important to our success, and to the success of the prophecy. If you fail” the Being at this point, sends out a small bit of energy to Cordelia. You can see by the reaction that it’s extremely painful “ You’re punishment will be long”.

The Being begins to expand, then is visible no longer. Cordelia …heads for the elevator, and leaves the chamber.

You can see she is shaken. Her face reflects the fear of what failure can bring. The only evidence of the ‘demonstration’ is a nasty red welt on her neck. She descends in the elevator, more determined than ever to complete her work successfully.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

The man sits in the turnout on Muhlholland . He looks out at the city, his mind going over what he has learned. He is not the picture hap happy man.

Wesley Wyndam-Price has traveled a long hard road since his days with the Watcher’s Council. He is no longer the young, overeager prig that tried keep not one, but two slayers in line with the Council’s wishes. He is not the sincere, but bumbling man that first came into Angel’s employ many years back. And he is not the bitter man that suffered the consequences(including the still slightly visible scar on his neck) for his betrayal of Angel( though why that happened now is obscure). He is none of those men, and all of those men. Time has matured Wes. His naturally aristocratic features show a new hardness, a new leanness not present before. The lines around his eyes, and in his forehead have deepened. He no longer babbles on abouscurscure arcana(well, ok sometimes, but nowhere nearly as much as he used to). His face reflects a man who is more likely to think about the consequences of his actions, and to act accordingly. His former…timidity…has been replaced by a more quiet bravery. In short, he has walked through a hell of his own making, and has come out the other side a better person.

What he has been looking into troubles him. The kind of thing that might be possessing Cordelia is no ordinary demon. Though many demons can possess a human host, very few have the intelligence to act as if no possession has taken place. And all of those are very powerful. And extremely vicious if confronted. He cannot pinpoint the exact type without more information, but he can warn Angel that he needs to proceed carefully.

A

A dark figure emerges from the shadows. Wes, startled, lifts the crossbow he is carrying and says low with an edge of menace

“ Stop”

“Well, Wes, I’m happy to see you too. You can put it down now” Angel says. He’s not smiling(of course, how often does he smile?).

Wes lowers the crossbow, relieved. “ Angel, I wish you would stop doing that. One of these days I’m going to fire before I speak, and you will be…”

“ Hoover material?”

“Exactly”

“ So, Wes, what have your researches dug up?” Angel asks.

Wes briefly goes over his findings with Angel. Angel nods. He doesn’t like what he is hearing, but his gut is telling him something is really off here.

“ If this is true, I really have to know what we’re dealing with, Wes” Angel says.

“Well, actually…”

Angel raises his brow

“ I took the liberf cof contacting Fred. Keeping it hush-hush, of course. I told her what we were looking for, and Fred is working on a little ‘side’ project as we speak… a demon detector.”

“In Wolfram and Hart? It’ll be going off every other desk” Angel quips

“No… it’ll be more like a scanner, with no alarm. More to find out what kind of Demon, than a warning”

“Wes, I’m not sure about involving Fred in this”

“Angel, I assure you, Fred is more than trustworthy…” Wesley begins to protest. His feelings about Fred are no secret, right?

“ I have no doubts about her loyalty, Wes. More, her safety”

Another figure steps out of the shadows. “ I'm perfectly capable of takin’ care of myself, Angel” Fred says, hefting a crossbow.

“You brought her here?” Angel asks Wes, a bit annoyed.

“Well, after all, she is involved now, Angel” Wesley replies.

“Actually, Angel, I asked to come, cause I have some news for you too” Fred says, lowering the ‘bow. “I’ve noted a marked increase in mystical energy being used at Wolfram and Hart. This is a lot, even for that place”

“ It’s probably nothing, Fred. Some demon celebration, or some such” Angel replies

“I don’t know. This has been going on for aw, an, and has been increasing a lot lately. Thing is, Angel, from what I can determine, it's mostly directed at you”

“ At me?” Angel muses. “ That’s odd. I mean, I'm pretty fair in my performance reviews. Ok, there is that zero-tolerance for killing policy, but I thought everybody was onboard for that…”

“Ah don’t think it’s that, Angel” Fred replies, a little amused. “ From what I can tell, it’s more subtle. More towards shifting how you think about things. Of course, as soon as I detected it, I started blocking it. Figured better be safe, ya know?”

Angel gives a rare smile. Fred certainly has blossomed since the days they rescued her from Pylea, Lorne’s home dimension.

“Any idea as to where it originates?”

“Well, it's actually seeming to come …” Fred hesitates “ From The Project warehouse, Angel”

Angel is troubled(ok, no surprise there) more than usual. Cordelia has been in charge at The Project ever since…(sigh) he fired Faith. Things seem to be pointing in a direction telling him that Faith wasn’t so paranoid, after all. He’s thinking he should look for the ‘kick me’ sign someone has pasted on his back. He doesn’t like being made a fool.

“Ok, here’s the drill. Fred, I want you to concentrate on that little device you are making for Wes. Reassign people to cover you on other projects, if necessary. Wes? I think it’s time you had a little ‘consultation’ with Rupert Giles. I have been talking with him, and I believe we are in the middle of something bigger… much bigger. I wish I could trust Gunn these days” Angel sighs. He misses his old street fighting partner. “But ever since that ‘upgrade’ they gave him, I’m a little leery of bringing him in on this. I guess I’m gonna have to go with Lorne. I need someone to try to find out how far and deep this is going in Wolfram and Hart. I don’t think Cordelia could be doing this stuff on her own. It goes higher… I just want to find out how high.”

“ So, when will I be leaving for Britain, Angel?” Wesley asks. He is rather anxious to see London again. It’s been awhile.

“Actually, Wes, you’re not. Giles is flying into Boston. You will meet him there” Angel replies. “Well… in Salem, actually”

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

Rupert Giles was feeling rather good this evening.

He was back amongst some of his favorite people, and he was finally free of the Council. Before he had left Britain, he had formally retired as Active Director of the council, keeping the title(and necessary power) of Chair. He wanted to be sure thhe che council didn’t revert back to the bad old days, but he was tired of the day to day grind of it.

Now, here he was, in Boston, with his favorite Americans. It had been a rather affectionate reunion, with hugs all around. Of course, Buffy, Willow and Faith had been rather surprised when they saw he had brought Dawn along. He made up an excuse about her knowing that Buffy and Ww wow would be here, and insisting on coming along for a visit. True enough, as far as it went. Anyway, there were squeals, and hugs and kisses all around there. So typical. So adorable, actually.

Now they were sitting in this rather pleasant restaurant, enjoying( well, perhaps enjoying for him, was a bit strong. He never could get behind the concept of Nouvelle Cuisine) the meal, and each other’s company. Actually, he was more watching the others catch up on old times.

For a moment, it was like old times for him. Of course, they were all older now, but they were still so young. He smiled at how ‘mature’ they acted, yet in the next instance reminded him so much of the teenagers they once were. It both amused him, and gave him a bit of nostalgia. Everything seems so… black and white then. Sigh.

He hated to spoil it. He knew sooner or later, he would have to dow down to the business of why he was here. He wasn’t looking forward to it.

He looked at Buffy, and his heart ached a little. She, of course, was being her usual self. A mixture of trying to be cosmopolitan along with an almost childish animation for life and being with her friends. He wished, somehow, he could leave her out of this. But if his interpretations of the text were correct, she was one of the key elements to success. But he was keenly aware of the effect the last fight had on her, and he was feeling protective… somewhat like a father.

For now, however, Giles was just going to sit back and enjoy the moment. These kinds of moments are rare enough, these days, and he planned to relish it as long as he could.

Time enough later for the serious things.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

“So, can you all believe it? Dawn, our little Dawnie, so smart and all? I mean, she is like acing Cambridge.” Buffy crows, prof Dof Dawn as any mom would be “ I don’t know where she gets it. Certainly not from my side of the family”

“No argument here, B.” Faith smirks. Well, DID DID leave herself wide open for that one.

Buffy glares at Faith, but then grins widely. She knows the truth when she is insulted by it.

“ I swear, Will, Dawnie is almost as brilliant as you are” Buffy grins at the redhead.

“I dunno, Buffy. In some ways, Dawnie is more brilliant than I am ,” Willow says, maybe with just a touch of flirt in it.

Dawn blushes, and says “ No way, Willow”

Willow smiles and says “ Way, Dawnie.”

Faith sits back, amused. Is there maybe a little sparkage going on here? She remembers that at Logan, Dawn had seemed particularly glad to see Willow, even more so than her own sister. And they had beubtlubtly flirting back and forth all night. Of course, B, as usual, is carrying her white cane and dark glasses. Not seeing a thing. I swear sometimes Blondie just doesn’t see what she doesn’t want to see. But Faith sees it, and is moran aan a little amused. I just hope Lil nut and Red know what they’re doing. Too many broken hearts around here, lately. She sighs.

Faith looks over at the woman she loves, and she feels the squeeze that Buffy puts on her heart oh, every other beat or so. She smiles, because when it comes to B. she can’t help herself. She is just crazy about the blonde. She has to laugh at herself a little bit when she thinks about how seriously in love with this woman she is. Never ever expected this, she thinks. Not me, not Party hardy good time Faith. No sir. It’s get in , get some , get out. Want, get, and have. That’s Faith philosophy. So where did she slip up? She never counted on someone like B. Someone who sneaks up on you and steals your heart while your not looking. Someone who … for some reason, makes you want to be better than you are. Every time I look at her, I see something new…something that just makes me more in love with her. Sigh. I got in, I got some, but when I tried to get out, the glue was too strong. Funny thing is, I didn’t really want to get out, anyway.

Buffy is watching Faith, as she chats merrily away. She almost has to laugh. Faith thinks I don’t see what is going on, but I do. If there were any more sparkage going on between Dawn and Willow, you could light up the restaurant with it. Buffy might be blonde, but that doesn’t make her stupid… no matter what Faith says.(hee, hee). The overly long hug at Logan, the little touches when they are giving each other. The way they are looking at each other. The way Dawn is deferring to Willow…yeah, Dawn, Ms. I got my own opinions, and you better listen to ‘em Dawn. It's almost laughable the way they think no one sees what’s going on. Ok, ok, I should get weirded out right now? I mean, Willow and my sister? Ewwww, right? But somehow, I’m not. I mean, I couldn’t think anyone who would be more affectionate and loving to Dawn if something were to happen between them. And… if Dawn’s temper gets too out of line, Willow can always change her into a rat… for awhile, anyway(hee, hee). And anyway, Dawnie is a big girl now( I keep telling myself). She can make her own choices. I guess there might be a tiny wee spark of jealousy on my part. I mean, I won’t deny there are some…feelings I have for Will. But that ship is never going to happen, so why wouldn’t I want to see them both happy, anyway? As happy as I am?

Buffy looks at Faith, and her face gets this soft look on it. I don’t know how I got so lucky to find such a sweet, loving woman. But damn, I’m so glad I did. Of course she wouldn’t admit it. Soft feelings? Her? Hah! But anyone that gets past that exterior knows how incredibly sweet she is. She acts like she doesn’t care, she makes with the blonde jokes and the insults, but to her, at least way I see it, it's love talk. Just gotta read her right. And those eyes, those incredibly dark, beautiful eyes of hers. I love to sometimes just get lost in them. Because in there, deep down, behind the tough and cool layers, there is this lost little girl who craves love so badly, it makes my heart ache. You want to feed her every little bit of love you can give her. And the more you give, the more you get. And she makes me feel so special… like I’m the best thing that ever walked the earth. God, if it wouldn’t embarrass everyone to death, I could jump this table right now and smooch her silly. She does that to me. She makes me feel so free sometimes. I know she doesn’t believe me sometimes when I say “ I love you, Faith”, but I do. I love you to itty bitty pieces Faith… all the time.

Buffy looks around, and sees Giles. He is looking all happy and sad at the same time. She scoots over to him.

“Hey, Giles” She smiles at him

“Hello, Buffy.” He returns her smile. He would be quite willing to give up anng tng to see her smile more often.

“ So, I see you still have the same fashion sense” She teases. “ You do know the make suits out of material besides tweed, right?” She always teases him mercilessly for his lack of…variety in clothing. But she also secretly gets a warm fuzzy safe feeling seeing him dressed so.

“ So, how have you been Giles?” Buffy asks. She has noted the gray in his always darkish hair, and the deepness of the wrinkles around his eyes and forehead. She sighs a little. She knows she is partly the cause of that.

“ Well, good” He replies, in his usual British reserve. Then he added. “ Though, of course, I missed my favorite slayer being about. Also, I resigned as Active Director of the Watcher’s Council.”

“You did?” She asks, a little worried. Without him on the council, who would make sure it didn’t revert to the bad old days of the Quentin Travers clones?

“ Don’t worry, Buffy” He says, almost reading her mind. “ I retained the Chair, with full powers. I don’t want to happen what happened before. But the day to day was just … unnerving me.”

“ I know that one, too well” She smiles. “ So, what is in the future for our Giles, then? If not on the council?”

“Well, I’m actually hoping to go back to field work” Giles replied. “ Oddly, I miss it”

“ Really? Back as an active Watcher then? Well, whoever gets you is lucky” She says. She knows despite all the disagreements they have had, the … break ups, if you will, she wouldn’t trade having Giles as her watcher for anything.

“ Thank you, Buffy. It means a lot to me that you think so” Is that a small tear we see in Giles’ eye? Well, no one can accuse him of not loving his former charge.

“Well, if they give you any trouble, you just let me know. I’ll come straighten them out “ Buffy smiles. They share a small laugh over that.

The party starts to break up. It's getting late, and Giles and Dawn need to get to their hotel rooms. They booked a place in Boston for the night, as they couldn’t get reservations in Salem until the next day. Rather than drive back to Salem tonight, then turn around and come back in the morning, the other three women decide to bunk in with Dawn and have an all-nighter…ok, slumber party. Buffy figures it was time Faith was initiated to the intricacies of it. Of course, Faith rolled her eyes and made a few rude comments about doing some teenage ritual when they were all past those years. But of course, she was secretly happy to be included… poor Faith, she never will get the idea that others really LIKE having her around. So they all retire back to the Hotel, expecting to have a good time .

For once, they weren’t disappointed.

~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?
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What are we gonna do now?