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The Slayer	By : norwalker Category: BtVS AU/AR > FemmeSlash - Female/Female Views: 19613 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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
- 17
- 18
- 19
The Slayer

By Norwalker

Part 18 of a multipart story.

Summary: What if Faith came first? If she were the slayer before Buffy( if Buffy even became a slayer)? Just my take on what might have happened. AU, of course.

Pairings: Not sure yet. You might be surprised.

Rating: M( R )

Disclaimer: Characters depicted in this story, except for original characters created by the author, are the sole property of Mutant Enemy, Fox and Joss Whedon.

1

Cordelia Chase opens her locker and sits on the bench, staring into it.

She's feeling tired, a little bruised, and paranoid.

What the heck was that out there tonight? It wasn't the routine we've been practicing for weeks. God, that was a disaster. Everyone was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I know for a fact a few times those 'accidents' weren't so accidental… I got the bruises to prove it. And the pyramid? Someone kept bumping me. I know they were trying to make it fall… and who was next to me? My bestest cheerleader friend in the whole world, Aurora. That's who. Oh yeah, she says someone kept bumping into her. Coincidence? Hmmm… I don't think so!

Cordy pulls off her sweater and blouse, hanging them in the locker. She begins to work the buttons on her skirt.

I'm thinking Ms. Harmony Kendall had something to do with tonight. Oh yeah. God, can you believe her? I give her a break, I mean, I don't think God could've made anyone clumsier. She wanted to be a cheerleader. Yeah, that's going to happen… in bizzaro world. Anyway, I make her like… well, the team mascot, so she's part of it, and she does this to me?

Who does she think she is? Hello, Captain here! I'm in charge, dear, not you. Think I haven't noticed those looks lately, Harm hon? Well, I have. Maybe I've been occupied with something else, but I'm not blind, deaf, dumb and stupid! The little jabs disguised as 'concern'? Hmmm… I think someone's got the bit in their mouth, and is trying to run with it. I'm thinking someone needs a refresher course on who's in charge around here.

Oh yeah, Cordy slips out of her skirt, and starts on her shoes, it's gotta be Harmony. I gotta give her props. She picked the absolute worst night to pull this crap. Our Homecoming game. Made me look the fool to the max. Good work, Harm. But not gonna fix it for you. You haven't EVEN seen what I can do in retaliation. And believe me, Baby, retaliation is on the way…

Cordy, hearing a noise, looks up sharply. Josh Logan is standing at the end of the lockers, smiling a little sheepishly.

" So, ummm… this is what this place looks like."

" Josh! This is the girls locker room. You're not supposed to be in here!" Cordy quickly finds something to cover up with. " What're you doing in here?!?"

" Uh, yeah," Josh approaches, and Cordy backs up." I just want to talk to you, Cordy," Josh stops, looking at her.

" Stop staring at me Josh," Cordy puts a locker door in front of her, " It's kind of creeping me out. Just go, before someone catches you in here!"

"I waited til everyone else left. I really need to talk to you, Cordy. Please," Josh half smiles, trying to look cute. It works.

"What?" Cordy says, struggling to get her skirt back on. God, does this guy like know how embarrassing this is? Does he care? " I mean, if you're going to talk, talk."

She manages to get her skirt back on, and struggles with her top.

Occupied with her modesty, and surprised by Josh being here, she doesn't notice him keeping a hand behind his back.

"Look, Cordy, I gotta talk to you about last night," Josh says, moving closer. He sits on the bench, close to her locker. "I mean, we gotta talk about it."

" Don't see what's to talk about, Josh," Cordy gets her top on, and stands, facing Josh. " You made a date with me, and less then half an hour later, you’re with another girl. Oh, and you're like nearly humping her on the dance floor. Gee, I guess that should give me the warm fuzzies, huh?"

"Look, Cor, I admit. That was a total mistake," He grins, pouring on the charm. He knocks his forehead. " I mean, hello, loser girl! What the hell was I thinking? I was only like… doing her a favor. She so was trying to get all over me. God, what a slutty bitch. Anyway, so I danced with her… just that one time. Cuz, well, I thought it better than a total scene or something. But it wasn't nothing. It really was like less than nothing." He leans in. " I could never go for a skank like that."

Cordy gives him the once over. Never mind the lying like a dog thing. How dare he talk about Faith like that. God, what do you know? She's like 10 times better than you, idiot. I'm only seeing one loser, bud. I'm thinking, you! " So, I guess she was kinda scary huh?" Cordy pretends to be taken in.

" Oh yeah, really scary," Josh nods vigorously.

" Must've been, with that gun she was holding on you so you'd like rub up against her every chance you got. God, I saw you, butt head. Do you think I'm like blind?"

" That was her!" Josh protests. " All her. God it made me sick the things she was doin'."

" Oh yeah, I could tell that by the goofy grin you had on your face." She looks at him with disgust. " Not only did you like cheat on me, but now you're weaseling around, trying to put the blame on her. You're really a loser, Josh."

"C'mon, Cordy. It was a mistake, ok? I admit it. I was totally wrong. But…really, don't do this, ok? We got to go to the dance together. You know that. We like belong together."

" You're kidding, right? You've got to be kidding! I mean, after that? I'm just supposed to pretend nothing happened? " Cordy shakes her head in disbelief. " You're something, Josh. I'm Cordelia Chase, remember? I don't need anyone. I've already got another date to the dance, butthead." She starts collecting her clothes, figuring she'll clean up at home. " I really don't like Melinda Peters. She's a total jerk. I gotta admit, she's called it right with you. You're nothing but a scamming, cheating creep. Get lost, loser."

Looking in her locker, Cordy doesn't see the change come over Josh. She doesn't see his face lose the smile, nor see it flush red. She doesn't catch the look in his eye, nor the fact that he's moved up right next to her.

" So that's it huh? You just blow me off, and I take it?"

" Well, yeah…"

" I don't think so!"

" HEY!" Cordelia yells when she feels her hair pulled. " What the…?"

Josh grabs Cordy by her hair, and drags her away from the locker. He brings his other arm from behind his back. He's holding a baseball bat.

" Cordy, you don't get to say that's it, you little … I'm calling the shots here. And I'm thinking," He waves the bat menacingly," I'd like to take a shot at you're pretty face right about now."

" OW! JOSH! LET ME GO!" Cordy yells, struggling against Josh, trying to get free. " You're hurting me!"

BAM!

Josh hits the lockers with the bat. He pushes her down on the bench, holding a bunch of her hair in his hand.

" Shut up, Cordy. You talk way too much. Don't you know it's better to be seen and not heard?" He waves the bat. " Or do I need to teach you that too?"

" Josh LOGAN! You let me go RIGHT NOW! If you don't, I'll scream!"

BAM!!!

" Go ahead, Cordy, scream. But next time? The bat won't hit the locker!"

Cordy looks at the bat, then at Josh. His eyes tell her he's not kidding.

" W-What do you want, Josh?" She stammers, trying to mollify him. " J-just tell me what you want."

" What do I want?" Josh pretends to think about it. " What do I want?"

BAM!!!!

" I want my dignity back, Cordy. You pretty much took that from me at the Bronze last night."

" J-Josh, I'm sorry, I didn't…"

BAM!!

" Did I say you could talk?"

Cordy doesn't answer. She doesn't move.

BAM!!

"Well, did I?" HE looks at her, nostrils flared. " Go on, answer!"

" N-No…s-sorry…"

" I want not to be the laughing stock of the school. Gee, isn't it interesting how it's all over the school that you dumped me at the Bronze. Fought like a cat for me, then DUMPED ME!"

BAM!!!

" What the hell was that about? Why did you do that anyway? I'm a fucking joke around school today. Thanks to you!"

BAM!! BAM!!!

" I so want to hit you with this right now, it's…" BAM!!! " but I won't. No, I won't. Know what else I heard, Cordy?" He leans in, sneering. " You dumped me… for Joe Morgan!"

BAM!!

" That's right, bitch. Joe Morgan. Oh, that really helped things sooo fucking much! I got dumped, for some loser like that!"

BAM!! BAM!! BAAMM!

" You fucking stuck up bitch!" BAM! " You dare fucking play with ME? ME?" BAM! " No way, you fucking slut." He grabs her by the throat. " Get up!"

Cordy stands up, face pale with fear. She gurgles.

" You're… choking… me." She gasps out.

" Good," Josh grins at her, " Choke. I’d love to choke you til your eyes bug out and your face goes purple. But not yet, not quite yet." He grabs her hair, and yanks her around. " Let's go. Let's see if we can't do something about your fucking me around, bitch. We don't like you teases around here, but I'm thinking I can make it all better. Yeah, maybe once you've had a real man, not some wimpy pimply loser like Joe Morgan, you'll just spread those legs like the whore you are."

" Josh… please," Cordy begs. " I… don't know who told you that, but it's a lie… really…please… I'll go to the dance with you… anything…"

" Shut UP!"

BAM!!!

" I'm tired of listening to your whiny I'm-better-than-anyone- 'tude, Cordelia Chase!"

BAM!!

" Please… don't hit me…" Cordy starts to cry, trying to fend off the bat.

" What? You think I need this?" Josh sneers. He takes and throws the bat away. " Screw you. Matter of fact, that sounds like a good idea. Screwing you. Make a woman outta you yet."

He grabs her, ripping at her clothes. Pretty soon she's down to skin, her clothing lying in a shredded pile. Cordelia, scared senseless, just moans.

Josh mistakes her moans for excitement, and grins.

" Yeah, that's it, isn't it? You like it rough, don't ya bitch? Yeah, we'll make it rough… real rough"

He starts pushing her towards the showers.

" We give it to ya, and if that don't work? If that don't like make you less a bitch? Maybe we'll just beat some sense into you!" He shoves her harder. " C'mon, hurry up bitch, get going."

"HELP!!!," Cordy screams out." Somebody HELP ME, PLEASE!!"

Josh grabs her, covering her mouth with her hand.

" Shut up, slut. No one's gonna help you… not now… not ever."

He grabs her up and carries her towards the showers.

2

Faith is growing impatient.

She's been waiting here nearly an hour for Cordelia to come out. After her talk with Giles in the library, she knows she has to talk to her. Work this out.

She's certain she's in there. She's been waiting since the game ended, and she saw Cordy on the field with the other cheerleaders. She had to go in there. She had to change, right? So what the heck is taking her so long?

She's been laying back a little ways from the locker room entrance, not really wanting to be seen waiting around. She's taken more than one sour look from departing cheerleaders, pretending not to notice. Great, she's probably told them I'm some kinda lesbo perv now, waiting around to attack them when they come out. God, what am I even doing here?

Finally losing patience after waiting 10 minutes and no one else coming out, she decides to go in there. What the fuck? What can they do to me? I'm a girl. And I gotta know if she's still here, or slipped out somehow.

Faith pushes through the doors, and immediately knows something's not right here.

There are voices… is that a guy?… coming from across the room. She hears what sounds like a muffled voice, followed by laughter. Male laughter.

Ok, guy in the girl's locker room? Never a good thing.

Crouching down a little, moving as quietly as possible, she moves towards where she heard the voice last.

3

" Go on bitch," Josh throws Cordy into the communal shower stalls. " I think you need a shower. You stink!"

Cordy stumbles into the stalls, almost running into the shower wall. She steadies herself, and moves back away from Josh, against a far corner.

" No, I don't think so, " Josh says, coming after her. He grabs her and drags her forward, holding her under a shower head. He turns on the water.

Cordy screams when the icy water hits her body. She shivers, staring at Josh with wide, frightened eyes. Her hair is matted around her head and shoulders. She looks drowned.

" C'mon, you dirty whore. Clean up real good," He shoves her under the icy water, holding her there.

Cordelia out of desperation, flails her arms around, scratching him across the cheek. He yells, letting her go.

" You goddamn slut, " he grabs his bleeding cheek. Then he grabs her again." Forget the fucking shower. I'm gonna fuck you now…"

" Well, moron, how you gonna do that when I tear your dick off!"

Josh whirls around to see an enraged Faith staring at him. She's holding the discarded bat.

" What the fuck…?" He stares at Faith." Faith, what are you doing here?" He is stunned, not understanding how she got here, or why.

" Thought I'd do a little batting practice with you head, bozo," Faith rushes him, bat held high.

Unfortunately, her boot hits a puddle of water, she slips, and loses balance. She recovers, but not before Josh grabs her and the bat. He laughs at her.

" Oh, wanna play rough too. Yeah, I remember you were rough fighting Cordelia here. Well, lets see how ya do against me," He slams her against the shower wall, sticking the large end of the bat under her chin." So, baby, you like it rough too? Maybe we can have little fun after I'm done with…"

He screams when he feels a pair of nails scratch him deep down his back.

" You leave her alone!" Cordelia yells at him.

" You fucking…" he backhands Cordy, knocking her into the wall. She slides down it, stunned.

He looks at Cordelia lying on the floor, and then at Faith. " What's going on here, anyway?" He stares at Cordy. " Why'd you do that, bitch?"

Then, the idea hits him, and he gets a sour look on his face.

" Oh, god. Now I get it. You two…you're a fucking bunch of rug munchers. You're fucking queer for each other. God, that makes me wanna…"

His speech is cut off when he feels a very strong hand take him by the throat. Before he can react, Faith has shoved him against the wall, lifting him off his feet.

"… what the fuck?" He says, feeling her fingers clutch him by the throat.

" Don't you EVER touch her again, you son-of-a-bitch!" Faith yells at him.

Josh, strangling a little, still manages to knee her in the stomach, driving her back and away. He drops to the floor, gasping.

" How the fuck did you do that?" He rushes at and grabs her, lifting her up and slamming her into a wall. " Fuck I don't care, just stay down." Seeing the bat, he retrieves it. He goes to her, and hits her across the back. " You can't save your snotty ass girlfriend, bitch. So, keep your ass down, and maybe I'll only fuck you up a little, ok?"

Faith, stunned by the blows, lies unmoving.

Josh turns, and advances towards the cowering Cordelia.

" Ok, Cordy, playtime's over. God, to think I wanted to fuck you. You fucking lesbo. Forget that! I guess we'll just move straight to your punishment." He stands over the huddled Cordelia, and raises the bat. " I'm so gonna love wiping the snotty look off you face, permanently."

" YOU BASTARD!"

Something hard, strong and furious named Faith hits him in the side, driving him into the shower head wall. His head is cut when he hits one of the protruding heads, and he's stunned, but somehow manages to hold onto the bat. He brings it down across Faith's shoulders. She drops to her knees from the blow.

" Fuck you!" He screams at her. " Are you like a 'tard, Lezzy? Don't you understand English? I told you to keep your fucking ass down" He raises the bat up. " Fuck it, I'll just do you first, then her."

Faith, recovered from the blow, grabs his legs, and uses her head as a battering ram… right into his crotch.

Josh bellows in pain, dropping the bat, fall over… right on top of Faith. She falls on under the sudden weight, and lies there for a moment.

" Get the fuck off me you fucking bastard, "She yells, throwing him off herself. She hauls him up, and slams him against he wall. He slips down the wall, falling into a heap.

Faith, red faced, stares at her tormentor. Something in her snaps. She grabs the bat; picking it up, she runs at the slumped over Josh.

" YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she swings the bat down on his shoulders." YOU NEVER TOUCH HER, YOU FILTH!" She hits him again, this time in the ribs. " I'M GONNA KILL YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!!" She tosses the bat away, wanting to get closer with her punishment, more personal. She starts raining blows on his head, back and sides. " DIE, YOU FUCKER!" She keeps hitting him, over and over, her fists moving like pistons over his body.

Tired of punching him, she backs up, and starts kicking him in the head, ribs and wherever else she can reach. Blood from the head cut she received when he threw her into the wall pours down her face, blinding her, but she still keeps kicking him.

" Faith, STOP!" Cordy, coming out of her daze, scrambles to her feet. She moves towards Faith, pushing her away from Josh. " Stop… you'll kill him!" She grabs Faith, using her body to block her. " Don't, don't baby, don't. He's not worth it… just let it go… let it go…" She pushes her up against the wall, holding her in place with her body. " It's ok, I'm ok, really."

Faith, her body pumping with adrenaline, her emotions out of control, starts to shake violently. She pushes weakly at Cordy to move her, but her rage is gone, replaced by fear and sorrow. She starts to shake more, her eyes streaming tears.

"He.. he.. was gonna hurt…you… rape you… beat you… couldn't let… him… I couldn't… I couldn't…oh god, I … " Her whole body is trembling and shuddering violently, unable to process the adrenaline, hormones, and emotions running wildly through her system. Her knees give out, and she falls to the floor of the shower hard on her butt.

Cordy kneels next to her, wrapping her arms around her. She draws Faith's head to her breast, and holds her, trying to calm her down.

" It's ok, baby, it's ok. You saved me, Faith, you did. I'm ok…"

" I couldn't… I couldn't let him…hurt you," Faith gasps out, still shaking," He was gonna hurt you…and I … had to stop him… I had to…"

And it hits Cordelia like a bolt of lightning. Faith had saved her. If Faith hadn't been there, hadn't come along like she did, she's be raped and badly beaten…or worse. She had thrown herself at a guy much larger than herself; one that might have beaten her to a pulp. And she hadn't even given it a thought. All to save her.

She looks at the woman clinging to her, head bleeding, shaking like a child, and she wonders exactly what she needed those words for. It's pretty obvious by what Faith did that she cared for Cordy. Cared for her deeply.

But seeing her so enraged, so out of control: that was scary. For a moment, a brief moment, she feels fear mixed in with the other emotions. What if she lost it with me? What if she got that way with me? She wants to believe that Faith would never, could never, do something like that to her. But she saw how angry, how insane she got. There definitely was a small icicle of fear mixed in the other things she was feeling.

Faith, bringing herself under control, pushes Cordy away. She struggles to get regain her cool facade. A curtain seems to drop behind her eyes, closing her off.

" Are you ok?" Faith asks, looking at Cordelia. She has some bruising and cuts, but nothing serious. " did he hurt you?"

" I'm fine. You stopped him before he could…" She trails off, realizing how close she came to not being fine.

"Ok."

Shaking Cordelia off completely, she hoists herself to her feet. She leans against the wall a second, to get her bearings.

" Faith, you're hurt. Sit back down." Cordy says, pulling on her hand.

" I'm ok," Faith says, her tone cool. She turns and walks to a shower head. Gritting her teeth, she turns on the tap, letting the cold spray wash away the blood and sweat and dirt. Chilled, but feeling more awake, she walks over to the slumped body of Josh.

" Faith, don't. He's had enough…"

" God, Cor, I'm not gonna hit him no more. I just wanna see if he's breathing," She gets down, and puts her fingers to his pulse point. He has a pulse. She puts her fingers under his nose, and feels his breath.

" He's alive," She reaches in and pulls out her cell phone. The pieces of it, anyway. " Do you got a phone?"

" In my locker."

" Get it, call 911. He needs an ambulance."

Cordy hesitates, looking at Josh.

" Do it, goddamn it, Cor. Call the fucking ambulance."

Cordy scrambles to her feet, hurrying out of the shower towards her locker.

Faith watches her go, frowning. Right now she needs Cordelia obedient, not approving.

She squats down, and gently moves Josh away from the showers.

4

Giles looks grim.

G rim and tired. Very, very tired.

He leans back in his chair, and pushing his glasses up over his head, rubs his eyes. They feel hot and gritty. It's getting harder and harder to read the words on the pages. He really needs to get home and get some sleep.

Still, he can't leave. Not knowing what he now knows.

I must recheck the data. Be sure about what I'm seeing. I have to be sure before I go to her with this.

He wishes, deeply, that he's wrong. That it's just a paranoid fantasy, born of a desperation to explain the odd happenings in Sunnydale.

He hopes he's wrong. He really does.

But he fears he's not. And if he's right, he knows he'll have one very upset girl on his hands.

How will this affect what she wants to have with Cordelia? Is Cordelia involved somehow? God, how will she tell her that she's checking into her Father? Will she tell her? What if Cordelia finds out?

Giles sighs. It doesn't look very good for the budding relationship between the two of them. Things are already bad. This can only add more rocks for their ship to run aground upon.

He closes his eyes tightly, feeling very weary. And very old.

When he opens them, he almost has a heart attack. Angel is standing there in front of him. No sound, no warning; just there.

"Bloody hell," Giles blurts out, tired, his nerves near screaming." Can you manage not to do that?" Shaking a little, he stands up, and walks over to pour himself some tea.

" Sorry, Rupert," Angel chuckles softly." So, you called me here. What's this all about?"

" Ah, yes," Giles returns to the desk, but remains standing for the moment. "I believe I may have found a clue as to what's happening in Sunnydale."

" Yes. I'm still not entirely sure why it's happening, but… well, let me show you some things."

For the next 10 minutes, Giles gives Angel a summarization of what he'd found out. He shows him various documents supporting his theory, and graphs he's worked up showing some strange patterns.

Angel is silent through it all, nodding thoughtfully from time to time. Finally, at the end, he speaks up.

" This is pretty good work, Rupert," He comments, looking over a graph," And rather disturbing. Are you saying Cornell Chase is behind all the craziness going on?"

" I wouldn't necessarily go that far," Giles hedges," But I do think there's evidence of a connection."

" Well, so what do you want me to do, then?" Angel looks at the papers and books scattered about the office. " Research isn't really my forte."

" Actually, I was hoping you could use some of your… contacts… to see if perhaps you could find out more direct links. I have these paper trails, but as it is, it's not a lot. I'd like something more solid, before we move in, so to speak."

" Yeah, I'm thinking Cornell wouldn't be too happy if we call him a big evil bad guy, and he's not," Angel muses. " Have you shown Faith this yet?"

" Not yet… I want more evidence before we involve her."

" Well, she might be helpful though, Rupert. Cover places I can't. I think we should…"

" NO!" Giles snaps, sharply. " No…" his tone is more modulated, " I really don't want to put her at risk until we know more…"

" Rupert… is there something you're not telling me?" Angel asks, a little suspicious.

" No, just… I don't think Faith needs to be involved here until we have a more direct link involving Cornell Chase. Otherwise, we could put her in a rather precarious position for no good reason. For now, I don't want this mentioned to her. Is that clear?"

"Yes. Clear," Angel says, a little shortly. What's he hiding? What isn't he telling me? For a moment, Angel feels a surge of anger, and a strong temptation to pin Rupert to wall and 'persuade' him until he talks. But he fights the urge back down.

" Ok, we'll do it your way for now. No Faith. I just thought…"

At that moment, Harmony Kendall, looking stressed, bursts in through the library doors.

" Mr. Giles, Mr. Giles. You've got to come quickly!" Harmony calls out, somewhat breathlessly. She hunches over, catching her breath.

"Harmony!" Giles comes over, concerned. " What's going on? What happened?"

"Locker room… Faith…. Cordelia… fight…" Harmony gasps out." Someone's … hurt…"

Angel and Giles look at each other.

" Let's go. Harmony, go find Principal Snyder. Have him meet us there." Giles and Angel start towards the door.

" I can't…find him… that's why I came here…" Harmony says. " I saw the … lights…on."

" Keep looking," Angels says.

Oh god, Giles thinks to himself. If she lost control now…

he two disappear down the hallway, running towards the Gym buildings.

Harmony comes out of the library. Amazing, she doesn't look so out of breath now.

Smiling, she makes her way down the hallway.

5

Ninety minutes later it was over.

Except for the emotional debris left from the evening's violence.

The police came, followed quickly by the EMT ambulance for Josh. Despite the way he looked, the injuries weren't extensive, and he would recover. And then spend some quality time in jail for assault.

The detective on the scene gave Faith some hard looks, and asked some probing questions. In the end, however, he was satisfied it was a case of self defense. Especially after Cordelia jumped in and reminded him exactly who her father was, and how upset he might be with someone being to hard on the person that saved his only daughter's life.

Faith stood quietly throughout, silent except when answering the detective's questions. She was treated by an EMT, her scalp wound bandaged and checked for other trauma. Otherwise she stood quietly, all energy seemingly gone, just staring straight ahead. Cut off from everything.

Cordelia, after being checked by an EMT, watched her, troubled. What she saw tonight shocked her. She'd always sensed an undercurrent in Faith, some reservoir of anger, but the violence she used on Josh was beyond anything in Cordelia's experience. It frankly scared her. What am I getting myself into? Do I really want to be there?

Still, she wasn't about to let the police do anything to Faith. She had saved her life, even if nearly scaring her to death in the process. She took charge, taking care of the police and Snyder, when he showed up making blustering noises. Scared or not, she cared about her.

Giles enters the area on the run, Angel beside him. The crowd of onlookers has begun to thin out, and they make their way towards Faith.

Snyder, looking officious, blocks their path. They try to go around him, but he puts out his arms.

" Exactly where do you think you're going?" He asks, looking at the two of them. " this is a crime scene. We don't need tourists here."

" Amazingly, Mr. Snyder, you're not an officer of the law," Giles says, " I need to talk to my assistant. Now, if you'd be kind enough to move?" There's iron beneath the velvet of Giles' voice.

" Listen, buddy. This is my school, and I run things here. So, just stop right there. You can’t just waltz over and… HEY!"

Angel, losing patience, picks up the gnome of a man, and puts him out of the way. Giles and Angel move towards Faith.

" Hey, HEY!" Snyder starts after them. " You come back here…!"

Angel stops, and looks at Snyder. Just looks at him. Snyder's face goes white.

" You… you can't do that. I'm sure there's some kind of law…"

Angel turns around, and follows Giles.

" He's rather an annoying little man, isn't he?" Angel comments.

"Yes," Giles says dryly." And we're blessed with him. We are so fortunate."

They reach Faith, who seems to be just standing alone. She looks up at the two as they approach, but remains silent.

Seeing the extent of her injuries. Angel goes over to her; Giles hangs back a bit.

"Are you all right?" Giles asks, looking at her. Well, Rupert, that's a pretty stupid question.

" Yeah, I'm fine," Faith says, shortly.

They watch as the stretcher is loaded into the ambulance, Giles feeling his stomach turn over. He turns to Faith.

" What happened?" He asks, drawing on all of his British reserve to remain calm. " Is Cordelia…" he looks towards the ambulance.

" That's not Cordelia, Giles. She's over there," Faith nods with her head.

Giles looks, and sees Cordelia, talking to an officer, apparently all right. He breathes a sigh of relief.

That isn't lost on Faith, whose frown deepens.

" What, did you think I came over to beat her up, Giles?" Faith looks at him, her face grim.

A slight blush comes to Giles' cheeks.

" What did happen, Faith?" Angel asks, diverting her attention.

" I was around here, and heard noises in the locker room. I went in, and found Josh Logan attacking Cordelia. I took care of it." Her voice is a monotone. As if she's reading a script.

" Stop it?" Giles looks at Faith. " Exactly how did you stop it?" He looks at the ambulance, now departing. " Is that Josh in that ambulance?"

" I had to stop him, Giles," Faith says, her tone cool. " He was going to … he threatened to rape her, then beat her."

Giles blanches. Knowing how Faith feels about Cordelia, he can imagine her reaction.

Faith notices Cordelia making her way to the parking lot. Breaking away, she starts after her.

" Faith!" Giles calls after her. " We're not done here!"

" I'll be back.. I gotta talk … I'll be back." She moves towards the parking lot.

" FAITH!" He calls louder.

" I'll be back!" She disappears.

Giles sighs. That bad feeling he has? … just got a little worse.

Neither he, nor Angel, nor anyone else notices a third figure moving towards the parking lot, following Faith.

To be continued
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The Slayer