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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
- 22
- 23
- 24
~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~&~~

What are we gonna do now?

Chapter 23

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

“… A time of war… a time to kill…”

And so, they joined the battle. The reckoning…the final settlement of accounts.

As the slayers moved onto the salt flats, the scene wavered before their eyes, and changed. No longer were they in the desert, but a dark place, the earth blasted and torn around them. They had been transported to another plane, a mystical field of battle.

And the battle was nearly lost, before they even began.

For as the slayers took the field, preparing to fight, huge fireballs hurtled out of the sky, striking at them, and their supplies. Fortunately, their training allowed most of them to avoid the escape the onslaught. But casualties were still heavy, and they lost a quarter of their force even before they began to fight.

Willow sniffed at the air, and her face grew grim. She looked at the others around her, and spoke one word.

“Amy” She said, her eyes growing darker

“How…can you tell, Will?” Buffy asked, puzzled.

“All magic has a signature, a ‘scent’, of the caster. And this stinks of Amy” Willow said. She closed her eyes, concentrating, focusing her mind to find Amy. At last, a small smile came to her face. An aura began to glow around her.

On the other side of the field Amy stood, casting fireballs. She was having a great time. She was still pissed off at Willow for telling her to shove off three years ago(man, can she hold a grudge). And she was getting well paid for this gig. So, what’s not to like?

The air shimmered next to her, and Willow appeared at her side.

“Hey, Amy!” Willow said, brightly

“Willow!” Amy replied, smiling.

“So, how you been?” Willow asked solicitously.

“ Evil. You?” Amy replied

“ Me too. Got over it , though”

Pause in the conversation while the two witches assess each other. Willow speaks up.

“So, working for Wolfram and Hart now? The black hats?” Willow asks

“Evil, remember? Anyway, they got great medical and dental” Amy replies, firing up an energy ball.

“ You know I’m gonna have to do something about this” Willow says, starting to chant low.

“ Oh, really?” Amy asks. She turns to where Willow is standing, and throws the energy ball… it passes right through Willow, and hits a demon standing a distance behind her. He doesn’t look too happy. Amy looks shocked.

“Huh?” She says, not believing what she sees.

Willow sighs. “ You never learn, do you Amy? Projection here” She says.

Flash back to the camp. Willow is finishing up a spell… she is speaking low, but the last word can be heard, clearly

“Rat”

Flash back to Amy and Willow’s projection. Energy begins to swirl around Amy, and her eyes grow wide.

“ Oh…. Craaa…..” She says, but is interrupted when the spell completes, and once again, Amy is a rat. She scurries off. The projection of Willow smiles, and fades out.

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

After recovering from their little ‘surprise’, the slayers go on the attack. They run into a horde of Demons, and begin to show that their training wasn’t in vain. Kennedy splits her remaining group into two, and runs a pincer maneuver on the group of demons. Hacking and slashing, kicking and fighting, the slayers slowly begin to whittle down the horde. It's a sight to behold. These young women, strong and resourceful, battle creatures sometimes twice their size. Their courage is inspiring. The battle is going well…they are beating back the horde…when out of the mists come another group… dressed in red and black.

The counter slayers. Faith’s former ‘secret slayers’ now commanded by one of her former pupils. They attack the slayers, and the battle rages. Both groups are impressive. Disciplined, tough, they fight with courage and honor. Slowly the battle grinds to a stalemate, as each group is so well matched, neither can get an advantage. The battle continues, neither willing to give.

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

In the center of the Field stand Cordelia and Angel. They are side by side.

“It’s time. Time to begin the spell” Cordelia says, lifting the orb of Charnok.

Angel nods, his face grim. He still believes that opening the portal will free Buffy from a hell dimension she is trapped in. That is his only concern, to free his love. He raises the sword of Danacles above his head. It glows .

Cordelia begins to chant. It's in an unknown language, so this is only a rough translation:

“ That which came before, shall come again”

“That which has been closed, shall be open”

“Let the walls that separate us fall, let the gates that are closed unlock”

“Now, now is the time for them to be free, to claim what is theirs”

“ Let the seal be burned, and let those that are trapped come forth”

Angel feels a searing pain throughout his body. The jewel of the amulet attached to him begins to glow. It shoots out an energy beam through the pommel of the sword Angel is holding, and the beam lashes out at the sky above. It's joined by a beam from the Orb, and the combined beam begins to burn a hole in the fabric of the Universe. Slowly, from that hole, a column of blackness descends, and meets with the earth close to where Angel and Cordelia stand. It has begun.

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

Back at the camp, Willow feels the rise in mystical energy. Looking towards where she feels it emanating, she sees the beams of light, and the descending column of black.

“Faith, Buffy… look!” She cries out, pointing towards the column.

Both slayers look where Willow is pointing. Their faces reflect shock. It's massive, and even they can feel the raw power of it. Slowly, the shock passes, and turns into determination.

“Go, hurry. They’ve started opening the portal. You gotta stop them before they can complete it” Willow says.

The two begin to run towards where Angel and Cordelia are standing, They are joined by a third figure, a certain platinum blonde vampire.

“Spike” Buffy calls out. “ What the hell are you doing?”

“ Slayer, I’m comin’ along. Can’t keep me back, pet. This looks like fun!” Spike says, grinning as he runs with the Chosen Two.

“ Well, just don’t get in our way, and try to keep up” Buffy calls, as she and Faith kick into high gear.

The two slayers run towards the Column, followed closely by spike. About 100 yards out, they run into an energy wall.

Both slayers are knocked off their feet. Spike, bringing up the rear, halts before hitting it. He is puzzled.

All three hear a voice in their mind… Willow.

“Damn. They must have erected an energy field. Nothing living can penetrate it. I will try to knock it down, but it’ll take time”

Spike grins, and his eyebrow arches. Nothing living, huh? Hmmmm.

He approaches where the slayers hit the wall, and pushes…his hand goes through. Smiling, he turns back to the Fallen Two.

“Well, slayers, looks like I have a key to the door. Guess I’ll go have a little chat with pouf boy and his paramour. Ta Ta for now” Spike says, and he passes through the barrier, running towards where Cordelia and Angel are standing

“Spike” Buffy calls out. Spike stops, and turns towards her.

“ Yes, luv?” He grins.

“ Be careful, ok?” She says, looking a little worried.

“ Hey, I get to scuff up the prince of Gel…where’s the bad eh?” Spike grins, and takes off.

“So, now what?” Buffy asks, trying to push through the barrier.

“Well, you can die” Said a voice behind her.

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

Spike, duster flowing behind him, runs towards where Cordelia and Angel are opening the portal.

Stupid sod, what the hell is he thinking anyway? Opening a portal to a hell dimension? I always knew that hair gel would rot his brains one of these days… not discounting he’s half bonkers anyway. And all that brooding…where has it got him? Out on some field playing lackey to demons. Angelus I could see doing this. Angel? He’s bloody well gone over the edge.

Spike halts a few yards away and looks things over. How the hell am I going to stop this mess? I wish the slayer was here. She’d have a clue… He looks at Angel, and sees the amulet on his chest, throwing off some kinda beam. Maybe if I can stop that thing, I can at least put a crimp in it. But how…don’t have any real weapons…he checks himself, finding a stake. Hmmm…forgot about this. And hey, if I stake him in the bargain, all the good, far as I see.

Spike notes both of them are not paying attention to him. Rather, they are watching the portal… might have a chance at this yet.

He crouches down, and approaches Angel from behind.

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

Buffy turns around, looking at the group of counter-slayers surrounding them. She grimaces. Well… not exactly what I wanted to do right now… but I guess not a real choice here. She goes into a fight crouch.

A tall blonde woman faces her. She is decked out in black and red, and has a hostile look on her face. She addresses Buffy.

“ So, this is the mighty Buffy” She says, in an Irish lilt. “ Heard all sorts of things about you. But frankly, thought you’d be taller”

“ Yeah, I get that a lot” Buffy quips.

“Well, slayer, you and me got a little score to settle, I think” the woman says, holding up a sword. “ Up to a bit of a fight?”

Buffy raises her hands. “ No weapons, girlfriend”

“Not a problem,” the other woman says. “ Give her a sword, someone”

“Ya don’t mind if she uses mine, do ya Sarah McClain?” Faith asks, back to them.

“You…how you be knowing my name?” Sarah asks, a bit taken aback

“I dunno…maybe cause despite that temper of yours, you were my best student” Faith says, turning around. She has her own sword drawn. “ Care to go a few? Don’t like people threatening my friends. Guess I take it personal”

Sarah’s jaw drops. “ FAITH? What the hell?”

Faith smirks. “ The one and only”

“It’s a trick. You’re dead!” Sarah says, dropping into a fighting stance.

Faith laughs. “Really…dead? Gee, I’m feelin’ damned lively for dead”

Sarah thrusts out her sword, which Faith easily parries. She then tries to cross cut Faith, but Faith hits her flat bladed on the wrist, hard, making her drop her sword. Sarah stands, a little dumbfounded.

“Sarah, how many times I gotta tell you to guard against that? You do the same damned thing every time, and I get you every time” Faith scolds her…but not too hard.

Sarah crosses over to Faith, and lifts her in a huge bear hug. Faith laughs

“Whoa, whoa girlfriend. Chill. This is embarrassing, to say the least” Faith chuckles, as Sarah puts her down.

“We were told you were dead. That this one” Pointing at Buffy “ Stabbed you”

“Hear that B. You stabbed me!” Faith chuckles.

“Damn Faith” Buffy mocks, “ Now? You gotta bring that up now?” Buffy is beginning to grin.

“ Sarah… reports of my ‘death’ are… bogus. As you can see, I’m standing right here. And B didn’t do anything of the kind. So, can ya call off your dogs now?” Sarah orders her troops to stand down.

“I don’t get it, Faith. They told us you had been murdered, by Buffy here, and that she had gone Evil, and was planning some big doom thing…So we’re here, out to fight against her forces, and frankly, to kill her”. Sarah says. She is looking more than a little confused.

“ Ok, class time again, I guess” Faith says. “First of all, I’m not dead. Pretty obvious. Secondly, if you’re goin’ for Buffy, you’ll have to go through me. And even IF you could get through me” Faith says, sarcasm dripping “ She’d slice you in about 2 seconds, as she’s better with swords than I am… much as I hate to admit it” She grins. “ Third, if you’re looking for who is doing the Apocalypse, take a look over my shoulder. Note… that is Cordelia and Angel over there, not us.”

Sarah stands silent. Her face is red, and angry. She’s confused. She doesn’t like to be confused.

“You’re sayin’ then we’ve been duped?” She says. Her voice is getting hard.

“You betcha” Faith replies

Sarah thinks a moment, then calls over three of her girls. “Jenny, Erika, Beth. I want you to go to the squad leaders. Tell ‘em to stop fightin’ the slayers, and start kickin’ the demon butt. If they don’t, there’s gonna be hell to pay, from me”. The three girls grin at her, and take off.

Sarah walks over to Buffy, and stands before her. Her head is down, and she mumbles “ I guess I owe you an apology”

“Ah, that’s ok. Faith does that to people… confuse the hell outta them” Buffy smiles, taking a little jab at Faith.

Faith smirks “ Look who’s talking, Blondie”

“Shut up, Dimples” Buffy says. “ Anyway, I kinda lied to you, Sarah. I was armed” Buffy reaches around, and takes the Slayer Scythe out of its harness. The other girl just stares at it. She’s heard of it, but never seen it. Buffy smiles.

“Here… wanna try it?” Buffy offers it to Sarah.

“C—Can I?” Sarah asks. She is overwhelmed.

“Sure… just bring it back. I’m kinda fond of it” Buffy says. She picks up Sarah’s sword, and swings it. “ But I still like swords better” She grins.

“Ok you too… bonding later. Let’s go kicks some demon butt” Faith says.

The three of them , followed by the rest of the squad, go to join in the fray.

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

Spike circles around Angel.

He sees both of them are still concentrating on the portal. He quickly comes up behind Angel, grabs him around the neck, and shoves the stake in his chest. But he misses, hitting the Amulet instead. The force of his blow manages to shatter the jewel, but the feedback from it burns his hand.

“Bloody HELL!! That hurts!!” He says, grabbing his hand.

“SPIKE!!! What the hell are you doing?” Angel shouts, angry and confused.

“Trying to stake you, you stupid git. But I missed, and hit that jewel thing of yours” Spike mutters. “Question is, Pouf, What the hell are YOU doing? Opening a hell dimension? What’ru thu thinking?”

“Trying to save Buffy. She’s trapped inside the dimension” Angel says. But since the jewel was smashed, he’s no longer so convinced about what’s going on. He feels like his head is clearing up for the first time in weeks.

“ I always knew all that gel you use would rot your brains one of these days. Look over there” Spike points to where Buffy and Faith are talking to the counter-slayers. “Who do you think that short blonde is?”

“What the hell? Buffy? That’s Buffy!” Angel expression changes, quickly, to rage. He turns to ‘Cordelia’. She laughs at him.

“Too late, Angel. It’s almost open. Don’t need the amulet anymore. The orb will finish it. You’re the perfect dupe. Anyone ever tell you that?” She ignores him.

Angel is enraged. He’s been played for an idiot… and we know he doesn’t like that. He raises the sword, and threatens her with it.

“Can’t kill me with that, idiot.” ‘Cordelia’ says, her voice changed to its true form. “You’ll only kill the body. You’re too late to stop this now” She laughs at him, again.

“ Not going for you” He says. Before she can react, he brings the sword down on the Orb. It shatters under the impact of the blade.

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo” The thing in Cordelia’s body screams.

But it’s way past too late. The energy in the orb is free. And it begins to expand. It’s building up like a charging capacitor.

The Orb of Charnok was originally designed as a mystical weapon against “The Judge”. It does exactly the opposite. It’s energy attacks demons, burning them. It burns out any demon presence in its range, if it’s energy is released from its container.

The Charnok energy ball is expanding… and it’s beginning to discharge. Cordelia, Angel and Spike are all hit by the bolts. They burn inside each of them. All three pass out, and fall to the ground. The last thing Spike thinks is “ Damn. This is the thanks I get for saving the world…second time. Next Apocalypse, I’m taking a bloody vacation on the other side of the World.”

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

Buffy and Faith hear the sound first. They look over, and see the energy ball. It’s huge, and growing…and spitting out energy bolts. They call out to their troops.

“Everyone….DOWN ….. NOW!!!”

The slayers and counter slayers drop to the earth, but the Energy just passes them by. It starts targeting Demons and other things they are fighting. They hear the screams as the Demons fry where they stand. It starts to get really smoky and smelly…gag time. Slowly the energy ball dissipates, as the last of the demons are toasted.

Eventually, Buffy and Faith look up. They see the Energy ball has dissipated, and notice that the demons en masse are gone…well…burned to crispy critters, anyway. They stand up.

“Well…that was handy” Buffy grins.

“I want one of those next time we come across a demon nest” Faith grins. “ Really makes the job easier”

Buffy looks at the Black Column…and notices that red swirls are in it. Somehow, that doesn’t make her feel better.

“Faith….Buffy” Willow’s voice is in her head again. God, gotta get an off switch for that, Buffy thinks.

“ You gotta come now…back here. We’re too late. The portal is open, and they’re starting to emerge. We gotta close it now!”

Shit. Just when things were going so well.

Faith and Buffy, running at full speed, head back to camp.

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

Angel opens one eye.

Hmmm… not dead…why?

He sits up, and groans. He feels like a ton of bricks have fallen on him. He starts to get up when he feels it.

His heart… beating. What the hell?

And he’s starving….for FOOD!!!

He touches his face…it’s WARM.

He’s alive… REALLY ALIVE. He’s human!!

“What the bloody hell?” He hears Spike cursing. “What’s going on? And why do I want a fridge full of food?”

Then he feels it…his heart beating.

“Oh, god. I’m…HUMAN! What the hell happened?”

The two ex-vampires look at each other…and laugh.

“You look like hell, Spike” Angel is getting a bit hysterical

“ You’re no beauty queen yourself, mate” Spike mocks, then grabs his head. His head feels like it wants to explode. Damn.

At that moment, both of them hear a groan. They go over and see Cordelia…her eyes are open, and she looks pissed. She sits up.

“Where the hell am I? And why am I wearing bag lady clothes?” Cordelia spits out “ Last thing I remember is I’m some kind of ‘higher being’, then poof, I’m here….Where IS here?… eating dirt” She complains.

“Cordy? Is that you?” Angel asks. After the last time, he’s taking no chances.

“ Of course it’s me, Angel…. HEY…what’s HE doing here?” Cordelia panics. She’s looking around for something to stake Spike with.

“Calm down, Cordelia, it’s ok” Angel says. “ It’s just Spike”

“ Calm DOWN? HE’S A VAMPIRE” She yells. “ Sorry, no offense, Angel. I mean, he’s a soulless Vampire!” She still is looking for a stake.

“Umm…pet? Wrong on both counts. I have a soul…and I’m human now” Spike says.

Cordelia just looks at him, not trusting him.

“ Oh, bloody hell…here…” he sticks out his wrist. She warily places her finger on it, and feels a pulse. She looks at him, eyes wide, and mouth open.

“ How…?” She starts, then looks at Angel.

Angel shrugs

“ I don’t know, but me too…” She looks at him. She grabs his wrist… and feels the pulse.

This is just too much for Cordelia to handle, along with everything else

She faints dead away.

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

“…and a time to die”

The three of them stand in a circle.

Will, Buffy and Faith are in a circle, with Dawn in the center of that circle.

There is a design drawn in the sand. A triangle, with a circle in the center. Dawn is standing within that circle, each of the other women are at a point of the triangle.

Each of the women is nervous. They know this spell is particularly dangerous. It draws on their mystic energy. There are no amulets, totems or objects to separate them from the spell. If anything goes wrong, one or more of them could pay a heavy price. But they know there is no choice in the matter. That portal has to close, has to be sealed. Otherwise, the … things on the other side will enter this dimension, and there will be hell on earth. Literally.

The women on the outside join hands. Willow begins to chant the spell.

Artemis, Goddess of the light, hear our plea

Let that which has been wounded, be healed

Let that which has been opened, be shut

Raise the barriers separating us, and heal the rift

Let the seal be unbroken, and let the darkness be driven away.

As the spell progresses, energies begin to swirl around the circle Slowly, it builds, creating a wall of energy. It's bluish white, and grows brighter. Soon the women are encased within the energy

Buffy feels the energy flowing in and out of her. She feels an intense pain… a pain like she has never felt before. She holds on, and keeps silent, but the pain is making her tear. She looks over at Faith, and sees her face. Faith is tearing also, biting her lip to keep from crying out. Slowly, she feels something dropping away from her…and her body seems to be lighter, no longer in pain. She looks at Faith, and Faith is smiling. She can feel Faith’s finger in hers, but it's more. It’s like they are melding together. She hears in Faith’s voice in her mind. “ You’re ready?” She asks… and Buffy knows the answer “ Yes, I’m ready”. She feels the everything dropping away, her body no longer relevant, she is nothing but light. The last thing she thinks, before she merges with the light, is how beautiful Faith is…

Everything in this mystic plane grows brighter, much brighter. The slayer turn towards the light, and are nearly blinded by it’s brilliance. The see a column of pure light reaching for the sky. It curves, and bends, and is directed towards the dark column . They see it engulf the column. Then there is a huge explosion, as the life destroys the column, and seals the portal between the dimensions. Everything is shaken. The slayers, Angel, Cordelia, Spike and the rest, lose consciousness.

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

One by one, they begin to awaken.

The mystic plane, where they had fought the battle, was gone. They were back on the salt flats, spread about. The sun was rising in the East, and everyone is shaken. The huddled into groups, trying to understand what happened.

In a small heap, by the place where they had parked the vehicles, Dawn andlow low awaken. They look around, and smile. It had worked. They had beaten back the Dark, the Gods of Chaos. Then they noticed that Buffy and Faith were not around. They started looking around, calling their names, and trying to find them. Nothing.

They started to get worried. They went to Giles, who was nearby, and told him that they were missing. He went to the slayers, and had them start searching.

Everyone spent the morning, and most of the afternoon, searching for Faith and Buffy, but it was fruitless. About noon, they found Angel, Spike and Cordelia, wandering around about 5 miles away. But there was no luck in finding the Chosen Two.

By late afternoon, it began to dawn on Giles that they wouldn’t find them. Slowly, reluctantly, the others began to believe it too. But not Dawn, and not Willow. They refused to believe what was staring them in the face. Late into the evening, they did everything the could to continue the search, though the others had given up. They used crystals to search for them. Willow used every locator spell she could think of to search for them, their essence, their Auras. But it was in vain. Finally, tired, defeated, they had to face the truth.

They weren’t going to be found

They were gone.

They weren’t coming back.

That is when Dawn and Willow finally broke down. Their legs gave out on them, and they sat where they had stood. The sobs overtook them. Pain and sorrow consumed them. Many tried to console them, comfort them. But they were devastated. They held each other, sharing their grief and sorrow.

There was a general air of mourning over the group. Despite Buffy’s and Faith’s efforts to downplay themselves, they were considered icons of the order. The Chosen Two. The women broke into small groups, talking about them. Those who had known them, had been trained or had worked with them, talked from first hand experience. The others talked of the legends. It was their way to honor them, and mourn their loss.

And as the others began to sleep, making makeshift beds wherever they could, Willow and Dawn stayed awake, keeping vigil.

And they mourned together, silently.

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

Two weeks later, the memorial was held.

It was an overcast day in Los Angeles. The grayness matched the mood of the mourners.

They had decided on a single coffin to represent both of them. They knew, even in death, somewhere, they were together. A picture of the two of them was on the casket. They were smiling in the picture.

Mourners from around the world came to be at the funeral. The cemetery was closed to the public, as their were over 20,000 mourners in attendance. Thentednted to be ordinary… But they had been extraordinary.

The core group was in attendance. Giles, his heart broken, led the group. Willow, Dawn, devastated. Angel, Spike, now human, could stand in the sun, and weep. Cordelia had wanted not to come. Even though her body had been possessed by a demon, she felt somehow responsible. But both Dawn and Willow convinced her that Faith and Buffy would want her there. She cried probably most of all. Even Xander, with his wife and chin, an, attended. It was something he had hoped he would never have to do again… attend Buffy’s funeral. He tried to hide his grief, but you could see it plainly in his eyes.

They had bought a double stone for them, so even there, they would be together. It read:

Elizabeth Anne “Buffy” Summers

1981-2007

~~~~&~~~~

Faith Demarco

1982-2007

~~~~&~~~~

“AS ONE THEY CAME

TO LOVE SO RIGHT

THEIR LOVE A FLAME

IT BURNED SO BRIGHT

WHEN DARKNESS CAME

IT GAVE US LIGHT “

THEY SAVED US ALL AGAIN
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