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Heart's Desire	By : PencilNeck Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > FemmeSlash - Female/Female > Buffy/Faith Views: 9582 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
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
- 8
- 9
- 10
Chapter 9: Dancing
With Tears In My Eyes

�Wow�� Faith is
always impressed by it. But who wouldn�t
be? A huge banquet hall converted into a
training centre and deployment area. And right now, almost two-hundred women moving in synch, going
through an extremely difficult series of defensive poses.

�OK, that�s good for today.
But you�ve got to have these down.
Like in your muscle memory. Otherwise it�s all just line dancing.� Kennedy�s voice comes through cleanly over
the light shuffling and whispering of this large mob of girls.

�Hey Junior, aren�t you gonna show the minions your
moves?� Faith slinks her way towards
Kennedy�s voice.

Kennedy grins.
Sparring with Faith isn�t on the agenda, but it�s sure to be
entertaining. One look at the eager
crowd, and she knows there�s no way out of this.

Faith kicks off her shoes, and throws her jacket over the
vaulting horse. She tilts her head left,
then right, cracking her neck. Gets into a defensive position. Then, very deliberately, she hooks her thumbs
into her back pockets. Grinning like an
idiot.

Kennedy scowls. �You
think you�re soooo good��

Faith flashes past the girl, and grabs Kennedy from behind,
locking her arms around her waist. She
presses her body up against Kennedy�s back, and whispers into her ear, �You
know it.� Kennedy goes limp, slipping
out of the hold. As she falls, she spins
around and kicks Faith�s legs out from under her. Faith goes down. In unison, both girls roll back onto their
shoulders and flip to a standing position.
They exchange punches and blocks, kicks and elbows. This match is turning out to be quite the
stalemate.

�Yeah!� Kennedy gets a light punch through. Faith rolls her eyes, and blows a kiss to her
girl.

Now Kennedy�s wearing the smirk. �You gonna stop flirting and start
fighting?� She turns her back on her
opponent. �Or maybe you don�t see a
difference��

Faith comes at her with a furious combo of hooks and
uppercuts, but Kennedy�s anticipated this, and blocks every shot with smooth movements
and dodges. To the class, she says
�Don�t let your guard down, ever. But
sometimes you can draw your opponent out by making them think that you have� And please notice the series of blocks I�m
using is part of what I showed you today.�
Kennedy glances briefly at the class.

And Faith takes the opportunity to slam Kennedy down on the
mats, straddle her, and bring her elbow down within inches of the girl�s
throat. She winks down at the
instructor. And
releases her, starting to get to her feet. �Yeah, what she said. About the guard. But also, very important.� She offers her hand to Kennedy, and helps her
up. �Use every chance to take your enemy
down. �Cos it might be your only shot. Don�t
fight fair. Don�t be noble. Every fight is to the death. And we�d all prefer if it wasn�t yours.�

Kennedy looks up at the older girl. Leans into her and wraps the girl�s arm
around her waist. She whispers �You�re
such a show-off!�

Faith grins down at her.
�Takes one to know one��

Kennedy rolls her eyes.
�And you say I�m a brat...� And
then Faith is kissing her.

A loud wave of giggles and woo-hoos turn Kennedy�s
head. She�d forgotten there was an
audience� �Mmmmm. Class dismissed�� She turns, back to Faith. Back to kisses.

****************************

Dawn turns into a little side street, packed with quaint
pubs and stores that sell dusty trinkets and antiques. It�s
down here... Yes� Here it is.

Dawn pushes the creaky red door open and ducks into the
small warm shop. The old fashioned bell
tinkles above her head, and there�s a stirring of papers and a shuffling from
the back of the place.

Dawn walks slowly to the desk, careful not to topple the
piles of books laying on the floor in very precarious
stacks.

�Hello? Mr.
Campbell? I called earlier��

�Hallo� Erm, yes.. Be with you in a
minute!� The shopkeeper emerges from
behind a faded blue curtain, wiping a dark tea stain from his shirt with a
handkerchief. He looks up.

�Ah! Hello again
lass! We�ve met, yes? You�re from the university?� He peers at her over his wire rimmed glasses,
smiling wide.

�Yeah! I can�t believe you
remembered me�� She reaches out to shake
his hand.

�Ach! What kind of man would I be, not to remember
a lovely thing like you?� The old
gentleman takes her hand and kisses it lightly.
And from him it�s gallant, not gross.
�Now, what can I provide to ye on this fine day?�

�A book, the Macto Oraculum, I think�� Dawn fiddles nervously with the edge of the
desk. �I need it for a research
paper�� She says quickly, not looking
up.

�Oh, yes�I remember.
Very good! Lucky to have found
it� Took me months to track it
down� I should have it around here� somewhere�� Mr. Campbell looks studiously around. �Ach! Perhaps in the very back�� And he totters off to the back room,
mumbling to himself.

Dawn waits by the desk, peering over to look at the piles of
knick-knacks and parchments littering the floor behind it. She rocks back and forth on her heels. She hums softly to herself, some new pop song
that�s climbing the charts. The smell of
this place is musty and familiar. Like
the Magic Box. Like
home.

�Aha! I�ve found
it!� Mr. Campbell returns, triumphantly
waving the book over his head. �I knew I
had it somewhere... Very rare you
know... Only three copies�� He hands her the book, watching as she flips
quickly through the pages. �Beautiful
calligraphy though. An excellent example
of��

�This is the one.� Dawn says
softly, looking carefully at the hand written pages. She reads the first few lines quietly to
herself. Then she closes the book,
almost reverently.

Dawn lays down an exorbitant amount of cash for the book. She puts it carefully into her oversize bag,
and with a quick wave to the old man, she�s on her way.

The bell above the door sounds her exit, and then fades away. Mr. Campbell waits a moment. Then he picks up the phone, dials a familiar
number.

�Mr. Giles? She�s just gone
now. What a lovely girl. I tell you, if I was thirty years
younger�� Mr. Campbell frowns. �Yes, yes Rupert. I know� She bought the book. Stubborn one you got there. And smart as a whip. Not many girls can read Latin these
days� Aye. You�re correct, of course� Goodbye, then.�

Mr. Campbell hangs up the phone.
He sighs, shaking his head as he shuffles back behind the curtain.

****************************

Giles hangs up the phone. He
removes his glasses and places them on the desk. Rubs his forehead with his
thumb and forefinger. Why doesn�t anybody do what they�re
told?

Leaning back in his chair, he looks glumly at the mounds of paper piling
up on his desk. Being the head of the
new Council�s Research Division is a painful exercise in bureaucracy. It�s times like these he misses just being a
watcher and high school librarian.

He slowly opens the drawer in his desk.
Fiddles underneath it for a minute. There�s a popping noise, and a creak. The bottom of the drawer opens up, and he
reaches into the secret compartment and pulls out an ancient looking leather
bound book. On the cover, embossed in
gold leaf, are the words MACTO ORACULUM.

He opens the book, and reads over the phrases that he knows already by
heart. He�d been hoping to keep this to
himself a little while longer. But now�

He must prepare. And he must be
very careful. One mustn�t panic�

****************************

Buffy sits in the waiting area, watching the people come and
go. Watching the
planes take off and land, spilling their passengers into the wide halls, and
then sucking more up before departure.

She looks at the departure board. Where hasn�t she been? Where can she hide? Where can she afford to go on her waning
stash of cash? �Eenie, meenie, minie,
mo�� She cheats, and picks her
destination before she has to finish the rhyme.

She stands, and slowly gets in the short line to buy her
ticket. Soon she�ll be on another plane,
squished into a tiny seat with no leg room, eating her third bag of salted
peanuts in a row. But she�s gotta keep
moving. Gotta keep
running when that tingle hits the back of her neck.

But she can�t get far enough away. Faith was right. She dreams about her still, about watching
her sleep. But sometimes, when she�s
tired or distracted, she can see her.
Sees her smoking at her window, or talking to someone in the halls. At times she�ll get quick flashes. She�ll just know that Faith�s laughing at
that moment. Or that she�s working out�
getting all sweaty and out of breath... With the heaving� and the sweaty� Which brings on a whole thing, and she�s all
about the not dealing. Which comes right back to the running.

Buffy sighs, ticket in hand.
Maybe far enough away doesn�t exist.

****************************

Faith walks in to the meeting room, quietly shutting the
door behind her. She�s late, again. She quietly slips into her seat at the head
of the table, shrugging an apology to the rest.
She looks around the room. Small meeting.
Xander, Dawn, Giles. Only Willow missing from the gang. But
she�s been gone for ages�

Giles gives her a worried look, and clears his throat.

�Erm� well. I suppose I should get right to it, now that
everybody�s here.� Giles pulls a worn
book from the bag beside his chair, and places it on the table. Dawn glares at him, and looks away.

�This is the Macto Oraculum, which translates from the Latin
as roughly The Slayer Prophecies�� Giles
says carefully. �The old council thought
the book to be a myth. But after the
loss of their library in London, I
began a careful search. I acquired it at
some expense, through Andrew in Rome. I have had it in my possession for a few
months now.�

Dawn fidgets in her seat.
Fuming.
Xander looks at her, then at Giles.
Then at Faith.
They share the same surprised, confused look.

�I have read it, and have been working to decipher it�s content. I
honestly had no intention of sharing what information I had, until I was
certain of my theories.� Giles looks at
Dawn. �But after talking to Dawn, she
has convinced me that you all need to be informed of what�s coming.�

�Cos I was gonna tell you if he didn�t.� Dawn can�t keep her mouth shut anymore. �I�ve read it too, and everything that�s
happened is in there, one way or another. It even says something about a slayer army��

�So we�ve got a creepy book that tells us what we already
know. How is this secret
meeting-worthy?� Faith pipes up.

�Because, Faith� The information in this book is older than
the Latin translation that I�ve acquired.
It is believed to be older than anything we may have on record. There are prophecies here that are known to
have been fulfilled well before civilization as we know it. And, of course,
there are prophecies that have not yet come to pass.� Giles looks at her meaningfully.

Faith opens her mouth, and then shuts it again.

�There are writings in here about slayers past and present
and future. We are unsure of whom some
of these events refer to. Since there are so many slayers. And so many more outside
our organization. That�s why I
felt it might be best to gather more information before��

�Whatever, Giles.� Dawn spits out. �I read the same thing you read, and I came
to the same conclusions. And I cross
referenced with about a dozen other sources, and the freakin� Codex. It�s all pointing to the same thing. You just don�t want to believe it.�

Dawn turns to Faith.
�It�s in there. What happened
last year. It�s
all obscure and vague, but it�s there.
Stuff about the Chosen. You and Buffy were the last slayers to get
chosen. So that means it�s about you
two.�

Faith looks away.

�Ok, you two. Enough.�
Xander is done with the pussyfooting.
�What does the book say?�

Dawn looks penetratingly at Giles. He opens the book, with a deep sigh.

�There are many references to �the One become two become
one�, which Dawn believes is referring to you and Buffy. There is reference to the origin of your
calling, after Kendra died. There is
much about your time in Sunnydale. An then there is this��
Giles reads the passage, translating as he goes.

�Each will see the other fall. Their sacrifices unmade. The Chosen bound by
silver. Must heed the
other�s call.� Giles looks up
from the book.

�Look. I�ve read the
thing. All of it. Under all the poetry and cryptic crap, it�s
basically saying that if we don�t get Buffy back in the fight, that the world
as we know it will end and both of you will die.� Dawn says the last part very quickly.

�Not necessarily, Dawn��
Giles begins. �There are
factors��

�Huh.� Faith raises
an eyebrow. Something clicks in her
head.

�I don�t know if you heard that last part, Faith. About the death and world
ending?� Xander looks at Faith,
who nods. �And you say huh?�

�Pretty much.� Faith lets out a breath she didn�t know she
was holding. �Unh, I guess now would be
the time to tell you some stuff.�

Faith explains the nightly slayer dreams. Without all the sexy parts,
of course. Explains the change in
intensity since their flashy mind meld... The moments when she can
sense her. The feeling that if
she just reached out, a little�

�Why haven�t you said anything before? Giles is all flustered.

�I dunno. They can be
kinda� private.� Faith actually blushes,
a little. Hardly
noticeable, really.

�You�re saying you�ve got a direct line to Buffy�s
head? Have you ever tried to, I dunno,
call her?� Xander can�t quite believe
this.

�Not tried to. It�s
mostly when I�m not doing anything. When my mind wanders.
I get flashes. Like, I�ll see her,
what she�s doing at that moment. Or I�ll
know she�s craving pizza. Stuff like that.�

�That�s so cool.�
Xander and Dawn owe each other a beer.

�That�s extraordinary.�
Giles ponders the possibilities. �Truly extraordinary.
Quite a gift��

�Yeah. It�s great.�
Faith deadpans. �I hafta try to
control my head all the time. And when
I�m asleep, she�s there. Every night. It�s a freakin� nightmare!�

�So you�ve never purposefully attempted to make contact with
her? Talk with her? Improve your connection?� Giles is almost talking to himself. Cleaning his glasses
thoughtfully.

Faith just glares.

�Faith, slayer dreams are more than an annoyance. They are prophetic, and your connection to
Buffy has saved both your lives in the past.�
Giles puts his glasses back on, and peers at her from overtop of
them. �In your dreams, Buffy is asking
you specifically to bring her home.
Don�t you think that might possibly mean something?�

�No way!� Faith shakes her head. �I�m not gonna go into her head. I�m not begging her to come back. She�ll come back when she�s ready.�

�She may never be ready, unless she knows that you forgive
her.�

Faith shoots a defiant look. �Well, I don�t know if...�

�I know that she hurt you�� Xander starts.

�Hurt me? HURT
ME? Xander, are you stupid as well as
half-blind?� Faith attacks with both
barrels. �None of you have any
idea�� Her mind wanders. To places in the dark.

Dawn tries to get through to her.

�Hey, you�re right.
We don�t know everything that happened.
And we have no right to expect you to forgive her on our schedule.� She
stares pointedly at Giles. �But I know
that the prophecy is real. And I know
that I care too much about you, and Buffy.
I don�t want you to die. Either of you.� She
reaches out and places her hand over Faith�s.
Faith lets her.

It�s silence for a while.

�Can�t you send out a team?
Maybe Xander could�� Faith knows,
but she has to ask.

�I don�t think Buffy will respond to anyone but you. It�s you that she can�t face.� Giles says gently.

�Does anyone know where she is?� Xander asks.
�I mean I know we said no contact, but��

�No. Any time she
pops onto the radar, she�s gone before we can verify any information.�

Faith slowly gets up from her seat. �I�m uhn, gonna need some time� to�� A bit dazed, she waves to the group, and
walks out of the room.
- 8
- 9
- 10
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Heart's Desire