Two Slayers (1/?)
Faith glanced at Kendra, her heart thundering. After the last few quiet months this was their greatest challenge in quite some time and they were facing it without their friends backing them up. Just great. “You ready Ken?” she asked after a nervous lick of her lips.
She was unsurprised when her fellow Slayer’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Yes, a new school year. I can hardly wait!”
Faith rolled her eyes. Typical, she had to end up with a big sis who was a geek. “You think we can blow up this school after our graduation?”
Kendra looked shocked for a second then giggled. “It could become a Slayer tradition.”
Faith grinned. “Works for me.”
* * *
Jonathan stared at his book list; college wasn’t quite turning out how he’d hoped. Living away from home and sharing a dorm room with his best friend was cool. But some of the tutors were a lot stricter than he expected, more like school teachers than college lecturers. Especially, he glanced across the auditorium to the severe-looking woman stood behind the desk, Professor Walsh.
He’d taken Psych because he was instinctively good at the sciences but Prof. Walsh was tough, almost like Giles when he was instructing Faith and Ken. Opening the door he shoved his book list into his jacket pocket and hurried out. Maybe he could get to the book shop before it closed. Jonathan grimaced; damn he’d left his wallet in his room. Turning, he rushed back to his dormitory. He and Xander were meeting Faith and Kendra later, but if he hurried he could get the books.
Flinging open the dormitory’s double doors he charged in. And fell over an out-stretched foot. As he fell, he curled up into a ball, hitting the ground on his shoulder and rolling up to his feet. He looked up at the four beefy jocks surrounded him and grimaced. Great, just like high school. Remembering what Giles and Xander had taught him about dealing with such situations, he looked the jock he presumed to be the leader dead in the eye as he attempted to step round him.
His heart sank when the jock stepped in his path. “Hey nerd how come a guy like youse has got a hot chick like that babe we saw you with in the college bar last night?”
Jonathan hid a grimace. God, he hated this, every one thought just because he was geeky looking they had the right to try and take Faith off him. “Just lucky I guess.”
“Or,” the bully leered at his mates. “You must be really rich, to afford the cost of hiring a hot hooker like that.”
Jonathan’s temper snapped. They could taunt him all they liked but to insult his girl. Stepping forward, he drove his knee upwards into his taunter. The jock’s eyes crossed and he let out a gasp before doubling up. Jonathan raised his fist to punch the bully only to be grabbed by his shoulder and thrown into the wall by the thug’s companions. “Let’s beat some respect into the midget.”
“Let’s not,” suddenly Xander was between him and the quartet of bullies.
“Hey look!” the guy he’d kneed in the balls had struggled to his feet. “It’s the nigger lover!”
“Want to repeat that?” Jonathan risked a glance out of the corner of his eye. In the foyer of his dormitory stood the TA from Pscyh class with an equally beefy looking African-American and an athletic looking white kid. “Because,” continued the sandy-haired TA. “My friends and I didn’t quite catch it all.”
“This has got nothing to do with you!” blustered the foursome’s leader. Jonathan noted with satisfaction that he was still wincing in pain.
“You go round calling people niggers I say it got everything to do with me,” growled the African-American.
“I’ve told you before,” the TA continued. “We don’t want your sort around us, take your drugs and get off campus or we’ll come looking for you.”
The ringleader glared at the TA. When he didn’t flinch, the bully turned to the others. “Let’s head to The Fish Tank, boys. This is nerdsville!” After shouldering his way past their rescuers, the gang stormed out.
“You forgot this.”
Jonathan nodded as he took the proffered file from the smiling TA. “Thanks?”
“Riley, Riley Finn, this is Forrest,” he nodded towards the shaven-headed black man. “And this is Graham,” he nodded towards the black-haired guy.
“Um, thanks. I’m Jonathan and this is Xander,” he introduced himself.
“Good to meet you both,” Riley smiled. “There’s a party at our dorm on the weekend, would you two be interested?”
Xander glanced at Jonathan and shrugged. “Can we bring our girl-friends?”
“Sure, we’ve just transferred in,” Forrest replied. “So we’d like to meet new people.”
“Great,” Xander beamed at them. “Where and when?”
“Lowell House, Saturday night, 22:00 hours?” Forrest replied.
“We might be a little later,” Jonathan apologised. “But we’ll be there.”
“Great,” Riley smiled at him. “Professor Walsh was impressed with you, said you had a good grasp of the basics and asked intelligent questions.”
“Damn man,” Forrest winked. “Praise off the Prof! You’re a future Noble Prize winner!” the African-American turned to his companions. “We going?”
“Yeah,” Riley nodded towards them. “See you Saturday, guys.”
“Yeah,” Xander nodded. “Thanks guys.”
Jonathan looked at his friend, his brow furrowing as he noticed Xander’s confused expression. “What’s up Xander?”
“I don’t know,” his friend replied slowly. “But when they turned up, they moved into a military flanking position, and 22:00 hours? That’s something someone in the military would say, there’s something off about them.
* * *
“Why did you invite them Riley?”
Riley grinned at his friend. “Because dear Graham,” he put on his best Walsh voice. “This operation is meant to be top-secret and a house that doesn’t hold frat parties where new members and friends are invited, really stands out. Besides,” his friend’s eyes softened. “That Jonathan kid seemed like the sort who isn’t exactly over-burdened with friends. And he seems like a nice guy, a little shy but nice.”
“Doesn’t hurt that him and his bud are dating a couple of kick-ass babes.”
Riley laughed at Forrest’s comment. “Makes it less painless,” he agreed.
* * *
“That was a great party tonight!”
Xander chuckled at Jonathan’s enthusiasm. “Yeah,” he agreed. “It was a shame the G-Man wouldn’t let the girls come.”
“Yeah,” his friend shrugged before shaking his head. “They hunt demons and he thinks they’re too young for a frat party? What’s up with that?”
“Just being the over-protective dad I guess,” Xander replied. He chuckled as he remembered Faith’s language as they’d left, he swore Giles was blushing. His smile died as he noticed something. “Jon, trouble.”
* * *
Tara shivered as she hurried down the dark street, it wasn’t cold or even lukewarm, and yet there was something about this place that sent tingles down her spine. She’d made a huge mistake, her pa was right, she didn’t fit in the outside world, she should have stayed at home.
But she was better than that, she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life as an unpaid drudge for her. She’d been so excited when the acceptance letter had come from Sunnydale, it wasn’t Harvard or anywhere like that, but it was escape. But now…
She tensed up as a trio of youths stepped around her. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing out a night on your own?” asked one, a beefy youth maybe two years her senior.
Tara kept her eyes. “G..going t..to m..my h…hotel,” she replied, her voice
quavering with fear, she was always nervous around people but these men were
different, somehow scarier.
The man laughed, the harsh sound sending her heart racing. “T..to y..your hotel?” the man laughed. “A…a p…pretty t…thing l…like y..you,” suddenly her assailant smiled cruelly. “I don’t think so. We’re going to party and then,” she screamed as the man’s face morphed into something hideous. “You’re going to die.” She opened her mouth to scream but then the man’s fist exploded against her head, sending her plummeting to the ground.
* * *
“Shit.”
Jonathan glanced at his friend. “Doesn’t look good does it?”
Xander shook his head. “Ten vampires, two of us, and one prisoner? You’ve been taking lessons in understatement from G-man,” his friend whispered back. “Go, get help. I’ll stay here and watch.”
Jonathan nodded, then stood. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Xander grinned. “When have I done anything stupid?”
* * *
“Only all the whole time,” Xander muttered to himself as he watched his friend run away. The night they need them, he forgets his mobile phone and Jonathan’s battery runs out. “Harris’ law.”
He grimaced as he saw the leader of the vampires begin to taunt the girl, telling her in graphic detail what she was going to do. Sighing slightly, he stood and checked his weapons. “I’m not going to do anything stupid,” he muttered. “Suicidal yes, but stupid? Kendra’s going to kill me,” he scowled. “If I’m lucky and live through the next ten minutes.”
After a shake of the head he sauntered over to the warehouse door and raised an eyebrow. “No guards? Are we talking amateur hour here?” Raising a foot he kicked the door sending rotting wood flying and the door swinging open. “Hi guys,” he smiled as he entered. God, he hoped they didn’t sense his nervousness. “I’m a neighbour, understand you’ve got a vermin infestation.”
* * *
Sunday’s head snapped up a second a second before the door flew open, sensing the heartbeat of the human. Her lips parted in an appreciative smile as she examined the handsome teen with an air of capability and rugged physique stood in the ruined doorway. Tonight was just getting better and better. First she gets the gem of a runaway with considerable but untapped magical potential. Then, this hunk walks in. “Get him,” she ordered.
The youth’s chocolate brown eyes darkened. “Oh I wouldn’t do that,” his voice was chilling. “See,” her eyes widened as the young man began to juggle a stake. He knowingly walks into a den with ten vampires and starts causally throw his stake from hand to hand, who was he?
“Who are you?” she demanded, slightly unnerved by the youth’s air of apparently unassailable confidence.
The youth’s grin widened, growing akin to a shark’s. “I was there when the Master fell, ugly guy, nice personality though. I’ve backed off Angelus. I was there when Kaiktosis and Trick bought it. My girl-friend staked Spike when he messed with me,” the youth grinned. “In short don’t piss me off. So why don’t you guys mosey out of town, and we’ll forget all about -,” the youth looked down as his stake clattered to the ground. “Oh shit.” He looked back up, his face pale.
“Get him!”
A moment after her cry her two minions nearest the door leapt towards the teen. Sunday’s brow furrowed when the youth grinned suddenly. What was he grinning for? “Lucky I had a back-up.” The teen’s hands came up. In his right, he held another stake, in the left a water pistol. A spurt of water erupted from the muzzle of the gun catching first one and then her other minion in the face. Instantly the two demons screamed, clawing madly at their eyes even as the youth expertly staked them. “Who’s next?”
“Get him!” Sunday screamed, she couldn’t believe this.
At her screech, her other vampires sprang into action, crowding the youth, he managed to catch another two with his water pistol and stake one of the injured vampires but finally he was overpowered and beaten to the ground. Seeing one of her minions morph out to bite the crumpled youth she let out a shriek. “No!”
Her minion turned to her, a look of confusion on his stupid face. “He killed three of us!”
“Exactly,” she snapped. God why were her minions such idiots? ”We need to replace them. And he’s a human who managed to kill three of you, he has potential.” Maybe he could be another Angelus, such strength. He was going to be her favourite, that was for sure. “I’m going to turn him.”
Suddenly there was an explosion of wood behind her. “Like hell!” Sunday’s head snapped around to see a ravishing brunette appear through the back of the building. Her skin crawled as she noted an aura of power around the woman. What was she?
A dark-skinned beauty joined the intruder. “You’ll not be turning my Xander,” she declared.
Sunday swallowed. There was something intimidating about these two girls, almost like she was a rabbit meeting a pair of hunting wolves. She risked a glance over her shoulder to see a short teen and a dangerous looking middle-aged man entering behind her minions.
Suddenly the brunette spoke. “Go and help them look after Xan Ken,” the brunette’s coal-black eyes zeroed in on her. “I’ll take care of queen bitch.”
Even as the last word left her cupid-bow mouth, the husky-sounding girl moved forward at a rate of knots impossible for a human. Before she had time to react, the brunette’s foot was spin kicking into her jaw, knocking her backwards. “Who are you?” she gasped through thundering pain.
The raven-haired beauty’s face creased
in amusement. “You don’t know who I am?” Sunday ducked beneath a left jab to
the nose, countering with a left hook that her adversary caught on the shoulder
before catching her with a heel kick, staggering her. “Boy, have you got
shit-poor luck,” Sunday barely managed to duck under a spin kick and twist away
from her opponent’s follow-up right cross. “My name’s Faith, babe,” the
brunette winked before driving the point of her elbow into the side of Sunday’s
face, sidestepping her attempted retaliatory right karate chop, grabbing her
wrist and twisting it back until the warehouse reverberated to the sound of
breaking bone. “I’m a Slayer.”
Instantly all thoughts of the crashing pain in her now useless right arm fled to be replaced by a gnawing terror. “And,” suddenly the brunette’s eyes chilled. “You tried to hurt my family.” A thudding uppercut lifted her off her feet dumping her on the ground. “Nobody hurts my family.” The last thing she saw was the stake arching down to her chest.
* * *
“A..and that’s my story,” Tara finished before looking nervously at her rescuers. Tonight had been bewildering, first kidnapped by vampires, then Xander, that was his name, had tried to rescue her, and then a pair of uber-babes had rescued her and Xander. And then they’d brought her to the Englishman’s place and told her about Slayers.
“Where you staying Tiger?”
Tara blushed when the raven-haired Slayer spoke to her, instantly her heart began to beat a little faster. The girl was stronger, more confident than those she normally attracted to, but when she looked into those eyes . “At the motel on seventh street.”
“That place’s a shit-hole,” Faith scowled, frightening her a little with her intensity. “No fucking way a bud of mine’s staying there,” Tara looked up from the carpet where her gaze had inevitably descending, they were friends? She’d never had friends before, Pa said it distracted from her work. “G, please,” Faith fluttered her eyelashes.
“Faith-.”
“She’s got nowhere else to stay,” Faith
wheedled. “You didn’t let me stay there and Tar’s got nowhere or nobody else in
town. And she doesn’t have my powers either.”
The middle-aged man sighed. “Very well, why do I bother arguing?” Giles turned to her. “Everybody here pitches in on the Slaying, you don’t have to help patrol but you do have to help research-.”
“I…I’ll help,” she interrupted.
The Englishman looked delighted. “That’s splendid. You can Xander’s old room.”
Xander sighed theatrically. “Ah, how quickly I’m replaced.”
Faith snorted before winking at her and ruffling Xander’s hair. “Yeah, and our new roomie’s way prettier too.”
“And I bet she doesn’t leave the toilet seat up,” commented the other Slayer.
“Oh dear lord,” muttered the Englishman. “I thought things were bad when it was two men and two girls, now I’m really in trouble.”
Faith winked. “Don’t ya know it G.”
Two Slayers (2/?)
Jul ’99 Venezuelan Jungle
“We have it sir!” Juan Hierro beamed at his benefactor, a German industrialist by the name of Fritz von Erich.
“Excellent,” the German’s craggy face split into a smile that didn’t quite reached into his serpentine eyes. “Bring it here.”
Before moving Juan took a second to wipe some of the sweat from his forehead. All this time, four years but his father’s beliefs had been proven true. The old legends had some truth within them, if the Gem of Amara existed then maybe did the vampiros! “Here it is sir,” he passed the ring to the powerfully built man.
His sponsor smiled at him. “Danke schoen Juan. Oh, and by the way,” Juan’s mouth opened to scream but only a croak came out when his benefactor’s face rippled into something demonic. “Time to die.”
* * *
Die Faust scooped up the ring from the muddy ground and slid it on, noticing with interest how the ring’s silver band stretched to fit onto its stubby finger. Taking an unneeded breath he stepped into the light and smiled slightly when nothing happened. “The Hellmouth next.”
* * *
Kendra grinned at her sister Slayer. “Five of them, doesn’t seem fair really does it?”
“Not really no sis,” Faith spat her gum out and winked at the lead vampire. “We gonna get this done guys? I only ask ‘cause girl’s got a trig test tomorrow and a wicked fierce pa who says I’ve got to keep my grades up otherwise he won’t buy me a Harley for graduating.”
Kendra’s head snapped away from inspecting the vampires and to her Bostonian
counterpart. “Giles is definitely buying you a Harley if you graduate?” she
asked incredulously.
Faith winked at her. “Well he definitely won’t buy me one if I don’t.”
“Do you know what we are?” demanded the group’s exasperated leader.
“Vampires,” she replied. “Do you know who we are?” Faith pouted for effect, Kendra grinned before continuing. “We’re the Slayers.”
“Yep,” Faith smirked. “I love it when they get that terrified look in their eyes, makes a girl all tingly.”
* * *
Die Faust’s lips curled up in disdain as he watched the two Slayers tear through the five vampires with ease. “Pathetic, quite pathetic,” he muttered. He had thought taking the Hellmouth would be a simple matter and from there as a power-base he could strike against that Irish bastard Angelus, rip him apart for past indignities, but now…. He winced as the last of the quintet exploded into dust. In his six hundred years he’d killed four Slayers but these two were better than any of those. The neger fought with a discipline and focus that was positively frightening in its intensity while the other girl took an unequalled joy and pride in her kills. Together they were formidable, unbeatable even.
He smiled cruelly, unless you had the Gem of Amara. And then things were quite different. “It’s only polite to introduce oneself,” he muttered as he opened the door of his tinted window limo and stepped out.
* * *
Giles nodded in appreciation of the decorations that he and the others had put up for Kendra’s 18th birthday after ‘blowing off’, he shuddered at the abuses the yanks put his mother tongue under, patrol. His girls might not have had many birthdays ahead of them, his heart clenched painfully at the thought, but he was going to make sure every one of them was special, to make up for the neglect and abuse they’d respectively suffered. It was the least any self-respecting father could do.
His brow furrowed with concern when he
realised that at least one member of the Scooby gang wasn’t getting into the
party spirit. Moving across the room he dropped onto the couch beside the
downcast girl, wincing slightly at her slight nervous flicker. “Tara,” he kept
his voice soft so not to alarm the already skittish honey-blonde. “Why aren’t
you joining in?” the girl had had trouble settling in over the last two weeks,
whenever he and Faith had one of their heated debates or the two Slayers
descended into their bickering, the newcomer would retreat into her shell, a
look of fear on her face, as if expecting the outbreak of violence. She had
started to find her feet a little, she and Jonathan got on well, and she
idolised Faith but something had obviously traumatised her. “Are you ill?”
“N…no, it’s just it’s Kendra’s birthday. You’ve all been so good to me, and I don’t have anything to give her.”
“Now then”, Giles ignored both the girl’s slight flinch and his own reticence to give her shoulders a comforting squeeze. “My dear mother always said, ‘Rupert’,” he heightened his voice range a few octaves and gained the hoped for smile from his audience of one. “’Rupert the best gift you can give is the gift of friendship’. However as a child I never subscribed to that view, always wanting another train for my set. And,” he produced a small package. “So I got you to give her.”
Tara’s eyes widened. “What’s this?”
“A couple of Cds from those infernal bloody boy bands she listens to. About the only good thing you can say about them is at least that sodding death metal crap Faith laughingly calls music.”
“I can’t repay you.”
“My mother had another saying, one that I whole-heartedly agree with ‘re-payment of favours is never needed between friends’. However,” Giles smiled as he came to a decision that he’d been mulling over ever since the destruction of Sunnydale High. “If you insist there is something you can do for me. I’ve become rather bored with my current status as gentleman of leisure, to this is end I’ve decided to open a magic shop. However I will need an assistant.”
“A magic shop?” the girl looked
alarmed. “Me working at a magic shop?”
“Just at the weekends, nothing to interfere with your studies,” he hastened to reassure the worried-looking girl. “Get you some extra money to buy whatever things young girls like.” He didn’t know what they spent their money on and to be honest, given Faith’s lewd winks and suggestive remarks he really didn’t want to. More to the point, Tara needed something to make her more confident. Perhaps the cut and thrust of dealing with strangers on a daily basis would be just the ticket.
“I..I’ll give it a try.” Worry warred with anticipation in the girl’s gentle eyes.
“Then it’s settled.” Standing, he glanced away and shoved the nagging worry that his charges were late. “Plenty of time yet,” he muttered. Still, he couldn’t help but hope that the girls hadn’t run into anything they couldn’t handle.
* * *
Faith’s head snapped towards the stranger. “Oh crap,” she muttered. The giant stood several inches over six feet with the sort of build that would make a WWF wrestler jealous. But the power he was radiating, Kakistos would be hard pressed to match him, which meant he was old. “Ken.”
“I see him,” she relaxed slightly when her sister moved up beside her. “Let’s get him slain, then head home. What do you say?”
“Sounds like a plan Ken.” Faith agreed. God, she was glad the guys had given this patrol a miss. “Flank attack?” her sis nodded. “Go!”
Charging in unison, her on the right and Kendra on the left, they met the on-rushing vampire. Faith grunted as the bastard’s shovel-sized fist slammed into her forehead, knocking her back a step before he backhanded her sis into a gravestone, breaking it in two. Faith spat blood out of her mouth, fuck he was a strong bastard.
Suddenly she grinned. But she was the mother-fucking Slayer and after Kakistos, this prick was nothing. Noting the smirking bastard had moved into a boxing stance she did the same and winked. “How about it ugly,” she winked and cracked her neck. “Ready for a little one on one?”
The vamp let out an inarticulate roar and rushed forward. At the last second Faith left her feet, leaping into a spin-kick that snapped the demon’s head to one side. Upon landing, her knees bent and feet spread to lessen the impact, she ducked underneath the demon’s right cross and slammed a trio of lightning body shots into her rival’s stomach. “Float like a butterfly, hurt like a bitch!”
Her crowing ended abruptly when her adversary caught her with an elbow to the head, knocking her to one knee. “Shit!” Blocking the knee coming up at her face with her forearm and grabbing it with her free hand, she flung the vampire onto his back. “Not the face man! That makes it personal!”
Shaking away the stars circling her head
away she surged upright and charged the demon only for him to roll to his feet
and away from her palm strike to the face. “Who the fuck are you anyway?”
“Such foul language from such a pretty
mouth,” the demon taunted. “If I had the time to train you you’d soon be
singing a far sweeter tune.”
Faith’s skin crawled at the vampire’s words. “Never happen,” she blustered. She feinted a hook to the head before going for a leg sweep, taking the vampire at the ankles. Grinning at the demon’s grunt as it hit the ground, dust flying everywhere, she drew her stake, rushed to the vampire’s side, and plunged her stake into its unbeating heart.
Her eyes widened in shock when the vampire continued to grin up at her. “What the -.”
Suddenly her world exploded in pain as the vampire simultaneously grabbed her left breast and viciously squeezed while repeatedly bludgeoning her face with his other fist. Finally the vampire released his grip on her chest choosing to grab her by the neck and throw her, rag-doll like, to the ground.
“Who the fuck are you?” Faith demanded as she gazed up at her attacker, too stunned and pained to move. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her vial of holy water and threw it into the vampire’s face. Instead of the expected flames, the vampire just kicked her in the ribs, driving the wind from her battered body. Why couldn’t she kill him?
“My name is Die Faust!” the vampire glared down at her, holy water dripping down his vamped out face. “And you will be my fifth.”
“Not likely!” half a gravestone flew through the air to crash into the vampire’s head, knocking him to the floor. In an instance, her sister was by her side, dragging her to her feet. “Can you run?”
Faith looked at the vampire. “From him I can.”
* * *
Heart pounding, Faith unlocked their front door, Kendra standing guard for her. At the third attempt the keys found their way. “We’re in!” she gasped. She just hoped the vamp couldn’t walk in uninvited. “Lounge?” her sister nodded in agreement. She pushed the door open and stepped wearily through.
“Surprise!”
Suddenly there were bodies all around her. Faith’s fist swung out in an instinctive back-hand at the nearest face. At the last second, she realised it was Xander and pulled her arm back. Still, her fist connected, knocking her friend into the couch. “Fuck Xand!”
She hurried over to her dazed friend and helped him to his unsteady feet. “You five by five?”
Her friend smiled then winced. “Any one ever tell you you punch like a girl? Because they were lying.”
“Good lord,” she turned to look at G. “What did you two run into?”
Faith winced as she registered the decorations. Shit, Kendra’s birthday party, yeah she’d forgotten about that. “This vamp called Dick Fast, or some such shit, threw Ken half way across the graveyard, then beat the crap out of me.” Her eyes widened. “I staked the son-of-a-bitch, threw holy water in his face, nothing.”
* * *
“The vampire’s name, according to your description is in fact Die Faust,” Giles sighed. This was bad, very bad. Ignoring Faith’s muttered ‘whatever’ he continued. “He was born Josef Muller, a champion Bavarian bare-knuckles fighter, wrestler, and weight-lifter of the 1480s turned by none other than the Master-.”
“Oh great!” Xander exclaimed. “A trip down Memory Lane!”
Again, he ignored the comment. “For almost three hundred years he served his Sire loyally, earning the name ‘Die Faust’ – ‘The Fist’ serving as his sire’s enforcer, allowing the Master to take over a huge swathe of central Europe, his demonic empire ranging from Brussels to Minsk and all the way down to Bucharest. When the Master simply allowed Darla to run away with Angelus without retribution, he grew disgusted with what he perceived as his Sire’s weakness and left. For fifty years, he and Angelus waged a war across mainland Europe, leaving a trail of corpses behind. Then he moved to Africa and became known by the locals as ‘Death Comes At Night’. Roughly thirty years ago he was sighted in Latin America but since then nothing.”
“Well baby,” Faith winced. “He’s back now.”
“Giles,” Kendra looked terrified. This wasn’t the birthday he’d planned. “Why couldn’t Faith stake him?”
“Yes there is more bad news I’m afraid,” Faith groaned at his words. “There’s been a legend that Attila the Hun-.”
”Wait!” Faith’s eyes gleamed eagerly. “I know this one, we did him in school
last year! He’s the leader of the Huns who brought Rome to its knees in the 5th
Century AD right?”
“Correct,” Giles allowed himself a slight smile at the Slayer’s pride at his praise for academic achievement. She had changed. “At least that’s what the history books tell us. Council legends have it rather different. In their writings Attila was a vampire with the ability to walk in light, invulnerable to attack, empowered by the Gem of Amara-.”
“That ring around Die’s finger?”
Giles nodded at Faith’s question. “Precisely.”
“So,” Xander had a look of concentration on his face. “How come Attila’s not king of the world?”
“He didn’t see Titanic?” Seeing their looks, Cordy bristled. “What? If it’s good enough for Leonardo, it’s good enough for some stinky vampire!”
Giles sighed, sometimes that girl made his head hurt. “Legend has it that one of his subchiefs, sickened by his leader’s butchery, challenged him in the mid-day sun, and beaten down by his master, managed to chop his hand off with his dying stroke. Instantly the vampire exploded into flames and died.”
“Where did this Gem come from?” Xander asked.
Giles grimaced, he hated questions he didn’t know the answer too. “No body knows.”
“Well,” Kendra’s eyes gleamed dangerously. “At least we know where the ring is now.”
“And,” Faith broke in. “How to beat the bastard.”
* * *
Josef smiled and rose as the humans entered his block, taken over from some squatters. It hadn’t taken the Slayers long to track him down, but then it wasn’t as if he hadn’t left a trail of corpses for them to follow. His smile grew wider as he surveyed the group. A purposeful looking Englishman, he recognised the sort, the sort that built Empires and won World Wars, two average looking youths, a striking beauty that had to be a cheerleader, oh, he’d keep her around for a while, the things he would do with her, and a terrified looking girl. He tutted as he looked at the Slayers and shook his head. “Frauleins, is the best you can do?”
“Best we can do?” replied the coffee-skinned beauty glared at him. “Ever wonder what happened to the Master, Kaiktosis, or William the Bloody? They helped take them down.”
Josef’ eyes narrowed, this was more interesting. “Besides,” the raven-haired Slayer flicked her hair back. “Don’t worry about them. Worry about us.”
Suddenly the two Slayers dived to the ground. Behind them, the Watcher and the taller of the two male teens brought up crossbows, aimed and fired. Josef snatched the bolts out of the air with contemptuous ease but was unready to meet the neger Slayer’s drop-kick to his chest.
Grunting at the impact he staggered backwards. Instantly the two Slayers were up and at him, bombarding him with a barrage of fists and feet. Finally he managed a backfist knocking the neger schlampe off-balance. Eyes gleaming, he slammed a foot into her groin, the neger turned grey and crumpled to the ground.
“Bastard!” eyes blazing, the other Slayer increased the intensity of her attack, a right uppercut snapping his head back and a knifehand to the jaw hitting him with all the impact of a wrecking ball. Stunned, he was surprised when the Slayer didn’t continue her attack immediately, choosing instead to grab his right hand.
His ring hand. Josef’ eyes widened in realisation. “I think not mein schatzi!” he growled before clubbing her in the side of the head with a left hook and driving his knee into the girl’s ribs. The brunette let out a pained gasp before falling to her knees, her face showing the effects of both this and their previous battle. Grinning triumphantly he slammed a fist into her head, knocking her on the back. First this one, and then, he glanced across at the neger, the other.
“No!” the Englishman stepped into his path, a grimly determined look on his face and a sword in his hand. The sword came up, Josef grabbed the sword arm at the wrist and drove his forehead into its wielder’s face. Snarling contemptuously, he flung the limp body to the floor. Time enough to deal with the humans once the Slayers were dead.
“LEVIOSA!” suddenly the shy-looking girl let out a scream. To Josef’ amazement the Gem of Amara flew off his finger and fell to the ground.
“Verdammte schlampe!” Eyes gleaming, he started towards the girl only to hear the sound of a crossbow being fired behind him. Spinning round he snatched the bolt out of mid-air before letting out a frustrated bellow, rushing past the youth, shoving him to the floor, and leaping out of the second-floor window. “Scheisse!” But he’d be back and they’d all pay.
* * *
“I…I’m a demon,” Tara didn’t raise her gaze from the floor. She’d swore she’d never use her powers for fear of being further infected or others being hurt, but when that vampire had been about to kill Kendra and Faith, something had just snapped inside her. “I’ll get my things and leave.”
“Ah bullshit.” Tara looked up to see Faith blocking her path, a resolved expression on her face. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“P…please I won’t hurt anyone,” she pleaded. “I…I won’t hurt anyone. Just let me go.”
“You misunderstand Faith,” Kendra said from behind her. “We’re not going to hurt you. Whoever told you that you are a demon was mistaken, you’re a human.”
“B..but my pa sai-,” said Tara’s voice trailed off as she realised it had been a trick to make her stay. The last thing she heard before fainting was Faith’s panicked scream.
* * *
“G-man,” Xander looked up at him, the Scooby having caught Tara as she fell. “Is she going to be alright?”
“She’ll be fine son,” he replied, hiding the boiling rage he felt behind a calm facade. If he ever got his hands on Tara’s father there wouldn’t be enough left for a DNA sample.
“G,” he glanced across at a worried looking Faith. “What is she?”
“She’s a Wicca,” he
replied. He really should have sensed it, probably would if he’d been looking
for it, considerable power too. More than either him or Jonathan. Not nearly
as much as Willow, but a far more stable personality and disciplined mind. “If
she wants I’ll teach her. Kendra, could you help Xander take her up to her
room?”
“Sure Giles.”
Once the two had disappeared he turned to Faith. “What should we do about this?” she asked, lifting the Gem.
“Only a complete
raving idiot would keep it,” he replied. “Destroy it.”
* * *
Giles looked up from his book and cursed. “Bloody marvellous,” he muttered. Even when the kids had gone out for a picnic on a balmy Saturday morning he couldn’t get any peace. “Be there in a minute,” he called.
Three days had passed since the destruction of the Gem of Amara and the besting of Die Faust, in those three days, he mused as he hurried to his front door, Tara had slowly begun to come out of her shell. Simple things really, she still stuttered but entered the conversations more, would contribute ideas, and answer back when Faith or Xander teased her.
Opening the door he furrowed his brow to see a short, fat man in his mid forties. “Yes?”
“Mr. Giles?” he nodded, the man continued. “My name’s Archibald Letchford, I represent the Watcher’s Council.”
“Oh?” Although Giles kept his expression calm he felt his hackles rise. “And what’s your business here?”
“I understand Kendra turned 18 this week? I’m here to discuss arrangements for her 18th birthday test.”
“You better come in.” The moment the man was over the threshold, Giles grabbed him by the collar and shoved him face-first into the wall before slamming a fist into the man’s kidney. His opponent attempted to turn to face him, but a well-aimed kick to the hamstrings sent him crashing to the ground.
Giles waited until the man was on his hands and knees before driving the point of his boot into his adversary’s groin. Instantly the man doubled up and began drying heaving. His lips parted in a snarl, Giles grabbed the Watcher by his collar and flipped him onto his back. “You are not testing either of my girls,” he growled before pounding his fists into the man’s face, shattering his nose, bloodying his mouth, and sending teeth flying. “Tell that to bloody Travers.” Grabbing the whimpering man by his collar and the seat of his pants, he flung him onto the lawn outside before walking out and planting a foot into the man’s ribs, grinning slightly at the resulting crack. “Now piss off you bugger!”
”Mr Giles! What is going on here!”
He turned to his neighbour peering over the fence at him. “Salesman trying to sell me Cliff Richard’s back catalogue,” he explained. “Wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Two Slayers (3A/?)
“But you’re coming to the party tonight right?”
Giles sighed at Faith’s whining. “Faith, I hardly think that a 45 year old respected businessman should be going to a frat -.”
“Who says you’re respected?”
He chose to ignore Kendra’s smart-alec remark. A year ago, before Faith had smashed into their lives, the girl wouldn’t have been so infernally cheeky. But then it was an improvement to her just sitting in the corner only coming out of her shell when Xander spoke to her. But only just. “Faith-.”
“Oh come on G,” the transplanted Bostonian wheedled. “You’re bringing Tara after you close up anyhow. You might as well come in, it’ll be fun, just for some drinky poos?”
“Drinky poos?” Faith had been watching
rather too many old movies. Realising his two adoptive daughters weren’t going
to give in, he nodded. “Very well.”
“Wicked!” Faith put her fingers to her mouth whistled. “Tar!” The Wicca hurried out of the stock room, a quizzical expression on her face. “I’ve got you a date!” the brunette winked at him. “G!”
“FAITH!” the Bostonian giggled before running off, her sister following her. “I swear one day I’ll kill her.” A smile on his face he turned to Tara. “And what pray tell will you will be wearing tonight?”
* * *
“What are you wearing tonight Cordelia?” Kendra asked.
“Wonder Woman,” the cheerleader held up her flimsy costume.
“Fuck C,” Faith’s eyes widened. “That little spandex you’re going to have the guys panting for you.”
The cheerleader showed off her million-dollar smile. “That’s the general idea. What are you two wearing?”
Faith held up her outfit of cavalry cap, buckskin shorts, and denim shirt. “Calamity Jane, Johnny’s going as Wild Bill.”
Kendra held up her outfit, her cheeks reddening at her outfit’s scantiness. “I’m going to as a cave-girl-.”
Suddenly her sister snatched her costume out of her hand. “Wow! Xman,” she lunged at her outfit only for her fellow Slayer to throw her costume to Cordelia, “is going to be a lucky boy tonight! Everything’s gonna be hanging out!”
“FAITH!”
* * *
“It looks great doesn’t it?” Edward looked around the fraternity house with satisfaction. A couple of their frat’s medical students had stolen skeletons to hang by the window, a cauldron filled with punch stood on the table beside the nibbles, chainsaws stood in each corner, and spiders and bats hung from the ceiling. But best of all was the authentic-looking pentagram in the centre of the floor.
“Ow! Damn it!” Edward glanced across at Chaz to see blood dripping from his fellow frat member’s palm onto the floor.
Edward’s eyes widened. “Be careful,” grabbing a rag he hurried over to his friend. “You’ve got blood on the pentagram!” Suddenly he grinned. He’d been worried the blood would mess up the occult pattern but it looked even more real now.
* * *
“Hi Xander,” Kendra looked quickly around the campus as her boyfriend and Jonathan hurried towards her, Faith, and Cordelia before glancing shyly at the ground and opening her cape to reveal her leopard skin bikini beneath. “You like my outfit?”
“Ugh, ah, uh.”
“I think you’ve broken him Ken-. Hey!” her sister slapped a drooling Jonathan across the back of the head. “What are you doing looking at my sis like that?”
A chagrined-looking Jonathan began rubbing his head. “You know I only have eyes for you. And why couldn’t you wear something like that?”
Faith snorted. “Civic responsibility.”
“What?” Everyone turned towards Faith.
The brunette winked. “Didn’t want to start a riot.”
Tuning out the other couple’s bickering, Kendra returned her attention to her boy-friend. “You like my outfit?“ she pressed.
“You look great,” Xander enthused before kissing her on the forehead. “You like mine?”
Kendra stared curiously at her boyfriend’s tuxedo and wrinkled her nose. “It looks very elegant, who are you supposed to be?”
“Why dear,” Xander linked arms with her and winked. “I’m 007, licensed to sweep you off your feet.”
“Ah Mr. Bond,” she giggled. “I’m shaken
and stirred.”
“Well naturally my dear.” Suddenly Xander’s eyes narrowed as a bunch of guys dressed in fatigues ran past them, one of the troops nearly knocking Jonathan over. “Hey guys, party’s this way!”
* * *
“Damn,” Forrest commented through his mouthpiece. “Did you see that Chase girl’s outfit? Makes a guy wish he was heading the same way she was.”
“Keep your mind on operations,” Riley ordered as he hefted his assault rifle. But Cordelia had looked good.
* * *
“Living
easy, living free
Season ticket on a one-way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme
Ain't nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too
I'm on the highway to hell”
“Sounds like this party’s really rocking,” Xander enthused as he opened the door to the frat house and allowed the others in, smiling slightly at his girl-friend as she walked past. He was the luckiest guy alive. “Damn,” he commented as he looked inside, saw the decorations, and watched as shrieking party-goers ran through the house’s corridors. “Atmospheric.”
* * *
Kendra exchanged a worried glance with Faith. There was something wrong here, her Slayer sense was going crazy. “It’s not atmosphere,” she declared. “Something’s wrong, we better get out of here and get Giles.”
“Um,” Xander broke in. “We’ve got a problem, the door’s disappeared.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kendra’s voice trailed off as she looked behind her at her boyfriend to see a blank wall where the frat house door had been.
“Damn it X!” Faith swore. “You moved the door!”
“That’s right, blame me!”
* * *
“I put a spell on you
Because you're mine.
I can't stand the things that you do.
No, no, no, I ain't lyin'. No.”
Giles smiled to himself as heard the classic sounds of Credence Clearwater Revival blasting out from the frat house. At least they had decent soddin’ music, that was something. This truly was going to be hell.
Sighing slightly, he turned to his companion. “Your outfit is most fetching Tara,” he complimented.
The girl coloured. “F..Faith chose it.”
Giles resisted the urge to groan. He should have guessed that the daring valkyire outfit of horned helmet, steel breastplate with conical breasts, leather mini-skirt, black ankle-length cape wouldn’t be Tara’s choice, rather one of his daughter’s ham-fisted attempts to ‘chill Tar out’. She meant well, but as he well knew, Faith could be pushy. “Tara,” he admonished softly, “if you’re not comfortable you shouldn’t let Faith push you around.”
Tara looked up at him, a thoughtful expression on the Wicca’s face. “Put your foot down you mean?”
He nodded, ah she’d got it.
“Precisely.”
“Like you do?” Tara’s eyes widened innocently. “Faith and Kendra don’t have you wrapped round their fingers?”
“That’s different,” he muttered. And it was, both girls had had so little happiness in their lives, in Faith’s case so much actual pain, he wanted to do all he could to somehow make it up to them. That and they were both fated for a short life, his heart rebelled at the thought, he wanted to make their time as joyful as possible.
“S…sure it is,” Tara stopped. “Giles!”
His mouth dropped open when he saw a screaming face through one of the windows and then the window disappear. “Bloody hell,” he breathed. He looked down at the tool in his arm and lifted it to cut through the wall. It was lucky he’d dressed as Jason from ‘The Friday the 13th’ movies. “Step back Tara,” he instructed.
Two Slayers (3B/?)
“What the fuck?” Faith felt her legs buckle beneath her as her strength, the thing that made her special, seeped from her body. No, she took a breath, she had a family now, G, Ken, and Jonathan thought she was special, no matter what. Gathering her courage she started to look for her family. “Jon, Ken, Xan? Guys?”
* * *
Xander stared at the whiskey bottle in
his hand, his head aching at the sobbing of the woman beside him. His hand
clenched in a fist to shut her damn yapping. He shook his head and flung the
bottle into the wall. “I’m not my father,” he muttered before wrapping an arm
around Cordelia. “Come on Cordy, let’s find the others.”
* * *
Jonathan forced away the voices taunting him. He wasn’t a friendless geek anymore, he had a gorgeous girl-friend, and plenty of friends, whatever the voices said. But the others had run off and left him. No, he shook his head, it was the magic it had to be. “Got to find the others.”
* * *
Kendra stared around, her body shaking. Where was Xander? He wouldn’t just leave her would he? She swallowed. “Got to be the magic,” she muttered. If some damn mage had taken her Xander away from her, he’d pay.
* * *
“We’re in,” Giles announced, wiping sweat from his forehead. Using a chainsaw was harder than one would expect.
They’d barely stepped through the newly opened portal when another wall appeared before them. Tara turned to him and snapped. “W…well what are you waiting for?”
Giles rolled his eyes. Another bossy woman, sodding marvellous, just what his life needed to be complete. He had the bloody set.
* * *
“W..we all here?” Faith voice shook, she smiled gratefully as her pale-faced boyfriend as he wrapped an arm around her. She was still special.
“We’re all here,” confirmed Xander who was clutching onto a sobbing Cordelia and a trembling Kendra.
“Wicked,” her brow furrowed as she saw the pentagram in the centre of the floor. “What’s that?”
Jonathan crouched down in front of the pentagram. “Haven’t I seen this pentagram before?” her boyfriend looked towards the shivering party guests at the far end of the hall. “Who drew this-.”
”SHIT!” Suddenly a chain-sawing mask-wearing nutcase came through the wall.
Her heart slowed to something resembling its normal rate when the man removed
his mask to reveal a very familiar face. “Fuck G!” she exploded. “You damn
near gave me a heart attack! Why didn’t you use the door?”
The Watcher raised an eyebrow. “There was a door?”
“Always one for the dramatic entrance G-Man.”
“Xander, don’t call me that.”
“As you’re the one with the hockey mask and the chain-saw I’m not arguing.”
Her Watcher made his way forward, his eyes filled with the concern that always filled her with a warm glow. “Are you all alright?” at their shaky nods, the Englishman turned his attention to the pentagram. “This seems familiar,” G was careful not to step inside the pentagram. “Who drew it?”
“I…I did,” one of the boys raised a shaky hand.
Giles raised an eyebrow. “I trust you
have the text you used to copy it to hand?”
“H…here,” the student rummaged through a bag and passed G a thick, leather-bound book. “Page 37.”
After a few seconds of reading G started
to curse. “OH YOU BLOODY, STUPID WANKER! HAVE YOU THE BRAINS OF A SODDIN’
WALNUT! I OUGHT TO STRING YOU UP BY YOUR BOLLO-.”
”Giles,” Faith was disappointed when her sister interrupted their Watcher’s
flow, you always learnt something new listening to G swear. “What’s the big
deal?”
“The big deal?” Faith hid a snigger, oh yeah he was really pissed. “The big deal is this prat,” his glare was enough to send the student in question into whimpers. “Thought it would be a good idea to draw a pentagram of Gachnar who could only be summonsed into this dimension on one day of the bleeding year!”
“Halloween?” Xander asked meekly.
“Yes piggin’ Halloween,” G cast an angry glance over the assembled students, who, if there’d been a window would have probably jumped out of it to get away from the crazy Englishman. “Have you seen the picture?” Giles flashed them the picture, Faith’s face creased in disgust, he was an ugly-looking bastard. “And who offered the blood sacrifice required to enact the spell?”
“I..it was an accident.”
“Bloody idiots, dabbling in arts they
have no pissing comprehension -.”
Deciding it was best to stop her Watcher before he went off on another rant, Faith grabbed his forearm. “How do we stop it G?”
“Um,” after a final withering glare at the students, G began to translate the text aloud. “Putting one’s foot through the centre of the pentagram will -.”
“Sitch over!” She stamped her foot down hard in the middle of the diagram.
“Call Gachnar forth,” her Watcher glared at her. “Faith!”
Faith swallowed and shrugged apologetically. “Sorry?”
In an instant a blinding yellow light erupted from the hole. Seconds later, Gachnar emerged. A six inch leather-skinned demon. “That’s it?” shaking her head, Kendra slammed a foot down on the demon, crushing him underfoot.
“Ah.”
Faith glanced across at her adopted father. “What’s the sitch G?”
“Remember the picture of Gachnar I just showed you?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve just translated the writing underneath.”
“And?” Kendra broke in.
“It says,” the Englishman coughed. “Actual size.”
* * *
“Now,” Faith watched as G raised a glass of wine. “This wasn’t the Halloween party that we expected but we’ve still had fun.”
“D…do all your parties end like this?” queried Tara from her position on G’s sofa.
The room descended into laughter. “Most Tara,” Xander replied. “But then that’s half the fun.”
Xander stood. “I’ve got an early class we better motor Jon.”
“Walk me home Dweeb?”
“Sure Cordy.”
Faith’s brow furrowed. “I’m going for a run G,” she lied. “Burn some energy.” She’d seen the way Queen C had been looking at her sis’ man and didn’t like it at all. Ken might be an innocent but she was far from that and she was going to make there was nothing going on.
“You can come with us,” Jonathan offered.
Faith’s face split into a smile. “Doubt you could keep up sweetie but thanks.”
“Be careful Faith.”
“Will do G.”
* * *
“Thanks for walking me home Harris.”
Xander shuffled from foot to foot. “You’re welcome Cordy. Cordy,” he licked his lips. “We all said what our fears were but you didn’t.”
Cordelia’s answering pain-filled smile tore his heart into shreds. “Poor, disowned by my family I’m living it Xander.”
“How pathetic,” they turned to see Harmony. “Lost all your money, hanging with King Cretin Harris, god Cordelia could you be any lamer?”
“Go to hell, ow!” Cordelia shrieked as he pushed her back, he swore he didn’t mean to cop a feel, grabbing a well-formed and very large breast was just coincidental. “Harris!”
“Shut up Cordy,” he ordered without taking his eyes off the grinning blonde. “We went to Harmony’s funeral remember?”
“Oh god,” he heard a choked sob from the girl behind him.
“Get out of here Harmony,” he ordered
drawing a stake and cross. “You know how many vamps I’ve killed, you don’t
think you’ve got a chance against me do you?”
The blonde vamped out but to his relief didn’t attack. “I’ll see you again Harris,” she threatened. “Been fun catching up Cordy!” with that final barb the vampire disappeared into the darkness.
His heart still pounding, he turned back to Cordelia. “Are you okay Cordy?”
The former cheerleader slumped against him, fat tears rolling down her high cheeks. “Oh god,” she sobbed. “D..did you see? Harmony, Harm’s a vampire!”
Suddenly his friend was flailing at him,
her fists pounding into his chest as she screamed her fury. Eventually her
anger ran its course and she slumped against him again, sobbing as he held her.
Finally she pulled away. “Kiss me,” she ordered hoarsely. “I need you.”
“Whoa,” Xander stepped back. “You’re my friend, Cordy. And I’m dating Ken-.”
“Fine!” the cheerleader slapped him across the face. “You prey on me when I’m weak, toy with my emotions, then dump me. Who did you think you are Harris?” Turning, the brunette stormed into her apartment.
Xander shook his head. “Well that was intense.” He stepped towards the door and then backed off. “Best give her time to calm down.”
* * *
Faith glared at the run-down apartment from the shadows. She’d seen it all, some blonde bitch insulting Cordy, and then the cow making moves on her sis’ man. She waited until Xander had left before starting to the apartment. Queen C had to learn a lesson about boundaries.
* * *
Harmony muttered to herself as she blundered through the graveyard. She was going to get herself a band of childes together, high school jocks – the sort who used to pound the snot out of Harris. Oh he’d die begging for mercy. And as for Cordelia, Harmony vamped out at the thought of her past leader. She’d been the boss once, but Cordelia was going to follow her soon.
* * *
Riley lifted his gun. “Target sighted.” Pressing the trigger of his rifle, he sent several thousand volts through the blonde vampire, sending her crashing to the ground. “Target obtained,” he intoned. “Let’s take her.”
* * *
Cordelia wiped at her eyes. “God,” she muttered as she peered into the mirror. “I look a mess.” She couldn’t believe it. Xander ‘Nerd’ Harris had turned her down. Just a year ago, she’d had sports stars just begging for just a smile. God, how she’d fallen. Just the thought was enough to start her eyes burning again.
“Yo, Cordy open up you forgot something.”
“Faith?” wiping her eyes dry she hurried to the door and opened it. “What?”
The Slayer grabbed her by her shoulders and slammed her into the wall, driving the air from her body. “You forgot,” she swallowed at the coldness in her assailant’s eyes. “Who Xman belongs to.”
”I don’t know-.”
”Shut up.” Instantly she clamped her mouth shut. “X is a great guy, but he’s
still a guy. You stop shaking your ass at him, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what,” Cordelia summonsed up her courage to spit out a challenge.
”Otherwise.” The smaller girl stuck her face in hers. “Otherwise, well let’s
just Kendra’s a sweet girl, wouldn’t have a clue what to do if a friend betrayed
her like that, it would break her heart. Me,” the Slayer laughed. “I’m street
and Kendra’s my sis. You hurt her C, and I’ll come looking.” Suddenly she was
flying through the air to hit her bed . “Stay away from X, otherwise next time
I won’t be asking nicely.”
* * *
Cordelia stared dazedly at the class board, normally Marketing was easy for her, but after last night’s confrontation with Faith she was in a stupor. “The answer’s tem.”
“Sorry,” she turned to the blonde girl beside her, a transfer student called Anya Jenkins.
“The answer’s 10%, capitalism and the accumulation of money is easy.”
Cordelia looked down at her pad and then at the board. “Thanks.”
“Hey,” the blonde unfastened her
necklace. “This is my lucky necklace, perhaps you should wear it for a few
days.”
“Oh,” Cordelia was strangely touched by the girl’s gesture. “Thanks.”
The next few hours she spent talking to Anya, talking about stuff she’d always wished she’d been able to confide to someone, anyone. Then suddenly, the girl blurted out. “I bet you wish those two girls had never come here.”
“Oh you bet I wish Kendra and Faith had never come to live in Sunnydale in ’98,” she spat, if they hadn’t come she’d have Xander.
Suddenly, the blonde’s necklace flashed and her face turned into something hideous. “Done!”
Two Slayers (4a/?)
Cordelia looked at the other teen, suddenly freaked by her manically-grinning face. “Yeah whatever,” she said uneasily. “Anyway, I’ve got another class, in the University Of Outer Mongolia,” she babbled, warily backing away from the grinning blonde. “Sunnydale,” she muttered. “Where even the humans are weirder than average.”
“Coee! Cordy!”
“And there’s the proof,” she muttered. Forcing a smile she turned to face the no. 1. Cordette. “Hi Harm-,” her smile faded. “Oh crap.” Heart pounding, she backed away from the approaching vampire, her hand darting into her jacket for the cross she kept there. “Get back!”
Harmony looked confused at the cross. “Didn’t know you’d got religion Cor, isn’t that skirt,” the vampire looked at her mini. “A little short for a woman of god?”
Cordelia stared at her friend. What was happening? Last night, Harm had been a vampire, but now crosses didn’t affect her, and, neither did sunlight. “Harm!” she threw her arms around her friend and hugged her. “I’ve missed you!”
“Ugh,” the cheerleader pulled away. “Have you been watching Ellen again?”
“Yeah sorry,” Cordelia couldn’t stop grinning. Harmony back but how? Her smile slipped as she realised the probable source – the Wish. “I’ll have to go see Giles,” she muttered.
“Mr. Giles?” Harmony’s face grew troubled. “Are you on something Cordy? He died remember?”
Cordelia felt like she’d been punched in the gut. “M…Mr Giles, dead? H…how?” it was an effort but she managed to fight back the tears. “What happened?”
Harmony shrugged. “Don’t you remember? It was the night Buffy and her boyfriend went psycho, killed Oz and Mr. Giles, Willow too.”
“And Xander?” Cordelia managed to gasp.
Again her second-in-command shrugged. “You should know better than me.” Before Cordelia had chance to respond to that cryptic statement, the blonde cheerleader paled. “It’ll be dark soon. Call me!”
“Later,” Cordy croaked dazedly as the blonde hurried away. Giles dead? Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought how kind Giles had been to her. The Slayers, first Buffy and then Kendra and Faith, had always been his favourites, but he always had time for her, so unlike her father he didn’t think every problem could be solved by a credit card.
She remembered confiding in Giles about her family’s money troubles. How he’d hugged her as she’d sobbed out her humiliation before helping her find an apartment, writing her references for her landlady and UC Sunnydale, offering her work at his new shop, and even giving her the money for her first few months’ rent, telling her to consider ‘long-overdue payment for her assistance in Slaying’. And now he was dead – because of a wish she’d made.
* * *
“Hi Cordy.”
Cordelia looked up from the park bench she’d stumbled to after the shocking revelation of what her wish had done. She smiled weakly as she recognised her thickly built classmate. “Hi Larry,” looking round she realised she must have been sat sobbing for hours; it must nine at night at least.
“Hi Cordy,” Larry repeated. “I know someone who’d like to see you.”
“Oh yeah,” she muttered. “Who’s that?”
“My sire,” her blood chilled as Larry’s face morphed into a vampire’s. She opened her mouth to scream but only a croak came out. “I’m not into girls but he is, and he likes them soft and screaming.”
“I don’t think so.” Suddenly Larry exploded into dust to reveal a pissed off Xander standing behind where the vampire had been, flanked by Amy and Jonathan. Cordelia opened her mouth to babble out a thanks but before she had chance to, Xander grabbed her by the elbows, yanked her to her feet, and, most surprisingly, crushed his lips to hers and slammed his tongue into her mouth. Shocked, Cordy started to pull away before getting into it, pressing her body against him even as Xander slid his callused palms up the back of her smooth legs and beneath her skirt to cup her well-rounded buttocks.
Just as suddenly Xander pulled away, Cordy attempted to follow him, intent on continuing the kiss. Her face exploded in pain as Xander, backhand slapped her across the face, knocking her to the ground. She stared up at the man in disbelief. “Damn it Harris, who the -.”
The Scooby’s cold voice interrupted her. “You stupid little bitch,” he grated. “You know the streets of Sunnydale aren’t safe for anyone after dark. We had to risk our lives to find you, if Amy hadn’t cast a locater spell we wouldn’t have found you in time. And you,” the man crouched down, grabbed her by the elbow and yanked her to her feet, ignoring her protesting yelp. “You’re number 2. on the wanted list.” Xander shook his hand. “The things he’d do to you, you’d take weeks to die if he got his hands on you and be glad when you finally did.” The man’s face crumpled slightly, revealing the scared kid beneath. “I can’t lose you too.”
Her head still ringing from the blow she managed to blurt out a question. “Who?” suddenly she had the answer, if Kendra hadn’t come here like she wished… “Angelus?”
Xander cast her a puzzled look. “Angelus? He’s old news. I’m talking about Giles.”
* * *
“This Rupert Giles used to be one of yours right?”
Wesley nodded at his charge’s question, wishing it was just the two of them in the van so that he could pull into a lay-by, climb into the back with her, and fuck some of the tension he felt out of the both of them. Unfortunately the Council had deemed their mission so dangerous that the other Slayer, Kendra, and her Watcher, Sam Zabuto, had been called in to assist. “Indeed Faith,” he glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her. Later, he soothed himself, there’d be time to play later. “Giles was a former dark arts mage and small-time London thug who was selected as a Watcher due in part to his family connection, but mostly because of his martial skills, magical ability, and extensive knowledge of demonology. Even before he was turned he was a formidable enemy. Now…”
“And he was field watcher for Buffy Summers? The legend?” this was from Kendra.
Wesley grimaced. Given the papers his father had furnished of the unedited Giles diaries Wesley suspected what she’d achieved was rather more due the accomplishments of her Scooby gang than anything Summers herself had managed, and her high-handed behaviour over the Angelus affair, utterly shameful – she should have been put down by the Council black-ops unit. Deciding his charges didn’t need to have their confidence on what they accomplish knocked by decrying their fellow Slayer he agreed. “That is so.”
“How did it all go to shit, Wes?”
“We don’t know Miss Faith,” Zabuto put in. “Mr. Giles’ last report was a fortnight before his fall. Since then information has been patchy.”
“So we’re flying in blind?” Faith groaned. “Hoo-fucking-ray.”
“Miss Faith,” Zabuto admonished. “That language is not befitting of a Slayer.”
“Hey Zabbie,” Faith shot back. “Bite
me.”
“Do not speak to Mr. Zabuto like that!” Kendra snapped.
”See my finger?” Faith growled. “Sit on it.”
Wesley groaned. It was going to be a long drive. He thought he’d taught Faith about her attitude but obviously he’d have to have further words.
* * *
Giles shuddered with delight as the magical alarms surrounding Sunnydale were breached. “The Slayers, both of them.” He beamed, his eyes flickering golden as he ran his hand down his sire’s and subordinate’s soft neck. “Oh Buffy, soon they’ll be ours to play with so soon,” he purred. His master plan was coming to fruition.
“Can I keep one?” Buffy’s eyes gleamed with the insanity that had always been there since Angelus had turned her. Something to do with the Slayer within he suspected, although it was only a theory.
Smiling at her enthusiasm for torture, she was a sadistic little bitch, he didn’t know what he liked best – watching her torture the resistance members they caught or their time alone in their bedroom, he ran a finger across her lip. “You can play with them both for a few days,” he promised.
“Use my toys, make them scream?” the Slayer-Vamp pressed.
“Make them scream,” he agreed. “I’ll look forward to seeing how creative you can be,” he encouraged.
“I still say luring two Slayers here is foolish.”
Giles raised an eyebrow at his grand-sire’s comment. “And I don’t much care what you say Angelus. You never had much forethought or intelligence. I preferred your soulful counterpart,” the Irish vampire snarled, Buffy stepped between them, her own mouth parted in a warning growl. The former Scourge of Europe backed down, his eyes burning with frustration. Giles snickered. It had been his gravest mistake, turning Buffy, a turned Slayer was uncontrollable, and when Buffy had turned him – his knowledge and organisational skills had soon allowed him to overthrow the powerful but not very smart vampire. With his power-base of Spike and Drusilla dead, Angelus lived only at his sufferance. “Be a good boy and get Mr. Trick, I need to learn more about this Faith bitch.”
* * *
“This the place Wes?”
Wesley peered at the factory before
nodding. “According to the message the Council received, yes.”
“Only one entrance, high windows, and a stout door, probably has a hidden exit,” Faith nodded approvingly. “They chose well.”
“They did,” Wes agreed. “Mr Zabuto, do you mind giving me a moment to talk to Faith in private?”
The other Watcher nodded shortly. “Kendra follow me,” he snapped.
Once the duo had disappeared, he turned to Faith. “Get out,” he ordered, his voice hoarse with desire.
Once they’d climbed out of the van, Faith turned to him, her mouth opening. “I’m sorry -.”
Blood thundering, he pushed himself against the lithe brunette, slamming her back against the side of the van. His hands moved under her tube top, pulling it up to gain better access to the treasures contained within, he pressed his tongue into her ear and whispered. “Do I need the cuffs, or will you take your punishment like a good girl?”
“No Wes,” the girl moaned. “I’ll be a good girl.”
A triumphant snarl parting his lips, he grabbed the Slayer’s raven-dark hair, so silky to touch, and yanked her head back, marking her as his property by sinking his teeth into her soft, creamy-white neck. The Slayer whimpered but didn’t resist, knowing that to do so would only prolong and worsen her disciplining. Finally he pulled away, grinning at the slight bruise he’d left on her neck. “Get your clothing straight,” he ordered brusquely. “You might be a bloody tart but you don’t need to be so obvious about it.” Turning away he strode towards where the other Watcher and Slayer were waiting. “And be quick about it!” he called over his shoulder.
* * *
“Yes Wes,” Faith muttered as she pulled her tube back over her breasts, wincing slightly at the welts his rough handling had left, the bruises from last night still fading. It had all started so well. After killing Kaiktosis after he’d killed her first Watcher, Wes had arrived. He’d seen so refined and reserved, but she’d noticed the looks he sneaked at her when she was shining with sweat after their training sessions and decided to take advantage of his lust. After all, it he was ‘emotionally involved’ with her he’d be less prone to send her on suicide missions, give her more time to recover from injuries… And the only way to get a guy attracted to her was by using her body. It wasn’t like any went for her for her personality or mind.
Instead she awoken a monster. Where she’d expected a vanilla guy whose needs she could take care off by short sessions, she’d found a Satyr. Talk about repressed, she thought she’d done everything by the time she made fourteen, but Wes was a whole different ball game, some of the shit he liked to do made her skin crawl. And now she was trapped with him until death. She rebelled at the thought of killing another human and even if she didn’t, she knew the Council would come after her hard. “What a fucking life.” She didn’t get it, she figured a geeky guy like him would love having a babe like her, make him want to keep her alive, look after her the best he could. Instead, it was like he hated her, loved having the power to hurt her. “Seriously fucked up.”
“FAITH!”
She groaned at the pissed off tone. The slightest indiscretion was punished severely, any excuse used. “Coming Wes,” she called. Entering the factory, she found them surrounded by twenty crossbow-wielding youths. “Oh shit.” Maybe her escape was at hand after all.