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Double Trouble by Sandy
 
Chapter 17
 
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The slender vampire dropped the dead weight to the floor of her makeshift bedroom. "You're very heavy, aren't you, puppy?" she said in the slightly bored drawl with which she habitually spoke. After first stripping off his shirt, she reached up and grasped the chains that hung from the wall attaching them to the wrists of the still unconscious Angel. Satisfied, she stepped back and examined her prize. At last she would have something to keep her entertained until she reclaimed Xander and found a way home.

***

It had been a very heated discussion, but at last Giles was satisfied with the assurances he received from Quentin Travers. Addressing Buffy he told his Slayer, "Quentin assures me that everything will be done to rehabilitate her. She will receive the most expert psychiatric care. If she responds, in time she may be allowed to resume her duties."

Buffy frowned not sure that she liked the idea of Faith being permitted to resume Slayer duties. While she didn't want to see Faith killed, neither did she trust the young woman enough to want to see her free.

"Are you sure we can trust Travers to keep his word that she won't be killed, Giles?"

"We really don't have much of a choice, Buffy."

"If we turn her over to the regular authorities..."

"Buffy, you know that really isn't an option. No regular jail cell could hold an unwilling Slayer."

Flashing Wesley a cold glance she said, "The thing is Giles, the Council didn't do too good a job with Faith last time they tried to "help" her."

Wesley stiffened at this reminder of his failure with the girl who had been his first responsibility as a Watcher, but before he could say anything Joyce stepped forward and put her arms around her daughter.
"Honey, I know you feel bad about how things turned out last year with Faith, but you did everything you could to try to help her. She made the decision to try to blame you for the Deputy Mayor's death and she chose to join with the Mayor." Buffy looked up at her mother with tears in her eyes. Gently pushing her daughter's hair back from her face, Joyce continued, "Mr. Giles believes that the Council is the best equipped to help Faith. Let her go with them."

Buffy rested her head on her mother's shoulder and then pulling back nodded reluctant agreement. Although she certainly didn't trust the Council, she realized that she really had little choice than to turn Faith over to them. As Giles had said, no regular jail or prison could ever hold an unwilling Slayer, so the only other option was for the Watcher's Council to take her, confine her and help her as best they could--which Buffy didn't believe would be much.

Very well," Weatherby said, trying his best to sound confident and in charge. "I'll inject her with the dampening drug now before she wakes up." Placing the case on a nearby display table, he opened it up and reached for the first vial.

As sometimes happens when there are a large group of people in a room, nobody was watching the thing that needed watched assuming someone else was doing it. Faith had awakened and was slowly gathering her strength. When she attacked, she took everyone by surprise.

Leaping up, she grabbed the person nearest to her to use as a shield. Pulling the Mayor's gift from where she had it concealed, she placed the sharp blade against Tara's throat. "I don't think I'm going to go to London or anyplace else with you two," she sneered. Moving towards the door and pulling Tara with her she said to the Watchers, "Toss your car keys here." Pushing the blade of the knife a fraction closer to Tara's neck she warned her, "And you better catch them unless you want your throat cut." Smiling wickedly, she relished the soft cry of pain from her hostage as a thin stream of blood ran from the shallow cut on her neck. "Cut deeper, that is."

Willow saw the blood and something inside of her snapped. She was aware of shouts of protest, of Giles trying to reason with Faith, of Spike's rumbling growl. She was aware of all of this, but it was only background noise. Summoning a spell she wasn't even aware that she knew, her eyes turned black, her arm shot forward with finger pointing and she cried out, "Pain!"

Faith stiffened as her mouth contorted into a rictus of agony, the knife dropping from nerveless fingers. Spike leapt forward and pulled Tara away from the silently screaming Slayer as Buffy tried to get Willow to stop the spell. "Willow!" she cried, shaking her friend, "Willow, stop it!" Tara rushed to her lover, grabbing her and begging her to release the spell. It was Tara's voice that finally broke through Willow's rage. With a shudder, she slumped into Tara's arms, knees buckling from exhaustion, blood pouring from her nose. Faith crashed to the floor once again unconscious.

Weatherby and Smith stared in horror at the young witch, shocked at the raw power she possessed. This was certainly something that needed to be brought to the attention of the Watchers Council.

Cordelia felt her flesh creep as she remembered the way she'd treated Willow for years. She looked around for Angel, wanting to ask him how soon they could leave. It was then that she noticed that he had not returned from the training room, even with all the commotion that had just gone on. Frowning slightly, she made her way to the back room only to find it empty and the back door standing wide open. Crossing the room to the open door she called, "Angel? You out here?" The alley was as empty as the training room with the exception of two cars. Wait a minute. Two? Looking around she realized that Angel's black convertible was missing from where Wesley had parked it at the end of the alley. Why would Angel have left? Returning to the training room she at last noticed Angel's coat thrown across the pommel horse.

Entering the shop, she walked up to Wesley and said, "Wes, Angel's missing."

***

Angel came awake to the sensation of his face being hit with a methodical series of stinging slaps.

"Wake up, puppy."

As he groggily regained consciousness, he realized that the voice calling to him was familiar.

"Willow?"

"Yes, puppy, it's Willow. Did you have a good sleep? Are you all rested now?"

Her voice sounded strange. Opening eyes that at first refused to focus, he gradually became aware that he was hanging from chains and that the Willow he faced was not the Willow he had been with just moments? hours? days? before.

Pulling at his chains earned him a headache when Willow roughly shoved his head back into the wall, nearly fracturing his skull. "Naughty puppy," she scolded. "Puppy tries to break his leash, he's gonna be punished." Pushing her face closer to his, she opened her mouth and ran her tongue up the side of his face. "Does puppy like to be punished?" she asked in a sultry tone.

Angel's head was throbbing painfully from both the tranquilizer drug and the blow to his skull. When his eyes were again able to focus he realized that he recognized where he was. "This is the old factory," he said before he could stop himself.

Willow pouted. "Yes, but it's not as nice as the one I'm used to. It's all burned up and nasty. Do you know why it's all burned up, puppy?"

"There was a fire."

Willow banged his head into the wall again eliciting a grunt of pain from the big vampire. "Puppy thinks he's funny. I don't like funny."

Between the head bashing he had received from Spike and now this, Angel felt as if his brains were going to start dribbling out of his ears. As his tormenter moved away from him, he took in a deep breath of air in an attempt to control the pain. When the pounding ache subsided a little, he asked, "How did I get here?"

The young vampire had been picking through a few items laid on top of an old broken table. Turning to him with a wicked grin she held up a set of keys and jingled them at him. "I like your car. Xander always liked your car too. It was fun. He used to love to ram it into things. Did you know that people make the best speed bumps?"

"Xander?" Although the pain in his head was making it hard to concentrate, Angel was beginning to suspect that this vampire Willow was not just a double, but actually Willow from a parallel dimension. Just how she had gotten here, he had no idea.

"Yeah, Xander. You know Xander, don't you puppy? I saw you with the other one, the live one. I don't like him; not right now anyway. But soon enough he'll join me and then we'll all have fun playing together. Wanna play, puppy?"

As she walked back towards Angel, he saw the thin sharp knife in her hand.

***

Weatherby finished the injection and then, pulling her arms behind her back, locked handcuffs onto Faith's wrists. Standing up he addressed Giles, "If I may use your telephone, I'll make sure that our transport is notified that we're on our way." At Giles' nod of permission, he hurried forward to make the call. Buffy walked over to Smith and with a cold expression on her face told him, "I'm going to want to talk to Faith on a regular basis, just to make sure she's still breathing. You make sure Travers knows this."

Swallowing nervously, the Council agent stammered acknowledgement. Weatherby's call was short and soon he was back by his partner's side. "By the time we return to Los Angeles, our plane will be ready to take off. Miss Summers, I personally guarantee Faith's safety until such time as I turn her over to her caretakers in London."

"And then what?" Buffy asked, "You wash your hands of her?"

"Miss Summers, please." Weatherby wasn't sure exactly what the Slayer expected of him, but Buffy merely turned and walked away. She could hardly stand the sight of either of them and just wanted them and Faith gone from her town. The sooner the better.

Smith took the case that contained the dampening drugs and left the shop to get the car and bring it closer to the front of the shop.

"Ah, guys?" Xander inquired diffidently. "What about your dead buddy across the street? You just gonna to let him lie there?"

Weatherby glanced across to the building where Collins had so foolishly lost his life. He wasn't sure if he believed the Summers girl that her vampires hadn't killed Collins, but it hardly mattered. The man was now dead and the mess would be covered up. The Council would see to it. "No need to be concerned, young man. We will take care of everything. No one here will be disturbed." By now Smith had returned to the shop so the two men lifted Faith up and carried her to the backseat of the large dark green Ford now double-parked in front. Weatherby climbed in behind the driver's wheel as Smith returned to the sedan that Collins had driven. With no further acknowledgement of the people crowded around the shop doorway, they drove off into the cool California night.

When the cars were no longer visible on the street Buffy and Spike went back inside. "Giles, Spike and
I are going to take mom home, okay? She's exhausted."

"Yes, of course, Buffy. I think all of us could use a decent night's rest. Xander if you would be so good as to give..."

His words were cut off as Wesley said from the training room door. "I'm afraid we have another problem."
 
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