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Rebel Prince by facingthesun
 
Chapter 20
 
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A/N: Again, a line or two from 'Who Are You?'

Chapter 20

“Man, this is sweet!” Faith said, still in awe over her recent transformation. She studied her new set of hands and spread her fingers wide before running them down the sides of her body. “Now I know how it feels to be in your boots, B. Got to say, I’m comfy already.”

Buffy didn’t respond, her eyes growing wide as the team of police officers crashed into her mother’s dining room. “They’re after me,” she whispered. “They think that I’m you.”

“You are me, babe. They don't care about who you are on the inside because you're wearing the right costume. They’re going to hunt you down. You’ve got the face of a cold-blooded killer.”

“You won’t get away with this!” Giving Faith an angry shove, she headed towards the stairs at full speed. To make sure that the other Slayer wouldn't be getting to her feet anytime soon, Buffy grabbed random cops as they charged at her and tossed them on top of Faith.

“Great. All cops must have guns,” she mumbled, crouching as she ran, bullet holes peppering the wall the behind her. Buffy went directly to her room and opened the window. “Here’s hoping that I land on my feet.” She glanced at the ground briefly before jumping out of the house.
***

“They’ll take care of her. I don’t want to waste anymore of my time, besides I want her to be chased a little. A game of cat and mouse will do her some good. She needs some cardio after being in that coma for so long.”

“Buffy, are you positive? Having Faith free to run the streets does not seem like a good idea.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jeeves,” Faith said, giving the Watcher a light punch on the shoulder. “If she gets too rowdy, I’ll help the boys in blue out.”

“Oh, Buffy! I'm so happy to see that you're okay!” Joyce exclaimed, giving her a tight hug. "I can’t believe the nerve of that girl!”

"Ah," Faith awkwardly held Buffy's mom and patted her on the shoulder, “yeah, she’s a real pain in the ass." Once Joyce let go of her, Faith took three steps back. "You know, guys, I’m kinda bushed from fighting the big fight; I think I’ll just run upstairs and,” she paused, noticing that a man was staring at her from across the yard. Her eyes narrowed, her Slayer senses instantly recognizing him as a vampire.

“I’m sure Spike won’t mind if you stay the night. Your room’s always open, honey.”

“Spike?” Faith repeated, the name sounding vaguely familiar. “Oh, I remember, William the Bloody..."

"Come on, guys. I know who he is,” she laughed, after catching Joyce and Giles as they exchanged concerned looks with each other. “I may have gotten knocked around, but I wasn’t hit that hard. Here, I’ll even prove it. Me and the vamp will have a confab, alright?”

“Hey,” she called, walking to where Spike was leaning against a tree, “aren’t you going to see if I’m feeling okay or are you just going to sulk there in shadows?”

“We should go after that girl, pet. She’ll take out all of Sunnydale’s police force in one swoop. They may be a flock of idiots, but it’s the right thing to do.”

“It’s the right thing to do? I’m guessing that they aren’t making evil here like they used to.”

“Tell me about it. It pained me just to utter those last few words.” Spike smirked and took a few steps towards her. “It’s up to you, but I wouldn’t mind bagging another Slayer. Three’s a magic number, you know.”

“If you insist, go for it,” she shrugged. “It won’t hurt my feelings if she bites the big one. I already stabbed her once.”

“Alright then, we can pick up some weapons and--.”

“Whoa. We? You look like a big boy; I don’t think that you need a babysitter. I softened her up for you. You can do the rest,” she said, ending their conversation by turning on her heel.

“What’s your deal?” she demanded once Spike grabbed her arm. “Don’t get crazy on me just because I don’t want to work anymore tonight! I did my part already!”

“Buffy, what-are you acting out because of earlier? I was more than lenient--.”

“Get off.” Faith jerked side-to-side, trying to get out of his grasp. “I don’t know what your problem is, but--.”

“My problem? What’d she do to you?” Spike gave her a hard shake and looked her in the eye. “If you don’t want to fight her, I don’t care. Don’t be a bitch about it.”

“Let go of me or you’ll be sorry.”

“Buffy--.”

“Okay, that’s it.” With a growl, Faith smacked her forehead into Spike’s, causing him to stumble back in both pain and surprise. “I’m not sure what we were to each other-if we were fighting buddies or whatever,” she kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying into the tree, “that’s going to change from now on. I fight alone. You got that? I don’t need any backup and especially not from a fucking leech like you. If you want to chase around the other Slayer, do it. Have a party. I hope she dusts you.”

“Creep,” Faith muttered as she walked away, leaving Spike staring at her in disbelief.
***

Buffy closed the heavy door of the crypt and collapsed against it. “Oh, this is bad,” she panted, closing her eyes. She slid to the ground and felt sorry for herself until a little jingling noise caught her attention.

“Mr. Kitty, come here.” Buffy patted her leg and was relieved when the cat came to her. “Do you recognize me or are you just a friendly little boy?”

As Buffy petted the kitten, he purred and leaned into her touch.

“What have you got here?” Smiling, she touched the homemade collar that was carefully fastened around its neck. “And he claims to be a big bad,” she said, playing with the silver bell and knowing that Spike had constructed the temporary collar.

“God, I hope Spike knows that she isn’t me.”

Getting to her feet, Buffy went down the ladder and into their bedroom. She walked past their bed and stopped in front of the bathroom mirror.

“He’ll know. He’ll know that she isn’t me,” she whispered, staring at the reflection that she didn’t recognize as her own.
***

“She’s been brainwashed!”

“I doubt that Faith could do that in so little time.”

“Then she did a spell! A curse!”

“Faith has never shown an interest in magic--.”

“Buffy’s not all there, Rupert,” Spike insisted. “Didn’t she seem off to you?”

“She said that she was tired.”

“I can handle tired, but then she’s never wanted me to turn into a bag of dust when she’s had the yawnies before!” Spike yelled as he paced in Giles’ living room. “She’s been possessed and I know it. She’s not my Slayer. Sure, she looks like her, but everything underneath is all wrong.”

“She could’ve been joking,” Giles suggested. “Sometimes she does have a rather deadpan sense of humor.”

“’I hope she dusts you.’ Now doesn’t that make you want to giggle? But that was after she head-butted me and kicked me to the bloody ground!”

“Well, that does seem out of the ordinary…”

“Good, now let’s see some more concern here!”

“Where did you see her last? Maybe she shouldn’t be left alone. If she’s assaulting you, who knows how she will act around others.”

“I didn’t look, I was too busy running off with my tail between my legs.”

“You’ll have to find her and you might want to check Joyce’s home for any evidence of foul play or magical doings.”

“Right.”

“Spike!”

“Yeah?” he stopped, nearly out the door.

“The last thing that we need is two unstable Slayers on the loose. If you find either of them--.”

“Right. Can I borrow some of that blasted rope of yours?”
***

“Not to alarm you, love, but did Buffy act strangely before she took off?”

“She was upstairs for awhile. I heard the water running so she probably took a bath. And could hear her talking to herself—that’s strange… What’s wrong, Spike? You say that you don’t want to alarm me, but you look so worried. Should I put some water on the stove?”

“As wonderful as hot chocolate sounds, I have to pass.” Spike stopped scanning the rubble that was once the dining room to look Joyce in the eyes. “Did you find any weird stuff after the fight? Any weapons or wonky looking doodads?”

“Actually,” she headed into the kitchen and came back with the trashcan. “I found this metal thing and Buffy told me to destroy it. I just threw it away,” Joyce admitted with a laugh. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

Spike peeked into the can and grinned. “That’s fantastic. Do me a favor, pet and ring Giles about that? To be safe, don’t touch it.”

“Do you need anything else?”

“Do you have any clue as to where Buffy was going?”

“I thought she was on her way to see you. She said something about seeing her ‘boy toy.’ She also said under her breath about ‘breaking in the clean marine.’ I hear you and Buffy call each other names, but that was a new one to me. Do you know what she meant by that?”
***

Faith sauntered confidently through the Bronze with a pitcher of beer in each hand. “Anybody want to play a game?” she sang, sitting at an empty table.

“Hey, you two.” She curled a finger and beckoned two men from the dance floor to join her. “Let’s see who can drink up a pitcher faster. The winner will get one heck of a prize. I’m feeling generous tonight.”

“Can I play?”

“The more the merrier.” She spun in her seat and her smile faded. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Bloody right, it’s me. I need to talk to you. Outside. Now, Slayer.”

“Wait for me, boys? I’ll only be a minute. I’ll dust this guy and we’ll continue on with our evening.”
***

“You’re not Buffy,” Spike said, holding Faith by the elbow as they walked out of the club and away from any on-lookers.

“I’m not? Who am I then?”

“Why don’t you tell me?” Spike flung her against a nearby dumpster and held her still by pressing her into it. Each time she squirmed, Spike leaned into her harder.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Faith laughed. “I’m Buffy. One hundred percent Summers. What’s the matter? Can’t handle the new me? You want little Miss Stuck-Up Tight-Ass? Too bad because it’s not happening, she’s never coming back.”

“Who are you?” he demanded. He shifted into his vampire-guise and let go of Faith long enough to punch her in the face. Ignoring the painful shocks that came from his chip, he hit her again when she continued to snicker.

“Do it again,” she said, licking the blood that welled up on her bottom lip. “You make it hurt so good. Bust up this pretty little body of mine.”

When Spike let go of her for a second time, Faith took advantage of the freedom. She shoved him back and kicked him with full force.

“Why do you want her back so much, Spikey? You got the hots for her? Tough luck, she’d never touch you.”

“I beg to differ--.”

“All she does is pout and whine and feel the burden of Slayerness. She could have anything, anyone. You’d be the last on her list.”

Faith rushed at him again and they fought until she had him pinned to the ground. “This is more like it,” she said, grinding her hips against his crotch. “Seems like you’re well equipped. It’d be her loss. I wouldn’t mind giving you a test-drive…if you could handle me. I’d ride you at a gallop until your legs buckled and your eyes rolled up. I've got muscles you've never even dreamed of. I’d squeeze you until you popped like warm champagne, and you'd beg me to hurt you just a little bit more.”

Satisfied with her speech, Faith nipped at Spike’s lip before giving him a hard kiss.

“No thanks. Do you always go on like this, on matters that you don’t have a fucking clue about? No wonder my Buffy tried to put you to sleep.”

“Your Buffy? She’d never touch you!”

“You said that already, pet. Care to muster up some new digs?”

“Shut up! She’d never let you close! Sure you’re a vampire, but that’s just filling one of the requirements! You’re not Angel! He’s the love of her life! How could William the Bloody ever compare to her first? Oh-wait, was that a twitch? Did I hit a sore spot?”

“Alright, I’m usually all for talking, but you’re boring me now. I was playing nice since I thought you had the slightest bit of Buffy in you. Now that I know that you’re a phony…it’s time to get a migraine.” With a sudden burst of energy, Spike moved his body so Faith was sent flying into the air.
***

“We saw her at the Bronze, but we didn’t stay around her long because she was so…”

“Mean,” Tara said, with a sad grin. “And her aura was fragmented, scattered all over the place.”

“So, we conjured up this.” Proudly, Willow set a metal piece on the table. “It’s a homemade Katra. We’re pretty positive that it was a Draconian Katra spell that swapped their bodies. Now we just need to find Buffy since we’ve, ah, got Faith all wrangled up.”

“You figured this out on your own?”

“Nope. It was all Tara, Giles. I just helped with the small stuff.”

“The rope won’t hold her for long when she comes to,” Spike muttered, barely paying attention to the Scoobies as he tied up Faith, who was lying unconscious in the middle of the floor. After securing the cords around her ankles and wrists, he lovingly stroked her cheek.

“Should we split up and comb the streets?” Xander asked. “The police have no idea where she is according to the news. She could be anywhere.”

“Then we need to get out there, people.” Spike stood and addressed the others in a take-charge manner. “Xander, you and your demon-girl can help me out on the streets. She’s searching for safe, familiar spots. Giles, you watch her. If she wakes up, give her a whack or two. But not too hard. Remember that Buffy’s going back in there.”

“Spike? What about us?” Willow asked, raising her hand. “Tara and I want to help.”

“Right.” He ushered Willow and Tara away from the others and spoke quieter. “I need you girls to do something different.”

“N-not to look for Buffy?” Tara asked.

“I need to know everything that Faith did while in Buffy’s body. Who she talked to, what she did, where she went and so forth. Ask around and fill in the blanks for me. I saw her at the Bronze a few hours after she left Joyce’s house.”

“Do you think Faith could’ve done something skanky?”

“Would it surprise you, Red?”

“Oh, God, Buffy will just adopt all the repercussions of Faith’s skankiness, won’t she?”

“Make sure you interview Riley,” Spike said, walking off and not answering Willow’s question.
***

“You had sex with Faith.”

“Let’s announce it, Anya.”

“You don’t deny it. Why don’t you deny it? Do you want to have sex with her again? I know that you want to have sex with Buffy, now has your want to have sex with Faith doubled?”

Xander laughed nervously when Spike gave him a sideways glance. “Hey, she’s my best friend! She’s—I’m entitled to a harmless crush! I’ve had it since the first day of sophomore year!”

“He’d still do her in a second.”

“Anya!”

“You would!”

"Anh.. Spike..."

"Want to split up?"

"Oh, God, yes," Xander answered, giving Spike a grateful smile. “And about Buffy…”

“Just bite your tongue. You look around the university. I’ll hit the graveyards.”

“He seems a little on edge,” Xander whispered when Spike walked ahead, leaving them to trail behind.

“Well, his girlfriend is the star of America’s Most Wanted. She’ll be captured and hauled off to jail. Where a large woman named Bertha will terrorize her. I saw it on the television.”

“Thanks for clearing that up.”

“Would you rather we talk about Faith and your desire to have sex with her?”
***

“I’m around that lot for more than five minutes and I feel like eating,” Spike muttered as he entered the crypt.

”But then I wouldn’t take a bite out of Harris even if I could. Anya? Maybe…got to admire her just because she gives him hell.”

He took a bag of blood from the refrigerator and downed it without warming it. After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he finished the rest of his routine by rinsing the bag in the sink and throwing it away. He was heading downstairs to find a mint that Buffy insisted that he take after every meal when a flash of brunette hair caught his eye.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
***

Buffy smiled before opening her eyes, knowing that Spike was near because of the tingle and wave of warmth that spread throughout her body.

“Hi, honey,” she said sleepily, stretching out of a fetal position.

“Where’ve you been, pet?”

“Having the weirdest dreams. I had this one where I was making my bed at home with Faith-oh, oh my God. Spike?” She sat up and tried to jump off the bed, but Spike pushed her back gently. “No! We need to stop her! She’s-she’s stolen my body!”

“Buffy, it’s alright! I’ve got everything under control. Come on, settle down.”

“Really?” she asked, reaching for him.

“She’s tied up and we’ve got the stuff to switch you back.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Buffy sighed and allowed herself to relax in Spike’s arms. “How long did it take for you to realize that she wasn’t me?”

“Not long. That bint’s a lousy actor.”

“So…she never touched you, right? I mean, I waited and you never…never mind.”

“She didn’t like me much.”

“Thank God.”

“Buffy, what were you waiting for?”

“It’s embarrassing,” she said, her face burning up. “I was-I was waiting for you and Faith. I figured if you thought that she was me, I could stop you from, um, getting physical. And while I waited, I kinda got drowsy while guarding our bed.”

“Guarding our bed? How entirely possessive of you, kitten.”

“Shut up,” Buffy said, finding his grin contagious. “You aren’t the only one who can be insanely jealous sometimes. And don’t call me kitten; I know what you do with them. You’re sick.”

“Oh, Buffy. I’ve missed you.”

She closed her eyes, touched by his soft sincere voice. “I was so afraid that she’d hurt you.”

“She tried, but I can handle some weak kicks and a sharp tongue.”

“What’d she say? When you say sharp, how sharp? And she kicked you? That’s totally something that she’d do, kick somebody who can’t kick back…that bitch.”

“Don’t worry, I kicked. Pummeled a bit too.”

“Tell me you didn’t.”

“Okay, I didn’t.”

“You lie.”

“You told me to, pet.”

“Cute.”

“Too bad I can’t say the same about you. You’re all…brunette.”

“Don’t wrinkle your nose! You know it’s my natural color.”

“I do, don’t I?” Spike smirked, making Buffy laugh. “But really, this body does nothing for me.”

“That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever told me. I’d kiss you, but…” She leaned in close and eyed his lips. “Can’t.”

“Course not,” he said, licking his lips.

“Stop it. Don’t tease me.”

“Want to get your body back?”

“Very much so.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Spike stood and offered Buffy his hand.
***
 
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