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Present Childe by Ariel Dawn
 
Attack
 
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Disclaimer: Joss is god, not God god, but a lesser benevolent god.

Author’s note: Another chapter expertly beta’d by the wonderful Bloodytearsoflife.
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Chapter 15: Attack

“Don’t do it again!” shouted Willow, as if shouting was going to make her point stick in Buffy’s brain more.

“I won’t!” countered Buffy. “Until the next time,” she giggled.

Willow gave her friend a look that was very frightening, or so she thought, and returned her gaze to the pile of goodies in the middle of the table.

“I still say it’s weird without the kittens,” noted Spike, as he dealt out the next hand.

“Enough about the kittens Spike!” moaned Buffy, her hands twitching for the new hand of cards Spike was about to deal. She had to admit that poker was fun. They weren’t playing for money, they were playing for candy, which had been Willow's compromise.

The card table had been set up in the middle of the warehouse floor, the minions milling around them, waiting for something to happen. They were glad that their master and mistress were having a good time, it meant that none of their number were going to end up dusted today.

The sun was high in the sky outside, all bad little vamps were safely asleep, or at least inside.

The trio around the card table picked up their new hand and ante’d up, each pushing five Swedish berries into the centre of the table. Buffy reached for her junior mints, to increase the bet, when a loud noise interrupted their game.

“Master!” screamed one of the minions at the door. Spike whipped his head around to see the minion fall to dust.

“We’re under attack!” shouted another minion.

Spike rolled his eyes. “Of course we’re under attack you stupid gits!” he roared. “I had a winning hand!” He walked into the crowd of minions that were valiantly fighting off the intruders.

“I guess it takes Giles and company a week to get up a rescue party,” noted Buffy to Willow.

“Well, I was sorta wondering when it would happen,” admitted Willow. “I guess it’s to my room with me...”

Buffy nodded her head with a smile and reached out to hug her friend. Buffy watched Willow walk up to her bedroom and into relative safety before turning to the mêlée surrounding the door of the warehouse. Her attention immediately went to the other possible ways into the building and sure enough there was a man climbing through the loading doors at the end of the main floor.

She growled at a few minions to take care of him, her attention going to the other possible entrances. There was someone on the roof.

Not just someone, a Slayer. Faith was on the roof.

Buffy followed Faith’s progress along the roof, as if she could see through the concrete and steel. There was a skylight above the balcony that they had covered up when they had first moved, in and that Buffy had completely forgotten about. Swiftly Buffy sprang into action. She rushed up the stairs, intent on intercepting Faith, not realising that once Faith was through the window, sunlight would bathe the only way into the bedrooms.

Buffy jumped back from the deadly sunlight with a shriek. Faith was holding a cross bow and had a determined look on her face.

“Hey B, nice digs you got yourself,” greeted Faith, raising the cross bow at the former Slayer.

“You don’t want to do this Faith!” Buffy tried to stay calm even though there was a cross bow pointed at her heart.

“Ya, I do,” replied the Slayer with a smile and shot the weapon.

Buffy leapt out of the way just in the nick of time, flying over the balcony railing and falling to the floor, a minion breaking her fall. From the floor, Buffy let her eyes follow Faith into the bedrooms, breaking the door on hers and Spike’s room before kicking open the door of Willow’s room.

Willow! Buffy pushed herself up off the floor and the poor minion she had landed on and ran back up the stairs. She covered herself in her hardly adequate jean jacket, to avoid the sunlight and rushed into Willow’s room, to find Faith with the crossbow pointed at Willow.

“I swear! Faith! I’m not a...” Willow was interrupted by Faith’s crossbow bolt piercing her flesh, stunning her into silence.

The bolt stuck out of Willow’s upper chest, her human blood trickling down her purple fuzzy sweater. Buffy saw red.

“She... she didn’t dust!” mumbled Faith confused, dropping her cross bow. “She didn’t dust.”
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“Shut the bloody hell up you lot!” shouted Spike into the warehouse, and at his babbling minions who were more than confused by the fact of the ten or so watchers that had survived the initial attack and were now chained to the walls at various intervals, unharmed except for their injuries sustained during the attack. Faith among them.

Buffy came down the stairs, the sky light now covered, holding Willow’s unconscious body in her arms. Her tears were apparent on her cheeks as she looked at her friend. Silence flooded over the hostages and minions alike. A vampire was crying over the body of a human.

She walked the length of the warehouse floor, towards the shady part of the building, and the loading doors. Curtly she ordered the door open, and was obeyed.

“I want them all alive when I get back. Especially the Slayer!” she barked behind her.

Buffy slipped into the shade and towards the parked Desoto.
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Buffy looked down lovingly at her friend, laid out on the hospital gurney. Faith’s shot hadn’t pierced the heart. Why she had missed, Buff wasn’t too sure about, but at that moment was incredibly thankful for Faith’s bad aim.

All around her doctors were rushing around, getting yummy blood back into Willow’s veins, telling her to stay calm and to have a seat in the waiting room. But Buffy didn’t let go of Willow’s hand.

“Miss?” asked a nurse, trying to pry Buffy’s hand from Willow’s. “You have to let go of her hand.”

Buffy shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek. She couldn’t leave Willow, not after what had happened. Suddenly there was a small squeeze of her hand, and Buffy looked up to see Willow smiling at her, eyes hopeful but in pain.

“I’ll be fine Buffy,” Willow whispered.

Reluctantly Buffy let go of Willow’s hand and watched as her friend was wheeled into surgery.
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Buffy pulled the Desoto to a screeching halt outside the loading doors of the warehouse and stormed into the building.

As ordered, the group of what Buffy assumed were watchers and Faith were still alive, guarded meticulously by minions who were licking their lips as they watched the men, struggle against their chains. Faith on the other hand stood limply against the wall, her eyes focused on nothing in particular, muttering to herself. Spike sat on one of their poker chairs backwards, smoking and watching the Slayer mumble.

The minions recoiled back as she walked by them. They all knew that the witch had been alive when she left, but had she arrived at the hospital alive? Scattering out of her way, the vampires and captives watched in anticipation of what would happen next as Mistress Elizabeth came to a stop in front of the Slayer.

Buffy waited for Faith to finally look up at her from her gaze on the floor, her eyes sad. She sent a fiery gaze back at the Slayer, chained to the wall. Buffy raised her hand and slapped Faith across the face.

“She...she didn’t dust...” muttered Faith, as if she hadn’t registered the slap. “I...I killed Willow... I killed Willow!” she moaned, trying to bring her arms towards her face, but was stopped by the chains.

Annoyed and mad, Buffy grabbed the Slayer by the neck and pushed her flush against the wall, Faith’s moans ceasing as lack of oxygen became an issue.

“No, Faith, Willow’s not dead. Nor is she going to be anytime soon. Why did you come here? Why couldn’t you just leave us alone?” asked Buffy through gritted teeth, invading Faith‘s personal area.

“You’re evil...You’re a vampire...” gasped Faith, her eyes darting about the room.

Buffy eased up on her hold on Faith’s neck, allowing the Slayer more air. “Sheep,” hissed the vampire into the slayer’s face. “You’re a sheep. The Council, Giles says all vampires are bad, and you’ve got to stake them, right?”

Faith attempted to nod.

“Wrong! Wrong Faith. Did it even occur to you that Willow was alive? That I wouldn’t want to hurt my best friend?” asked Buffy plaintively. The vampire didn’t even give her a chance to answer before heading into another stream of words. “No, of course not. What the Council says must be right. I’m a vampire. An evil soulless vampire. I consort with vampires. I’m going to spend the rest of my existence with my vampire mate. I’ve got to be bad. Buffy’s a bad, bad vampire. Gasp! She must have turned her friend Willow too, so that they can be bad vampires together!”

Behind her Spike started to chuckle at her antics.

“Well guess what Faith? I didn’t. I didn’t turn Willow. And you know what? Because I didn’t turn Willow, you have the distinct and glorious honour of being the one who shot Willow. You almost killed her! Not me, YOU.”

Faith’s eyes reflected a look of horror. “I...I didn’t...”

“Whatever Faith,” Buffy snapped, turning away from the Slayer, her hand pushing slightly against the girl’s windpipe. Her gaze landed on the ten or so men that were also part of the plan.

“Oh don’t look so scared,” Buffy pouted at one watcher that looked particularly afraid. “I’m not going to do to you anything to you that the Council wouldn’t have done to me.”

“You aren’t going to get away with this!” sputtered the watcher in question. “The Council will hunt you down for as long as you exist. You are an abomination!”

Buffy pondered that for a moment. “I’ve heard so many different ways of saying just that thing, you know. I’ve come back wrong, I’m not a good vampire, I’m not a good slayer. I wasn’t a good student or a good daughter. Certainly not a good friend, Willow can attest to that one. Maybe I’m not all out evil girl, but I can give it a shot.”

Buffy turned her backs on the watchers and walked towards Spike, still sitting on that damn folding chair.

Her words made his undead heart leap for joy. The fact that the injury to Red had given his mate such a reason to lash out, to actually take a life. It was what vampires did for fuck’s sake. Buffy walked over to him and placed a small kiss on his cheek before heading up the stairs to their bedroom and closing the door with a sound thud. With that small act she had given him permission to do what he wanted with them all.

Faith excluded. The mark that rested on Faith’s neck blazed brilliantly against his senses. Faith was Buffy’s and Buffy’s alone to touch.

Still there was something that didn’t seem right to him. Where was his Goldilocks’ watcher in all of this. Spike kicked the chair he was sitting on aside and planted himself in front of the Slayer, her eyes misting with unshed tears.

“What does your watcher have to say in all of this?” he asked distinctly.

Faith refused to speak, her eyes looking anywhere but at his face.

“Alright then,” he muttered moving on to a frightened watcher. “Where is Rupert Giles in all of this?” he asked.

A snort came from one of the watchers. “Nancy boy Giles, didn’t want to do it. Couldn’t bear the thought of us killing his precious Buffy Summers,” answered the smug watcher. “Git’s been fired for his troubles.”

“Right then,” replied the equally smug vampire, turning to leave the lot of them alone with hungry minions. It was two in the bleedin’ afternoon!
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Buffy returned to the main floor of the warehouse just after sunset, not having slept at all. The sounds of the watchers’ screaming weighed on her...not soul, cause she didn’t have one of them, but it weighed on something, massively right in the middle of her chest.

The minions had cleaned up. No bodies remained chained to the walls. Except Faith. She regretted that too. Faith shouldn’t have had to watch minions feed. Faith hung limply against her chains, weary from the exertion of the attack, and the mental anguish of having expected to die along with the watchers.

Buffy caught Faith’s eye as she travelled down the stairs, and recognised a single word forming on the Slayer’s lips. ‘Why?’

“Why are you alive or why did I let them feed?” Buffy asked nonchalantly as if the whole thing didn’t bother her in the slightest.

“Both I guess,” answered Faith.

“Someone had to pay for Willow, for the minions that dusted. As for why you are alive? Why do you think you are alive, Faith?” Buffy asked, tilting her head in reminiscence of her mate.

“’Cause you didn’t want the glory of bagging a Slayer to go to a minion? You wanted the credit yourself or maybe I’m gonna be another notch on your boyfriend’s belt?”

Buffy stopped directly in front of Faith and delivered another slap across the face. “You are alive, Faith, because I decided you needed protecting.”

Faith scoffed at that. “Sure and the first time you saw after you got yourself all vampified you sunk your fangs into me, ya, that’s love.”

Buffy felt her anger stir before she took a deep breath and controlled herself. “Maybe when you get back to Giles you can ask him to look up what a mark means to vampires and then you won’t be such a bitch about it. I have to go visit your staking victim,” she replied in a cool tone before turning and walking away.

“Buffy?” asked Faith in a small voice. “Am I going to be alive when you come back?”

“Yes Faith. With that mark on your neck, none of these minions will touch you. Just don’t piss off Spike, ‘cause with him it could go either way.”
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tbc...



 
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