a/n: Betas: Slaymesoftly, Raynedanser, and Mabel Marsters.

Banner made by: me, Dawnofme.


Soul Survivors
Chapter Four: Hello, Buffy




Buffy reclined on the old green couch, tossing a bright orange and yellow Hacky Sack up in the air over and over again. Ignoring the ten o’clock newscast droning on the TV, she wondered why Spike would have a Hacky Sack in his weapons chest.

Spike had left for his poker game a couple of hours ago. After cleaning the place up, she’d had nothing better to do, so she decided to organize the weapons. They were all just kind of thrown together in the big cedar box with a heavy sackcloth blanket tossed over it.

The soft little beanbag type ball, with its bright colors, stood out against the metal and wooden objects. It was at the bottom, so she pulled everything out in order to see what it was. She giggled, imaging Spike bouncing around the crypt tapping the little ball against his feet. If she’d found it anywhere else in the crypt, she would believe it was Clem’s little toy, but she could not imagine the peace-loving demon getting cozy with the weapons.

She glanced at the door and then leaned back again. Looking at the door every other minute would not make Spike get home faster. She almost wished she’d taken him up on his offer to go with him, but she knew she wasn’t ready to face the demon population.

If they hadn’t needed the money, Spike wouldn’t have had to go at all. He was sure he’d bring home some cash, and she hoped so. Spike could no longer just steal what he needed or wanted, although she secretly thought it would be okay. They were demons after all.

She jumped up and tried to shake the evil thoughts. She did much better when Spike was around. The whole place lit up with vibrancy and hope when he was smiling at her. Edging her way back to the weapons chest, she kicked it open and exchanged the Hacky Sack for a nice sturdy sword.

She gripped it firmly and swung it around one way, then sliced the air back to the other side. The weight felt good in her hands and she went on autopilot, going through the moves that Merrick, and later Giles, had taught her so long ago and insisted on going over almost daily.

Buffy could feel the strength coursing through her, though it was different somehow from what she’d had before. Spike had trained with her a few times already and she had been discouraged by how much stronger he was than her. He’d assured her that she would quickly increase in strength, given time.

Pointing the tip of the sword towards the ground, she leaned on the handle and stared at the door. There was a whole cemetery out there, where fledglings could be rising and demons could be roaming. She shrugged. Anything to relieve her boredom; even if Spike would have a conniption fit when he found out later.

He was so protective of her, and it was one of the many things she was having a hard time getting used to. She could take care of herself. She marched to the door and opened it wide before stepping into the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The top on the late model blue convertible was just going up as the car came to a complete stop in the empty driveway. Angel stepped out and smoothed his coat, while taking stock of the situation before him.

The porch light was on and all but one light in the house was off. That wasn’t Buffy’s room. Going through his options, he thought about what his next move would be if he found no one home. He’d tried the Magic Box, only to find it boarded up. When he’d knocked at Giles’ condominium, an old woman who smelled like peppermint opened the door and shooed him away.

Perhaps they’d all gone to England to help Faith. It was unlikely, but if it were the case, he’d be able to get back on the road and catch up with Wes, Gunn, and Fred for a trouble free holiday in Sin City. He wasn’t one for the bright lights and crowded casinos, but he wouldn’t mind seeing Lorne again.

He knocked on the door and wasn’t sure if he should feel relieved or disappointed when he heard movement inside. The door opened a crack, and Giles glared out at him.

“What are you doing here?”

“I got your message about Faith, and when I called over at the prison they said she was extradited to England.”

“You’re more than a week behind on your messages, aren’t you?”

Angel glanced around and shifted from one foot to the other. It would be nice if Giles would invite him in, but it looked unlikely.

“I wasn’t around when you called. Actually, I was stuck at the bottom of the ocean in a box, until Wesley found me and got me out.” He forced the last bit out, not really wanting to get into more details.

Giles opened the door wider.

“As soon as I had recovered from months without blood, my friends gave me the message. Is Faith okay?”

“Yes, she is. The Council was out to assassinate her, but we were able to intercept them and bring her here. She’s out on patrol right now.” Giles came out on to the porch and closed the door behind him. “Really, I don’t see why you had to make the drive out here.”

“I tried to call, but no one ever answered the phone.”

“And you didn’t think to leave a message?”

“I wanted to talk to someone, not a machine.”

Giles glanced away and said, “I’ve asked the girls not to answer the phone and to let the answering machine pick up for all calls. There are some people I wish to avoid at the moment.”

“Well, that’s why I am here. I was worried that something terrible may have happened.”

“Faith is just fine.”

Angel could not help but be agitated that he‘d wasted a trip down here all because Giles didn‘t want to talk to some people on the phone. “Well, I’ll be off, then. My gang is on their way to Vegas for a little vacation. I think I’ll go catch up with them.”

Giles gave him a nod as he put his hand on the doorknob, and Angel turned and walked down the steps.

“How’s Buffy?” he asked after opening his car door.

Giles paused with a stiff back and the door open. Without looking at him, he said to Angel, “I don’t think it’s my place to tell you,” before shutting and locking the door with a resounding click.

Angel sat with his hands on the wheel, thinking that Giles was acting stranger than usual. He backed up and drove in the direction of the freeway then made a quick u-turn and headed towards the cemeteries.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Restfield Cemetery was quiet and peaceful, so Buffy took a little walk to the Shady Hill Cemetery instead. She’d gone only a few steps in when she stopped to listen. From the other end of the graveyard, Faith’s mocking laugher reached her ears, and she switched direction, walking towards the sound. She went quickly on light feet, holding the sword at her side.

The closer she got, the more she could make out the conversation going back and forth.

“You piece of crap vamp. Say that to my face.”

“Up yours, you second string slayer.”

Another vampire in dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt, agreed with his friend. “Yeah, up yours.”

Three vampires were slowly circling around Faith, who stood with a wide stance on a low-lying stone monument.

“Where’s the real Slayer? Dead?” the last vampire asked with a sneer. Buffy stopped a moment and wondered where he got his hair done. His tall, thin Mohawk was dyed like a rainbow with each pointy tip in a different color. There was no way he could do that by himself.

Faith said, “I am the real Slayer and any vamp foolish enough to make their way into my territory is gonna find themselves dust.”

The first vamp laughed and held out his hands in mock surrender. He was bald and dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt like the other two. He was big and buff and Buffy had to stifle a giggle as she pictured him with a mop. Mr. Clean--as she now thought of him--said, “Oh, I’m so scared.”

Mr. Clean moved in closer and the others followed. “I think you are in our territory and you’re just about to join the last Slayer, six feet under.”

“No, she’s not,” Buffy said in a snotty voice. “Cuz, she’s right here.”

“Hey, B. You sure you’re up to joining this party? I can take them all if you’re not.”

Buffy ignored the protests and comments by the three shocked vamps. “I’m in the mood for a little violence. I’ll take Mr. Clean and you get the peacock and his friend.”

Faith shook her head. “Already barking out orders.” She leapt off her stone perch and kicked both of the vampires off their feet.

Mr. Clean lunged at Buffy and she jumped back, readying her sword. She could see Faith, just past Mr. Clean, swinging her arms and kicking with gusto.

“I thought there was only one fucked up vampire in this town?” Mr. Clean remarked. “Last I checked, Spike was still a guy, so where the hell did you come from?”

“Um-Your worst nightmares?”

“No, that would be a Slayer,” he said back seriously.

“Then I was right.”

“Wait, you’re the dead Slayer? You’ve been turned?”

She advanced on him with her sword swinging, taking him by surprise, but he recovered quickly and kicked the sword out of her grip. The big vampire lunged at her again and wrenched the stake that she had quickly grabbed out of her back pocket, from her hand. Her eyes got big when he raised it at her.

She backed up, but tripped on a tree root and tumbled on to her backside. Still coming at her, he leaned forward and drove the stake down, aiming expertly for her heart. She blinked as his dust rained down on her

“Either you are really rusty, or you weren’t kidding when you said you’d lost your powers,” Faith said as she held a hand out.

Buffy ignored it and got up on her own. She kicked at the dust and frowned. “Just shut up.”

“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure to save your ass,” Faith bit out sarcastically. “Do you mind…?” Faith waved her hand in a quick circular motion over her own face, indicating Buffy’s current vamped out stated.

Buffy glared at her before dropping her shoulders as she struggled to switch back. “I feel so weak and useless.”

“It won’t be like this forever,” Faith said softly. “You know you’re going to get stronger.”

“I hate it.”

“Giles has set up a training room at the new Magic Box. It’s across the street from the old one. It used to be Bakery Pal’s, but I guess the “pals” had a fight.” Faith shrugged. “We’re going to start training there tomorrow. The back room is small, but we moved over all we could salvage from the old place. You want to join us?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask Spike. We’ve been training at the crypt, but it might be better if we had more equipment.”

There was an awkward silence as Buffy thought back to the day the gang had enthusiastically shown her the training room that they had put together for her. “I don’t think Giles will want to train with me, though. You’re the Slayer now and it’s best if he trains with you.”

“Either way, Spike and I can work with you. And, I know Giles will give you a key so you two can use the place anytime you want. You‘ll have to go in the back way. The store section still looks like a bakery and they haven‘t even started fixing it yet.”

“We’ll see.” Buffy shrugged.

Faith stared at her, making her uncomfortable.

“So, what brought you out here? Is there trouble in vamp paradise?”

Buffy smiled. “More like money trouble. We’re running low on cash, so Spike is out playing poker.”

She hopped up onto a headstone and the Slayer followed, sitting next to her. Faith was quiet for a moment, before smirking at Buffy.

“With what happened last night, I’m kinda surprised that you let him out of your sight. Aren’t you afraid some vamp ho will come in and steal your man?”

Letting out an embarrassed groan, Buffy looked down. “I’m really sorry about that. I’m still getting used to the whole vamp thing and getting myself under control.”

“No sweat, B.” Faith shrugged. “I could have taken you, if it came to that, but it did seem a little extreme.”

“I saw you go to touch him and I just lost it.” Buffy looked down at her hands.

“I don’t blame you. Spike just oozes sexy; if he were mine, I wouldn’t want anyone to touch him either.” When Buffy glared at her, flecks of gold coming and going in her eyes, Faith added, “Not that I’d want him to be mine. I’m not into together forever, you know. I like to keep my options open.”

That reminded Buffy of the talk she’d had with Willow. “Speaking of options, Willow is not one of them.”

“What? Did you bite her, too?”

Faith’s bright smile was grating on her nerves, and she was rapidly being reminded why they didn‘t get along so well.

“No, of course not. We were talking last night and she said she wished you would back off. She’s still having a hard time getting over Tara’s murder and you’re not making it any easier.”

Faith shrugged. “No big deal. I’ll back off.” She smirked. “She’s really come a long way since high school. She dresses better, and she looks pretty when she blushes. She’s still fun to bug, though.”

“Well, you’re not her type. She doesn’t do casual and she really doesn’t need your attention right now.”

Faith smiled at Buffy. “I’m everybody’s type.”

Buffy chuckled and shook her head.

“But seriously, I get what you’re saying. I’ll back off and be a good girl. And to tell you the truth, I’ve had my fill of the female variety for a while. That’s all they served in prison.”

“Oh, God. Crude much?”

“Just being honest. I’m out to get me some male attention.”

“You seriously need a girlfriend or boyfriend to settle you down.”

“Well, I’ll have to settle for a few hot one night stands, since all the sexy vamps are taken.”

A dark figure stepped out of the shadows and caught their attention. Angel stood there on the concrete path with his hands in his coat pockets.

“Hello, Buffy.”







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