FF: Stages 2/3

["The Fool" <honouredfool@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've always suspected myself of being a total dimwit but now I finally have proof. This was supposed to be posted over a week ago but it apparently slipped into one of the gaping holes of cyberspace, never to be seen again. That or I forgot to hit send. Anyways on with the fic.

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Title: Stages 2/3

Disclaimer: Joss created and therefore owns everything BtVS. I am but a minnow in his ocean.

Feedback: Boost my stupidity shattered ego. Please.

Authour's Notes: Special thanks, as always to the Mighty Archangel for the beta. And to beloved listmummy for telling me that this had never been posted. :)

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Then its settled. Tonight we make our demands to the Slayers and give them until dawn to comply or we'll kill the witch."

"As always your instructions are most wise my lord Talos." As he was speaking, Weasel Face noticed a mouse scrambling across the floor. To both the amusement and amazement of his companions he grabbed a fork off the table and threw it with such speed and such accuracy that it pinned the mouse to the floor by its tail in mid-stride. However as they were leaving the room with dinner on their minds no one thought to turn around and investigate further. If they had they would have seen the mouse reach back and pull the fork out of its tail. And if they had understood Rodentish they would've blushed at the language it was using to describe weasel Face's parentage

****

Buffy heard yelling come from downstairs as she got out of the shower. Naturally she ran downstairs to (-w)see what was the matter. As she burst into the living room Buffy was confronted by the single strangest sight she had ever seen.

Owen was standing bent over Giles' table with his pants down around his ankles. Joyce was standing behind him with a bottle of iodine and a packet of cotton swabs. Xander was standing beside them with Giles' camera, trying to decide what was the best angle to capture the image from. Giles and Spike had hidden themselves in behind very large books which they were using to conceal mocking grins. Buffy was on the edge of laughter for the first time in what seemed like months when she saw Faith sitting alone in the corner. Suddenly what had seemed funny just wasn't anymore.

"What happened to you?" Buffy asked the old man.

"Nargoth- OW!- hit me with a fork."

"A fork? So what?"

"I was a mouse at the time. I tried to explain to your mother that I didn't need any treatment but she- OW!- Damn it woman!- insisted." Buffy flashed him a small smile.

"Yeah, she'll do that sometimes. So did you find her?" The hope in her voice made Owen Roberts glad he did not have to say no.

"I found her." Buffy sank into a chair and started to cry. Faith and Xander were at her side in a flash.

"Come on now. None of that."

"Yeah B. Don't worry she's five by five. Come on. We'll go put our fightin' clothes on then we'll head on down there and get your girl." She pulled Buffy out of the chair and began to drag her across the room. "Maybe we'll even have time to get a little vengeance for mine." That dragged Buffy back on track.

"We'll feed these guys to their own mothers for what they did to you. We'll hang them with their own intestines. We'll--"

"B?" Faith cocked an eyebrow at her friend.

"Sorry, got a little carried away there."

"That's cool. I appreciate the sentiment." The two young women hurried up the stairs to change for battle.

"There we go Owen, you're as good as new now." Joyce slapped the old man on the bum and went off to put the iodine and cotton swabs away.

"Thanks for nothing." Owen grumbled. "Alright men, I trust none of you need to change in to your "fightin' clothes" because if you do I'd like you to do it now." TO his surprise all three of them stood up.

"Corduroy isn't very good for sneaking." Giles pointed out.

"Need my lucky shirt." Xander hurried out the front door.

"Can't fight without my favorite black shirt." Spike shuffled past Owen with an embarrassed look on his face.

"All your shirts are black!"

"Yeah but-- Never mind you wouldn't understand."

When Joyce returned from the bathroom only Owen was there, staring into the fireplace.

"Where did everyone go?"

"To change for battle." He answered with a sniff of disdain.

"You don't sound too happy about it."

"We're wasting time. I haven't even gone over the plan with them yet. I have no idea how long Talos and Nargoth will keep Willow alive. I've already failed once. If she dies we all die."

"Owen you have to remember they're children compared to you. Even Spike and Giles. You've had, well I have no idea how long you've had to prepare for this but they've only had a few months. And very busy months at that. First Tara, now Willow and Cordelia?" She trailed off at the reminder of her promise to Faith.

"I never meant for this to happen." Owen gave a mighty sigh. "I love all of them. Tara and Cordelia had special places though. If it could be any other way?"

"I know. But it can't be so at least let them have their little rituals. Now why don't we have a little pre-battle drink?"

"Joyce I can't believe your encouraging drink at a time like this. What a wonderful idea!"

****

//Yahweh, we need to ask for a favor.//

//What do I get for it?//

//What do you want?//


Chapter 4: Anger Revisited.

"Hey guys, We got a ransom note!" Xander came charging through the door. "It says: Slayers, If you want to see your witch again you'll turn yourselves over to us, unarmed of course, at the square in front of City Hall, before dawn this morning or we'll send her back to you in little pieces. Talos the Mighty." 
"That's it?" Owen was surprised. //This is going to be too easy. //

"That's it."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. What the hell does he plan on doing? Turning you both?"

"Probably." Spike answered what was no doubt a rhetorical question. "That's what I'd do if I were them. Think about it. All those tall buildings with windows?stick a couple of underlings up there with tranquilizer guns; Buffy and Faith show up?Zip! Suddenly we're out two slayers and Nargoth controls them."

"Hey, that's actually kind of smart." Faith quipped up.

"Yeah too bad we're not going to be there." Xander added.

"Neither will they." Buffy concluded grimly.

"Alright everyone- let's go over the plan. Now at exactly ten o'clock I'll blow the north doors open. Be prepared for this because it's going to be quite shocking. Faith will come through the east entrance and work her way towards the main room where I will be. Xander will do exactly the same from the south side, entering through this window here." Owen indicated Xander's entry point on the map he had drawn and looked questioningly at Xander who nodded back that he understood. 
"Hopefully this will panic our boys into not thinking clearly and they won't immediately all go after Willow which would be the smart thing for them to do." He paused again, mentally kicking himself for the flaw in his plan. "Spike and Buffy, you will come in from the rooftop entrance and make your way down this hallway to this room where they're holding Willow. Grab her and get out by the fastest way possible. Does everyone understand?" Five heads nodded back. "Good. Now Giles when Buffy and Spike bring Willow to the rendezvous point yell as loud as you can with your mind. Hopefully whatever is blocking Willow from using her magic is localized only to her. Then to Sunnydale General and stay there until we arrive."

"Alright. Let's shake a leg." Xander looked very much the military man as he picked up a battleaxe from Giles dining room table and strode towards the door. The others followed him, strapping on swords, knives and bandoleers of stakes (an idea Giles was particularly proud of.) All except Owen who reached for no weapons, just followed the others out the door.

"No weapons Dad?" Faith poked him in the ribs as the walked along the street. "Going to talk the vampires into dusting themselves?"

"No. This lot has made me angry enough that I'm going to give them special treatment. I'm going to kill them in the most horrible way imaginable. I'm going to burn their demons."

"Huh?"

"If you burn a vampire's demon it causes an incredible amount of pain, like if someone took a piece of hot iron, made you swallow it and it didn't cool as it passed through your digestive tract. As an added bonus it leaves me with their bodies."

"Why do you want their bodies?"

"I'm going to send them to the Betrayer and his demons. I want to make sure that nothing like this happens again before it's time. I'm sure they'll get the message."

"And what message would that be exactly?"

"Sod off you stupid wankers."

"Oh."

****

Giles looked at his watch-9:59-then at the bow in his hand-then at the vampire 300 yards away. //Difficult shot. Difficult but not impossible.// He notched an arrow and hefted the bow up to eye level, carefully aiming his shot. From the other side of the massive warehouse came a loud whooshing noise. The vampire turned to see what it was. Giles took his shot. //Still got it.//


****

The whoosh was followed by a flash of bright light and a thunder clap that reminded Xander of old nuclear bombs going off in the desert footage. "Holy Shit." He smashed through his allotted window and sank his axe into a very surprised vampire's neck. "Hi there guys." He paused for dramatic effect. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Another vampire fell to his axe. Xander didn't fight with a battle axe because he thought it was a better weapon than a sword, knife or stake, on the contrary it was probably worse, he just liked the "Thwack" it made when it hit his enemy's necks.

****

Faith had one thing in mind when she strode into the east entrance of Talos' warehouse and almost negligently dispatched the five vamps that swarmed her. //I'm going to pluck out his eyes and replace them with his balls.// Three more vamps foolishly rushed her and were rapidly dispatched back to hell. Faith moved on to the next room. "Talos!" she screamed in fury, "Come out and fight you coward!"

****

Buffy and Spike had scaled the wall of the warehouse as soon as Owen had blown off the doors. Reaching the top, they discovered that Giles had succeeded in eliminating the roof guard and they were free to proceed with their rescue of Willow. They silently hustled down the stairs from the roof and opened the door into the hallway.

"I guess someone was expecting something like this." Buffy said to Spike as they opened the door onto five waiting vamps.

"Maybe." Spike and Buffy made short work of their opponents and moved on. "Maybe that was just bad luck."

"No, not really." Buffy looked behind her, already knowing what she would see. There was a weasel faced vampire standing with Willow in a tight neck lock in front of his heart but well within reach of his teeth.

"You must be Nargoth."


****

Owen Roberts was having a great deal of fun burning evil. His description of what exactly a vampire went through when you burned its demon hadn't been quite detailed enough. The demon tried to claw its way out of the vessel that held it but since it wasn't a physical entity this was obviously impossible. What resulted then was the simulation of pain, the nerve endings were tricked into believing that their body was being torn apart from the inside.

//The best part is that you don't even have to stick around until they're dead. Just get it going and move on.// As a result of this convenient fact Owen was already surrounded by a score of dead or dying vampires (is there such a thing as a dead vamp? How would you describe this?) At the other end of the cavernous main room Owen could see Talos trying to organize his minions into some sort of organized attack group. He spotted Xander come through the east doors and began to wade through the vampires to meet him. Having already collected enough vampiric remains to bury his enemy in, Owen switched to his mammoth knife and began removing heads.

"Xander, how're you holding up lad?"

"Xander fight good. Kill vampires good."

"Good stuff." Owen and Xander took up positions at each other's back so as to prevent a sneak attack and began to mercilessly hack at the remaining vamps close enough and stupid enough to attack. Just as they were getting into the rhythm of things it happened.

****

Upstairs Buffy, Spike and Nargoth all stood staring at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.

"Let her go."

"What and fight you both? Please I'm not stupid."

"Spike will stay out of it. Won't you Spike?"

"The hell I--"

"Won't you Spike?" Buffy said forcefully.

"Very well."

"I still won't do it."

"Buffy?" Willow finally managed to gather enough breath to speak. "Did you ever see Speed?" Spike caught the hint immediately. Like lightning he threw a small knife at Willow's leg causing it to give out on her.

"Now!" He shouted to Buffy as Willow dropped away from Nargoth's heart. She too reacted with Slayer speed and hurled Mr. Pointy into the weaselly vamp's heart. He looked down at it sticking out of his chest and muttered 
"Blasted Keanu." Then exploded into dust.


Faith had stopped briefly outside the main room to assess the situation. She could see her dad and Xander in the far north east corner of the room engaged in a slaughter of vampires that almost made you pity the poor demons. As she began to sweep her eyes down the rest of the room she saw him standing there, massive and mean looking, like something out of a horrible dream. Faith could only imagine the fear that her beloved Cordelia had felt when that monster had captured her. //Cordy?help me.//

//I'm here baby.//

// That's him?//

//That's him baby. He's the one that took me away from you.//

//Crush, kill, destroy//

"TALOOOOOS!" She bellowed across the room.

The ancient vampire looked up from his men. "SLAYER!" Faith ripped the massive two-handed broad sword she had earlier used to kill a couch out of its scarab and charged forward not even stopping to fight the vamps that got in her way, just killing and running.

"TALOS!" The demon began to charge towards her, so insane with fury that he too was killing anything that stood between him and his target. All other activity in the room stopped dead in its tracks when the two crashed together almost dead center in the great room. 
Faith hit first, tearing a chunk off the gigantic vampire's leg with her sword. He tried to strike her head before she could reposition but was too slow. She caught his blow an inch from her forehead.

"You're too slow Talos, you're old." She taunted him.

"Whelp! I've killed a score of Slayers before you, you'll die just like the rest." He crashed his sword down at her head again.

Faith swung to counter his blow by slamming her sword into his side. As the blade sunk in she spat at him. "No I won't and you wanna know why?"

"Oh do tell." He parried another side stroke and dug a dagger into Faith's upper arm.

****

Buffy ran to her fallen lover skidding to her knees and enfolding Willow in a fierce embrace. "Oh god! Willow! Oh my love, I never thought I'd see you again. 
Oh--" she was unable to continue as her mouth was suddenly covered with Willow's lips and filled with the beautiful sensation of her tongue.

"Mmph." Was what the rest came out as. Behind them Spike fought off any vampire who came up from below, knowing full well he'd get no help from Buffy. After five minutes he made a command decision, despite the painful lack of command and shouted to the reunited lovers 
"Come on, it's time to go." Buffy pulled away from Willow and stood up, bending down to gently lift the red head from the ground.

"Buffy you don't have to carry me. I'm perfectly..."

"Shush. You've been locked up for almost four days and it feels like you haven't eaten at all in that time. I'm carrying you. That's that." Willow sighed in defeat and kissed her Slayer on the cheek as they rushed back up to the roof.

****

"Because." Another crashing blow was averted by her quick reflexes and countered with a thrust to his stomach. "You." As the colossus sank to his knees Faith struck him again, this time taking off the arm which held his dagger. "Took." She raised her sword to strike the finishing blow. "HER!" Faith's sword crashed through the air, cleaved through Talos' neck and jammed itself into a support beam. Faith looked down at the pile of dust which had been, for a few hours, her greatest enemy and felt?nothing. There was no joy at having killed him, no satisfaction at avenging Cordelia, there was only a gaping hole in her reality where Cordelia should've been. She looked up at her surroundings. Talos soldiers were at a loss as to what to do and were just milling around like crazed ants. Xander and Owen stood surrounded by dust and bodies, watching for her next move. She spat on his dusty remains.

"Burn it." Faith Spun on her heel and walked out.


Chapter Five: Depression

It was the hardest thing Joyce Summers had ever had to do in her life. Harder than leaving her husband, harder than coming to terms with her daughter's calling, harder than watching her move away for the first time. Joyce had gone to the Park just after the fighters had gone off to rescue Willow. It wasn't hard to find her though, no perversely enough that part had been easy. Spike had arranged everything so that it looked as if Cordelia had been swinging on a swing and had had her neck snapped when the chains had broken mid-swing. At least that's what Joyce thought it looked like.

"911 emergency. Police, Fire, Ambulance?"

"Ambulance, at Wetherly Park, near the swings, hurry I think she's dead."

"An ambulance is on the way ma'am. Just stay calm and stay on the line with me. Does she have a pulse?"

"I don't know, I don't know how to check."

"Alright you just sit tight and wait for the ambulance."

"Here it comes."

Joyce had stood by silent as the ambulance drivers had called the police. Stood by while they decided that Cordelia had died in a freak accident. Nodded silently when the police asked if she'd accompany them to the hospital.

Joyce hadn't thought there was anything worse than having to look at the remains of the beautiful young woman who had been so vital, so full of love the last time she had seen her. She was wrong. When Cordelia's mother arrived Joyce Summers experienced the worst pain she had ever had the misfortune of experiencing in her life. Mrs. Chase hadn't even been aware that Cordelia was in Sunnydale, she hadn't had the time to tell her yet. Joyce was silent though, oh yes, she kept their horrible secrets. //You're daughter didn't die in an accident! She gave her life in a heroic effort to rescue my daughter's life! She was a good and noble girl!// Joyce wanted to scream these things and more at the woman. Worst of all was the fact that she knew something that only one other person knew. //He's trying to bring her back. These Powers That Be are trying to send her back.// She said nothing.

****

Buffy was surprised to see her mother sitting in the emergency room when she burst through the doors with Willow in her arms. "Mom! What the heck are you doing here?" she asked as a nurse rushed up to her.

"Miss, what's the problem?"

"She hasn't had anything to eat or drink in four days. When I found her she was very weak."

"We'll take her upstairs, get some fluids in her."

"Not without me."

"Please it would be easier if--"

"Not without me." Buffy pronounced in a tone that brooked no argument. Not that she would have gotten one though, this particular nurse suddenly remembered an evening walk a year or two ago?this was the girl that saved her life.

"Alright sweetie, we'll all go upstairs and get some fluids in her. You look like you could use some rest yourself. Come on I'll get a wheelchair for your friend here."

Buffy tightened her grip on Willow.

"No. I'll carry her."

"Fair enough. Let's go." The nurse led Buffy towards an elevator and they disappeared inside.

"Well, you never told her." Spike put a gentle hand on Joyce's shoulder.

"I was the one who found Cordelia. I promised Faith that I would." She turned and looked into the vampire's eyes. "You'll be happy to know everyone is convinced that she died in a freak accident" she bit out. Spike winced.

"That's not fair Joyce you know--" he stopped talking as Xander and Owen walked through the doors.

"Did you get her?" They asked together.

"She's upstairs with Buffy." Xander looked pleadingly at the old man. 
"Go." He dashed off. Owen watched him go, then turned back to Spike and Joyce who had just been joined by Giles. "Well, that was rather a success." Owen smiled smugly. "I have enough vampire carcasses to bury him in." 
"You must be so glad." Acid dripped from Joyce's tongue as she spoke. 
"What's all this then? We rescued Willow with no injuries to anyone, dealt a blow for the Light--"

"Joyce found her." Spike interrupted him. "As a promise to Faith."

"Oh. Oh dear." Owen put his hand on Joyce's arm. "I'm sorry it had to be you my dear. You have to understand why it had to happen this way though."

"I'm afraid I don't Owen. I'm afraid I don't understand why I had to stand here and listen to the doctor tell that poor woman that her daughter, who she didn't even know was in town, had died in a freak swing accident. When I knew all along that she had died for a good and noble cause. I'm afraid I don't know why you dumped the body of the little girl your daughter loved in the goddamned park!" Joyce turned away and buried her face in Giles' shoulder.

****

"Oh baby, I didn't know what to do. They took you and I couldn't do anything, I just collapsed." Buffy was crying into Willow's hair as they lay squeezed together on Willow's little hospital bed.

"Shush now, it's alright." Willow gently stroked her lover's hair. "You go to sleep now." Under her breath Willow muttered the words to a handy sleeping spell.

She looked across the room to where Xander quietly slept. "Good to see you again Xand."

"You too Willster." He smiled gently at her. "You had us pretty worried for a while."

"Xand where's Faith? I have to tell her something about--"

"We already know." He told her grimly. "Owen found out as soon as it happened."

"How did she take it?"

"She pretty much blew up. So did I. We pretty much trashed your house. Sorry."

"No, I understand." She brushed a tear from her eye. "He, he did it right in front of me. Just snapped her neck like a stick."

"Yeah well he got his." Xander took grim satisfaction in the fact that Faith had avenged her lover's death. It fit his ideal of the world.

****

Faith hadn't always liked Cordelia's choices in music but she did now. As she sat alone in the room they had shared for the brief few hours they had been together here.


When somebody loved me every thing was beautiful

Every hour spent together lives within my heart

And was she was sad, I was there to dry a tear

And when she was happy so was I 
When she loved me


Faith's rage had been almost holy when she had found out about Cordelia. A pure blind fire that had destroyed the evil that had ruined her life, that had stripped her naked in the breeze. And for about two seconds after Talos had exploded into dust she had felt good. Great actually. Like her soul was hurtling towards heaven. Then it had come crashing back to earth. //This won't bring her back.// That little voice had whispered in her ear. //She's still gone.// In an instant Faith's elation had been replaced with a depression that dragged her down as far as the elation had raised her up. She had stopped caring then. She had known that her dad would ask her what she wanted to do with the building, with the remaining vamps and she didn't give a goddamn. So she had told him to burn it. All of it. Then she left.

//And came here.// But for what? She was supposed to be at the rendezvous point, the others were probably worried about her. Well except her dad probably. And maybe Willow. She idly thumbed the hilt of her knife as she lay on their bed. Pulled it out of the scarab. Ran her finger down its edge, testing its sharpness. Carelessly she jabbed the point of it on her finger. Suddenly it was sitting just below her breasts. //Just one push and we'll be together again. Just one push and I'll be in the arms of love.// Faith felt her muscles begin the necessary movements to make it happen. //Just one push.//

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There it is. I have the final installment of this piece written and hopefully I'll be able to post it soon. After that it's sort of up in the air because I'm back at school starting the 11th. Thanks for reading.



HonouredFool I

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