Fic: Something Wicked 4/?

["jillbone" <jillbone@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

a/n:  Sorry this chapter took so long.  I've been sick all week.  
Promise the next one will be quicker.

a/n 2:  I can't explain the title.  It just seemed to fit.




Chapter 4: If Witches Were Horses

	Buffy opened her eyes unsure of what woke her at 
first.  "Wakey, wakey, Busy B,"  Faith said flicking her
sister in the forehead one last time.  

	Swatting the hand away, Buffy groaned.  "Stop it."  She 
looked at the clock next to her bed.  "God, it's three in the 
morning.  What's the matter now, brat?"

	The brunette sat down on the bed looking a little 
sheepish.  "I couldn't sleep.  Wanna do a quick patrol with
me?  Burn off some energy?"

	Seeing the look on her sister's face, Buffy threw back the 
covers.  "Fine, but you owe me."  Faith jumped up almost
giddy and headed to the closet for supplies.

	After making sure they were properly armed, the slayers 
headed into the heart of town where the cemeteries were.  Choosing 
the closest one, they set out looking for some trouble.  Never one 
for prolonged silence, Faith spoke up.  "So watcha gonna do about 
Red?  You gonna make a play for her this century?"

	Buffy ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.  "Come 
on.  You know it's not that easy.  There's a lot to
consider."  Her demon grinned wickedly in her head, knowing she
was talking about him.

	Nodding, Faith tapped the side of her head.  "Like the little 
guy?"  Unlike Buffy, the brunette had come to terms with her
demon months ago when she was first called.

	"Yeah.  Him.  You know, I just don't know what to do about 
him sometimes.  Some of the things he wants."

	"Well, you know my theory..."  Faith trailed off and sniffed 
at the air.  She turned to look at Buffy with yellow eyes.

	"What?  What is it?"  Buffy let her demon take over and
tried to sort out the darkness ahead of them.

	"Blood.  This way."

	The slayers jogged silently towards the small copse of trees 
ahead.  As they approached, the smell of blood became overwhelming 
and Buffy's demon began to become more aggressive.  (Smells like 
somebody's having fun out here tonight.  Wonder if they'll
share.)  (Shut up.  I don't have time for this right...)  Faith
and Buffy reached the clearing and saw the mutilated body of a young 
girl.  (...now.)

	Not finding any signs of unlife in the area, the girls let 
their demons slip back again.  A young girl around eleven or twelve 
lay naked and spread on the ground in front of them.  Among other 
things, her throat had been cut and she had a strange symbol carved 
on her chest.  Buffy and Faith looked at each other.  "Ah
crap."

**********************************************************************

	"Giles, I already tried to draw the symbol three times now.  
Art is not one of my many talents."  Buffy shot her watcher an 
exasperated look as she and Faith looked through books trying to find 
the mark they`d seen.

	Giles sat at the library's sole computer.  "I'm trying
to find the autopsy report for you to look at, but this blasted 
machine won't let me do anything."  He stopped, frustrated,
and started hitting the side of the monitor.

	"That'll only make it worse you know," Willow said
walking into the library with Xander.

	"It's its own fault anyway."  The librarian glared at
the computer.  "All I've figured out so far is how to play
solitaire."

	Willow's face lit up.  (Yes!  This looks like a job for 
hacker girl.)  "Scoot over Mr. Giles and tell me what you're
looking for."  She sat down at the keyboard and cracked her
knuckles.

	With a sigh of relief, the normally stoic Englishman leaned 
over the redhead's shoulder.  "It seems Buffy and Faith found
a body in Restfield Cemetery last night with a symbol carved on its 
chest.  I was hoping to find the autopsy report and a picture of the 
mark as well."

	Buffy looked up from her book and saw Giles' face close to 
Willow's.  She let out an involuntary growl and snarled at him.  
Faith's head popped up at the sound and she smacked her sister on
the back of the head.

	"Well done, Willow."  All heads turned towards the hacker
who blushed from all the attention.  "That looks familiar.  Yes. 
I know I've seen that somewhere before,"  Giles voice trailed
off as he headed towards the supernatural section of the card catalog.

	Faith shut her book and stood up relieved.  "I never thought 
I'd say this but let's get to class."

**********************************************************************

	Having finished her assignment early (As usual), Willow 
decided to use her time in the computer lab to see if she could find 
out anything about last night's slayage.  (Let's see. 
Keywords: demons, vampires, oooh ritualistic murder.  That should 
find something.)  While sifting through the unsurprisingly heavy 
amount of websites devoted to these topics, the redhead could just 
barely make out what head cheerleader and resident bitch Cordelia 
Chase was saying at the computer behind her.  "God, have you seen 
those new girls yet?"  Willow's ears perked up at the mention
of her new friends.

	A male voice spoke up.  "The hot ones with all the leather?"

	 "Yeah, right.  Hello?  They look like the spokeswomen for 
Dykes on Bikes."  Cordelia's voiced dripped with sarcasm,
then lowered to a whisper.  "You know they live together,
right?"

	As she heard the shocked gasps, Willow knew she had to speak 
up for once.  (After all, they did save my life.)  Spinning her chair 
around, she faced the cheerleader.  "They're sisters,
Cordelia.  Not lovers."

	Cordelia looked at Willow and sneered.  "When I want your 
opinion, I'll write it down and give it to you, nerd-girl."

	The hacker flushed with embarrassment and spun her chair back 
around.  (Why did I even turn around?  I knew it was going to turn 
out like that.  It's like I'm a glutton for punishment or 
something.)  Willow went back to searching the web, but could still 
hear the group behind her.  "Sisters?  More like a Jerry Springer 
episode waiting to happen."  The bell rang and Willow bolted for
the door ready to be rid of Cordelia and her minions.

	Jenny Calendar collected the remaining students' assignments 
and printed out a list of what the class was looking at on the 
internet.  (Damn schoolboard.  What do I care if some pubescent teen 
wants to look at porn.  As long as the assignment gets handed in on 
time.)  She scanned the list of websites ready for a laugh. 
(What's it going to be today?  HotBabes.com?  NakedChix?)  The 
computer teacher paused and reread the list.  (What the...?  
Demonology.net.  Killers4Satan.  RitualMurder.com?  Shit.  I really 
don't want to have to talk to Snyder about this.  Maybe I can
just talk to the student myself.  Let's see....Willow
Rosenberg!?!) Jenny looked at the computer the redhead normally sat 
at.  "Maybe I should keep an eye on her instead."

**********************************************************************

	Buffy walked into the library after school and heard Faith 
telling a story to Willow and Xander.  Not really paying attention, 
she sat down at the table to wait for Giles.

	"There we were.  It was about a hundred and eighteen degrees, 
B's sleeping without a stitch on, suddenly we hear all this 
screamin'."  Buffy groaned and dropped her head on the table
knowing what was coming.  

	"B goes tearin' outside - stark nude - this church bus has 
broke down and three vamps are feeding on half the Baptists in South 
Boston.  So she wastes the vamps and the preacher is hugging her like 
there's no tomorrow when the cops pull up."  Buffy started
banging her head on the tabletop.  (Kill me now.)  Faith 
grinned.  "They arrested both of them on the spot."

	Xander looked at Buffy, who was starting to do some serious 
damage to the table, and sighed wistfully.  "They should film
that story and show it every Christmas."

	The blonde slayer continued to hit her head and was trying to 
devise new ways to torture her sister when Giles walked in. 
"Buffy, we can't afford new tables.  Please stop hitting your
head before you break something."  Giles settled a book on the
table while Buffy tried not to make eye contact with anyone.

	The watcher pointed at a symbol in the book.  "I knew I 
recognized that mark from somewhere.  "It seems that you and
Faith stumbled across the ritual site of a follower of Leviathan, the 
demon of envy."  Looking at the blank stares around the table, he 
continued.  "Moving right along, I feel you four should split up 
tonight so you can cover more ground.  Buffy, take Willow with you 
and stake out the area from last night.  Faith, take Xander with you 
and patrol the remaining areas of the cemetery in case this person is 
on the move."

	Buffy's eyes darted towards the redhead and her demon 
chuckled darkly.  (Finally some time alone.  Let's make the best
of this.  Maybe we can...)  (How many times do I have to tell you
`not now.'  Geez, get it under control already.)  Her eyes
shyly met Willow's.  (It will be nice to spend some time together 
though.)

	Faith looked like someone told her to eat dirt.  "Why do I 
have to -" she started to protest when she met a glare from her 
sister.  She sighed dramatically and looked at Xander.  "Oh
alright, but try not to get yourself killed or anything."

**********************************************************************

	Faith was patrolling Restfield Cemetery, her demon begging 
permission to beat Xander unconscious just so he would shut up.  
(Just let me hurt him a little.  Please.)  (No.  But if he hints at 
asking me out one more time, I'll think about it.)  The demon
cheered trying to think of an appropriate way to quiet the hormonal 
teenager.

	"So, Faith, Homecoming is coming up soon, you know.  And I 
was wondering if maybeyou'dliketogowithme?"  The last part of
his question came out a jumbled mess and it took a moment for Faith 
to decipher it.

	"I'm not really one for school sanctioned events, Xand-man, 
but thanks anyway."  The slayer really hoped this would end the 
subject finally.  (How much more direct can I get?) she thought.

	Xander looked momentarily crestfallen, but recovered 
quickly.  "Well...how's Buffy's school spirit?  Think
she'd want to go?"

	Faith sighed.  (Looks like I'm going to have to be blunt as 
usual.)  "Look Xander, there's something I should probably
tell you about me and Buffy -- about slayers in general.  We dig 
chicks, ok?"  Xander looked back at her slightly confused. 
"We like the girl on girl loving.  You know, the Sapphic
action?"  He still looked confused.  "We're gay, Xander. 
We're
gay."

	Slowly, comprehension dawned on the boy's face.  "Oh.  Ohhh.
Both of you?"  Faith nodded.  "All slayers?  Ever?"

	"Yep.  As far as Giles can tell, it's something the Powers 
That Be came up with as the ultimate form of birth control.  I mean, 
can you really see a Home for Unwed Slayers?  This just makes 
everything easier."

	Xander's heart fell a little at the thought that both slayers 
were now off the market for him.  Then, his face lit up.  (Maybe I 
can talk them into investing in a video camera for me.)

**********************************************************************

	Across the cemetery, Buffy and Willow were about to call it a 
night and head back to Giles when Buffy stopped, pulling Willow up 
short beside her.  "Do you hear that?"  She cocked an ear and 
signaled for the redhead to be quiet.  "There's something up
ahead."  

	She dragged Willow behind a tombstone as a woman in black 
passed directly in front of them.  As she saw the woman's
profile, the redhead gasped lightly.  Buffy pressed her hand firmly 
against her friend's mouth as the woman looked around for the
source of the sound.

	The blonde slayer became less focused on her surveillance and 
more on the feel of Willow's lips against her skin.  She was so 
focused that she missed the woman leaving the area.  (I knew
they'd be soft, but wow...)

	In the meantime, Willow was beginning to wonder if Buffy was 
trying to suffocate her.  Not seeing the woman in black, she decided 
to risk speaking again.  Well, as best she could with a hand over her 
mouth.  "Shme's wone, Uffy."  When the hand didn't
move, Willow licked at it hoping Buffy would get the hint.

	(Oh my god.  She just licked me!)  The slayer removed her 
hand as if it had been burned and stared dazedly at the redhead.  Her 
demon came to the forefront, overloading on sensation.  (Wonder if 
she'd like to lick anything else while she's at it.)

	Willow tugged at Buffy who was staring between her hand and 
Willow's face.  "I'm so sorry Buffy, but I needed to
breathe and you wouldn't listen and the lady had already left and
why are your eyes yellow?"  The slayer shook her head and the
color disappeared from her eyes.  (Maybe it was a trick of the 
light.)  "Anyways, Buffy! I know who that woman is!  That's
Amy Madison's mom.  We used to hang out at her house all the time
in junior high."

	Buffy pulled out her cellphone and hit the speed dial for 
Faith.  "Faith, we got a lead on the Big Bad...Meet us at Amy 
Madison's house...Xander'll know the way.  Just hurry." 
She flipped the phone shut again and stood.  "Ok, Wills, which
way to Amy's house?"

**********************************************************************

	Peeking in through the front window of the Madison house, 
Buffy couldn't see any movement at all.  She could hear muffled 
voices coming from the second floor, but couldn't tell how many 
people were in the house.  (Dammit.  Where's Faith?  I can't
wait on her all night.  I'm gonna have to do something soon. 
There may be an innocent civvy in there.)  The slayer leaned over and 
whispered in Willow's ear.  "Wait here for Faith and fill her
in on the situation.  I'm gonna go around back and try to find a
way to sneak onto the second floor."  She saw the redhead start to
protest and cut her off.  "Don't argue right now.  We
don't have time. Just stay out of sight and wait for Faith."

	Buffy stood and made her way towards the back of the house 
looking for a way in.  Spying an open window on the upper level, she 
braced herself and jumped up to rest on the ledge.  Her demon sensing 
nothing, she quietly entered the Madison house and tried to pinpoint 
where the voices were coming from.

	"Why are you doing this to me?"

	"I won't let you waste your youth anymore, Amy.  If your not 
going to use it, I will."

	 Heading down the hallway towards the voices, Buffy paused 
outside an open bedroom door.  Through the crack in the door, she 
could make out two figures: the lady in black from the cemetery and a 
teenage girl tied to a bed.  (Shit.  Faithy better get her ass here 
before I have to go in there.)  

	The girl tied to the bed began to struggle.  "I don't 
understand, mom.  What's wrong?"

	Mrs. Madison laughed and walked slowly towards the bed.  She 
tied a small gag around the teen's mouth.  "You don't
need to understand.  I gave you your chance.  Now it's my
turn."  Turning back to the other side of the room, the woman lit
a candle and began to chant.  "Leviathan, hear my call.  From the
unworthy..."

	(I guess now's as good a time as any.)  Buffy stepped into 
the room with a grin.  "Is this a private party or can anyone
join?"  Knowing that she'd thrown the woman off balance, she
stepped closer to the girl on the bed.  "So, is this some sort of 
medieval torture thing or has someone forgotten the safe word
again?"

	"Who are you?  A friend of Amy's no doubt.  Trust the little 
bore to spoil my fun.  Oh well, might as well kill two birds with one 
stone.  So to speak."

	"Actually, I'm Buffy, the vampire slayer.  Maybe you've
heard of me?  No?  That's ok.  You won't forget after
this."  Buffy swung at Mrs. Madison's head, missing when she
ducked down behind a chair.  "Come on.  Don't make this
harder than
you have to."  The blonde pushed the chair out of the way as the
witch suddenly stood.

	"I wouldn't dream of it, dear."  Buffy never saw the
knife in the woman's hand until it was too late.  Feeling a sharp 
pain in her shoulder, she could see the hilt sticking out.  "This
is my favorite shirt, bitch."  With her left leg, she swept the
woman's feet out from under her and punched her in the face on
the way down.  Mrs. Madison was unconscious before she hit the floor.

	Loud footsteps pounded down the hall and Faith, Xander, and 
Willow burst into the room.  While the other two teens tried to 
regain their breath, Faith looked calmly at the prone woman on the 
floor.  "We're here to save you, B."

	"Little late for that.  Guys, untie the girl on the bed and 
Faith and I will do something with her," Buffy said pointing at
the woman on the floor.

	As Willow and Xander untied the gag from Amy's mouth and 
began to work at the knots binding her to the bed, the slayers 
checked the room for some way to secure her mother.  As they checked 
the closet, neither girl saw Mrs. Madison stand up her eyes now jet 
black with power.  However, everyone turned towards her at the first 
sound of her voice.

	"I shall look upon my enemy..."

	Buffy looked at her sister and motioned slightly towards the 
three teens by the bed.  Faith nodded and inched her way over.

	"I shall look upon her and the dark place will have her 
soul..."

	Not knowing how to save everyone, Buffy's eyes darted around 
the room spotting a large mirror on the dresser next to her.  (Bingo!)

	"Corsheth!  Take her!"  A bright light sped from the witch's 
fingertips towards Buffy as Faith leapt to cover Willow and Xander 
shielded Amy on the bed.  Buffy placed the mirror in front of her and 
the light was reflected back to Mrs. Madison.  A bright flash filled 
the room and threw all of the occupants backwards.

	Coughing, Buffy sat up and looked around.  "Everyone okay?"  
Hearing affirmatives from the side of the bed, she looked where
Amy's mother had been.  (Empty.  Great.  Well, at least she's
not here anymore.)

	Amy stood in the center of the room and looked at the four 
teens.  "I guess I should thank you guys?"  She broke off
confused and glanced helplessly at Willow.

	The redhead leaned over and put her arm around the 
girl.  "Oh.  Oh yeah.  This is Buffy and Faith.  They're, uh,
they're kinda like superheroes."  The slayers cringed at this 
description not liking the attention.

	Eager to change the subject, Faith blurted out the first 
thing that came to her mind.  "What was up with your mom?  She
like a psycho or something?"

	Buffy jabbed her sister in the stomach for her lack of 
tact.  "Jesus, Faith.  Brain damage much?"

	Amy shrugged.  "It's ok.  Mom went off the deep end three 
years ago when dad died.  I always knew she was a witch.  I just 
kinda thought she was the harmless kind."  She looked around the
room again her eyes never settling on a particular thing.  "What
am I gonna do now?"

	Buffy looked at the ground for a minute feeling guilty.  
(She's orphaned now and it's our fault.  Hope Giles
doesn't kill me for this.)  She raised her head to look at the
girl again.  "Only one thing we can do.  You're coming home
with us."





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Willow: "It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
Buffy:  "I kinda love you."
                     'Choices'

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