FAITH, HOPE, AND NEW BEGINNINGS
“It seems that my roommate won’t be able to make it after all. She has to pull a double at the hospital. I suggest that we go get some dinner before we go out and patrol tonight,” Benny stated.
“Well, where are we going to go eat here?” Faith asked.
“I am so hungry that I could eat for hours,” Kennedy said.
“I am with you there,” Xander replied, “Let’s go get something to eat.”
“What are we going to go in? Not that bus, I hope?” Buffy stated.
“Nope, I got us hooked up. I got us something to deal with that problem. I told you that I would take care of it and I did,” Xander replied.
“Yeah and how did you do that?” Benny asked.
“Well, while all you were talking and figuring things out here, I went and got us some wheels. They are parked out back, if you want to see them,” Xander stated.
“Did you drop my name with the dealer like I told you to do?” Benny asked.
“Yeah, they said that they knew where to send the bill and told me to pick whatever I wanted off the lot. I hope you like them,” Xander answered.
“Don’t worry about that, Xander. I told you that I would take care of it all. Come on and let’s see what he got. We can give them a test drive on our way to dinner.”
They all walked up to Xander who passed out sets of keys to them. They walked out the back door to the alley where all the cars were parked. There were six cars there. They stared at the site.
“I don’t know what to say,” Willow started, “We can’t accept this, Benny.”
“You have to. You have no choice. It is my ‘thank you’ for all the work that you have done as slayers and members of the Scoobies,” Benny stated.
“This one is Buffy’s. It is a nice one for her,” Xander said escorting her to the car, “It is a Dodge Avenger.”
“Nice. Benny, I can’t thank you enough for everything that you have given us. But, this…this is too much,” Buffy answered.
“Nonsense, I will say what is enough. Besides I have money to burn. You have nothing. From one slayer to another, you know it will help you,” Benny replied.
“So what did I get?” Willow asked, surveying the vehicles.
“This one has got to be yours,” Kennedy stated, “It is a VW bug in blue, like your eyes, baby. It is perfect for you.”
“Xander? Is that one mine?” Willow questioned.
“Actually…no, that one is going to be the Dawnster’s when she gets here. This one over here is yours, Willow and the one behind it is Kennedy’s. You’ve got a Jeep Cherokee and Kennedy gets that ’95 Cherry Red Mustang. I think they suit you both,” Xander explained, “I couldn’t think what to get Faith so I went with a classic. I had to think about what I thought was stylish, hard, but a muscle car. I went with the Porsche 911. I figured that Giles could use something British. So, I got him the Mini Cooper.”
“So what did you get?” Faith asked.
“That,” Xander said, turning off the alarm, “That is mine. It is a 1998 Ford F150 with extended cab and extended bed, 4x4, and it rides great. Plus, I figured that I would be doing a lot of maintainance here at the slayer school, so a truck would be needed.”
Benny smiled. They were all happy. They knew that could begin again, anew, here and that they now had friends that understood what it was like to be a slayer. Benny, Buffy, Kennedy and Faith looked at each other. They knew what was to come was unknown to them all. They only knew before that they had to fight in order to survive. Now, they could only fight what they didn’t know and there constant fear of the unknown future. Before they all knew that demons and vampires would come, that they will fight, and someone or something will die. Now, everything was unknown to them. They could actually plan a life and actually live it to the potential that everyone else could. It was unfathomable to them all.
Faith and Benny seemed to be lost in conversation, while they were out patrolling the North Side Cemetery. They didn’t hear the vamps lurking behind every tombstone while they were walking. Buffy and Kennedy were just moments behind them talking about their own things, but Kennedy heard the vamps. She motioned at Buffy, who nodded back in answer.
They split up. Kennedy took the vamp on the right and Buffy the one on the left. They came up behind them slowly. Both of them wanted a fight but they wanted to do it quietly. Buffy wasn’t much for sneaking but for some reason this seemed like more fun than an all out fight with the vampires.
Buffy walked up right behind him. She couldn’t figure out why he didn’t smell her coming. She had to guess was that he was filled with the scent of blood pouring off of Faith and Benny and that had clogged his senses to other living beings around him. She was right up on him when she touched him on the shoulder. He turned and looked her in the face.
“Excuse me, but could you tell me,” she asked, “how to make you stay dead?”
The vampire just looked at Buffy in disbelief. He didn’t think that humans were actually that dumb, but then he forgot what it meant to be alive and human. He also didn’t see the stake until it was sticking out of his chest.
“I think that will do it,” Buffy stated as the vampire turned into dust, “That will keep you dead, this time.”
Kennedy didn’t want to go for the quiet approach. She decided that she wanted to fight it out. She needed to fight this one. Then, she knew that she could go on and be a teacher at this Watcher and Slayer U that they were preparing. Kennedy didn’t hide the fact that she was there. She wanted the vampire to know that she was there and waiting on him to come fight her.
“Hey, nobby face, wanna play?” She goaded him.
“Just another girl, who thinks that she is big and bad, I’ve got something for you little girl. And, I don’t think that you are going to like it,” the vamp answered.
“Well, then, bring it on, sucker!”
They began to fight. Fists met fists and hands. Kennedy wasn’t sure how she was going to gain the upper hand on this one. He was strong. She didn’t give up hope though. She drew out her stake, as they fell to the ground and began wrestling.
“I guess you weren’t ready for a little girl, now, were you?”
“You won’t defeat me.”
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“No, little girl, I don’t.”
“I am Kennedy, and I am a slayer,” she answered him, staking him, “And, I am not a little girl.”
Benny and Faith never turned around. They just kept walking. They never even heard them fighting. Kennedy and Buffy met up with them. They were still lost in conversation about the new unknown future of all the slayers. It seemed to Buffy and Kennedy that they were getting closer. Buffy seemed to wonder if Benny was getting too attached to Faith.
“How did patrolling go?” Willow asked as they all came into the gym.
“Not bad,” Kennedy said.
“Yeah, we got two vamps tonight,” Buffy answered, noticing Faith and Benny’s reaction. They still didn’t know that there had been any vamps out tonight.
“I need to go. I’ll see you guys in the morning,” Benny stated, leaving before anyone could say anything to her. She seemed to know that there would be more questions about tonight’s slayage and she would have no answers to give. She didn’t want to be caught in that situation with Willow.
“Well, that was interesting,” Willow stated as Benny left.
“She must have a hot date with her roommate,” Faith replied walking over to the bad and giving a few quick but bored punches.
“Whats with you?” Buffy asked.
“Nothing, just sorting some stuff,” Faith replied, “I’m going up to bed.”
Faith left the room. Everyone looked around. The strangeness of the situation wasn’t lost on everyone. They could each feel a little bit of tension. No one seemed to want to acknowledge it and talk about it, but they knew that would have to and soon.
“What do you think that was all about?” Buffy asked the gang.
“I dunno, but there is something bothering them both,” Will stated.
“I know. Wonder what it is, though,” Kennedy pondered.
“So, anybody up for some ice cream or something?” Xander asked.
They all just looked at him. Couldn’t help but love Xander as he was always there to lighten up a dismal mood.
“What? Just wondering?” Xander asked.
“Nah, not tonight. I am going to turn in as well,” Buffy stated, “I’d suggest we all do the same. We’ve have all had a long night. Tomorrow, we are going to have a long day when the gym opens.”
They all seemed to agree on that one. They all went upstairs, but not all of them were going to go to bed. They went to their respective rooms.
Faith sat in her room staring at the wall. She wasn’t sure about what she wanted to do now. Benny had given her so much. She didn’t know what to do about it.
“What the hell am I supposed to do?” Faith asked outloud.
The wall didn’t answer back.
“She is gay. She puts a roof over my head. She buys me a car. UGH!!! Damn it, she is Willow’s cousin. I am not like this. Why is this bothering me so much?”
Faith didn’t know what to do about this. She wasn’t sure if she had feelings for Benny. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling. She had so much on her mind. She knew that she didn’t have to be a slayer full time now, and for some reason that bothered her more than anything. She could get a job. Hell, she could even have a family. She remembered that Wood’s mom was a slayer as well.
“Damn it! I wish that I could just go to sleep and not worry about this anymore. I just want to move on.”
She thought about a little more that night. She was going to go get a job. She wanted change and she was going to find it, no matter what it would take. Faith reached over to the chair at the desk. She grabbed her shirt. She took one last look at the room. She walked out the room, shirt in hand and left the gym behind. She needed space, time, something that would clear her head and make her Faith again.
She got into her Porsche and hit the highway. She didn’t care where she went as long as it was out of the town and had some distance from the hell mouth.
“It won’t help you,” a voice stated to her in the car.
She turned the radio up, drowning out the voice. Faith just thought that it was her mind getting the best of her until she looked into the seat next to her.
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. I am here to help you and the other slayers. I have some informatinon for you all.”
“Who? No, what are you?” Faith asked the body in the seat next to her.
“That isn’t important at the moment. What is important is the information that I have and that I don’t have a lot of time to give it to you. Now, do you want to hear it?”
“Depends. I know you from somewhere, don’t I?” Faith asked while taking a sidewise glance at the figure, “I know you. I know who you are and you’re dead.”
“Depends on what you call dead,” the figure answered back.
“You’re Willow’s girlfriend,” Faith stated stopping the car on what ever back road she happened to be on. She looked at the figure of Tara in the seat next to her and continued, “You’re Tara. You’re dead. So you must be from the First. So whatever information that you have for me is going to do nothing for me.”
“Your wrong, Faith. The music won’t drown out the feelings in your head. It won’t the feelings of loneliness go away. Every slayer is alone in their own way. I know it is hard for you now because there are so many slayers in the world. But, you have to find your way, Faith, or it was for nothing,” Tara stated.
“What was for nothing? I don’t understand you. You are speaking in riddles. I don’t like games. What the hell do you want from me?” Faith questioned.
“I want you to keep driving. There is a vampire nest of sorts up ahead. I want you take them out. I want you to continue slaying. It is the only way that any of you are going to make it through this transition. I know that it is hard for you to believe me because what the First did to all of you in Sunnydale, but rest assured that I am not dead in the sense that you believe that I am.”
“Umm…okay, explain.”
“Let’s just say that a lot has happened to me since Warren shot me. I did die in the human sense. I was made better. I have seen the future Faith and if you don’t do something, they will all die. Now, drive!”
“Who will die? Tara, what the hell is going on?” Faith questioned.
“You won’t understand until I show you. Please, just drive.”
“I don’t believe you. Prove to me that you aren’t the First. I know what the First can do in its illusions. I know what it can’t do as well. Prove to me that you aren’t the First and I will drive until I die.”
“I am not asking you to do that. I just want you to believe that I have information for you and if I have to make you believe that I am real and not the First to do that, then I will,” Tara replied reaching out and touching Faith’s face in a caressing motion, “Is that proof enough? Or do you need more that I am not an illusion sent to you by the First?”
“Where to?” It was a simple answer to Tara’s proof.
“It is just up a little bit. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
They sat in silence as Faith drove on. Tara told her to slow down as they approached a club on the outskirts of town and the fringes of some suburb as well. The building sat atop a hill. It was a club called “Bloody Spike.”
“You would think that they would come up with something more original than that,” Faith stated as they parked a good ways away from the place.
“They would have had they still been in the possession of their souls.”
“You still didn’t answer my question. If you’re dead, and not evil dead or the First’s illusions trying to make me go crazy, then what the hell are you? Not to sound mean or anything, but just what the hell are you?” Faith asked.
“It is a long story. I don’t think that we are going to have time for me to tell you all about it now. I just want you to know where this place is. You have to take care of it before something major happens there. I can’t stay here too long. I don’t have the energy to be here, to be with you that long,” Tara answered.
“That isn’t an answer. It is evasion of the question.”
“It will have to do for now. My power is wanning. I can’t remain here with you much longer. Please, you have to remember how to get here. Hit this place hard tomorrow night,” Tara replied.
“Are you going to see Willow? I mean have you been to Willow?”
“In her dreams, I have been there. I want to go her. Trust me, I would if I dared. I have scared her enough in death. I don’t want to make it worse on her, now. I have to go. I have done what I have come to do. I will come again when I can,” Tara stated.
“You haven’t been to her. How? You don’t want to be with her?”
“I don’t have time for this, Faith, do what you have to. I’ll come back when I can. I have done what I can for Willow. Faith, believe me. I love her and want to be with her, but I can’t. That is all you need to know for now,” Tara replied.
Faith was looking at the club. She was paying attention. She was trying to count how many vamps that she could she see walking in and out of the place. She was watching all the innocents who didn’t know what the club was about. She knew what she to do. She had a misson. She had a reason.
“I’ll hit it tomorrow, maybe I’ll bring some help with me. I’ll take care of it, Tara, I promise. I’ll take care of it…Tara?” Faith asked turning toward the seat next to her, only to find it empty. Tara was gone.
Willow and Kennedy were in their room.
“Baby, do wonder what is going on with Benny and Faith?”
“No, Kennedy, I don’t because I don’t think that there is anything there. If I did, I would be worried. Besides, Benny has her own girl waiting for her at home. Trust me, there is nothing going on between Benny and Faith,” Willow answered.
“How do you know that?”
“All they are, are friends. Benny saw something in Faith, herself. She is giving Faith some guidence. They have become friends because of what they are. They are learning from each other,” Willow stated.
“What do they have to learn from one another?” Kennedy questioned.
“Benny had a rough life as did Faith. They are learning to share, to open up to other people through each other. They are beginning to live again. Something that they haven’t done in a long, long time,” Willow replied.
“Can living be all that hard?” Kennedy asked.
“It can when you forget how,” A voice stated in the room.
“What the hell?” Kennedy stated grabbing the nearest weapon, a hand axe.
“That will do you no good,” the figure standing in their room stated.
“What do you want?” Willow managed to get out through clentched teeth.
“Wow, the witch is still a bitch. This is nice,” the figure stated.
“What do you want, Warren?” Willow asked, “But, you aren’t Warren, you’re the First. What do you want?”
“Your enternal suffering. You’re magicks might have defeated me once, witch. But, you won’t win here. I have more power over those here, than I did in that trival town of Sunnydale. Be prepared for it. I am coming and all will suffer,” Warren stated.
“We are prepared for you. We stopped you once and we will do it again,” Kennedy responded, “There is nothing we can stop.”
“You won’t stop me. I am much too powerful for a witch and some bitches with stakes and axes. I am not toying with you this time. This time, I will succeed.”
“Say what you will, but there are slayers every where. You might defeat us, you might even kill us in the process, but you will never win. Willow made sure of that last time. There will be slayers ever where hunting you down and fighting you. There will always be slayers, as long as there are women,” Kennedy replied.
“I have no time for your babbling. I have others to attend to. I have not forgotten the crater or my set back in Sunnydale. But, this is only the beginning.”
The figure dissolved into nothing right in front of them both. They stared at each other unsure of what to say. They didn’t know exactly what to do, but they knew that they needed to get Buffy and figure out something. They rushed out their room and down the hall.
Kennedy pounded on Buffy’s door, while Willow went to get Xander.
“Okay, okay, slow down,” Buffy stated, “I can’t understand you all at once.”
“Where is Faith?” Xander asked.
“Somebody should go get her,” Buffy said.
“I’ll go,” Kennedy stated.
“So, slow down, Will, and tell me what happened,” Buffy commanded.
“Well, it was the First. It was in our room. It appeared as Warren. And it told us that we wouldn’t win this time, that Sunnydale was just its way of toying and testing us, and that this was just the beginning,” Willow answered.
Kennedy came back into Buffy’s room and without Faith.
“Where’s Faith?” Buffy inquired.
“Not here,” Kennedy replied.
“What does that mean?” Willow questioned.
“She isn’t here at all. She isn’t in her room,” Kennedy responded.
“Well, I wonder where she could be at this hour,” Buffy said looking at her clock, “Which is around three a.m. Did anyone hear her leave?”
“I didn’t,” Xander answered.
“We were talking. So we didn’t hear anything, either,” Willow stated.
“Well, now we need to be worried about where she is and what the first is up to,” Buffy stated, “I think we should alert Benny. I don’t want anyone to be surprised. I have evil surprises.”
“Do you think that we should call Giles again? You know, warn him?” Xander questioned, “I mean, doesn’t he need to know, too?”
“Good idea, I’ll do it,” Willow stated, running back to her room to call Giles about everything on her cell.
“What are we going to do about Faith?” Kennedy asked.
“We find her,” Buffy said.
Faith drove to town. She didn’t know what to do now. She wanted change, but she knew that she had a mission. It was a mission from beyond the grave and she meant to complete it for Tara. She found an all night tattoo shop and went in it.
“You looking for some ink, little one?” the tattoo artist asked Faith.
“Well, yeah,” Faith stated with a smuggness that was totally Faith’s attitude, “I am thinking something like this.”
She pointed to a flamely heart on the wall.
“I’ll take that one,” Faith stated.
“Where you want it?” he asked.
“On my back,” Faith answered, raised her shirt and pointed to her back, “Right here. That is where I want it.”
“Okay, fill this out and come on back. We’ll get you started.”
Two hours later, Faith walked out of the store. Her back was a little sore, but she felt better. She knew that there was something about the high that you got from getting a tattoo. It was a natural high, similar to slaying.
She continued to wander down the street. It was amazing alive considering the time, but then it was a bigger city than Sunnydale could have ever dreamed of being in the near future. She found a place about two blocks down from the tattoo shop. It was some sort of spa. She walked in, thinking that she could use some relaxation.
What she found inside, wasn’t spa like. It was an all night pamper house for men. You could get a massage, a haircut, a waxing, have a turn in a steam room, and more. The operators at the front desk just looked at her when she walked in.
“Can we help you?” a small Asian woman asked.
“Yeah, I am looking for a change, like a new look, do you think you could do that for me? Could you give me a new look?” Faith asked.
“We can do that for you for say one hundred dollars,” the woman stated.
“Kinda rich, don’t you think?” Faith questioned, “Is it worth in?”
“We can do. We make you new.”
“I guess. I can part with some cash tonight,” Faith stated handing the little Asain woman the money.
“Come. Come. Come with me,” the little woman stated.
Faith walked back with her, nothing entered her mind as she followed her back.
“Anybody find her?” Buffy asked.
“No dice here,” Xander answered.
“No, we didn’t find anything,” Kennedy replied.
“We need to find her,” Buffy said.
“I agree,” Willow stated.
“So, what did Giles say when you called him?” Buffy asked.
“Nothing much. He was actually wondering when we were going to call him and tell him how things were going. He said that he and Dawnie would be on the next plane they could get here. He would call when he knew more. He asked if we should gather the slayers again, though,” Willow responded.
“Ah…don’t know that one. We’ll have to wait for more information before we start assembling the armies. Besides we need to get Giles to draw up plans for our Watcher and Slayer U. I need him here to help us do the research on the First. But, I want him to design a ciriculum for the new watchers and slayers. He is really the only one who could do that for us effectively,” Buffy replied.
“I understand that, but what are we going to do about the Faith situation? I mean shouldn’t we be worried about her, you know with the First running amuck?” Will asked.
“I would be, but I know that she is big girl and she can handle herself,” Buffy answered, “I do want her back though. I don’t want any of out there alone until we know what the First is up to here.”
Faith walked out of the all night spa feeling free and fresh. She knew that everyone would freak. Her hair was gone, the leather and attitude that went with it were waning behind her. Faith was moving forward. Her new attitude was “one hell mouth down, one to go.” She was no longer looking for something to rule her, she wanted something to rule. Being a slayer offered her this, but it was also a crutch. She could rule her life being a slayer, but being a slayer ruled her life.
She walked a little taller. She walked a little straighter back to her car. She was finally starting to follow Benny’s advice. She was going to live her life like she had one now and not like tomorrow was going to be her last day on Earth. She realized that leather, booze, and dancing weren’t going to keep her alive forever.
She was still a little unsure of herself. She was still a little unsure of what she had just done. She wanted to talk to Benny, but it was about five a.m. She didn’t know whether or not Benny was awake, but she was willing to find out. She got in the Porsche and drove to Benny’s town house.
“No, I haven’t heard from her. I’ll call you, Will, if I hear from her,” Benny said into her cell phone, “Hold on, someone is at the door.”
Benny went to the door and opened it to find Faith on her doorstep.
“Nevermind, I found her. She is with me,” Benny stated, “I’ll call you later.
“Faith, what the hell? Come on in. Tell me where you have been.”
“Out, I got a little cabin feverish in the rooms at the gym and decided to check out the town,” Faith replied.
“I can see that, but what the hell is this?” Benny asked pointing to Faith’s head.
“I wanted a change. I decided that I didn’t want be a slayer to run my life anymore. I wanted to run my life again. I decided I needed to change things up a bit.”
“I see. So this is because of our little chat last night on patrol,” Benny said.
“Yeah, I realized that you were right. I didn’t need to be a slayer to be somebody any more. I want to get a real job and my own place. I want to make it like you did. I need some sort of normalcy in my abnormal life. Do you think that you can help me with that? I mean, thanks for all of the money, the room, and the car, but I need to make it on my own. You know what I mean?” Faith questioned.
“Yeah, I do. I can totally understand where you are coming from. I don’t know whether or not that you picked a good time to do it,” Benny replied.
“Why do you say that?” Faith asked.
“It seems the First has made an appearance. It seems that it appeared to Willow and Kennedy. The First seems to be angry and wants to do something about it.
“The gang has been looking for you since around three this morning. They’ve been worried. They thought that something might have happened to you. They were worried, but Buffy told them that you were a big girl and could handle yourself. I see she was right.
“So, what else did you do while you were out this morning?” Benny asked.
“I took a ride out of town. Found a nest, with a little angelic help. I am thinking of taking it out tonight. I need to do this. I am not sure if I should do it on my own though. My angelic help doesn’t think that I should either, she wants me to take back up, but I need to do this on my own,” Faith explained.
“Angelic help?” Benny inquired, “What does that mean?”
“All I can say is that an old friend came back to help us. She gave the location of the nest. She touched me, which let me know that she wasn’t the First. The First can’t touch anything. I know that this is weird, but it is true,” Faith replied.
“Who was this person that came to you?”
“I am afraid to tell you. I don’t want to upset anyone with this news. It would crush the gang if they knew about it. Benny, please, don’t make me tell you who it is. I could handle it if it would break us up. I need the support of the others now, more than ever. I need us to stay like a family,” Faith answered.
“I understand that, but if you don’t tell them it will hurt them more when they find out the truth. I don’t think they will understand you why you didn’t tell them, now. They should know. If you want them to truly accept you, then tell them the truth, Faith.”
“Will you go with me?” Faith asked.
They entered the gym and went upstairs to the office/library. Faith and Benny found the gang doing research on Cleveland’s demon past.
“So, you’ve come back,” Buffy stated, “And, with a new haircut.”
“I have something to tell you. It is important, but it doesn’t have to do with the First. It is something that happened to me last night,” Faith stated.
“What? You got laid?” Xander asked.
“Let her speak,” Benny commanded.
“I was visited by an old friend of ours who gave me some information about a local vampire nest,” Faith explained, “I think we should take it out tonight.”
“Who was it?” Willow asked.
“Tara,” Faith answered and the room went silent, “It was Tara.”
“Tara,” Willow whispered and Kennedy looked at Willow and she was scared.
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