Recombination

They were all dreaming, not that they knew it, but they were. The entire town, all the adults save the unlucky few that had already been drained and released. None of them knew it of course and each of them was dreaming different dreams, unconnected despite their emotional bonds.

Buffy was the first to be taken. The creature wanted her drained and unresisting and although she proved somewhat of a mouthful to digest the creature continued to work its magic.

Buffy frowned, sitting up slowly. She rubbed her head, wincing at the throbbing headache that followed; she remembered feeling a sharp pain on the back of her head and falling to the floor, but looking around she couldn’t see Giles anywhere and she’d fallen on him, she was sure of it. Muscles protesting, she slowly stood up and rolled her shoulders. The training room looked…dirty, dirtier then she remembered. Confused she moved out into the main shop. Expecting to see Anya she was bewildered to see Wesley quietly sorting through some papers, she watched his face set into a guarded expression as she came near.

"Buffy, is something wrong, do you require anything?" he asked quietly.

She frowned studying the side of his neck and ran a finger along it. "No cut?" she asked herself.

The former watcher bristled. "I have no idea what you are talking about Miss Summers, now I believe we should carry on what we were doing. The cataloguing of peoples lives?" he inquired.

Buffy blinked confused, jumping slightly at a cold drawl from behind her. "Yeah, B don’t you want to know what you did to our friends?" it asked silkily.

Buffy stiffened feeling the familiar anger rise in her as she turned; her eyes widened as they fell upon the former slayer standing donned head to toe in leather, holding a chunky silver chain in one hand. Faith yanked on it bringing its attached creature into show. Xander dropped to his knees, his hands around his throat choking slightly as Faith pulled the chain tighter, her foot pinning him to the floor.

Buffy swallowed hard. "Whatever this is this isn’t real, you’re in prison and Xander’s with Spike; he is not your pet."
The brunette slayer smiled slightly in response as she continued to pin the struggling boy and she ran a sharp fingernail down his cheek drawing blood. "No but he was yours wasn’t he?" She smiled ferally “don’t you remember?" She flung the chain to Buffy who caught it with ease, her eyes widening with disbelief as her clothes changed to leather before her eyes, Xander crept forward to sit at her feet, his hurt puppy dog eyes moving from Faith to rest adoringly on Buffy.

Faith moved closer to Buffy running one hand along her arm and eliciting a shiver from the girl. "You used to be his one and only. He’d diss Willow for you, hell he would have thrown Cordelia away, not looked twice at that skanky ex-demon Anya and never, ever turned gay." She smirked slightly. "He would have done anything for you, still would." She turned to the door and glanced back ."It’s a good look for you; you should keep him like that." She moved to the door, "Now let’s see what’s behind door number 2!"

Faith yanked back the curtain revealing an immensely scared looking Willow, clad in dungarees. As the slayer opened the door Willow leapt at Buffy clinging to her side and giving fearful whimpers.

Faith’s grin widened. "They all looked up to you; you were their world, now you’re just a cheap imitation." She sauntered over to Buffy running her hands own her body as she enjoyed her games. "You can feel it can’t you? You want that power over them again, you miss it don’t you?" she asked her brown eyes burning deeply into Buffy’s blue.

Buffy felt an immense arousal flood her body at the other slayer’s hungry look, followed by a rush of burning shame. She pushed the Willow and Xander clones away, dropping the chain; she shook her head. "No they’re my friends, we’re a family," she said quietly.

Faiths grin widened. "Really? We’ll let me tell you a little something about this family." She pushed Willow and Xander to squat at her feet and stare up at her adoringly. "You have none, Giles is off whenever he can, he doesn’t want to be here, doesn’t want to be with you. It’s only Willow that keeps him here, and she’s a piss poor excuse as it is. Face it Buffy, despite all your parental, father issues he’ll never see you as anything more then a job." She goaded the slayer.

Buffy bit her lip slightly, Faith wasn’t saying anything that she hadn’t thought before but to hear her say it, it made it real, the girls words cut deep causing Buffy to relive the pain and memory that went with them.

"Red here? Well she’ll go off the deep end again soon you can count on that, that kind of magic’s too strong too ever be suppressed and then watch out, you’ll all be for it. She’ll turn Dawn back into what she was, like she was going to do before and she’ll strip each of you of your skin, piece by piece." Faith accentuated her words by slicing at Willow’s cheek with her fingers; ignoring the girl’s flinches, she brought the bloody digits to her mouth and sucked.

"And little Xander here, well I wouldn’t count him into being one for getting a tan for much longer. I mean god do you really think you can trust Spike, he’ll turn him or kill him, either way your ex-boy toy’s fucked."

Faith smirked again. "Speaking of ex-boy toys have you never wondered why you can’t hold a man? I mean first Angel, then Riley, then Spike moved onto Xander. I mean what is it about you?" She looked at Buffy in genuine wonderment. "Everyone does seem to want to leave you though right. I mean look at your dad, he ran away fast enough and your mum, hey she had no choice but to die to get away from you." Faith cocked her head. "Aw something wrong B? Things not five by five? You seem a little watery there."

Buffy raised her hands to either side of her head, plugging her ears. "You have to stop," she murmured midst the ex-slayers tirade, "Please stop," she begged feeling the tears slide down her cheeks at every hurtful sentence, she couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m not that person I never was," she whispered trying to ignore Faiths mocking concern. She felt anger rush though as she stared into Faith’s mocking brown eyes and barely registered the double cracking sound that came as Faith quickly broke Xander and Willow’s necks, dropping the bodies to the ground.

All Buffy could see was Faith’s taunting smile and smell the stench of death that rose from her, making Buffy retch. Faith’s smile widened showing bloody teeth. "Come on Buffy, its not like you haven’t planned this sort of thing for Spike and Anya-them being demons and all, what’s the difference after all aren’t they your friends?"

Buffy leapt for Faith pinning her to the ground her hands encircling her throat, her fury propelling her. She squeezed tightly watching Faiths face contort and wrenched her hands to one side breaking Faith’s neck; Buffy jumped back violently letting go as Faith’s features shifted to that of Dawn’s.

Barely able to breath she stared at the rapidly cooling body of her sister. "Dawnie?" she whispered in disbelief moving closer to the body, she raised a hand to stroke Dawn’s cheek, flinching to see the blood which covered it. "Oh god," Buffy flinched backwards staring at her blood-soaked hands. "Oh god," Her gaze shifted to the dead mangled bodies of her friends, "Oh god," and then back to her sisters tortured expression.

The tears flowed down Buffy’s cheeks as the slayer looked from one body to the next, her blood-soaked hands in front of her face, her body rocking as she wept.

The creature shuddered, had it drained her bit by bit she would have lasted months but draining her all at once was an immense pleasure; it smiled feeling the last exquisite emotion drain from the slayers unconscious body; pain and sorrow. It licked its lips deciding that that had definitely been a meal worth waiting for and moved onto her watcher ignoring the emotionless husk it left behind.