The Forget Me Not Series

Summary: Faith wants to have the shadow demon removed from her so she will no
longer have to rely on Spike's mystical healing. Wood's "Grandfather," Alistair
Crowley comes to town magically to remove Faith's demon. Things get wonky. All
magic has a price.

Rating: PG-13

Author Notes: Thanks to Dutch and Jill! Now I'm gettin' greedy and I hope we win
more awards!

Story Notes: Chapter 12 in a long series. This part does ellude to Faith's past,
which we know was brutal.

Disclaimer: Not Me. The character Of Wood's gramps in mine, but even the name is
stolen.

Forget Me Not Chapter 12- Your Eyes

"I get so tired of working so hard for our survival. I look to the time with you
to keep me awake and alive And all my instincts, they returd thd the grand
facade, so soon will burn. Without a noise, without my pride I reach out from
the inside. In your eyes-the light the heat. In your eyes-I am complete" ~ Peter
Gabriel

Faith knocked on the door of Robin's office. He was straightening his tie in the
mirror. He would have looked like a normal principal if he'd had files on kids
with weapons instead of weapons in his now open cabinet. He turned to the door
looking fierce and smiled widely when he saw it was her. What a man. He had so
many layers, like a dark chocolate almond roast with foam, Starbucks order. For
all her kinks Faith knew she was just vanilla, ground up vanilla.

"Hi sugar," he smiled as he opened the door.

"Were the little monsters rowdy today?" she asked after she kissed on the mouth.
Man, she really did sound like a principal's girlfriend.

"What monsters? There are more now?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"I meant the kids, swifty" she laughed, "You looked like you wanted to bite
someone's head off when I knocked on the door."

"Oh, kids, as in high school students, as in my job, not as in young goats that
I'd sacrifice to a demonic power, right?"

"Yes, and you say you're the one that wants to get totally out of the mission,"
Faith snickered.

"Well, you can see why," he stated, "The kids, of the human variety are fine.
Although, I think Amanda is mad at me, like Kennedy. She came in and read me
this really long essay on Joan of Arc, and compared it to women in power today
that have been unjustly burnt at the stake-- like Martha Stewart."

"God, tell me I didn't just get compared to Martha Stewart. I am not being
burned at the stake here! If anything I'm gonna rise up out of the ashes a new
woman--like--like... I'll be totally not having to rely on anyone else to have a
life. What could be more girl power than that," Faith insisted.

"Yeah, especially since you won't have to rely on people who rose up out of
ashes that they should be eternally burning in," Robin said.

"Right," she echoed half listening. Kennedy had probably been talking to Amanda.
She had probably been saying that Faith was giving up being the Slayer because
of man trouble. Kennedy was almost right. Faith was giving up being a Slayer
because of demon and vamp trouble. Faith would have to talk to the girl herself.


"So, let's roll, little lady," Robin said with labored cheeriness. He took her
hand and they walked down the hall.

"Where do you get this little stuff? I'm not so little. I'm even a tad meaty
compared to some. Actually, I was thinking I may get fat now that I'm no longer
the Slayer," Faith told him.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, it seems being the Slayer, or maybe even a Potential makes you burn a lot
of calories. Did you see how skinny B was after seven years? Even if it didn't
help, with all the fighting and training gone there are bound to be some extra
pounds," she stated.

"Well, just start working out, and maybe eating a little less than a ton of junk
food a day would help," Robin suggested.

Faith started getting the image of walking down a church isle with him, instead
of the high school hallway. It was because of the way they were walking, slow
and steady arm-in-arm.

"Actually, I thought you'd kinda be looking forward to it. Aren't black guys
supposed to like big asses?"

She slipped arm arm out form his and elbowed him playfully.

"It's always nice to be sadly stereotyped by your girlfriend," he grumbled.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I was just hoping you'd look forward to it, because I'm a lazy
ass," she shrugged apologetically.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just a little tense, since Alistair is in the basement," he
smiled weakly.

"Alistair is here? In the school?"

Faith looked around as if some demon was about to ball-room blitz her.

"Yeah, why do you think were going to the basement?"

"Alistair is here in the basement now?" Faith said, stopping by the bulletin
board.

She looked over at a poster that said: "Aim at Nothing and You Will Hit it."

"I thought you were feeling good about this," Robin said.

"I am. It's just, your grandfather is here. I never met any of your family. I
thought we'd go to dinner first," Faith said.

Was he ashamed of her or something? She stood in front of him with her arms out
hoping he would notice K's borrowed dress. Once he'd pointed out that she never
wore dresses. Faith knew this Alistair guy had to be old school, so she got with
this dress. She now for the first time felt over-dressed around Robin. Why did
she feel like she was being rushed to some back alley abortion all of a sudden?

"He's not my family, Faith. No matter what he says, okay? He's-- he's my
connection. Angel and his friends have connections to help you. These are mine.
Just to warn you, he's a bit crusty and he likes to use a lot of fifty-cent
words to seem smart," Robin said quickly.

"Speaking of people who like to use fifty-cent words and Angel and friends. Does
Wes know we're doing this now?"

Faith was sure that Wes would have plenty of high-falutin' words to drop on this
whole mystical demon removal thing. Wes was the one who figured it out and made
it happen, even though Robin helped. He hated it when you went forward with
stuff without being in the know. Funny, Spike was the one to use a pretty hefty
fifty-cent word on the subject of Wes. Apparently, "sanctimonious" was the word
of the day on Spike's calendar. No, Spike wouldn't have a calendar; he knew that
word all along. He just didn't want to look sanctimonious himself by using big
words all the time. Yeah, surprise, Faith knew what it meant. And less of a
surprise- she knew Wes could be sanctimonious, but at least he wasn't a liar.

"I don't know if Wes knows we're doing it right now. He knows it's today. I met
with Alistair earlier and he said he talked to Wes," Robin said.

"You all talked," Faith exclaimed, "How nice. Did you all get to eat? Because
I'm starving."

"We can get something after the spell," he said abruptly.

"Right, I'll just pop up on the table and have my demon removed like a splinter
and then we'll go to Denny's," she said.

"Not Denny's, please, anywhere but Denny's," he smirked and put his arm around
her as he stood by the basement door.

"Don't worry. I want nothing but the best for you. I have the Dr. Sachs of Demon
removal guys down here, and after that we can even go to In & Out Burger. I
suppose I could try their veggie burger," he said.

Faith smiled, even though she didn't know who Dr. Sachs was, she was sure he
ruled. That was her man. Robin knew she loved In & Out Burger, but he hated
meat. He was so good he couldn't even hurt an animal.

"You rock my world, baby," she smiled and kissed him.

He opened the basement door of the High School and gestured that she walk ahead.
She walked down. Spike said he went here to "get over" the guilt of his soul.
The Hellmouth called to him, he said. Then he was over it in a month. "What good
would spilling salt for a hundred years do?" At the time, Faith thought it
sounded very Zen. Guilt was a focus on the self. Remorse was a focus on the
other. All guilt did was eat away at you blah, blah. Faith thought a little
guilt may have helped Spike with a few things now. Maybe she should rethink this
whole Zen thing, but for now she was starting to rethink something else.

This was also the place they tortured Spike and bled him. Faith really would
have no problem with that now with all she knew, but there were some things here
that were reminding her of torture and bleeding. Faith went over to a work table
where she saw some symbols, a pentagram, a goat's head, a heart, fire, and a
mess of other things.

"Circa 1980s metal," Faith laughed. Then she went around to the other side of
the table. She saw a lot of things that she could only describe as something
from the dentist chair from hell.

"Speaking of heavy metal," she said as she picked up one of the instruments.

It looked like something between a cork screw and pliers only it was metal and
it was heavy and what was that crud on the end of it?

"What is all this?" Faith asked, "I think Wes should be here, Robin. I'm not
doing this without Wes."

"See, this is a lass who has values. She wants her Watcher near her, she
respects the elder members of her family," a happy English voice said.

"Whoa, Santa's out of the toy factory," Faith blurted out. He really did look
like Santa Claus. He had the whole jolly round white beard thing going on.

"So, this is the little lady that started the Civil War," the little man smiled.


"Huh?" Faith said looking at him open-mouthed. She still hadn't gotten over the
Santa thing.

"That's what Abraham Lincoln said to Harriet Beecher Stowe," Robin said to Faith
abruptly.

"Wha?" Faith asked.

"She wrote the book 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'," Robin said.

"That was a book?" Faith asked, "I thought that was an expression about selling
out to the man."

"It is but-- never mind," Robin sighed, "He just means you started this whole
demon war with the demon."

"Whatever. At least I know where you got this whole little lady thing from. So
I'll just call Wes and we can get this party started," Faith said.

She couldn't take her eyes off the heavy metal video symbols nor the literal
heavy metal instruments. Faith could understand why kids were afraid of Santa
all of a sudden.

"Well, we don't really need him now do we?" Robin said.

"Don't need the Brit. Want him, okay?" Faith said firmly.

"Sure," Robin smiled.

"You want your Watcher, dear? My Slayer always wanted her Watcher. We won't
start without yours. He's a good man. We're cut from the same cloth. Both tossed
out of the Council. Though I hope not for the same reason, because that would
just be...incredibly awkward for my grandson. There's nothing I hate more than
social awkwardness," Alistair said in a jolly-good Brit way.

"Alistair," Robin grumbled.

"So, you were tossed out of the Council?" Faith smiled, "To think I almost
listened to a vamp that said you were evil and could kill me."

"I would never harm a woman of such power and beauty. People who do don't
understand that they need such women in the world to make their own existence
tolerable."

His eyes seemed to slide up and down her body. Okay, he looked like a perverted
Santa, whom she thought might have been gay until now.

"Enough, Alistair," Robin sighed.

He was being way too ho-ho-ho about this life-altering spell here. Faith needed
a serious Brit that knew about magic in this creepy basement.

"And I'm still calling Wes," Faith said.

"Like I said, the girl doesn't disregard her seniors. She knows they can help
her out in this world," Alistair said as Faith dialed.

"Alistair," Robin said in total mock-happiness, "Remember all the things we
talked about that you said you wouldn't do? You're doing them."

"For someone who came asking for my assistance to save their beautiful treasure
from the fire in that uncouth punk, you have the most peculiar way of showing
gratitude," Alistair said in sing-song, "You're just like Bernard. 'Oh, no old
man, without whom I would have not made it through my first year at the
Watcher's Academy, I must distance myself from you.' You try ending the world
some time. Start a little religion to make a bit of money for your family and
they want nothing to do with you."

"You raised up a Satanic Church that was sacrificing people. You almost turned
this world into a living hell dimension," Robin said.

"Oh pooh-pooh! Those people were willing. They wanted out of this world, which
was almost a living Hell dimension anyway. It was the early 70s, for God's sake.
Things would have turned out much more favorably for your mother if your father
had let me back into his life," Alistair said.

He never stopped smiling.

"That's it," Robin said in a low grumbley voice, "Just--just get out!"

"Well, doesn't the boy think he's the center of this universe?" Alistair
laughed, "I have an arrangement with this lovely Slayer's good Watcher I cannot
simply renege from because you feel cranky."

"Tell me again how you guys aren't family," Faith said with an eye roll as she
hung up her phone from talking to Wesley.

"We're not," Robin said.

"Robin and I go beyond simple blood ties. We have the same desires," Alistair
smirked.

"They say desires are what kills you in Zen--- Buddhism, you know. Not that I'm,
forget it," Faith stammered at Alistair.

Why was she saying whatever came into her brain?

"That's the stupidest thing you've ever said! Not you, Faith, honey," Robin
assured. "Look Alistair, if you want to get back into your family's good graces
why don't you call your actual grandson, Miles," Robin said with folded arms.

"Oh," Alistair waived the idea away, "Miles is a nincompoop. I need a worthy man
to carry on what I've built."

"You have a brother?" Faith asked, "Well, an adoptive brother. How come you
never told me?"

"Because Miles is an idiot!" Robin grumbled.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Faith winced like she was in pain. She heard a horrible noise on the creepy
basement stairs. **Tap, drag, drag. **Tap, drag, drag. **Tap, drag, drag. Faith
knew what the noise was and she just wanted it to stop. She felt like a chick in
a horror movie. She'd better get used the feeling.

"Wes?" Faith called, "Is that you?"

**Tap, drag, drag.

"Yes, it's me," Wes grumbled as he slowly ascended the stairs with his cane.

Faith realized whoever had kicked his ass meant business. Wes must be pissed. He
wouldn't want to be slow and weak.

"Do you-- do you need help?" Faith asked softly.

"No, I do not need help!" he grumbled, "But thank you."

"Wes, who the hell did that too you? It must have been some big bad. How the
hell else could they get through all your corporate mojo? It wasn't the Rhoshobi
demons, was it? They didn't fuck you up at one of your 'peace talks' because of
me?" Faith gasped.

"My sad state has nothing to do with anyone wanting me to remove your demon. It
was quite the contrary, actually."

Wes sighed at the effort of getting down the stairs.

"But it did have something to do with me! When you get better I'll help you go
kick their asses," Faith exclaimed.

"Faith--" Robin objected.

"Yeah, Woody, I know. I'll have no more superpowers. I don't care! I'm sure I
can do something to beat down the fuckers that did this to him. Wes can do the
heavy lifting this time when he's better. You will get better, right Wes?"

"Of course. Although I think I'm going to stop having such accurate records kept
on my experiences that tend to suck," Wes smiled painfully, "Don't worry, Faith.
It had less to do with you but more with misdirected anger about shortcomings
and sorry circumstances in the perpetrator's own life."

"Isn't that how all attacks happen? If only people like that could have someone
to guide their raw power, this world would be a less awkward place," Alistair
said.

"Right, can't we all just get along," Robin scoffed.

Faith frowned. Why did people make a joke out of what that guy said? Maybe it
was as simple as letting go, getting along, being Zen. That guy had been beaten
by the police and he let it go, and Wes had been beaten by some fuck-nuts, whom
Faith would be sure to see bleed! Okay, maybe "can't we all get along" was a
little too simple. Faith really should just give up on the Zen thing.

"My foot would really like to get along with the demon ass who hurt you, Wes,"
Faith said.

"I do love her loyalty. She is quite a find!" Alistair said.

"I think we should concentrate on getting the demon that's hurting you taken out
of you, Faith," Robin said.

"Agreed," Wesley stated, "By the way, I know that you were never thinking of
doing this without me, Mr. Crowley."

"Honestly, I wasn't thinking of you at all, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce. Until the lovely
Faith called you back into my attention," Alistair said.

"How fortunate, for you, she did, Mr. Crowley, as it was part of our agreement
you weren't to do any of this without me present. You've worked with Wolfram &
Hart in the past, correct? You do remember what happens when you fail to go
through with an agreement with my corporation?" Wesley asked as he stared
fiercely at Alistair.

"Well, I am advancing in years, but I'd like to think I keep my mind as fresh as
your vampire head keeps his body. I thought you were a kinder, gentler
conglomerate these days," Alistair said.

"Not when it comes to you, we're not," Wesley said.

"Okay," Faith said, "It's getting really British in here, so maybe I'm losing
something in translation, but are you threatening Robin's grandpa, Wes?"

"He's not my--" Robin began.

"That is a very good point, my dear," Alistair said, "Mr. Wyndam-Price knows
that I have as much invested in this little spell as he does, and Robin,
stubborn as he may be, knows it too, but I love the vigor in these boys, don't
you? They know how to tell you what-for without ever losing their manners. We
raised Robin to be a gentleman...and Mr. Wyndam-Pryce of course has the good
manners of his father, and due to his sincerity he's a bit more likable than his
pretentious old man."

"Thank you, but I'm not interested in your compliments. Shall we get started?"
Wesley said stiffly.

"See," Alistair gestured towards Wesley, "Sincere. His father was quite the
arse-licker in his school days, and the minute you were no longer a person whom
he saw as powerful he couldn't wait to be sanctimonious."

"Well, at least we know who Wes gets the sanctimonious thing from," Faith smiled
as a fifty cent word she knew came back. "And you taught Wes's dad in school?
Dude, how old are you?" Faith asked.

"Young lady, don't ever ask one's seniors their age, it's rude. Especially if
one's old enough to know the darkness within you and how to free you of it,"
Alistair's smile disappeared for the first time.

Faith found that she was backing away from the little man, and getting up on the
creepy symbol table, which was a little weird considering that's the last place
she wanted to be.

"Ah," Alistair smiled, "That's a good girl, then. So, shall we begin?"

"You mean you're doing it right now?" Wes asked, "Where are your materials?"

"You mean books and eye of newt and that sort of thing?" Alistair laughed,
"Really, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce! You went to all this trouble to involve me. What sort
of an amateur do you take me for?"

"What exactly are you going to do without any outside materials, Crowley? Will
it out of her?" Wes grumbled.

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm having that dream, where I'm at the
gynecologist's office? Makes sense since Wes is usually in that dream," Faith
tried to ask in good humor.

"I am? Whatever for? No, on second thought I don't want to know," he said.

"You're a delight!" Alistair winked, "But you best lie still now, dear."

Alistair picked up the sharp heavy metal cork screw thing and Faith felt her
whole body tense.

"Oh, a key point that almost slipped my mind" Alistair said with a smile as he
moved the instrument towards her, "You can't fight me on this, dear child. Not
too much anyway. That would be very dangerous for us, and by 'us', I mean you.
When you get as old as I am, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

He took the creepy heavy metal thing and put it aside, so it was out of the way.
He did the same with the other enormous dentist tools. Faith breathed a sigh of
relief.

"Messy, messy, messy. It's one of my shortcomings. I like to jump from affair to
affair to keep my interest, and I leave behind the remains of the one I all but
forgot. I do apologize, dear girl," he said.

"S'okay, you should see my place," Faith said as she looked into his eyes.

They were blue and twinkled like Santa's. He winked at her like Santa would at a
good kid getting its present.

"You never said anything about this being dangerous for Faith!" Robin spat.

"No, I don't believe he did," Wesley said.

"In fact, I thought the last 'affair' was a deal I made with you so there would
be absolutely no danger to Faith," Robin said.

"We are doing everything we possibly can, gentlemen. The rest is up to the
little lady, and how much danger she wants to put herself in," Alistair grinned.


"You--" Robin began.

"I get it. A little kid that is afraid to get a shot will get all pricked up
because they keep pushin' the needle away, but if they sit still it only hurts a
little and they get a lollypop in their stocking," Faith nodded.

"Exactly! Those with the power have to give it over when it be taken, otherwise
they lose their heads, just ask the darling Marie," Alistair said.

"Well, I dunno about this Marie chick, but as long as you don't stick any
foreign objects in me I'll be five by five. I want this killing beast outta me
already," Faith said.

"Nothing foreign, my dear. I'm a classicist," he grinned.

A classicist? What was that? Whatever, as long as in meant that he wasn't going
to stick anything inside of her it was all good.

"Enough chatter, then. I may be at the pinnacle of sorcery, but I do need to
concentrate," Alistair said.

"You are going to fall asleep," he told her, "You might see some images that are
unpleasant. We are removing a demon after all, and all demons have their origin
in darkness."

"But it's the Slayer demon. It makes chicks strong so they can save the world.
Didn't it only go dark because I had to get greedy and take more of it?" Faith
asked.

"Greedy?" Alistair laughed like he wasn't an old man but an eight year-old and
Faith just said "Ca-ca-pooh-pooh."

"We all have to take what's ours in this world, dear. The question is, can you
handle your own? Since you can't, I'm here to help. It's what I do," he winked
again.

Want-take-have, huh? He was saying that Faith couldn't handled having the Slayer
demon. Half of her wanted to give him some smart-ass response like "fuck off",
but that would be the old her. The truth was she couldn't handle the extra
amount of Slayer demon. A good argument could be made that she couldn't even
handle the regular amount she had before she went to the Shadow dimension.

"As I was saying," Alistair continued, "You may see things. You may become
uncomfortable, but the things you are seeing aren't real. It's just the demon in
you throwing a little tantrum because it doesn't want to leave such a pretty
vessel. Now as you said: Let's get this party started."

"Hello, Adonai, Helomi, Pine....It's you're old friend, Alistair. The Gods and I
would be so very pleased if you'd come forward," Alistair said.

That was magic? It sounded so different from when Red did it. It was like he was
asking them for tea. Alistair put his hands on Faith's head.

Faith felt a ripping and burning inside of her. It was an all too familiar
feeling, but it wasn't in her body, not this time, not really.

The pain: No, Mom, don't cry! I'll stop crying if you stop crying. It was my
fault you hit me. You're not fucking up. I'm just a bitch. Don't leave me with
Grams. I'll try harder. I won't ask for toys. I won't bitch about nothin', I
swear! You can drink and go out all you want. Just take me with you. Don't leave
me, is all! I can keep you to myself.

of it: I'll kill you! What do you mean she's dead! Mom! Mom! Where are you?
She's not dead! You just are hiding her! You all just want her for yourself.
Well, you can't have her! She's mine. She might tell you she loves you, but she
only really loves me. She loves me best. She promised she wouldn't leave me for
you-- for anyone! You're all a bunch of liars; she wouldn't do this to me! It
wasn't my fault this time. I was good this time. You did this! I'll kill you
all! I kill you by myself.

all coming: My Grandma can't remember my name, so I have to stay at your house.
Holy Shit! Nintendo! Thanks. The other kids told me that you would be mean. I
dunno why. Sure, I can keep a secret. I kept a bunch for my Mom, like I was the
only one at the bar she danced at that knew her real name. Yeah, she danced at a
bar. I know it sounds wicked slutty but we made mad money. Of course I want to
be like my Mom when I grow up. No, I wasn't allowed to watch her dance, but I
still know how she did it. I guess I could dance for you now. A private dance,
they would call it. You weren't supposed to do that. I never said...I never
wanted...You tricked me. It wasn't my fault. I know no one will believe me. So,
now I'll run away, but I'll kill you- one day. One day I'll be big enough to
kill you myself.

to life: Milly! Milly where are you? What did he do to you? I'll kill you. Let
her go, you fucking bastard! You think you're so tough, beating up on an old
woman? Why don't you get who you really are here for? I am the mother fucking
Slayer! She's just a Watcher. No, don't! Don't hurt her anymore, please. She
came here to be with me. She was mine! You had no right to take her. This can't
be my fault! I know I didn't always listen to Milly, but this can't be my fault.
I have to run, run to live. I'll kill you, you Greek bastard! I just can't do it
by myself.

"You're in my head!" Faith gasped.

Her eyes opened wide. He was in literally in her head, with his hands.

"Shhhh, shhh. Don't fret, darling. I know it's awkward, but it's nothing I
haven't seen before. Compared to all the Somali refugee girls I've been in,
you're childhood is really quite pleasant. Close your eyes, please," Alistair
cooed softly.

He was standing above her. She looked into his eyes expecting to see that King
Elf Santa twinkle. Instead, his eyes looked like black basketballs. Faith had
seen Red's eyes do that, but this was so not like Red. His eyes were mirrors.
Mirrors of her blackness. Faith saw her own demon. She was a monster.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

"No!" Faith cried, "It wasn't my fault."

"Close your eyes, girl!" Alistair grumbled at her, "Pity, I thought her girlhood
years would be the most troublesome, but it looks like the nightmare has just
started. Robin, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce, come help restrain her if you will."

"I thought you were my friend, B! I'll kill you!" Faith said in her daze.

Alistair had explained before she would see the darkest moments of her life.
Robin didn't think that seeing her darkest times would faze Faith. She seemed to
keep them all so close to her, even the ones she didn't talk about to Robin were
the subject of subtle jokes. Her Mom the drunk, her life as a juvenile
delinquent, her fighting Buffy and wanting to die-- Robin was sure he could
relate to all of these things even though she had resisted reading her life out
like a novel. Faith and Robin both had no desire to tell the unabridged story of
their lives to each other. Perhaps it was because they both knew the stories
would come out like some pulp Dickensian knock-off. Who wants to hear that, let
alone tell it? That's why Robin was really surprised that Faith didn't
understand why he had not shared the details of his mother's death.

"Stop fighting me! Close your eyes." Robin was sure that Alistair was talking to
the demon and not Faith.

"Adonai, Helomi and Pine. I am giving you this offering to give to the Gods.
Don't be cowards! Take it!" Alistair yelled.

Robin wasn't worried; at least he wasn't any more worried than he had been all
day. He said that Faith would start to see or at least feel glimpses of her life
with out the demon inside her. Robin was sure that it was a good peaceful life
that she craved and tried to get with her bubble-gum version of Zen Buddhism. It
was so endearing how she tried to understand something as complicated as Zen.
Zen was something Robin couldn't even understand. The teachings of the Zen
Warriors had helped him learn some fighting moves but that was about it. Some
people needed outside help for inner peace.

Alistair said the unpleasantness would be short. It seemed like it was going on
forever. Then Faith started screaming. Robin was used to her fighting and
yelling in her sleep, this scream was more shrill and angry. Alistair also said
she would see her darkest time, not relive them! Robin should have prepared her
better.

"Stop it, Alistair! Get your hands out of her right now." Robin demanded.

"If I do that she'll die instantly, and don't interrupt," Alistair said. He said
looking up at Robin with those black eyes Robin remembered. They made Robin look
away.

"You never mentioned anything about this!" Wesley spat as her held Faith's
struggling legs down firmly.

"What do you think this is? A picnic at old Piccadilly Square! I thought you
were an occult expert, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce. "Alistair sighed, "You want me to save
the girl from being burned by that arrogant low-life, don't you?"

"Of course, but---" Wesley began as Robin found he couldn't speak

Alistair said that Faith would be sleeping. Seeing her life in pictures and
feelings. It didn't look like she was sleeping. She looked like she was fighting
to be awake. Fighting to be awake and dying like she looked the last time Robin
saw Spike put his fucking hands on her. Spike swore he was healing her, but
Robin knew he was killing her.

"But nothing, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce. It's what you want. It's what my grandson here
wants, and as much as hellfire burns, it's what the girl desires more than
anything. This is the option you all seek," Alistair said.

His voice was pinched and tight as he struggled with the demon in Faith.

"You-you can tell that? You can tell that this is what she wants-still? She
hasn't changed her mind?" Robin said in a whisper.

"Son, the girl would rather die than let your mother's killer burn inside of her
again," Alistair giggled, "and if her primal force doesn't bloody well stop
fighting me that's just what she'll do."

"What?" Wesley and Robin both said

Now Alistair sounded more like himself. Robin wanted to think that was a sign
things were going well. Alistair always laughed at the worst things, like that
Doctor on the "Simpson's." Alistair could do whatever he wanted; have whatever
he wanted, as long as he saved Faith, but now he said Faith might die!

"Her primal force, you mean the demon-- the demon is fighting you," Wesley said.


"But if the demon is fighting you, just kill it," Robin said.

"There is a limit to my power, Robin, but I'm glad to see you have such faith in
me," he laughed again

"If the demon dies, so does she. It's bound with her primal force," Wesley said
gravely.

"But she isn't the demon. It's not part of her!" Robin insisted.

"The demon, her primal force, her id...The Holy Trinity is quite a mystery. I
told your father to send you to Sunday school," Alistair sighed.

She was wearing a skirt. She never wore a skirt, even though Robin loved her in
them. He realized she knew she would be meeting Alistair today, and she probably
wanted to look nice. Faith had kept asking questions about what Alistair knew
about her. She couldn't seem to get rid of the idea that Alistair was somehow
Robin's granddad even though Robin insisted he wasn't. Faith probably knew not
to buy it because she had been an orphan too, and no matter how much you only
wanted your real family, the subs would have to do, but Robin knew in more ways
than one that substitutes were never as good as the real thing. Bernard had
failed to save his mother. Now Bernard's father was failing to save Faith, but
Robin had ensured that Faith would be all right.

"You want it all, girl!" Alistair spat at Faith now, "Well, don't we all. Close
your bloody eyes, and give over! Now you've done it. I'll have to evoke the big
fellow himself. He won't like it. Osiris, Osiris, it's me, good man. You know
what I want."

"You said she'd been in no danger!" Robin growled, "What did I do all that shit
for, Alistair!"

"I said she'd been in no danger if she truly wanted it out. You fine young men
assured me she did. She's resisting and quite well. This little bitch wants her
power, or at least part of her does. They seem to make Slayers stronger and
prettier each time around, but the consequences are that they become more
conflicted and willful. That's a recipe for death. You have to rid yourself of
your conflicts, or else they'll kill you. Quite literally in this case,"
Alistair sighed, "Well, it's over. Ducks is still alive."

He took his hands out of Faith's head. Robin smirked because Alistair had sworn.
He had called Faith a bitch. Faith must have given the old bastard a run for his
money. Alistair didn't like it when things weren't easy for him, but the old
coot had done it. It was over--finally.

Faith lay on the table in her long black dress. She didn't own any dresses. She
just had that one that she wore to that dinner, which had gotten ripped after
slaying in it. That was the first night the demon had truly rose out of her in
full force, and Spike laid his disgusting hands on her. Now she ended it with
another dress. It was probably borrowed. The dress could have been Willow's. No,
Willow's clothes would never fit her on top. Dawn's? Amanda's? Same problem. Had
Faith bought a dress for this occasion? Robin had been too anxious to notice how
beautiful she had looked before. Her eyes were closed now. Faith always went a
little too heavy on the glittery eye shadow during a special occasion. She
looked peaceful.

Alistair was huffing and puffing. He sat on an old wooden shop stool. He took
out his handkerchief and wiped his brow. Robin hadn't seen him like this since
the time he told Alistair he was quitting the Cult, and there was that time
Robin brought home his friends from The Public Enemy concert.

"She really took a lot out of you, Pop?" Robin smiled.

"And how," Alistair was unusually taciturn.

"Well, thank you," Robin said, "As you know I won't forget it."

"I'm afraid thank yous are a bit premature," Alistair smiled, but it was his sad
smile.

"Why?" Robin asked, "Isn't it over? Is there more? The demon is gone, right?"

"There is still a little piece left. It wouldn't let go," Alistair sighed.

"You mean she's still the Slayer?" Robin asked anxiously as he felt himself lick
his lips.

"Oh no." Alistair said, "Whatever part of the demon she insisted on holding to
won't do her any good as far as being any kind of Slayer. That would be like
trying to be a genius with a few neurons, I'm afraid."

"But the Shadow demon--- the Slayer demon--- whatever--- it's not going to hurt
her anymore? She won't need Spike to live, just so he can eventually kill her?"
Robin demanded.

"Faith?" Wesley was standing over her and calling to her softly.

"No, that heathen won't be killing her," Alistair said.

Robin smiled. Robin saw that Wesley picked up Faith's wrist. Robin wondered why
he hadn't been the first over to his girlfriend. Perhaps he didn't want to rouse
her peacefulness.

"When will she wake-up?" Robin asked his Grandfather.

"She did it to herself," Alistair shrugged.

"What?" Robin asked suddenly feeling like his head had sunk into his stomach.

"Her pulse is barley there. I think she's in a coma," Wesley said with a stone
face that looked like it had been cracked with that knife slash it had on the
side of it.

"I warned her not to fight me. I warned her. Pity, Robin, after all you the
trouble that you went to. It was more than obvious that was the only reason you
contacted your old grandfather," Alistair said.

"Alistair!" Robin roared as he went for the old man, "You goddamned bastard.
I'll rip off your head and shit down your neck!"

On very few occasions Robin had seen Alistair put up magic shields when someone
was trying to harm him. He wasn't doing it now. Perhaps he had no power left or
something? That was how this magic crap worked, right? Robin was sure at first
he was going to kill the old coot, but in fact he did nothing more than grab him
by the shirt. Perhaps Robin was remembering the few times Alistair had put a
shield around Robin to protect him.

"My word, Robin! I knew Bernard's raising you in California would have
consequences. That kind of talk is not going to change anything," Alistair said.


"Maybe not, but acting on that kind of talk might help us feel a whole lot
better," Wesley said, "You knew what would happen if you harmed her."

"I didn't harm the girl. Why would I? What would I have to gain? All I wanted
was my family back in my life, and this now ensures they won't be. She did it to
herself, if only she had let go. Have you known the girl to be into
self-sabotage?" Alistair asked.

No, Robin had done this to Faith. She hadn't known what she was getting into. Of
course, if she had kept the demon in she would have died for sure, or worse.
Faith may have been burnt or changed into some monster by Spike. No one really
knew what that God-awful prophecy was about. Just that it was about Spike and
Faith and it was really really bad. At least Faith was still alive now, and she
was going to stay that way no matter what.

"I'm getting her to a hospital," Robin blurted and he grabbed Faith up in his
arms. That seemed to be the one thing he was good at. Faith's own personal
ambulance service.

"That won't do any good," Wesley called after him. Well, Robin was almost good
at getting his girlfriend to the hospital, but her friends always wanted to stop
and deconstruct the value of hospitals.

"What do you people have against modern medicine?" Robin grumbled.

"Nothing," Alistair answered as if Robin was talking to him, "It just doesn't
stop mystical deaths or comas. You know that, or at least you should."

Robin did, but he had to try.

"If she dies, there will be no mystic or hospital that will be able to piece you
back together," Wesley had turned and said this so suddenly and dryly to
Alistair that it startled Robin, but he was even more startled by the next thing
he said. "We need Spike."

"Spike!" Robin said it like sour milk got in his mouth, "He's the reason we're
in this situation in the first place."

"True, but we know he had kept her awake and alive after the demon possessed her
in the past. Perhaps he can do it again now," Wesley said.

"He was killing her!" Robin spat.

"We don't know what he was doing to her exactly, we just know it wasn't good,"
Wesley said.

"Right, so he's not going near her again," Robin said.

"Wood, we know what he was doing was keeping her alive, healing her when this
thing got out. It's her only chance and I'm doing it," Wesley told him, and he
was going up the stairs probably as fast as he could in his injured state.

"Fine," Robin said after sighing and shutting his eyes, "I know where he usually
goes and I can move faster."

Robin was behind Wesley on the stairs now with Faith in his arms.

"All right, the sun has set, so our biggest problem is going to be... finding
him," Wesley hadn't finished when Spike appeared on the stairs.

"'Ello, 'ello," the bastard was smiling.

"How did you know where we were?" Robin demanded.

"Lil' bird. Now, give me your dolly, and I'll fix her all up nice for you," he
said.

If Robin had a free hand he'd beat the shit out of him with it.

"No!" Robin spat and turned around to walk down the stairs.

"Wood--" Wesley pleaded.

"How do we know he hasn't set this whole thing up? How long had he been in my
school, watching, waiting? How do we know he wasn't working with Alistair?"
Robin found his own questions were horrifying him as he said them.

"What can I say?" Spike grinned, "I'm a dream date. Now the question portion of
this life-saving is over. Give here."

Spike had gotten in front of him and grabbed Faith away from Robin. It was all
too easy for him.

"You-you people should put some chip back in his head or some tracking device to
control him again," Robin spat at Wesley.

No, it didn't make him feel any less helpless.

"Don't worry," Wesley said, "Deals are in the works."

"Well, you can tell Peaches he'll be saving a lot of money. There's no tagging
this free bird," Spike laughed.

He was sitting on the stool that Alistair had been on before him with Robin's
girlfriend across his lap. He was glowing soft orange-like cafeteria puke.

"This is all just a big fucking joke to you!" Robin growled.

"Sure," Spike smiled.

"Open your eyes, love," Spike said to Faith softly, "It's for you."

"No!" Faith cried opening her eyes, "Phoenix tears heal-- not ashes. I'll use
the part that wants to push you away! It's what I do."

"Oh, that's wha' every girl tries to do with me, and I always get them in the
end. At least for a short time," Spike laughed.

It was a sad laugh.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Robin grumbled, "Forget it. She's awake,
so just stop whatever it is you do."

"Not how it works. May have a different style than Angel, but I do go all the
way. I get the job done. Now, watch carefully, Woody. You're about to see a show
I know you'll find a hoot," Spike said.

Spike and Faith disappeared in a glow that was so bright Robin had to look away.
If she turned up to be anything other than alive Robin vowed that was the last
bit of brightness Spike would ever see. The fucker knew what he was doing, and
he was up to something big and bad. They had probably played right into his
hands somehow. Robin knew he had no other choice now. He just hoped in whatever
game Spike was playing that he wanted Faith alive.

Suddenly, Robin saw a huge glowing beam come out of the vast brightness. It was
like watching a very small star go supernova, and then there was a small
firecracker hurling out of it. Only the firecracker wasn'texplexplosion. It was
Faith. She landed against the opposite wall of the basement and slid down it
like a school lunch meat ball in a food fight.

"I won't!" she shouted.

Was she still trying to hold on to the demon? Was she saying she wouldn't let it
go?

"Faith!" Robin shouted and ran over to her, but someone else did the same and
got there first.

"I know what you want, and I'm not going to do it," she said, "So, fuck off!"

"You don't have much choice," Spike said.

"Faith," was all Robin found he could say as he pulled her off the ground.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Woody, really," she swore and hugged him tightly
burying her face in his chest.

"Oh," Robin sighed shakily as tears came to his eyes, "You have nothing to be
sorry for. I only care that you're alive."

Faith was apologizing for not letting the demon go completely and for having to
use Spike again. It was okay. It wasn't like you could plan these things,
especially with some evil fuck working against you. Robin heard a low rumble in
the deeper part of the basement. It wasn't built for all this glowing and
hurling, or at least it wasn't supposed to be, so the foundation of the building
was probably complaining.

"You're full of shit!" Spike roared. Robin almost yelled back at him, but then
he realized Spike was talking to Faith.

"If you were really sorry you'd bloody let it be done. If you were really bloody
sorry you wouldn't have pulled all this shit!" Spike roared.

He wasn't laughing or smirking now. He was livid.

"Do you hear that?" Spike asked calmly now as the deep part of the basement
rumbled, "That can't be good."

He had the attention span of a flea.

"Go away," Faith said into Robin's chest.

Then she turned to face Spike and spoke softly. "Just get the hell out of here,
okay? That's what I want."

"More bloody crap!" he spat, "You were callin' for me so hard I could've heard
you if I was in China."

"That's not me!" Faith cried angrily now, "That's the demon and you know it."

"The demon calls to Spike, Faith?"

Wesley asked the questions Robin was too tired for.

"She does. She needs me, all a' me," Spike said firmly and quickly.

"No!" Faith yelled

"That is you. It's what you want. It's what you need," Spike insisted.

"What does the demon want, Faith? Do you know?" Wesley asked.

"She knows," Spike stated.

"It's the disgusting part of me. It's the part that wants only for me. The part
that wants to kill everyone, even B. Remember? And you want to feed it, and I
won't. I won't feed it anymore!" Faith demanded.

At least the bastard bothered to answer the questions in his the
cool-people-are-talking-so-go-away-now-way. Faith didn't. Robin wanted to
complain about this, but the building seemed to do it for him with another
rumble.

"Does Spike's vampire soul want to feed the dark part of you Faith?" Wesley
asked, "Does it want to let the evil in you take over?"

"You are such a sodding git!" Spike grumbled, "A soul is a soul! How is there
suddenly some dark vampire soul that wants to do evil things? If you want to
look for that check your boss. A vampire has no soul, and that's why it's evil.
I--", he patted his chest, "--have one and therefore I'm not!"

"Why am I finding that so hard to believe?" Wesley seemed to take the words
right out of Robin's mouth.

"Maybe it's not your soul. I only make that assumption because your soul burned
the Hellmouth closed and you seem to be burning something into Faith. When you
saved the world with the amulet---"

"We know, we know, I was supposed to come back human. Well, I didn't alright!"
Spike grumbled, "And you gits have to assume because Spike doesn't do everything
by the book it must be all wrong. Well, it's not bloody wrong. In fact, it
couldn't ore ore right. It's what this stubborn Slayer needs to live after
runnin' about with that demon, and she knows it."

"If she knows that then why is she so eager to tell you to get gone?" Wood
demanded as he found his voice.

"'Cause--"

"Because I've started to realize that what he's givin' me is no good. It will
make me go bad, wild, like Wes was afraid of from the start," Faith said.

"Oh, come of it!" Spike laughed now.

"And Spike knows this that the darkness of his soul, or whatever, would turn you
bad, and he's been playing us all along. He's been evil all this time," Robin
finished.

Good, they would have to kill him now. Robin would like to see Spike get out of
this with Buffy no longer in this dimension.

"No," Faith shook her head, "His soul is good. It's a good soul. He's a Champion
like Angel. He doesn't realize how he's hurting me. He thinks what he's saying
is true."

"That's a cute story! Did you just make that up now? Do you honestly think
they'll buy that?" Spike grumbled

"Hmm, maybe he's being manipulated by some outside evil force since he's come
back to this plane, like Cordelia," Wesley said.

"Bloody hell!" Spike rolled his eyes.

"Right, but wasn't she all bad? It's not like that with him. He's good---" Faith
was saying as Spike stepped toward her and grabbed her arm.

"This is the biggest load of--" Spike began.

"Get away from her!" Robin growled and pulled his girlfriend away and in the
nick of time.

Spike's fingertips were on fire. They looked like really ugly birthday candles.
Robin really hoped Spike's black nail polish was flammable.

"Maybe he's bit on the grabby side, but good. He's just really misguided on
this. I need you to remember that, Wes," Faith said.

Why did she need Wes to remember that Spike was "really misguided?" It seemed
obvious. Spike was standing there with his hand on fire smiling at it. Robin
didn't know if the flames didn't hurt the fucker, or if he was just crazy from
"some outside evil force." Robin didn't give a fuck. This was supposed to be
over.

"I can still do it. I can still heal you. The fires haven't shut down. You must
be gettin' so desperate for it that it's never shutting off," Spike smiled.

He shook his hand and the fire went out. His fingers were burnt up. They were
charred up in black flakes like his nails had been painted, and they had fleshy
pink bits showing that were really pretty disgusting. It was nice to see that he
could look injured and disgusting like any normal human being or vampire for
that matter. It smelled, but not like burnt flesh. It smelled like oddly like
lilacs.

"Well, that's new," Spike grinned, "and rather nasty."

For once it was like the dick had spoke Robin's thoughts. Faith let out a
whimper, and went running towards the stairs. The girl hated seeing injured
hands. She could take seeing sucking chest wound or an eviscerated corpse over a
nasty ripped off hang-nail any day. The only part of the movie "Seven" that
bothered her was the mutilated guy's missing fingers. She had run out of the
room during that scene from "The Piano" when Holly Hunter's finger got lopped
off. Except for the sex scene, it was the only time she stopped complaining that
it was boring, but of course this bolting was more than some quirky neurosis.
Faith didn't want Spike to touch her, and with all the burning evil Hell-fire
that seemed to happen when he did it, she seemed to have the right idea. Robin
looked at Faith. Her eyes were wide with misery. Her face was the color of chalk
dust and he could see that the side of her head was scraped. Robin thought he
was never going to have to look at her ghostly sick face again. She was supposed
to be radiant as only she could be from now on. It wasn't fair. Faith was one of
the most beautiful women Robin had ever seen, and she deserved to radiate that
beauty. Instead she looked worse that ever. She looked almost dead, like a
vampire.

"Oh, c'mon!" Spike laughed as he easily chased Faith and stood in front of her,
"You smell that? I was always so afraid I was a bit of a pansy on the inside.
Now we know it's not true. Lilacs."

"Stay away from me!" Faith spat at him. As Robin went to grab Spike he was
thrown off.

"Fucker!" she cried sounding shrill now.

"Oh after all I've done to him that isn't even salt in the wound," Spike said
referring to Robin, "But now, if you stop being so bloody stubborn, the karma
wheel will turn and I'll give him a nice roll."

"Touch her and you die!" Robiid gid getting up.

"Good to know where all keeping up," Spike laughed as he pushed Robin away
again. Robin really wanted this to be his last laugh.

"You really do want it, Faith. You're running away like a little lamb that wants
to be caught," Spike told her.

"You try running in fucking heels after you've had the power ripped out of you!"
Faith said.

"Sounds interesting, but I don't think I'm going to get the chance. Tha's right,
no more Slayer Strength in you- not the burly kind, anyway. I have Alistair to
thank for snagging you. History repeats. How is ol' Satan Claus? Where is he?"
Spike snickered.

Good question? Where was Alistair? Robin had the oddest thought. Wouldn't it be
funny if Alistair and Spike were the same person? How different were Robin's
mortal enemy and Robin's almost family who was always trying to bring out his
dark side? They both seemed to have a thing for Faith. They both had driven him
almost crazy his whole life. Robin really was going crazy now! He had to get out
of this scene. He had started in it when he was a kid, all just to kill Spike,
and now it was beyond impossible to fully explain why he was still in it. Robin
now was simply trying to find something wooden to kill Spike.

"Alistair isn't evil, not anymore. He-he did a good thing," Faith said.

"Try that line again with more feeling. Speaking of feeling I bet that was a fun
ride. What happened, Faith? Why didn't you just let him take everything? That's
what you wanted, isn't it? To lay back and let the big boys handle it all? That
was your short cut to good life, right? Did you get a glimpse of yourself, was
that it? You saw what darkness really was?" Spike demanded.

"Fuck you," Faith spat.

"Not quite, but we will be getting a spark," he said.

"It's no good, Spike! You're not helping me. You're only going to end up making
me what I was before. Just stay away from me! For everyone's own good, please,"
Faith said.

She didn't sound like herself. There was too much pleading in her voice. When
did she ever say "please?" This thing Spike was doing to her must be so bad.
Surely it was worse than what Alistair had to do to her to get this demon out.
Too bad he didn't get every piece.

"Oh, you can play it up so well. The scared little girl is so afraid of going
bad...I know you still have--- what do ya call it? Mad skills, but you can't
fool me. And after throwing out that last bit a' demon, how are you gonna stop
me?" he said.

"She'll have help," Wesley said and there was a zap. Wesley with his cane and
all had done what Robin couldn't. He had brought Spike down with some device.
Never leave without your weapons. That was a rule in Watcher Academy Robin knew,
but Robin had never wanted to be a Watcher.

"Bloody hell!" Spike growled angrily. He was on the ground.

"God bloody Damn it! I hate those things. You carryin' the weapons of the enemy,
Soldier?" Spike grumbled.

"I got it from a friend in the Pentagon," Wesley stated.

"Exactly," Spike smiled, "Only the big boys coulda thought a' this. It paralyzes
everycle cle you have, but you can stfeelfeel every hair on your head that they
yank about. Ah, misty water-colored memories."

"If it paralyzes every muscle why are you still talking?" Robin demanded.

"They made it that way," Faith said dully, "So, you could talk; tell them what
they want to know."

"You want to know something? Just ask your girl. She's been through it, 'member?
We came just in time, didn't let the government drones lay a hand on her. I'm
not trying to hurt her, Wood. I just need to get my hands on her one last time
is all," Spike said.

"Your hands," Robin said lowly but fiercely, "Are gonna be a bit bogged down."

Robin took the old flag pole he had picked up to hit Spike with and pierced
Spike hand to the basement floor. Robin never heard him yell in pain like that.
He liked it. Faith screamed too. He thought she was in pain, but she was just
alarmed. Why? Faith had seen so much carnage, and made jokes while she saw it.
She joked when she saw good regular people who wouldn't heal by morning dead.
Why should she care for this asshole who was trying to get her killed?

"Poor choice of words," Spike snicker painfully.

Faith still made unintelligible cries of shock.

"Robin, you didn't have to do that," she said shakily.

"No, but it felt damn good," Robin insisted, "Why do you care after everything
he's put you through?"

"She has some sort of hurt hand phobia, Mate. If one of my balls got burned and
the other impaled, she may not have batted an eye. Something you should talk to
her about. You musta had some psych, being a Headmaster. They prolly have a
fancy name for it now," Spike said.

"I know she has a hand thing-- phobia--whatever!" Robin snapped, "she shouldn't
have it with you."

The hands that killed Robin's mother. Snapped her neck the report said. Faith
should want to see them burn. Robin knew that if Faith had seen some other
vampire's hands get torn a part piece by piece, she wouldn't care.

"Fear doesn't make sense. She's usin' that bit a' demon power to throw me off
out of fear too. That makes the least bit of sense. You have a lot to learn
about your girl, mate," Spike smiled.

"And you have a lot to learn about not pissing me off when your paralyzed,"
Robin then kicked Spike in the gut. He was careful to avoid the hands and the
balls too actually. That would still upset Faith.

"I'm not afraid, Spike," Faith said, "I know how you want to heal me and it
isn't the way. So I found this way with magic, and now it's five by five. So
just let it go. Leave me alone."

"How the hell is this exactly five by, Faith?" Robin demanded before Spike could
open up his mouth to object, "Because I'm getting different measurements."

"I am as well," Wesley said as he was looking at Spike with a combination of
hate and curiosity.

"Well, at least all us boys agree on something. And who would have thought a
flag pole pinning you to the grounds of an awakening Hellmouth would hurt so
very much," Spike said.

"Good!" Robin said and then felt childish, "I mean, It's pretty clear he's lost
it here, Faith. He is insisting that he get his hands on you and do his evil
thing. You say you know its evil now even though it kept you alive before. Maybe
that is because the demon was evil and now it'll be all right since you only
have a little left."

"But it seems it won't be all right if Spike gets to touch Faith, which he seems
intent on doing despite her wishes now," Wesley concluded, "I thought you said
you would never violate her?" he demanded of Spike now.

"I'm not---"

"Oh, for Christ sake. Soul-shmole. I say he's had his three strikes. Can we just
kill him already?"

"Look, this is all really---"

"No! He's a champion. He's not evil, Robin. He doesn't know he's hurting me.
There's just something inside of him that wants to get into me, and he doesn't
realize how bad that is."

Faith trembled as she walked gingerly over to Spike. She took the flag pole out
of Spike's hand and they both grunted as she did it.

"You've just described every deranged serial rapist ever," Wood said firmly.

"I agree. I don't really care how his road is paved with good intentions. It'll
still lead you to hell, Faith. That's what matters," Wesley said.

"You should bloody talk! I'll show you the real road to Hell, Percy. You're so
lucky I'm paralyzed," Spike growled.

"Oh, yeah. He's a real savior," Robin said dully.

"He just thinks Wes hurt me. He's not like you, baby. You mean everything you
say. Spike-He's mostly talk," Faith said.

"I am not--" Spike began

"It's the area outside of mostly that disturbs me. I'm afraid he's not all hot
air, Faith. If only we could lock him up or get control of him somehow. Make it
so he can only do the good he does, and cut out the bad," Wesley said.

"Oh, yeah, what a brave new world that would be, and then you could put some
kind of chip in the brain of that cute Fred that makes her somehow find total
gits utterly irresistible," Spike said.

Robin looked down to where Spike was on the floor or where he was supposed to
be. He wasn't there anymore. Robin heard another zap and saw Wesley fall to the
floor. Spike was standing behind him smirking with the tazer in hand. One thing
Robin could never get used to on vampires was their speed.

"'Bit better now. Maybe you should up the dosage ons ths thing, but I am a
vampire. I did you a favor and put it on low, so you can do what you do best
when the shit hits the fan and run," Spike said to Wesley.

"You dick!" Faith spat.

"This is who you wanna save, Faith?" Robin grumbled.

"Relax, mate," Spike said, "She won't get to."

"I said relax," Spike pointed the tazer threateningly at Robin, "What's it they
say? Today's the first day of the rest of your life."

There was no way Robin wanted to be paralyzed in saving Faith, but wasn't he
already? Still, it would be worse to be really paralyzed. Spike went to grab
Faith and she seemed to jab her fingers into his wounded hand. Good, woman! Now
if only she hadn't taken the flag poll out of his hand to begin with maybe Spike
wouldn't have been able to get up.

"Bloody hell!" he yelped in pain from Faith's grabbing. He could be such a
little punk ass bitch. Robin smiled.

"You won't get your way!" Faith told him as she looked at Spike's blood on her
hand like it was her own.

Robin didn't know how she could look at Spike's blood like that. That thing and
her didn't have anything in common. Faith doing that to his hand brought out his
vampire face.

"Mmm, I think I will. A wounded ex-Watcher and a really built boyfriend with
some moves. I did have a hard time gettin' to Buffy when she had those things,
but she was the Slayer, and I had a chip in my head. Looks like you'll have to
hire more outside help, pet," he grinned. He seemed to move and talk more
slickly when he was in his true form.

"Just wait a bit," Wesley gave an angry smile from the ground. Robin wondered
how he was going to do anything. He wasn't exactly in good condition when he
wasn't paralyzed.

"Don't think I will. This is gonna hurt me more than it hurt you, but you know
that," Spike said as he grabbed Faith by the arms.

"No!" she shrieked and turned away from him as if he was about to bite her.
Wouldn't it almost be funny if that was what this was all about? Some
supernatural power he had picked up in hell as a way to magically bite Faith.

"I am sorry. This is our destiny," he said.

Suddenly, they were ripped apart. Robin supposed that they had been ripped apart
the first time, but all he had seen was glowing light. Now it was done more
roughly, like some great big guy had hurled Spike's runt ass across the room.
Faith was still standing where she had been. When it happened before it seemed
like they had both been thrown. Spike said that Faith's demon had separated them
that first time. Had it done it again? If the demon hadn't gotten them into this
disaster in the first place Robin would almost really like it.

"I do apologize. I'm sure I'm not the kind of outside help you had in mind,
since you were so disappointed in my last job."

"Crowley!" Spike spat as he seemed pinned to the wall.

"William, I was so hoping it really wouldn't be you," Alistair said as he took
his glasses off to look at Spike and then put them back on, "Well, cancel my
subscription to the resurrection. They let everybody do it now."

"You fucking cocksucker! Haven't you done enough bloody damage for today?" Spike
snarle Ali Alistair.

"This is why I hated working with you the first time. So unprofessional when
things don't go your way," Alistair tisked.

"My days of working with you kind are bloody over!" Spike said.

"Are you okay, Faith?" Robin asked rushing to her.

"Yeah," she sighed, "What did you do to him?" She asked Alistair about Spike.

"Don't worry, my dear," Alistair sighed, "I just put him in his place, which is
against the wall for now. We know how he needed that. I've made it so he can't
go with in three feet of you. It's physically impossible for him."

"Well, I guess you came through in the end, Mr. Crowley. I'm sorry for my
doubts," Wesley said.

"Yeah, he bloody came through all right. Ask him what else he's done!" Spike
demanded.

"That's very kind of you, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce. I only wish my grandson would show
me a little gratitude," Alistair looked expectantly at Robin.

"Thanks, pops. Now can you make him hurt real real bad too?" Robin asked in
jest.

"Everyone will be hurting around here soon," Spike said

"Ah, yes. Now William is resorting to threats," Alistair rolled his eyes as he
did with people who bored him.

"You know what I'm bloody talking about!" Spike spat.

"We really should kill him," Robin stated hopefully.

"Really? What is that noise? It's getting on my nerves that are already
fried--literally," Wesley said. Wesley painfully started getting up with Robin's
help. The basement was doing more rumbling. Robin was thinking of excuses to
never come down here again.

"The thing that makes Spike stay away from me how long will it last?" Faith
asked Alistair.

"These things tend to last a week or two, though some last longer, others
shorter. It depends on how much the forces want to pull you together. Being a
former Slayer and a vampire you think nature would be inclined to separate you,"
Alistair said.

He had a laugh in his voice, as if nature had not been inclined to separate
Faith from Spike at all. Robin thought nature was screaming to keep them apart
with this whole burning thing, it was just that no one wanted to listen. Thank
God, Faith finally did listen.

"Can you do it over than? Can we find a way to make it last forever?" Faith
asked Alistair. Robin thought that was the best idea she ever had.

"I'm not a God, dear," Alistair smiled, "Not yet."

"You think reopening the Hellmouth will get you to God status. You're as daft as
ever, Allie. I'd almost like you, if you weren't in my bloody way!" Spike spat.

"What did he just say?" Wesley asked.

"You heard me!" Spike grumbled.

"Oh God!" Faith cried.

"I have to go see if it's true," Wesley said and went walking toward the lower
level of the basement.

"No, Wes! You can hardly walk, at least let me go with you." Faith called after
him but she seemed too exhausted to go anywhere. The dark rings under her eyes
seemed to be getting deeper.

"What? What is Spike saying? I officially stopped listening to him the minute he
got here. I really wish everyone else would too," Robin said.

"No, I know how to protect myself from a mystical opening, you don't. If it is
true, there won't be any physical threats yet," Wesley said to Faith and then
disappeared.

"Physical-- Mystical-- threats? What's going on?" Robin asked Faith as he felt
equally tiered out.

"The Hellmouth. Spike said that Alistair re-opened the Hellmouth," Faith said
numbly.

"Yeah," Spike was only talking to Faith now, "Congratulations, pet. Remember
when I said all magic had a price. Well, when you go with Allie here it's a
whopper. No matter who you know. Hope you're not having buyer's remorse now."

"Is he right? What did you do? Where were you?" Faith now was the one who had
Alistair by the shirt. She really did look pretty scary in her heels and dress
grabbing at an old man even if she wasn't a Slayer anymore,, but this particular
old man could rip girls like her apart if he wanted.

"Faith, what are you doing?" Robin demanded, "Spike's saying Alistaid id
something and you and Wesley fall all over yourselves believing it? Alistair
would ne--- Oh shit! Alistair, tell me you didn't!"

"I didn't. I didn't," he assured calmly.

Robin gave a sigh of relief.

"You really don't believe that I want to reform myself from my old ways? That I
want to reconnect with you and Bernard, and even Miles? I'm not getting any
younger, you know. In the old days when this foolish old man thought he could
take it with him I would have kept all of the power of theth'sth's Shadow
dimension for myself, or I would have manipulated her to use it for my benefit,"
Alistair shook his head.

"Oh and now you've seen the bloody light. Come off it!" Spike grumbled.

"I fully and freely admit all of my wrong doings. I made some regrettable
decisions, but now---"

"--now you've bloody changed. Bollocks! You're still up to you're old parlor
tricks mucking about in people's heads! I'll kill you for what you did to her!"

"Hello! Asswipe, he had my permission! Unlike you. So, if anyone is the bad guy
here-- it's you. And since when do you own the rights to redemption? You can't
pick who you want to share it with, you know. If you could, you'd be the first
to burn here," Faith said.

"I know how people are with the magics, Faith. They don't bounce back from being
the big bad with it. It's too powerful," Spike said.

"Oh really?" Faith demanded.

"Yeah, really! Okay...Maybe there's Red, but one success story---"

"Would you just stop encouraging him," Robin pleaded to Faith, "Alistair didn't
open the Hellmouth. He's redeemed. End of story."

"Oh? So, what did you do with Faith's demon essence, Allie?" Spike asked
Alistair like he had known him forever.

"What, Will? Were you addressing to me? I'm afraid I've tuned you out as well. I
have a tendency to do that after idle death threats come along," Alistair said.

"Where is it, Allie? Faith's demon power. If you're not using it for yourself,
where'd you put it?" Spike demanded.

"Um, excuse me, but the last time I checked this wasn't a car that we could
check the mileage on to see if Alistair is driving it," Robin shook his hea"and"and God now I'm talking to you."

"I put it down a mystical porthole," Alistair answered.

"And where pray tell was that? It wouldn't be--" Spike began obnoxiously.

"--right where the old Hellmouth was," Faith finished in horror.

"Oh," Alistair said after a small moment of silence, "Oh dear," he said again.

"Oh, God! Can you close it?" Faith gd. d.

"No one can close a Hellmouth, ducks," Alistair smiled.

"Almost no one...Spike, would you be willing..." Faith began

"To sacrifice myself once again to close a Hellmouth I already did because you
were a sodding stubborn brat that wouldn't listen to me...Let me think. No."
Spike said.

"What the-"Robin began to demand. He had been keeping up with the usual scramble
of disaster. Hellmouth open due to price of saving Faith, he got that. No one
could close it, he got that. But as usual, where he fell short was understanding
how the fucking asshole vampire could help.

"The healing power of my soul is for you," the vampire said this indignantly

"Spike!" Faith roared.

"It's for you! The world's not facing the First anymore, it can live with an
open Hellmouth in Sunnydale just like it did before," Spike insisted.

"Let me get this straight, Faith. You think that Spike can somehow magically
close the Hellmouth with that burning man thing he does to you, that you say is
evil?" Robin sighed.
u cau can drive a Mac-truck through the hole in her story, huh mate?" Spike
thought this was all so funny.

"Shut-up!" Robin spat.

"I didn't say it was evil. I said it would only ending up making me evil. It's
not like I have far to go I've been there before and all, but there's a chance
he could close the Hellmouth with it, again we've been there before," Faith
said.

"There was a very good chance I didn't reopen the Hellmouth. I mean, it is very
difficult to do such a thing accidentally," Alistair said.

"That's crazy! This whole thing is crazy," Robin spat.

"You got that right. How could Allie not know he was in danger of re-opening
that Hellmouth? You must be finally losing it, old man," Spike said.

"Not that!" Robin snapped, "This- this town- this life-you." Robin gestured to
the pinned Spike. "It's like the fucking 'God-father'! Every time I think we're
out they pull us back in...and, like the 'Godfather' it was really great at
first but now it pretty much blows, and I'm not buying it anymore. Everything
I've done has been in the name of trying to get us out of this, and all it does
is get us deeper. This can't be happening! I refuse to believe that Alistair
trying to do something good for you would re-open the Hellmouth," Robin strongly
insisted.

That was it. He was taking the hard line on all of this from now on. The
Hellmouth was not going to re-open. Faith had to understand that you really
could get out of bad situations if you tried hard enough. It was time that she
started trying. Of course, he couldn't stop her from being in the mission, but
she had to stop being so naive about it. Faith wasn't doomed to live this kind
of life. Not all magic was bad, of good people used it. Not everythSpikSpike
said was true. Spike was evil. If it looks like a snake, slithers like a snake
and hisses like a snake-chances are it was a motherfucking snake.

"If Alistair says he didn't mean to open the Hellmouth, then the Hellmouth is
not open," Robin said firmly.

"Well, the Hellmouth's open," Wesley said as he hobbled back with his cane. His
pants were ripped with a scrapped knee.

"Shit, Wes, are you all right?" Faith exclaimed.

"Of course, I jurippripped. I'm not used to walking with a cane and hearing the
howling abyss of a Hellmouth open," he assured.

"We need to get ready for whatever's coming," Faith said.

Robin wasn't surprised. He wished he could be, but Faith had told him time and
again that she still wanted to be involved in whatever happened here.

"Yes, more vampires and demons will be coming, not to mention what else," Wesley
said.

"Spike," Faith said sternly, "I need to know if you're in or out with this,
right now."

"Wha? Just cause I won't use my juice to close the thing doesn't mean I'd want
to miss out on all the good brawling, but I won't be any use to you, pet. With
this sodding spell I won't even be able to beat off anything that comes near
you. You're on your own."

"Always and I really wouldn't want you beating off anything remotely near me,"
she said.

"Wait, no, Faith," Robin said. He realized that what was happening here was that
a Hellmouth was opening. This was a job for a Slayer.

"Wait, nothing the mother's opening, Woody! You remember what it wake bke before
when B was here."
do, do, and Buffy was a Slayer, and now you're not. Honey, just what are you
planning on doing?"

"Yeah, honey just what do you plan on doing?" Spike sang sarcastically.

"You know what? Screw you both. I may be down the power, but I'm still the
Slayer, as long as I'm alive. I can do plenty!" she told them and then turned to
Wesley "Wes, what can I do?"

"Round up your fighters and let them know...Contact your sources and alert
them....Angel is in Bulgaria, but I'll be here and I'll bring down some people.
We can do some...." She had grabbed a hold of Wesley's arm and the two of them
went up the stairs. Robin just watched them as did Spike who had no choice
because he was pinned to the wall.

"A girl and her Watcher. It does bring back such memories," Alistair cooed to
himself and followed them up the stairs.

"Screw us both!" Spike laughed, "Sometimes I still like the way that girl
thinks."

Robin hit him as as as he could in the face and then went to Alistair who was
waiting and shaking his head. Fighting with his hands wasn't his style, but
Robin was starting to fondly remember that pinning a vamp to a wall so someone
else could hit it was.

"Thanks for your help, pops." Robin said to Alistair

"Yes, I really do wish I hadn't opened the Hellmouth, though. How humiliating.
Maybe I am getting old," he shook his head.

"Well, you saved Faith. I guess all magic ry doy does have a price. A big one. I
really wish I knew that before you had me sacrifice that Billy-goat down there.
Poor thing." Robin shuddered, "But nothing is too much for Faith-Hellmouth
fighting, poor little Billy and all. But when she's done helping with the grand
opening of Hell, she has a chance at a normal life."

"'ey! How long does this pinned to the wall spell last? You can't leave me down
here like this. I'm a bloody Champion; I need to help you all fight the
Hellmouth, like I said."

Spike yelled up the stairs at them.

Spike yelling made Faith come out of her conversation with Wesley and go over
the Alistair.

"How long does it last?" Faith whispered to Alistair.

"Whisper," she commanded to the dirty old man in a way that Robin could tell
turned him on. He whispered in her ear. Faith was very good at knowing just how
well the vamp could hear, and smell, and see.

"Spike, you wanna come up?" Faith asked as she held the basement door.

Robin couldn't believe that she was going to let the bastard up. He wasn't going
to be able to get his hands on her, but she still shouldn't.

"Hell yes! You know I went crazy down here. I could do that again, then I'm no
use to you," he said.

"Eh, you're about as sane as I am. So a little more nuts won't make a big dent,"
she said and slammed the door.

"You bloody Bitch!" Spike yelled.

There was more after that but, thankfully Robin couldn't hear it beyond muffled
yells.

"So, how long is he down there for, one week? Two?" Robin laughed as he put his
arm around his girlfriend.

"No, he'll be out in about an hour," she laughed.

"That's it?" Robin said.

"Well, you wouldn't want him down there when you came back to work," Faith said.


"I'm sure I'd even forget he was there," he told her.

"Well, we can't forget him we need him," she reminded him.

"We don't. This place does," he insisted.

"The mission does, and that's what matters, that and food. I'm fucking staving.
So, In & Out Burger you said?"

In & Out Burger, he the vegetarian promised her. The mission is what mattered,
she had said. The Mission, Spike, and food-mattered and Faith seemed to have a
need for all these things more than Rolikeliked. How much did Robin matter? Did
she have a greater need for him?

To ontiontinued....