Together We Stand Divided We Fall

Chapter 13

The groups walked across town to the mansion where Lindsey waited for them. He knew that if he used Joyce against the girls and failed, then they would come after him. He sat in the large living room of the mansion with dead bodies all around him. He wanted to have an army of zombies but was unable to make them quick enough, so he stacked them around him as makeshift fort. A few zombies he had raised yet had not cast the humanizing spell on shambled about. They weren’t as strong or fast or clever as the humanized zombies, but they were all he had. And there were enough to slow the slayers down, giving him a chance.

Cordy walked over to Faith and pulled her aside. “Faith you know you can’t run in there half assed, right?” The dark slayer pulled her arm away from her friend and looked over her shoulder.

“Tell B, not me. She looks wicked crazed. I can’t just let her go in there without back up. Look, we’re slayers, we can handle this.” Faith turned to walk away when Cordy stopped her yet again.

“What about Dawn? She’s going to need someone.” Faith looked deep into her eyes and found the loving friend she always knew was there.

“Tara will stay with her. She knows I will never leave B’s side in a battle, but I’m worried that she will try to help. Tara will keep Dawn safe. She has to…I love her!” The dark slayer smiled at her friend and ran off to catch up with Buffy.

Giles split everyone into three groups. “Group one will be Spike, Wes, Fred and Amie. Go to the back and wait for our signal. Angel, Gunn, Faith and Cordelia, go to the east side. Buffy, Willow, Xander, and myself will go in the front. He will be watching the front and expecting someone to come in the back or the side but not both.” As they paired off in groups, Faith walked over to Tara and Dawn.

“Look, baby I have to go do this. You stay with Tara and I’ll be right back, okay?” She took her girlfriend into her arms and kissed her deep and long. As they broke away from one another Dawn started to cry.

“Faith, just come back to me and bring my sister with you! I love you so much.” With that, Faith turned to Buffy who was telling Tara not to worry. They both knew that she would, without a doubt.

“Buffy, you go. We’ll be fine here and if by any chance he gets past you I’ll…” Tara shook her hands like she was shaking something.

“Dance with him?” Buffy asked with a small chuckle.

“No kill him,” the Wicca smiled then kissed the blonde slayer.

Faith ran to rejoin her group on the east side of the mansion. She stopped right before she turned the corner. She felt a twinge and she knew she would never see Dawn again.
Tara took Dawn back to the street and waited there until her family returned to them.

Before breaking up, Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles stood in a circle together.
“So, what do you guys want to do tonight?” Buffy starts the banter of small talk between the three friends.

“Nothing strenuous,” Willow chimes in with a smile. She was grateful that after all the problems and pain they can come back to their old ways.

“Well, mini-golf is always the first thing that comes to mind,” Xander states his usual idea.

“I think we can do better than that,” the watcher mutters and shakes his head in disbelief.

“I was thinking vid fest. As per usual,” Buffy gives her idea and smiles. The banter is set and there is nothing Giles can do about it.

“Oh, there’s a new Brad Pitt movie out now,” Willow gives a small jump and quietly claps her hands.

“I could use a funny movie,” Xander pipes in with a big smile. He too is grateful that their friendship, even though scarred, is not destroyed by the trials and tribulations of their very unusual life led in Sunnydale.

“Well, now aren't we gonna discuss this? Save Sunnydale watch a movie?” Giles can't believe the three are talking about something so unimportant at a time like this.

“I'm having a wicked popcorn craving,” Buffy licks her lips at the thought.

“Aren't you on the patch?” Xander asks.

“Those never work,” the witch informs him.

“Here I am, invisible to the eye...” The watcher sighs again, turning away from the threesome.

“See, I was thinking a good war flick,” the boy gives his pick of a movie.

“Oh, you never pick a good war flick,” The slayer teases him. She smiles and slaps him on the arm.

“And your Kung Fu movies suck even worse,” Willow joins Buffy in the teasing. They separate, taking their places in front of the mansion.

“We are definitely doomed,” Giles cannot believe such people are protecting this town. He takes his place in between Buffy and Willow. The three friends look at each other and Buffy takes Giles’s hand into her own for a quick squeeze. Dropping her watcher’s hand, the slayer runs headlong into the mansion door, breaking it in two.

“That’s our cue,” Angel tells his group. Looking at Faith he sees and smells her fear. “Faith, what is it? You’re scared…you don’t get scared.” The dark slayer gives him a small smile, enough to show her dimples, and then gives the vampire a hug.

“Okay, that is not the Faith I know and fear!” Cordy points out to the group.

“Don’t worry Queen C. I’m five by five. Just point me to the hornet’s nest,” she tells Cordy.

“Well, tough girl, it’s that way.” Gunn points to the east door. “You coming to the party?” He asks as he runs to the door.

“Right behind you.” She gives one last look back to the street where she can see Dawn waiting for her to return. “I love you.” Wiping a fallen tear from her cheek, she turned back to Angel and nods her head. The vampire and slayer team runs into the mansion for the battle they were waiting for.

***

Buffy was the first inside. She saw all the bodies piled up. “He’s hiding behind there.” She points to the fort. “Attack from all sides!” she yells her demand.

The others broke away from their assigned group and surrounded the fort. Sound from behind the groups made most of them whirl away, bringing them face to face with the zombie troops Lindsey had raised. Spike grunted and said, “Well, these aren’t as well kept as the last few.” He lashed out with his hand axe, driving it into the desiccated chest of the closest zombie.

Angel and Gunn tag teamed a zombie that had grabbed Cordy’s hair and as Angel threw the body left, Gunn wrenched the head to the right. The zombie tore in half, flying away in a spray of rotted flesh. Cordy gagged and glared at the two big strong men behind her. “That’s totally gross. I’m billing the company for dry cleaning on this shirt and for about a million bars of soap. My water bill, too, cause I’m going to shower for a week.”

Angel said, “Not now, Cordelia,” as he turned away. Cordy stalked toward a zombie that was approaching Faith from behind.

“So, Angel, do you think she knows she still has some dead guy’s goo on her face,” Gunn quipped as he stepped away from Angel to engage another walking dead.

Fred fired a crossbow bolt in Lindsey’s direction, but a hand had grabbed her ankle and her shot went low, splatting into the wall of corpses that protected the former lawyer. She looked down and saw a hand gripping her, slowly working up her leg. “Ew, Wes, get Thing here off me!” she squealed, dropping her crossbow and grabbing the one time watcher’s shoulder. Wes’s wrist mounted sword was in his hand, flashing back and forth, since three zombies were converging on him. He looked back at her momentarily.

“Sorry, Fred, I cut off this one’s hand. I’ll be with you in a moment.” The young rogue demon slayer slashed again, splitting the skull of the lead corpse, dropping it to it’s knees. He wrenched the sword out, swung back and severed the fingers from the hand, now on Fred’s knee. The hand fell away and Fred scrambled back, away from the other zombies.

Giles and Xander stood back to back smashing the approaching bodies. Both were gasping, winded from fighting the relentless dead. “Giles, this seems to be going nowhere in a hurry, any ideas? Oh, hey, check it out, its Hoffa.”

Giles flashed a glance across his shoulder. “Just keep fighting. When we get the Zombie Master, they should all just drop dead. A-a-and, did you say Hoffa? Really?” Giles turned further, trying to see the famous body. He cried out though, when a zombie swung its claws into Giles shoulder. He stumbled back, knocking Xander a step towards his latest enemy.

“No, Giles, not really, you ok?” The watcher smacked away the offending zombie, throwing a glance at his shoulder. “I’ll be ok, Xander, just keep going.”

Faith was on the left side of the barrier with a sword in her good hand. Lindsey turned in her direction, pulling a sword up. He swung at the dark slayer. She jumped out of the way, giving him enough time to leap out of the makeshift fort.

When he landed in front of her, she swung her sword and cut him across the midsection as the others converged upon the pair. Lindsey yelped in pain as blood seeped through his shirt. “I should have killed you at Wolfram and Hart, bitch!” he yelled at her. He whipped around, his sword flashing wildly, driving the others not fighting with zombies back before turning his glare back upon Faith.

“Can’t change the past. Now what, you going to hurt me with bad words?” she called to him with a smirk planted on her face. Putting her weight on her left foot, she rose up onto the ball of her foot. She slid her right foot past the left to bring herself into a kicking stance. Her foot flashed up, booting Lindsey in the shoulder. He stumbled back, snarled and lunged, sword darting forward. She spun to the side, leaving her good arm free to thrust her sword into Lindsey’s bicep. He screamed, stumbled back again, and fell onto his ass.

“Faith…No…Stop! That worthless shit-head is mine!” Buffy yelled at the younger girl. Taking her attention away from the killer writhing on the floor in pain in front of her, Faith turned her head to look at Buffy. Lindsey, faking the severity of his wound, took the opportunity given to him. He leapt to his feet, raised his sword and swung it around, cutting her torso. Gunn and Angel ran to help her but were too late. Lindsey brought the sword back and drove it right through Faith’s side.

“FAITH!” Buffy yelled and ran to the fallen slayer. “Oh gods, Faith stay with me.” The older girl pulled her fallen sister slayer into her arms and wiped the hair and tears from her face.

****


“FAITH!”

Dawn heard her sister calling out her lover’s name with fear in her voice. She tried to run to the mansion but Tara held her back. “Tara let me go! I have to go to her!” Dawn cried.

“No, baby you have to stay here. She’s going to be okay, I promise.” She pulled the fleeing teen back into the street and then to the ground, holding her tight.

“No, no, Tara please let me go…. I have to be with her…Tara please.” Sobbing her words, Dawn fell into the Wicca’s arms. “Oh gods, bring her back!”
*
“Buffy take him out!” Faith breathed out into the room. “Tell Dawn I love her…now end him!” she told the older girl as her eyes slipped closed. Angel, Gunn, Spike, and Wes were pressing the attack, driving Lindsey back against the macabre wall while Buffy saw to Faith. Giles stood back, helping Willow prepare an attack spell, should the fighters fail.

“Tell her yourself!” she told the dark girl as she laid her down. Taking Faith’s sword, Buffy pushed up. Standing with the sword in her hand she pointed it right at Lindsey. Giles ran to Faith, picked her up and ran out of the mansion with Amie close behind.

Catching the blonde’s pose out of the corner of his eye, Lindsey turned to Buffy. “Oh hello, I’m Lindsey. I’ll be kicking your ass today,” he told her with a smile.

“I’m Buffy, I’ll be killing you,” Buffy said with the look of pure hate in her eyes.

“You can’t kill me, I’m human!” he started to laugh.

She walked over to him giving him a wicked smile.

“Wanna bet!” Angel jumped him from behind, sunk his teeth into Lindsey’s neck and drank.

“That’s enough!” Buffy yelled. Angel pulled away, leaving Lindsey dazed. Taking her sword, Buffy swung it savagely and took off Lindsey’s head.

***

Giles ran with Faith in his arms calling to Tara to get the car, “We need to get her to the hospital immediately!” He put Faith on the ground, waiting for Tara to return with her Jeep. Tara had driven her Jeep in case of an emergency. Amie opened the back door and climbed in the back waiting for Faith.

Faith’s lifeless body lay on the cold concrete, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow. Dawn sat next to her lover holding her hand with her fingers on Faith’s pulse point in her wrist. She felt for the slayer’s pulse to quicken but all she felt was her pulse fading. “Oh gods, Faith don’t leave me!” she cried onto Faith’s shoulder, hugging her close.

As the other slowly walked out of the mansion they all gathered around their fallen sister. Without saying a word; Gunn took Faith into his arms and Angel taking Dawn. They placed both girls in the back of the Jeep. Angel placed light kiss on Dawn’s forehead.

On the way to the hospital Amie chants over Faith lifeless body as Dawn holds her hand. “Can you really help her?” Amie gave Dawn a look of hope but was lost when Faith coughed and blood ran from her mouth and nose.
***
The sense of sadness and loss filled the waiting room as the others gathered. No longer friends of the fold, brothers at arms but now a true family as they held each other and talked quietly waiting for the news that one of their own had truly fallen.

Dawn was sitting in the chapel looking at what should be a crucifix “I know I never talked to you, never needed to before. I don’t get it. Why her? I mean I never had a person that loved me for me. I never had real love before and now that I found it, it’s taken from me. Can’t I have this just once in my pathetic life, don’t you owe me at least that? I help save this world and this is the thanks I get? What am I fighting for if the ones I love are taken from me?”

Buffy stands at the back of the chapel listening to her sister beg to God for her lover’s life and her heart breaks when she realizes that Dawn has found true love only to have it ripped from her.

“Dawnie, I’m sorry...please don’t beg you have to be strong. Faith would have wanted that.” She reached for her sister only to fall short.

“Is she gone?”

“We don’t know yet.”

“Then tell me you’re sorry when she’s gone! Until then I’ll cry, beg, and plead until someone tells me my life and love is over,” Dawn sobs loud into the air. “Buffy when I lose her...I’m done. I will walk away from all of this.” She stands and hugs her sister tight. Looking up from Buffy’s shoulder, she sees Tara standing in the door shaking her head. She knew then that Faith was gone. “I have nothing left to fight for.” Dawn turned and walked out of the chapel, leaving Buffy to her own thoughts. She walks to the waiting room without a word, only tears running down her face. She takes her things and walks to the door. Turning she looks at the on-looking family, she only speaks once.

“Good bye.”