Nusac

Chapter 29

Faith’s POV.

Why is Red’s girl looking at me like that? She hasn’t stopped staring at me since we started this locator spell thingy. Does she not like magic any more? Here was me thinking she was as into it as Willow. “You want a ticket?” I realise I’m being snappy but this spell is taking entirely too long for me.

Her forehead creases in confusion. “What.” I think the penny must drop. “Oh no it’s just… How did you get that to just appear?” What is she talking about? “You…your aura. I...it just app…appeared.” Great stuttering. All I need right now.

“I didn’t.” I look at the amulet in Red’s hands. I have to resist the urge to slap my forehead. “Well that makes perfect sense.” She looks at me confused. “The amulet blocks… Certain magical things. The aura must be one of them.” I’m not entirely sure how much information I should give concerning Nam’s skills.

“Why?”

I’m just about to answer hoping that I can make it up on the spot when Red chooses this moment to speak. “I’ve got her.” Thank God. “She’s in Sunnydale but I’m sorry I can’t get a closer read on her than that.”

“Okay.” Well she’s not far away that’s something right? I run my hands through my hair starting to worry again now that there is nothing else that I can do. The retreating sun in the window catches my eye. There’s going to be vampires out soon and she has no idea that they come out at this time of day. “Right.” Something bigger than a one-word response would be good. I begin to crack my knuckles. I know not many people like it but it’s a nervous habit. It’s not like I can control it. “She may flock to the magic, we’re in a magic shop. So Anya…” I so hope that was her name. I point towards her just in case it’s not right. “You stay here. Blond girl comes in about five foot four should have dark clothing, not very good English. She comes in here you mention my name and you keep her here got that?”

She nods and feels the need to say. “Got it.” Kinda got that from the nod but never mind. I’m not going to let anything get to my right now.

“Pike you’re with me.” There is no way that I’m letting him go out alone at night in Sunnyhell.

He nods and B Steps to his side. “I’m staying with you.” Fine if that the way it has to be.

“Whatever.” I turn to the men in the group. “Giles. You and Xander move in a westerly direction check cemeteries, parks anywhere with open space.” They both nod. I like that I’m not meeting any objections. “Willow.” It might be the using their whole names that’s doing it. File that away under useful information. “Firstly who the fuck is that?” I point to the brunette girl who screamed when I got here.

B answers for the redhead. “That’s my sister.”

I look at her confused. “You don’t have a sister B.”

“Yes she does.” Pike has to contradict me at every turn doesn’t he? “I remember Dawn.”

“Dawn.” I shake this out of my head. I can’t have been away so long to forget a whole person can I? “Sort it out later. Dawn you stay here.” She begins to complain about always being left out of things and I chose to ignore her. “Red… Can you sense magic? I mean as it’s being cast.” She nods mutely in answer. “Then you’re with me. Everybody clear?” I don’t hear any problems. “Then lets go.”

We prowl the streets, I’m trying to sniff Namine out… literally, Willow is trying to sense the magic and B is of course asking me question after question probably trying to gauge if I actually am still the evil slayer.

“So let me get this straight, you got sucked into a portal on the way to kill Angel… you turn up in this weird place and suddenly all the bad ass just disappears?”

“I’ve already told you B if you didn’t listen that that isn’t my problem. You should give me a break okay, I’ve been here a good few hours and I haven’t even thought about hurting anyone.” I say trying to crack a joke, yeah that didn’t work… I don’t think she liked the joke. “Hey Will, I need sec with the Buffster.” I say.

Willow looks at me suspiciously and walks a little away but still keeps her eye on me, yeah trust is gonna be a hard thing with these people. I take Buffy’s arm and turn her so her back is to Willow, I do not want her reading my lips or anything.

“Let go of me.” Buffy says shrugging out of my grasp.

“B… Buffy… I came back to see you, to make sure you are okay.”

Buffy laughs at this comment. I take a deep breath and shake my head. “Look I know where you were…” I start. “…What happened last year, over the summer, all of that… I know. And I came back to see if you’re okay.”

A flash of fear crosses her eyes at my comment. “You don’t know anything.”

As she walks around me she bumps her shoulder into mine. “I know you crawled out of heaven and straight into hell.”

Now that got her attention. And bewildered doesn’t even start to describe the look on her face.

I take a breath and a step back towards her, the thought of touching her arm in a caring way crosses my mind but I think we all know that wouldn’t go down well. “Look Buffy…” Yeah this is harder than I thought it would be. “…I have pretty much gauged that no one else knows and I aint gonna step on that for you, if you don’t want to tell them then they won’t hear it from me… Namine knows, I had to tell her but Pike… I didn’t tell Pike I figured it wasn’t my place.” Still with the bewilderment. “Okay I will try to say this as plainly as possible, I’ll cut the bull shit… We never got on, that much is obvious but there’s still this connection thing between us, I guess it’s the slayer and I had this dream…”

Buffy nods silently. Before I continue.

“…it was like I was you, it was all from your perspective so I know okay, I felt everything you felt and yeah I haven’t had to live with it being me but I think I got some insight into it. You don’t trust me and that’s fine I wouldn’t expect you to but I do want you to know that I understand some of it and if you do want to talk about it then I am here for you okay?”

The silence passes between us until B pipes up. “I… erm… I had a dream to… I was you…” I don’t like the look on her face right now. I stay quiet because I can’t think of anything to say, every part of my brain is currently trying to work out exactly what part of my life she saw. “I’m sorry Faith, for what happened to you when you were there.”

Yeah still confused. “When I was where?” I probably shouldn’t have asked, not sure if I want to know. One word brings clarity.

“Abbas.”

I nod and shake my head. Not at the some time that would just not work. I nod in understanding before having to shake the memory out of my head. “Yeah, it did kinda suck didn’t it?” I laugh slightly at myself. Not too good with the vulnerable around B.

Suddenly I think that something horrible and ungodly has happened with the world, maybe it’s the hell mouth or maybe the PTB have decided to have a laugh at my expense because I’m guessing that the look on my face at the minute is defiantly a Kodak moment.

“Okay B, slayer strength… need to step out of the hug.” I say as the last bits of air are crushed out of my lungs.

“Hey guys I’m getting something!” Willow shouts to us, thankfully not turning to look at us, I don’t think she saw the hug, which is good because explaining that away would be too much like hard work.

My senses prick up again I can smell Namine… I guess all the hugging stopped my focus. “Come on.” I say walking in the direction of the scent.

“What the hell is this girl?” Willows asks turning to me.

Confused look. “What?”

“She’s just… she feels different.” Yeah that explanation didn’t do too well with me.

“Born in a different dimension?” I hypothesise.

“Yeah, could be.” Willow asks before Buffy cuts in.

“When the hell did you get all insightful?” I raise my eyebrows and smirk… then the smirk drops from my face. I can smell fear, Namine fear.

I break out into a run, B is on my heals and Red is doing her best to keep up and may I add she is actually doing quite well. We round a corner and I spot Namine is the middle of a clutch of vampires… this is so not good.

“Shit.” Buffy says before taking a stake out of her pocket. No need. With a large crack in the sky lightning shoots into the ten or so vampires surrounding Nam. Then they are gone.

“Oh my god, Will!” Buffy exclaims smiling at her friend, Red gives the bewildered look of the day before saying.

“That wasn’t me.”

Namine turns and sees me. “Faith!” With that she practically skips over to me, wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me for a long time. ”Why did you not tell me all this about your world?”

”Nam, I’m sorry I forgot about it… I’m just glad you are okay.”

Nam raises an eyebrow at me. ”Not about the vampires, the wonderful place with the markets, they called it the mall.”

I bust out laughing.