Complement

XXII – Even With My Eyes Closed
(Part C)

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Spike, Anya, Giles and Faith had been beaten back behind a large pile of debris, and machines. It seemed as if for every one minion they killed or one Crazie they knocked out of the game, twenty more took their place. The tired group dodged the occasional brick or metal bar that was hurled at them over the debris. The minions and Crazie had made a living barricade between them and the stairs.

"Has anybody noticed that we're moving backwards?"

Faith shot a look at the ex-vengeance demon, wondering why someone always had to state thviouvious.

Deciding to risk taking a glance, Spike poked his head over the top of one of the machines. A brick cracking him in the head was his reward. He snarled annoyed, and snarled again at Faith's stifled laugh as he ducked back down again.

"It's crossed my mind..."

'Good one Spike old man, even if I do say so myself!'

"As long..".." Giles stopped taking a few pain-filled breaths. "Buffy can keep Glory down... long enough, it won't matter." He paused again looking up at the tower. "There's only a few minutes left to start the ritual."

Faith barely heard him as he spoke, she was concentrating on Buffy, her eyes closed watching the images the echoes were making behind her closed lids. She was waiting, waiting to see if the god became just the man. Waiting because she knew that if that happened Buffy would never be able to... to... do... what Faith herself didn't even want to think about, let alone put into words.
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One second she was all alone on the platform, the next she wasn't. Dawn screamed before she could stop herself, her mind automatically seeing Glory. Slowly as the scream died from her lips, she saw it was a man, an older man, the man from the shop, the man who had helped her with the spell to resurrect her Mother. He looked different though all dressed up in a formal black suit.

"You... You can help me? Untie me... Please! Help me! She's coming!" Her voice rose up on the last few words in fear.

Doc, yes, Doc that was his name she remembered now, moved closer to her.

"Well, it seems she's running a bit late, is the thing. And... uh... if her Splendidness can't be here in time to bleed you..."

The color drained out of Dawn's face as she realized he wasn't going to help her. The fear coiled in the pit of her stomach and started to rise up the back of her throat.

"Hey!" He whispered and winked at her like he was going to tell her a secret, "Kid. Wanna see a trick?"

Dawn shrunk back in fear as he produced a shiny, large, evil looking knife seemingly out of thin air. He held it in front of his face, his smile filled with malice.
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He leapt over the fence, then crouched low, running towards them like a soldier in the trenches. His experience from the Halloween that Ethan had cast the spell, turning people into their costumes, working for him in this situation. Xander squatted down besides Anya. "How are we doing?" He asked her still high off the rush of knocking Glory flat on her ass with the crane.

"So far, it's a tie."

"We haven't gotten up to Dawn, but neither has anyone else."

Spike squinted up at the platform; he nudged Faith, jerking his head up towards where Dawn was. He looked to her for confirmation, which he got in her silent nod. "Someone's up there."

They all looked up, Xander kicked back into GI Joe mode, "Okay, we gotta charge or something..."

"We tried that."

Spike scrunched up his face, looking at Faith hoping she would have a plan. Faith looked at him and blinked when it seemed as though he froze, cocking his head like he was listening to something the rest of them couldn't hear.

"Spike..." Whoa! Was that Red's voice he was hearing in his head? "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear..." Spike frowned; this was strange, hearing the little witch in his head. He didn't know the little witch could count telepathy amongst her hat tricks.

Faith smiled, it had to be Red doing a variation of the mind-meld she did with Buffy.

"Is there someone up there with Dawn?" Came the voice in his head again.

"Yeah. Can't see who." Spike felt a little foolish talking to the thin air.

"Are you talking to us?"

"Get up there. Go now."

He peered over the wall of debris, the barrier of humans and minions seemed to be even thicker now. They were milling about waiting for a fight, armed and ready to do battle. "Yeah. But..." He answered her choosing to ignore Xander's earlier question.

"GO!"

'Not so bloody friggin' loud Red!'

Spike jumped up and charged out anyway, as they all looked at him in surprise, all but Faith. She had known Buffy was going to send Spike to protect Dawn. With the chip in his head, Spike would be virtually useless against stopping the Scoobs and Giles if they decided to ignore Buffy's warning. Keeping the Scoobs and Giles from harming Dawn should it come down to that was Faith's job and she wished with all her heart that it didn't come down to that.

Spike ran like the devil was on his heels towards the barrier of flesh, he almost stumbled and fell when they parted in front of him. Splitting into two halves like the hand of god herself had pushed them apart. He ran straight through them not sparing any of them a glance, he was intent only on the stairs in front of him. He leapt onto the third step, and started running up them two at a time, not once slowing down, glad that he didn't have to breathe.

Faith watched him, as he quickly grew smaller until he reached the last level and began to climb up the ladder.

The ladder that led to the platform...

The ladder that led to Dawn...
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Where was her sister, Faith, Spike anyone? Was Glory right? Were they going to leave her here to die? No, she couldn't believe that, wouldn't believe that. They wouldn't do that to her. She had seen her sister fighting Glory. as tas the fear that was making her think this. Dawn tried to control the fear, but it rose up hotter, stronger as Doc took another step closer to her. He reached into his pocket, and Dawn flinched, involuntarily shrinking back.

He took out an antique pocket-watch and looked at it. "Well, what do you know?" Doc smiled as he said it. Dawn saw Spike pull himself up onto the platform behind Doc, and she bit her lip to keep herself from calling out his name or sighing in relief. "Just about that time," Doc whirled around to greet the vampire, smiling at him as Spike approached him.

"Doesn't a fellow stay dead when you kill him?" Spike kept his eyes on Doc. He wanted to look over at Dawn to reassure her, he knew better though then to let his concentration wander from the demon in front of him.

"Look who's talking."

"Come on, Doc. Let's you and me have a go."

"I..." Doc tapped the knife in his other hand as if he were thinking about Spike's challenge. "...do have a prior appointment"

"This won't take long."

"No, I-I don't imagine it will."

Doc smiled as Spike lunged at him. He sidestepped Spike, grabbing him nonchalantly around the neck. Raising his hand with the knife, he plunged it into Spike's back right to the hilt.

Spike gasped in pain, Dawn in fear. He thought his knees were going to buckle. He might be technically dead, but that shit still hurt like a mother, he gasped again in pain.
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Buffy was beating the living shit out of Glory with the hammer. Hitting her over and over again, for her sister, for what she did to Tara, for the others she had done the same thing to as well and for what she wanted to do to this reality.

Blood was running down Glory's face. A river of blood flowed from her nose as well. She was in pain; she was in anguish, close to tears. What was so wrong with her wanting to go home? Why was this Slayer-bitch so concerned with saving the Key? It wasn't like the Key was really real after all. "You're just a mortal... you couldn't understand my pain." Glory was having a hard time keeping back the tears.

"Then I'll just have to settle for causing it." There was a part of Buffy that was enjoying this, the power of the Slayer running hotly through her veins.

She slammed the hammer into Glory again with all of her might. Glory staggered to the side, reeling from the blow, she shook it off and turned back to Buffy.

"You can't kill me..." Glory snarled.

"No..." Buffy raised the hammer again, poising it to strike, "...but my arm's not even tired yet."

Buffy slammed the hammer home again.
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Faith turned around and saw that Giles was gone. 'FUCKFUCKFUCK,', if anyone was going to go after Dawn it would be him! And she had fucking lost him. FUCK! She had been too busy paying attention to what was happening between Glory and Buffy, knowing that whatever was going to happen would happen soon. Buffy was kicking the shit out of Glory and from everything, that Faith had learned about Glory she wouldn't put it past her to use Ben as a defense against Buffy.

Between that and trying to see what was going on up on the platform of the tower, she hadn't been keeping an eye on Giles. Faith looked at the tower scanning it. She didn't see any sign of Giles trying to climb it. Then again, in his condition it would be unlikely that he would make it. She looked around her and thought she saw a shadow, a movement over near Buffy and Glory. FUCK!

She mumbled, "I'll be back." to Xander and Anya, keeping low she headed off in the direction of Buffy and Glory but not before she heard Xander quip back, "Okay Arnie..."
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Doc dropped the bloody knife down onto the platform after he pulled it out of Spike's back. Somehow or another during their struggle the damn vampire had managed to position himself in front of Dawn, effectively blocking his path to the Key.

"You don't come near the girl, Doc." Spike growled, barely keeping his demon from surfacing. He didn't want to scare Dawn anymore than she already was by vamping out.

"I don't smell a soul anywhere on you... why do you even care?"

"I made a promise to a lady," 'and one to myself to protect Little Bit.' Besides he didn't like, hell he down-right-hated that skanky-ho-bad-dressing-bitch-hellgod.

"Ohhh." Spike dodged the ten-foot-long tongue that came shooting out of Doc's mouth. Gracefully Doc dropped down to his knees and sweep Spike's legs out from under him. Spike fell to the ground onto his injured back, hissing in pain. They struggled on the ground; Dawn watched them frightened, anxious. They both regained their feet, but Doc got the upper hand. He had a hold of Spike and had managed to pin his arms behind his back. "Well I'll send the lady your regrets."

Spike locked his eyes with Dawn. She saw sorrow, regret, panic, agony in Spike's eyes. She heard it in his whispered, "No," before Doc pushed him over the edge.

"AAH! NOOOOO!" Dawn screamed as Spike fell.
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He hit the ground with bone-breaking force on a pile of bloody fucking bricks. His body convulsed in agony. He opened his eyes, they were filled with fear, not for himself but for his Little Bit. Spike groaned in agony, weeping inside over his failing Dawn, failing Buffy, failing them all, as he struggled to get up.
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Buffy was thrashing Glory to within an inch of her god life. Glory was dazed from the blows, from the fact that the little Slayer-bitch was whipping her ass. She couldn't seem to catch her breath, her body was in pain, and tears rimmed her eyes. Gods don't cry, damn it, but she wanted to, wanted to bad. The bitch was sending another hammer right-cross her way and Glory held her breath waiting for it, there was nothing she could do top itp it. The blow knocked her to her knees, she looked up at the bitch, the tears threatening to spill over. "Stop it," that couldn't be her voice pleading with the Slayer-bitch. Could it?

"You're a god..." Neither Buffy's eyes nor her voice held any mercy for the exiled god on her knees in front of her. Buffy slammed the hammer into Glory again, without mercy, an undercut that sent Glory up off her knees through the air and onto her back. "MAKE it stop."

The Slayer walked over to the fallen god and knelt beside her. She brought the hammer up again; Glory could do nothing but watch as it descended towards her. Over and over again the Slayer brought the hammer down, with determination, ruthlessly beating the exiled god. Beating her until her face was nothing but a bloody mess, until the defeat showed through the blood. Until the blood was flying around, splattering the walls, the ground, each time the Slayer swung the hammer.

The Slayer brought the hammer up again, through her haze she saw Glory morph into Ben. She dropped her hand and the hammer harmlessly to her side. The man lying on the ground under her was broken and bloody, bearing all the marks of the beating the exiled god had taken.

Ben's breathing labolabored, pain-filled, he could barely move, barely speak but managed to whisper out, "I'm sorry..."

The Slayer schooled her features, careful not to show any sympathy for the man on the ground under her, "Tell her it's over. She missed her shot." She looked in his eyes trying to see if he understood her. "She goes. She ever – EVER – comes near me and mine again..." The Slayer let the implied threat hang in the air.

Buffy knew she should end this now, should kill Ben. Kill the man and the god dies. She couldn't though, she could not kill an innocent. Sharing his body with an evil hellgod had not been his choice; he was innocent in all of this. Buffy might have thought differently had she known about the deal he had made with Glory. Had she known that he could have prevented this by letting Dawn get away. Then again even knowing that, the odds were against her still killing him. Elizabeth Anne 'Buffy' Summers could not take a human life, innocent or not in cold-blood. No matter how much she might want to, no matter what they might have done. Not in cold-blood.

"We won't. I swear," Ben coughed painfully, wondering if he would even survive. He was badly injured; there was only so much he could take even if he did share his body with a god.

Buffy him him one last look, rose to her feet, turned and ran towards the tower...

...towards her sister.
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Faith was hiding behind one of the large wooden crates close to where Buffy was fighting Glory. She had not found Giles, at this point in the game he wasn't her priority. Her priority was to make sure that neither Glory nor Ben got to Dawn. So she waited knowing that this was coming to an end. Selt elt it in the echoes, felt the fury, the power, the thrill running through Buffy, pumping through her veins with hot intensity. Felt it in the echoes which were now as much a part of her as her own beating heart.

She felt it the second things changed, felt as the urge to destroy Glory, to pulverize her left Buffy and knew that Glory had morphed. She risked peeking out from behine cre crate so that her eyes could confirm what she already knew. She saw she was right; it was Ben who lay on the ground, Buffy kneeling over him.

Faith started to tremble, she couldn't stop it. She kept watching, knowing deep in her soul that Buffy would not be able to end it, would not be able to kill Ben. Even without the echo telling her of the internal struggle Buffy was going through, she would bet her life that Buffy would not be able to kill him. Not in cold-blood. She might have if Glory hadn't morphed between blows, might have done it by accident, but never on purpose.

Faith watched just in case, because even if Buffy decided she could, there was no way that Faith would let her. There was no way she would ever let Buffy find out what it was like to take a life. No way she wanted Buffy to know what the guilt, the remorse, the pain of taking a life could, did do to you, your insides, your heart, your soul.

That wasn't why she was trembling. She was trembling because she would do what she wasn't willing to let Buffy do, do what she knew Buffy could never do.

And in the end, in the long run Faith knew it would destroy everything. Her chance for redemption, the trust she had built, her place in the family she now had. It would destroy who she had become, wanted to be. Destroy eventually her relationship with Buffy. Buffy would still love her, she didn't doubt that, but things would never be the same again between them. Eventually it would destroy her, maybe destroy them both.

In the end, killing Ben in cold-blood would annihilate her and everything she had worked so hard to achieve.

But it was still a sacrifice she was willing to make, even knowing that killing someone in cold-blood was wrong. Wrong for moral reasons and wrong because she was a Slayer. Willing to make that sacrifice because she couldn't risk, Buffy, Dawn, Giles, the Scoobs any of them; in the hopes that Glory wouldn't come after them if she missed her window to go home. Somehow, Faith doubted that hellgod's practiced the tradition of forgive and forget.

So she would sacrifice her soul, would do it for them, in return for all that they had given her. Grateful for the time she had with them, her L.A. family, her Sunnydale family, for her lover who was her heart and soul. Grateful she got to find out what it was to even have a family, to know love, to give love. Grateful because it was more then she ever thought she could have, ever thought she had deserved.

Faith trembled harder because for the first time in almost a year, she could hear her dark side whispering faintly in her head. She knew she would have to let it out again, give it free rein, had to it was the only way she would ever be able to do this. And she was terrified that she might not be able to bring it to heel again once she did.
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Giles and Faith stepped out from behind the different crates they had been hiding behind at the same time. They stood facing each other from across the ten feet that separated them. Ben lay on the ground between them, oblivious to everything but his pain.

It surprised him, but didn't, to see the Dark Slayer standing across from him. Giles knew why she was there; she would make herself do what Buffy could not. Not because she wanted to, not because she was evil, but because she felt she should. He saw how she was trembling, this was going against everything she was, everything she had become. He saw the determination in her face, she would do this even knowing that it would destroy her, destroy her totally and completely for all time. Giles had no doubt in his mind at all, that she would do it because she thought she owed them all something. He He had failed her the first time around; he would not fail her now. There was no way in hell he would let her do this, he could live with this sin on his soul, he knew she could not. He had decided earlier if it came to this, that he would do what he knew Buffy would never be able to do, had made the decision before Xander had even mentioned it in the Magic Shop earlier tonight.

Had made the decision the second that Buffy had told him what Gregor had said about the exiled god sharing the body of a mortal human.

Giles and the Dark Slayer stared at each for long seconds. Faith nodded slightly then turned and went after Buffy, only a few seconds behind her.

Faith looked back one last time before she rounded the corner, she saw him kneel on the ground next to Ben. And knew that it wasn't Giles who knelt down next to Ben, but a man called Ripper.
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Ben coughed painfully again, and smiled, a smile filled with bitterness, "I guess we're stuck with each other, huh baby?"

A figure loomed over him; he could not see who it was. They knelt and he saw with relief that it was Giles. Giles, whom he had saved at the abandoned gas station two days ago, had it really only been two days ago when all this had started?

"Can you move?"

"Need... a minute... She could have killed me." Ben could barely manage to get the words out he was in so much pain. It wasn't fair he thought, he felt pai pain in human terms, while Glory felt it in god terms. He had no doubt that she would be feelinin rin right now, but not like this.

Giles voice was calm, serene, cold, when he spoke, "No she couldn't. Never. And sooner or later, Glory will re-emerge, and... make Buffy pay for that mercy. And the world with her. Buffy even knows that..." Giles reached in and took his glasses out of his pocket. He fiddled with them as continued talking. "...and still she wouldn't take a human life." He paused again filling his lungs with air. "She's a hero, you see." He put his glasses on, adjusting them until they rested comfortably on his face. "She's not like us."

"Us?" Ben was suddenly afraid of this man who knelt next to him, it was almost like he had changed before his eyes. Like an outer mask had disappeared and the true man had emerged.

Giles gave the part of him that was Ripper free rein. He reached out and calmly, coldly clamped his hand over Ben's nose and mouth, cutting off his air. Ben struggled against the hand that was his death, but he was too weak, and the hand never let up or loosened. Gradually his struggling slowed until finally it ceased.

Giles expression had remained calm, consistent throughout, as he waited for the man beneath him to go still, it was as if the blood in his veins had suddenly turned to ice.
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With one swift move, Doc sliced through the material of the antique gown and through the skin of Dawn's stomach. Dawn screamed out in pain, in terror, tears began to flow down her face. He was right in front of her; she could taste his breath, grinning at her with a mad, evil glint in his eyes. "Shallow cuts, shallow cuts..." He made another swift shallow cut, he was enjoying this, he loved the pain of others. "Let the blood flow..." Dawn felt the blood flowing down her body, down over her legs, along her feet, over her toes to drip off them failing to the ground far below. "...freeee." He continued to slice shallowly away, her arms, her ribs, her stomach, lost in the ecstasy of it.

He didn't see Buffy as she climbed up on the platform.

"Dawn!"

"Buffy!" Her voice, heavy and thick with pain.

Doc whirled around, hiding his surprise at seeing the Slayer. Confidently she moved towards him.

"This should be interesting..." He sneered at her, over-confident; sure his god couldn't be far behind.

The Slayer kept moving towards him, almost as if he weren't there. Without so much as even sparing a glance at him she strode past him and pushed him like the piece of dirt he was right over the side. Cheering in her head as she heard him screaming as he fell.

Buffy picked up her pace and untied her sister within a second. "Here," she whispered, when the ropes were all undone.

"Buffy, it hurts..."

"I got you... Come here. You're gonna be okay..."

Neither the Slayer nor her sister saw as the falling drops of blood met some invisible mystical force on the way down from the platform. More drops joined them, the blood began to transform into a small glowing ball, which crackled with energy. A bright white light of power in the center of the energy growing stronger, as the glowing ball grew steadily larger. Faith saw it though and scrambled even faster up the ladder trying to reach them.

Limping, Dawn let Buffy propel her across the platform towards the tower entrance. Dawn glanced back at her sister, and then stopped. She turned around to face her.

"Go!" Buffy urged her.

"Buffy, it's started."

Buffy whirled around and saw what her sister had seen, the glowing light of the newborn portal.
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The portal continued to grow larger, gaining speed with each passing minute. A huge lightening bolt shot out of its center, the large bolt splintered as it freed itself of the portal, breaking into tentacles of energy as it hit the night air.

A lightening bolt hit the intersection of Main Street. The force, the power, opened a hole the size of a crater in the middle of the street. The few souls who had braved the night in downtown Sunnydale screamed in terror, running from the unnatural energy the lightening brought with it.

Another bolt struck one of the newer, taller, office complexes, which instantly burst into flames. White-faced zombies, scabby decaying, walking corpses, but definitely not human corpses, began crawling out of the burning holes of the building.
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Buffy and Dawn looked down at the portal at the blinding light and knew it had begun.
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Faith pushed herself even harder up the ladder, feeling the power of the white light within the portal almost searing her skin, and knew it had begun.
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Giles jerked his head upward towards the light, his hand falling from Ben's still form, he rose to his feet, forgetting about checking for a pulse. He walked over to where the wrecking ball had punched a hole through the wall and stepped through it. The white-rainbow light above him painfully bright, he felt the energy, the power of it thrumming across his skin. The ground beneath his feet began to shake, he grabbed onto the wall to keep himself from falling. He knew it had begun.
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They fell to the ground, minions and Crazies alike. They prostrated themselves for their god, to the powerful light, the portal that would bring her home, and open the gates that would turn the world into a living hell. Trembling with joy because they knew it had begun.
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Anya clutched Xander to her in fear as another bolt of lightening flashed past their heads. They knew it had begun.
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Willow and Tara held each other as they stared at the display of power over their heads. They turned to each other, locking eyes, no words were needed, they both knew it had begun.
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Spike rolled painfully aside as he felt the earth begin to spilt from under the bricks. Panting in pain, he looked up and knew it had begun.
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Xander and Anya were stilling looking up as another bolt of lightening streaked over their heads. They heard it explode in the distance. A rumbling started and Anya cried out in fear, "Xander."

She shoved him hard away from her, saving his life, as a wall of concrete and metal fell on top of her.

Horror, panic rushed through Xander as he saw the wall collapse onto Anya, burying her.

"ANYA!" He screamed at her unmoving body.
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She climbed the last few steps of the ladder and was finally on the platform. Buffy and Dawn were less then twenty feet away with their backs to her. A low rumbling std, ad, and Faith moved a few feet closer to her family. She grabbed onto the scaffolding for dear life as she almost fell off as the platform started shaking.

Buffy turned towards Dawn holding her by the arm as the platform shook violently. She saw Faith moving towards them, but she had already known that she was up here with them. Buffy held onto her sister until the shaking stopped, keeping her safe, but were any of them safe now? Now that it had begun?

A river of tears flowed down her face as she looked at her sister, her sister, who had tried her best to stop this from happening. "I'm sorry..." Dawn choked out.

"It doesn't matter. Nothing. Daw Dawn caught her off guard as she pushed past her, running for the end of the platform. Buffy whirled and caught her almost immediately. She pulled her back to her, and placed herself between Dawn and the end of the platform. "What are you doing?" But Buffy already knew, she just didn't want to know.

"I have to jump. The energy..." Dawn looked at Buffy with determination. The type of determination Buffy had seen reflected in her own eyes many times.

Faith stayed where she was, listening to them, listening to the echo Buffy was sending her to stay where she was. This was something that the sisters, who were more then just sisters, needed to deal with themselves.

"It'll kill you!" This wasn't supposed to happen, it shouldn't be happening. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair!

Dawn voice was soft, almost comforting, but strangely enough held no fear, "I know..." Buffy stared at her little sister, who seemed so grown up right now. "Buffy, I know about the ritual! I have to stop it."

"NO!" Buffy's determination now matched that of her sister's; she was the one who had taught her it after all.

The three women who were barely more than girls stumbled as the tower shook ferociously again.

"I have to! Look at what's happening!"

They all looked up as lightening crackled over their heads, a bolt larger then any before. There came a sound unlike nothing any of them had heard before, almost but not quite like a scream of agony. They watched as a hole ripped the fabric of their reality in the portal by the lightening. Flying out of the hole was a huge dragon, something until now that had only lived in fairy tales. It swooped up and buzzed over the tower, then took off flying into the west.

Something kept itching her, scratching at the surface of her consciousness, something she was forgetting, what was it? Faith listened to them she couldn't let Dawn die, there had to be a way to stop this. She couldn't, wouldn't let this happen.

Dawn tried to get her arm out of her sister's grip, "Buffy... You have to let me go! Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop." Buffy stared at Dawn in despair, in anguish. Something tickled the edges of her mind, something she wasn't seeing. There had to be a way to stop this. She could not let this happen. She should have killed Ben; she could have lived easier with his death on her conscious. But she couldn't live with Dawn's knowing that there had been something she could have done. This wasn't right damn it all! She stared at Dawn's tear filled eyes as she continued to speak to her, "You know you have to let me. It has to have the blood..."
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The breeze carried three simple whispered words to each of the Chosen Two.

One heard them spoken with the voice of the first Slayer, the other with the voice of the oldest of the Fates'.

"Learn and Remember...." Time stood still for the Chosen Two while in the reality of the world that they lived in less than a second passed. Realization swept the features of both the Slayers.
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The Slayer looked down at the Tapestry of Life. Her eyes drawn to a thread that she somehow knew wasn't a life in the terms of a living creature, be it mortal or immortal. It was a thread of pure cobalt-blue energy, a color of power; it was she knew the source of what made them Slayers. She followed it through the Tapestry. Saw how it stayed with each of the Slayers even after death, seeming to duplicate itself as it passed to the next Slayer, letting the Slayer remain the Slayer even in the afterlife. And until Buffy had died there never had been more then one Slayer at any given time. For once the Council truly had not lied.

Faith saw where the Thread of Life that was Buffy's had been cut when she had died briefly at the hands of The Master. Saw how the cobalt-blue thread was imbedded through all the strands that made up Buffy's Life Thread. The Slayer Thread was there, present from the very beginning of Buffy's Life Thread. It was a confirmation of all that Faith believed; they were built to be Slayers that they and the Slayer were one in the same. She gained a further understanding as she saw that it did not glow at the start of the Life Thread but somewhere further along, she assumed that it started glowing when Buffy had been called.

So the Council had been wrong, the power of the Slayer did not leave the body of one Slayer when she died and get passed to the next. The power of the Slayer was with them from the time of their birth and stayed with them even after death. The only thing the death of a Slayer did was awaken the power that already lay within the new Chosen One.

Faith need only look at the Life Thread of Kendra, and her own to confirm this. She wondered if it was possible to awaken the power of the Slayer before the current Chosen One died.

The same power that ran through Buffy ran through her too. She was not a mistake, she had always been meant to be. If only she had known this before, things might have been different. She was a part of Buffy and Buffy was a part of her.

She saw in the Tapestry how her own Life Thread moved closer to Buffy's, how Buffy's moved closer towards hers. How for a time in the Tapestry they traveled side by side. How frayed pieces of her Life Thread reached out to frayed pieces of Buffy's Life Thread, but never quite managed to touch.

Then their Life Threads moved apart, far apart, neither reaching for the other. Then how they steadily began to move closer together again, 'til they were once more side by side. This time as the frayed pieces reached towards each other they met and intertwined. Faith moved her eyes to where she knew the present was within the Tapestry. Little by little, she saw more and more of her and Buffy's Life Threads intermingle, wrap around each other, to become one while still remaining separate. As their Life Thread's merged, each distinguishable from the other while mirroring the other. Whole in of themselves, but even more whole together. She saw that they were, now and forever, soul-mates. Each a part of the other, home for them lay within the heart and soul of the other.

She followed Buffy's Life Thread up and saw were two thin almost invisible red threads came from two other Life Threads and she knew they belonged to Buffy's parents. Without having to be told, she knew the red threads were blood. Blood, which carried the genetic traits of the parents, blood the giver of life. Blood, which made Buffy a living representative of both Joyce and Hank.

Her eyes were drawn to another Life Thread and this one was similar to herd Bud Buffy's the only difference was that the glowing energy within it was a brilliant emerald green. It was the energy of the Key, and this Life Thread belonged to Dawn. She saw a small very thin piece of cobalt-blue energy mixed in with the emerald green.

Against their will, Faith's eyes moved up Dawn's thread to the beginning. What she saw sent her mind into a tailspin. The two thin threads that connected Dawn to Joyce and Hank were clear, unlike Buffy's which were red. There was only one red blood thread, the Thread of Life that connected to Dawn. And that thread came from Buffy, not Joyce and Hank. Dawn's genetic make-up came from Joyce and Hank, but the blood that gave her life came from Buffy. From Buffy also came a tiny sliver of what made her a Slayer, and in return Dawn gave Buffy a tiny sliver of what made her the Key. Dawn wasn't simply Buffy's sister. She was a part of Buffy, or parts of Buffy, more than a sister, almost a daughter.

Rapidly the Tapestry of Life changed as Faith went through each of the different things that could happen. She saw all of the consequences of each of the different choices happen clearly, like a movie playing in her mind.

Faith raised her eyes from the Tapestry of Life, she slowly looked at each of the Fates, fly lly letting her eyes rest on Atropos.

"You call these choices? What kind of choices are these? These aren't choices, they're fucking death sentences! Why did I need to know this? Why the fuck did you drag me up here? Was it so you could torment me with the fact that someone I love is going to die, or that the whole world will be destroyed? Torment me because there is nothing I can do to stop this shit. Is this my punishment for the horrible things I did in my life? So what the fuck was the purpose of this? HUH? TELL ME YOU DECREPIT OLD FUCK! Was it to show me that I've found my soul-mate only to... to..."

Faith couldn't finish her sentence, she knew that when the time came Buffy would be faced with the same choices. Deep down in her soul, Faith knew which one Buffy would pick. The Fates, she was pretty sure, also knew what Buffy's choice would be. She, Faith, was the wild card, the only one that could change, stop or influence Buffy's choice. That was why the Fates wanted her to know all this. So that when the time came, she would also understand all of the consequences.
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It has to have the blood.... Buffy drifted deep into her mind, Dawn's words finally brought to the surface what had been skirting around the edges of consciousness, and brought to the surface an understanding.

Her mind drifted to the Magic Shop earlier today...

"Why blood? Why is it Dawn's blood, why couldn't it be, like, a lymph ritual?"

''Cause it's always gotta be blood."

...then she drifted to the night at the hospital after one of their confrontations with Glory...

Buffy and Dawn were sitting on the floor of the hospital both were tired, hurt and bleeding.

"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I love you. You're my sister."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are." Buffy lifted Dawn's arm, so that Dawn could see the blood on both her arm and hand. "Look, it's blood. It's Summers blood." Buffy pressed her own hand against the still bleeding wound she had gotten from the tire-iron. She looked at her sister and clasped her own bloody hand with her sister's bloody hand. "It's just like mine. It doesn't matter where you came from, or, or how you got here. You are my sister...."

...then back to the Magic Shop earlier today when she was trying to explain to Giles and the Scoobs...

"She's me. The monks made her out of me."

...then later to outside the Magic Shop with Faith...

"It's more than that, it almost like she's my daughter too....... It's like she is more than just family. When I hold her, it's more than just remembering the memories the monks planted. They... they made her from me. From me... she is me or parts of me... maybe the parts of me that I lost when I got called... It's physical... it's more... I feel closer to her then anyone, anything..."

...then to her 'Slayer Quest' sitting by the fire with the First Slayer...

"Death is your gift."

"Death..."
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Buffy slowly opened her eyes, it all made sense to her, she heard softly on the wind the First Slayer finishing her sentence....

"...is your gift."

She frowned and turned around. It was unnaturally quiet all of a sudden. The wind raged but carried no sound with it. She saw in the far off distance, holes ripping open the fabric of their reality. The walls between dimensions were beginning to crumble. She looked to the end of the platform; this time of the day had become very familiar to her over the last few months. She looked out over the platform at the pre-dawn light and knew the sun would rise soon.

Faith watched her as she turned around, and looked out into the pre-dawn, as the night became suddenly quiet. It was their special time of the day, when they made their secret wishes, and waited for the promises of the new day. Tears started to silently fall down her face; this wasn't fair, it wasn't right. She took a step, then another until there was only a few feet that separated her from Buffy, from Dawn. She didn't care, didn't care if the whole world went to hell in a hand basket, she wasn't going to let this happen, she couldn't. Fuck the rest of the world, it had never done anything for her, but the two people standing in front of her, they did, still did, they taught her what love was, is. She started to take another step then stopped when Buffy turned around and their eyes met.

Faith forgot how to breathe when she saw the beautiful, peaceful expression on Buffy's face. Their eyes locked and held, there were no words, they didn't need them, they lived inside of the other. Faith gripped the side of scaffolding, her knuckles turned white, afraid to let go, afraid if she did, she would do what she knew was wrong, would condemn the world, them all, to a fate worse then death. She hated this, hated it all, but she knew what Buffy was going to do was right. The tears fell harder, harder still as she felt Buffy's love surround her, felt it fill every part of her, and she returned it and more. Buffy smiled softly at her before turning to Dawn.

Slowly the apocalyptic noise returned, time was growing short as the sun began its assent into the sky.

Dawn's eyes grew wide, when she saw the expression on her sister's face; she knew what Buffy was going to do. NO! She was the Key not Buffy... "Buffy! NO!"

"Dawnie... I have to..." Serene, calm, peaceful.

"NO!"

"Listen to me! There's no time, Dawn, please listen."

Faith watched as Buffy leaned in close to Dawn, as she began to whisper in her ear. The tears rolled down Dawn's face, Faith could not hear Buffy, but she didn't need to, she could feel the essence of what she was saying deep inside herself.

Buffy lightly, tenderly, softly stroked the side of her sister's face. She leaned in closer and placed a loving kiss on her cheek. She straightened up, and looked at Faith, her eyes saying it all. Then she turned and started to run towards the end of the platform.
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Dawn stood immobile, paralyzed with grief, angry at the world, angry at her helplessness. She watched as her sister reached the end of the platform and Swan-dived into the night air, down towards the portal. She was unable to control, stop her tears, unable even to reach out to Faith as she half staggered, half ran down the platform in Buffy's wake.

As she ran, staggered down the platform after Buffy all she wanted to do was follow her into abyss. But she couldn't, she had promised Buffy she would take care of Dawn, promised her no matter what. She had to keep that promise, no matter how hard it would be, no matter how much it would hurt, no matter how empty the world would be for her now. Didn't she? Wasn't that what she was supposed to do? Wasn't that what the Fates wanted? For her to do nothing. She had to keep her promise to Buffy, didn't she? She slowed her steps; she staggered once, twice more, almost stopped then...

A cold gust of air whipped the hair around her face, and she felt a chill go down her spine. The kind of chill her Mom used to describe felt like; Someone had just walked over her grave. Dawn hadn't understood that analogy until just now. For a second she thought she heard the sound of a hysterical giggle of a madwoman, and her skin crawled, then the sound was gone.

A strangled "NO!" was wrenched from the depths of Dawn's soul, as she saw Faith take two more staggering steps. Then Faith was lunging off the edge of the platform almost as it she had been thrown, following her sister into the spectral light of the portal.
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A second before she hit the white light at the center of the portal, she felt Faith. Faith was in the portal, Faith had... Then coherent thought fled. The energy expanded even wider as Buffy hit the white light in its center. Her eyes were open; her body in pain as lightening hit her, sending thousands of volts of electricity through her. She floated in the middle of the storm, the energy coursing through her, ravaging her, as her eyes slowly closed. Dimly before all thought ceased, she realized Faith was with her now in the center of the energy storm, she reached her hand out seeking her.

She was tumbling down towards the white light in the center, not once taking her eyes off Buffy. She felt the electricity going through Buffy, the pain coming to her in an echo. Then she too was in the eye of the energy storm, floating, pain coursing through her body, Buffy somewhere beside her. She ignored the pain and forced herself to find her, felt Buffy seeking her. With the last bit of strength she had, Faith reached out her hand and found Buffy's, her lover, her heart, her soul.

Faith closed her eyes, clinging tightly to Buffy's hand, thinking only of Buffy before thouthought ceased.
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Dawn closed her eyes to the rising sun, almost numb with the thought that she had lost them both. She heard the words her sister had whispered in her ear before she had sacrificed herself for her...

"Dawn listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you."
...They floated together suspended in the eye of the energy storm of the portal.

"But this is the work I have to do."
...The energy ball expanded then began to shrink as if collapsing into itself, smaller and smaller it grew until it was nothing more then a speck. Then it was gone. The sun hissed as it came up over the horizon. Willow and Tara held each other up as they walked towards the tower. Giles was only a few feet behind them, moving slowly, in pain. Xander walked towards them cradling Anya in his arms like an infant. All their eyes fixed on the same spot.

"Tell Giles... tell Giles... I figured it out. And, and I'm okay."
...Their gazes all fell first on the lifeless body of Buffy, lying amidst a pile of rubble; Faith lay not half a foot away from her. Each Slayer had a hand stretched out as if reaching for the other, even in death. Spike moved forward, then hissed in pain as the sunlight hit him, he fell to the ground. His face covered in blood. Willow and Tara began crying quietly at the sight before them.

"And give my love to my friends."
...Xander held his eyes wide open in an effort to keep the tears from falling. Anya buried her head in his shoulder, sobbing quietly.

"You have to take care of them now..."
...Giles face was a mass of raw pain, he had not just lost a Slayer, he had lost a daughter, no, two daughters.

"You have to take care of each other."
...Giles couldn't stop them, the tears, they were overwhelming him. He had failed them, his daughters, his Slayers. Spike covered his face with his ha the the sobs wracking his body as he cried for the first time in over a hundred years.

"You have to be strong."
...Limping Dawn made her way slowly, carefully, down the stairs. Her free hand holding her side, she spotted the others and started to make her way towards them.

"Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it."
...Dawn started to cry again, when she saw the Chosen Two from where she was on the stairs.

"Be brave. Live. For me."
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They all stood together in the early dusk. The Sunnydale crew, Giles, Dawn, Tara, Willow, Xander, Anya and Spike. The L.A. crew, Wesley, Cordelia, Gunn. Only Angel stood off to the side by himself, he had only spoken once since Willow had come to L.A. to get them. Once to tell them to; "Use my real first name...," and that had been three days ago.

They stood there all together in a place they were all too familiar with. Dawn stepped forward and placed the specially made arrangements of a single white and a single red rose wired together on the ground for each of them. She had asked Buffy once, why she always got the roses for Faith like that. Buffy had explained to her that a single red rose signified passionate love, a single white, pure love, wired together they signified unity, commitment, and undying love. And then Buffy had told her not to tell Faith, she had been waiting for Faith to ask on her own.

Dawn stepped back and felt Willow's arm come around her shoulder.

They all just stood in silence and stared as the sun began to rise, bringing them the promises of the new day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS                           &nbsbsp;bsp;                                             FAITH LIAM
                            1981-2001     &;&nb;                                                                             1981-2001
         BELOVED SISTER, DEVOTED FRIEND                                                           LOVED & CHOSEN
                 SHE SAVED THE WORLD                        &nbsbsp;bsp;                                                   BY ONE
                                A LOT                                                            &;&nb;                            BY US ALL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Continued in Chapter XXIII – Welcome To My Nightmare