Complement

XXVI – Enjoy the Silence
(Part C)

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The portal opened up right outside of the front door to the Log Cabin. They stepped through it one by one.

Angel and Spike looked at each other; they could smell the Slayers' blood, it was so thick it made even the demon in them sick, roar with rage. Something happened to Angel in that second, a sort of merging of the soul with the demon. They were united in their pursuit to bring the Chosen Two home. United in their goal to decimate, destroy and maim those who had hurt them.

Lachesis turned to Spike, she held out her hand to him, something clasped within it. Spike presented his own hand, palm up to her and she dropped her gift into it. He stared down at what lay in his open hand with utter disbelief. He dragged his eyes away from his open palm and looked into her light coffee-brown eyes in confusion.

"The choices you make are yours alone... We cannot make them for you... Only you can and they must be freely made... And now you are truly free to make your choices..."

Spike nodded his head at her. He moved up to stand with Angel by the door. He turned his hand over and let the gift that the Fates had given him drop to the ground. He took another step forward impatiently, crushing the chip the Fates had removed from his head under his boot heel.

As far as he was concerned, his choice was the same with or without the bloody chip. The Slayers, all of them here, including Lucifer, those waiting back at the Mansion, even the bloody Watcher who was on his way from England were his family. And family did not hurt family. At least not their family. And no one, NO ONE ever hurt his family!

"Well... Open the bloody fucking door Peaches we have some Slayers to bring home. don't we now..."

"Ready?"

"Ready." They all answered Angel together with quiet steel determination.

Angel swung the door open and they rushed into what should have been the main room of the cabin. Instead what they rushed into was a large open cavern that left them completely exposed and in the middle of an ambush.
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With every brutal strike of the belt on Faith, every hoarse tortured scream, every echoed ghost-like touch on her own skin, another layer that separated Buffy from that ancient, familiar, remembered thing, that ranoughough her blood was annihilated. Until finally in blinding blaze of white-hot fury, it was free and Buffy finally recognized it for what it was.

It was primal, feral, rabid, without a conscience. It did not know the difference between right and wrong. It was a predator, and it knew, could smell evil. Its only mission was to destroy evil at all cost, including anything that got in the way of It killing that prey. It was the undiluted essence, source of the mystical energy of what made Buffy and Faith the Chosen One's.

It was her and she was It.

It was fully free for the first time in decades. It was what had enabled the first Slayer to recognized Buffy as a sister-in-arms.

For decades, It had owned the Slayer. Fueling Its rage and anger, obliterating all other emotions, by keeping the Chosen One isolated and alone. Its only goal to maim and eradicate evil in all forms, even to the extent had It been given free rein It would have killed Faith when she had been lost and trying to find her way. It mattered not to It, whether the evil was total or only a small black spot on the soul. Evil was evil to It no matter how big, no matter how small.

It was the reason the Council never taught the Slayer's how to tap into the true source of their powers, because once unleashed, It was uncontrollable.

Then again, there had never been a Slayer before quite like Buffy. Or Faith, for that matter.

She had a family, friends, and the love of her soul-mate. Had built a life, loved a souled-vampire, was soul-mate's with another Slayer. She had survived longer than any other Slayer before her, had died and returned, had beaten all the odds and prophesies, because she was neither isolated nor alone. When the source of her power came roaring to full life within her, Buffy recognized It, accepted It, wrapped It, and made It a part of who she was, of her, immersing and entwining It forever within the lightness of her soul.

And in making It a part of herself, she controlled It.

It did not control her.

Buffy had immediately understood what the Council never did. To unleash the full potential of the Slayer's source of power within, and keep the Slayer herself from becoming just a mindless killer in her pursuit of evil, the Slayer needed to be more than just a Slayer.

Buffy felt the heady rush of power, strength run through every cell in her body as It flowed through her, merging with her. All of the powers of the Slayer within her increased by a hundred-fold. She pulled at the magical chains that bound her to the bars of the cage in Glory's favorite dungeon, and felt them start to give a little. It would take too long to break them this way and time she knew was running out, for her, for Luc, but most of all for Faith. She needed just a little more strength; just a little more, that was all.

She remembered what she had seen in the Tapestry of Life, remembered how each Slayer was connected to the other by the ancient source of their power. How it was retained by each Slayer even after death, how this ancient mystical energy recognized itself in others, how a thin thread of it connected one Slayer to the next. It was this thin ancient common thread that had allowed the Enjoining spell to work, allowed the First Slayer to add her strength to Buffy's in order to defeat Adam. With the awakening and release of the ancient thing within her Buffy realized that she didn't need the Enjoining spell to reach out to her sister Slayer's. She was connected to them in a way similar to her connection to Faith.

For a brief second she closed her eyes and visualized the thread that linked them together. Using the language of the ancient power that was now a part of her, she sent a silent plea to her sister Slayers to lend their strength to her.

There was a loud roaring in her ears, then a rush as she felt the strength of all of her sisters before her flood her with their power.
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Words like violence break the silence ~ Come crashing in ~ Into my little world ~ Painful to me ~ Pierce right through me ~ Can't you understand ~ Oh my little girl...
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"Tell daddy you love him Faithy and he'll stop the pain..."

"P – I – T – Y......... Y – O – U......... NOLOVENOLOVE........."

He roared with rage and moved to stand in front of her. He started raining blows down wildly, demanding again like a spoiled, whiney child, "Tell me you love me you fucking little whore... Tell me now..."

"nodon'tdeservecan'thaveratherdie..." Her words slurred together as she tried to speak through the ravages of pain and the venom's fever surging through her body.

"FINE!" The blows started coming faster, harder...

Faith's head lolled backwards, the blows sending her reeling into a stupor. The drugs he had given her keeping her conscious, unable to escape as the pain rained down on her.

She broke out of her chains with a quiet snap of her legs first, then her wrists. She moved a blur now to Luc and snapped his just as quietly. Buffy placed her index finger over her lips indicating for him to be quiet. He saw that her eyes were gold, the eyes of a panther; they glowed with a feral light, primal, but intelligent, none-the-less. He knew she had merged with her mystical power and for the first time ever the Chosen One had control of the power, not the other way around. Then she was in front of the cage door and Luc never saw her move. With a push, the door opened soundlessly.

She motioned to Johnny then to herself. Johnny was hers and Luc had every confidence that she would take him down. Every confidence that she would make him suffer first as well. She motioned to the lever that was keeping Faith suspended by her wrists off the floor and then to him, with a wave cautioning him to wait 'til she had Johnny away from Faith.

She moved up silently behind her prey, her mouth drawn back in a silent snarl.

He was oblivious to the fact that the Slayer and the Devil were free. He brought his hand up high, and started swinging down, aiming for Faith's breasts this time. He almost lost his grip on the belt when it stopped dead mid-swing. He looked up confused at the ceiling thinking it had caught on something, then he heard the low rabid growling behind him. The sound made every hair on his body stand on end and then the belt was suddenly ripped out of his hand.

He was pulled violently back away from Faith and then the Slayer-Runt was standing in front of him. He looked into her gold eyes as she stood tapping the belt lightly against her naked thigh. If he didn't know better he would have sworn the bruises on her had faded from black to indigo-blue. That wasn't possible, he knew how long they took to heal.

"My turn to play now! Your turn to bleed!"

For the first time Johnny truly feared for his demon-life at the low, hissing, snarling promise Buffy had just made to him.

"To Me!" he shouted and then blinked, only to find her waiting for him.

Luc had moved rapidly across the room towards the lever. He was halfway across the room when the doors to the dungeon crashed opened with so much force that when they hit the walls they bounced back and closed again. A gang of demons came rushing in heading straight for Buffy. They surrounded her, she was completely outnumbered, and Luc didn't think even with her newfound power she could take them all on. He didn't know what to do. If he released Faith, he would have to get to her quickly, he knew she was in no condition to stand or protect herself. But if he did that there was a good chance that they, Buffy, would end up under the torturous, depraved thumb of Johnny again or even dead. He kept moving towards the lever still undecided.

The sound of the crashing doors jerked Faith out of her stupor. She forced her head to raise, everything looked a little fuzzy and seemed to be moving in slow motion. She saw the demons surround Buffy and knew she was in trouble. She looked towards the cage and saw that Luc wasn't there. She saw him moving towards the lever to release her. NO! He had to help Buffy, she would be no help to them released, in fact, she knew she would only bhindhindrance. She didn't care about herself, all she cared about was Buffy and Buffy getting out of this, getting home. She didn't care if the cost was her own life, all that mattered to her was Buffy.

"Lu... he – hel -p...B, helpBuffy!"

Luc did not ignore the Dark Slayer's hoarse plea.
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They were bloody, wounded, hurt, tired, but all still alive. How they had managed to defeat the army of demons that attacked them not one of them knew. Defeat them all though they did.

"The Slayers and Luc aren't here."

"An' hon we know that."

"Well I was..."

Atropos stood in the center of the cavern, closed her eyes and put up her hand for silence. Using the same methods she had taught the Chosen Two, to expand and learn how to use their bond and one she had yet to teach them, she concentrated and found her center. She focused on the single thread inside of her that shined brighter than all the others. The thread that connected her to her soul-mate. She opened herself to it and silently without words implored Luc to lead her to him.

"Follow me... I know where they are... Glory obviously knows we are here, be ready for anything... Keep your eyes open for the sign..."
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It was down to three demons and Johnny against Buffy and Luc. Buffy turned her attention away from the demons and to Johnny. Luc forced the demons back and away from both Buffy and Faith.

Buffy backed up from Johnny moving in front of but slightly to the side of Faith protectively.

"B..."

Buffy wasn't sure if she actually heard Faith at first, her voice was so low. She felt the waves of pain her mate was feeling in the echoes they shared. It fueled her hate, her fury, even higher for the disgusting thing that stood in front of her glaring right back.

Softly on a shallow, pained-filled breath, her name came to her again. "B..."

"Faith..." She answered just as softly, with love so profound in the way that she said Faith's name, that it made even Luc catch his breath.

"Fa...vor..."

"Anything baby..."

The words drifted softly to Buffy with each of Faith's shallow pained breaths. "Kick............ his............ ass............ for............ you............ and............ me............"

"With pleasure..." Buffy purred to her, and looked up into Faith's eyes, which were almost completely black from the pain. She gave Faith one of her own lopsided grins, then with the ease and the sleek grace of a true panther Buffy moved forward.

She still stayed protectively in front Faith after she moved; anyone or anything would have to go through her to get to her mate. She felt the power of their sister Slayers running through her, and the ancient thing that was part of her growling low. It quickened when it heard an answering call from its mate inside of Faith.

She beckoned for Johnny to come and get her.

He heard the low resonant sound of her growls over the sounds of fighting in the room and it sent a chill down his spine. It didn't matter though, he knew they, she couldn't beat him. Glory had seen to that. He stepped towards her with confidence, he liked it when the girls fought back, it made it all the more fun for him anyway.
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They fought their way through the winding corridors. It seemed as if Glory had an endless supply of demons at her command. It didn't stop them and they were all determined before this day was through that they would be bringing the Slayers home with them. Determined, too, that Glory and that lowlife whose name all of them refused to speak would be pushing up the proverbial daisies by days end too.
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He never saw the belt or her hand move. He just felt the after-streak of fire as it struck him, tearing into his skin leaving a trail of blood from his left hip down across to his right thigh. He was struck again with the belt as it lashed upwards between his legs, which collapsed out from under him instantly. It left a trail of bloody fire from the bottom of his ass, over his balls, his manhood, to the bottom of his stomach. Never in his life, not even when Glory had tortured him for four days had he felt such excruciating pain. He was afraid to look down, sure that the blonde-haired Slayer had ripped off the head of his manhood.

"That's for the first time you touched her when she was only seven-years-old you fucking pathetic scumbag piece of shit. The next one is for..."

He never saw her or the belt move, not once, as she rained blow after blow down on him. Not once, as she shredded his flesh, muscles, flayed him down to the bone, causing him exquisite pain, leaving him bleeding and begging for mercy, as she rattled off his crimes against Faith to him
H
He was curled up into a ball on the ground when the blows finally stopped. Insane rage and fear ran through him. This wasn't supposed to happen! THIS COULDN'T BE HAPPENING, NOT TO HIM!!!!!

Buffy reached down and pulled him up by his hair, he was nothing more than a quivering, helpless, shredded, bloody mess. She smiled then spit in his face and smiled again at his look of total disbelief. She let go of his hair and slid her hand down from his head, over his face, neck, to his chest, down his stomach, to his groin leaving bloody trails with her nails. She paused for a second, gave him a malicious smile, then grabbed him between his legs, lifting him up off the floor and started to squeeze. "This is so you never do it to anyone else again."

She growled with pleasure hearing his pleas for mercy. She began to growl louder as she felt the blood dripping out from between her fingers, and she squeezed harder. Buffy gave to him the same mercy he had given to Faith.
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They made their way through finafinal tunnel and paused in front of the steel double doors.

"They're in here. Be ready for anything."

"Oh shit..."

Angel caught Cordelia as she pitched forward when a vision assailed her. It lasted less than a minute.

Cordelia straightened up, ignoring the hammering pain in her head. She swiped at the tears that had leaked out of the corner of her eyes. She got her breathing under control and forced down the bile that had risen to the back of her throat at what she saw in the vision. Everyone looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to answer their unspoken question.

"No... this wasn't the sign... but I know what the sign is... If we don't defeat Glory none of us will get out of here alive... No matter what... no matter what we see... we have to wait... Here's what..." Unknowingly she was crying as she told them what they needed to know.
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Spike and Angel threw open the doors. They entered, their steps faltering, their minds not wanting to comprehend what they were seeing. They all heard Cordelia's words again and they moved quickly into position.

It all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye and an eon at the same time.
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Luc had just finished killing the last demon when they burst into the room. He was covered in his own blood, demon blood, as well as Johnny's, whose blood was all over everything and everyone in the room. To Luc, it felt like he had been pelted by pebbles as Johnny's blood splatter around the room off of the belt when Buffy had been flaying him alive.

Atropos waved him over to her and her sisters, away from the others.

They created a protective circle around the Chosen Two and Johnny. They stood unmoving, almost unbelieving, looking at Buffy. She was still holding up the piece of raw, bleeding, flayed meat that once was Johnny, and squeezing the life right out of him. She was covered head to toe in blood, her blond hair streaked crimson.

They watched in a daze as the blood streamed out from her squeezing hand, over her forearm, to drip off her elbow, joining the large pool at her naked feet. The belt hung limply in her other hand and it was stained crimson with both Johnny and Faith's blood. They saw her eyes, which were focused solely on her prey, glowing gold, feral. She was growling low in her throat with savage satisfaction at the pain she was causing the man within her grasp. Both Angel and Spike's demon started growling low along with her.

Faith saw the others make a circle around the three of them. The fever was raging through her; she was delirious, not sure if they were really there. Why were they just standing there doing nothing? She tried to form words to ask them, when suddenly Glory manifested herself out of thin air between Buffy and herself.

This time Faith saw the true face of the Demon-Goddess. She was an inky-gray-blue-black, smoke-like translucent mass, of filth and pestilence. Her eyes burning black coals of lust and evilness, her face hideous, deformed, twisted, and baring the mark of plague and disease, she smiled at Faith showing jagged sharp teeth then turned around.

Faith watched as Glory rose up her clawed-hand, her razor-like nails glinting dangerously, aiming for Buffy's exposed back. The others stood and watched, not making a move to help Buffy. Faith didn't know if she was hallucinating it or not.

Was she hallucinating Glory was there because of the fever or maybe, just maybe she was the only one who was seeing Glory because of the fever, she didn't want to wait and find out.

She did the only thing she could think of...
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Once again, she wrapped her hands around the chains that bound her wrists keeping her suspended by her arms off the floor. Using what was left of her strength she lifted herself up as high as she could. She lashed out with both of her feet, biting again through the gash under her bottom lip to stop from screaming out from the pain that streaked through her body with the move. She caught Glory high on the shoulder spinning the Demon-Goddess around towards her and away from Buffy's exposed back.

The clawed-hand with the razor-like nails that had been moving forward to sink into Buffy's unprotected back, sunk instead into Faith right above the jagged knife scar on her abdomen. Glory's other hand came up and sliced through the chains holding her suspended from the ceiling. The weight of her own body, now free of the restraints sank further onto Glory's talon-like hand.

Two voices screamed loudly, echoing through the room.

One voice screamed in delight and ecstasy.

The other in agony and pain.

Time slowed to a crawl, almost to a standstill, as Faith felt Glory's hand sink into her. She stared into the black eyes of the purest evil she had ever seen. Into eyes that held nothing but sinfulness, hate and pain. Into eyes that were the ultimate abyss, were the unfathomable, bottomless pits of Glory's soul. She felt the abomination that was Glory seep into her body from the fingers now embedded inside of her, as her own life force seeped out.

She stared back at Glory's with all the hate, fury and rage she had in her heart as Glory's fingers spun an intricate web of evil through every cell of her body, looking to capture and devour her soul. Her hands that had been clutching at Glory's arm fell uselessly to her side. Her head grew heavy and fell down to her chest. Her eyes fell to where Glory's hand pierced her body and she watched as she starslipslipping into the darkness, her blood dripping, spilling, then splattering onto the cold hard floor.

Buffy doubled over as she felt the echoed ghost-like-touch of the fingers with the razor-like nails sink into her, at the same time that Glory's hand ripped into Faith. She threw Johnny across the room. As she started to spin around, she saw Luc drag Johnny up by his hair and rip his still beating heart right out of his chest. Time slowed for Buffy as she spun around. She was seemingly pushing against an invisible wall of solid nothingness. Faith's cry of agony ripped through her, in her, endlessly, as she felt like it was taking days to turn around.

An anguished cry of, "FAITH!" tore from her lips, ripping through the air, thundering, shredding the silence as she felt Faith begin to slip away into the darkness. It was a cry of heart-wrenching loss, of denial, of fear, that came from the depths of Buffy's soul.

Faith forced her eye's open, her head to rise at Buffy's cry. She saw Glory smiling at her as she tried to focus, tried to find Buffy with her eyes. Glory's smile was filled with lust, with hate, as she fed on her pain, her hate, and Faith saw herself reflected in that smile. She had lived almost the whole of her life trapped within a gilded cage built out of pain and hate. And now she was going to die ensnared once again within its confines and Glory's spider-web of pain and hate that was entangling, blackening her soul.

Faith moved her eyes away from the black eyes of hate and found the golden-hazel eyes of love. She locked her eyes with Buffy's, and in a moment of clarity, Faith realized she didn't want to die within that gilded cage of fury, of pain, of hate. It would be the final corruption of everything, all that she had fought so hard to become, it would be like throwing a, Fuck you, in the face of all of them, the only true family she had ever known. A family who had given her peace, tranquility, a home, happiness and the most precious gift of all, love. It would defile, sully all of what Buffy had given to her, had taught her about loving and being loved.

To die with nothing but hate in her heart would desecrate, soil the love that she and Buffy had fought so hard to find with each other.

h leh let all the hate, the rage, the fury, and even the pain drain from her body. She locked her eyes with her soul-mate's and let herself be filled with the eternal, unconditional love that they felt for each other.

As Buffy moved towards Faith their eyes locked, it all came to her in an echo a visual image so strong of the cage of pain and hate that Faith had lived in for so long. She felt as the essence that was her soul-mate slipping from her, and Buffy had her own moment of clarity. If Faith was going to die, and Buffy had no intention of letting that happen. But if it were to happen, Buffy didn't want Faith to die trapped forever within the cage whose bars were built out of suffering, pain, and hate. Not Faith's and not her own, so Buffy let her own hate and rage go. As she did, she felt the undying love of Faith blanket and fill her, and she gave to Faith in return her own undying love.

Like it always did for them, the rest of the world ceased to exist. Neither noticed that the room was eerily still, quiet, as the others watched them, frozen in place. Nor did they notice the inky gray-blue-black translucent mass of the banshee-like creature that was the true face of Glory, which was standing between them.

There was no one, nothing else, but them, this moment and what they felt for the other. It was pure, undiluted, and eternal.

They reached towards each other...
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They watched, as Faith seemed to kick out and strike the empty air.

Watched, as an invisible hand severed the chains that held her off the floor.

Watched, as her abdomen was sliced open, and blood began to seep out of the wound, falling to pool upon the ground.

Watched, as a scream of ecstasy from an unknown voice seemed to ripple the very air.

Watched, as Faith screamed in torment and fell towards the floor, only to stop suddenly. As she was held up high and in agony by some unseen force.

Watched, as Faith struggled to open her eyes.

Watched, as Buffy flung Johnny from her, and spun around screaming out Faith's name in anguish.

Watched, as Faith eyes sought out and found Buffy's, as Buffy moved towards her.

They watched and waited for the sign Cordelia had seen in her vision as the Chosen Two reached out towards each other...
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The Chosen Two reached right through Glory and their hands touched.

The second their hands touched all the others in the room saw what up until now only the witches and the Incarnates had seen. At the Chosen Twos' touch, their auras, souls, essences, grew brighter, expanding out from them. They were entwined, separate, but one. They surrounded and bathed in each other's souls, a beautiful woven Tapestry of their eternal love for each other.

What none of them saw was the translucent mass that was Glory. As she expanded, weaving a spider-web of pain into the souls of the Chosen Two the second they had touched hands within the mass of her smoke-like body, as pieces of Glory floated and started to run over them, boring into them, looking to corrupt both their souls. As Glory tightened the web around them, feeding on them, their pain and agony, freezing them both and herself in place.

The touching hands of the Chosen Two was the sign that Cordelia had told them to wait for and the second they touched the Wicca's began the spell the Fates had given to them...
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"As we bind ourselves to each other so too shall you be bound." Willow and Tara wrapped the long, wide, pure white, thick silk thread known as Quintessence around their wrists and joined hands.

The others in the circle each drew out from the scabbards on their backs the gleaming silver swords with the obsidian, inlaid hilts each carried. They each pierced the pad of the index finger of their left hand with the tip of their swords until a single drop of blood glistened there.

"Foolish humans you can't hurt me!" Glory's sickly, sweet, irritating voice came to them on the air, followed by a triumphant laugh.

Willow and Tara ignored her, and continued with the spell, grasping each other's hands tighter.

"Let the one with the sight be the first to strike and show the others the way..." Cordelia stepped forward and thrust Foreshadow into the space between where the Slayer's hands were joined, exactly where and how vis vision had shown her.

Her sword thinly sliced along the clasped hands of the Chosen Two. They started to bleed, and a single drop of each of the Slayer's blood combined with the single drop of Cordelia's on the tip of the sword. Six more drops of the combined blood of the Slayers' fell within the confines of Glory's body.

Cordelia remained holding the sword steady within the depths of Glory's body.

"Let the observer give testimony and strike true for having the vision to see the light within the dark..." Wesley stepped forward and stood to the right of Cordelia. He thrust Witness into the drop of blood of the Chosen Two that shined brighter than the others, mixing his with theirs. He too stayed in place.

"Let the heart strike now with the power of a pure soul..." Xander moved next to Wesley and slid Fortitude into the drop of blooat sat shined brightly for him, mixing his blood with theirs too. He held his place as well.

"Let the one with the courage be the next to strike with strength..." Gunn moved next to Xander with the flick of a practiced wrist, Valor slid into Glory mixing his blood with the shining drop of blood of the Chosen Two that was for him.

"Let the one who found mercy be the one to break the spider's web..." Anya moved next to Gunn and thrust Amnesty into the writhing body of Glory and the drop of blood that shined for her.

With the mixing of Anya's single drop of blood with the Chosen Twos' combined blood, they all could now see the semi-translucent shape that was the true face of Glory. They saw how she was encompassing, burrowing, encasing the Chosen Two. They saw where her claw-like hand with the razor-sharp nails was sunk deeply in Faith.

They watched as Glory began to collapse into herself, releasing her black web of hate that was surrounding the Chosen Two. She screamed out in rage and agony as she fell to the floor for the first time ever feeling all the pain that she had inflicted upon others.

They all knelt down keeping their swords embedded in the Demon-Goddess.

Buffy jumped over Glory the second she fell as both she and Faith were released from the web of hate that had kept them frozen in place. She caught Faith as she started falling to the floor. She sunk down to the floor cradling Faith gently to her chest. She began rocking, her tears falling softly onto Faith's face.

Willow and Tara never hesitated, knowing that if they did the spell would be broken.

"Let the redeemerEmancipator high over his head and brought it down with all of his vampire strength into the drop of blood that beckoned to him, mixing his vampire blood with theirs. It sliced through Glory, who let out a scream that made all of their ears ring.

"Let the one who was a reaper take a life for the last time..." Spike knelt next to Angel, he too raised his sword, Harvester high up over his head. Using his vampire strength, he brought the sword swiftly down into the Demon-Goddess's chest where his drop of blood mixed with the combined blood of the Chosen Twos' that called out loudly to him.

"As we are bound to each other by love, so shall this evil be bound by its hate. Take it now... And send it into oblivion forever bound, never to return, caged within its own gilded cage of pain and hate..."

They all stood letting go of each of their silver swords. The silken thread Quintessence unwove itself from the Wicca's hands. One end of it pierced the index finger of Willow's left hand, staining itself with a single drop of her blood; the other end did the same to Tara. It then floated magically over to the swords and entwined itself around all the swords, drawing up from the tip of the swords the drops of blood each had mixed and pierced with their own. Absorbing it within its silken threads, bonding one sword to the other with the blood of the Chosen Two and theirs in the same order of the spell.

The swords began to glow brightly, shimmering, flowing, and then to change. They became millions of tiny unbreakable silver threads that weaved their way through Glory, binding her, from both the inside and out. Becoming enmeshed forever with her soul, bringing with them all the pain, suffering and anguish she had inflicted on others.

For all eternity, they trapped her within a gilded cage of her own making. They glowed ever brighter and with a final explosion of white, silver and red light, they toor inr into the eternal darkness of the abyss.
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No one moved for a second or two after Glory disappeared. Angel was the first to break his paralysis, he moved quickly over to Buffy's side, kneeling beside her and Faith. He reached out towards them speaking softly, "Buffy..."

His wrist was captured by her hand so fast that even with his vampire sight he never saw her move. She whipped her head towards him her eyes were solid gold, she snarled, hissed at him in warning. Then let go of his wrist and shoved him back away from them in one seamless invisible move.

She gathered Faith closer to her and began rocking again. Faith lay completely lifeless in her arms. Her head hanging off the arm Buffy had behind her neck. Hers cls closed, her breathing labored, slow, the blood still seeping out of the wound where Glory had sliced into her. Buffy could feel the life slipping of Fof Faith with every second and she felt helpless to stop it. She tried to reach out to her through their connection, she could feel her, but got no answering response from her unconscious mate.

She felt weariness come over her as the strength that her sister Slayers had lent to her left her body. She lifted her eyes and saw all the concerned faces surrounding her. She saw the Fates and Luc move over towards them. Atropos squatted down in front of them and Buffy rose up tearstained eyes to the ancient woman. "Help her..."

"I wish I could but I don't have that kind of power... You do though... remember what we taught you... and show her the way, help her to embrace what you embraced today... it will be enough to get her home... but she needs to be awake..."

Buffy gathered Faith up closer to her with a gentleness, and tenderness that brought tears to the eyes of all there. She leaned down close to her soul-mate as her hand soothingly caressed Faith's face. She reached out to Faith using both the connection they shared and her voice as she whispered softly into Faith's ear.

"Faith... Faith you need to wake up baby..." Buffy stopped, she was choking on her own tears. "Faith I know you can hear me, I know you can feel me... You have to wake up baby so I can help you..." She paused again she could feel an almost answering coming from Faith through their echoes and at the same time she could feel her slipping further away. "Please Faith, please don't leave me... Please I need you... You can't die... I love you please baby wake up... Please open your eyes... pleaseohgodFaithplease..."

Faith could hear Buffy calling out to her in the darkness. She struggled trying to find her way back, but she was so tired, it felt like she had been tired forever. She just wanted to sleep, just wanted to escape. There was pain, intense pain waiting for her in the light she knew that, but there was also Buffy. Her eyes fluttered open once, and she mumbled out painfully, "TiredB..." Then she started sinking back down into the darkness.

"Faith please I know you tired please you have to open your eyes... Please Faith for me, open your eyes..."

She struggled back up out of the gloom but it was harder this time. "Hurtshur..."

"I know it hurts but you have to open your eyes..."

Faith's eyes fluttered open again then closed. "B..."

"Faith! Open your eyes... You can't die on me I won't let you! Do you hear me... OPEN YOUR EYES DAMNIT... OPEN THEM...!!! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DIE I'LL KICK THE SHIT OUT YOU! NOW OPEN YOUR EYES FAITH!" Buffy was frantic now, she felt Faith's life force still seeping out of her, her will to live leaving. Buffy was desperate, angry, panicked, babbling, yelling in a hoarse whisper. Faith couldn't die, she wasn't going to let her damn it!

"YOU AREN'T ALLOWED TO DIE! I SWEAR I'LL TELL EVERYBODY YOUR NEW NICKNAME... I'LL HAVE IT PUT ON YOUR GRAVE STONE... I SWEAR I WILL NOW OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES FAITH NOW!"

"YOU PROMISED ME FAITH! YOU PROMISED! Idon'twanttolivewithoutyoupleasebaby...pleaseFaithpleasedon't
leavemeIneedloveyouI'lltellthemIswearifyouleavemeI'lltellthemyournicknameopenyoureyesbabyplease... baby please Faith please open your eyes..." Buffy was pleading hoarsely, begging, tears falling down onto Faith's face like a waterfall. Her chest was heaving, her heart breaking; it felt like someone was ripping her soul right out of her.

She started to struggle fiercely against the darkness that was trying to claim her. She grasped onto that thin thread that connected them to each other for eternity and with all the love she felt for Buffy she pulled herself up, following towards the broken pleading sound of her soul-mate's voice. The pain she felt when she reached the light almost sent her reeling back into the darkness, but she forced it down with the strength of will that had enabled her to survive for years. Her eyes fluttered open once, twice, then with an excruciating gasp of air, her eyes sprang open.

"U.................. don't............... play.................. fair..................B..............."

"Faith...oh..." Buffy started to sob almost uncontrollably...

"Elizabeth..." Atropos whispered to her softly, "...cry later..." The words were harsh but Atropos knew Buffy didn't have the time for or the luxury of tears right now.

Buffy got herself back under control, she locked her eyes with Faith's, and she almost started sobbing again when she saw the depth of the pain and the love in them. "Faith you need to stay awake baby... You need to listen to me... do as I ask... listen, see and feel what we share in our echoes."

She placed her hand over the wound that Glory had given Faith and then began to guide her toward embracing the ancient source of the mystical power that made them Slayers. She felt the ancient source inside of Faith answering to her in a language that was as old as time, and she responded to it in kind. She used every method the Fates had taught her about sharing energy and helping each other to heal quicker. She let the source of her ancient power flow into Faith once Faith had merged with her own, adding her strength to Faith's like their sister Slayers had added to hers before. She had no idea how long they stayed connected that way. Connected they stayed until Buffy felt the bleeding under her hand stop, and Faith released Buffy's mystical energy back to her.

They were both beyond exhausted and in tremendous pain. Buffy looked into Faith's heavy lidded pain-filled eyes and smiled. She knew Faith wasn't going to die. Knew it would be a long time before either of them were out of pain and healed completely. She had to smile anyway because she knew with absolute certainty that Faith was not going to die!

"Sleep baby... everything's all right... we're going home... I love you Faith... sleep baby..."

Faith felt the eternal love that Buffy felt for her surround and embrace her, she tried to tell Buffy she loved her too, but she couldn't form the words. For them though words weren't necessary, she let her own eternal love for Buffy flow back to her through their connection in return.

Faith drifted off to sleep safe in the arms that for her would always be home, as Buffy's tears of relief and joy rained softy down upon her face, and their love blanketed her in warmth.
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...All I ever wanted ~ All I ever needed ~ Is here in my arms ~ Words are very unnecessary – Depeche Mode
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Continued in Chapter XXVII – All The Way To Heaven