Dark Moon: Pt One - Waxing Moon

DISCLAIMER: Buffy, her friends, the general setting, many of the concepts and character idiosyncrasies were created by Joss Whedon and thus owned by him and the WB/FOX Television or whatever. I own nothing, just borrowed to have fun for a while.

[this is a story I wrote way back when... just thought I'd share. If you like it, let me know, and I'll add the rest!]

[Summery: this was originally written following the end of season 3. The mayor ascended and was destroyed, Faith was in a coma, and Angel left Buffy heartbroken. This is also prior to Willow discovering her more... feminine side.]

Chapter 1.

The grey rat ran tirelessly in its wheel as Buffy and Willow stared at it, pondering.

“Do you really think there’s much chance we’ll ever have Amy back?” Buffy asked Willow thoughtfully, “I mean, sure, she looks happy and all, but there is only so much a rat can do. Can you imagine? She used to be shy and kind of quiet, and now she’s running around naked all the time.”

“Buffy! It’s not nice to say things like that in front of Amy. You might hurt her feelings. Besides, she is wearing fur.”

“Does that really count?”

Willow sighed as she got up and moved to the bookcase in her small bedroom. She studied the books on her shelf carefully, before selecting a well-worn hardcover titled, “Hellenion.”

“As much as I try, I can’t seem to reverse whatever spell she used to transform herself. And I don’t understand why! I was there when she cast it; I know what she said!” Willow sighed again, the mumbled quietly, “I guess I’m just a failure as a Witch.”

Buffy stood up abruptly and turned to her best friend. Her green eyes flashed with fire.

“I don’t ever want to hear you say that again!” she told her sharply, “You’re the one who gave Angel back his soul, aren’t you? And that was with a concussion! That doesn’t sound like a failure to me.”

“But Angel left, and there wasn’t anything I could do there to stop him.”

“Even if you could, I wouldn’t have wanted you to. Angel made his decision; there was nothing either of us should have done to interfere.”

Sadness quickly replaced the fire in Buffy’s eyes as she briefly let her mind travel back to the moment when he left. In a typical Angel fashion, he had simply vanished into the mist. Without even a real good-bye.

Banishing that memory from her mind, Buffy once again turned to Willow.

“I’m sorry,” Willow whispered, as she gave Buffy a quick hug. She hated seeing Buffy hurt, and those memories were still much too fresh.

Buffy managed a weak smile, and said, “Hey, I’m the Slayer. I can survive anything. Even if I can’t fix every single little problem in this world, I can at least try to help you change Amy back. I may not be a Witch, but I can at least help with the research.”

Willow grinned broadly, and laughed.

“Hey, I think you own me a little research after all the hours I put in for you at the library!” Willow teased, with a sparkle in her eyes.

“You can’t tell me that you didn’t enjoy it!” Buffy teased back, “I saw the look on your face every time you discovered a new secret. Pure ecstasy!”

“You can only dream of being as library proficient as I,” Willow quipped in a haughty voice, “If you were, perhaps Giles wouldn’t be so insistent about tutoring you twice a week until college starts!”

“Oh, a strike below the belt, huh?” Buffy laughed, grabbing a pillow from Willow’s bed, “ I think both you and I know that his ulterior motive is to see my mother!”

With that, Buffy swung the pillow, hitting Willow squarely in the face. The pillow fight that ensued was clearly reminiscent of days long passed.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Although they had little in common beyond the one night stand that Faith had manoeuvred to keep him out of Buffy’s way, Xander regardless felt that he owed her some sort of courtesy, and as a result spent many hours at her bedside each day. Ever since Cordelia had left town, Xander really had nothing better to do than to observe Faith as she lie in the coma, the result of Buffy’s botched attempt to use Faith’s blood to save Angel from the poisoned arrow she had struck him with. It wasn’t as though he had enough ambition to get a job, and things had quieted down immensely for the Scooby Gang ever since the Mayor’s demise.

“It’s funny,” Xander mused in his thoughts, “This is the quietest I’ve ever seen her. Much different than the other time I saw her in bed...”

As usual, his thoughts quickly shifted to his single sexual experience, and then to those that occupied his dreams.

“Oh Buffy...” he exhaled quietly.

“You called?” a melodious voice lilted from behind him.

Xander whirled around in his chair, desperately trying to hide both his shock and embarrassment. It had been almost a week since he saw her last. It seemed that without school and without the never ending barrage of Demons surrounding the Hellmouth, there really wasn’t a whole lot to draw them together.

Actually, that wasn’t quite correct. There was plenty to bring Xander to Buffy, but not quite the same to bring her to him. True, there was Willow, but things just hadn’t been as comfortable since the gang had discovered him kissing her.

What a way to drive a wedge between the best friend he had ever had.

Willow was sweet. Willow was kind. Willow was innocent. Willow was beautiful.

Willow had also loved him for most of his life, and he had never clued in. Now he had lost her to Oz, with little to no chance of reconciliation.

Redirecting his thoughts quickly, Xander managed to flash an embarrassed smile at Buffy, and said, “So tell me, how is my favourite Slayer today?”

Buffy lips curled into an almost evil grin, as she replied, “I don’t know, she doesn’t look very talkative to me.”

“Oh, so the dead Slayer has a quick sense of humour,” Xander immediately responded, with his regular smile settling upon his face.

“Of course! Would you expect anything less of me?”

Xander sat thoughtful for a moment, then said with a wry grin, “No, I guess not.”

“Seriously, though,” Buffy asked, “How is Faith doing today? Have there been any changes?”

Xander sighed. Faith had been in a coma for a little over two weeks by then, with each passing day causing the flesh on her bones to become more gaunt and pale.

“She’s the same as she was yesterday, and the day before,” he told her, “Nothing has changed. The hospital is still trying to find her parents, or at least some sort of legal guardian. I think they want the authorisation to take her off of life support. Nobody is holding out much hope at all.”

Buffy approached the bed side, and took Faith’s hand in her own. Faith did not even stir. Buffy’s eyes started to glisten with tears that threatened to spill over.

“Faith, it’s time to wake up,” she told the younger girl quietly, “the past is the past, and it’s time for both of us to make a fresh start. I know that things went bad, but in the end, you were there for me. Just like I knew you would be. You and I are a team. I need you to come back.”

When still no response was elicited from Faith, Buffy placed her hand back onto the bed and started to sob. Xander quickly took her into his arms, trying to comfort her.

“Oh Xander,” she cried, “It’s all my fault that she’s here. If I hadn’t been so vengeful, none of this would have happened.”

“Yah right,” he though silently, “If you hadn’t gone after her, Angel would have died, you’d have given up hope, and the Mayor would be snacking on the remaining people of Sunnydale at this very moment.”

“Shhh...” he whispered, “It couldn’t be helped. You did the best you could.”

Buffy sniffled again, then wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Xander’s heart ached for the opportunity to kiss the tears from her face, but he knew better than to try that on a warrior of her skill.

Buffy looked up at Xander, and whispered, “In my head, I know you’re right, but in my heart, I know I’ll never forgive myself.”

Turning back to Faith, Buffy leaned over and kissed her on the brow.

“Keep fighting, Faith,” she told her, “We need you back on our side.”

“I’ve got to get Buffy out of here,” Xander thought helplessly, “If it gets any more depressing in here, I’ll commit suicide.”

“C’mon, let me take you out for a Whopper,” Xander told her, “My treat.”

Buffy was not the least bit surprised when she later learned Xander had no money.

However, she was shocked when she returned to the hospital the next morning, and learned that Faith was gone.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

“Giles, there’s no trace of her! The nurses didn’t see anything, and the security staff hasn’t got a clue about what’s going it.”

Buffy, Willow, Oz and Xander were all gathered in the study in Giles’ home. Buffy paced back and forth nervously as she spoke, while Giles stood staring at the titles lined up upon one of the bookshelves. Oz sat in the leather easy-chair, with Willow sitting cross-legged at his feet. Xander sat perched on the corner of Giles’ massive oak desk, lazily swinging his legs to and fro.

Giles adjusted his glasses carefully, then asked, “Do you think she just got up and walked out of there? Or do you think there’s a more malevolent force at work?”

“Hello?” said Buffy in an irritated voice, “The girl was in a coma. I don’t think it’s quite normal for a person with a massive head injury and a broken ankle to carefully removed her intravenous catheter, and just get up and walk away without anyone noticing. Someone, or something must have took her!”

“But Buffy,” Willow said nervously, “Faith was a Slayer... even you know that you heal up faster than everyone else, and that you’re stronger, and good at sneaking around... isn’t it possible that Faith is the same way? Maybe she did just get up and walk away.”

Buffy shot her a quick look.

“Well,” said Willow, staring down at her feet, “maybe it is possible.”

“Or,” Xander jumped in, “Maybe the Mayor put our little Faith under his protection before the Buffster blew him up, and some of his Demon crew came in to clean up after him.”

“That would make sense,” Oz pondered, “But at the same time, one would think that the Mayor’s cronies would have completed such an act closer to the time of the Mayor’s demise. However, I think such actions would have proved difficult, considering most of the Mayor’s friends were of the Vampire variety, and Willow sealed the room from any uninvited presences the day after graduation.”

“What if my spell didn’t work?” Willow asked in a small insecure voice, “What if hospitals can’t be sealed the way Buffy’s house or Cordelia’s car can, because they’re public places?”

“Willow,” Xander told her, “If you were able to prevent Vampires from entering Cordelia’s car, you certainly can keep them out of a hospital room. Cordy’s car is the most public place I know of... I think more guys have been in there than in the Bronze.”

“Well, I guess...”

“Regardless of how she disappeared,” Giles interrupted, “the point is, we have to locate her. In her condition, she could be very vulnerable to any Vampire presence. Not to mention, very valuable.”

“What do you mean?” Xander asked, jumping off the desk.

“Hmmm? Oh, nothing,” Giles replied, “I was just thinking out loud.”

“Thinking out loud, my fanny!” Buffy exclaimed, “What do you think they might do to her?”

Buffy quickly approached Giles, with a hard look upon her face that clearly indicated that she meant business.

Giles cleared his throat loudly, trying to hide his discomfort.

“Unfortunately,” he replied, “A comatose Slayer would be extremely easy to transform into a very healthy Vampire. A Vampire with all the knowledge of a Slayer, and the killer instincts of a Demon. And if she were to be resurrected at the hands of a Vampire, there’s a small chance that the line of Slayers could end with Buffy.”