Portal

"What... *sob* what if... she *sob* doesn't like *sob* me?" I manage to get through tears.

"Then she's an idiot," she says softly. I look up to see her staring back at me with such intensity... She looks so much like Faith right then. I just can't hold back.

I kiss her, gently at first. She's probably too shocked to respond, but she allows me to deepen the kiss. Things quickly grow passionate, and I know I have to stop it before we do something stupid. Aside from what we've already done.

I end the kiss as gently as it started. She looks a little dazed when I slowly pull away from her. So cute.

"I'm sorry." I say quietly, not sounding sorry at all. "We probably should go on with the mission."

She still hasn't recovered from what just happened. Her eyes open to look at me, but widen in fear.

"I think your mission came to you first."

I swirled around to find the demon looking at me with something close to curiosity.

"Slayer."

"Run as fast as you can." I whisper to Danielle, not taking my eyes off of him. He tilts his head to the side like a puppy. A very ugly and demon-like puppy.

"But..."

"Danielle, no buts. Run. I'll handle this on my own." She looks like she wanted to say something, but then thought better of that.

"Bye, Buffy. And thanks." I just nod, getting ready to strike if the demon chases after her. But it just stand there, not taking his gaze from me as Danielle runs further and further away.

"What do you want?" My tired voice sounds so hollow in the alley. "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't want to hurt you. This is to show."

I'm so fed up with these cryptic lines. Doesn't this thing have something else to babble about?

"Show. Okay. What exactly?" The demon clearly doesn't like my lack of patience. Because the next thing I know, I'm being scooted up and thrown into the wall, where a shiny portal awaits.

"You'll know soon enough."

I hope this portal takes me back to Faith, or I'll seriously kick some demon's ass.

I swear that I can go on forever again

Please let me know that my one bad day will end

I will go down as your lover, your friend

Give me your lips and with one kiss we begin

Are you afraid of being alone

Cause I am, I'm lost without you

Are you afraid of leaving tonight

Cause I am, I'm lost without you

I'll leave my room open till sunrise for you

I'll keep my eyes patiently focused on you

Where are you now I can hear footsteps, I'm dreaming

And if you will, keep me from waking to believe this

Are you afraid of being alone

Cause I am, I'm lost without you

Are you afraid of leaving tonight

Cause I am, I'm lost without you

Are you afraid of being alone

Cause I am, I'm lost without you

Are you afraid of leaving tonight

Cause I am, I'm lost without you

Are you afraid of being alone

Cause I am, I'm lost without you

Are you afraid of leaving tonight

Cause I am, I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

I'm lost without you

Blink 182 — I'm Lost Without you

Chapter 7: Disseverance

Author: Anguissette

Rated: R

Buffy POV

I don't remember much of that moment. I mean, I couldn't remember much aside from the grating pavement tearing at my clothes and skin as I slid across the rain-slick road and partially off the shoulder, but that's a little hard to miss. I can still feel the heavy scent of wet earth filling my head, drifting into my mouth and nose until it settles into my lungs. There's something different about it. Something stale in comparison to the fresh sweetness of the soaked earth of Sunnydale. How long have I been lying here? I remember falling out of that damn portal...again. I remember lights-headlights from a car, and I remember something. I remember...her face, and then there was darkness. Maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic, but hey, classic Buffy Summers, right? Great, and to further comfort myself, I'm now referring to myself in the third person. Maybe I was hit harder than I thought.

Regardless, I've got to get up. I've got to make sure the people who hit me are alright. It's a slayer's duty to protect and serve the innocent, right? Plus, I wouldn't want "dereliction of duty" stamped on my slayer-profile. That'd just look bad. It would never happen though, especially since I've got this unforgiving martyr syndrome anyway. I guess it doesn't matter how many times this slayer's been impaled, hit, drugged, blown-up, poisoned, or burned. Oh, and since we're doing all this hindsight-y stuff, I'll just add "run over" to the list.

As I bend my wrist to push myself up, the pain shoots straight up my arm and disperses throughout the right of my rib cage. Great, I don't even want to know how much of me is broken right now. If I'm hesitant to move any of my lower extremities, it's with good reason. There's a dull and steady throb in my left thigh, and my right leg is a bit tingly, which is never good. Let's try this again.

I prop myself up with my forearm, and I can feel the gravel begin to bite at my skin again. Closing my eyes, I can't help but let out a frustrated groan. Not because of the pain, but because this is the second outfit I've had to retire this week. Can't a girl ever get a break?

I manage to cringe my way through the process, trying to ignore the nagging pain throughout my body, and as I lift my unsteady gaze, I'm met with a black, empty road.

But the car...the car that was just here... The voice in my head echoes, and I can't tell if I'm talking aloud or just in a really loud, deep thought. Maybe both? I press a palm to my head and suddenly pull it back in alarm when I feel a sticky wetness. My hand swims in front of me for a moment before it comes into focus. No blood, just mud. I scoff, "`cause that's even better. "

As I move closer to where I was conveniently dropped from the portal, I can see tire marks veering off sharply to the left and in that moment my throat tightens. I think I know where that car disappeared to. My legs can only carry me so quickly, but I move as fast as I can. Following the tracks to the shredded guard rail on the side of the road, I can see where the shoulder abruptly ends in a sudden drop. It isn't until I near the ledge that I realize exactly how far of a drop this actually is. I steady myself as I gaze over the edge, trying not to look directly at the pile of metal that was once an SUV. I don't want to see bodies; I don't need to see bodies. I kill undead things. Evil things. Most of the time they're usually undead evil things, which don't include humans. Oh, god. I've got to get to the nearest phone and call for help. I don't know how long it'll be `til someone drives past.

I take one last look down the embankment, but before I turn away, my attention is brought to one of the passengers sprawled halfway out of the vehicle. My heart seems to stop as her name escapes my lips in nothing more than a strained whisper, "Faith."

In that moment, my body is flooded in adrenaline, and before I know it, I'm halfway down the steep cliff. Rocks and loose, wet earth give way beneath my stumbling feet. If there was any throbbing in my legs before, I couldn't feel it now. They felt strong and light, like they should be frail. But with a steady power, they carried me down toward her. I know it's clichИ to say it seemed as though time slowed, but that's exactly what it felt like. The only sound in the atmosphere was my slow and steady breathing, surrounding me, filling my head. My vision was tunneling through a blurred vortex and I had no concept of distance, no concept of depth. I just did what every fiber of my being was screaming for me to do: protect Faith.

My legs nearly gave way as I reached what level ground there was. I didn't stop, I couldn't. When I reached her, I fell to my knees. The jolt shot up through my body, slightly wiping the vortex from my vision, and as the sudden rush of adrenaline left, the atmosphere seemed to crash back around me. "Oh, god," I placed my hand on the side of her jaw to cradle her face. Her skin was wet and cool to the touch, but there was underlying heat. I could feel her life slowly settling into the core of her body, trying to keep her vital organs functioning.

"Faith, can you hear me? It's B." I tried to blink the tears away, but they kept coming. I slid my other hand under her head. "You're going to be okay, Faith. You're going to be fine." I glanced up at the embankment then back down to her, "we're gonna get you out of here."

She didn't stir, didn't budge an inch, but there was a low, barely audible groan that escaped her. "B...?"

Unflinching and still, I only stared at her, and in that passing moment a sudden wave of assurance crashed over me. She is Faith. This can't be another doppelganger. There was only a moment of hesitation before I scrambled to my feet. My legs were aching again, and my jeans were soaked, making climbing up the embankment that much harder, but I was determined. I wasn't sure what damage was done to my body, but there'd always be time to find out later. I had my priorities now.

It seemed like nearly a lifetime before I managed to claw my way up the sloughing earth and foliage. My fingers gripped the solid road as I pulled myself up over the ledge. My arm and legs protested, the searing pain shooting through my limbs again, and I let out a stifled cry. I rolled onto my back, clearing myself from the ledge, and in that moment staring up at the sky, I felt the pain finalizing, settling into every nerve, every cell. I felt like I was going to die...again. I rolled once more, this time to my stomach, and with a bit of struggle, ineptly pushed myself up to my feet. My gaze slowly shifted to the slick, obsidian road now painted in a myriad of flashing blues, reds and whites. I thoughtlessly blinked, not really comprehending what was happening. How long was I down there? Tearing my gaze away from the hypnotic lights, I shifted my focus over my shoulder to another car. There was a large tree planted solidly in what would be the middle of the car if it wasn't collapsed like an accordion. The front of the car was nearly folded around the tree, maybe only a few more feet closer and the headlights would be touching one another. Looking at the wreckage, I couldn't help but shudder.

I could see two, maybe three, bodies slumped over in their seats. The driver had already been pulled from the wreckage and onto a gurney. As they pulled a sheet up over her body, I met that lifeless gaze. Immediately, I felt a heavy chill settle through my body. There was something about those eyes that unnerved me entirely. From what I could see, she was dead. It gave me the willies just thinking about it, but there was something so very alive about those eyes. It was like she was looking at me, seeing me. Almost watching me.

"Miles, we've got one over here." I turned toward the voice to see the source on her way toward me. She seemed a little taller than me, but the haze in my head the only thing I knew for certain was that she was female. I shook my head in hopes of clearing the clouding sensation. I must have been hit harder than I thought.

I felt her hand lightly graze my shoulder as she spoke, "ma'am, I'm Keri, can you tell me your name?" Her voice wasn't deep, but it wasn't shrill either. It was calming, almost consoling to listen to. I couldn't help but close my eyes, and as I did, I was met with the driver's unnerving gaze again.

"Ma'am, can you understand me?"

With my eyes still closed, I cringed, and then slowly opened them. "Buffy," I looked up at her, "my name is Buffy. There are other people down the embankment. They need help. " The panic unexpectedly increased in my voice, "she needs help!"

The woman smiled at me then pulled her hand from my shoulder. "Okay, Buffy," she looked over at who I assumed to be her partner then back at me, "I need you to follow me over to the ambulance. Can you do that?"

Furrowing my brow, I only nodded. It's all I could do as the world seemed to tilt around me. Given the current situation and the fact that I pretty much collided head on with a speeding car, the only wonder was that it took this long for my head to start spinning. I took a step toward the ambulance and nearly lost my footing. Luckily, Keri's arm shot out around me before I lost it completely.

"Alright, Buffy, on second thought, I need you to stay put. We're going to get a stretcher out here for you." The paramedic shifted and signaled for her partner and one of the police officers to roll out a stretcher from the back of the ambulance. As she turned back to me, Keri pulled her arm from around my body. "You okay to stand, or do you need to sit?"

I tried to shrug her off of me, but failed. "I'm fine," I insisted, a little frustrated. "Are you not listening to me? There are other people you should be worrying about besides me! There are at least three more down that cliff that are dying!" At that last word, I couldn't help but think about Faith down there in the mangled wreck, the life draining from her by the second. I nearly lost it, and my next words came out in a choked sob, "Faith is dying down there!" This time I managed to push her off of me, and when our eyes met, there was only sympathy in hers. I can only imagine the anger and desperation she saw in mine. I could feel the aggravation, hopelessness and fear building, threatening to break from my chest despite my attempts to choke them back. If Faith died...I couldn't even think about it. I didn't want to think about it.

My thoughts carried me back to that rooftop, back to that moment where I nearly killed her. I remember the shock in those dark eyes as I shoved the blade into her stomach, the shock that quickly turned into something somber, something that whispered `I told you she'd do it.' And then she flashed me that grin, that mask she used all too well. I desperately tried to shake the thought from my head, but it just wouldn't work.

I felt my heart drop as I looked at Keri, "if anything happens to Faith..." My vision started to blur again, my peripherals darkening, and the dull ache in my head began to throb. This time I dropped to my knees in order to shorten the fall if I passed out. This was a feeling I knew all too well to mistake for something else, and the last thing I needed was another concussion.

As my vision began to tunnel, I felt the pain begin to fade again. I couldn't feel the cold. I couldn't feel the ground beneath me. All I knew was that I was comfortable in the darkness, and somewhere in the distance, I could hear Faith's chuckle. I felt my brow furrow in confusion as I heard her laugh again. This time it was closer. As I looked up, I saw her standing above me, and as she kneeling down next to my head, I felt her lips against my ear. It was then that her words from that night hit me, those six words that haunted me for what seemed like an eternity.