This Is How It Goes

"I may be asking for another British glare, but mallet?" Xander suggested, miming holding a hammer.

Giles tried, and failed, to look at him without glaring. Willow intervened. "Xand, that would just release all the energy, most likely in some big, dramatic evil explosion. Not really what we're looking for."

"Oh," Xander replied in a small voice.

"The Council may be able to help," Wesley suddenly contributed in a high-pitched voice. Faith's words were still clearly affecting him.

Giles looked at him thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose they might. I also have several connections I could use in England. Maybe go through different avenues to gather information about this object." He looked around. "You three can go home, get some rest. Wesley and I will stay here."

Buffy, Willow and Xander got up, breathing sighs of relief. They began gathering their things and walked out into the hallway, Willow shooting Buffy a sympathetic look.

"I'm sure she's just in some strange and very temporary funk," Willow said reassuringly. Buffy didn't have to ask who she was referring to.

"Yeah, probably. I — I think I'm gonna go look for her all the same. Just to make sure she's not doing anything incredibly stupid."

Xander and Willow nodded. As she left them, she could have sworn they moved closer together than was strictly necessary. Buffy frowned and decided she was imagining it, and walked off to look for her errant girlfriend.

Chapter 25: Hero and Universal Golden Girl

Author's Notes:

Dusk was settling as Buffy wandered through the various cemeteries. Finding nothing except her growing anxiety, she made her way to the Bronze. If Faith wasn't off killing things, then she was dancing and drinking, Buffy thought. She felt a surge of uncomfortable jealousy, imagining Faith twisting and moving in the middle of a teeming crowd.

Buffy opened the door to a blast of heat and music, and began scanning the crowd for that familiar writhing figure. She felt that curling anxiety increase as her eyes swept the room and found nothing. Where was she?

Buffy left quickly, walking out into the alley with her head down, thinking furiously. If Faith wanted to disappear, she had proven over and over that it was relatively easy for her. She began running through a list of seedy, violent places where Faith was likely to go, and snapped her head up as noises filtered through her contemplative haze. Heavy breathing, clothes rustling, moans ... that sounded familiar.

Her stomach was plummeting, her palms cold, her mouth dry before she even saw them. Wrapped around each other, oblivious to the world. Faith was against the alley wall, her legs hooked around a random guy's waist, her hands running over the back of his head, his shoulders, his bare ass moving against, into her. Buffy stopped and looked at them, trying to absorb it. It should have been more difficult to process, but the noises and blatant transparency of what they were doing sliced through any confusion. Buffy could see her, kissing him, grinding against him, and every soft moan and caress cut into her, ripped her heart open.

Buffy heard a low, broken sob and realized it had come from her own mouth. She saw, with a painful clenching in her heart and stomach, Faith pull back and snap open her eyes to land on Buffy. He was still thrusting into her as their gazes locked, and Buffy saw the other Slayer's eyes almost pitch black with dangerous lust. Faith suddenly grinned.

"Hey, B," she called out lazily, her breath shallow and ragged as he moved against her. "You up for a three-way, sweetheart?"

The guy stopped and looked around quizzically, twisting his head to see Buffy standing there.

Buffy felt her breath snag, felt her throat close. She opened her mouth and couldn't say anything. Still smiling widely, Faith dropped down and pushed the guy away impatiently.

"Hey!" he yelled, stumbling and scrambling to pull up his pants. "What the hell?"

"Fuck off," Faith growled, shoving him again. He staggered, looking furious and confused, and turned around with an angrily muttered, "Crazy bitch."

Faith walked over to Buffy languidly, seductively, her hips swaying and eyes smoldering. She was smirking. She sauntered up to her, moved into her space, put hands on her hips and tugged them closer.

"What's up, girlfriend?" she said quietly, licking her lips slowly.

Buffy swallowed. "What — what the hell are you doing?" she said, suddenly finding her voice strong and incensed. She took several steps back, her fists clenching painfully, Faith following her with eyes that burned.

Faith snorted. "Gettin' off, princess. Thought that was pretty obvious."

"Why are you doing it with him?" Buffy asked unevenly, angrily.

Faith shrugged, her feral grin making Buffy's stomach twist. "A chick's got needs, B."

Buffy clenched her jaw. "So, after telling me you love me, after screwing me for three hours, you decide to go and bang the first asshole you meet, 'cause, hey, you've got needs?"

"B," Faith shook her head, laughing slightly. "You really think you, the girl who couldn't give head if she was force-fed a manual, are gonna be enough for me?"

Buffy felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach. She bit her lip, tried to stop tears from welling up in her eyes, kept hearing, I thought you were a pro, and a mocking laugh echoing sharply in her head. It's happening again, she thought. How is it happening again? She swallowed violently and grit her teeth.

"You seemed to enjoy it, F," Buffy said, clenching her jaw to stop her bottom lip from trembling.

"You were on your knees for me," Faith responded, cocking her head and smiling a cold, tight smile that made the hairs on Buffy's arm stand up. "Little Ms. Perfect, stepping off her throne and gettin' down and dirty. I enjoyed it on principle."

Buffy flinched and shook her head. "Why — why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"'Cause I got tired of prancin' around and pretending to be Buffy's little bitch," Faith answered, and her smirk was suddenly gone. Her eyes were flashing violence.

"Why did you stay, then?" Buffy said, wiping at her eyes furiously. "Why didn't you just go?"

Faith laughed again. "You think you kept me here, don't you?" She began walking back and forth in front of Buffy, shooting her darkly amused glances. "You saved my poor, helpless self, didn't you? I was on the edge of self-destruction, but you," she pointed at her, "Buffy Summers, hero and universal golden girl, pulled me back just in time." Faith shook her head in mock earnestness. "Gosh, I sure am lucky."

Buffy stared at her, tears streaming silently down. This can't be happening, she thought desperately. Please, let this be a nightmare.

"Ever occur to you that it's the most fucking fun I've ever had, jerking you around?" Faith asked, laughing. "Who needs dick and JD when I can get Buffy's sweet little pussy just by playin' the good little Slayer?" She put a hand to her heart, looked up at the sky melodramatically. "God, B, I'm so sorry. I didn't see him. I'm a bad, bad murderer." She snapped her head down, trapping Buffy with her piercingly ruthless gaze, and shot her a twisted grin. "Please fuck me good and proper. Fuck the bad out of me, baby."

"Stop it!" Buffy yelled, backing up and shaking her head. "Stop it," she whispered again.

"Too harsh for those pretty ears, B?" Faith continued loudly, smiling callously. "See, I recently decided that you're just not a good enough fuck to keep playin' nice. So, I'd like to introduce you to someone real special. Me," she said, her smile replaced by a vicious snarl. Her face was contorted in rage and scorn, her eyes burning with ferocious contempt. "The real me, the one who's not crying like a little girl and stringin' you along like a bitch in heat. I think we'll get along fucking great."

Buffy was sobbing, feeling her shoulders shake furiously. She could barely see Faith stalking towards her through the blur of her tears. She tried to move her hand, wipe her eyes, and had barely raised her hand before Faith grasped her wrist and put her other hand on her chest, shoving Buffy backwards into the wall.

Buffy cried out in pain as she hit the brick, as Faith grasped both her wrists and pinned them above her head. Faith moved in, pressed her against the wall and ground into her, and she felt her own body respond involuntarily. She grit her teeth, ignoring the sudden, uncontrollable flare of heat between her legs, looked directly, challengingly into the other Slayer's eyes, and froze.

Her eyes. They were wild, black, savage and unrelenting, holding none of the warm cockiness or affection they usually held. Buffy felt a rush of fear and something ... else. Something was tugging at the back of her mind, images and words running fleetingly before she could catch them.

impurity

desolation and ruin

Faith being thrown against the wall, her body face-down and unmoving

"... all Charles Manson for a while, right?"

The spell. Buffy almost said it out loud. Faith had been hit by the spell trying to destroy the box. Giles had said it had the essence of some ancient evil figure. Buffy's mouth opened and she almost went limp in Faith's grasp as frantic hope rushed through her.

"You still want this, don't you?" Faith whispered next to her ear. She ground her hips forward into Buffy's, flicked out her tongue against her neck.

Buffy shivered, tried to push her thighs together. Faith wrenched them roughly apart with her knee and leaned it, pressing into the warmth between her legs.

Faith laughed, dark and low. "You still want me to fuck you, don't you? You're a piece of work, you know that?" She put her mouth against Buffy's ear and whispered, "Tell me you don't want my fingers inside of you, B. I can feel how wet you are."

Buffy felt helpless, out of control. Faith's voice, deep and rough, was doing things to her body that made her bite her lip and moan. Yes, she thought. God, yes.

She flashed onto Faith stroking her back gently, kissing her softly, telling her "I love you," and her entire body hardened. Yes, I want it, she thought fiercely. But not like this.

Buffy wrenched her arm out of Faith's grasp and threw her fist towards the other Slayer's face. Faith caught her hand before it connected, smirking, and began tightening her grip. Buffy gasped as several of her fingers were crushed, as pain shot through her hand and Faith's smile grew wider, crueler.

"Not doin' so hot, are we, B?"

Buffy brought her knee up as hard as she could into Faith's stomach, wrenching her wrists out of the other Slayer's grasp and immediately following with a hard right hook as Faith stumbled back. Faith's head snapped back and Buffy kicked her in the chest, sending her flying back into a dumpster. She hit it and slid down, landing on her hands and knees and coughing. Faith's head snapped up as she stood, vicious sneer contorting her features.

"Well, well, look who's decided to step up. I always liked it better when you struggled, anyways, B. Gave everything more spice," Faith spat, wiping blood off of her lip and shooting her a twisted grin. "Hey, you remember that time where you fucked me against the wall after we beat the shit out of each other? That was pretty kinky shit, princess. You get off on that, don't you?"

"The only thing I get off on is sending demonic, body-stealing assholes like you back to the hell you came from," Buffy said steadily, tensing her muscles and crouching.

Faith laughed. "Makes it easier to think that, doesn't it? That I'm just being jerked around. But, hell, maybe there's nothin' in here except little ol' me," she said, voice saturated with mock innocence.

"Shut up," Buffy snarled.

Faith ran her tongue along her upper lip. "Come on, then," she said, grinning in violent anticipation and beckoning with her finger, "show me how it's done."

Buffy attacked. Right to the face, left to the side, knee to the stomach, roundhouse. Except Faith was gone after the first punch, grabbing Buffy's arm and wrenching it behind her, shoving her foot into her back and sending her sprawling on the ground. Buffy cried out in pain as she felt her shoulder pop out of place, as her face hit the pavement.

Faith moved quickly, pressing her knee into Buffy's back, pinning her injured arm behind her. Buffy whimpered as her shoulder was wrenched further.

"Shit, B. Look at you, beggin' for it. That's just sick," Faith said, and Buffy could hear her smirking.

Faith twisted her arm more and Buffy bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She wouldn't cry out, wouldn't give her that. Buffy began maneuvering her other arm to a position to hit Faith, and stopped as she heard sudden, rapid footsteps.

"Faith!" a voice yelled, and there was a brutal thump and Faith's weight was off her back.

Buffy turned her head to see Faith lying on the ground four feet away, groaning. She turned back around and saw Angel, holding a baseball bat and leaning down beside her, his face anxious and concerned.

"Are you okay, Buffy?" he asked, putting a warm hand on her shoulder.

Buffy turned over and scrambled up, clutching onto her dislocated shoulder and gasping. "Yeah," she answered breathlessly. "How — how did you know?"

Angel opened his mouth to answer, but closed it as his face hardened and his eyes snapped to look over Buffy's shoulder.

"Hey, baby," Faith said loudly. Buffy turned her head sharply, saw the other Slayer standing up and grinning. "Come to join the party? 'Cause if this isn't a perfect crowd for a soul-sucking orgy, I don't know what is."

"Sorry, Faith," Angel responded, moving in front of Buffy and wielding the bat. "I'm just here on business."

Faith laughed mirthlessly. "Not like you have a choice, huh? Speaking of combining business and pleasure," she said, pointing a finger up like she had just thought of something, "have I ever told you how much I love fucking Buffy? How her hot little cunt feels wrapped around my hand?" She smirked, her eyes flashing.

Angel's face remained expressionless. He turned his head to Buffy, muttered quietly, "She's stronger than both of us right now, with the box's energy inside her."

Buffy nodded as they spread out slightly, approaching Faith on two sides. She was eyeing them confidently, her body loose. They moved together, lunging at her. Angel swung the bat at her side, Buffy let her fist fly towards her cheek, and they were suddenly staggering as Faith dodged both of their shots and twisted out a roundhouse kick. Angel moved again before she had a chance to recover, swinging the bat into her head with a resounding whack.

Faith's head snapped to the side and Buffy swept out her legs with a kick. She went down, Buffy moved forward, and suddenly Faith's hands were on her throat. She blinked and tried to inhale as Faith's fingers dug into her neck, cut off her air flow. Another sickening thump from Angel's bat and Faith was two feet away, on one knee, rubbing the side of her face and sneering furiously.