Successor (BTVS)

[X] Faith Lehane

Xander moved before the conscious thought reached his brain, diving for Faith and shoving her out of the way of Spike's charge. He was a split second too late to get himself out of the way too though; he felt a line of fire tear down his arm as he crashed down to the ground, landing on top of her.

He heard electric blasts from Agent Finn spray over the room, but as far as he could tell none connected. He rolled off of Faith and tried to get his bearings, a little surprised she hadn't thrown him off already, and even more surprised Spike hadn't laid into them yet. He discovered Harmony was in hand-to-knife with him just a few feet away, clearly on the defensive but still barely holding her own.

"Slayer's taught you some tricks! You followed my advice, didn't you?"

"Yeah! Oh! Angel found out and he was really confused," she managed to brush aside a couple of Spike's punches, "He thought it was his fault!"

"Course he did, thinks the whole world revolves around him," Spike said, effortlessly keeping up his assault. "Was fun catching up, love the new hair." He smashed her hard in the temple with the handle of the knife, and then flipped her into the air and punted her into Agent Finn. She managed to be the first thing he hit with his electrorifle before she crashed into him.

His distraction cost him, because Faith was back up and got a free hit in while he showboated. "Is this gossip hour or are we gonna finish this?" Spike growled back as he went into game face, and their fight got too fast to follow.

Rather than trying to interfere with that, Xander reoriented to deal with Vanessa. Rachel was on the defensive in a fight with her on the other side of the crypt, but with his arm still burning he didn't feel confident getting back into the fray. Instead, he pulled out his handheld SS30 and snapped off the shot he'd had pre-pumped into it. The watergun made contact and newly demonic city councilor pulled back in a hiss of steam, but before Rachel could capitalize she was down the hole and into the basement.

He saw Rachel already charging down after and shouted, "Be careful, there might be another one down there!" She didn't listen and went ahead anyway. He'd wanted to try to find the ring instead, but he couldn't let her go alone. He tried to ignore the still-burning sensation on his left arm and followed her down the ladder.

When he got down he couldn't see Vanessa anywhere, and Rachel was already racing for the tunnel to the sewers. He then relearned the important lesson of not chasing a vampire through dark quarters when something hit him across the face like a truck. Of course she would hide and wait.

"My nephew better have more sense than you, or he won't last long either" Vanessa gloated. Then, as vampires do, she went for his neck.

He just managed to back out of the way of her lunge, but he could barely see what he was doing in this dark. "Ms. Waters, it doesn't have to go this way. You know that when Buffy-"

"I think I'll pass on Harmony's arrangement," she preempted his argument. "I find myself more interested in what's flowing in girls' necks than what's hidden between their legs."

"Didn't mean it that way," Xander said frantically. "And I really didn't need to picture that either!"

"Oh please. I'd bet you just wish you could see me in all my glory," she gloated.

"Less talk, more action." Rachel got to her first, but missed with the stake. Vanessa elbowed her off, but she'd given Xander the chance to get out his own stake (the axe was sadly lost somewhere above) and try to finish the job. Vanessa batted it out of his hand, but he managed to at least get out of biting range.

The sounds of the scuffle above had gotten closer to the ladder, and they reached a crescendo with a shattering noise that grated on the mind and an accompanying fwoosh of energy. Spike immediately objected, "Bitch! What the hell'd you have to do that for?"

"Never was a fan of jewelry," Faith said. Maybe it was for the best, but Xander knew Harmony would be disappointed. There were more smashing noises and stomping above after that; hopefully reinforcements were here.

Meanwhile, Vanessa was holding her own surprisingly well for a just-turned fledgeling, leaving Xander and Rachel unable to make much progress. Their fight ended abruptly as Spike blew down the ladder and swatted the two of them out of the way like flies before grabbing Vanessa in hand and dragging her away to the exit tunnel.

"No time to play with your food now, the whole bloody menagerie is here again," Spike shoved the hatch to the sewers aside and he was through with Vanessa.

"That's perfectly all right. I'm sure I'll find something else to quench my appetite." Xander could just barely make out Vanessa pushing something in the wall on the other side of the door and then the hatch slammed shut hard behind them.

Faith was a second too late, and the door wasn't reopening. Her furious kick afterward cracked it but didn't break it, and her pounding on it after didn't manage to budge it either. "Damnit! Do you know how to open this thing?"

Probably not better than Vanessa knew how to close it. She'd been sneaking around Sunnydale for decades. Instead, he brought out his radio. "APB, Vanessa Waters is a vampire. I repeat, Vanessa Waters is a vampire. She and Spike have escaped into the sewers without the Gem of Amara."

There was a flurry of surprised chatter and confirmations, but Rachel talked over them disgustedly, "We'll never catch them now." She gave Faith an annoyed side-eye.

She didn't contest the point, just fruitlessly bashing the door again and sighing. "Figures that B isn't here with her psycho-masonry when we need her."

Xander shook his head. Buffy was a topic he probably shouldn't get into with Faith. "Let's just get topside. Nothing else we can do down here."

Rachel was as full of spunk and usual and took the ladder first, but Faith lagged behind and held Xander back for a second. "Look," her face scrunched up, and her gaze drifted to his arm. "You should bandage that."

He could barely see it in the dark, but it was wet enough that he knew it was still bleeding freely and it still stung. "This isn't going to rot my arm off or anything is it?" He asked.

"Nah, it doesn't work like that." she said. She took his arm in a way that was uncharacteristically gentle and then cleanly cut off the remains of the sleeve with the same knife that had given him the injury. After that, she got something off her belt and before he knew it he had a long bandage over the shallow cut. "You'll probably get a wicked scar out of it though."

"Maybe Anya'll send Spike a thank-you note," he said.

Something else passed over Faith's face, but it was hard to tell exactly what in the dark. "Anyway. Thanks for saving my ass back there. And sorry about the ring, there wasn't really-"

"It's fine," he said. He could hardly blame her for doing it as badly as the fight had been going. "Harmony might never forgive you though."

"I think I'll survive the wrath of B's girl toy," she paused again, then spoke more quietly and seriously. "You've got a spy in your Watch. I don't know any more." Then she turned away and went up the ladder, as if she hadn't said anything at all.

As usual, getting what he wanted made Xander feel even worse.


"Identify the seventh proper ratio as three hundred and twenty-six to eleven thousand, nine hundred and sixty-three! Let the transform become stable and may the matrix be diagonalized!"

Xander paced in the Watch House's basement hallway, really hoping this was going to work. Willow had been at the chanting for almost half an hour now, and it seemed like half the spellcasters in Sunnydale were in the (newly improvised) clean room with her. Supposedly they had to draw over parts of the diagram even in the middle of casting, and that wasn't even counting the section CyberWillow was projecting onto one of the walls. Xander had had a pretty crappy weekend, but at least he didn't have to participate in magical math class.

The bandage on his arm still stung. Tara of all people had been able to confirm that the wound wasn't magically toxic or anything, and he supposed he'd gotten off lucky, compared to some. Two of the three Initiative soldiers that had tried to stop Spike and Vanessa in the tunnels were dead, and the third was in traction. Agent Finn hadn't exactly taken it well, but he hadn't been despondent either. He'd just looked more determined, and Xander had a feeling he'd be searching even harder for ways to make his soldiers combat-ready. He hoped it wouldn't cloud his judgement about using Forrest.

"Do you think they're almost done?" Harmony asked. "Is it even going to work? I've tried to keep a brave face for everyone, because like, I don't want to seem useless or anything. But I really miss Buffy."

"It is taking a long time," Xander allowed, a little surprised he had her confidence. "But you know, can't rush genius."

"I'm sure they know what they're doing," Skip agreed. The armored demon had come to wait for the big return too, but in contrast to Harmony, he was as cool and collected as usual, like this was no big deal.

Willow's voice intoned from the clean room again, "Integrate the path along the third resonating sinusoid! Bound the domain in the first direction from negative twenty four units of the third type to thirty five and half of them! No, Andrew you have to draw that part counterclockwise! No, no, the other counterclockwise!"

Harmony gave him a stare that was between skeptical and desperate.

"They're doing their best," he defended. She'd been a little down since Spike had beaten her so soundly and then she'd woken up to a smashed Gem of Amara, and he found himself hoping Buffy's return would cheer her up a little. Harmony could be pretty annoying at times, but the sad puppy dog thing was hard to ignore.

Xander had made sure to collect the remains of the gem from the crypt, even as smashed as it was, but nobody with the magic-know-how had had time to look at it yet. He figured even if it was probably inert now, better safe than sorry.

Cordy appeared from around the corner, and if he didn't miss his guess she'd just touched up her makeup again. "I guess they still aren't done?"

"Quod erat demonstrandum!" Those final three words were shouted by Willow instead of chanted, and an unholy racket kicked up from behind the door, much louder than the first portal to Mog'tog'og had been. Xander and Harmony exchanged a worried glance, both wondering if they should charge in and what they could even do if they did, but before either of them came to a decision the space-tearing-noise cut out again.

Harmony didn't wait any longer, and Xander absently noted she damaged the doorknob on her way in. When he followed her through the open door the first thing he noticed was that the Rat King was everywhere in here, and even though he'd expected it, the surreality seemed to slow down his brain as he tried to process everything else. There was a ton of gritty black ash everywhere too, and all the new arrivals were covered in it. And Harmony, who'd already glomped onto Buffy.

"Buffy! I did it!" Willow was briefly excited, but then noticed the obvious at the same time as he did. Banthasnap was missing, and Watcher Phillip was too. "Umm, did we get all of you? I'm not sure how easy it'll be to open that again."

"This is everyone," Angel answered for her, his voice downcast.

Buffy had a vacant expression, even in the middle of a hug with her girlfriend. Jonathan was barely conscious and hacking his lungs out; Angel was mostly carrying him. He was in full broody face again, even after seeming affable and kind of excited when he left. Nigel was coughing too, but had already separated himself from the arriving group, standing away.

"I'm guessing the other two didn't make it?" Skip said from behind him.

"Phillip didn't survive the first explosion. It was-" Buffy sounded hoarse herself, and cut herself off with a cough before starting again. "Bantha ran back into the mountain."

"Not surprised he'd be the type to have unfinished business," Skip said.

"Are you OK? Do we need oxygen in here?" Cordelia had made her way inside too, and was fussing over Jonathan while Angel looked on awkwardly.

"I think it should just be temporary," Amy said from a corner where she'd been helping with the runes. She exchanged a couple squeaky noises with the Rat King, who was still all over the room. "Yeah, less than an hour of exposure won't do any permanent damage. As long as CyberWillow's math was right."

"My math is always right," Amy's radio answered. Amy rolled her eyes.

The room was more than overcrowded with the arrivals, the spellcasters, and everyone else, and people quickly started to flow out to the rest of the Watch House. Buffy finally noticed the difference as they walked through the door. "Why aren't we in City Hall?" Then her eyes drifted to his arm, suddenly more alert. "Xander, you're hurt? What happened?"

There was no real way to soften it. "Spike happened. Vanessa got turned."

"What? Has it only been three days, or did even more time slide by when I wasn't looking?" Her hammer hadn't been visible until now, but it just sort of materialized into one of her hands as she checked her fancy watch with the other, letting go of Harmony. "Where is he? Did he attack City Hall?"

"No, but we had to evacuate it just in case. No threshold. We think he was already here when you left. Vanessa probably got turned Friday night, and we found out about everything on Sunday."

"We think Spike's gone," Willow continued. "We still think that right?" Xander nodded. "He dug up an ancient artifact that made him a super vampire, but Faith smashed it."

"It's so unfair," Harmony said.

Buffy was just shaking her head back and forth. She squinted her eyes shut as if to clear them. "This is all my fault."

"No, Buffy, everyone knows this is a dangerous job!" Willow argued. "You couldn't have predicted any of this. We told you you'd only be gone for two hours!"

"And instead it was three days, because of me. Because of my powers," She didn't lower her voice at all, and Xander glanced around worriedly. With a spy lurking around, that probably wasn't a safe topic out in the open.

"Maybe we should-" he tried.

"You didn't see the city!" Instead of getting quieter, she was practically yelling it, her voice breaking. They'd emerged back onto the first floor of the Watch House now, and were drawing some looks. "There were so many people there. Demons. Whatever. It's all destroyed. The volcano leveled the whole place. And while I was off doing that, Spike attacks and Vanessa's what? A bad guy now?"

"She seemed distinctly interested in the murder and the blood-drinking, with a side of general nastiness," Xander admitted. Better to focus on this topic than whatever happened on the other side of the portal.

"Not everyone can be as cool as me, I guess," Harmony added. "But I really don't think you should worry about whatever demon city you destroyed. They were all awful like Kathy, right?"

Buffy didn't say anything, but her expression spoke volumes. Xander and Willow exchanged a look.

"How about we get some fresh air," he said, steering them all towards the backdoor.

"All that sulfur and ash, it can't be healthy," Willow agreed hastily.

They got outside, but before their fraught conversation could continue there was an unwelcome distraction of the not-recently-dead variety.

"Buffy." Angel had been alone out in the night back here. Had he been waiting for them? Xander wouldn't put it past the guy, he lived to stalk. "Things seem pretty hectic right now for you, and I should be getting back to LA myself. But we're going to need to talk eventually. Things can't keep happening like this."

"What, are you gonna blame her too?" Willow answered angrily. "I remember you being the one that called us to come along on this field trip. Suddenly things are a little more explosive than you planned, and it's all Buffy's fault?"

"Willow, he's-" Buffy started.

"No, he's not. He's totally out of line," Willow finished. "This was not your fault. Even if your powers caused some kind of crazy chain reaction, that was on them for mainlining mystic energy from the volcano they all lived on. If it wasn't you that made it all go kablooey, someone else would've done it eventually!"

"Yeah, obviously it isn't Buffy's fault!" Harmony agreed, rapidly pivoting from her earlier stance. "What do you think she is, Angel, some kind of monster?"

Angel looked like he wanted to say something, but he bit it back. Then he turned and walked away without another word.

Despite the spirited defense, Buffy still seemed despondent. Xander tried to reach for something to reassure her. "Buffy, I know this seems like a big L. We lost people, and there was collateral damage. Maybe a lot of collateral damage. But you weren't elected mayor of demontown. We're responsible for Sunnydale. And like Willow said, their bad choices? Not on you. We need to make sure it doesn't happen here."

Buffy seemed reluctant at first, but then she nodded weakly, running her hand through her ash-covered blond hair and wincing at how dirty it was. "You're right. I guess we've got a lot of work to do."


Vote: Next time, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: There's a lot that Buffy has to do in the aftermath of all this chaos. What difficult conversation will she be having when we start the next episode? (All of these conversations might happen even without a vote, but the winner will open the episode and may have additional thematic significance. Approval voting is in play, and close losers might get preferential treatment later.)

[] Buffy has to tell her mother that she's moving out. Joyce wasn't exactly wrong about how the mission would go down, but that doesn't change that she needs space and she'd frankly rather be living with Harmony.

[] Quentin Travers has been relatively distant since he came to Sunnydale, occupied with political intrigue over the phone more than day-to-day affairs. Buffy feels guilty about what happened to Watcher Phillip though, and feels like she owes it to Travers when he asks her to have a private chat with him about it.

[] With Vanessa being turned, some members of the city council are afraid they've gotten in a little over their heads. Buffy needs to reassure them that she has things under control, and to figure out how this might disrupt their projects and responsibilities.

[] After what happened at the Suck House with Faith, Buffy feels the need to go down there and clear the air. Harmony thinks she has them under control either way, but Buffy did take them under her protection before; now one of them is dust. She isn't sure what she should do, but it needs to be something.

[] After what happened in Mog'tog'og, Buffy thinks she needs to get a better idea of the situation in the universe at large as it relates to Sunnydale, mostly so she can head off diplomatic problems before they become new wars and disasters. Andrew's been working hard in that arena, and he's ready to present an intelligence report.

[] Xander has something important to tell Buffy, and it has to be in private. If the Initiative has a spy in the SDCW, they'd better get started on figuring out who it is. But then again, the information did come right from Faith; maybe she's just messing with their heads?